Marienburg vs. the Undeadish (update: undead & spooky stuff)

[ZeroTwentythree]

I hadn't read this topic before and I'd read all the pics. There are amazing minis and beatiful paint job!
Love the halfling units 

Thanks! I would love to paint more of the halflings, but I'm currently put off by dealing with straightening the bent resin spears & lances. Otherwise beautiful figures, and at the top of my list of minis I want to paint!

The half-orcs are looking great! The models strike me as particularly good matches as hybrids of the mid-80s Citadel orcs.

I yield to no one in my love for Aly Morrison's magnificent half-orcs, but they always look to me more like hybrids of his (equally magnificent) hobgoblins rather than the Citadel orcs. (As the hobgoblins are closer to Tolkien's orcs, that doesn't bother me in the slightest.)

These fellows, on the other hand, look like they trace half their unfortunate ancestry straight to Kev Adams' beetle-browed, jaw-jutting classics.

I think that's an incredibly accurate assessment. And pretty much why I chose them as my half-orcs, as well.

Unfortunately, the old Aly Morrison half orcs and hobgoblins aren't within easy reach for me. Otherwise, I'd be painting up units of both!

Spot on. I bought some things from Ral Partha Europe and had much the same experience, great models but poor photography.

You'll have your whole regiment painted before I even start my three orcs, I think!

Haha. Well, maybe. Stalling out a bit, so we'll see. 

[Spooktalker]

Cool to see a group like the black tree orcs have some light shed on them and creep out of obscurity for a moment. I like the colors. Like others haven't got a good look at them before. Would like to see a couple beside other figures pulled from the group... maybe when you finish and they are next in front of the camera.

[ZeroTwentythree]

Thanks. Once the unit is finished, I will take some individual photos. (And edit them in Phnotoshop rather than my phone, like the one below).


I finished (almost) the two half-orcs I started with, because I wanted to see how they would turn out. Pretty happy with the results. Still haven't decided on a regiment name or emblem, but I do know I want red for what little color they have.

[Hobgoblin]

They look great! I like the varied skintones.

[majorsmith]

They look pretty nice!

[DeafNala]

They look great! I like the varied skintones.

I agree; i.e., your various skin tones are warm & a striking part of your color schemes. Your brushwork is exceptional. VERY WELL DONE as always!

[boneio]

Ahh, they're great! Good to see them with a nice paint job and not bare metal product shots.

[MagpieJono]

You've done a lovely job on those. Black Tree should pay you to use the pictures on their website. They knock the socks off the ones they have displayed.

[ZeroTwentythree]

Thanks! I think BTD have quite a few gems in their catalog! I just think they've been overshadowed by newer brands. I've previously painted some of their other ranges either for myself or on commission, and recently picked up a few other "test" packs of figures and have generally been very happy with the both sculpting and casting quality. If my gaming budget permitted, I'd throw a pile of money at BTD. But for now, there will be some test paints of a few halflings & skeletons coming at some point.


Heh. For a while I was considering sending a certain other manufacturer an offer that if they sent me figures, I would take decent quality photos (just "inked" figures, but they could have painted pics too if/when the figures eventually got painted) and email them back for use on the web site. If they're figures I'm interested in, I'd work for lead! No cash required.

Honestly, I'd just let BTD use the pics if they asked. But unfortunately, I replaced the shields that came with the figures with an assortment of alternates from my bits bins. They're not bad shields, just not what I had in mind, and too large to fit with my 20mm basing. So my minis aren't exactly representative of what's for sale.

I think decent web photos are one of the cheapest, most effective ways to market minis now, and I can think quite a few manufacturers that I wish would do better. But I also understand that most manufacturers are small operations that are rooted in a love for the hobby rather than corporate businesses with a full staff of specialists. And each of those hobbyist-businessmen/women have their own strengths and weaknesses -- which may not include professional photography or e-commerce skills. So I try to be understanding.

[Spooktalker]

They look great! Excellent paintjobs on some nice half-orcs.

And I agree Black Tree lead is legit. In fact I may drop these pics in my "next black tree order" picture album.   I have made some big orders recently and got great service and quality castings. In the back of my mind for many years I knew I would kick myself if I didn't get the Kev Adams Dwarfs range and finally went in, and am pleased. Have had various of the Adams goblins but got the rest of those available I didn't have and other dwarfs besides. The warmachines are great, the giant stone thrower and flame cannon in particular. Some other gems are the inquisitors, which make great cultists, the witches, a "gray wizard" style wizard... I could go on.

I agree completely about taking decent pics of one's miniatures offerings.

[MagpieJono]

I also agree. I ordered some skeletons last year from BTD and was very impressed with the price and the quality of the models.

[Metternich]

Those Ral Partha Meir giants are golden oldies; nice to see them out and about - good paint jobs on what continues to be good sculpting.

[ZeroTwentythree]

Thanks. Tom Meier is one of the masters of miniatures sculpting, and I think even his old sculpts still stand up well. Painting them is a pleasure -- in fact I think it's hard to appreciate some of the detail and character of the sculpts from photos online, and they become more apparent as you paint.



Re: Black Tree Designs -- they've got one of their better sales going on right now, with most fantasy and historicals packs at 50% off.

https://eoeorbis.com/

[ZeroTwentythree]

Slow progress on the half orcs.



As I've been painting them, I've been thinking that I'd like to add some more half-orcs of varying appearance and size. Initially I was thinking about some smaller half-orcs, but tonight it struck me that I might slip in one or two of the larger Tre Manor brutes that I like using for conversions/Formorication. So...



Hard to tell from the pic, but he's noticeably larger than the rest of them. I took this pic with the big guy on a 40x40, but after cleaning him up and looking at him in the unit, I opted to glue him to a 20x40 base instead and it seems to keep a more consistent density in the unit. I may throw a second Reaper-Manor orc in there too.

So, I'm still on the hunt for other options. I've previously mentioned the Scotia-Grendel orcs, but I think I will hold off on those for a unit of their own. They've got a different aesthetic, almost like an Ian Miller influenced orc. So I'd like to get a bunch, but keep them as a separate half-orc project.* As far as mixing with these, I think I will go back to Reaper for some of the old Bob Olley sculpted orcs. In fact, I think I may pick up a shaman, also by Olley, because I really like this figure...



I also spotted this half-orc while browsing the site, and I think she will end up in the unit too...



As far as some other, smaller half-orcs, I'm still wondering if maybe some of the old Asgard orcs might fit the role... http://www.thevikingforge.net/25mm-fantasy-orcs.html



*FWIW, I 'm getting further into the idea of creating specific mercenary companies or regiments rather than just painting figures and calling them "mercenaries" and being done with it. I'm OK keeping all the generic landsknechts I've got on that basis. But I think my new projects will all have more to them. So the current batch of half-orcs are getting a backstory developed as I paint, similar to the way I've been working on the Scrobbleton Jackrabbit Trading Company for the hobbits. This has a secondary effect of giving me an outlet for putting down some of the geography and cultural background that I've had in my head.

[tomrommel1]

very nice painting