So... I may have a problem...

That is directly related to the Samurai Redskins.

As mentioned before, I am dead set on including savage orcs in the list. The dilemma was whether or not to include black orc bosses for their in-game reliability.

In any case I'd decided that I'd either have black or savage orc bosses to fill the holes and give the units a bit more punch.

As most of the army probably going to be converted in some fashion, large or small, I wanted to have bosses that were different. That were not GW figures. I settled on some figures by Red Box Games, specifically the Varp Krigar from their HelsVakt line and Fritjof the Fierce, from the Halfblood line.

A Varp Bezerker, weapon options are included in a seperate bag.

The Halfblood, which I assume to be a half-orc.

Now before I return to the problem I'd like to take the time to do a quick review of Red Box Games.

RBG, is the brainchild of Tre Manor. IT recently had a Kickstarter Campaign (Linky) to get funding for its Helsvakt line. It was a rousing success, getting $80k when it was after $5k. When I ordered the Varp Krigar and the Halfblood, Tre was a real gentleman about it. He emailed me and advised that I was actually due a refund, because I hadn't used the 40% off metal models voucher. (I wasn't aware that there was one). He promptly refunded the amount to my paypal and shipped the models. 

The models came in the post today, about 15 days after it was shipped. They're really nice figures. The issue (yes, we're back to the original point of the post) is that the scale is different. Now Tre, states that the figures are heroic sized, and well, they are. But I was hoping that when he mentioned having big crazy men, I'd be able to substitute them into an orc army no problems. Sigh. That's probably not going to happen. See the pictures below for a scale comparison. 

This one of the Varp Krigar. There are four in the pack.

This one has the halfblood for scale. 

In terms of height, the figures are more than ample but the concern is that they're going to noticeably leaner than the rank and file savage orcs from GW.

Nothing is set in stone yet, but I may need to go back to the drawing board on this one.

On Savage Orcs...

I know I haven't actually posted up an army list for the redskins yet, it hasn't really firmed up in my head. However, I am a big fan of the new savage orc kits from GW, so much so, that I'm using them as the base for converting samurai orcs.

In game terms, the initial assessment is that the samurai orcs would either continue to be savage orcs or I'd run them as black orcs. In any case, I still like running savage orcs, the entire idea of them just speaks of fun to me, crazy naked savages that use anything that comes to hand to fight, including their own crap (probably...).

What anyone who runs orcs and goblins, or who has played against them enough, knows is that they suffer from animosity. Most people then field a whole lot of Black orc Bosses to get around this rule.

Myself, I haven't decided what to do. What I had decided in my own head was that, even if the samurai orcs were being used as black orcs, I'd field a unit of savage orcs. For a number of reasons:

1. They're cool. Cool models, Cool fluff, Cool rules.
2. I've got a Wurzzag model on foot. He is so awesome, full of so much character in the sculpt that I gotta run him. Plus he gets cool rules, which fits into reason 1. 
3. I've got a lot of appropriate models.

Wurrzag, Da Great Green Prophet.

GW sells him in Finecast resin now, for a stupid price. I've got a metal model for a reasonable price.

I feel like I should make a note early in this blog that whilst I enjoy the hobby and the fluff that goes with it, I'm in no way so enamored of GW that I'll willing hand my cash fist over fist for their products. A lot of my models were and are sourced from independent stockists as well as a number of webstores.  

Face masks

For those not in the know, I'm currently in the middle of my second last semester of law exams.

Law school, is tough. Tough to get in. Tough to get through. Tough to get out. Just tough all over.

For those of you who are considering it, I ask you this simple question:

Do you enjoy putting yourself into a situation that entails constant self punishment?

If you answer in the affirmative, then maybe, just maybe, law school is for you.

Anyway, I digress, back on topic, I have found that exam time and the stress that goes with it, directly correlates to an increase in motivation when it concerns the hobby.

Thus while I should in fact be studying, for my last exam for the semester, I'm actually trying to figure out how to sculpt samurai face masks for the Redskins.

The ubiquitous face mask with helm

The end goal is to have a number of orc heads in samurai helms/masks. I haven't decided on a number yet, I'm still at the conception stage. The plan is that at least one head will be a helm/mask combo. Alternatively I could just sculpt the masks and have them cast as an accessory that GW puts on a lot of the new sprues. An optional extra if you will, something that will easily fit over the orc head. 

I've yet to start making prototypes, that involves actually grabbing the putty and having a go, but I have been busy drawing sketches, which I'll upload at a later time. For now, I'll leave it at this.

Annnnnnnd.....Ninjas!

Because that's what every Asian themed army needs...

My Redskins are no different.

So...what nearly every orc and goblin player has in abundance is waaaaay too many night goblins.

This bad boys came in the previous edition starter kit, and really, no one really needs that many night goblins. They're the shitkickers of the goblin race. Sure they get fanatics, but they're done. The look, the aesthetic. I didn't know what to do with the hordes of them I had lying around. Honestly, they've got to be one of the easiest and cheapest ($$$) hordes to get from GW.

So I was actually planning on throwing these bastards out, or putting them into a bits bin.

Instead I came across a conversion, that I've since applied to my horde of night goblins.

Couldn't find the picture of the conversion. So here are my own results.

Essentially, its a quick lop of the top and file the cut down. With a mask of putty. The pics probably aren't that clear but hopefully it'll come out when they're painted. Taking the hoods off is the quick part, the putty masks are easy enough but kind of draining. I've got ten down already, I think I'll do this to a maximum of 70 models.

As for the rest of the model, I'm not sure about shaving the emblem off the shield in favor of something more eastern or just leaving it. Same goes for the spears... I'll think about it...

Project Bushi Redskins

Alright, so i'll take some time to introduce anyone whose bothered to come about the origins of the project I'm working on.

The short version: I'm making a samurai/han chinese Orc and Goblin army for use in WHFB.

The slightly longer version:

My inspiration for this largely came from owning models from the defunct Rackham Studios, Confrontation range. Specifically the Goblins of No-Dan-Kar? Anyway, the goblin clan that's got some serious Nipponese influence.

When you look at the sculpts and then the artwork that it's based off... you seriously cannot help but marvel at how close it is.

This is one of the sketches for the Samurats.

The relevant model is on the right here.

Seriously cool models. However, Confrontation was never really much of a game and it was never really designed for fielding huge amounts of figures. It was, however, a work of art in every figure. 

Knowing this, and knowing that getting my hands on enough figures to make an army would bankrupt me almost turned me off this idea, but for a lucky happenstance.

Ludik Bazaar, (http://www.ludikbazar.com/), happened to acquire a whole stack of metal Rackham figures. I managed to pick up Samurat blisters for about 2 Euro. 

I should have cleaned out their stocks but I hadn't fully committed myself to the idea yet. 

What turned me was playing a greenskin army at a local tournament, Warhammer World Series. Playing the actual army, I found I had lots of fun. 

I guess that was the turning point. 

As a bit of background, I've been playing Skaven at the local tournaments since 8th Edition came out. Don't get me wrong, Skaven are a lot of fun. They're devious, dirty and real bastards. But I'm getting bored. Also, all my previous armies (I had Lizardmen before Skaven, still do) were rush jobs. I always felt like I hadn't put in 100% into my armies. Sure, they were playable and got the majority of paint scores, but I know that I could have done better. So the goal with the Samurai Redskins is to put in the time that I feel they truly deserve, from conception through to completion. 

For those who are wondering about the second half of the army name, I'm calling them redskins because I plan to paint them differently. I plan on making them ochre through to red skinned. The inspiration again is derived from another source, this time Heroes of Might and Magic 6.

Introduction

Alright... I'm terrible at maintaining online personas, or the detritus that's attached to them.

Blogs for instance.

Thus I'm making no promises that this will be kept up to date, but one can hope.

The goal/aim/directive of this blog.

To notate my rather dubious efforts in relation to the hobby of toy mans.

This is the webspace where my pet projects will go.