The Tribe of the Four Winds

After making a good deal with MikeyC (and a couple of other people) I've accumulated a sizable start to an Ogre Army, so it's time to get started.

The Tribe So Far:
60 Ogres (these will be converted into heroes, ironguts, leadbelchers, and maneaters, as well as normal bulls).
50+ Gnoblars (2 boxes plus extras from Scraplaunchers, etc).
8 Mournfangs
2 Ironblasters
2 Thundertusk/Stonehorn kits.

First thing to do was sort the bits, since I'm finishing up my Warriors of Chaos for tourney season this is taking a little longer than I'd like. But, I've got most of the bits off of the sprue now and organized in a bin from the hardware store. Excess is going in a Battalion box for later.



My first Maneater, they're snipers that I'm giving a bit of a Chaos Dwarf look. I'm using shoulder pads and shields from the Chaos Marauders with no small amount of green stuff work. These will take a while to finish, but I think it will be worth it when they're done.





Here's a quick shot of the hurt locker, I picked this thing up for $8 at a Christmas sale at a local hardware store. I wish I'd picked up a couple more now. I've since changed the labels to accomodate the bulk of bits, seriously so many bits...



Here's what's assembled so far, MikeyC had already started painting one Mournfang but I'll be starting them all from primer to get a good consisten paint job across the unit. I've also got 4 Leadbelchers and the start of a Bulls unit here. Anxious to get to work on the rest...



The first thing I really want to work on for my tribe is the Stonehorn/Thundertusk kit. I've been in love with this thing from the moment I laid eyes on the Stonehorn, it is such a fantastic looking sculpt. First thing though, he needs an appropriately detailed base. For this, I glued Pine Bark Chips to the base, with those in place I added Standard Yellow/Grey Milliput around the bark to build up the terrain a bit, this will give me a solid base to work on, and when I later go back with sand and other details it will look more natural. It also helps to beef up the Pine Bark and keep it from going anywhere.



I'm pinning the feet of the Stonehorn to the base so I can paint both separately and make a solid connection later, I'm doing the same with the rider and a few other things I'll be adding (the cow is from the giant sprue, and part of the supplies being carried on his back). I'm using the Thundertusk back piece that allows for two saddles, in the back position I'm scratch building a small wooden weapons platform for a group of Gnoblars that will be manning a Harpoon Launcher. This will also provide a good spot to hang some of the spoils of war.



The head of the Stonehorn will be painted separately, as well as the head of the Thundetusk (not shown). I've magnetized these so I can switch between games as needed, either playing Stonehorn/Ironblaster or Double Tusk, or as I like to call it the Fleetwood Mac list...

That's it for now, I'll have more coming soon!

The taint is strong with these three, my BSB, Slaughtermaster, and Butcher. A little bit of GS work left then they'll be ready to paint. I've had to sculpt these in layers, and I'm quite happy with how they're turning out.







Here's a rather bad shot of the Battle Standard (Rune Maw). There's a Chaos Star in the center from the Warriors sprue, and the Maw itself is taken from the Thundertusk model.



I may be adding some more bits, I do have an empire soldier on a hook and some more meat and spikes and things I could add. Test model will be painted very soon, probably this weekend.

I got the unit of Ironguts assembled, this weekend I'll get the GS work done on them and a few chaotic bits added.









Next the two units of Bulls and the Leadbelchers, I've decided to just get everything assembled and based before I start painting. The army should come together pretty quickly now.

Mmm milk chocolate Ogres... looking good!

My mother in law has been visiting all weekend, literally I woke up Saturday and at nearly 7pm Sunday she's still here. On the upside, I got some work done on the Ogres!

I've actually now assembled all of the ogres on foot, all that's left is the Sabretusks (now that I've chosen the models, that will be pretty quick), the Ironblaster, and the 4 Mournfangs. I'm going to magnetize the riders since I actually have some extras so I can swap them for command units, etc. But I'll be working on 2 units with Musicians for now.

Here's some shots of the stuff I've been working on.















I'll finish GS work and mutations on these this week, and start working on the remaining units. I've also started brainstorming a bit for the display board, so updates should be coming fast now.

I magnetized the riders for my Mournfangs, makes them easier to paint and a bit easier to transport. But more importantly, it means I can change options (command, etc) much easier.





I did the bases the same way I did the base for the Stonehorn, pine bark chips and Standard Milliput. I'll be adding sand and small stones to the milliput areas before I hit them with primer and paint. 2 more Mournfangs to go, and the Ironblaster, then I'll be ready for paint.

I'm about to cast some bits I need (tentacles and spikes basically) to up the taint of chaos quotient on some of the "veteran" models in the army. The idea is that the longest standing members of the tribe are the most mutated, as the touch of the wastes corrupts them further. My tyrant will be particularly weird, but that's going to be for later. I'm also seriously considering using either Dark Eldar Khymera or hand sculpting the Sabretusks, I'm just not a fan of the GW versions and they don't really fit the whole Chaotic vibe I'm going for. I've already started writing some fluff to go along with the army, since all of my armies are tied into the same theme/story it's coming along pretty quickly. Anyhow, I got a little accomplished today - here's the start of the last two Mournfangs. I included pics of the bases as I worked them up for reference, some people have been asking how specifically I make these big rocky bases. Unfortunately I need more milliput now to finish the base for the Ironblaster, but I'm nearing the point of getting paint on these guys.







Hope you enjoy!

Allow me to introduce my test Ogre, Tommy. I got the bases started on this unit, and decided to prime them today. Tommy is the first to get a coat of paint, I wanted to get my flesh sorted out before I started the painting en masse. I included some pics of the flesh being built up in stages for reference.























The flesh starts with a basecoat of GW Doombull Brown
I followed this up with a generous drybrush of P3 Khardic Flesh
Then, I washed with Army Painter Strong Tone.
Followed by a very light drybrush/highlight of P3 Midlund Flesh

For the mutant crab claw I did a basecoat with P3 Midlund Flesh, followed by a drybrush of Vallejo Heavy Warmgrey.  I then washed it liberally with Secret Weapon Amethyst. I hit a light drybrush/highlight with Vallejo White and then added a thin coat of Vallejo Fluo Magenta. This is an Airbrush paint that's REALLY thin, it really pops on a white basecoat but also reacts well when coating over other colors. So having this layered color build up gives a nice effect with the fluo. I then washed the whole of the claw with Secret Weapon Drying Blood. I'll add some Tamaya Red later when I start adding Gore to all of the Ogres at once.

It sounds a lot harder than it actually is, the flesh in particular went really quickly. I should have this first unit of bulls finished over the weekend. Let me know what you think...

The first unit of Ogres is finished, I had a little fun stringing some gore on these guys.



















I'll be adding snow to the entire army at the end, but I'm really pleased with the way these turned out. I'll be working on the Ironblaster next, since I'll need to paint it in pieces and then assemble it. Let me know what you guys think.