Some miniatures for Song of Blades and Heroes (Frostgrave undead and construct)

[Hobgoblin]

I can see that working well - nice idea!

DivisMal: I think they'd be OK with 15s, as long as you don't mind a bit of abstraction or just gigantic masonry. When a block's on its side, a 15mm Alternative Armies orc can (just) see over the top of it.

I decided today that my Ral Partha orcs, which have been kicking around for ages (decades, in most cases) would be worth experimenting on with wash-painting. I was planning to make a HotT army out of them last year, but they'd just be duplicating the GW orcs at a fraction of their size. And I don't have enough of them to make a horde-based army, which would require at least 60 for 24 APs. On top of that, they're actually great figures for RPGs, because there are various distinct leaders and characters, and a good mix of sizes and weaponry.

They're also quite hard to paint conventionally. They're very small and very detailed, with much more definition on musculature and faces then their Citadel equivalents from the same period. It's easy to swamp that detail with paint - filling gaps between teeth or clogging the veins (!) that show on some of the limbs.

So, I thought less might be more, and decided just to use washes on them (apart from an initial coat of steel on the metal parts). Given all the detail that Tom Meier and Sandra Garrity have lavished on them, I wanted to see if they'd "paint themselves".

I'm quite pleased with how they've turned out. The only difference in the process from the GW plastics was that these had been preshaded with Agrax and then drybrushed white, and so had a bit more depth to begin with. I don't think it really made any difference, except that the high points may have been somewhat brighter white.

The rest are going to be done the same way. The process was incredibly quick, because these figures don't have much in the way of accoutrements.

[Spooktalker]

I like these RP orcs and have a few. Love those shields, awesome design!

[DivisMal]

The technique works even better on these than on the cartoony GW sculpts. Lovely!

[Hobgoblin]

Thanks, gents!

I can't claim the shield design as a complete original, as I merged the 'black skull/white teeth & eyes' design that I came up with for the GW orcs with a more abstract skull that John Blanche drew for the section on Great Goblin heraldry in Forces of Fantasy.

DivisMal - it certainly solves a headache! I actually like the look of the speed-washed ones better than earlier ones that I slaved over with endless applications of thin highlights:

[Hobgoblin]

This is the one:

[Hobgoblin]

Added a few more tonight - they need a bit of touching up here and there, but are just about done ...

[swiftnick]

Nice work, I really do like that skin tone.

[Loop]

Does anyone know if these RP orcs are available from Ral Partha Europe? I will trawl through their catalogue when I get a chance but I wondered if I was setting myself on a wild goose chase.

[Hobgoblin]

Some are, but not many, from what I can see.

http://www.ralparthaeurope.co.uk/shop/ral-partha-fantasy-c-37/fantasy-armies-c-37_39/orcs-c-37_39_96/



Iron Wind has lots (in the US, though).

[DivisMal]

They really look brilliant. I'm amazed about the effect...

why did I ever bother with highlighting and blending...once I'm back from the field, I need to try this.

What color did you use for the skin? Looks slightly like GW dark blue wash.

[swiftnick]

A lot of the old Ral Partha figures are returning via Iron wind in the Chaos wars range.

[Garanhir]

Some are, but not many, from what I can see.

http://www.ralparthaeurope.co.uk/shop/ral-partha-fantasy-c-37/fantasy-armies-c-37_39/orcs-c-37_39_96/



Iron Wind has lots (in the US, though).

Yes it's odd, they used to do many more, but it seems the RP lines are taking a serious back seat at RPE these days. It took four years to get one of the rangers back into production.

[Hobgoblin]

What color did you use for the skin? Looks slightly like GW dark blue wash.

It's Drakenhof Nightshade followed by Nuln Oil. I'm giving almost all areas two or more washes of different colours.

Here are four more. I actually painted nine tonight, but five of them hadn't been based, so I'll complete those tomorrow.

I'm increasingly of the opinion that the wash-based technique is the simplest way to do justice to all those old Ral Partha miniatures. I'm planning to do a batch of the lizardmen/lesser troglodytes next.

[Hobgoblin]

Does anyone know if these RP orcs are available from Ral Partha Europe? I will trawl through their catalogue when I get a chance but I wondered if I was setting myself on a wild goose chase.

Just noticed that Ral Partha Europe also has two sets of the wolfriders - at little more than a pound each! I've just ordered some. At that price, they'd be worth getting just for the wolves, which are great little models and perfect for packs of normal-sized wolves in RPGs.

[DivisMal]

It's Drakenhof Nightshade followed by Nuln Oil. I'm giving almost all areas two or more washes of different colours.

Here are four more. I actually painted nine tonight, but five of them hadn't been based, so I'll complete those tomorrow.

I'm increasingly of the opinion that the wash-based technique is the simplest way to do justice to all those old Ral Partha miniatures. I'm planning to do a batch of the lizardmen/lesser troglodytes next.

Thanks. I need to try that. Drakenhof, then Nuln. This might be a very good recipe for all those old skool minis which are awesome in their way, but difficult to paint, because exaggerated details weren't in fashion, yet.