Time to Go Bowling with a Mangler!

The Mangler Squig is ready to cause havoc!

With these larger models, the Army Painter dip is at the limit of what it can deliver. I am not completely pleased with how some of the larger recesses ended up looking, even though the overall effect is tabletop ready. This model will not win any competitions, but it will hopefully flatten some units.

I was pleasantly surprised by the GW yellow Base colour which I used on the Night Goblin hoods. A single layer of the base and a touch-up of bright yellow created a very nice and quick effect. This method of painting yellow rays on black is much quicker than the traditional method of painting the rays in white first and then covering with yellow. If you are still on the fence about the Base paint set, I can vouch for the yellow at least.

Next up, the Horde keeps marching on to the 2000 point mark. I have two more models to add to the mix and then the Horde will be unleashed.

Every Rock Lobba Has It's Day!

Sharptusk's 1500 point horde was ambushed by the Lizardmen while trying to cross a mountain pass. This was the first game with the full army which gave me a chance to check out the newly painted Trolls, the Black Orks and the BSB.

The setup was along the short edge to simulate the mountain pass my Orks were battling through.  The Lizards were allowed to deploy their Stegadon as an Ambusher which meant that it would get a flank charge on some unfortunate unit.

I set up the Orks in a balanced line, with Skarsnik's Wolves making a fast advance on the right flank, Black Orks and the Boyz in the center with Sharptusk in the middle and Maddspittle's Savage Orks bringing the pain on the left flank. Crusher was safely tucked away behind the river.

First Turn saw the game changing play.  Crusher the Rock Lobba landed a direct hit on the Slann Mage protected by the Temple Guard, who then failed his Look Out Sir roll, failed his ward save, took 6 wounds and exploded like bloated toad. That one, well placed rock took out the Lizard's only caster, BSB and general all in one go. Best shot of Crusher's career.

Both lines advance.  The wolves harass the Salamander killing a handler on the Lizard's left flank. Vanguard makes Fast Cav really fast!

What followed next was a slaughter.  The Savage Orks chase off the skinks and get charged by the Temple Guard who are crushed by bad rolls and frenzied green choppa wielding monsters.  This collapses the Lizards right flank.  On the Left flank, the Saurus charge the Black Orks and the Trolls while the Stegadon wanders onto the field in support and slams into the Black Ork flank.  

Sharptusk turns his Boyz in support of the Black Orks, but between the Stegadon Impact Hits and Monstrous Stomp, they are wiped out to the Ork before the Boyz can join in.  When they do, however, the Saurus do not stand a chance and are run down and destroyed.

Sharptusk chases the Saurus straight into the Stegadon flank and we call the game.  With only the Stegadon remaining, the Lizards have no chance of victory. Sharptusk prevails!

Lessons Learned
Every Rock Lobber has its day.  Crusher had one good hit the entire game before missing and misfiring, but that one hit was all I wanted from it.

Black Orks need to be at least 20 strong to be useful.  With only 15, they just die too quickly and start losing attacks.  The unit itself, however, is excellent.  Armed to Da Teef is a fantastic rule.

Trolls are great support unit when backed by infantry.  They stomped many a Saurus while the Black Orks held the line.

BSB is a must for Orks.  Glad I pained one up.

Wolves are more fun than use.  I love their speed and the annoyance factor, but at 100 points they just do not do enough.  I am not sure how to play them next time.  Perhaps a unit of 5 for pure throw-away distraction.

Armed to Da Teef

The Leftooth's Black Orks are done and ready for stomping!

 As with the other army pieces, I used the Army Painter dip.

This time, however, I have to say that I am not as impressed with how the black armor came out. This is not a surprise, given how the dip performed on the ork boyz's black tunics. In the end, I had to dry brush a detail outline onto the armor just to give it some shape.

I am quite happy with the final result, especially given how the free-hand Ork spiky decorations came out.

This bunch of meanies completes my 1500 points!  Momentous occasion indeed.  I am now ready to test the army in battle and grow it to 2000.

Don't Troll on Me!

Having taken care of leading the army with a stylish Orc battle standard, it is time to bring some pain.  Trolls can provide some heavy hitting and staying power.  Or at least, that is the theory.

Three River Trolls before

and after.

Back to the trusty Army Painter Dip.  With models this large, there is no actual dipping. Instead, I used a large soft brush to liberally brush on the dip and then gently wipe off the excess with paper towel scraps. This worked very well and after the models dried, I added some highlights to the faces, hands and green scales bringing out the detail.

Models of this size really push the boundaries of what the dip is capable of shading, but they still came out looking very table ready.


Next up: More hitting and staying power. Time to crank up this Waagh to Black Orcs!

Bearing the Standard

I turned these around pretty quickly once I actually started painting.  The figs were assembled in September, then waited patiently and got painted over the Holidays.

And the finished product.

As with the other heroes, I did not use dip.  I used traditional fast shading (blending with washes and highlights).  Results are table-top ready, even if they may not win any awards.

Next up for the waaagh:  Trolls!  I love big based infantry for their imposing look on the table and the great sculpts.  Trolls will get the dip treatment.

Gadagutz Victorious!

Gadagutz Sharptusk had a second chance at victory, this time against the Vampire Counts.  Without going into a detailed play by play, here are some highlights of the glorious (mini)Waagh..

The vampire attacked early at dawn leading a skeleton block supported by black knights and a black coach.  Gadagutz and his Orks were looting a farmstead at the time with Madspittle's savage orks.  Evileye the shaman started in the center with Crusher and Regsnik's wolves on the right flank.

Regsnik advanced, shot some arrows and then fled from a charge by the coach and unfortunately his fear of the undead carried him straight off the table.

The two lines advanced and met in the middle.  Madspittle was swiftly diced by the vampire, but not before his savage orks cut through a swath of skeletons.  Gadagutz and his crew absorbed a charge from the black knights and then proceed to methodically cut them to shreds.  Within a couple of rounds, the knights and the savage orks were out of the picture.

This battle would be settled by the heroes themselves.

Gadagutz and his lads stormed into the skeleton block and the two mighty champions locked in a mortal duel.  Both heroes suffered grave wounds, but at the end, saved by a lucky parry from his massive ork shield, Gadagutz cut the vampire down and the army of the dead began to crumble.

As the sun peaked over the horizon, all that remained standing were orks, looting through the remains of the walking dead.

Great game.  Again, orks prove that they can hit hard.  Savage Big 'uns on the first turn can put out a large number of S5 hits!  Crusher the stone thrower was reliable this time, but unfortunately the coach made all of its ward saves.

Next up, the battle standard bearer.  With two of my units fleeing off the table, it's clear I need some morale boosting..

Gadagutz Sharptusk Gets Stomped by Elves.. oh the shame..

My mighty little Waagh went on their first stomping run and things did not go as Gadagutz boasted they would by the campfire on the previous night.

With this being a 1000 points only, we played on a smaller table but  ended up with a lot of interesting terrain, which played a big role in how the game played out.

I deployed with a balanced line, Madspittle's Savage Orcs on the left, Gadagutz in the center with the Boyz, Regsnik's wolves on the right and the Crusher lobber in the back.  Evileye the shaman hung around behind the lines.

The elves had an eagle on their right, two cohorts of 10 Swordmasters and a solid legion of Spears led by some stuck-up lord with his pet mage.

The terrain came up with some forests, a mysterious river, a hill, a Blazing Barricade in the center and a Hero's monument (stubborn within 6").

The elves were first to go.

Both lines advanced.  The elves discovered to their horror that the river was a Raging Torrent and a number of the spearmen floated down the stream..   The Orcs rushed forward.  Crusher lived up to its name and landed a direct hit on the swordmasters who then got peppered with rusty arrows by Regsnik's wolves.

A couple of rounds in.  The Madspittle's Savage Orcs took a pounding from magic, charged and obliterated the damaged swordmaster unit which was defending a Blazing Barricade.  The spears tried charging the wolves who fled and rallied behind the Orc lines.  Crusher misfired and was out for 2 turns.  And Gadagutz advanced down the middle.
One rule that I did not play correctly was forgetting to reform my Overrunning Savage Orcs.  This would leave them effectively out of the game but would not have changed the outcome.

The last moments..  Gadagutz's Boyz get triple charged.  Spears from the front, 10 Swordmasters from the flank and an Eagle from the rear.  Madspittle can only watch and reform as his comrades get diced.  The wolf riders are out of position as well and cannot enter the fray till it's much too late.  Over then next couple of phases, Swordmasters do what they do so well and mow through astounding numbers of the Orcs.  Gadagutz himself is brought down by 3 very accurate spear elves.  The only reason the fight lasts more than one combat phase is because the Terrain Monument keeps my Orcs stubborn regardless of ranks.

As the Orcs melt away under a flurry of swordmaster blows, Regsnik takes his wolves and goes looking for a new warband to join and Crusher gets abandoned by its cowardly goblin crew.

Overall I really enjoyed how the Orcs play.  I should have been more aggressive with my army and charged the larger, untouched swordmaster unit with the Savage Orcs.  The swordmasters were the key to this game.

Painting wise, I picked up a Battle Standard Bearer to anchor my lines.  I can't rely on that "always stubborn" monument in every game.

Gadagutz will be back...