My Hunter Tribe: Back in Business!

Hi guys,

So as I've promised in the "Introductions Thread" here comes an all new member, and with him, an all new gnoblog! I'll retrace the story of the building of my army untill now, so you can see the work done, and how it evolved... Oh, boy, this is going to be long...

After a small High Elf army really lacking originality I finally decided to start an Ogre Kingdoms army a few months ago, I have always loved their style since their first release, and finally decided to put aside my skinny strange-smelling elves and start something totally different! "One small step for ogrekind but a giant leap for me."

So, I first bought my Ogre Kingdom Army book (in French, since it is my native language, so don't trow stones at me, if I'm kind of lost with unit names...) and started reading it enthusiatically... the first thing that struck me, was the beauty of the hunter model and its kittens, the background of this furry hero was also cool in my opinion...

Then I thought, well, If I want a themed army, I'll make it something like a Hunter tribe, where each ogre is, was, or will be a Hunter... they all worship tracking and enjoy it above everything... they would be an army (or rather a tribe, since Ogres are never as much as an "army") that would travel around the Old world to track the most challenging preys such as Mammoths, Rhinoxens, Yhetees, Dragons, other Ogre tribes, Elves, humans, dwarves... well, anything that can offer a hunting challenge and that is good to eat... because, obviously, like other Ogres, they enjoy eating as well...

It all started with a watercolour sketch of what i wanted my guys to look like:

He is obviously no simple bull, it was the first idea I had for my tyrant (the mini is down there if you're patient enough... But don't expect too much after only seeing this drawing, an idea on the paper is much more easy than on the mini... )

I did another watercolour sketch, also for a tyrant (but the overall colour lacks contrast...):


So now the crunchy, solid part you are waiting for: the minis... Here they are:

First, my first bulls ever:




With a close-up on the very first one I painted:



So as you can see, I decided to go for the furry side of life... I added fur to those guys, and only chose maces for them, since, blades spill too much blood, and this is not too clever for a hunter... On those bulls you can see the first time I ever used green stuff, and really, I was quite happy, it really isn't that difficult, after all... and fur is not the most difficult thing to work out! So if some of you guys still hesitate on using it, don't! If I can do it, pretty much everyone with something like hands can do it!

Then, I started working on my ...errrm, we cal them "les Ventres-Durs", in french, so yeah, that would be the... Ironguts, I suppose.
Sorry the pictures are kind of yellowish, but you'll see better ones further down:

First, the greens :



First one painted:



The whole team:



Again, I chose only maces for them, and, to show their special rank I added horns in their back, like on the Army book (I love this image!)

I then painted some more bulls, with to of them two fit in as bellowers, I then had, two units of three bulls, including one bellower in each:

First unit:


And second one:


Then I felt, strange... I had six bulls, four Ironguts for my Hunter army... but someting was missing... Oh, that's it, a hunter! So I bought the (beautiful!) beast, and started working on it...

After a little converstion to put the... haaa, damn... "le lançe-harpon" you know, the harpoon thingy he has? Well, I wanted this to be in his hand, so I made a more impressive arrow, and glued a rope of the irongut sprue, and also fixed another "stretched rope" made of thin metal wire...



     

Then comes the boss, for (unfortunalety...) the Hunter can't be the leader of your tribe... I wanted this mini to look a bit like the drawing you can see above, long beard (to make him look as wise as an ogre can look, the kind of guy that has been hunting all around the place) with a white fur cape (that could eventually stand for a greyback fur, or is it greyback pelt? well, you probably know what I'm talking about... ) and with an original weapon, because most ogre tyrants I've seen have the same old weapon... I decided it would be a bone, like on the second drawing, for it fits the background/theme of my tribe...

Here are the greens:



And a close up on his face (because I changed the mouth a little)



Well after all this job, I was already happy, but I started to get worried about the basing... so I stated it, and made (little) better pictures of the work I had done. I am not fond at all about basing so I never really do something complicated... some people suggested snowy bases, but i don't like the way they contrat with most tables (isn't that silly? I don't know, I'm like that... I mean, silly, yes, I'm silly) So I went for something more greenish... here is the result:

The Bulls:


The other Bulls:


The Ironguts:


The Hunter:



A new guy: the Gorger, I changed his face a bit, because i did not like it at all, and also the position of his arm... not much to say about him... Oh, yeah, his little nickname is "the Gimp"... that way, i can proudly say to my shivering oponent around the beginning of turn two: "bring ou the gimp..." And he wets he's pants...



And last but not least (well, I hope...) the Tyrant:


             

Well, guys, I'm afraid that's all for now... Hope you like it, and hope you understand my English... I'll show the rest in a next post, I'm getting fingeraches
I finished a second hunter, two sabertusks and I'm actually working on three Maneaters with handguns... Pictures will come...better ones, sorry for those...

So, what do you think? Comments are more than welcome!!!

My first post! Yepeee!

They look very good, very realistic colourings. Congratulations on them.

excellent conversions - full of character.  I especially like the additions to the hunter's crossbow

This whole army is great! Good Idea on the Hunter-Based army, I've always liked Hunters too. The models are all painted brilliantly! I especially love the Hunter and the Tyrant, and every model looks like it has the same time and skill spent on it - which is how it should be. I'll be watching your Gnoblog with interest!

B.O.C.B.I.L.O.T

Excellent work and idea.

Amazing work! I had this same kind of idea before but never got around to it. You've done an amazing job though, can't wait to see more!

OMFG! Amazing work Kay. Way to make an entrance. The tyrant, and everything else is amazing.

hey,
      wow those ogres are amazing!My favourite are the ironguts,the tyrant and the gorger,which i usually dispise but yours is incredible! :DLove the skintone.
cheers

theyre fantastic, great way to start a gnoblog. i cant wait to see more!

regards

wow. Very very nice. Great work


cheers,Gorg

Great stuff, not that much converting but a real characteristic (sp?) bunch.

Though I did think the tyrant on your first sketch looked a little too happy for an Ogre.

Thats Fantastic!!! 
Pls teach me how to make "fur" ... 

Wonderful job on the army thus far, you've carried your theme alone very nicely.  I'm a big fan of the "natural" color scheme too.

Look forward to the tribe's butchers who handle all that bludgeoned game

- Salvage

in english or in french, this is always a great stuff and good theme.

salut
Bullwaï

sorry if you already said this but where did you get that aweome bone for your tyrant?


cheers,gorg

Wow! Thank you for all your supporting comments! I'm glad you like it! The Tyrant on my first sketch does look a bit too smily, but hey! Ogres not only have big bellies, they also have enormous hearts, so we humans shouldn't understate their feelings and emotions... Ok, poor excuse, I know...

I'll post pictures of the work done on the sabertusks as soon as possible! Thanks again for your comments, I'm already enjoying this place!

@Gorg skullcrush: The bone is made out of brown stuff (or something like that) and don't be sorry, I did not say it before... I first planned to use a chicken bone, but, it would have been a bit too small (and maybe a bit smelly after a while...) so I sculpted one, keeping only the hand and the handle of the tyrants weapon, the metal parts were made out of plastic strips cut from the plastic sprue, as I didn't have any plasticard, and the rivets are an old elvish spear chopped into bits...

@Bullwaï: It's good to see a known face around here! Or rather a known username... Hope you and your ogres are fine! Salut, ami gueulard!

Sorry for double-posting, but there comes a little update to this gnoblog! I promised I'd keep it alive, so I won't fail!

As promised the lightly converted sabertusks:

I just cut off their kind of "beards" and a bit of their "mohawks" they had and added a little fur here and there. I also wanted them to have longer tails, so I sculpted some on thin metal whire, it was tricky but I think (hope?) it turned out ok...





And painted (they look more like snow leopards in reality, but the picture darkens them a little...):





And with the hunter you've already seen:





That's it, hope you like them!

Comments are welcome!!!

Oh man...you're making me want to start Ogres again...Those leopards are incredible!I'm really really impressed!!

Really awesome, looks very, very good.

Pretty great work kay. The faces still suck, but that's the sculptor's fault, not yours. Nice conversion, and a great paintjob.

and your saying that your new to sculpting!!!!

regards

Wow Kay, your army looks amazing! Both the painting and the green stuffing is great. What are you going to model/paint next?

BigD

Thank you again for all your comments!

And to answer Blackmaw, I said I was new in sculpting, and it's still the case, sculpting fur is really not that difficult, and when I try something a little more tricky... :?Well, I'll show you... But, if it can help, I'll try to translate from french a tute I've made for sculpting fur (made for the "forum des gueulards" french forum for Ogres and Greenskins) You'll all see it's really simple!

To answer BigD, I'm actually working on three maneaters with handguns and heavy armour... I hope to finish one for the maneater competition, but I'd better hurry... And I've also finished a second Hunter... I'll show him to you guys as soon as possible!

Thanks!

Sorry for double-posting (again... ) anyway, it's my gnoblog, and I've eard somewhere that I'm king on board, so I don't think it is too much of a problem...

And I came with soe new pics for you guys... so no one can possibly blame me, huh? (well, hope not...)

This is my second Hunter, I did not want to have twice the mini of the hunter in my army, even though it is very nice, so I converted it from a mini I love, the maneater with a cloak and chests tied to his gutplate, pics:







I just replaced his gutplate with a skull from the plastic bull sprue and changed the horns of this skull a bit to make it fit a little better, I also added Hunter spears to his back and a harpoon-thrower in his right hand... I also had to remove the gnob from his shoulder and replace his sword with a more hunterish weapon made of to bull maces together... That's it...

I have pictures of the paintjob, but they are kind of awful... sorry...









Ah, and just for info, the arrow/harpoon seems in a strange position, but it' is in fact not in position for firing, it's just tied under the thrower, and the blade sticks out to be used, possibly, as a bayonet...It's not that clear on the picture, but it's better on the mini...

Here he is with the kittens you've seen above, just to see if he looks credible as a Hunter...



So, what do you think, does it look ok?

Comments are most welcome...

P.S.: I've just finished one of my maneaters for the stronghold competition! It was a bit of a rush, and I had to skip a little of the "sleeping-part" of my life to finish it, but I hope it's worth it! You'll see him in the competition thread when it will be open, patience! (well, if you care... )

For crying out loud enough already! You're making us all look bad!

For real though, AWESOME work, that Hunter is among, if not the best I've seen.

Hehe, I remember reading this gnoblog loooong ago when I was lurking these forums, awesome that you are continuing it! Great looking Bragg, I think he stands out as a character. Though the shading on the skin is a little bit harsh if I may say so, maybe add another mid-tone?

I will follow this thread

Been lurking these forums for a while, trying to decide if I wanted to start ogres or not, and this tread my friend won me over.
I think it's just fantastic how this army looks. Love the hunter theme, and the hunter model is what made me consider ogres in the first place.

I have to say that what amazed me most is how good you've made the ironguts look. The vanilla models are so meeh, IMO, but yours are simply stunning!!!

Kudos!

I think Bragg works great as a character. Not necessarily because it is such a fancy and extravagant mini, but because the hood and the swords really make him stand out from the rest of the tribe.

I like the blood. I think it looks brutal, and while it may not be perfectly realistic it does look good for the theme. And you painted it on the sword very well- it reminds me very much of 300. If you want you can paint some gloss varnish on after you dull coat the mini, or paint some brown ink on right now (either will make it look wet).

Thanks Guys, I'll follow your advice concerning "Bragg", I think you're right Shoggoth, I wasn't really happy about the skin, but I think a little more work on it would be fine, as for the ink on the blood Reg, I was considering it and will definitely do it.

It's funny you mention 300, I thought myself it did look a little bit too "cartoony" (or rather "comic-y") and exaggerated but I guess it fits with the character, I mean, WS 10 man, the guy is a killer (it also adds a little colour to the otherwise neutral tones in my army, which isn't bad).

Thanks for the support guys, I'll be around soon with some more!

Hey everyone, a little update:















     

I just love the look of the stonehorn, it's an amazing mini, I hope I did justice to the sculpt, the only thing a bit frustrating is the size of the rider, he seems a bit wee for an ogre able to handle a 30 ton angry cow ( )

Anyway, I did not feel like converting the whole rider, so I decided for just a little kitbashing and some minor sculpting here and there; beard, hood, and the upper part of the panther fur on the shield. I love this shield and when I first saw it I decided right away that my Stonehorn Rider would bear it, I removed the chaos shield that is on it, hence the panther face (and plus it fits with my theme so it's good).

Hope you like it, comments welcome as always!

Next up might be a converted Ironblaster (I want it to fit my theme better)

Looks great! The shield is really eye catching and works well with the theme. My only critique is the stonehorns eyes...t they look a bit googly/bugged out. Something a bit more unnatural seems to fit them better (solid blue perhaps).

Bravo! The fantastic stonehorns keep stacking up!

WOW everything looks amazing, some great skills u possess, looking forward to more

I like the stonehorn's eyes.  They have the look of "I see you, and I'm gonna stomp you". 

I read thru your gnoblog and really enjoyed the models from "greens" to finish.  Very, VERY well done!

GutChef

Thanks for the feedback guys!

Mmmmh, I was not so sure about the eyes when I made them, my idea was that, since according to the fluff, the Stonehorn's eyes are his only vulnerable spot, they should stand out as such, so I went for an animal and natural look... so sure, his gaze doesn't really say "I know Quantum mechanics"... Anyway, even though I'm not sure about them, I'll leave it at that, I've spent so much time on this mini, I can't really look at it right now...

Oh, and I have a few questions for you guys, I was thinking of making a quite heavy conversion on my Ironblaster, I would like to have it look like, instead of a cannon, the Rhinox is carrying a massive (I mean, really massive) ballista, and use Thundertusk horns (well, tusks actually) for the bow of the ballista... You see what I mean?

So questions: would it look any good? Considering the thing could launch a barbed spear bigger than an ogre would you accept the conversionin game terms? I mean, rulewise, the ironblaster is really a cannon...

I'd really want to avoid my hunters walking around with too much gunpowder... And I kinda like the idea...

Go for it

I rather like the idea of a giant ballista for an Ironblaster. It shouldn't be too confusing at all what it is supposed to be, and it really makes quite a bit of sense that a bolt that size could act as a cannonball.

Also just went through the first couple pages fo this thread and wanted to say that your army is quite impressive!

Really lovely stonehorn and Hunter.  The Cat head is particular highlight to the model.  As is the hood, he look like he should be a Sith with a red light sabre!