Orc Archers from Warhost Added to 'Horde'

 

8 Warhost Orc archers from Hicks & Hobday that I painted up for my eventual Dragon Rampant army

The 28mm Orcs are starting to gather. They're not a horde, yet -- but it has begun. These eight Orc archers from Warhost (Hobday & Hicks) join the Linebreakers painted last week. As I thought, with less armor and more cloth, this batch seemed to go faster. More clothing means I'm more methodical about what colors I paint my Orc tunics and such. I'm noting which color combinations seem to look right and which ones are too bright or fancy looking.

    A look from above of the various interesting poses in the two packs of Orc archers

Once again, very little flash on these Hicks & Hobday sculpts. The poses are interesting, as well. I like that you get two packs of four Orcs and no repeats in poses. I remember the days of painting Ancients when you were lucky to get two different poses in one pack. Of course, some folks like the uniform nature of armies, with all the same marching or shooting position. I don't think that would look good with orcs, though. Too rowdy! And too irregular and hard to control. I liked that three of the eight poses had metal helmets or even chainmail aventails suspended from their helmets. The rest were bald-headed or had hoods. Good variety! I hope my 28mm Gripping Beast metal orcs (that are the bulk of my purchase) will be similar in that respect.

    I'm not sure I'll use the dull purple color again for orcs, but I will definitely use the olive green

After priming them with Liquitex White Gesso, I went to work on the orc flesh. I'd liked how the Linebreakers came out, so I used the exact same recipe -- Walnut base coat, medium leather dry brush, and khaki highlight. One thing that makes this flesh tone look particularly orc-like is that the Walnut base coat is not 100% opaque. Somehow, combined with the other colors, it gives a nice, dark olive-toned flesh. Honestly, I lucked into this combination more than anything else. However, I will likely use it for the entire project. 

    The dark reddish orc is probably my favorite --I'm disappointed the back photo is out of focus

Next, I arranged the orcs, with their flesh tone completed, in a single line. There was some complaining as you'd expect from orcs -- "We ain't had nothing to eat for three stinkin' days!" was my favorite. In fact, I was muttering that Lord of the Rings movie quote regularly throughout the painting process. Once the orcs were lined up, I picked out a base coat color for each orc's main article of clothing. Earlier, I had made a list of my paints that I thought would look appropriate for orcs. I set the bottle behind each figure. Typically, when painting 28mm Dark Ages or other figures, I will glue them to a square of cardboard first. I would then scribble down on the cardboard what color I would use for the tunic, trousers, etc. With the orcs, I can't do that since I am basing them up first. I'm actually not sure why I decided to change my usual method and glue them first to their 1" plywood circles with magnetic bottoms. Maybe I figured there wouldn't be as much to write on that cardboard as, say, those Canadian militia I just finished a couple days ago??

    Is the salmon colored clothing too much? I like it -- looks like a faded version of some other color

From this point on, it was a matter of adding in a new base coat followed up by a dry brush for each color of clothing. Some had only one article of clothing, so only one color combo. Others had several. Either way, the variety of poses added not only interest and variety to the painting process, it made me focus and be more careful. One thing I need to be careful of, though, is what I am doing prior to handling the figures. I had painted some 28mm French & Indian War tents right before I did the flocking on the orcs. Somehow, I got the light tan all over my fingers during the process. And then, as I picked up the orcs to do their flocking, I splattered a way-too-bright light yellowish tan all over them. I had to go back and "repair" three figures after this step -- just when I thought I was done with them!

    I liked the poses with the archers wielding a sword -- nice variety! I think I will do more black clothes

Still, I am happy with how the "Orcses...filth!" (as Gollum would say) came out. I am looking forward to seeing how the Gripping Beast figs paint up, too, whether similarly or differently. Meanwhile, expect a flurry of posts soon, as I am working on tents for my Jumonville Glen skirmish game tomorrow morning at the museum and also other various bits. The next big batch, though, is actually two bases of 28mm Saga warlords that I am am painting up for the Advance the Colors tournaments on Friday and Saturday. My tradition is to paint up a 3-igure (or so) Warlord stand for each tournament as a prize. So, look for those soon, in addition a post about the Jumonville Glen skirmish game.

    Honestly, the Hicks & Hobday orcs are some excellent poses with lots of great variety!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 288
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 194

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 36
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 61

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 115
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 159