Havoc Ogres

This is a chronicle of the ogres of Clan Havoc.

Let me begin by clearing something up: the "Havoc" label is neither a reference to 40k Chaos Space Marines, nor is it a cheesey reference to a (quite good) Shakespeare line.  I don't play Chaos Space Marines, and though I love Henry V, Havoc is more personal.  Its a call-sign.  Its a mindset.

So, I suppose without further rambling, I will introduce the army.  I love the rank and file and monsters, but I am generally unhappy with GW for the quality of the characters.  All of the following were from a photo-shoot my wife helped me set up back in Feb/March where I attempted to make them look professional...not quite achieved.  But its a good starting post for the Army.  Future pictures will probably just be iphone pics.

That's all for tonight.  I have to go do some painting and preparing for a small (6-12 player) local store tournament.  I don't like to play with anything that's not painted in tournaments (my motivation to keep painting), and I want to try some new stuff.

Hi Havoc

Some amazing work! The mournfang cavalry and the tyrant/bruiser are my favourites. Like the dark armour and the fur on the cats especially, makes them look very foreboding. Looking forward to reading more of your blog. Will you be posting some battle reports from your tournament?

Matt

Some awesome work there, they look beautiful!

Top notch work! I like the nice clean lines and distinct style you have going with the Ogres. Thanks for sharing them!

These models look excellent. You painting is sharp precise and very clean. You seem to be implying that they are a bit boring? Far from it! This is some very sound and solid work and this (very large TBH) army absolutely looks the mutts nuts! You should be very proud of them, I can't wait to see more.
Your solid painting style really stands out and the colours used compliments the theme of the army.

It is often easy to go balls-to-the-wall and paint all your ogres purple with headdresses on and go for the "different" look. These guys look exactly as ogres were intended to be; and the painting is executed brilliantly. Keep up the good work, I can't wait to see more of them.

G_H

Thank you for all of the kind feedback.  I will keep posting pictures, I just have to find the time to take them

So I just played a very awesome 4500pt game vs Warriors of Chaos.  You can find the battle report with pictures at the following link (or in the appropriate forum):
http://www.ogrestronghold.com/forum/index.php?topic=28821.new#new


It was awesome.

On a side note, I have never had a problem with magnets before, and perhaps it was the heat, but I had 2 super-glued rare-earth magnets come undone off their models.  Not a huge deal, just odd.

they are some realy good looking ogres, top job

Let me categorically say welcome to the gnoblog community!! Importantly, in response to your first post (and rather unlike some other forums) there is now ay you can 'screw up' here. This is your space to show us what you're up to and for us to enjoy and hopefully inspire you to continue your hobby with the utmost enthusiasm, the occasional word of advice is offered if it is welcome too!

I just want to say congratulations on a cracking bunch of Ogres there. I daresay GW would be proud of them. Everything is immaculately finished and based well too. Battle report was great also, I look forward to your next additions!

BB

These models look excellent. You painting is sharp precise and very clean. You seem to be implying that they are a bit boring? Far from it! This is some very sound and solid work and this (very large TBH) army absolutely looks the mutts nuts! You should be very proud of them, I can't wait to see more.
Your solid painting style really stands out and the colours used compliments the theme of the army.

It is often easy to go balls-to-the-wall and paint all your ogres purple with headdresses on and go for the "different" look. These guys look exactly as ogres were intended to be; and the painting is executed brilliantly. Keep up the good work, I can't wait to see more of them.

G_H

Thank you.  If I sounded like I thought they were boring, that’s not entirely it.  I love my ogres, and you hit it with the “purple with headdresses”: I see a lot of really awesome work on the Stronghold, it is inspiring to me.  But, I do prefer my ogres to have the natural look.  My next project is going to be Maneaters, and I plan to do some Viking-ish (think the History Channel TV show) styles in my modeling.  Speaking of, G_H I really like your Dwarf Maneater style.

Hi Havoc

Some amazing work! The mournfang cavalry and the tyrant/bruiser are my favourites. Like the dark armour and the fur on the cats especially, makes them look very foreboding. Looking forward to reading more of your blog. Will you be posting some battle reports from your tournament?

Matt

I appreciate the feedback, I think I am going to throw the battle Reports in the "Guts and Glory" section, and just put a link in on a future post.  I figure that way people who don't care for my gnoblog may still want to read the report and it will make it easier.  On that note, someone had been looking for ideas for sculpting a Tyrant on in the "Butcher's Caldron", and I figured I would throw up some of the Work In Progress pics I took when I modeled my BSB.  This was my first real attempt at sculpting so much of a model.  As you can see, I used bits whenever I was able to help me keep the proportions right.  I purposely wanted him a bit bigger than your standard Ogre (cause, you know, he is supposed to be massively strong as a Bruiser).


I really struggled with the legs (proportion) and feet (getting the boots right), and I ended up cutting the feet off that I had done and making the legs bigger.  I also added more green stuff to the back to make it look consistent with other models in the army.  I ended up doing a silicone cast of a completed model’s feet and it ended up working.  I also never can decide on weapons, so I have it magnetized for a GW (standard look), but also for a magic sword in case I want to play WYSIWYG.




Here he is completed:


Here is a side by side comparison with my firebelly (which I was working on at the same time).  Note the size difference, I think I achieved what I was going for by making him slightly taller/stronger than a normal Str 4 ogre.


And just because I love the firebelly, here he is close up (sorry, no WIP on him):

Awesome work on hte BSB scupting. I can't believe you asked for help on how to do it...you should be teaching us

Wow! That BSB is stunning! Fantastic work on the scultping. Have a Gnoblar!

BSB is amazing, Pet Gnoblar for that one buddy.  Truly in awe of that.

As for the rest of your army I sincerely disagree, I think you've captured the professional feel for it, well done.  Looking forward to seeing more.

I have to echo everyone else and help up your Gnoblar count too; that BSB is amazing. Your greenstuff work is absolutely excellent, you should be very proud of that model. If you can produce models of that quality (the excellent painting aside) then you need never worry about the army looking just plain natural.

With your painting and greenstuff work combined your army really will look awesome on the table (mind you, you could add a couple of purple ones with orange headdresses!!! Just for completions sake  )

Keep up the amazingly good work mate, and enjoy that little Gnoblar...his name is Burt and he likes raw liver, but don't let him near your dog as he has unsavoury habits   

G_H

That is one amazing BSB.  Truly you should be teaching!  I would recommend you put up a video possibly on sculpting should you have the time or inkling.  I'am certain people would love to see how you do it.

I know I would.

Kind regards Zolas

Beautiful models and paint! Great job.

Nice Work on the BSB!

Bsb is fantastic. Really inspiring stuff for greenstuffing!

Loving your bsb mate! It is really inspiring, great use of bits and greenstuff!

This is sensational work, well done well done.

Thank you for the support everyone.  I really do appreciate the encouragement.

@Warlordsteve: Thanks man, but really I just read a lot over on planetFigure, a couple of the blogs around here (Adventures with greenstuff by G_H http://www.ogrestronghold.com/forum/index.php?topic=28099.0).  Then, just jump right in, buy your materials, sketch out your idea and give it a shot.

@Zolas: I would definitely try to do a video on sculpting, although I don't know if I have the A/V equipment and software for it right now.  After I paint my Thundertusk, Stonehorn, and second Ironblaser, I am going to return to modeling and do up some Maneaters and Gorgers, which I am going to attempt some heavy sculpting, so I will keep you updated.

In the meantime, I had a big double-header July 4th, and first up was a friend playing a Ghoul-themed Vampire Counts Army.  You can read the battle report here:
http://www.ogrestronghold.com/forum/index.php?topic=28853.0

In other work, I finally finished up one of the first Ogres I bought, and have never actually used: My big ol' Tyrant.  Here is a WIP and a finished product:



I hope you like him.

Alright, so I finally finished up the second battle report from the last weekend, which you can read here if you like:
http://www.ogrestronghold.com/forum/index.php?topic=28884.new#new

I am really enjoying the games where we just take whatever we have brought and who cares about round numbers.  Running a stonehorn and a giant next to eachother, and alongside some Mournfang...now if only I can sit down and paint the damned stonehorn.  I did make it out this week to buy some paints needed for the monster's fur, so I have less of an excuse, but I am out of Nuln Oil, as is my local store, so I am limited to base coats at the moment.

Anyway, as I am slowly posting up stuff I either just completed, or completed a while ago and never took a picture, here are a couple more shots with the iPhone, inspired by the starring roles they have played in my recent games:

Skrag the 'not-so-dangerous' Slaughterer:


And, I just love my giant.  He is definitely my favorite model so far of what I have painted.  There are some close second place models, and units.  His skin highlights look a bit washed out in the pic here because of bad lighting, but its what I have at the moment:


I am working on a second Ironblaster, which I have been taking lots of WIP shots for, so check back this week for updates on that.

Really beautifully giant there Havoc. Hats of to you for that one.

I make no bones about the fact that i love a good giant and that one is a beauty mate!

I really like all the detail on the dragon hide loin cloth, and the skin looks excellent. I really like the bright colour of the villagers tunic too, it sets the whole thing off nicely. But for me it has to be his filthy toe nails that take the crown.
It stands to reason that if you go rampaging across fjords and valleys, through rivers and woods, bogs and deserts then you may just pick up some of the journey on your journey. It looks like this guy did! Nice work all round and yet another example of how a good base can really make a model. You should be proud of this guy he looks excellent.

here, feed him this Gnoblar i'm bunging you...may keep him quiet until his next outing!

G_H

Nice updates!

Modeling/Sculpting a Gorger

So, Zolas suggested I do a video on sculpting at one point.  As I lack the equipment, software, and skill to create a video, I figured I would do my best in my latest sculpting adventure of posting lots of work in progress (WIP) pictures and taking good notes.  In the future, as my skill increases and I have the time, perhaps I can make a video.  This will be a running commentary on my progress, and Zolas, this is for you, although as you will see, I am just figuring this out myself.

I have received lots of compliments on my first real sculpting effort, my BSB (very humbling considering what I have seen from the people who offered it, so thank you), and this Gorger will only be my second attempt work.  What that means is that this will be written from the perspective of someone new to the process, and I will do my best to illustrate the difficulties of a novice and how I overcame them.  This will by no means be the expert advice on anything.  This is for any newbies like myself who happen upon my Gnoblog and are looking for advice.  This is how I do it.

Up front, let me say that the most important things when attempting something like this are a stubborn refusal to give up when things are not working, patience, and lots of time.  If you know yourself to be easily frustrated, take caution, as things won’t work right, you will have to spend a lot of time trying to get things “just so” and it can be demoralizing.  I have found that sculpting greenstuff is just like painting, in that you just need practice to get better and figure it out, no matter how hard the technique.  Otherwise, some handy things are:

-A 36” roll of kneadanite/greenstuff bought off e-bay (plenty of extra so you don’t stress).  Don’t bother with GW/GF9/(the standard vendors): they are ridiculously overpriced and are just repackaging what you can buy direct. (~10 USD) ***Credit to G_H for teaching me that***
-A set of modelling/sculpting tools (Cheap set off amazon works best, 10-20 USD)
-A spool of some thin gauge wire (1-2 USD)
-A large cork from Hobby Lobby/Michaels (1-2 USD)
-Wax paper, wife’s rolling pin, cup of water
-Good lighting and background music

First thing is to figure out what you want to do.  You really need to have some good inspiration beforehand, and a solid idea/picture of what you want to do.  If you just wing it, you’ll get what you planned for: nothing, or an ambiguous mass of model.  For my BSB, I made a sketch in my painting journal.


For the Gorger, I really like the picture in the Ogre Kingdoms Army Book, so that’s where I am aiming.  I think it will make a badass model if I can pull it off. 


So, step one is to create an “Armature”, or basically a wire stick figure and figure out general pose mechanics and posturing.  Proportion is important here since you will cover this thing with putty, so make sure you compare this to a purchased ogre.  I want my Gorger to be a bit more massive than a standard Ogre, since it is kind of a monster like thing.


Now, I found that it is really hard to put green stuff around bent limbs with any good proportions.  The idea is to have a base underneath that you build up from, so an even application is important.  I found it easiest to straighten all the limbs out, then apply a bit of green stuff to fill out the body, then bend the portion back into the pose I want before sculpting outside layers.


Once this dries, probably overnight, you can start adding layers to make the muscles.  I find it easiest to start small (you can always add more on top) and take a tiny ball/line of green stuff in the approximate shape the muscle will take and apply it, then smooth it out and into the rest of the figure.  Repeat this process as needed for all the small details (really small little bits for the ankles and protruding bone portions of the knee and feet)


I keep struggling with feet, as I did with the BSB, only this time I don’t have an Ogre I can make a mold from, so work by trial and error to get the shape and then add a toe region and basically split out the toes.  Simple little things like flattening the top of a toe makes it look like a little toenail.  Here I went muscle by muscle, adding a little roll and smoothing it into the model.  One of the more frustrating things is all the hard work you do and then your fat fingers blob some detail or get fingerprints all over a section.  That’s why I use a cork when able and work from the feet up, gives you something to hold on to and areas to brace with that haven’t been worked on.  You have to do this in phases so you can touch areas for support after they have dried without ruining your work.

Make sure you dip your tools in water periodically to keep the green stuff from sticking to them and on the model.  You are bound to get fingerprints and scratchy tool marks all over the surfaces you will want smooth.  I find it best to move on to a different portion or set it down for 15 min, and while the putty is still malleable but a little more firm, use a round tool with some water to gently smooth over the surfaces.  I really worried about the BSB and getting the skin smooth, but after a layer of Primer and painting, some of the marks you worry about and look bad when still green will be non-existent later.  So, get it as smooth as you can but know it won’t be perfect.


Working the stomach I found very challenging, so much so that I called it for the night, but basically I spread a thick layer of greenstuff over the lower torso and, starting with a general outline, then carved out the abdominal muscles I saw in the inspiration photo using a small curved tool.  The hardest part was keeping it shallow while still rounding the edges out.  I haven’t decided if I like the “Cut” look for the gorger’s stomach, so I am going to wait until I get his chest, head and arms done, and I might go back over and add a bit more of a gut/beer belly similar to the GW Giant’s stomach.  Right now though, I am sticking with the look in the picture.


I am going to have to do something about that right foot, but I will go back and fix it up later.

Just like I straightened out portions of the legs prior to adding green stuff, I found it easier to keep the other limbs flexible so I could adjust the posture as needed, that’s why the arms are still uncovered.  It also helps to keep them out of the way until I am ready.  One thing I keep having to tell myself is to remember that no body part is going to look right until I have the neighboring portion made, so I need to wait on the stomach until the chest and back are done to really understand how it will fit.  I also imagine that in doing the back, obliques, lats and rib areas that his core will fill out a bit more and he will become wider and “meatier”.  Right now its too thin for me.  But, as it is time to call it a night, let this firm up and I will work on the chest and back tomorrow.

So, that sums up 3 nights of sculpting (if you are trying to gauge how long the process is).  Generally, I would say I worked for about 2 hours each night, but each 2 hour block had plenty of distractions.  Thanks for reading if you did, if not, I hope you got something from the pictures.

Check back in a few days for more updates.

Excellent progress Havoc and thanks for the PM!  That sculpting is really coming along.  Really appreciate the detail in your stage by stage sculpting.  Be sure I will probably refer to it in future.

I have myself done some sculpting on my Giant (belts and straps etc mostly) I have'y posted it up yet as I have a few other things on the go currently.  But I certainly got the whole damn my fat clumsy fingers moments a few times where I had to re-smooth my work out.  Can really get you after a awhile.

+1 Gnoblar for a well deserved amount of hard work on green stuff and typing alike!

Looking forward to seeing more!

Kind regards Zolas.

Your tutorial is done well...The tip for using small balls for each muscle and working them in is great. Also the tip to work from the bottom up to avoid fingerprints helps.
From the look of your work it seems you have a good grasp of anatomy...or are you working from pics to help with muscle positioning?

Wow, it's sickening to note that's your second play with green stuff.  Sad Panda right here. 

Well spin my nipple nuts and send me to Alaska...that is some bad ass greenstuff work right there!

This guy is going to look awesome when he is finished and you sir have some serious GS skills going on right there!

saying "I can't wait to see more" doesn't cut it at all...I am itching to see you finish this guy, the fact that your regular Gorger has only one pose has always bothered me. This guy rocks that right out of the stadium. Keep up the great work mate!

G_H

I finally got a new Keg of Smithwick’s for my Kegerator, so that’s really good news for me but potentially bad news for my painting and modelling…not going to get a lot done...  But, at least I will have less inhibition towards trying new methods, right?

@Zolas: thank you!

@Warlordsteve: I really appreciate that you think the tutorial is well done, especially coming from someone who has sculpted entire armies.  As for the muscles, although I wish I could say I just walk over to a mirror….ha, no I refer to the picture in the book quite often, as well as just basic knowledge I have picked up over the years about muscle groups.

@Jimmy: It’s the second model I have attempted to make from scratch, not attempted to use GS…and I did tons of research and reading before/between every attempt. 

@G_H: Your comments motivated me to get some more work done tonight.  Thanks for that.

So, it has been a few days but tonight was the only night I was able to do any work, so I figured I would provide an update.  I don’t have a lot of time, but I do have a lot of beer to drink, so I there will be less writing in this portion and more pictures that I hope speak for themselves (grammar and beer are not two things that go well together).

So, I left off not sure how I felt about the abdominals, but I need to work the surrounding areas.  I mentioned that I like to use small strips that generally form to the shape/muscle to which I aim.  Next up is going to be the rib cage (which proves to be quite difficult).  So, I start by adding equal volumes to the area and then smoothing them in as such:


I repeated this a few times, until I had the general shape of the rib cage that I liked, and then I realize that one side was a little higher than the other, so you can see where I put a little touch-up on the left.


With the general size/shape/outline matching my picture, I tried to (using a sharp, curved tool) lightly indent the outline of the rib muscles.  This was very challenging, and I found myself after 4 or 5 attempts just accepting that I should move on and maybe come back to it later.  I liked the left side better than the right, and the right will have an arm over it, so who cares?  After every attempt I didn’t like, I just grabbed a flat, wide tool, dipped it in some water, and smoothed the area back over before trying again.  Finally, after giving up, I decided to move up to the pectoral muscles (this guy is supposed to be skinny, so no man-boobs).  You can see how I started just with small bits.  After smoothing out the first pair, it wasn’t enough muscle mass, so I added a second round.


My plan was not to do his loin cloth until I did the whole body, but at this point, I wasn’t sure how to approach his shoulders and back, and something told me doing his pants would help…or at least let me stall on it a bit longer.  For this, I used wax paper to flatten out a small but and then cut it into the shap of a cloth, with bulky parts in the front and skinny sections over the legs.  At first, I tried fur, thinking it would be easier to do than torn cloth.  I was wrong, it looked really bad.  So, I tore it all off and went for cloth.  That worked out alright, cutting out the same portions again and tearing up the bottom.  It was challenging to get the part around the stomach to sit right, I ended up rolling out a small rope “belt” and then pressed down the top over the belt, so it looked like it was hanging naturally, turned out pretty well.  Then it was a matter of using a small pointed tool with a slight bit of water to line out the areas the cloth should be bunching up. 


You can also see in this picture that I started his back.  I figured I would work from the inside out, starting with the spine.  I thought about the back of the ogres/humans how the muscles stand out from the spine, so I began just by taking two long round strips of GS and laying them on either side of the spine area, then smoothing them down and in.  I plan to work the lower sections of this out into his obloquies later, similar to the Giant model’s back.  But, at this point I had used up the green stuff prepared, so I decided to call it a night.  I typically one take small, .25 inch bits off of the roll of GS I have, and so I had mixed up 2 x .25 inch bits tonight, one for the chest, the other when I started the loin cloth and back.

So, for overall progress, here is a shot of my gorger compared to my inspiration picture from the book.  I think he is coming along nicely.


One other thing I did that I forgot was I added a tiny bit of GS to his right thigh, trying to make it look more natural, as the muscles bulged too much, so evened that out a bit.  Well, I hope it has been a good read for you, or at least pictures that tell the story.  So long for now.

Fairly unproductive week, I have been spending a lot of time messing around trying my hand at sculpting his head and face and not liking what I have done, scrapping it and starting over.  Same with his arms.  A few things I did to this point is fill out his midsection, particularly around the side and obliques, give him some lat and shoulder muscles and fill out his back.  I do have his face coming along, so that will be the next post.

Oh man! This is some amazing sculpting work! Fantastic! Absolutely amazing stuff

A big thanks for the tutorial, I can't wait to see and read the rest of it. That Gorger is going to be a stunning miniature. I love how you've managed to capture the artwork style in the model itself. Amazing! I will be referring to this tutorial in the future

Thanks! And keep it up, I absolutely can't wait to see this fella finished!

- Loran

PS. have a gnoblar!

This Gorger of yours is coming along fantastically I'm eagerly awaiting the end result. Your sculpting is just insane! Sleep with one eye open though, I may or may not have to hunt you down, kidnap you and stick you in a cage to do a load of work on my armies! 

Agree with the others here that gorger is really coming along!  And boy does he fit the bill to that picture!  Tell me are you planning on having him hold a marauder in that arm like the picture too?

Kind regards Zolas.

@Loran, I am glad I could live up to the expectation from the picture, and that my 'tutorial' will help someone.

@MasteroDisaster, thank you, its good to hear the encouragement because I actually have really been struggling with him in the late stages and had been starting to feel negative about it.  Although, I don't really think my sculpting is insane, its very good to hear.

@Zolas, thank you very much, I don't know about him holding a marauder, as I am not sure I am up to sculpting a secondary body on the miniature.  I do happen to have the fleeing peasant from the Giant box set, and I have been contemplating if/how I want to use him for that role.  I had thought to adjust from the picture and have the guy dangling down, with an arm torn off and held in the other hand, as if he had just been ripped apart. 

I actually have had to take a break from sculpting for work, and I also just wanted to play.  So, yesterday, I managed to squeeze in a 1500pt game vs Wood Elves.  It didn't go fantastic, and I was not sure I even wanted to do a battle report.  But, I figured that I made so many errors that I (an maybe others) could learn from an analysis of what happened.

You can read it in the Guts and Glory section, or by following this link:
http://www.ogrestronghold.com/forum/index.php?topic=28953.0

Up front, it is a frustrating loss because I made a lot of errors, and I helped my opponent in many ways by giving him advice and letting him get away with less than permissible rules (i.e. skirmisher models marching basically through a tower instead of measuring the long way around) that I chose not to mention in my report.  Well, I wanted a challenge and that's what I got...and I got beat.

As always, thanks for reading and I will have updates at the end of the weekend.

As a side note, I played 2800 points vs High Elves (Father-in-law) today.  I wasn’t a great strategic battle or one I feel merits a full battle report, but some thoughts are as follows:
1.  Hunter on a Stonehorn is actually pretty darn mean, I expected him to get shot to pieces, but the hunter actually made him last.  This duo actually dominated (just elves though).  Running him next to a giant helped.
2.  I didn’t run a firebelly and I didn’t miss it, although in a tournament I feel I am going to regret it if I don’t bring the hellheart and dispel scroll, which means I need would 2 casters.
3.  Same on the second unit of leadbelchers that I usually run.  Both these guys and the firebelly were sacrificed for the Hunter/Stonehorn team.  I also  went 1x4 MFC instead of 2 units of 3 MFC.  The one unit was definitely shot to pieces, but 1 survived…minor damage in combat, took out a repeater bolt thrower, but otherwise a pin cushion (Constant target of 4 repeater bolt throwers and bowmen).

My list (details omitted for brevity):
Lv 4 SM
BSB
Hunter on Stonehorn
10 IG
10 Ogres
4 MFC
6 Leadbelchers
Sabretusk
Sabretusk
Ironblaster
Giant

High Elves
Lv 4 Wizard (Shadow magic)
Lv 2 Wizard (Shadow)
30 Lothern Sea Guard
40 Spearmen
24 White Lions
2x5 Fast Cavalry
Great Eagle
10 Dragon Princes
4x Repeater Bolt Throwers

After his vanguard and his turn 1


Beginning of my turn 2 (his Sea Guard on the left failed a charge against the Stonehorn)


It was a battle for the pass type scenario he went first, the tower in the middle we ruled impassible terrain after the game started (although, it would have been nice to house my Leadbelchers there…)  He had some unlucky rolling (Miscast turn 1, first spell, making his Lv 2 wizard Lv 0 and losing the Pendulum and Pit of Shades).  In the end, my opponent conceded when all he had remaining was his giant spearmen block and his full Dragon Princes, and a few stubborn white lions who had just lost combat to my Irongut block.  At this point, it was the beginning of his turn 4.  I argued that he still had a chance to make it quite a close game, by getting the dual flank charge on my Ironguts (or running off the sole remaining Mournfang with the reavers) and also getting the flank charge into the Stonehorn.  The stonehorn had overrun into the bolt thrower on my previous turn.  It would have looked like this:



Ultimately he quit out of frustration, he felt his luck would stay bad and he didn’t have a chance at winning either combat.  I thought he did, and the resulting point swing would be HUGE if either of my units were run down.  What do you think?

Also, here is a question I will also pose in the FAQ section:  What happens if you successfully charge a unit that subsequently dies before combat (as a result of the shooting phase)?  Do the charging units get to overrun?  Here is the situation: My opponent flank charged my Sabretusk with his spear block.  Then in the shooting phase, he fells a nearby Giant who subsequently falls on the Sabretusk, smashing the poor cat into the ground.  Common sense-wise, I would think that if a giant fell in front of you, it would stop your forward charge; rules wise, its unclear if they would overrun, as no combat is ever fought.

I have made some decent progress on the Gorger.  You’ll see I strayed from the picture a bit on the positioning of his victim.  This is for 3 reasons:
1.  I am not that good, and after an initial attempt, I realize that not only did I not prep for this in the armature, but I am not up for sculpting a secondary model to be his victim. 
2.  Laziness.  I just want to get this guy done, and I the guy from the giant box works.  But, I tried putting him above the head as in the picture, but the model just wasn’t natural.
3.  The head/hair underneath would become very hard to keep sculpting as well as more challenging to paint. 

Something I learned here: its all the little additions that really make the model look good.  He was looking pretty rough in my eyes until I started to add the hair and bones and spikes.  I still have to finish his right arm and hands, and add a few more spikes and bone bits.  I also plan to do some cloth wraps or some sort of “scrappy” ornamentation as well.




If anyone has any good ideas or recommendations for what they think would look cool, as far as minor details and such, please let me know.

Nice battle rep, even if you don't think the game merits one A shame that the game ended prematurely, but that is the fickle nature of luck... I especially liked the map, as it made understanding and picturing the stuff easier. Sadly something that is missing from the WD "battle reports", which are more like little stories. Good stuff

And on to the Gorger: That looks amazing! This has really got me fired up about sculpting, as I haven't done anything this ambitious yet. Mostly just doing little additions, so I'm thinking about trying out something like this. Probably need to order more GS though
The hair with the spikes looks great. Can you take a couple of close-ups of the face and hair? I'd love to see them in even more detailed pics, as those ones already look amazing And the victim coupled with the pose works very well. Great work! Can't wait to see this fella painted

- Loran

Really amazing Gorger mate!  It's hard to believe this is your second sculpt!  The extra bits added in really help and I love the hanging peasant.  Truly great work.

+1 Gnoblar  to you!

Kind regards Zolas.

Looks Great!!
Nice work!

A huge day for Havoc Ogres: I completed the sculpt (complete is a funny word, as you really just decide when enough is enough) of my Gorger inspired by the picture in the book.  More good news: I also put together my first Maneater, a gift I received over the weekend.  So, my ogre Horde now has its first actual maneater and its first Gorger.  I do have 2 sets of the Golgfag model (unassembled), as well as the finished double-pistol bruiser/tyrant (the old limited one) posted earlier on my blog, and another that isn’t assembled.  I think I could probably play them all as standard Maneaters (convert one of the Golgfags?  Maybe trade him, I dunno) and finally field a unit.  See what all the hub-bub is about.

@ Loran: I cannot get my iPhone to focus on any shots any closer than what I have.  I may steal my wife’s nice camera and snap a few for you if I have time this week.

@Zolas: Thanks for the Gnoblar!  I still think I may add more…maybe some straps or bandage like wraps?  I was going to, but when looking at the model and the picture (which doesn’t have any), I couldn’t decide where to put them.  What do you think?

@Zsoulles: Thank you, and again for the help/advice.  Any tips on how to smooth out the rough areas?  Do you just use a really super fine sand/polishing paper?

Anyway, on to the pictures:










And last, here he is with the new Ninja Maneater:


So, these guys will get moved up the project list to paint first (next was going to be my stonehorn…and my second ironblaster that is half painted and assembled…still on hold).  Project list is as follows, and assumes I don’t buy any new models:
1.  Paint Gorger
2.  Paint Stonehorn
3.  Paint Thundertusk
4.  Clean-up/Paint 4 leadbelchers and 2 sabretusks I picked up at flea market
5.  Finish painting second Ironblaster
6.  Assemble Golgfag
7.  ?Convert second Golgfag?
8.  Assemble second Pistol-bruiser to be a maneater
9.  Paint “maneaters”
10.  Model or sculpt Viking/dwarfish maneaters
11.  Put together/paint remaining 8 or so ogres I have in bits
12.  Paint 100 Gnoblars, assemble some more

Man, I have a lot left to go!  Who knows, maybe I can fit in a game this year...  Thanks for reading and posting.

Great looking model mate.
Seeing it from concept to finished has been very inspiring....you may even have inspired me to have a crack at a gorger myself one day

If you were going to pop some bandages on I would keep it minimal and scrappy looking.  Maybe one near one of his eyes, as Gorgers are ment to be sensative to light.  (Lots of time in caves) and maybe a little round the wrists or just one wrist.  That's the way I would go.

Kind regards Zolas. 

@Zsoulles: Thank you, and again for the help/advice.  Any tips on how to smooth out the rough areas?  Do you just use a really super fine sand/polishing paper?

You absolutely can. I would let the model rest a few days first it will harden a little and take being sanded easier.. Any spot that you cant smooth out that way, just mix a little bit of greenstuff((mix it really sticky 40-45%blue/55-60 yellow)) and skin that area with a really thin layer, and just take your time and smooth out spot after spot..
Other than the above, all I can add is, Patience and silicone tipped sculpting tools...

Other than the above, all I can add is, Patience and silicone tipped sculpting tools...

Silicone tipped sculpting tools...need to get some of those.  Mine are all metal and resemble what dentists have used on my teeth.  That's actually been a source of frustration and keep thinking that there has to be a better way

Played a massive game last night, 6000 points against a High Elf and Dark elf team.  We didn't have time to finish, but I think I'd have won, as did my opponents; but we ended the game while it was still too close to call.  Overall, I was happy and had fun but I was super disappointed in a few things:

1. Skrag once again didn't do much of value.

2. Hunter on Stonehorn was straight up massacred by Hellebron, no chance, as was a tyrant with the Trickster's helm and a 5+ ward save. Not making that mistake again.

3. My poor Gorger that I just spent all that time modeling soaked up fire from 3 repeater bolt throwers and died before doing anything. On a positive note, I proxied the Ninja Maneater as a second Gorger and he lived to take out all 3 of the bolt throwers and get stuck in with some Ellyrian Reavers  before the game ended.

4. Lore of the beasts: it was awesome for exactly one turn when my gutstar was charged by his witch elf deathstar with a caldron.  I had a thundertusk just to the side, taking away ASF for the majority, and savage beasts on 3 characters plus Wyssans on the unit. It was glorious for that turn but probably not necessary to win. Trollguts and toothcracker probably would have had the same combat result, but the lore attribute did little compared to gaining wounds back.  Just my perspective

Have to say I am in awe of that gorger and as far as your battle we all win some and lose some, but as long as you have fun thats all that really matters. Can't wait to see your gorger finished by the way.

Have to say I am in awe of that gorger and as far as your battle we all win some and lose some, but as long as you have fun thats all that really matters. Can't wait to see your gorger finished by the way.

He is next up for a paint job.  Right now I am finishing a long overdue Stonehorn.  I also have a standard gorger in the mail, I may wait and do a test run paint job on him. 

And with rare exception, I nearly always have fun.  I just like playing.

Had a little battle over the weekend, I decided I would put the battle report in my Gnoblog instead of the Guts and Glory section for a change, since I haven’t updated in a while.  Yet another game where my new gorger is not in use…this time by a fluke.

3500 Points vs Tamurkhan WoC and Demons

I am not overly familiar with Tamurkhan, but my friend wanted to try running him in a list.  Apparently, besides swaying the game dramatically depending on who has won the most combats in a game turn, he also allows the player to bring both Demons and WoC together in the same army.  My buddy particularly likes Slaanesh, so everything was Slaanesh.  We rolled for scenario and got Blood and Glory.  So, I ended up with 6 fortitude points and he had 7 (I believe), and because we are playing 3500, 4 is the breaking point.

Started as a 3500 point game, but my friend left a unit of Furies at home, but didn’t realize it until after we started, so I just dropped the Gorger which hadn’t come on the board yet.  Throughout the game, he is keeping the tally for Tamurkhan, but it doesn’t affect the game much, so I don’t track in this battle report.

My List:
-Lv 4 SM: Hellheart, Talisman of Pres, Ironcurse Icon, GW.  Spells: Bonecrusher, Bullgorger, Toothcracker, Trollguts
-Firebelly Lv 2: Dispel Scroll, Potion of Speed, AHW;  FireBall, Flaming Sword of Rhuin
-BSB: Greedy Fist, Dragonhelm, Ironfist, HA
-Hunter on Stonehorn: Trickster’s Helm, Great Weapon
11xOgres: Full CMD, Ironfist
11xIronguts: Full CMD, Std Discipline
6xLeadbelchers, Mus
6xLeadbelchers, Mus
Sabretusk
Sabretusk
4xMournfang, Mus, Standard (Dragonhide)
Ironblaster
Giant

What he had from Left to right:
20 Chosen with Sorcerer (Lv4)
5 Seekers of Slaanesh (Fast Cav)
20 Daemonettes of Slaanesh with Herald (Lv1)
Warshrine with Lv2 Sorcerer
Tamurkhan (unsure of dragon type)
25 Chaos Warriors W/ BSB
Hellflayer of Slaanesh (Big Chariot)
Slaughterbrute
Seeker Chariot
10 Forsaken



Rolling for Blood and Glory, I realize a few things.  First, he has no ranged capability, so I should maximize this advantage; he has to come to me.  Second, I cannot be aggressive: I have fewer fortitude points and any two combats (involving banners) going badly will cause me to lose the game.  Third: my normal HQ unit (Ironguts with general and BSB) is both my strongest unit, but also my critical vulnerability.  I need to protect it.

So, given the terrain, there is only really one good area with any fields of fire, right down the center and slightly to the right.  Given the 9” deployment limit to the sides, this will constrict his set up so I can create a pretty good engagement area between my leadbelchers, firebelly, and Ironblaster.  I use a hut to anchor the flank of my Ironguts against flank charges, and figure I will try to run my big fast stuff around the right flank, hoping for some late game flank/rear support.  I am not quite sure what he planned in his deployment.

He vanguards up his Seekers (The mysterious forest roll is a the Poison one…damn, I planned to run in and smash them right away with my giant…no armor, high probability of auto wounds…maybe not worth it) as well as his nasty chariots.  I think I can weather the chariot charges, but I would rather charge him.

Turn 1 Ogres
I know I won’t make good on any charges just yet, so instead I move my big stuff up the left flank, reposition my MFC a little closer for a countercharge, move the IB up the right side.  I also sacrifice the Cats to redirect the seekers and the Hellflayer.  In my magic phase, right off the bat on 3 dice the Firebelly miscasts the Flaming Sword on a unit of Leadies.  Small blast, kills an ogre and wounds the FB.  I get off bonecrusher as well, and it ticks 2 wounds off of the Hellflayer.  Shooting: the IB misfires, but luckily just spins around.  Luckily, the leadbelchers roll huge on shooting, both units, and they plaster both chariots.





Chaos
He predictably charges his seekers into the left cat, and also his deamonettes and Tamurkhan into the other, and moves everything else forward.  He gets 7 dice for the winds of Magic, so no big chaos effect.  He casts some spell on the Giant that forces him to roll Ld checks on 3 dice, I let it pass, to which he casts a spell that does wounds, and continues to do wounds for every failed Ld Check.  I attempt to dispel, but dice don’t comply.  Luckily, as I suspected, the Giant’s great Ld holds and he comes away with only a single wound.  In close combat, both cats die.  He overruns with Tamurkhan, but reforms with the other units.  Luckily, the dangerous terrain from the poison thicket is working in my favor because of his numbers, and he is losing a couple guys every time a unit moves.



Turn 2 Ogres
Tamurkhan is right in front of my Ironguts, but I figure that I would rather take a charge and try to reduce his wounds via shooting; but on my left side, I have some pretty nice potential overruns lined up if I can smash through his seekers.  So, charge big.  Mournfang and Giant into the front and ‘11’ on the charge of the Stonehorn into their flank.  Impact hits are going to be massive, 7D3+3 impact hits.  If everything goes right, I can overrun the MFC and Giant into the Chosen, and the hunter/stonehorn into the flank of the Deamonettes.  In magic, I start with Flaming Sword of Rhuin on the Leadbelchers again, hoping to shoot Tamurkhan off the board, but he sees it coming and dispels it.  Luckily, this drains much of his dispel dice, and he rolls poorly and cannot dispel both Trollguts and Toothcracker, which I get off on the Ironguts.  My hope is to either protect the unit that is my critical vulnerability, or dissuade him from charging where he might lose, maybe he will hit the leadblechers (No banners) and run off the board.  Shooting doesn’t do much, I get a less-than-average number of shots across 12 leadbelchers, lots of misses and he saves the few wounds that manage to get past high toughness.  I also attempt a shot at the slaughterbrute, and this time I only roll a 2 on the artillery die, then it only bounces far enough to kill 2 forsaken and falls short of the actual target.  In close combat, the Impact hits from the stonehorn alone on his Seekers is enough to wipe the unit.  Time for overrun!  In order to make room for all to overrun, I have to start off with the MFC, or else the hunter/stonehorn will block them and be open to a flank charge when it hits the Deamonettes.  I roll a massive ‘4’ inches even with swiftstride…not only is it not enough to make it to the Chosen, but it blocks the hunter/stonehorn from overrunning, who in turn is blocking up the Giant.  Crap.  That didn’t go well, not even enough to clear and I am stopped up with my three big hitters in a bad way.



Fortitude count: 6 to 6 (Seekers had a banner)

Chaos
My opponent knows its charge or be charged and seizes on the opportunity.  Chosen and Warshrine go into the Mournfang; Tamurkhan and the Deamonettes charge into my Ironguts, going for the win.  Everything else continues to amble forward.  For magic, he rolls and 8 for the winds of magic/reign of chaos.  Appropriate for his slaanesh army… most of the units are fine, but the Hunter/Stonehorn rolls a 15 on 3d6 and takes 6 wounds!  Not knowing the specifics of the spell, we distribute the wounds as shooting, the Hunter taking a wound and the stonehorn soaking up 5.  Damn, that guy just became really fragile, but luckily he is now in the back field of the opponent and maybe can pull off one good flank or rear charge.  I know there is a chance I will lose my SM with the Hellheart in combat, and I know that his spells are going to really hurt me, so I unleash the Hellheart.  I only roll a ‘2’, so only the sorcerer in the deamonettes is in range…but I just want to shut down his magic.  And I do, he gets magical feedback, which doesn’t cause any wounds but does cost him 6 of his 8 magic dice…good enough.  Now, I really thought that my MFC would get cut apart by his chosen and the warshrine, but they don’t.  They make a lot of saves and walk away with only 2 wounds on the unit!  Thank the Maw for that good armor save.  The MFC strikes back, with poison, and deals 2 wounds to the shrine and just a ton to the chosen.  Amazingly, they lose combat by a lot, are no longer steadfast, and both run.  I chose to run down the Chosen (I figure the swiftstride chariot stands a better chance to outrun me, and I was right). 

Combat with Tamurkhan:  He issues a challenge.  I know he has a flaming sword, and my BSB has a 2+ save vs flaming attacks, so I figure, what the hell, I will go for it.  I accept with my BSB…doesn’t work out.  But, the Deamonettes have ASF, and they go for broke on the Ironguts…and whiff big time.  2 total wounds from all their attacks.  Against T5 Ironguts with 4+ regen, they couldn’t make anything stick.  To the challenge:  although Tamurkhan only manages a single wound on the BSB (saved 2 of the 3 wounds inflicted), his giant toad-dragon thing spits a mean, non-flaming breath weapon on him that takes his remaining 3 wounds (I lost the trollguts regen from the flaming sword wound) and the BSB dies, giving up a point of fortitude, but not before causing 2 wounds on the dragon.  But, the Ironguts get to swing back into the Deamonettes.  I don’t get a lot of hits, but what does hit wounds (8 or 9), and then I stomp away 3 more.  He is not steadfast and needs double ones to pass.  He fails both, the deamonettes lose a bunch of models from instability and Tamurkhan flees! Lesson learned for my opponent.




Fortitude count: 5 remaining for Ogres (BSB lost) and 5 for Chaos (banner from Chosen lost).

Turn 3 Ogres
I know it will take me off the board, but I think charging the Warshrine off the table with the MFC is preferable to letting that pesky thing and wizard live on to rally, plus it will safeguard a banner if my opponent pulls something tricky.  Also, my ogres with the firebelly charge the forsaken.  The hunter/stonehorn move around for a rear charge on his chaos warriors, and the giant moves up as well for a supporting flank charge.  The IB continues to creep up the flank, this time lining up a shot through the slaughterbrute and potentially onto Tamurkhan.  During my magic phase, 9 dice for magic; I manage to power through trollguts and toothcracker from the Lv 4 onto the Ironguts again after he dispels the flaming sword on the leadies. 

Shooting the 12 leadbelchers at Tamurkhan is a bust again, I cannot seem to get through the toughness, the law of averages is failing me in shooting.  The ironblaster finally manages to score a hit on the Slaughterbrute, but only takes off 3 wounds.  Close combat: the deamonettes try their hand but only get a single wound on the Ironguts (killing one), who in turn wipe the unit out.  At this point, I have broken his fortitude and the game ends.  I offer to fight it out if he wants to see if he can win on VPs, but he declines, seeing his chaos block about to be smashed.



OGRE VICTORY over Tamurkhan!  I didn’t kill him, barely scratched him, and the foul demon/warrior escaped.  But, it was a sweet victory for me…a couple of close calls, but I only lost my BSB, 2 sabretusks, an Irongut, and a single Ogre that blew up from my own miscast.  Wow.

MVP Award for this one goes to the Mournfang Cavalry for standing up to the charge and running both units off without losing a model!

Lessons Learned
1.  My opponent later admitted he should have either gone for the leadblechers for the charge instead of the beefed up ironguts, or gone in and “Challenge protected” his Tamurkhan.  Either way, it was definitely a mistake to charge the deamonettes in as well, as they provided massive amounts of CR to me, causing him to lose.
2.  Another lackluster game for the Ironblaster…I am beginning to think I should leave the guy in the box.  He usually is chaff-charged by eagles, blows up, or does very little (couple of wounds in this game, usually a single repeater boltthrower).  Game prior against Elves, it only managed to kill a Hydra the whole game, and that took 3-4 attempts.  Of course, the game I leave him behind I will wish I had a cannon.
3.  Two units of 6 leadbelchers proved very effective at the right targets, but couldn’t scratch high-toughness things with good armor and ward saves, no matter how many shots are poured in.

As always, thanks for reading and commenting.  All comments are welcome, especially please if I play something wrong, as I am always trying to get better!

Wow brutal battle did seem to go your way for most of it.  I really like your list as well!  Stonehorn and a Giant woohoo!  Great read thanks for posting up.

Kind regards Zolas.

Loving this blog! Keep up the good work!!!

Going to sit down with a coffee at lunch and read it all thoroughly!

Rich

Yeah great BR. That Tamurkhan sure is a tough little bugger to beat. His Toad Dragon Bubeleos or whatever it's called is a nightmare. You can't even Pit of Shades or Purple Sun it, it just takes D6 wounds instead of dying outright. He is an utter beast and he only comes in at around 600 points for his basic form. The Tyrant form comes in just shy of 1k if memory serves. Still, you managed to keep him off your back for the most part so well done!

The Tamurkhan book is cool because you can combine any of the forces of chaos, not just WoC and Daemons but Beastmen and Chaos Dwarfs can also be put into one army following the specific rules set out in the WoC section. I often use Tamurkhans right hand man Kayzk the Befouled. He's epic! 

Just read through all of the blog, really great work and one of the best paint jobs on you ogres I have seen on here! Great work! +1 Gnoblar!

@Zolas: I have been running a lot of stonehorn lately, partially because I am painting him and partially because I want to see how the Stonehorn/hunter really fares.  I originally stopped with the stonehorn, because he died to shooting too easily.  But, I found with the Hunter added, it gives him some decent longevity.

@RJ_Payne (Rich): Wow, thank you.  I have to say, I am not sure I agree as there are many very good armies around here that I drew inspiration from, and still aspire to replicate.  For most of my paint jobs, I tend to try and replicate what I see.  But, thank you again, that is very high praise.

@Mastero: I don’t actually know what variant he was playing, as the model was a proxy and I never asked.  But, yeah, tough flippin cookie!

Stonehorn WIP

Here is a work in progress for my stonehorn.  A very challenging model.  I tried a few different combinations on the hair, not liking the first few attempts.  I also tried a dry brush (or over-brush, since it wasn’t really dry) technique that I had great success with on the Mournfang and Yhetee, but it didn’t work out very well, so I went back and painted each individual hair…a very painstaking process.  The color scheme I used was:
-Burnt Umber base (Vallejo)
-Flat Earth layer (Vallejo)
-Skragg Brown (GW)
-Orange Brown (Vallejo)
-Golden Brown (Vallejo)
-Dark Sand (Vallejo)
-Pale Sand (Vallejo)



In some spots, such as the legs, I used Agrax Earthshade wash to smooth some parts out and give it the look of a leather hide.  On the lighter undercoat, I used the old Sepia wash.

I went through a few iterations with the straps as well, attempting metallic straps, as I was afraid a brown wouldn’t contrast enough.  Pig Iron under a Nuln Oil and Agrax Earthshade wash looked alright, but I decided that US Field Drab (greyish brown), washed with Agrax actually looked better and stood out against the fur hide decently, so I am going with that.

The horns are a challenge, as all black is.  Dry brush looked too messy, so I re-coted it black for another try.  We will see how the line technique works.  I play to work my way up to a bluish shadow grey.  If that doesn’t work, I will go all grey shades like “Stone” in the stonehorn name.



I also ran a tough game against a Teclis-centric High Elf army tonight.  I thought I was going to lose the game badly.  My Slaughtermaster was neutered first turn by his thing that eats my spell (troll guts).  I thought my deployment was all bad.  He castled in a corner, I was in the other for the most part.  I ended up winning because I waited patiently in the center, letting him creep up on me while I brought my unit of Mournfang around the flank alongside a hunter on the WIP stonehorn.  It took a really long time…4 turns, but I managed to bring them up the flank in full strength.  Took a lot of patience to sit there and get shot at while my shooting was totally ineffective and I should have just skipped my magic phase it was that bad, but it paid off.  I wasn’t going to do a battle report, but thinking about it, perhaps now I will for the next post.

As always, thank you for reading and for the comments.  All are always welcome and appreciated.

First things first; that stonehorn looks amazing mate. The variety of colour in the fur really makes him stand out and it truly is an inspiring paint job. I have one to do myself and after seeing yours i know exactly how i am going to (try) and paint him.

Secondly, thank you for posting up the paints you used to do the stonehorn. All too often it is something that people don't do (because they forget or don't see it as important) but it is a really good way of giving people not only ideas but the tools to carry it off. So thank you.

Lastly, please do the battle report. I know that sometimes Bat reps can seem like allot of work for little return if no one comments on them, this can be a bit soul-destroying. But in this case this game sounds really interesting. We often rush as fast as we can to get out dinner, so sitting back and waiting for your lunch to come to you is a marginally different tactic; especially if it was in the midst of poor making and a slow loss of diners! It sounds interesting so don't be perturbed, please do a write up!

Amazing work mate, keep it up.

G_H

First things first; that stonehorn looks amazing mate. The variety of colour in the fur really makes him stand out and it truly is an inspiring paint job. I have one to do myself and after seeing yours i know exactly how i am going to (try) and paint him.

Secondly, thank you for posting up the paints you used to do the stonehorn. All too often it is something that people don't do (because they forget or don't see it as important) but it is a really good way of giving people not only ideas but the tools to carry it off. So thank you.

Lastly, please do the battle report. I know that sometimes Bat reps can seem like allot of work for little return if no one comments on them, this can be a bit soul-destroying. But in this case this game sounds really interesting. We often rush as fast as we can to get out dinner, so sitting back and waiting for your lunch to come to you is a marginally different tactic; especially if it was in the midst of poor making and a slow loss of diners! It sounds interesting so don't be perturbed, please do a write up!

Amazing work mate, keep it up.

G_H

G_H, this is for you! 

High Elves - Teclis Fight

Played a quick game the other day, only lasted 4 rounds.  I have just slapped around every High Elf army I have faced with my ogres, but admittedly the armies were not competitive builds.  So, I asked my good friend to take the most competitive, mean High Elf list and do all the mean things.  To this, he brought:

-Teclis (Mindrazor, Flaming Sword, Throne of Vines, Purple Sun…basically allowed to pick the best of each lore)
-Special Fire Mage on a Dragon
-Archmage (book of Hoeth)
-Lv 1 or 2 wizard (dispel scroll)
-BSB
-5xDragon Princes
-10xSisters of Avelorn
-10xBowmen
-10xBowmen
-5xEllyrian Reavers
-5xEllyrian Reavers
-Repeater Bolt Thrower
-Phoenix
-30 or so Sea Guard

I tend to run a standard list, and only in bigger point games do I bring large hordes of ogres/ironguts.  What I mean is that I consider my normal “medium” build to be 2-3 units of 8-12 models (including heroes/lords) of ogres or ironguts to fill out my core.  This time though, I wanted to try out the ‘Deathstar’ or “Gutstar” style list, as well as my gorger, and a hunter on a stonehorn.   My list:

-SM Lv 4 (The Maw was exchanged for Spinemarrow, Bonecrusher, Bullgorger, Trollguts) Hellheart, Armor of Destiny
-BSB – Dragonhelm, IF, HA, Crown of Command, Warrior Bane
-Hunter on a Stonehorn – Trickster’s Helm, Great Weapon
-16 Ironguts- Full Cmd, Std o Discipline
-8 Leadbelchers
-4 Mournfang, Std, Mus, HA, IF, Dragonhide
-Sabretusk
-Sabretusk
-Sabretusk
-Gorger
-Ironblaster

In deployment, my opponent castled in one corner.  I considered running straight up the gut, but I knew I risked the countercharges and getting overwhelmed.  So, I decided to attempt an envelopment with the Hunter/Stonehorn and the MFC.  I kept the Ironguts, my main combat power and casting, in the middle for 2 purposes: if he turned to face the flank threat, I take the opportunity with the Ironguts to attack; otherwise, the respect my deathstar commanded meant the majority of his army would stay oriented on it, pinning them in place.  The trick would be timing the Irongut advance so they are not overwhelmed and countercharged, but still pressure enough to keep it as my opponent’s focus.  This is an uncomfortable feeling, considering that the deathstar held nearly half my army points, as well as general and BSB…and basically they are bait.  Granted, they are one big fat, tough piece of bait, but they are mostly isolated and vulnerable to being overwhelmed.



He predictably vanguards his Reavers up as far as possible.

Turn 1
Ogres
Knowing they will just get shot (or charged), I charge 2 of my cats into his each of his reavers.  It’s a gamble, but they are the only things in range of his shooting for the first turn, and thus are likely to just die as pin cushions.  There is an off chance that, between good rolls and failed Fear tests, that the cats could win out in combat and either remove the reavers or at least hold them up.  Unfortunately, both suffer a wound from stand and shoot (..and both will just barely die in combat before striking.  Of note, I let my opponent roll for his horses before my cats, I think that was wrong.  They still die.  Fairly close, but the gamble fails).  Otherwise, I angle up my ranged firepower for some good shots while still staying away from his bows, and I bring the MFC and Stonehorn around the far right flank (with the 3rd sabretusk along for good luck).

Magic is a total bust, I attempt Trollguts on my gutstar, which I get off, but Teclis uses some scroll thing he has that automatically dispels, and then we roll off to see if I forget the spell.  I roll a 1 and he rolls a 6!  I may as well just kiss my magic phase goodbye, as 4 channels each turn seems to put him equal to me in dice nearly every time.  Shooting: Ironblaster goes for the character snipe on Teclis, lined up nicely with the phoenix behind…rolling is low, and he makes his look-out sir, and 2 Sea Guard die.  The leadbelchers need 7’s to hit the Sisters in the forest across the way (we played it wrong, only 6’s for forest as soft cover), and take 2 off.



High Elves
My opponent runs his reavers up to surround the gutstar, same with the flying monsters.  He recognizes that his Dragon Princes are out of the useful range and moves them in.  He doesn’t turn the sisters to face, but side-steps them 2.5 inches away from the MFC, that I need a very long charge to hit (19 inches).  Magic: he casts a whole bunch of stuff, mostly buffs that I let through (i.e. flaming sword on the Sea guard, but they are out of range…he didn’t measure first), it was mostly inconsequential.  Shooting: he starts pining off wounds from the Ironguts as well as a flank shot from the bolt thrower into the Leadbelchers (oops).  I lose one from each unit and some wounds carry over, but that’s it.



Turn 2
Ogres
Gorger shows up, and I place him on the flank of the Repeater Bolt Thrower for a nice overrun into some Bow Elves.  The MFC contemplate the charge, but I am too far out, so I opt to march right up to the edge of the woods along with the Stonehorn.  Leadies reposition themselves to protect from the flank shot, and I reform the Ironguts and start pushing them forward to face the dragon (who I wrongly anticipate will charge).  Magic: I don’t know why I bothered.  Shooting: same sentiment.  Tons of shots from the leadbelchers at the Phoenix do nothing, the single wound is saved with his ward; cannon shot goes 2 inches and then fails to bounce into Teclis (just glad it wasn’t a misfire).  At this point, I am pretty sure I am going to lose, I cannot seem to do any damage, and he is lining up charges, apparently outmaneuvering me and dominating the magic phase.  I expected this, but its an uneasy feeling to watch it happen.



Elves
I think he missed a key opportunity.  Instead of charging the Ironguts with the dragon and phoenix, and potentially causing serious damage or holding them up, he does not.  Granted, I would likely have won, but not without taking serious losses, which is what he needs to inflict.  Instead, he tries to clear my leadblechers with a charge from the Phoenix (a good move if it works…more isolated gutstar, phoenix in the rear of the guts…364 “easy” points, but they are still Ogres).  He faces the sisters to the incoming monster charge, and continues to move the Dragon and Dragon Princes forward, clearly angling for a massive charge into the guts of Dragon and Dragon Princes (and maybe phoenix).  In Magic, my patience is running low and I am afraid I may lose a good opportunity to use the Hellheart, so I pop it now.  3 will hit the Fire Mage, 4 will hit Teclis and his Archmage as well.  HERE WE GO…2!  1 inch shy of even the Fire mage.  Turns out that this magic phase wasn’t that bad anyway…some flaming swords on the Seaguard again, and throne of vines.  I am saving all my dice for a Purple Sun or Mindrazor, which don’t come because he fails to cast something smaller.  Opps.  Shooting: he continues to pour into the Ironguts, who lose a few more wounds.  Sisters do a wound to the MFC.  The Bolt Thrower pivots to deal with the Gorger, single shot, and misses (I was extremely happy with the decision, as he couldn’t even kill it under the best of shots on D3 wounds).  Close Combat: The phoenix hits and causes only a single wound…no thunderstomp…kind of a whiff.  Leadbelchers strike back, causing a wound in return.  Combat turns out to be a draw, but my Musician means they win!  The phoenix holds.  Not quite what my opponent expected.



Turn 3
Ogres
Lets see if my patience pays off…if not, I might lose.  Mournfang charge the Sisters, and although I don’t want to charge with the Stonehorn, I fail the LD check with an 11, and since, technically with the MFC clearing out it is possible for him to charge, I am obligated to do so.  My main concern is both units overrunning off the table and/or not being able to bring combat power to bear on the elf flank.  They both make it in without issue, I fail a dangerous terrain test for another wound.  I forgot to force the terror test, the MFC would have run them down (same result).  Now to the center: the Ironguts into the dragon princes…he had closed his circle in just a little too close.  I decide it is time to break out of the encirclement; after all, I will get charged if I do not.  I needed a ‘7’ on the dice, got an 8!  Oh yeah, the Gorger, gets the charge on the Repeater Bolt Thrower.  The ironblaster lines up for a shot on the Dragon/fire Mage.  Magic is again mostly pointless, although I get off stubborn on the Leadbelchers as insurance since I have now moved my general out of Inspiring presence range.  The ironblaster takes aim and BOOM, kills a reaver, and hits the Dragon/Mage.  The rider has the charmed shield, and discounts his hit.  The dragon is wounded and takes 2 or 3 wounds. 

Close Combat: Somehow, the phoenix continues to fail to do much (1 wound?), and my leadbelchers (despite failing the fear test) in turn wound him some, and I win combat by 1…and he fails his Ld Check by 1, and flees.  Hooray!  The Gorger in the backfield breaks the bolt thrower apart and overruns into the waiting bow-elves (passed panic test).  On the right, the combined 6D3 Impact hits (rerolling 1’s for the MFC Dragonhide) really should be called “Trample”, because that’s what happens.  Luckily, the stonehorn only overruns 5” and stays on the board.  The MFC overrun 8, nicely keeping the flank of the Sea Guard in view.  And the main event, Ironguts into the Dragon Princes: 2 dragon princes die from impact hits alone, and the other 3 kill a Gut, but the ironguts easily bash the heavily armored knights to bits.  Overrun takes me into the Sea Guard and Teclis!  I count this as a successful breakout!



Elves
My opponent is suddenly desperate to close the circle around the ironguts, and charges with everything left (he considers charging the Leadbelchers with the dragon, but it is just as far and less important).  He needs an “11” on the dice for all the charges (potential with swiftstride) and gets close but not in, fails with the Dragon and both units of Reavers.  He does rally the phoenix facing right into the ironguts.  Magic: as before, I save all my dice for Mind Razor or a similarly devastating spell, allowing the Flaming Sword and the Light spell that doubles attacks and speed to be cast on the Sea Guard.  To make this happen, though, he uses Teclis’s staff that gives him additional dice (but makes him S1/T1).  The BSB has the dragonhelm and is in B2B with most of his unit…I will take the odds.  Close Combat: the Gorger does 4 wounds to the Bowmen, and takes none in return, but the elves stand.  In the other combat, the important one, his BSB challenges me, and I mistakenly accept with my champion…bad move.  He hits and wounds with 3 wounds, killing the champion before he can strike back…doh!  The rest of the unit pours attacks into the BSB and the Slaughtermaster, and thanks to their wonderful armor and ward saves (dragonhelm), he doesn’t do a single wound.  The Ironguts strike back, massive damage.  I cannot kill Teclis, but I win by a lot.  However, I think he is steadfast, or stayed on insane courage off the BSB re-roll…I cannot remember.  So, I reform to get more guts into combat.



Turn 4
Ogres
MFC Charge! Into the flank of the remaining Sea guard.  The Leadbechers actually back up a bit to get out of the Dragon’s charge arc.  Magic: why?  Shooting: the leadbelchers take aim at the damn phoenix and yet again, FAIL to do any damage (I have been rolling poorly at range with these guys lately).  On the good side, the Ironblaster lines up another shot on the Dragon and BOOM, solid hit (almost an overshoot).  6 wounds to the fire mage shoots him off the top of the dragon, who survives taking only a wound.  Close combat: The remaining Sea Guard, Archmage, and Teclis die to impact hits and MFC attacks, along with some ironguts.  The BSB is the only remaining guy (Challenged accepted by my BSB this time.  Although I didn’t wound him because of the Banner of the World Dragon, my 2+ vs flaming meant nothing for him).  He fails his Ld and is cut down.  At this point, my opponent concedes the game.



OGRE VICTORY!  Despite how much I felt I was going to lose, and lose badly in the first 2 turns as he just dominated the magic phase and surrounded me, I managed a win, giving up only the victory points for 2 sabretusks (I don’t know exactly his army list, but it roughly comes out to approx. 2000 pts, depending on if the living dragon meant I got points for the mage or not since it all comes together in quartermaster app). 

Afterthoughts/Questions for the readership:
*First off, I recognize that while everything didn’t go my way, what I needed to did: the charges.  I attribute my victory to this.

1.  Although this was more for a lack of better targets, I have to stop using the Leadbelchers against high toughness creatures.  They really need to target T 3 or 4 stuff.  Another game with lots of massed shooting (some bad rolls by me) and netted nearly no wounds on the monster.

2.  Tactical patience really paid off for me, but it wasn’t a moment too soon and any longer would have been totally different.  I wonder in retrospect if I would have had the same results just plowing straight across the table with everything, and less of a risk.  I probably would have just had to eat a couple of charges (dragon, phoenix, dragon princes)

3.  Ironblaster finally did something!  Still not sold on its necessity in an Ogre list.

4.  Hunter on a Stonehorn…Could I have done better with one on foot or none at all?  Free up some points?  I just really like its potential, especially against massed infantry.

5.  Losing trollguts on the first turn and having nothing else to really make a difference made me question the value of a Lv 4 Slaughtermaster vs a Tyrant supported by a couple of Lv 2’s.  I will have to try that next.  He was just a high T target, only added to dispel attempts.  And I still won out, but against a more combat oriented army, what would have happened?

6.  Gorger: totally awesome and worth it.

7.  So, magic heavy Elves fared just as poorly as the shooty elf lists I usually face (4xrepeater bolt throwers, multiple large blocks of bowmen, masses of spearmen in support).  What are my opponents not doing that makes everyone rank High Elves as the most overpowered army?  Am I just getting that lucky at the right moments (which, luck is at least a large part of every success, more than 50%).

8.  Gutstar horde vs 12 man unit.  That’s a lot of points, and I can free up many points for another medium sized unit.  Also, in combat with models dying, I seldom benefited from the extra rank of attacks.  And when I did, it wasn’t necessary.  The biggest benefit I see as points denial: I maintained combat effectiveness throughout, whereas a smaller unit might start to lose.  So, the question becomes, is it easier for an opponent to break apart 1 large 18 model irongut horde, or 2x12 models (1 irongut, 1 ogres)?

And to give him some love (maybe that is why he has been underperforming), here is a picture of my Ironblaster.  I consider it a big deal that he killed the fire mage and almost killed the dragon as well, especially after many games of ineffectiveness.  I got this second hand, just primed and no base, so I did some restoration to the construction, but like the stonehorn (also second hand), he has some flaws (parts that aren’t quite together right).  Hopefully not too noticeable.

Update on the Stonehorn

Finished up some small bits and the Horns/Face.  I like how the eyes turned out, but I wonder if there is an effect I can achieve that will make him look more angry…or Frenzied.  Any ideas?  I remember learning that putting the pupils higher in the eye/top, and bringing them closer to center can make him look angry.  I am also thinking that maybe moving the white highlight off to the top outside might help as well…need to research this

The Horns took a lot of attempts to get right.  I tried for the obsidian-blue-ish look first, but I didn’t like it and it blended in too much with the color I wanted for the embedded crystals.  The colors for the horns were:
Black
Dark Grey (Vallejo)
Ironbull Grey (P3)
Administration Grey (GW)
Nuln Oil Wash
Administration Grey Highlight
Space Wolves Grey (GW) Highlight

I used a quasi-dry brushing technique…I wonder if I should have gone for blending instead.  I plan on a second big guy in the future, maybe I will try that then.  For right now, I am going to leave good enough alone.  I like it.

I did screw up on the highlighting for the Straps.  I was supposed to be using US Field Drab (Vallejo) but accidentally grabbed and used Green Brown instead…it wasn’t looking the way I wanted and couldn’t figure it out!  But after realizing the mistake, going back and fixing it, it looked ok…but having already done the washes, I had to blend in some darker browns to match the wash color well enough and bring down some bad highlighting attempts with the wrong color.

And now the pictures. 





Last items on the list will be the scales/skins on his shoulders, the base, then I need to paint up the rider and saddle.  Almost there.

That stonehorn looks fantastic, I love the details, especially the eyes which are incredibly lifelike. Great work, I can't wait to see the finished article!

Other than the above, all I can add is, Patience and silicone tipped sculpting tools...

This was great advice, the silicone tipped tools.  I finally got my clay shapers in the mail today and immediately tried them for smoothing some areas out on my Gorger, and they were fantastic at leaving a smooth surface.  Little hard to go back and smooth stuff out at the stage though, I'll have to remember it for the next sculpt.  Luckily, I think some of my poor tool use actually will aid the look I am going for when painting.

@Villan_Ogre, he is done and based as of tonight, I have been focusing on his rider, there is some coloration issues I have been working out with the hunter cloak.  Luckily I came to something I like.  One issue, though is that he has no Bronze gut plate, or anything like that that is kind of the connecting color all my models have (ok, except a few... Well we will see if he fits in).  Anyway, I will have some completed pictures up before the weekend.

That Stonehorn is gorgeous mate! As for the battle report, that is a very well fought game and you totally deserved to win! As for the nastiness of his list, it wasn't the most filthy. I'd call this an average list. Teclis does make it nasty though xD.

That Stonehorn is gorgeous mate! As for the battle report, that is a very well fought game and you totally deserved to win! As for the nastiness of his list, it wasn't the most filthy. I'd call this an average list. Teclis does make it nasty though xD.

@SeBM: Thank you kindly.  What do you find to be the most challenging things the High Elves do? 

Stonehorn with Hunter Complete!

Here he is, some 20-30 hours of struggling to get it right later, my massive stonehorn, ridden by a hunter.  I finished part one of my August painting challenge pledge!  Anyway, I really like this guy, and I think my games will be seeing far more of him, because just like my giant, I love this biggie.  For anyone interested, my paint scheme updates:

Dragon-like scales were a simple work up with the P3 line of reds (I really like them for red), from the Sanguine base, the next 2 higher shades of red (they run in sets of 3), then a mix of P3 Ember Orange with the red highlight for the final highlight, and a touch of white to make it pop and appear slightly glossy. 

White Scales: I didn’t like this piece.  The details are not distinct, and I don’t really like the coloring, but I went with it.  Its a work up from Dark Grey (Vallejo) to Administration Grey, a blue wash, then Shadow Grey (GW) and White blended out to the edges.  I went back and eased the transition a little with some watered down Pale Sand (Vallejo) from the grey to the white, it seemed to help a bit.  The odd skin underneath is simply Shadow Grey, Nuln Oil Wash, Shadow Grey again, and Space Wolf Grey highlight (all GW)

The Hunter’s animal skin cloak was took a few tries to get right.  At first, I tried for the look in the book, and didn’t like my results.  So, I tried a few more times, and then after wiping a final attempt with some dark grey ( Vallejo), I thought the bluish tint looked nice on the fur against the Administration Grey blended up to White skin/coat tone, so the fur went blue and I went for an Ice Troll type of look with light blue hair.  From the dark grey hairs, I went up to GW Shadow Grey, then Ice Blue (GW or Vallejo equivalent) and finally a touch of white.

I tried pictures in a few different lighting areas, looking to reduce some glare...Anyway, without further babbling, here he is.












All done, and time to move on to the next project: I really need to finish that partially painted Ironblaster, as well as my gorger.  I have a stock GW Gorger model I plan on painting up alongside my sculpted gorger.  One of these days I will use a nice camera with proper lighting…

As always, thank you for reading and your comments.

Amazing work, will make a great, and very imposing, centrepiece to your army!

2 words for that Stonehorn.. Simply Stunning!

love the detail, very good work

Wow that finished Stomehorn is AMAZING!!!

As for the HE tournament list, there are 2 main tendencies (note that these aren't the only viable builds, just 2 hard builds that are often seen.

- There is the Alarielle list. Core will be archers and reavers, one big unit of White Lions with Banner of the World Dragon (with Alarielle in it, that is a 4+ Ward vs non-magical attacks and 2+ Ward vs anything magical and miscast protection). You will see 4 RBTs, some Eagles and 2 Frost Phoenixes.

- The other list is the cavalry bus. Prince and Archmage, both with few items so that they fit in. BSB with Banner of the World Dragon. Core will be composed of a Silver Helm bus, some Reavers and some Archers. Special will be a unit of Phoenix Guards and Rares will be some RBTs and more then likely 2 Frost Phoenixes.

Both list have strong magic, very good magic protection on they main units and are excellent at point denial since the units worth killing are tough to kill. They also have good anti-chaff and great mobility.

Exceptional stonehorn.  Beautifully painted and the fact you painted each strand really shows.

Kind regards Zolas.

Really beautiful I like the shading on the teeth, It really give the impression of bad dental care 

@ Villan_Ogre, MasteroDisaster, Rorhammer, SeBM. Zolas, and Big Jim, thank you all for reading and commenting.  I am glad you like the big fella, he is definitely one of my favorites, I keep trying to figure out how to justify taking him in every game, competitive or otherwise. 

Final Update / Finished work on the Gorger!

It has been quite an experience, scratch modeling my own gorger.  I have to say, I am happy its done, it was a challenge in a lot of ways.  Before I get to the painting pictures, let me take a side road down a terrible subject: what to do when your spray primer goes TERRIBLY wrong?!?  In some ways, I was lucky to learn this, but it cost me a lot of time and patience.  I was priming my scratch-built Gorger, a stock Gorger, a Tyrant w/great weapon, and a maneater.  The last 3 were metal, the first Gorger was nothing but greenstuff.  Here is what happened and a solution:

Spray primer, normally very good, came out all chalky, dusty, and seeming almost to not bind to the model.  It was horrible.  Step 1: freak out.  Step 2: I tried taking a toothbrush to it the models, as it seemed loose.  This had marginal effect.  With enough scrubbing, it actually smoothed out some of the cracked up, dusty parts, but it didn’t do well in over the majority.  Step 3: Next, not willing to give up, I tried some dish soap, hot water, and a toothbrush.  This worked slightly better than without, and many of the larger surfaces seemed smoother, but not in the recesses and it was still no good.

Now, I am lucky in that my father-in-law is a long time gamer, has a massive collection for all different types of games, and is my go-to guy for hobby advice.  The next step was the concentrated bottle of Simple Green (note: this is the massive bottle that is supposed to be diluted 1:30 for normal use, super concentrated).  I was told this would take a few days of soaking, but it turns out that if you don’t delay, it is far easier to strip the bad stuff off.  Only took 2 hours, and I could scrub the metal models clean!  Awesome (and saved me some serious cash).  Of note, I experimented with some other stuff, and I found that it definitely makes greenstuff very flimsy, soft, even after only an hour or two.  It also weakens super-glue.  It only had marginal effect on an old recovered model I had acquired (previous paint strip job left lots of black in small spaces).  The really old primer was hard to scrub off after a couple days of soaking, but I did clean a bunch out…but not perfectly clean.  The simple green also had no effect on plastic cement.  The experimental models here (I would have loved it to have dissolved the glue job the previous owners did on these leadbelchers) were solid as ever after a few days of soaking; the cement held strong.

Cleaning the greenstuff was something my father-in-law couldn’t help me with, he had never had to.  He did warn me that Simple Green would destroy the greenstuff, so good thing I consulted him first.  What to do?  Back to scrubbing.  I realized that since the primer did not bond well, enough friction might do the trick.  SO, I took a brush attachment to a hand-dremmel and went to town, speed brushing away as much of the old primer as possible.  It had decent effect, removing a lot of the bad primer, polishing out some unevenness, even in the cracks and crevices.  Still not perfect, and I think the effect still shows.  At a certain point, I realized I was just going to have to accept it, after all, I won’t be submitting this guy for any awards.  Now to the scary part: priming attempt number 2.

If you are ever stuck here, I did something intentionally that seemed like a good idea: I actually applied the spray primer pretty thick.  Not to the point that it dripped, but slightly heavier than normal.  Logic I used was as follows: normally, I do a very light coat, so I don’t fill in the detail; however, that’s exactly what I wanted…to fill in all the little cracks and bumps I couldn’t work out.  It worked slightly.  In the end, the model still has many spots where I can see the unevenness from the first spray paint job, and then also from where the primer rubbed and caused unevenness.  Oh well, it’s better than what it was.  I considered it a recovery.

And as if the experience wasn’t bad enough, I had a similar experience when hitting him with matte finish!!!!!!!  You may notice he appears a bit “frosted”.  Apparently, it was either too humid, or I rotated the model so as to not allow a side the full 2 minutes to dry before applying a second coat (ooops) to that side.  Didn’t happen to the other metal gorger though.  It did happen sort of to the Stonehorn a while back, but this was the “Gritty” feel, and I took a dry tank brush to the model and that actually fixed it.  Tank brush had no positive result on the frosted Gorger.  Bad overall experience.  Happens.

Anyway, here are some WIP and finished pictures.  I decided to paint both gorgers alongside each other so I could compare them, but the paint scheme is mostly the same.  And honestly, after all the trouble with the primer, I was using my sculpted Gorger as practice for colors/techniques before I attempted them on the metal Gorger.



I tried a lot of different skin tones on this guy and didn’t like any of them, and eventually settled on the same tone used for the rest of my army…go figure.  I tried to replicate the light skin look of the book without any luck.  I also tried to go with with a Ratskin Flesh base, again no luck.



Wash


Layer


Highlights (mid range)


Finals…I had all my models out on the table last night for a game…decided on a whim to grab the wife’s camera and take some shots of everything.




Came a long way…should have tried for more blood.


The blood splatter/smear is always something I am scared of, as you can see I went very muted and it didn't turn out as I would have liked.  As always, thanks for reading.  I hope that maybe my poor experience will help someone else who ends up in a similar situation.  I have the rest of the army pictures that I will post up later in the week, but that’s for a different post.

Love him, he looks like a wannabe Giant. Shove dat thinling down yer pants!

Absolutely Amazing work, inspires me to start a gnoblog of my own.

Can't wait to see more of your work.

 

I'm Late to comment but that giant is mind blowing. I would enjoy knowing your skin tone progression and how you went about doing the finger nails.

~ConOgre

Love your Gorger, all your models are nicely painted, this will be a terrific army to play with and against!

Im late to this blog, dont know how i missed it! Your work is stunning!! i have total hobby jealousy 

i will be an avid follower of this blog now and hope i can learn some stuff from you to help my fledgling painting skills (generous term for me).

top stuff!

Love him, he looks like a wannabe Giant. Shove dat thinling down yer pants!

Yes, he is absolutely a wannabe Giant with the peasant from the Giant kit...peasant a little too big, pants a little too small...err, no actual pants...

@ Jock o strap: I started painting my dad's D&D miniatures back in the late 80's as a kid, so trust me when I say just keep working and be patient.  I hope I can help out in any way.

@SeBM: thanks!
@Gavunit: I have more coming!

I'm Late to comment but that giant is mind blowing. I would enjoy knowing your skin tone progression and how you went about doing the finger nails.

~ConOgre

All my skin tone is the same, but the application varies.  For the Giant:
1.  Black primer/undercoat (Grey might [would probably] work better)
2.  Brown Sand (Vallejo Model color) base coat
3.  Rieksland Fleshwash (GW) wash
4.  Brown Sand again, leaving the recesses dark.
5.  Mix 50:50 Brown sand and Basic Skintone (Vallejo) mid-highlight
6.  Basic Skintone highlight

For steps 4-6, I use an odd technique that lies somewhere between dry-brushing and blending to get the smooth transition between colors.  I have done a poor job with it on small areas, so I only try it with bigger models that have large areas to work with (i.e. the giant).  You may find better success than I did with watered-down layering techniques, its not a style I have mastered yet.  I really struggle with wet-blending as well, so I don't bother there.  So, here is my weird blending technique with an old GW small dry brush (its small, like 1/8" bristle length): I use a home-made wet-pallet (very easy stuff, great results), and I wipe out some excess paint right on the pallet, but its still pretty wet.  Then, starting from the highest point where the color needs to be the brightest, I apply it, letting the paint run out.  As the paint runs out on the brush, the technique starts to resemble dry-brushing as you blend down to the darker areas.  Since the paint is running out, but still decently wet, you get some decent shading.  Also, as it is a dry brush with wide uneven bristles, you don't get the noticeable streaky lines.  Obviously, the higher you go in highlights, the less paint you start with on the brush.

For the fingernails: I wanted them to look like yellowish, dirty, cracked nails.  So, I started with a dark brown (Vallejo Burnt Umber to be exact), then did some lighter browns working my way up to Green Brown (Vallejo) and maybe even a Tan Yellow (cannot remember, but if so, mostly for some streaks and the tips).  Unfortunately, I don't have my painting notes on hand, but I did some experimentation with Rakarth Flesh (GW) and Stone Grey (Vallejo) for the tips of the nails.  The technique for this was simple: normal brush, lower normal layers, but as you get higher, more just a collection of uneven lines moving out to the tip, which was a lot of uneven lines perpendicular to the nail edge.  I'll get a close up of it for you.

Maybe someday, I will get what I need and do a video.  I have been meaning to get/paint a second giant.  I hope this helped!  In the mean time, here is one of the nice pictures of him that I took the other night.  More army pics to follow.



Thanks all for reading and the kind comments!

@ Conogre: as promised, I just snapped a few pics of the Giant’s toe and finger nails for you.  I hope this gives you a good idea of how I went about it.  I tried to keep the light exposure high so you could see the brush technique I described:





I also promised to post the remaining army pictures.  Basically, the other day I figured my Tribe had grown (my painted collection), and wanted to update my army’s overall “Family Picture”.  Unfortunately, as I am not skilled with my wife’s expensive camera, many of the shots I took came out extremely blurry, but here are the ones I salvaged.  Note: I did have to reduce the exposure on the shots.  I am not going to repeat shot s I already posted earlier in the blog, but I there are some new/better shots of old models, where I particularly like how they turned out.

First, the Family Photo:


My Hunter with Sabertusks I never took pictures of previously:



 




Ironblaster v2
Up next on the painting table is a second Ironblaster.  My first was bought second hand, fully put together and had some flaws in it (too much primer in details, parts not glued together quite right, ect) and painting it fully assembled was quite a challenge.  So, I decided to buy and paint up a second in pieces and then assemble painted parts.  If anyone has any experience with some things I should be careful of in gluing painted stuff, please speak up!  Anyway, I realized I didn’t take nearly as many WIP shots as I wanted to, but here is what I have. 

Separate parts.


Here is the Rhinox.  Painted similar to the stone horn, each individual hair and horn.
Hair:
1. Black
2.  Dark Grey (Vallejo)
3.  Administration Grey (GW)
4.  Nuln Oil wash (GW)
5.  Administration Grey again
6.  (Your choice) Stone Grey (Vallejo for a more stone feel) or Space Wolves Grey (Slightly bluish, what I chose)

Horns/Teeth: Same build-up of grey, but go to Off White, no wash.  I tried a wet blend on the front horns…meh.  I actually think this picture is unfinished, missing some steps in the highlights, straps, skin, ect…  The skin will be Ratskin flesh, Flesh wash, Ungor Flesh highlights, another wash.  For the cuts, use a medium red in/around the cut, then a Crimson wash JUST inside the gash.

Straps are from basecoat up, going to be Burnt Umber, Flat Brown, Flat Earth, Orange Brown highlights (all Vallejo).


Side Horns: These take a lot of patience.  I tried a technique previously on the first Ironblaster that had mixed reviews, which consisted of many parallel brush strokes in a line to give it a “rough” feel.  It looks ok, but up close the brush strokes really stood out and certain spots didn’t look right (again, the following pictures are the previous attempt, not what is described in the WIP):



For the new Ironblaster, I decided to go with my weird not-quite dry-brushing technique described for the Giant skin in a previous post.  This was as painful as doing individual hairs, because you have to repeat the process on each individual section.  It takes time and patience.  Start with an undercoat of Burnt Umber, and with each successive coat, you do less of each section.  Coats are all Vallejo for me, Burnt Umber, Orange Brown, Tan Yellow, Dark Sand, Pale Sand.  I stopped here, but you could highlight in Off White to really pop the edges, but I felt it was too much and too sloppy a technique for such a bright highlight that I want minimal.  You can also use the pale sand with a normal brush and just barely it the edges of each section as well for contrast.  In some spots I went back with a very tiny bit of Burnt Umber and “Cleaned up” the spot that is supposed to be recessed.  It helped in some spots, but it does stand out against the rest of the shading, so use it sparingly, only where you badly went over the end of a segment with the highlight and you need to distinguish the sections.  Here is a WIP, the top is complete, the bottom is missing the last couple colors.  If I could go back and do it again, I would make the orange brown more apparent, leaving just a bit more visible in each section, as I really like the color it adds to the horn.



That’s all for now, I hope you either liked the Army pictures or found the WIP interesting or helpful.  I have gotten tons of positive feedback, and I really appreciate it.  But, I am still learning, and I know that many of the readers are just as good if not better painters/modelers than me, and everyone knows something I do not, so please feel free to offer any ideas/suggestions.

Another batch of spray primer turned out to be bad!  Crap!!!  This is getting old, wasting hours across multiple days.  2 Sabretusks, 2 Maneaters, a Tyrant, a banner, and 4 Leadbelchers…sprayed them last night…it must be the can, not the humid conditions, because the black (on some fences/rocky berms I made from scratch) and the last of a different set of Grey spray primer (movement trays) went on just fine.  Also, I finished my second Ironblaster with a matte finish and it went on perfectly fine as well.

So, about 5 hours of time yesterday in basing, prepping, and spraying these models wasted, plus the time this morning scrubbing them clean and now I get to do it all over again.  On the plus side, much of the greenstuff I used to fill in cracks and wholes did not dissolve…interesting.  Some did, and some superglue came undone as well…

Anyway, the good news is the completion of the second Ironblaster, so here it is.  What do you think about the different technique on the horns?  I have most of the parts for a Scraplauncher, which will be up next, which do you like better?

That's pretty rotten luck Havoc, was it a GW paint or a different make? I think those horns on the ironblaster look superb but it also looks an also lot of effort! Kudos to you for having the patience to work on something like that.

If you are in the UK havoc, i can recommend getting Halfords grey primer spray, it covers well and the base for painting on is really good. Cheaper than GW cans and bigger too.

Also the Ironblaster looks great, i love theos etusks, they look amazing, not sure i have the patienc for such great work

Amazing work mate! That is a stunning army you've got. Loving the entire army shots

The Stonehorn looks fantastic. I really dig the way you've painted the stone. The highlights look really smooth yet crisp and striking at the same time Amazing! And the Giant is a great piece of work as well!

The Gorger also looks amazing! I really love how that turned out. The muted, earthy colours look really great. Lovely model

I feel like this is going on repeat, but the new stuff you've gotten done, like the Ironblaster, look great as well! I really like your painting style. Very striking, yet not too much

As for the bad sprays, I find that so many factors can ruin the end result, the weather being the usual culprit. However, some spray cans have been faulty to start with. Or well, the spray itself. Faulty GW spray is easy to return and get replaced (if you live relatively close-by). But it is unbelievably irritating to get a bad can... I feel for you

- Loran

@ Villan_Ogre and Jock o Strap: it was Krylon, but I have usually had really good luck with their paints, maybe just a really old can mixed in with the new by accident on my part. And yes, I really need a better way of doing the horns, if you have any good ideas, I am listening.  I have a Thundertusk in line for painting soon.

@Loran: thank you very much, your encouragement is helping me to actually continue my projects and start new ones!

I don't have anything prepared just yet for an update to the Gnoblog, but I have been working some small things, another Mournfang banner (gotta have one for the second unit), some more sabertusks and leadbelchers that I hope to have done this week.  Thanks again for reading and comments.

Long time since my last Gnoblog update…
My last post was made as I was preparing for the NOVA Fantasy GT; I have had to put the hobby away for personal reasons, but keeping an eye on the Stronghold, I have seen a lot of requests for Mournfang paint schemes, so I figured I would throw mine up.



To start, I took my original direction from WD381 (Oct 2011).  You can check out the WD if you want, it’s a pretty easy scheme, but for me it seemed a little too unnatural and not wholly what I wanted.  Looking at a bunch of natural predators (cold climate wolves mostly, but also tigers, wild dogs, ect) I wanted him to have the feel of one of those natural, north mountain-climate predators.  So, taking some inspiration from my dog Scout (ok, so he is really not a predator, but he does have the characteristic light under-coat) and some pictures of other predators, this is how I worked.  Predators in those climates have evolved to have light undercoats that blend with snow and darker top-coats to blend with trees/rocks.  Think about the view from the smaller prey’s perspective, and how the legs would need to blend with snow, but the upper parts would have to blend with more vegetation and rocks.



Start with just the basic, mid-range coat between the light bottom and dark top.  The other parts will paint into this, and it helps tie everything together better than starting with one extreme.
1.  Black-primer
2.  Burnt Umber base coat (Vallejo)
3.  Liberal application of US Field Drab (Vallejo) across the fur, leaving the Burnt Umber visible in the deepest recesses
4.  Dark Sand (Vallejo) or Screaming Skull (GW) highlight on the fur (hitting every strand individually will give you the best results but will take the longest, dry-brush will mess up the nice transitions, so you can do what I can the “wet-dry brush” which is a combination of the technique, where you use a dry brush with minimal paint on it, and do a light sweep with an angle of the brush which prevents the brush from hitting the recesses.  Basically, you are using the side of the brush
5.  Greyphone (Spelling?) Sepia wash to smooth the transitions/mistakes from the highlights
6.  Dark Sand Highlight again (similar technique, but definitely don’t do a true dry-brush here or you will probably not be happy)
7.  Pale Sand (Vallejo) highlight (very sparsely applied)




You can wait on steps 6-7 if you want, as this will basically be the undercoat, but before we do that, we need to paint the stripes and dark top coat.
1.  Start with a nice, watered down black (not so watered down you lose consistency, but it needs to get down to the recesses where you put it).  We want to make a wide stripe from his nose/head/back all the way to the tip of his tail, but with stripes branching down into the mid-range of his body.  Think about natural camouflage, the vertical stripes are what will blend with trees.  Looking down from the top, you should still see brown on the sides of the model, and from the side the stripes should come to a point before the undercoat. 
2.  Ironbull Grey (P3) or similar highlight
3.  Administration Grey (GW) highlight
4.  Spacewolves Grey (GW) super highlight
For the head/face, my guideline was that the top parts of all facial features would be done in the black with lights and the under parts would be the light color.



Now the undercoat.  The legs should be much lighter than the mid-section, but still have the brown visible in the recesses, whereas the underbelly will be a very thick white coat.  To achieve this, it’s a layer of Dark Sand (Vallejo) with Pale Sand (Vallejo) highlights.  You can do the tiniest bit of white highlights here if you like.

Now go back and touch up the face.  At this point I do the eyes (successive coats from dark to bright red with a white highlight, then clean up the shape with black.



For the skin patches, you should still have your Burnt Umber (Vallejo) base.  Then
1.  Ratskin Flesh (GW) heavy dry brush
2.  Ungor Flesh (GW) highlight dry-brush
And I think I did a Reiksland Flesh wash here as well, but it’s not in my notes…



The tusks are painted as you would any skull/bone color, but let the tips stay kinda dark.  I tend to use Tan Yellow (Vallejo) or Zandari Dust (GW) base, Greyphone Sepia wash, Tan Yellow, then Dark Sand, Pale Sand, and the ultra-highlight being Off-white (All Vallejo).

The leather straps are worked up from Burnt Umber, Flat Brown, Mahogany Brown, to an Orange Brown highlight on the very edges (all Vallejo), and then Agrax Earthshade (GW) was to help blend it together.

The metal parts of the saddle are the normal worn iron look I tried for the whole army, Pig Iron base (P3), followed by Nuln Oil (GW) and then Agrax Earthshade (GW) washes, and weathered with Pig Iron again on the edges.

I hope this helped those that were looking for a Mournfang look similar to the GW scheme in the book.  You will have to excuse the poor lighting in the photos I snapped this morning with my iPhone, I found the old army pics I took didn’t have the right angles for what I was trying to describe. 

Thanks for reading.

Only 1 Mournfang was injured in the production of this blog post.

Wow Havoc, that is one detailed explanation painting-wise there. Just for sheer effort alone I am bunging you a Gnoblar.

As I have 6 Mournfang to paint, and no clue how to about doing them (just because I can't decide what colour to go with) I will use this very colour way for them. It helps me and your end result looks stunning, so rest assured; at least one person has found this very useful! So, thank you man.

I am sad to hear that you have had to "down tools" with the hobby. I am not worried though; you have a great talent for painting and I am sure that over time (however long that may be) you will find your way back one day. I gave up for nearly 25 years and still managed to find my way back. Hobby will find a way! 

G_H

Why thank you G_H!  I have every intention on returning, it is a temporary thing, brought on by required changes due to work.  My hope is that this is a matter of months, but worst case it could be a matter of years.  We shall see.

Absolutely inspiring work!

6 Mournfangs in a row!  With an awesome paint job to boot!  Just a thing of beauty! 

Keep up the good work.

Kind regards Zolas.