Tuesday 13 February 2024

The Fantasy Tribes Orcs so far.

 I started painting the Fantasy Tribes Orcs in late October last year, and this blog post is a summary of just how far I have got.

The aim was to try out the idea of regiment sized based units, something which I have since discovered other people have been pursuing as well. I chose the pre-slotta Fantasy Tribes Orcs as I thought they would work well with this concept, and I also liked the figures as well. The outcome and the output has been quite pleasing. I love the look of the miniatures of the larger bases, they give the regiments as more natural feel of spacing and moment. These stated of as an experiment, and after looking at other peoples basing, I am looking to be more creative with bases for some of the other armies in the future. For now I am concentrating on 1st/2nd Edition Warhammer Fantasy Battle armies, primarily Goblinoids, but later moving onto some of my other early, pre-slotta armies, especially those in the 1st Edition Forces of Fantasy booklet 'The Book of Battalions'.

The other thing has been the output boost. I have found it very easy to paint large amounts of miniatures quite quickly. My approach has been more for tabletop quality, and I am aiming for a 2nd Edition Fantasy look, rather than the contemporary highly painted and detailed miniatures. That said, I am not approaching them in a 'slapdash' manner, it is just that I am going for an older, less complicated look, with more emphasis on painting banners, shields, and character models, which I feel befits the era and miniatures. So far it's been fun.

I am in fact coming to the end of my Fantasy Tribes Orc collection, with only the stone throwers left to do. I am next looking to focus on the completing the Orcs forces from the Bloodbath at Orcs Drift scenario, using only the C15 Slotta based Orcs, although based on the regimental bases. I am also looking to get some pre-slotta goblins painted and based, some of whom will be part of Rug Longtooths army which is detailed in the 'The Book of Battalions'. In addition, I am in the final stages of assembling a pre-slotta Chaos army, based on Gyokurinti's Raiders.

Enjoy :)

The Orcs so far.
There are seven regiments of Orcs, Harboths Orcs (1st Edition), Mudat's Half Orcs, Despoiling Hobgoblins, Notlob's Artillery, two smaller units of crossbow Orcs, three units of Orc archers, two units of Lesser Goblins, two Orc Wyvern riders, a pre slotta C16 Orc Hero, an Orc Wizard, and a pre slotta C16 Orc Chieftain with an Ogre standard bearer (on the 50mm round base) as the army general.
Orc general.
For my 2nd Edition Fantasy Battle Armies I have decided to put the Army Generals on command bases, usually 50mm lipped round bases. I have done this as I like the idea of little dioramas around the General, or maybe just a very snazzy and imposing base. I have seen this done before both in the old 1980s miniatures, and more recent ones for other rule sets. The extra miniatures themselves are just or decoration, although if I extend this idea to my 3rd edition fantasy any standard bearers could be used as the Army Standard.
Anyway, this General (who I have yet to think of a name for!) is the old C16 Orc 'Orc Chieftain' model. I really like this miniature as he look confident and cocky enough to be an Orc Warlord. The miniature itself looks to be a sculpt from the 1st Edition Harboth miniature. His standard bearer is a converted Ogre Trooper from Golgfag's Ogre Mercenaries.
C15 Armoured Orc.
I really liked this miniature and was considering using him as a regimental leader, but I thought it was a waste. So I based him up individually and he will act as an independent hero. Despite basing the regiment on the big bases I am still having certain miniatures, mainly heroes and wizards, individually based so they can have that extra freedom to attach themselves to different regiments or go off on specific missions.
Wizard.
They never made and Fantasy Tribes or pre-slotta Or Wizards (there were a couple of Half-Orc ones). So I have used an old, slightly damaged Nick Lund Orc from the BC4 Mighty Ugezod's Death Commandos.
Fantasy Tribe Orc on Wyvern.
I have done a blog update solely on this, and the one below here:
http://goblinlee.blogspot.com/2024/01/fantasy-tribes-orc-fto-13-wyverns-and.html
The other Fantasy Tribe Orc on Wyvern.
RR5 Harboth and the Black Mountain Boys (1st Edition).
I quite pleased to have the full command for this as the champion, 'Yaskin Forit', is quite a rare miniature.
RR9 Mudak's Half Orc Mercenaries.
This was a regiment I never collected in the 1980s but the 2010s! Again, like Harboths, I am quite pleased to have the complete command set as they aren't always easy to find.
RR15  Throg's Hobgoblin Despoilers.
I have a lots of sentimental liking for this regiment as it was on of the first sets of miniatures I purchased back in the 1980s. It took me a few years to complete the set and I am quite happy to finally have them properly painted.
I chose the orange look for the Hobgoblin flesh as it was the one I associate with the Hobgoblins in the 1980s, and it suits them. I made sure to keep the tone muted though, least I have a regiment of Oompa Loompas!
RR14 Notlob's Orc Artillery.
The rear view of the 1st/2nd Edition Fantasy Battle Regiments of Renown box, with all the lovely old style artwork.
 Fantasy Tribes Orc Regiment, FTO 08 Charging with Polearm.
Many of these became part of the C15 Armoured Orcs range.
The Second Fantasy Tribes Orc Regiment, FTO 08 Charging with Polearm.
The Third Fantasy Tribes Orc Regiment, FTO 08 Charging with Polearm.
 Fantasy Tribes Orc Regiment, FTO 12 Orc Bodyguard with battleaxe.
Fantasy Tribes Orc Regiment, with FTO 01 Orc advancing with Mace and Shield.
Fantasy Tribes Orc Regiment, with FTO 02 Orc attacking with Sword and Shield.
This Orc Regiment armed with spears is a mix of Fantasy Tribes and later C15 and C16 pre-slotta Orcs.
The banner was originally used by one of the Polearm armed Orc regiments, but I swapped them over as it match the spear armed Orcs shields better.
A mix of the Fantasy Tribes and pre-slotta C-Series Orc Archers. 
I have selected the Orcs with the half moon shield, and painted them up to match the paint scheme of the Polearm Orcs, who some of whom also have the half moon shield. I have also mixed a few non archer models in with them to give some variety.
These are lovely miniature, but the bows can be very fragile. I have had to replace several bows with bent brass rod.
The second mix of the Fantasy Tribes and pre-slotta C-Series Orc Archers.
The third mix of the Fantasy Tribes and pre-slotta C-Series Orc Archers.
Fantasy Tribe FT0-10 Firing Crossbow.
Fantasy Tribe FT0-10 Firing Crossbow, led by a C15 Armoured Orc.
I opted for an olive green/brown flesh colour just to vary the look of the army and because some of the old 1980s Orcs were occasionally painted this colour.
FTL/C14 Lesser Goblins.
These are so tiny. They were a race in 1st/2nd Edition Warhammer, which was then superseded in it's function by the Snotlings (which were introduced in 1986, which were initially named 'Micro Goblins', I clearly remember buying a packed called this in 1987).
Anyway, these tiny goblins are part of the army of Rug Longtooth, from the 1st Edition Book of Battalions, and a part of Mim's Regiment.
More lesser Goblins from Mim's regiment. The regiment is split into two part, one with hand weapons, the other with hand weapons and nets. But more of that when I paint that particular army.
Orcs. Lots of Orcs!

Next update could be anything. I am currently painting Fantasy Tribes Dwarfs, but I have an idea of painting a pre-slotta Chaos army, as well painting more Orcs based on the 'Bloodbath at Orcs Drift' scenario Orc armies. I also have painted more Iron Claw Squats than I have posted on this blog, so I have a lot of options.

Sunday 21 January 2024

Fantasy Tribes Orc FTO 13 Wyverns, and Fantasy Tribes Dwarfs.

 I've been busy painting again, making good progress with the old pre slotta fantasy Tribes Orcs, and also a few Dwarfs.

As I have mentioned previously on my blog I am basing the miniatures on regiment sized bases, and taking a more tabletop look to the painting (but still taking care), which I have found is helping with batch painting. Both of these things are quite enjoyable and also mean I am making a lot of progress. I already have another three Orc regiments nearly finished on the painting table, and there are some Goblins there too!

Anyway, I have painted two Fantasy Tribes Orc Wyverns. These were sculpted in the early 1980s by the Alan and Michael Perry. There is a useful link to the whole Fantasy tribes range here:
https://www.collecting-citadel-miniatures.com/wiki/index.php/Orcs_-_FTO_Fantasy_Tribe_(solid_base)

I have two of the three version of the Wyvern, versions 1 and 3. As for the Orcs, like all of the Fantasy Tribes range there are a myriad of different versions of the the same basic body sculpts (something I quite like). I have versions 8 and 13 of the riders. I didn't have any of the spears which they were originally supplied with, so I used a pair of pole arms from by bits box.

In addition, I have painted a few Fantasy Tribes Dwarfs. I am basing their army on the 'Dwarfs of Horrorwell' army list from the 1st Edition Warhammer supplement 'Forces of Fantasy'. I have painted these as an aside to the Orcs for the time being, more as an experiment, but I shall be returning to the army soon.

Enjoy :)

FTO13 Orc War Wyvern with Orc variant 8.
FTO13 Orc War Wyvern with Orc variant 13.
Alternate view.
1st Edition Forces of Fantasy supplement.
The Dwarfs of Horrorwell, a sample army from the Book of Battalions.
I have been collecting enough Fantasy Tribes Dwarfs to complete this army, and I shall be painting some more of these as and when.
Dwarf Crossbowmen from the Horrorwell Garrison, led by Captain Harfin.
As I was reading the background to the whole Horrorwell army it stuck me that it kept referring to the Dwarfs as being conscripted into the army. This gave me the idea of the Dwarfs joining an army very much like a 20th Century or modern army, where the conscripts and recruits are supplied with standard uniform and equipment. To this end I have decided to paint most of the dwarfs with the same (army looking olive green) uniform. Only the shield colours are different, to designate different regiments.
Rear view.
The Grimditch Garrison entry.
Part of the The Grimditch Garrison.
(The slightly ineffectual!?) Captain Perriwinkle Buryman and his Troopers.
The Grimditch Garrison crossbowmen.
Rear view.
Orcs advance on elements of the Horrorwell Garrison.
The Orc battle line closes in!

Next update will be more Orcs, and maybe some Goblins!

Friday 5 January 2024

The army grows: More Fantasy Tribes Orcs.

 I've had a busy Christmas and New Year. Apart from working through most of it, I have spent a lot of time painting more Fantasy Tribes Orcs and basing them on the regiment sized bases. I even re-based and tinkered with the paintwork of the pre-slotta Harboth and the Black Mountain Boys Regiment of Renown which I painted some years ago. It appears I have accentually started painting up an army!

After my last blog post I discovered that the Mantic Games rules set Kings of War encourages the idea of regiment sized bases. In addition, many other people have adopted this idea, as well as basing their miniatures with a frontage of five miniatures and a depth of four. So I have adopted this look from the infantry regiments, although it might be disadvantageous for rank bonuses when playing Warhammer. I have retained a five by two base for some archer units, but these I can double up if necessary for other wargames rules. I have done this because I am planning to recreate some of the old armies from sample armies in 1st/2nd/3rd Edition, and some of those units were ten strong. So consequently I have re-based the regiment from the last blog post.

I have had a lot of fun painting these. It's nice to get back to painting some Goblinoids, and trying my hand at hand painting some banners (not my strong point). My aim is to paint most of the miniatures in this, and my other armies, to a good wargames table standard, with a little bit more care and attention taken with heroes, individual monsters, banners, and some of the random things I might end up painting. I want to make a concerted start on tackling my many fantasy armies, and so think this is the best approach. I'm a good table top standard painter, but not really Golden Demon or Cool Mini or Not level, and so I don't want to get too bogged down on hyper detailed painting miniatures which will largely be for the tabletop.

Enjoy :)


The army so far.
There are three Regiments of Orcs with Halberds, one regiment with hand weapons and shields, two crossbow regiments, Harboths regiment, and Notlobs Bolt Throwers, and an Orc Wizard.
Harboth and the Black Mountain Boys Regiment of Renown.
The first of the halberd regiments.
For all three halberd regiments I have adopted a yellow colour for them so the tie in together. I have based the shield design, a yellow moon on a blue background, on the shield from the artwork on the cover of the Warhammer 2nd Edition Fantasy Battle box.
The above standard is a lose copy of one from the 1st Edition Fantasy Battle Forces of Fantasy set.
The second of the halberd regiments.
The standard is another copy from the Warhammer 2nd Edition Fantasy Battle box.
The third of the halberd regiments.
The standard is my own variation of a style of banner I have seen over the years, with a mix of random made and 1st Edition Fantasy Battle Forces of Fantasy ones.
The orcs with hand weapons and shields from my last blog update.
Orcs with crossbows.
More orcs with crossbows.
To give a little variation I have painted these in  brown/olive green flesh tone.
Notlob's Orc Artillery.
Although a little later than the Fantasy Tribes Orcs they are still of the same era and seemed to fit in well. I have based the whole bolt thrower team on a 60mm round base as I think that they look better in their mini dioramas. I have based Notlob separately to act as an independent hero to the Artillery battery. As a note, they are all the old Notlob era bolt throwers rather than the last 1980s one.
Orc wizard.
This miniature is actually Mormo Jabberbinder from the BC4 Mighty Ugezod's Death Commandos box set. The tip of his staff is missing, and he was languishing in a box for years looking for gainful employment, and thought he would work well here. The Fantasy Tribes range of orcs didn't have any orc wizards, so here he is. I wanted him to stand out without being too much, so opted for muted brown clothing with a bright red pointy hat, and re flowers on the base to balance the whole model.
On the painting table: Fantasy Tribes Orc Wyvern riders.
More from the painting table: Fantasy Tribe Dwarfs!

Next update shall be more Fantasy Tribes miniatures.