Circle Orboros - Sept. 8: Druids

[Spooktalker]

Hordes is not quite the en vogue thing these days but for various reasons I'm finally getting around to sharing these figs I painted five years ago. Do keep in mind, though, by now they are practically old school, am I right?!?

This is a limited scope project is complete save for a unit or two here and a warbeast or warcaster there. A few more words about Hordes, etc on this blog post:
http://belchedfromthedepths.blogspot.com/2013/07/baldur-stonecleaver.html

First up is the lead dude Baldur.









And just the stones:



And on cmon if you care to vote:
http://www.coolminiornot.com/338251

I've got a small fully painted force so more to come.

Hey, while you're at it let me know what you think of Hordes these days. In the early days there was enough I really liked that I jumped on board. In recent years there are still some cool figures, particularly in the minions area, but after they replaced Lawrence Snelly with their current concept artist generally speaking things went downhill, IMO.

I also have almost zero interest in the Hordes/Warmachine rules. I have a mind to play with them using my own story game, which is my approach to most things these days. That said I just met another player who plays the official game so I may end up playing it after all. I need at least new cards, I guess. Haven't thrown in for those yet.

[maxxev]

WM / Hordes is still the best non-campaign wargame experience I have had.

But the model range has grown to the point where I don't play enough to understand what everything does anymore, which is fine if you are playing friendly games, not much good for anything else though.

Great paint work, on the subject of miniatures .... i'm working on some minions now, among other things .

[Blackwolf]

Nice painting

[Mason]

Nice painting

It certainly is!
 

Looking forward to the rest.
 

[DeafNala]

The Woodsy Guy & Stones painted up VERY WELL indeed...pleasant, subdued colors & FINE brushwork. The rest of the Gang will be eagerly awaited.
AND I voted...in a thoroughly unbiased manner off course.

[BigB]

Great looking figs.

I'm late to the Warmachine/Hordes scene myself.  Just started acquiring my first army too: Circle of Orboros as well.  I just love the aesthetics of these figs and will enjoy the challenge of having to use them as they are not a "easy" army to play.

[beefcake]

Nicely painted.

[Kitsune]

Looks really good! Planning on a circle force myself at some point, so it's nice to see other people's painted ones.

[Spooktalker]

Thanks all! Have some more to share over the next few weeks.

Oh, and I went and fixed some colors in the pics above. Am much happier with them now.

WM / Hordes is still the best non-campaign wargame experience I have had.

But the model range has grown to the point where I don't play enough to understand what everything does anymore, which is fine if you are playing friendly games, not much good for anything else though.

Great paint work, on the subject of miniatures .... i'm working on some minions now, among other things .

Yeah, I guess if you're the kind of player that likes a meta aspect of a game then having things change over time would be good. Personally it's not my style of game in the first place and if there's one thing I hate in a game it's any kind of meta. /crotchety

Nice minions btw. Am following along now.

Great looking figs.

I'm late to the Warmachine/Hordes scene myself.  Just started acquiring my first army too: Circle of Orboros as well.  I just love the aesthetics of these figs and will enjoy the challenge of having to use them as they are not a "easy" army to play.

Cool to hear, drop me a link if you post 'em.

[Spooktalker]

Next up is one of my favorite figures from my collection and the reason I started a Hordes Circle Orboros warband. I'll just copy-paste what I said on the blog:

As I was getting into the game when it first game out I went for Skorne first, but after getting bogged down in painting scheme, helmet swap and decal printing quandaries I decided to a smaller force that I would have fewer hangups about. Reading up on the Circle I liked quite a bit but didn't care for the Warpwolf model. However, I was immediately reminded of the awesome War Wolf figure by Ilyad, and Ilyad was on my brain already as they were going under and this would be my last chance to get the awesome "Vorag" barbarians and minotaurs. I lucked out and got pretty much everything I wanted on sale shipped from France (though despite the sale they wound up being more than I typically paid for figures of any kind).

But man, Ilyad figures beautiful, and the resin castings a joy for the most part. And by today's standards what I paid was pretty modest for any store-bought figures. Resin is one of those mediums that can be second-to-none in the hands of professionals like the original Armorcast team or Ilyad, or be a disaster like in the hands of Forge World, GW or the new Armorcast team. The detail on the Ilyad figs can't be beat. Gluing the arm of this beast on with no pin, no greenstuff, just CA glue alone, was a first for me. After gluing I could hardly see the join at all. Mold lines were virtually non-existent, and the gritty resin material files and sands down so much easier than any other medium. The Ilyad resin is light weight but sanding exposes some trace glints. I don't know about resin to tell if that is some kind of mixing agent like metal. There was one significant bubble area beneath one of the knees that I had to fill with greenstuff. Having looked over my other figures my thought is that a figure might pass QA if the bubble was in an easy to fill area on a larger figure. I haven't found any problems with detail areas. Faces, and armor, etc, the detail is simply better than metal, especially with regard to the pressure used to fill the mold. The volumes of the figures are fully fleshed out and don't have the squashed look that metal figures often have. And when you have a flat surface there is no concave surface like you have for Forge World, etc. All in all, superior to metal for this particular figure.











I was painting a lot of commission pieces around the time and in a commission piece I tend to want to make a crowd-pleaser, and I'm thinking about balancing the colors, creating a clear focal point, and giving it something a little extra to grab some attention. This one was just for me, and so I could make it just how I wanted without worrying about the critics (and as a side note in some ways when it's just for me I'm a tougher critic, but in other ways I'm a gentler one, it's a funny shift that way).

When it comes to wolves I've always liked black ones ever since I had recurring dreams of them invading my dream winter manor as a young child (courtesy of the book the Wolves of Willoughby Chase, but the wolves are sadly all but forgotten mid-way through the book, whereas in my dreams they would come time and time again).

Anyhow, painting nearly all black is a fair challenge in and of itself and I went with a warm neutral tone in the highlights. As usual I used photo reference which was crucial to get how the hair on the back can be brown and the chin white, and the color of the gums. The pale green eyes are also after a particular wolf. And despite the finished product being more subtle and minimal and not having the bells and whistles I decided to see how it would fare at Kublacon (2008 I believe) and I was really pleased to come home with a Best Conversion and Bronze Master Kubla.

Here are some WIP shots of the conversion. I don't have any protips for doing armored detail. I just kind of muddled through and am pretty pleased with them though think I could do better given another chance as I've honed my sculpting craft a bit since then. I also made shin guards but decided the concept of shin guards on a wolf was a little goofy. You can also see how nice the Ilyad resin is, along with how I filled a bit of a hole under the left knee.






blog post:
http://belchedfromthedepths.blogspot.com/2013/08/circle-orboros-warpwolf-warwolf.html

[gamer Mac]

That is a stunning figure
The paint job is outstanding. Love the eyes and mouth, in particular.

[aggro84]

Nice blacks!
They can be very difficult for a lot of folks.
He looks great!

[Kitsune]

Looks really good especially the face.

I quite like the new Warpwolf sculpt from PP. The old one was utter gash!

[DeafNala]

You've out done Privateer Press; i.e., that is a far more impressive mini then they produce. The finished piece is STUNNING...GREAT brushwork & color choices. VERY WELL DONE!

[Spooktalker]

Thanks for the comments all!

Looks really good especially the face.

I quite like the new Warpwolf sculpt from PP. The old one was utter gash!

Thanks! I like him more than the last one, but not so hot for the legs, both the structure and the ratio of huge torso to incredibly short legs. Also those little whisps of hair on the knee. Oh well, not bad overall though.

Next up, some of my favorite figures anywhere, bloodtrackers! A special thank you goes out to Kev White for these. Could use more ladies in in terms of a fantasy unit like this, btw, if you're out there kev. The one offs and moderns are great but the fantasy girls are where it's at for me, especially when they team up.









I really slaved over these but in the end I was all, "F-yeah, nailed it!" They're just what I pictured in my mind's eye. Most of my best figures were done as commissions but these I've got in the case and I wouldn't part with them.





Lots of commentary about these, painting write-up, etc on my blog for those interested:
http://belchedfromthedepths.blogspot.com/2013/08/out-for-blood.html

Also exhaustive individual shots on flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/spooktalker/sets/72157634509751520/