23/04/2021

Back to the or(k)igins

Some years ago I took a hard choice. I gave all my Orks away (modern ape-shaped, space junker Orks) and I decided I wanted to go back to the roots. I kept my RT and 2nd Ed Orks and vowed myself to rebuild a force worth of Gork (or probably Mork). I also got like a couple of tons of other RT stuff, so I decided to start from nothing, repaint what I had and paint what I was getting.

That was years ago and I have been neglecting this for too long. Recently (well, 'recently' in this blog's terms, ahem) I received a lot (I mean a lot) of more wonderful RT Ork stuff from mighty Iain from Cave Adsum 1471, who is more than a gentleman. (Thank you, sir!) It is a shame he has turned exclusively into historical stuff, I would have loved to see this Orkish stuff painted by his hand. Whatever the case, now I had the responsibility to give these chaps some colour!

I have started with basic plastic infantrymen infantryorks. Ohh, it had been ages since I last painted any of this kind.

Long time I even hadn't seen any of these!

I did a pretty straightforward paintjob, nothing too complicated. Colour explosion at will, with no resemblance of uniformity of any kind. No Clan allegiance whatsoever. That doesn't mean I'm refusing using Clans in this project; I might use them in the future, but I fancied this approach better on these guy.

That's a suspiciously modern head!

Finding suitable heads was kind of an issue, but I managed to provide a solution. Not ideal, but will work for now, at least until I find a better one.

Not sure if the guy in the middle is charging or if he just stood over a Lego

You can see I also broke the greenskin monotony. I thought some variety on the skin colours would also be nice for a change. So this blog shows the compromise with diversity and against the tyranny of a single skin colour. Say no to Ork racism (Well, say no to any racism, you know. I was trying to be funny and I may be opening a can of worms instead).

Fortunately no gender issues have been reported among the Ork community, but we will remain vigilant.

Just a couple of group pics to finish:




There's a kind of heraldry, right. I have some more plastic Orks, so I'm planning to expand this squad, and I'll be using the yellow & black chequered pattern to ID them.

But that will be another day! Today I declare myself happy with what will be the first unit of my upcoming Ork warband. More to come!

28 comments:

  1. Can't wait for more! Great green stuff :)))

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  2. Oh, they're awesome! They've come out really well, sorry if I didn't send enough heads! I did paint the Rogue trader first metal ork bix set ,something raiders for my nephew/Godson who I'm still playing games with figures, unfortunately the orks are long gone but he kept the plastic beaky space marines I painted!
    Best Iain

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    1. Ah, haha, I'm glad you are still in the game then! :D
      Please, don't worry about the heads, I think these worked fine and add some variety. I even kept one 'new' head you had on one of them so you recognised the batch :D
      Thank you again for everything. It won't be the last you see of what you sent!

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  3. What an excellent gift from the gentleman Iain. Love the variation in skin tone you've done Suber, and I don't think there is any problem with the multitude of different coloured outfits, gives them a real rabble feel

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    1. Thank you! That was in fact my aim, to break any resemblance of uniformity of any kind. Given that the minis are quite similar (and I wasn't in the mood of heavily convert them), this was the way to make them look different. I'll be adding a few more to the lot, and I think I'll keep the same concept for them :)

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  4. Love these guys, they have so much character! Great job on the painting!

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    1. Thanks! They have their own particular charm, don't they? I concede new minis are great in terms of design and sculpt, but these old Orks have quite a place in my heart :)

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  5. I like them. The bright colours work well. Where did the head on the guy with blue sleeves come from?

    By the way, I've got a few of these plastics around if you want them, and a ton of the newer ape-shape orks.

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    1. Thank you! The head is from a Warhammer Quest Orc. You can find it here:
      http://www.solegends.com/citcat1997/1997p238-00.htm
      Thank you for the offer, but I think I'm currently kind of drowned in unpainted minis! :D In fact I still have to decide what kind of project I want to face with these Orks. A 2nd Ed army? A RT force? I don't really know!

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  6. This is truely orky! Red unz may go fasta, but in battle da is no law (for colours)!

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  7. los orkos no son racistas, a no ser que seas un un piel rosada, un orejas picudas....... bueno , que quieren matar a todos por igual, pero los orkos no son actores porno :D

    te han quedado muy bien, yo todavía tengo alguno de metal, de plástico sólo tengo los goff de la caja de inicio pintados por el minion ... digo hermano de un amigo con pinturas de la pajarita :D

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    1. Jaja, yo tengo un montón de minis con las que ponerme, este proyecto se ha ido de las manos antes de empezarlo...

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  8. Lovely work on the Boyz!

    The old plastics are surprisingly good but until recently didn't get much attention. I can't wait to see how the mob expands!

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    1. Thanks! Right, I have to say these have aged better than one could have thought. Of course they have been technically superseded, but they keep quite a quality, an undefined charm. I would have loved GW to develop this style instead of the angry gorilla theme.

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  9. Lovely work. You can't beat the classic RT orks Style!

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    1. You can't! Period! I'm so glad I'm not alone! :D

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  10. Love the various colors you've chosen for this crew. They are Orks! No need for uniformity... except for the checks that make them a squad. Great stuff!

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    1. Haha, thanks! I wasn't really planning anything, the minis just asked for it, so I let myself go. Now I have to keep the mojo for the next batch!

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  11. Buffff, es que tu estilo de pintura casa perfectamente con estas miniaturas. Me gusta mucho el resultado final, sobre todo como has logrado, que a pesar de uniformarlos diferentes, logras dar sensación de cohesión.

    Gran trabajo

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    1. ¡Gracias! Ha sido muy divertido volver a revisitar estos clásicos, hacía años que no pintaba uno, me lo he pasado en grande :D

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  12. They look SPLENDID, Suber! I really like how you opted for some variation in the skin tones. Too often orks are a uniform snot green.
    And I think the heraldry on their backs looks grand. All praise Gork (or probably Mork).

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    1. Thank you very much! I think there's still much to do with Orks going off the beaten path. Still unsure of what to do next, but it will be fun for sure :)

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  13. Absolutely cracking! Love the clan-free approach, makes them feel more yours.

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    1. Thank you! It's a fun thing to do, kind of liberating! Makes me feel more orky! :D

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  14. Breaking the greenskin monotony is a good idea. The results speak for itself ie brilliant work.

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    1. Thank you! I wanted to give them a different approach, I like the idea of multicoloured Orks, so I will definitely do more!

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