Pig-face Orc Shaman

Another long-WIP figure finished and exposed to the light of day. I started this orc shaman back when I was painting the rest of the orcs but got momentarily hung up on freehand pattern designs I wanted to add to his jewelry and put him aside...for 8+ years. Now that I'm playing D&D again it was as good a time as any to get back to it.

I'm pretty pleased with how he turned out, and it was especially satisfying finishing him off by slapping on some Tamiya Red Clear over the bloody heart and making blood spots, and giving his lapis lazuli diadem a glossy gleam with Future. Also satisfying that I added an orc from the Grenadier Dragon Lords Orcs of the Severed hand box set to the band, as now I've got no fewer than five generations of Grenadier orcs represented!

"Foremost among the orcs is a leering shaman-type garbed in fur and finery, a blue diadem shining from his forehead, a bloody fork in one hand and proffering in the other a bloody, throbbing heart!"

"Roll for Surprise!"

Like the other orcs, this one has a pig snout added, made from green stuff/brown stuff, but is otherwise stock. It's a great sculpt by John Dennett that strikes an imposing figure beside the other orcs. The painting of the blue and gold bands was inspired by photos of real-life shamans and is meant to represent cords made from cloth and gold thread. The cloth of his garment is meant to be something he took from a royal or at least noble personage and conveys his charisma, showmanship and sense of self-worth. Lastly, you've got to love his heart-extraction fork.

Pig-face Orc Shaman from the Grenadier Dragon Lords Orcs of the Severed Hand Box Set

Pig-face Orc Shaman, rear view

The making of the pig-face orcs that never were

Orcs WIP

I made several attempts to summarize some thoughts on orcs miniatures to go along with some pics of the WIP orcs, but each attempt digressed into such a rambling mess of ideas I have on the business of making of miniatures as a whole that I again opted to let the pics do the talking for me.

Here are the bare conversions:

I used brown stuff/green stuff mix to help them keep their shape a a bit. I learned to use a wire armature under any extension of green stuff, no matter how small. Drill a hole in the face and stick in some wire. Just sticking on a blob on the face and forcing it into submission works, but with a wire it's easier.

I had open pics of the old illustrations for reference while I was sculpting. I always use reference. You'll notice that pig-face is a bit of a misnomer, actually the snout is fairly different than a pig. The first figures I did were more piglike despite the reference I was using but eventually, on the leader type and brown-skinned solid gold line orc I started doing them a little more like the illustrations.

Priming my conversions is usually one of the most satisfying moments of a project. Before priming the different-colored parts make the whole appear jumbled unless you concentrate, whereas after I usually get what looks like a unified whole. It's a bit of a moment of truth too, so whatever the result, good or bad, you get the satisfaction of dispelling the mystery and or anticipation.

The pig-face orcs that never were

Painted: Orcs

I've shared quite a few D&D encounter groups here, but I've been holding out on you when it comes to the orcs. This is another project that I finished years ago (early 2010) but I only now finished the legwork for a proper post. I think I'll come back and say some more about the project to convert these from several varieties of Grenadier orcs (and one goblin), but pics will do fine to fill up this particular post. Essentially, after scouting my options for 25mm D&D orcs I decided to bring together a bunch of dissimilar orcs produced along an even spread from as early as the late seventies up through late eighties and that I happened to have lying around, and attempt a sense of cohesion by means of adding the same pig-snout to each, made from greenstuff. The pig-face, of course, is that attribute orcs have in official D&D illustrations from throughout the seventies but that almost no miniatures have besides the Minifigs ones ~1977 and the Otherworld ones (~2007?). And so these are a bit of a what-if—the orcs that never were.

 

Manufacturer: Grenadier
Line: Fantasy Lords (second series)
Set: 020 Orc Command Group
Figure: M255 Orc leader
Base markings: M255
Release date: ?
Sculptor: John Dennett

  

Manufacturer: Grenadier
Line: Fantasy Lords (second series)
Set: 020 Orc Command Group
Figure: M256 Orc drummer
Base markings: M256
Release date: ?
Sculptor: John Dennett

 

Manufacturer: Grenadier
Line: AD&D "Solid Gold Line"
Set: ?
Figure: Lesser Orc w. Spear
Release date: 1980
Sculptor: Andrew Chernak
Notes: It's possible this was an alternate figure in the 5002 Monsters box set.

 

Manufacturer: Grenadier
Line: AD&D "Solid Gold Line"
Set: ?
Figure: Lesser Orc w. Bow
Release date: 1980
Sculptor: Andrew Chernak
Notes: It's possible this was an alternate figure in the 5002 Monsters box set.

 

Manufacturer: Grenadier
Line: AD&D "Solid Gold Line"
Set: 5002 Monsters
Figure: Lesser Orc w. Sword
Release date: 1980
Sculptor: Andrew Chernak

 

Manufacturer: Grenadier
Line: AD&D "Solid Gold Line"
Set: 5002 Monsters
Figure: Lesser Orc w. Waraxe
Release date: 1980
Sculptor: Andrew Chernak

 

Manufacturer: Grenadier
Line: Battle Lords
Set: 1602 Orcs, Army of the Black River
Figure: M112 Orc w. Club
Base markings: M112
Release date: 1986
Sculptor: John Dennett

 

Manufacturer: Grenadier
Line: Fantasy Lords
Set: 109 Orcs
Figure: Orc
Release date: ?
Sculptor: John Dennett

 

Manufacturer: Grenadier
Line: Fantasy Lords
Set: 108 Goblins
Figure: Goblin
Release date: ?
Sculptor: John Dennett

 

Manufacturer: Grenadier
Line: AD&D "Solid Gold Line"
Set: 2011 Orc's Lair (also in 103 Orcs blister pack)
Figure: B. Axeman
Release date: 1980
Sculptor: Andrew Chernak

 

Manufacturer: Grenadier
Line: AD&D "Solid Gold Line"
Set: 2011 Orc's Lair (also in 103 Orcs blister pack)
Figure: E. Swordsman
Release date: 1980
Sculptor: Andrew Chernak

A face off to show you their size

As always, the whole collection is also on flickr.