Ruglud's Armoured Orcs - Spike-Can Commandos

 

Finally got around to Painting Ruglud's Armoured Orcs. I still need to finish the bases, the banner, and maybe some extra weathering sometime. Rather than paint their armour in the traditional way with blacks and browns (which is the colour of most of my Orc army), I thought I would try something a bit different.

The story on the back of the box describes how Ruglud came across a huge room filled with dead Dwarfs. "Spiky Stunties an' reg'lar ones... wiped each uvver out...". In other words, Dwarfs were fighting Chaos Dwarfs. The Orcs loot the Chaos Dwarf armour. So I decided to paint the armour in the style of Chaos Warriors- would dwarf armour fit an Orc? 

I then had to decide what Chaos faction to paint them: 

• Undivided - Black armour would just look like a lot of the Orc units I already have. 
• Nurgle - rusty brown metal or green, and again would not stand out. Green armour and green skin doesn't sound like a good combination. And a lot of my Orcs are already in rusty armour.
• Khorne - Reds and Blacks, tempting but still similar colours and style to some of the Orc units I have already. 
• Slaanesh ...nope. At best, just complicated to paint those pastel colours. At worst, complicated and I would end up with kinky Orcs.
• That left Tzeentch. A nice faded blue colour, and something that would look different to my other Orc and Goblin units.

This is a confusingly named regiment, the story states Gudruk is the chief, Ruglud is just an 'Orc hero' so seems to be the Champion. I'm not surprised by how many people get the models mixed up. The stat line says "Gudruk is equipped with heavy armour and a two-handed sword." and "Ruglud is equipped with heavy armour, a shield and is armed with two swords."

This is contradicted by their names being stamped on their slotta base tabs - see above (well Ludruk and Ugludd- but it's close enough).

In addition the story on the back of the box describes how Ruglud gets his head stuck in a Chaos Dwarf helmet. "The tribe feasted upon Goblin-flesh long into the night - all except for Ruglud, who couldn't get his helmet off, and was reduced to sucking broth through a straw." Which also explains his face being all squashed up.

But just to add to the confusion the end of the story also states "As the gear's discoverer and the bravest, meanest and certainly the most stupid Orc, Ruglud was made leader." So does this mean Ruglud was supposed to be the higher level hero and therefore the leader all along?

Either way, because of the slotta tabs and the story stating that Ruglud is wearing a helmet, I'm certain that Ruglud is the model on the right with the helmet on.

Finally the command group characters. From left to right- Maggot (Gudruk's offspring and standard bearer), Gudruk (the leader), Ruglud (champion), and Bambrag (musician on the xylobone and whiny, cowardly shaman).

I think I may have overdone the glow on Ruglud's sword, but it was my first time trying this technique. I plan on adding a banner later on. It will be made up of two ripped banners. The top half will be Dwarf, the bottom half will be a Chaos Tzeentch banner, all crudely stitched together. Probably add some Goblin trophies as the units battlecry is "Gobbo fer tea, Gobbo fer tea, Gobbo, Gobbo, Gobbo fer tea!"

I hope you like them!

Harboth's Orc Archers

As it's Orctober I thought I would post some pictures of the Orcs I have been working on. First up is one the classic regiments of renown- Harboth's Orc Archers. This is one of the first box sets I bought as a kid a very long time ago, and recently repainted them. 

I wanted to use the box art as inspiration for colours and for the banner or standard bearer.

The back of the box has a story with a lot of character, including information like the Orcish word for moving out can also mean deserting, running away or soling one's underwear.  I also like the information on equipment, Battlecry, Deeds, Uniforms and Shield designs.

They even spelt Harboth's name wrong here- Who is Harbath?! But you can see a close up of the banner. I like the ghostly ethereal look to it, so I set out to make my own version.

And an advert in WD. This also has a print version of the banner, in bright green for some reason, so I used this as starting point to make my own version.

At first I made a version in photoshop, but when I printed it it just didn't look right. It looked fake, a bit faded, and just... printed on a computer. I tried painting over it, but the printer ink would run and react to water based paints.

Which brings me to my final version of Harboth's standard bearer. This was painted in water colours and some acrylic paints, mainly the black. The trophies are mostly dwarf, the story on the back describes how Harboth's Orcs like to kill and eat Dwarfs -"Pulp do Stunties!" Is their warcry after all! So Dwarf trophies seemed appropriate. I'm really happy with the final result.

Here's Yaskin Forit, the units champion. Unit Champions back then didn't have to be armed identically to the rest of the unit, so he wields a two-handed Dwarf tickler. He also manages to wield a two-handed weapon and use a shield at the same time! 

His name is sounds like "You asking for it?!" - the sort of thing some aggressive thug might ask before a fight. 
I didn't like the Roman style crest on the helmet, so I removed it and stuck some horns on, I felt bad defacing the old model, but I much prefer how he looks now. Much more Orky! 
While repainting Yaskin Forit I noticed he has a necklace of ears, some are even pointy! Gruesome! I also hope to paint some design on his shield when I get time. Probably a crude face of one of his victims.

The musician- not a lot else to say, except he's the only Orc archer not wearing any chainmail or armour.

And lastly, the man himself, Harboth. His original weapon was damaged and I replaced it with an axe. 

Chaos Dwarf Army List for Warhammer Fantasy Battle 3rd Edition

A fan-made Chaos Dwarf army list for Warhammer Fantasy Battle 3rd Edition, available as a free PDF.

The Chaos Dwarfs are one of the more unusual armies in classic Warhammer Fantasy Battle. For this army list, I wanted to bring together the published Chaos Dwarf material from sources including White Dwarf, Realm of Chaos and Warhammer Armies, and organise it into one coherent list for 3rd Edition.

My aim was to create an army that feels at home in the rules and background of this era of Warhammer: relatively small units, fewer specialist troops, and an emphasis on the core army rather than a large collection of extravagant or excessively powerful units.

Download the Chaos Dwarf Army List

The complete army list is available as a free PDF.

Download the Chaos Dwarf Army List from Google Drive

A version is also available on Scribd:

Read the Chaos Dwarf Army List on Scribd

What’s included?

The list brings together Chaos Dwarf material and adds rules where I felt they were needed to make a usable army for 3rd Edition. It includes:

• Chaos Dwarf troops, with the army focused on its namesake rather than relying heavily on Goblinoid units.

• Infernal Guard, an elite unit included to give the army another option. You can use suitable alternative miniatures to represent them.

• Boar Centaurs, whose profile can also be used for Bull-Centaurs. Dragon Ogre profiles can represent larger Bull-Centaurs or Taur-Centaurs.

• Chaos Dwarf Juggernaut rules, created for this army list.

• Chaos Dwarf Swivel Gun rules, collated from previously published material so that the relevant rules are easier to find in one place.

The list is intended to bring the material together in a practical format, rather than rewrite the army’s background or force later miniatures and concepts into the 3rd Edition rules.

Why focus on Chaos Dwarfs?

Some versions of the Chaos Dwarf army can end up containing so many Hobgoblins, Orcs and Goblins that the Chaos Dwarfs themselves become a relatively small part of the force.

I wanted this list to keep the Chaos Dwarfs at its centre. The Goblinoid troops can still be included through allies or mercenaries, representing the tribes and forces that serve the Chaos Dwarfs. In 3rd Edition, mercenaries also bring an element of uncertainty to the battlefield, which suits the relationship between these armies.

I’ve also tried to keep the list in keeping with the feel of Warhammer Fantasy Battle 3rd Edition. Rather than adding lots of powerful new units, I’ve aimed for an army that works alongside the other armies of the period.

Using the list with your miniatures

You don't need a particular range of miniatures to use every entry. The Infernal Guard can be represented by suitable models you already own, and the profiles mentioned above give you options for representing different types of centaur.

Later miniatures can also be useful, provided you choose an appropriate existing profile and agree on its use with your opponent.

Feedback and future improvements

This is a fan-made army list, and I welcome feedback from players who try it out. If you spot an error or have suggestions for improving the list, please leave a comment.

I hope you enjoy using the Chaos Dwarf army list in your Warhammer Fantasy Battle 3rd Edition games!

This is an unofficial fan-made rules resource and is not an official Games Workshop publication.

Chaos Dwarf Army List
For WFB 3rd Edition

"Long have we Dwarfs stood against the Old Dark Powers. From the Dawn Ages to the Time of Ending have we ever been numbered among their greatest foes and for good reason. It seemed that we were immune to that warping power that is Chaos ' greatest strength. No children were born in the Dwarf holds that bore the taint of mutation. Our armies did not turn into shambling horrors when the tide of Chaos flowed over them. We thought ourselves immune to the power of the Great Mutator. It was a source of pride. Other races such as short-lived men or treacherous, sybaritic Elves might fall under its sway, but not us.

As with so much else that gave us pride, our seeming immunity played us false. During the last great incursion of Chaos, some of our armies were caught in warpstorms more fierce than any ever remembered. They vanished and we thought them dead. Soon we heard reports that armies of black-clad Dwarfs were marching out of the wastes. When we sent armies to aid our allies we discovered it was true. The full power of the Great Mutator had been laid upon our armies and they had changed. Our warriors found themselves fighting their own kinsmen, changed and demonic. You cannot imagine what a horror that is for a Dwarf manling.”

-Gotrek Gurnisson lecturing Felix Jaeger on Chaos Dwarfs
(-from ROC: The Lost and the damned)

Preview of the pages of the chaos dwarf army list, - use the link above to download the PDF for free.

Snotling Pump Wagon!

Another classic old model. I had an Orc and Goblin army many years ago when I used to play Warhammer Fantasy Battle with friends, but I never had the Snotling pump wagon. I always loved the craziness and rickety, ramshackle character of the model, so some years ago I bought one from ebay. Recently I got around to finishing it.

I wanted to capture the feeling of speed and how it is almost out of control, so I positioned the model like it had just gone over a bump. I tried to make it look like the Snotlings are hanging on for dear life, not always easy to convey with the models available!

I also put ruts in mud on the base to give it a sense of racing along.

Orc War Wyvern

Haven't posted anything on here for a while! Lockdown has meant I have got back into painting again. For some reason I started with really old models!

Anyway, here is a wyvern. It's the old GW Orc War Wyvern, I think was called Polly in the story on the back the box.
I converted it from it's static pose to one with a bit more movement to it. Wasn't sure what colour to paint it and eventually settled on blue as it's a different colour to all the orc's green skins. I think a blue wyvern looks ok? I may or may not add the orc rider later, perhaps use magnets so I have the option.