I already learned tons of stuff that’s probably obvious to all the veteran Warhammer players around here, but for people just starting out it’s all still strange and new. That’s why I decided to share some of the stuff I learned.

But first, let’s show of some of my work!
Don’t forget to click the picture for a full size image.

Still work in progress, gotta do alot more details on the armour (what a bloody nice model this is by the way; Grimgor Ironhide) and got to finish up the shields and base on the bottom.
Still I’m very happy how his armour turned out. I decided to keep his armour a bit shinier compared to most Orcs, since he is the boss and all and gets the best and latest loot.

Off course the Boss needs to boss around a bit, so I also started painting on the Big ‘Uns, Forgot and Agok:

Basically at the same stage as the boss, got a nice layer of paint on them with some washes, but still need to work out some details and the bases. I also got to figure something out to make the 2 more different from each other, since it was nearly impossible to put this model (Black Orc Warboss) into a different pose. And off course the obvious missing arm, which will b revealed soon(tm).
Thanks to Loek I got an awesome idea, since Forgot has gained stupidity because of a battle wound, I will put an axe imbedded in his skull! That should explain those loose bolts in his puny orc brain. I’m also going to clip one of his helmet horns, also a wound from that battle.

Now what did I learn from all this painting and (minor) sculpting? I’ll tell ya after the break.

Well first of all, Orcs are one of the best warbands/armies to start out with. This is for a very simpel fact; Orcs. Are. Dirty.
If you mess up with painting, half the time it will just make them look more Orcy!

A very obvious one, but one I *bleep*ed up anyway is have patience. Nothing looks worse then two layers of paint mixing up.
That’s why it’s best to work on multiple models at once, so one can dry why you are working on the other.

Washes are awesome! They are the easiest method of adding depth to your model. I started out mixing my own washes, but it always seemed to be either to thick or to thinly mixed, so I really recommend the games workshop washes. They are just perfect and it looked way better with those.

But even with those nice washes you sometimes get a lot of it in a single hole/corner/whatever. That’s why I always had a few paper kitchen towels ready. By gently dipping it on the model I could suck away bits of wash until there was exactly enough. And by smearing it a bit you can get a nice alternative effect.

I haven’t really found a good way to dry brush yet, but it’ll be my next focus point to help with adding more detail to da Boss. It should be basically be dipping your brush on some kitchen towel first until it’s almost dry, but that doesn’t seem to work for me. It just gets too dry too quickly, and it won’t add any colour to the model then. So I could still use some advice on this bit.

Finally modelling. It’s definitely the best way to make models unique and stand out, and it’s not as hard as you might think. Off course when we’re talking about modelling, we’re going to need green stuff. There are really tons of way too use this nifty little putty like stuff, but the easiest application is redoing the joints of a model.

So that’s what I started out doing with it:

Just take a small glob of green stuff and attach it to the limb you’re adding. Press it against the model and put it into the right pose, then scrape of any excessive green stuff with something like a cocktail stick. Also be careful not to leave any fingerprints in the green stuff, it’ll show later when you paint it. And finally, be sure the limb is supported one way or the other, to prevent it from lowering while the green stuff dries.

As you can see, all of this is still *very* basic, but I hope I could at least help out some noobs like me.

I figured Beastmen mostly live in the woods so I wanted to give them forest related bases. I’m not sure about my Warbands Chaos affiliation and which God they worship yet. I am thinking of either Nurgle or Slaanesh. This will also dictate my painting colour scheme so it’s something I have to decide on soon. Perhaps you can help me out here since I’m somewhat new to the whole world of Warhammer / tabletop wargaming.

Investments for this project:

• Green stuff (Kneadite) £4,8 (around €5,5) for 18” on Ebay
• Some pieces of wood
• Some filler
• A spatula for applying the filler
• Super glue
• Modelling (PVC) glue
• A toothpick or another sharp, pointy utensil for making grooves into the greenstuff
• Pliers for cutting the plastic and aluminum
• Some paperclips
• A file
• Optional: tweezers

I started out by filling the slits in the bases of the models with filler. Then I removed the support beam from the feet of the models using pliers. I then used a file to buff out some of the production irregularities like excess plastic. (I still have to fill in some of the gaps with a bit of green stuff though)

I have to say that I bought my beastmen models second hand so they where already assembled when I received them. This actually turned out to be kind of a pain in the ass since their previous owner drowned them in PVC glue, so some of the detail is lost on the models. Also, I had to remove the limbs of a lot of models since they where stuck on in rather awkward positions. I guess it’s my reward for being a cheap-ass.

I glued the piece of wood to the base using super glue. I then cut some pieces of the paperclips to make the stems of the ’shrooms and glued them to the base, again using super glue. After that I made little ’shroom hoods from small cone shaped pieces of green stuff and stuck them on the ’shroom stems. At this point I also glued the stones and decorative sand to the bases.

After the preparation of the bases I cut of the head, leg and arms of the models and reattached them using greenstuff. I then very gently put them in a pose I liked. I used the toothpick to create a furry texture in the green stuff.

That’s it basically, not at all that much work. I still need to decide on my Chaos affiliation though. Tough choice :/