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.

After a few ales one of the peasants told me what happened. They were looking for Wyrdstone near the old Sigmarite temple when suddenly a band of Orcs ambushed them. The Bretonnians put up quite a fight but during the battle their leader was battered down by an Orc wielding two cleavers. This sight finally made them retreat.

A day later the Questing Knight walked down from his room. Swearing an an oath before the entire inn that he will take revenge on the Orc leader. Never seen so much anger in a man against an orc. Something in Mordheim must have really snapped his mind. Ah well, Mordheim tends to change people. Another ale lads, no Wyrdstone taint, I guarantee it!

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Yes our first battle report on the site! Jerodar’s Orc’s vs Artinam’s Bretonnians (First Campaign battle was Koen’s Skaven vs Jerodar’s Orcs, win for Skaven).
We rolled the mission and got Wyrdstone hunt. We set up the table (temple of Sigmar in the middle), and put down our Wyrdstone tokens.

We deployed and my Brets took the first turn.

Basically the Bretonnians surged forward, entered the temple and prepared the arrival of the Orcs.
My (freshly painted) Squire armed with a bow, climbed a ladder and could shoot trough the (now) broken window at the Orcs, but managed to do little the entire battle.

Jerodar felt very confident, perhaps because of the Fungus brew he had been drinking.

Orcs surged forward to the gap and a single Goblin (the legendary Skystabbah) took up a higher position and also saw trough a gap. He actually managed to take out a single Peasant with his bow proving his Sky dominating skill.

The first squigs and Orc boys surged trough the gap and my Peasants were the first line of defence and charged in, while the brave Knights functioned as a second wave of reinforcements if the peasants couldn’t handle it. The Questing Knight ran to the altar in the temple, getting the Wyrdstone token and preparing to charge an Orc boy, lobbing his head off with a critical hit.
Some peasants get eaten by squigs as such the Knights charge into action. The Questing Knight runs towards the Orc boy and skill-fully dispatches him.
Another boy charges the knight and knocking him to the ground. A squire charges the Orc to save his master but easily gets dispatched by a Big ‘un charging trough the gap.

Seeing half my peasants dead as well as two heroes, I voluntarily root and the Orcs win.
Afterwards my Squire gets an old battle wound, and my Questing Knight gets mentally scarred and from now on hates the Orc Big Boss (could have been much worse). Jerodar’s Orcs win, and an Orc boy is deemed to have leadership talent and becomes a hero. Furthermore he finds a light armour on a corpse. Almost all his henchmen level up, giving all Orc boys WS 4 from now on (ouch).

Unlike the great loremaster Artinam, I have never played Warhammer before.
So what got me to play this game? Why would you, our dear reader, play it?

What attracted me the most was the fact that you take your characters with you to the next game.
Why would you pour your soul into making these great miniatures when they are just gonna be Soldier #163? In Mordheim, every single model will be a character of itself, even the grunts (well, most of the time). For example, my goblin warrior “Lucky” Skystabbah, earned his name by recklessly jumping down a 5 inch tower. And he didn’t just survive, he managed to make a lunging strike at the black skaven standing below, finishing him in one blow! Now these things motivate you to put just that much more effort into your miniatures, because what would you rather be painting? Soldier#163 or “Lucky” Skystabbah?

Also, there are a lot less miniatures. That means amongst other things that it’ll be less costly. As a poor lil’ student, I simply can’t afford a 2000 point army. But a starting warband of 13 orcs is very doable, even if a lot of them are metalmodels. It’s a lot less to paint as well, so those few you do have to paint can get your full attention.

Then there is the time. A full-blown warhammer battle can take up hours, while most Mordheim skirmishes are a lot shorter then that. This makes it perfect for a nice evening together with friends in Limburg. When my orcs make an especially crushing defeat, we might even be able to squeeze another game in!

And finally, the setting. Mordheim is the perfect sandbox for almost every Warhammer character. There is an easy reason to be there, the wyrdstone, but nothing that bind you down to why exactly you need it. And with your characters travelling from battle to battle, there is a lot of opportunity for character development. Now I just need to learn the fluff to be able to actually do it, but ah well…

So what are you still doing here? Go make yourself a nice warband and start playing!
We’re showing here that at least the scenery doesn’t need to be expensive, so go wild.