Thursday 28 February 2013

Ruglud's Armoured Orcs - The Spike-Can Commandos

 Another fun unit of 80s Orcs, you can't beat a bit of nostalgia

The Crooked Eye Orcs had travelled many miles westward to the Old World, suffering the sniping of mountain Goblins, incessant rain, and the endless whining of Bambrag, their incontinent shaman.
Once, they skirted a ruined Dwarfhold. Fear of spirits kept them from sheltering inside, but, a single Orc Hero named Ruglud had dared to enter. He returned unharmed, but had not spoken since, and stated blankly into space.
The Orcs huddled in the rain before a rough stone wall across a narrow pass, while Chief Gudruk Bonechewer yelled at a figure on the battlements.
'Stoopid!', he screamed, 'Do we look like Chaos boys?'
'Zog off!' echoed the reply.
Gudruk returned to the tribe, dodging the hall of stones and garbage that accompanied this witty riposte.
'Lissen,' he said. 'Them kak-'ead Gobboes reckon the Chaos boys took ev'ryfink over. They ain't comin' out an' they ain't lettin' nuffink through. They got bows an' rocks an' spears an' stuff - if we was to try and get 'em, they'd crump us to bits.' He thought for a while.
'We needs volunteers', he announced at length. His warriors developed a sudden and compelling interest in the ground at their feet.
'Or armour', whined Bambrag, 'Couldn't touch us if we 'ad cans like real Chaos boys.'
'We ain't got cans, 'ave we, Trickle-legs?' snarled Gudruk.
'Cans... jus' lyin' where they dropped... all black an' spiky.'
It was Ruglud who spoke. Gudruk gave him a good shake to speed the recovery of his senses, and he continued dreamily.
'Down this Stunty-hole... lotsa rooms ... lost... big room... big enough to stand up in ... big pile of bones an' gear... spiky Stunties an' reg'lar ones... wiped each uvver out...'
'Yerrrss!' cried Gudruk, 'We'll 'ave some o' that! Come on, boys - it's Goblin-gizzard for supper!'.
A swift expedition returned to the Dwarfhold. The ill-fitting plates were roughly hammered into shape and held
together with whatever came to hand. By nightfall, a small unit of armoured warriors was ready.
As the gear's discoverer and the bravest, meanest and certainly the most stupid Orc, Ruglud was made leader, At Gudruk's suggestion, Bambrag became the regimental musician on the Xylobone, a traditional Orcish instrument, and Maggot - Gudruk's youngest and most irritating whelp - joined the ranks as standard-bearer.
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.
BATTLECRY
The most frequent battlecry is a repetitive chant of 'Gobbo fer tea, Gobbo fer tea, Gobbo, Gobbo, Gobbo fer tea!', with 'Stunty', "Uman' and so on being substituted for 'Gobbo' as appropriate.
DEEDS The Commandos' first victory led to many more as they pushed across the Worlds' Mountains towards the old World. Most of these were over isolated Goblin strongholds, and are remembered only in the stories and drinking songs of the Crooked Eye Orcs - and then in versions which are probably wildly exaggerated. one confirmed exploit was the storming of Karak-Bazik, an outlier to the great Dwarven settlement of Zhufbar, when the Dwarfs were obliged to abandon the Dwarfhold and cave in a series of connecting tunnels to cover their retreat.
UNIFORMS There is no uniform as such; the commandoes are dressed in a wide and miscellaneous range of armour.
SHIELDS The Commandos never bothered to re-paint their shields to a standard design, so this varies widely.
PROFILES - 3rd edition
Gudruk Bonechewer - Level 10 Orc Hero
  M WS BS S T W I A Ld Int Cl WP POINTS
Gudruk 3.5 5 4 4 5 2 3 3 8+1 5 7 7 71
Gudruk is equipped with heavy armour and a two-handed sword.
Saving Throw: 5, 6

Ruglud, Level 5 Orc Hero

  M WS BS S T W I A Ld Int Cl WP POINTS
Ruglud 3 4 4 4 4 1 3 2 7 5 7 7 38
Ruglud is equipped with heavy armour, a shield and is armed with two swords. Note that the shield provides no protection when fighting two-handed.
Saving Throw: 4, 5, 6/ 5, 6 when using both swords.
Armoured Orc Warrior
  M WS BS S T W I A Ld Int Cl WP POINTS
Trooper 3 3 3 3 4 1 2 1 7 5 7 7 12.5
Extra for standard 24
Extra for musician 24
The regiment is equipped with heavy armour, shields, swords, crossbows and iron-hafted Dwarven halberds. Note that shields provide no protection when fighting two-handed.
Saving Throw: 4, 5, 6/ 5, 6 when using halberds or crossbows.

Tuesday 26 February 2013

Armies of Islam

A few pics of a recent commission I completed for GB, more Seljuk Turks form their Armies of Islam range.
A real joy to paint! Which reminds me I need to crack on with my own Crusader armies which are slowly beginning to gather dust...