A pool of Orks

 While I'm still building a couple of Warlord Titans (which is taking quite some time), I've been having a look at what else do I have on the queue. Wow. The things I still have. After crying in the shower for a few days, I realised I had to pick something. One clear rule: when in doubt, go for Orks. You can never be disappointed with Orks.

I have a ridiculous amount of metal Orks from the RT-2nd Ed times. In fact, when tried to get them all along I realised it was going to be difficult to just separate them into mobs. So I took the easiest solution. Just start painting and I'll make the decision when I have them finished😄

I started with some basic RTO2 Orks. I've always loved these models, and have always provided some fun times. I had painted some of them before. Now I had a few painted models, some others untouched and a few kind of in the middle of the process. Time to make this bunch of minis work!

I guess there's little to say when it comes to these. You can only rejoice in the sculpts of the old times and the sweet silliness they instil. Once again I'm not making them into any specific Ork Clan, I simply let myself go and see what happened. This is the result:

He insists in calling himself Da Kommizar, but no one really pays him any attention

I added some skin variety, asusual. I really find it more attractive than the ubiquitous only tone of green. When doing this, I first paint the skin (at least the first layer), and then I decide the rest of the colours depending on that. Not very scientific, but hey, it works for me.

I've never known the tactical role of the drummer, but it's so cool I have to go with it

I may have inadvertedly made a Bretonnian livery

I also have never known what the helmet rattle is. Ultramarine maracas!

Well, I have 16 Orks for the moment! I can make a mob with them, but I think I'll be adding a few blokes more

Finally! A backdrop!

 Right, I recently received a backdrop book by Jon Hodgson, from his latest KS campaign. You can find them all here, go have a look at them! They are wonderful, I may even get another one!

Next time I'm confident I'll be able to bring the two Warlords. Coming soon!

Cry me a Reaver

Second try! I'm feeling confident after the first experience with Titans. Let's step up and go for the Reaver. How much more difficult can it be...?

First steps were promising, very much in the same way they were with the Warhounds.

Just a matter of deciding the pose. Easy, uh?

Spoiler alert: I was screwing it, but still didn't know! We'll get into that in a moment.

In the meantime, I felt bold. Bold enough to emulate the work of wiser men than me. Are you familiar with the magnificent works of the Apologist? [++noosfericexloadlink embedded++] Please, visit his blog. It's like a priority. Go, go there and pay him a visit. I'll wait.

Back again?. OK, where were we? I remembered this post [++noosfericexloadlink embedded++] and decided to try a similar thing. I dared to reposition a foot so it looked like the Titan was walking, instead of being just standing. That meant that I had to cut all the "toes" away to repositione them later.

Still no idea of what I'm doing

The toes have to fold, in order to look like they have some weight. This is the idea:

Let's hope it works. Fingers crossed

Some greenstuff is needed at this point but after a few minutes it all looks good...

Strange pic, but now please pay attention to those legs. The calves specifically

OK. You see those grooves on the sides of the calves? Please make sure they are aligned with the correspondent slots on the feet. If not, you may experience some problems. I mean, you will have to place some pieces connecting both and, if they are rotated the way you see in the pic above, there will be no way to join them!

I forgot to take pics of the following steps, but you can see what I'm talking about in the pic below:

Awful ankle rotation. That's a recipe for sprains

Well, it's a minor setback, but a setback anyway. I could have unglued an repositioned the pieces, but it really wasn't that catastrophic and I kind of needed to move ahead. It's a lesson learnt for future Reavers (and trust me, there will be plenty of those).

You can have a good look of the colours of Legio Faucibus. I've dared to add more yellow & black and avoid flat surfaces. The Chaos star on the kneepad makes it look like a test dummy, but I'm not changing it.

Hey, don't you run around like a headless chicken!

I get the feeling that my colour schemes don't really risk anything and that I'm playing safe. Maybe too safe. However, I feel comfortable and it allows me to make some effective progress, so I'm focusing on adding new details, such as heraldry and so. No more extensive changes.

Go go Power Rangers Reavers

Once again I didn't choose carefully what weapons I was using. The kit includes an open hand and a clenched fist, and I wanted to use both. In fact, combining two kits, it's possible to use two clenched fists and build the most awesome-yet-stupid Titan ready for a boxing combat. I cannot confirm or deny that I have considered the option.

I'm reconsidering the heraldry of the horse head

I wasn't really sure of what motif to display. As it's Legion Artemis, I thought of a deer, but I had to discard it, as it was going to look like a Baratheon, and I didn't want to go that way. Horses always look good, but I may use the decals of the Legio Griphonicus or any other motif.

Funny thing, the traitor one proved to be easier. As you can see, this is beyond treason, Legio Faucibus has already embraced Chaos. This allows me to place them not only or especifically in the Horus Heresy, but at any moment later until M.41 too. Some Chaos stars here and there fill in those empty spaces and provide a pleasant overall looking.

Looks angry, ready to punch you

I designed this emblem for the Legio, a crowned skull with the arrows below. But again, it looks too much like Chaos Dwarfs! I may have to reconsider.

But not today. I'm happy with this for now

Well, this is the result. These are the Mors Venationis from Legio Artemis and the Furious Impious (Imperial designation Coronatus) from Legio Faucibus, the dreaded Death Jaws.

Is that... is that a backdrop??

(Right! It's a backdrop! I'm working on a proper photo display, I'm making some experiments, but I'll let you know when I have it all ready!)

It seems that those fists are finally being used for something!

Just a final size comparison pic again. Wow, I'm dazzled by the difference.

I feel that the little one could just hop on the big one

These have been harder to build than the Warhounds, even without the walking conversion. However, I'm quite happy with them and I'm feeling confident about the possibilities of more complex conversions. I'll see what I dare to do when I face the Warlords!