I just got back from Rumble in the Bronx. I won a battalion boxed set for my efforts in army presentation, so I thought I'd have a dip at another heavily themed army. I had a change in game philosophy at Rumble, too. I took a relatively soft army (3rd softest there) and realised that I thoroughly enjoyed playing it. Playing an army you don't expect to win with really relaxes the mood, and I had a hell of a good time playing on the weekend. With that in mind, I decided to start at the bottom: Orgre Kingdoms! At some stage during the drive home, I decided pirates would be a good theme to work with- immediately identifyable and plenty of things to work with. The other bonus is that ogres are essentially a larger scale, so conversions should be a little more convincing.

I'm still waiting for that first box to arrive, should be here on the weekend when Mouse drops off the terrain at Hampton. So here are my musings on the army so far:

Tyrant- I want to tyrant to be relatively captainy. I probably won't base him on a tyrant model, as they're very heavily armoured and I'm not sure this will suit. I'll probably dress a bull up in some green stuff clothes and go from there. Big cutlass and a pistol (handgun), maybe a few 'prosthetic limbs'. I'll replace all gnoblar add-ons with parots, monkies and the like (ie, sword-parrots, luck-monkies, etc...)

Bruiser BSB- the first mate will probably be similar to the captain, a little less ornate and carrying the Battle Standard. The standard itself will probably be a pair of sails, arrganged one on top of the other. Naturally, they will be decorated with a jolly roger. Look-out gnoblars will sit in sircular crows-nests, but similar in other respects to the currect ones.

Butcher- this guy will actually be a gal. Gonna model her off the voodoo woman from the monkey island series. Specifically, the way she looks in the recent releases- she looked amusing in 'Launch of the Screaming Narwhal'.

Bulls- the bulls will have a variety of hooks, peg-legs, tri-corner hats, bandanas, cutlasses, eye patches and as much other generic pirate iconography I can squeeze in.

Iron Guts- As bulls, but with bigger weapons. The Standard Bearers will have sails, like the BSB, but with only one sail on each.

Leadbelchers- not a lot needs doing ot these guys. I may give them swivels for their guns.

Trappers- these guys are gonna be scaling some rigging, which will be on masts sticking out of their bases.

Scrap Launcha- I'm gonna try and find a model ship, roughly 100mm long and convert it to have an empire cannon occupying most of the deck, with gnoblars crawling all over it.

Maneaters- Obviously the pirate maneater. Otherwise I'll just dress some bulls up in nice clothes and give them handguns.

I don't really think I'll include any giants, yhetties or gorgers; they don't really suit the theme and thus I don't want them. This army will very much be style over substance, I'm not going for an event-winning list here!

I'd also like to get some Pirate Slayers into the mix. Maybe as an expansion force.

The whole army is going to be modeled onto individual rafts, which will cover most of each individual base. I may try to model the captain onto some sort of prow (The display board will have the rest of the ship that he is captaining).

Each unit will have one model with magnetisable arms. These will be wound counters; each arm is one wound. Once a whole ogre is killed, a whole model is removed and the arms replaced. The removeabe arms will probably be on the standard bearers, as they are usualyl the last model in a unit. The standards will also be removable in all cases, so I can hand them over when they get captured.

WIthout anything physical to show yet, it's all pretty pie-in-the-sky, but I hope to get crackin at it ASAP. Most of it is stuff that I have done in one form or another before, so I'm confident I have the techniques to get it done. I'll keep you posted.

I think you should also use the pay master Maneater, just file the iron studs off his coat and you can take or leave the pay chests as you like.
As for other stuff a Slavegiant could be a Seagiant, paint the giant green and add seaweed to taste. The Yhettees and Gorger could be apes which would keep with the monkey theme.

Sounds awesome, looking forward to seeing it done.

think "happy gilmore"..............................

YOU CAN DO IT!

id be using the pirate maneater as your tyrant.



JoD

give them all peg legs, peg arms... even peg heads!
itll work well...

Mate I have some of the parts from the pirate maneater - namely the head, gutplate and anchor arm.
Lmk if you're interested and I'll send them to you once my exams are over - I can't use them for anything so might as well give them to someone who can .
I expect updates tho.
Cheers,
Crump

So I started making the bases today. First up were the rafts:

They're gonna sit on top of some 'waves':

The second one on the left is what I hope to do to all of them; wave pattern on the rest of the base.
Together:

Here's an ogre for scale (it's a bit blurry, sorry):


None of these are great photos, but they give you an idea. I'll be duping all four in resin for the whole army. I plan on putting a bit of a 'wash' on the movement trays.

Looking good so far man! Can't wait to see the modeling start!!!

B

For a slave giant you should have a Kraken. Like in Pirates of the Carrabiean movie.
Also you have to have striped pants and puffy shirts.
maybe have some parrats as swrod gnoblars...
If you wanted a Rynox ryder i can only think to have an ogre in a dingy with wheels on it. Maybe with a mast like a yacht as a way that it could actually move... something a bit like the old grot cutter from gorka morka.

Ok, got a test ogre nearly complete.

Modifications include the bandanna and the subtraction of gut plate. I didn't like the gut plate for the pirates- too heavy looking. I've since added a belt the the pants, but I'll get that shot up later. The bandanna came out ok, but I think I'll work on my design. I also shaped the sword a little bit to better approximate a cutlass. I want to add a finger guard (probably just a bit of wire) to take it a step further.


You can see that it's all pretty intercahngable. I can have a naked ogre if I want (to save on points), or give him the ironfist for some more versatility. Both the arms come off, so that I can use them as a wound counter.


I've also completed the putty on the bases. LAst steps are to glue the planks down, then apply some sand to simulate white water. Then I'll seal them up and cast them! Then the real fun begins!

awesome man!

Look what happens, I take a few weeks off for exams and the like and you get all pirat-ie.

If Axemaster falls on International talk like a pirate day again and you dont use these AND Talk like a pirate, a part of me will die inside :~)

It's on! If I end up annoying all my opponents- so be it!
Gonna be down at the club this weekend? Or exams not over yet?

I'm pretty close to completing the unit of bulls. I'll probably do another at some stage, but my initial list only has one, so I'll stick with it for now. All of them have removable arms and hands (the bulls so that I can give them fists if I choose, the muso because he'll be the last one left and I need to be able to take him apart ofr wounds counters.


The original bull is nearing completion- I just want to put a buckle on his belt and I'll say he's done. I'm pretty happy with how the second one came out.


I'm pretty chuffed about the musician. This is the cutsey style I'm aiming for- a little ridiculous but fairly in character (with pirates, not ogres).


The bases are also ready to mold. That'll happen tomorrow.

Looking good so far. impressed with the musician, all you need now is a monkey on his shoulder with cymbals

The first unit off the rank. Greenstuff is finished, and the bases have been cast.

If I can get the whole army to this standard, I'll be happy!

Another shot:


I've also made a bit of headway on my standard poles. Each will support a (hopefully) billowing sail, decorated with variants on the jolly roger. The big on in the middle will sport a second, smaller sail. Each will have a crows nest at some point, to house look-out gnoblars.


Close-up:

DUDE!!!

I LOVE THE ACCORDION!!! You need a dancing monkey... Hmmmm... Maybe not... That is more street muso than pirate I suppose...

B

love the concept here mate, keep up the good work,

i will be keeping track of how you go with the sails, i once used calico cloth soaked in PVA then handled into the shape i wanted on a model ship i did, works really well. just an idea, i'd hate to be using greenstuff on that much sail!!

good luck

I'm going for even lighter weight- using tissue paper! Given a few coats of watery PVA, it retains its shape really well, and it's night enough to blow with a blow dryer to acheive a fairly realistic shape. Photos of them this morning I think.

Cheers Brad. I have actually managed to procure an empire monkey, but I'm not sure if I want to keep it for the captain. If I could get another one, I'd consider it.

Ok, the sails are complete. You can see all three in the top left, and a few individual shots. The BS stands at a bit over 20cm tall, so will definately dominate the battlefield! I like how they came out, and I was glad I put the effort to stick studs on the metal reinforcement.

The masts look a little crooked at the bottom. This is because they're magnetised. They line up at a particular orientation, so not to worry.

I've also made headway on my first butcher. As promised, she's modelled after the voodoo woman from the Monkey Island games. Right now, kinda looks like an ogre in a fat/preggo suit. I want to get her the dress, and some voodoo looking things to hold onto, and she'll be done. The 2nd butcher is going for a bit of a Baron Samedi look- black suit and top hat, with a skull mask painted on.

Magnetic sails? Drew you are a hobby ANIMAL!!! Looks great man!

Want to see this stuff in person!

B

The bases are pretty cool. I guess the dumb question is why build them yourself when there are a million resin base makers out there?

I think that the idea behind them is sound though and can't wait to see them with a spot o' paint applied, me hearty. Arrr.



Sorry.

Coz no one else has *these* bases.
Also, I get exactly what I want with these, rather than something close to what I want.
Lastly, it's cheaper (significantly).

Started to paint. I *kinda* forgot to paint the voodoo woman black, so I want to go back and fix that. In the end, I want a few black pirates in my crew.


Here's the most painted one. He's the first test conversion, so I thought I'd test him as my painting guinea pig.

And here's another shot with no flash. I like this one more, as he kinda looks angelic with the screwed up light (and the flash makes my blending look much blockier!)

Arrr they're awesome man. On a side note, i have your foam at my place now just a few more weeks till exams are over and I can make it down.

Love the dress mate! and the accordian!

Cheers.
Have been attempting to put some more photos up, but my camera doesn't seem very happy at the moment. Should be some up this arvo.

Ok, first new update in a bit. Camera battery was playing up! But I've been getting some stuff done. I've finished modelling the iron guts' commands. One banner and muso for each. A drummer and a fiddler to join the concertinist. A full band!

A few close-ups.
I'm still toying with putting a bit of rope in the off hand of the SBs, as the magnets can hold the sails, but they are a tad wobbly. I'd magnetise the 'rope' (wire), and they should provide enough support.

I have also complated the bulls unit and first butcher. All they need is a lick of gloss on the watery bits of the bases, and they're done.

Looking good Drew. The dress and the boobies is a bit disturbing though!!

Looking great!

I love the fiddle, so awesome ...

DUDE!!!

"I THINK I JUST FILLED THE CUP!!!"

Those are AMAZING! I love the butcher and the gutless plates... They look tremendous matey! Can't wait to face them in person.

B

Arr there be no coments about the hook hand, me hearty!!!

Cheers for the interest folks.
Ratboy: I'm thinking of changing my idea for Maneaters. I was considering how I might get some wenches into the army, as all good pirates like a wench or two. I thought some Maneaters (in the more traditional sense of the word) would be fitting. A couple of derringer-slinging lasses to hold my flank would work, and one of them can have a parasol to be a great weapon (well reinforced parasol). This, of course, will require more ogre boobies- so more for you to oggle!

I got the next batch painted. These are the command groups for the ironguts. Both have yellow/purple striped pants, one has purple hats/sail adn the other has yellow.

Firstly, some progress shots:


The first unit. These guys have the pruple features and a fiddle. I decided that in the interest of racial equality, I'd put some black ogres in the army that wern't crazed, overweight women. I think their inclusion, it breaks the army up a bit; adds some more interest. And it's really easy to convert my formula for tanned white skin into black skin; two coats of Leviathan Purple and one of Devlan mud. I think it works!


The second unit. These guys have the yellow features and a drum. I wasn't sure if chicken was high on the list of things ogres like to eat, so I gave the muso a differnt kind of drumstick. It's also an hommage to my last army; the colour scheme of the victim matches my orcs' colour scheme.


I still want to add gnoblar lookouts to the crows nests, but as this army is all about versatility, I want them to be removable. The purple sail is not particularly stable, so I'll have to work on keeping it balanced. I'm not sure if I want to gnoblars exclusivley in the crows nests. Hanging from ropes over the side may be more fun!

Not sure what I want to work on next. I may just go and finish these units off (two more iron guts each) so that I can put them aside. Keep watching this space!

Looking good I like the colour scheme (as it the same as my empire yellow and purple) do you have any plans for making a boat? Maybe as a counts as Scraplauncher?

Then only thing I’m not sure about is the bases. They look great but it just seems a little odd to me as they look like they are standing on little bits on wood floating in water. I guess it just the logical part of me wondering why they don’t fall off.

I guess I would rather have seen them all on a raft with all the bases joining up to make one solid boat and just have water on the edges of the unit. So basically have the movement tray water and the bases all wood that sit flush next two each other. Still maybe it will look more like this when they are ranked up in big units.

Cheers for the compliments. I'm not overly happy with the way the pruple came out, but the overall look is one I'm still happy with.

There will definately be a scrap launcher boat. I've already sourced a big chuck of polystyrene to shape it, a bunch of thin balsa to texture it, and the barrel from an empire mortar to be the launcher itself. Check the OP for all the other ideas I have for this army.

No- I'm going for small individual rafts. Kinda for a comic look- fairly absurd, seeing an armda of ogres floating round on clearly un-seaworthy vessels. The trays will feature a 'wash' in front of the rafts.

Ok, I've finsihed the ironguts. I haven't started anythign else yet; about to move and I don't want to have to shift a half-project. HEre are some shots of the whole army thus far:








I have changed the butcher slightly; I made the skull eye sockets bigger (in her face-paint). I foudn there were a bit beady before.

I think next I'll do the maneaters or the riggers (trappers)

dude they look the goods.

Well done, the overall army shot is going to be amazing!!~

As always...

LOVE THE WORK!!!



B

Alas- I have slowed some. Moving will do that. Fortunately, I'll have shed-o-warhammers soon, and production should re-start.

JESUS LOVES YOU Drew!

B

These are looking great mate Keep up the good work.

I really like the theme of these chaps , the flesh tones look great , very rich and warm colours .
i recently picked up some Ogres to use as heavy troops in our groups 28mm fantasy Battlelore , but the more i look at yours the more i want a whole WHFB army of them .

I look forward to seeing them in the flesh one day.

cheers Tom

First update in a while, as I moved over the the summer and didn't have much of an opportunity to do anything, let alone post it!

First up are the leadbelchers. These guys work with minor conversion, as they're pretty much pirates already. Bandannas and bare bellies still required though.


You can see that each pair still has one model that can lose its arms (wound counters, for those not reading from the start). It can also remove its ammo, so show which units need to reload.


This is the start of the scrap launcher. Just a big, oddly-shaped ship. I plan to put holes in the hull for oars, a mortar on the top (as the actual scrap laungher), and a few gnoblars on deck. A fair while to go, but you get the idea. It's on a 50*100mm base


I also got around to deciding on transport. I found a place the sells yellow tool cases, so I masked it up and sprayed it. There was a bit of bleeding, and the tape didn't cover all of the really complex parts properly (like the latches and handle). I've not done a lot of masking before, so I'm happy with the result. I finished it off with a set of Minisoft (free plug, boys!) trays, one of each size. Not sure if the scrap launcher will fit as is, but in words similar to those of Darth Sideous: "I will make it fit".

looking nice drew. looking forward to seeing more updates.

Oh only just noticed the double post.

What a great themed army! I'm impressed by the start of your Scraplauncher. I love the Voodoo queen. The musos are so coo, and is that really an ice-cream Drumstick? Fabulous!

Haha- not an ice-cream drumstick. It's an Orc Drumstick! A little hommage to my previous army. Scraplauncher is coming along low. I've modelled up some wave around it and added some plastic barrels. I need to add crew and oars, and a bit jolly roger flag, and I'll be done.

Here are the completed leadbelchers. Pretty much in the same style as the rest of the army, and you saw the detachable armes earlier.


The scraplauncher is coming along nicely. I didnt' want a mast/sail, as there was no room on the deck with the gun, and the model was going to ba a pain to transport as it was. Instead, I made some portholes for paddles, so the things still has some propulsion. I am yet to add some sort of trapdoor (for internal access- purely to show and not to function) and the crew. I want to include a gnoblar loading (well, fingers in his ears), one lighting the fuse, one swinging on a rope over the side, one acting as a captain and a few more milling around. I'll also add the obligatory steering wheel.


Thanks again fro reading/looking at the pictures (I'm sure this is quite unlike playboy- people look at it for the pictures, not the articles!).

Awesome Drew, just awesome. Bonus points if you can make the boat float

Just had a look through this and have to say they're coming along great Drew! Particularly love the scraplauncher! Can see this army picking up an award or two this year