Orc Boyz...Unit #1 Wrap Up

Well here is the wrap up of the first commissioned orc boy unit. I and the client are happy with how they turned out.

I based the models on Gale Force 9 magnetic bases at the request of the client. Its not the first time I’ve used them, but I have noticed sometimes you get a batch that just are not real clean on the cut edges, so I needed to get an Xacto out and shave them a bit.

You will also notice that I used Aves Apoxie sculp on the bases, that’s the white stuff that you see on the GF9 bases. I did this for areas where the models needed a slight repositioning in height to offset model conflicts or needed some special way of supporting the model itself. When you do modeling with a lot of crazy conversions, you will sometimes need to do this just to eliminate conflicts in the rank and file. In 40k, I was always able to get away with crazy poses, in Fantasy not quite as much, but sometimes a couple to a few millimeters of height change on just how you mount that crazy pose will let you get away with it.

As part of the commission, I built the custom movement tray out of plasti-card. I used the apoxie sculp to around the outsides to get that nice flowing transition up to the bases. Typically I make the edges wider than say what GW does with their trays for a couple of reasons:
1. Eye-candy: It makes it very easy to add subtle little details off on the edges of the tray to add to the overall appearance of the models.
2. Protection: I have crazy poses or sometimes the models hang way out over the edges of small trays like the GW or GF9 trays. When you spend hours detailing your miniatures, the last thing you want is a player that has old metal models being slammed into your models on the gaming table chipping off paint, or worse yet potentially damaging some fragile detail. It is not that people mean to do it, it just happens, so this is just another step that I do help protect things.

I also lined the interior of the movement tray with the GF9 magnetic sheet that is backed with an adhesive.

You will note on the back side of the movement tray I left it open. I’ve been doing that recently for most of my stuff, so that if I add characters displacing regular models, or want to add a few models to the unit they can basically ride along on the back of the tray. Another thing I do is make the interior of the tray, just a bit larger allowing for a slightly looser packing of the bases, normally not much more that 2-3 mm.

Again the client wanted these boyz to appear as if they are beating on Vampire Counts, so I carried the theme throughout with this unit against zombies. The next unit will be beating on the poor old skeletons. The biggest and hardest boyz get put in the front, because dey’s da best. With all of the craziness going on with the poses it’s a good idea to mark down in some form of code, how and where they are to be placed within the unit, so that the jigsaw puzzle is easier to put together. To do this I simply use a Paint Marker on the bottom of the base to write down the code.





So there you have it, commissioned Orc Boyz unit #1. Next up Unit #2. One thing about this is that with building these units on commission, it has given me ideas on what to do with my boyz in the near future. I do plan to do a Fantasy Orc army, the one difference will be that my army will be beating the hell out of humans, Empire and Bretonians, lots of planned carnage, that hopefully I can pull off. For my army I’m starting with the modeling of the Black Orcs and building them as I go with this commission, so as to not burn myself out.