Breaking it up a bit

It's been a while since my last post. This is partly a natural lull after pumping out my Axemaster tournament report, but it's also because I've been in a bit of a hobby slump recently. After 2 tournaments in quick succession (one of which included a mad rush to get my army ready), I now have nothing on my radar until Cancon in January.

I haven't even acknowledged my abject failure in the Tale of Duelling Gamers yet. The challenge finished at the end of September, and I failed to do anything about my quotas for the last 2 months. In August this was because I was completely focused on the Empire Ogres for Rumble, and then in September it was basically because I was burnt out from the previous month. So I only managed to paint Dwarfs for 4 of the 6 allotted months. In this regard, my efforts were a failure. In practical terms however, I did fine. My output for the 6 months was as follows:

• 20 Dwarf Slayers
• 27 Dwarf Quarrellers
• 11 Dwarf Thunderers
• 16 Dwarf Irondrakes
• 16 Dwarf Ironbreakers
• 12 Dwarf Miners
• 1 Dwarf Cannon
• 3 Dwarf characters
• 3 Ogre Leadbelchers
• 4 Ogre Bulls/Swordsmen
• 1 Ogre Ironblaster
• 5 Ogre Sabretusks
• 4 Ogre characters
• 1 Empire Captain to ride a Pegasus

If I managed that level of productivity every 6 months, I think I'd be pretty happy. So really I don't feel like I failed too badly. I just failed to focus, and didn't spread the load as well as I might have...

Anyway, as I continue to recover from my earlier burnout and without a clear goal in sight in terms of an upcoming tournament, my hobby efforts have been pretty confused and random. I've dabbed some paint on a couple of models, but I haven't produced anything even remotely close to a finished product.

Right now my focus is somewhat on my Orcs and Goblins. They need some attention (having been completely neglected for a number of years), and I thought I'd have a go at something I've been meaning to try for ages - turning some of my units into more of a rabble and less of an ordered regiment.

Some of my "unpainted" Orcs strewn across the table. Some have someone else's paint on them, but I need to try to update them to match my other stuff.

My general plan is to break the orderly ranks and files encouraged by having each model on a neat, square base. To do this I want to use some of the old "regimental bases" that can fit 4 models each, and maybe some larger square bases to give me more shapes to work with. By using these larger bases, I can shift around where the models stand in relation to the existing ranks and files, and hopefully break the pattern enough for them to look more like a disorganised mob.

All your base. 

Trying them in amongst regular, single-base guys. I like how I somehow still have trouble ranking them up, even when there are not enough of them on the bases. Stupid big Orcs...

Thus far, I'm not entirely sure it's working. In order to stand the models out of their normal positions, I end up having to use fewer models per base. This makes the Orcs look more "thin on the ground" than I really imagined. It's possible it will work better when I mix them in with more regular guys, rather than having so many of the newer group bases in a single formation. Failing that, I might look at trying to make some diorama-type pieces. Maybe even some using some really large bases (taking 12 or 15 spots) and magnetising the guys on it so I can actually transport the things. Ah well, I have enough Orcs that I can experiment a bit.

Here's one I've been working on for a while. A Black Orc restoring order to the ladz.