Marienburg vs. the Undeadish (update: D&D(&D))

[ZeroTwentythree]

I've got a somewhat relaxed view of adapting Tolkien. So I'm OK with the swords as-is. Don't get me started on the hyenas from the movies, though... 


I treated myself to a couple packs of minis. (I worked something close to 80 hours the other week... I deserve some minis!) This is one -- an experiment to see how some other figures would fit into my idea of half-orcs.

Details on the blog

I also got a bit distracted with some unexpected Halloween sculpting and painting. And toes.

[ZeroTwentythree]

More half-orcs. I painted the mounted hero (Grenadier barbarian) and two of the Alternative Armies hobgoblins. I sense a little tension in this photo!

I admit that I'm not fond of the paint color on kitty and may try touching it up.



Also painted a bit of scenery for a friend's high elf army, that I've worked on over the years. Not sure who made it, but it's a pretty cool obelisk.

[von Lucky]

Nice painting - kitty looks fine.

[ZeroTwentythree]

Thanks. I'm not as convinced.  I'm mostly OK with it, but something just looks... off.


Finished all five half-orcs, from an Alternative Armies hobgoblins pack. Oldschool sculpts, and the casting was a little rough, but the minis are expressive and dynamic. I'm a big fan of three of the five, still like one of the remaining two, and the guy with the club...I guess he can tag along just because he's in good company.

I'm very curious about the vintage and history of these sculpts. I'd love more minis like these, but the AA orcs seem to be from a variety of sources, even just within the few hobgoblin packs.

[Elk101]

I really like 2, 3 and 5 (from L to R). I don't mind 1 but it's a little cruder than the others. I know what you mean about the club one, it doesn't look like it's part of the same group, style wise. I do like his helmet though.

[Hobgoblin]

Nice work on these! I like the one with the club - his face has come out very well.

These were originally part of Rieder Design's Dungeon Dwellers range. There used to be lots of adverts for that range in White Dwarf in the early 80s. A lot of them hold up very well - especially the "Homus Hyena" gnolls (you can see one half-painted here).

I think the hobgoblins were one of the later Rieder releases. Their armour is very similar to Aly Morrison's C36 hobgoblins (released in 1984), so that could be an influence. But it might just be "parallel evolution" from the Monster Manual illustrations.

[ZeroTwentythree]

I really like 2, 3 and 5 (from L to R). I don't mind 1 but it's a little cruder than the others. I know what you mean about the club one, it doesn't look like it's part of the same group, style wise. I do like his helmet though.

That sums up my feelings on them exactly.

These were originally part of Rieder Design's Dungeon Dwellers range. There used to be lots of adverts for that range in White Dwarf in the early 80s. A lot of them hold up very well - especially the "Homus Hyena" gnolls (you can see one half-painted here).

I think the hobgoblins were one of the later Rieder releases. Their armour is very similar to Aly Morrison's C36 hobgoblins (released in 1984), so that could be an influence. But it might just be "parallel evolution" from the Monster Manual illustrations.

Thank you! Now that I know a bit about the history, it makes sense. They definitely have a similar aesthetic & animation to some of the Citadel, Ral Partha, etc. minis from that period.  Now I also understand why AA's orcs & goblins look like they're a composite of different ranges. There's a couple of other packs that look interesting, too. But they will have to wait for another day...

[area23]

I remember they were sculpted by an illustrator, an artist who also worked for GW. Probably read that here on LAF when they were re-released by AA some years ago.
I really like them and your painting too.
The half-orc rider is really nice too.

[ZeroTwentythree]

Thank you!




 I took a break from the half-orcs and jumped ahead to some minis I had prepped for the next theme-month: Deadcember.



I was too excited to see how they would look, and it was a super quick painting project. I like the idea of light skeletal artillery better than individual skeleton archers. This is an old Grenadier set. More undead fun coming in a few more weeks.


A couple weeks ago I mentioned that I treated myself to a few minis -- namely the pack of Alternative Armies hobgoblins. There were two "treats" and the second one just arrived today...



Two trolls from Artizan/Mike Owen (via Northstar.) I thought they looked like they would go well with the Satyr Art Studio/Drew Williams trolls. While I'm happy that the sculpting and casting are just as good, I'm a little disappointed that the're a bit smaller. But I'm hoping that after they're painted and based, they'll fit in a bit better.

I'm expecting the third set of 3 Satyr/Drew trolls to arrive any time now. So I'll have a nice small batch of trolls to paint up soon. I should try to find one more to fit in with these, and make it 6 to paint.

[ZeroTwentythree]

Forgot to post this. Finished this standard for the half-orcs a little while ago. This was an old mini -- one of the first I owned & painted more than 30 years ago -- and recently stripped. An old Grenadier orc. Photo shown with some of the other half-orcs for comparison.



He's a little larger (and uglier) but that's OK -- the big mean guy gets the honor of carrying the standard. Who's going to argue?

His helmet reminds me of the headgear of a certain Lichemaster...

[sir_shvantselot]

Great old school stuff.

[ZeroTwentythree]

Thank you!


Deadcember is upon us. Or me, at least. I cheated and started a couple days early and finished my first batch on Dec. 1. Eight more oldschool skeletons for my mercenary regiment(s). They're the oldschool Citadel plastics, missing the skulls so I used some of my last remaining resin skulls from Secret Weapon.



Added to the existing...




On Thanksgiving evening, I introduced my wife & daughter to Dundeon! I used to play when I was just a little older than my daughter (she's 7), one of the kids down the street had the game. We played the more recent re-publication version.

[ZeroTwentythree]

I'm still working on the backstory, but included a brief summary of the concept on my blog. https://www.zerotwentythree.com/2018/12/bones-ballistae.html

[Knight-Captain Tyr]

The variously coloured skeletons are oddly reminiscent of the skeletons from the Diablo games. Great stuff.

[ZeroTwentythree]

The variously coloured skeletons are oddly reminiscent of the skeletons from the Diablo games. Great stuff.

Hadn't thought of it that way, but now you've got me thinking about that more...   



Ernst Wagner, traitor to the Empire, and his undead artillery battery (mix of old Grenadier & Citadel):