The Biggest and the Meanest of the Greenskins

Black Orcs! They will be the shock unit of my O&G army. The 3rd edition Armies says that the max unit size for these guys is only 10... Why? This is completely absurd. I mean, you can have up to 40 Black Orcs in your army. What's the point to have 4 units of 10? If my opponents agree when time comes to align my Greenskins in a battle, I will have them in a single unit of 20. And they will wear a heavy armour, yes sir! (actually, it's exactly what the minis wear, look below)

The minis come from different periods and manufacturers. We have there old Citadel Black Orcs, some are more recent Citadel ones and the others are Iron Orcs from Knightmare Miniatures.

I have also painted another huge Orc from Knightmare Miniatures (he goes by the name 'Tusker Commander'). This one will either be an individual Black Orc Hero or perhaps a mighty Savage Orc Hero (due to the fact he wears little armour and he looks really wild).

Group Shots

Reinforcements

My progresses in painting my O&G army are going well. This time I've painted some reinforcements for existing units, adding 6 Orc Boyz to the 24 already painted and 20 Gobbos with spears to the existing unit of 20. 

My aim is to have big units (Orc Boyz units will be 30 strong, the max allowed by the 3rd ed. Armies, and Gobbos units will be at least 40 strong). O&G weakness is their poor leadership and cool skills. I want to avoid them fleeing due to missile fire losses. So the more numerous they are, the highest their chances to reach the enemy lines will be.

Ah and I also painted 2 additional Goblin Fanatics (now I have 9).

The Orc Boyz are from the old Citadel regiment plastic range and the Gobbos are a mix of 1) 4th edition monopause plastic minis and 2) proxies from Black Tree Design

Orc Boyz

Machineries of Destruction

Going barefoot and half-naked because they don't have the chance to loot proper clothes and shoes, that's the destiny of the Greenskin war machines crew... But at least they are protected by their leader and they don't end up eaten by their stronger peers. 

I've painted three bolt throwers, one skullcrusher and one leadbelcher along with their crew. Now with a total of six, I think the Greenskins are well equipped in war machines. Maybe I'll try to find a "cheap" man mangler on eBay if I have the opportunity.

I had to "convert" one of the bolt throwers as I received it with one missing wheel and no levers. I used spare chariot wheels to replace them.

The skullcrusher comes from Knightmare Miniatures.

Group Shots

Mooooooh !!!

While waiting for some Greenskins to fall in my mailbox, I've decided to paint some big guys for my Chaos army: Minotaurs! These creatures are the true essence of Chaos and a Chaos army is not complete without them (I think).

I own two of them for too long. I should have painted them a long time ago. These are the Minotaur Lords Ox-Roar "Chaos Champion of Ultimate Slaughter" 😨 and Doom Bellow "The Warped".

The others have been purchased recently.

 Group Shots

Skull Crusher & (again) Fanatics

It's time to endow my O&G army with war machines so they can pulp their enemies from far away. I'm starting with a Skull Crusher (stone thrower). I have other war machines, but not necessarily the crew to man them. I need also to sort out the minis I have received recently. But I should be able to align at least two bolt throwers, an additional stone thrower and a lead belcher.

Normally, a skull crusher is maned by four crewman. Here I've painted five, so one will be affected to the other stone thrower when I will paint it. The minis are a mix of Citadel orc crewmen from the eighties and maybe nineties. The stone thrower itself is from an unknown manufacturer. I don't remember where I bought it from, I have it for more than 20 years.

I also painted three additional Goblin Fanatics that will join the four I have already painted. As I plan to have three of them in each of my Goblin units, I will certainly add others in the futures so I they can all arise from their respective unit at the same time 😈.

The Skull Crusher

 

Back to Greenies

After 5 months of Blood Bowl painting I'm back to the Orcs and Goblins. I will certainly paint several units of them and war machines / battle chariots too.

The first ones are Goblin Wulfboyz. These nasty little guys are equipped with short bows and their mission will be to harass the enemy war machine crews behind the lines or any other vile things they can do.

The figures are a mix of last edition plastic minis (as I already said, I don't like their oversized limbs, head, etc., but anyway... 😬). The others are from Crooked Claw miniatures and I think they were sculpted by the Goblinmaster himself. I mixed the wolves between the two types of minis to try to obtain a kind of harmony... 😏

Dwarf Giants

 

They may be slow and clumsy at passing, but the Dwarf Giants compensate these disadvantages by their toughness and strength. And the stats prove it: they won the Blood Bowl twice (2462 and 2484) out of four participations. 

Lustria Croakers

There are a few Slann teams playing Blood Bowl. The best of them being the Lustria Croakers. This team is reasonably good, especially at interceptions due to their leaping skill, although their throwing and kicking skills are quite weak.

There is little to marvel at in the Slann game. And their arrogance makes them pick the hardest games, nearly always including the Cowboys, the Reavers, the Gouged-Eye and the Chaos All-Stars in their itinary. Coupled with the fact that they already have the Giants and the Raiders in their division, this makes their chances of success always slight, although they have reached the Blood Bowl final once in 2479 at the beginning of the rise to power of the Reikland Reavers.

About the minis: I tried to find Slann Blood Bowl players but it looks like they were never produced by Citadel... So I looked for alternative minis and found some by Fanath Art Miniatures. Actually, these are called frogmen and that's exactly what they are. Their gear is also of Aztec/Inca style. So they will perfectly fit for the role.

Group Shots

Champions of Death

 

No Undead team has ever been successful in playing Blood Bowl, except the Champions of Death. As their coach and owner - Tomolandry the Old - can testify, building an Undead team into a power to be reckoned with on the Blood Bowl pitch is a long and hard road. But his hard work has been rewarded with two Blood Bowl titles (in 2466 and 2486).

Scarcrag Snivellers

Goblins... They also have the right to play Blood Bowl 😉 even though no Goblin team has ever had more victories in a season than losses. None has ever won its division. But they continue to play for the greate pleasure of their fans.

Goblins can actually do a good deal of damages to their opponents with the secret weapons they often use in match, such as chainsaw, bombs and so on. Trolls are also often hired by Goblin teams, they add considerable strength to the team.

I wanted to have a Goblin team in my league. At first, I opted for the Lowdown Rats. But finally I choose the Scarcrag Snivellers. The reason behind this choice is the team's colours. Lowdown Rats are in black and pink. Another team including Gobs will be part of the league: the Underworld Creepers (colours: black and red). I've painted the Scarcrag Snivellers in grey/green and purple/red colours. The result is OK.

The team is containing 9 star players! I know it's too much, but you may know that in Blood Bowl 2nd edition, Goblins and Halflings have twice less star player points than any other races (when you throw the dices for the number of SPP, you halve the result). And I wanted them to have a little chance to at least win one match (actually, they might do better... we'll see...).

Two (star player) Trolls are part of the team, as well as a Fanatic (pogo-stick). Two other Gobs with secret weapons (chainsaw and bombs) may join the team in the future. So I've painted these minis in the team's colours. I particullarly like the one with the chainsaw (its name is supposed to be 'Nobbla Blackwart', but in my team this name is already attributed to a star lineman).

For this new season, the Scarcrag Snivellers will be in the same division as the Chaos All-Stars and the Bright Crusaders... 😰

Group Shots

 

 

Skaven Scramblers

The Skaven Scramblers (NFC Eastern Division) are quite good for a Skaven team. They even won the Blood Bowl twice (in 2477 against the Middenheim Marauders and in 2478 against the Gouged Eye). Yes, twice in a row, it's the only team in the whole league which has achieved this exploit.

This season will be tough for them though. The two other teams of their division, the Vynheim Valkyries (last season finalist) and the Dwarf Warhammerers will be serious opponents.

As usual, the team contains enough players to allow for flexibility in the team creation. It is made of minis from 2nd and 3rd edition.

Group Shots

Darkside Cowboys

A lot of people don't like the Dark Elf minis for Blood Bowl 2nd edition. Some even convert (Wood) Elf minis (and even Wardancers) to stand for Blood Bowl Dark Elves. I was a bit mixed myself. In this team, I particularly like the Throwers, the Kickers and the Linemen. 

Match Report : Elfheim Eagles - Reikland Reavers

Ladies and Gentlemen, la 28e saison de Blood Bowl est sur le point de débuter !

Le coup d'envoi de cette nouvelle saison va être donné au stade "The Vale" en Laurelorn, fief des Elfheim Eagles. Et leur adversaire du jour n'est ni plus ni moins que le tenant du titre : les Reikland Reavers !

Beaucoup des fans des Reavers ont fait le déplacement. Il semblerait d'ailleurs qu'ils sont plus nombreux que les supporters locaux. C'est sans surprise que les 68'822 places du stade des Elfes aient toutes trouvé preneur, avec une telle affiche !

Et bien sûr, ce match sera commenté par les légendes de la Cabalvision : Jim Johnson et Bob Bifford ! Nous leur passons d'ailleurs la parole. Bonjour Jim, bonjour Bob, l'antenne est à vous. Bon Match !

Reikland Reavers

What esle can be said about the Reikland Reavers ...?

Theoretically, they are the best. Yeah, but that's in the Blood Bowl background. We'll see in this new season. For the team composition, I've stick to the one presented in Blood Bowl 2nd edition. Although the star player skills have been randomly determined (number per player and type of skills), Zug and Griff Oberwald have been particularly well served in this process.

This team is made of 2nd edition minis, except Griff Oberwald and Zug (3rd edition).

Ah and I finally received my Blood Bowl pitch (neoprene) from Comixininos.

Orcland Raiders

I've finished another of the Blood Bowl teams for my league: the Orcland Raiders. After a team of the AFC conference (the Elfheim Eagles), I decided to paint one of the NFC conference. And of course, the next painted team will be again an AFC' one (could be the Reikland Reavers, we'll see).

This team is one of the most successful, it has reached the Blood Bowl final twice and won it twice (2469 and 2483). Sitting in the same division as the Dwarf Giants, the great rivalry between these two teams will make sure that the head of the division will be disputed.

Blood Bowl !

After the Wood Elves, the Thugs and the Ogres I've painted recently, my initial plans were to get back to my Orc & Goblin army. But then I don't know what went wrong... Ah yes, maybe: I found an old Excel file I have created a long time ago and that contains a project of Blood Bowl league based on the second edition of this game (including the new rules from the Blood Bowl Companion book).

This file lists all the teams I can assemble with the BB minis I own (OK... for some teams I need to order some extra minis, which I did this morning... and a complete Norse team and a complete Slann team).

The league will be organized in two conferences (AFC and NFC), each containing three divisions (Central, Eastern and Western). Each division will consist of three teams. So if we sum up these, the result is 18 teams in the league! This will look like this:

Ogrrrrres!

I decided to paint more Ogres (yes, I painted 6 two years ago). The first one (on the left on the pictures below) is a very muscled Ogre mercenary sculpted by Bob Olley. The others are all from Jes Goodwin's C23 series.

Thugs on the Hunt

These Chaos Thugs archers will join the 14 others I have painted last year. They are accompanied by a Chaos Hound (that will join the 6 others I have painted last year 😁).

They look as if they were sent by their Chaos Lord to track down some human preys that are fleeing the ravening horde.

Two of them are old Citadel (rare) archers and the others are the well known archers from Marauder.

The Return of the Wood Elves

Why the return ? Because these are the first Wood Elf units I paint since I've painted around 180 of them two years ago. Well, it's not really true because I've recently painted the Attack Chariot and the Dragon Master.

Anyway, these are the first minis I've painted in my brand new house.

They include a mounted general for my army, a Treeman (the third one) and 15 archers (increasing the archers total to 65).

Group Shots

 

Shamans

I've painted three more Shamans for my O&G army. Two Gobs and one Orc, all are Goblinmaster Kev Adams' sculpts. I particulary like the Orc with his Snotling pet. 😁

Gobbos

Here is the last batch of pre-requisite troops for my O&G army (as per the 3rd edition Armies): 20 Gobbos (armed with spears).

These are a mix of new plastic goblin warriors and some Kev Adams minis cast in resine. 

The pack is led by Skarsnik himself. With his trident, he is perfect to lead spearmen (or speargobs 😉).

Stickas & Fanatics

As per the Armies book, I need to fill at least 20 Stickas (Goblins with short bows). Short bows... 😒

The range of a short bow is a ridiculous 16"! These guys will need to come really close to the enemy so they can fire at it (or try to). This looks like they are of no real interest for an Orc & Goblin general. But that's wrong!

First, deploy them as skirmishers so they can screen the combat units marching behind them. Then, hide some Goblin fanatics among them... and you get a very useful unit to seriously annoy the opposite general.

I've put together a mixed band of Stickas: Kev Adams' Heartbreaker minis, forest Goblins, old plastic Gobs from the Fantasy Regiments boxed set and recent plastic Gobs (for 6th edition or so, I think). I don't like these last ones: they are disproportionate, not as cool as Kev Adams' Gobs, they are supposed to have short bows but their bows are as large as Elven longbows... 😤 Well, at least they make the number. I've bought them a couple of years ago when I had no Greenskins and I needed some for an encounter in one of my WFRP games.

The Stickas

 

 

Mercenary Giant

Some armies can hire the services of Giants for battles. These fearsome creatures can destroy many opponents before being killed themselves. But hiring one of them can be a risky bet... because of their alcoholism.

I didn't own any Giant (except the two plastic ones from the Blood Rage game, but they would better fit in a Norse army). I found an interesting mini from Knightmare Miniatures: a two-headed Ettin measuring 7 cm high (enough to be considered as a Giant).

 

 

Even Greenskins need Spellcasters...

Spellcasters, i.e. Shamans, in the Orcish "society" are a paradox. They rarely fight on the front line, hacking at the enemies of their race and shouting at them. They are also often considered by their kin  to be physically "weaker" than the warriors (of course, this is wrong). 

But they are highly respected, or at least feared. Their spells can kill dozens of enemies at the same time. Even the strongest Orc warlord cannot rival with that. They can boost the already high Orcs' appetite for destruction and invoke terrible undead and daemonic beings.

Some Shamans even lead their own tribes, such as Radzog in the Doomstones Campaign (WFRP) who is a very powerful spellcasterr leading the Bloodaxe Alliance, a huge horde of Greenskins.

The one I painted for my O&G army is a 4th or 5th edition mini (I guess). I like everything about this mini: his huge bone staff, his posture, his ragged clothes and I wanted to paint him for a long time. This is now done.

Wild Things

Savage Orcs are a must for any Greenskins army. Their impact on the battlefield (provided that they can reach the enemy units and that they fail their cool test to enter frenzy) can be decisive.

At first, I planned to find some 4th edition Savage Orcs on Ebay. I like those minis and they can be found at decent prices. But then, for my Birthday, I received a gift voucher at my local hobby store and I wanted to spend it in another way than buying paints and brushes for once (because I usually don't buy Citadel minis of the most recent editions for several reasons: their price, their exagerated size, shape, etc.).

But I must admit that the Savage Orcs - although huge (twice as big) and over-muscled in comparison with older Orc minis - are particularly well done. I like their 'stone age' equipment, the bones, beasts' teeth and scales/pelts from monsters lurking in the Badlands.

I wanted each of them to be unique. That's why I have used several skin tones and paid particular attention to assemble them in different postures and equipped them with unique sets of hand weapons and shields. At first, I also wanted to add some (blue and red) war paints, but then I renounced because I feared to ruin my paintjob.

 

 

 

Waaaagh!!!

Hello and Happy New Year !!!

This first port of 2020 is about my second painted unit of Greenskins: 25 Orc Boyz.

For the moment, it is led by a command group that will ultimately be the leaders of a Biguns unit. And I've also painted the famous Harboth.

Eight of the warriors are monopause plastic minis, but they have different skin tones and cloth colours. Mixed with metal minis in the unit, the result is acceptable.