Ral Partha and Reaper Orc Skintones

Over the last several months, I've painted a half dozen or so older miniatures that I have found in a discard bin at the local game store.  The guys there sell them to me for $1-2 each, depending on their mood, day of the week, etc. As I have mentioned on here before, there are a lot of treasures in those bins that are overlooked because they are vintage and also because the bins are a pain to go through.

Below are a couple such pieces.  They are both orcs from two different companies.  The little guy is a Ral Partha Fantasy Armies orc and is lot older than the bigger guy.  I think he was cast  sometime in the early 1980s.  The bigger guy is a Reaper orc in metal..not one I see often but perhaps they have made a Bones out of him.

Anyways, I could not paint these guys shades of green anymore.  I just couldn't do it for some reason...I think boredom.  So, I tried to paint them with skin tones that I almost never use...blues and greys.  I like the grey one better I think:

An Old Orc and Some New Caverns

Here's a cool little orc for ya. I found this gangly guy at the local game store in one of their "old lead" bins.  Those things have so many treasures it is amazing.  This guy is an old Ral Partha mini.  I think he's got a lot of character, and I like the fact that he is scrawny looking as opposed to super muscular.  I would use him at the game table as a scrappy Mordor Orc who has worked his way up to being a mean leader.

Mr. orc sits atop some new cavern tiles that I got from the Dwarven Forge Caverns Kickstarter.  I've started painting them up for use one day at the table.  Dwarven Forge products and service are top notch in my experience.  These things are pretty close to being indestructable.  They are easy to paint and they don't require primer. They are really beautiful after painting.

As usual, I tried to paint Non Metallic Metals on this old mini to see if it would look good.  I'm getting better, but still not at that "realistic" level.  Notice the eye of Sauren sculpted onto this guys front armor...

Finally, here is a back view of him just to show off all the browns that an orc can have.  One day I will get brave and do black armor.

Reaper Bones Orc Archers

These three Reaper Bones orc archers were a relatively quick paint job for me.  Since I am very very slow, I would say I spent 6-7 hours painting them. I used a lot of washes and basic highlights.  Almost no blending as you can tell.  I intend to use them for RPG gaming -they will go into my bin of plastic monsters that I bring along with me to games.

I may have said this before...but I like the fact that these Bones miniatures won't chip as much as metal miniatures when they are handled or when they fall over. These will go to the kids for stress testing tonight...we'll see how they hold up after I spray Dullcote on them.

Choosing colors for orc clothing can be challenging.  I cannot fathom them having brightly colored kilts or shirts.  I assume they have a lot of earth tones...perhaps even more black colors than I have chosen.

In the end, these orcs were a nice diversion away from the Hellborn paladin.  Now I must get back to him and finish!

Reaper Bones Goblins

Hey Derek and Jason, I assume you are the only ones reading this!  Just kidding.

Here are some Bones goblins that I started last Saturday night at a paint party.  I decided that they would make good scrawny orcs.   I've added a lot more detail to them since then, such as touching up the damn green skin over and over.  So much for a quick dry brush and glaze!  I think they are at a point now where I'm going to spray them with Dullcote and have them in the bin for RPG nights.

These are fun sculpts which makes painting go along quicker for some reason. When you get those nasty teeth to show up and you see the mean faces, you know that orcs are evil. I had no idea what colors to use on the clothes, so I just went with the various browns used for leather and such. I'm sure there are some metrosexual orcs out there with excellent color coordination, but not these hapless blokes.

Anyways, that is all for now.  I'm going to try and finish Khesh dragonman soon.  Keep rocking the paint brushes everyone.

-Nils

Otherworld Pig-Faced Orcs

These are the kinds of orcs that I first came to know from playing the Holmes Basic D&D boxed set back in '81 or '82.  They look part crazy and part dangerous. I like the fact that they are not extreme musclebound freaks like modern orc sculpts. These guys look nasty, but beatable.

The armor that they came up with for these guys is, as the Brits say, "spot on". Look at all the studs and spikes on them! Studded leather and banded mail, not extreme plate for these lowlifes.   I used GW Boltgun Metal washed with A dark wash to weather the swords and armor.

Here are the three against a dungeon wall segment I made a few years back.  I tried to sculpt some stone floor tiles  on the bases.  Did I mention that Otherworld is my favorite active miniature line?