The Slave Orcs were split into two Troops for maximum flexibility when constructing the army. The two units can be ranked up together to form a single Slave Orc Regiment as well. Below are pictures of Troop A and Troop B.
First Look: These figures were a unit of 15 Orc Axes from the Kings of War Two Player Battle Set. I primarily got the box for the undead units, so I wasn't terribly motivated to work on the orcs. However, while reading over the Abyssal Dwarf beta army list for Kings of War 2nd Edition, I noticed they have the option of fielding Slave Orc units. The idea of having a cheaper "filler" unit for the army was appealing (and I didn't have any other plans for the orcs), so I chose that route. The figures themselves are pretty good, though not stellar (some of the details are a bit vague, though nowhere near as bad as the Goblin Spitters). I do like that the aesthetics are somewhere between 90s-era Games Workshop Orcs and those found in Lord of the Rings. The figures have a reasonable degree of variety between arms and heads, though nothing stellar.
In addition to the Mantic orcs, I also used the Orc Marauder from the Reaper Bones line (detailed here). I also added some more gruesome bits that I've had for years (probably close to a decade, as I have completely forgotten where they came from). The impaled bits are metal, and the skulls on the base are plastic.
Painting: I decided that the colors for my Abyssal Dwarf army would be ash gray and crimson red, and so those are the primary colors used on the orcs. I mostly alternated tops and bottoms for the crimson (VGC Scarlett Red, TAP Red Tone Ink, Strong Tone Ink) and gray (VGC Coal Black, Sombre Grey, Wolf Grey, TAP Dark Tone Ink). I kept all of the weapons and armor a dark iron color (Coal Black, Sombre Grey, Wolf Grey), to reflect the relatively crude forging techniques used by the orcs. The exception to this was the shoulder plates, which I painted bronze (VGC Glorious Gold, TAP Strong Tone Ink) to help provide variety and to keep the unit from being too dark. Also, the shoulder plates seem to have a different styling from most of the other armor, so I figured the Abyssal Dwarves probably handed them out to help differentiate the unit from enemy orcs (no sense in wasting your own resources due to friendly fire). The skin was a straightforward green (VGC Goblin Green, TAP Green Tone Ink).
The impaled bits were painted similarly, though with the addition of purple (VGC Hexed Lichen) for the coloration. I plan to use purple as a secondary color in the army (particularly for the Chthonic Dwarves), so I wanted to work it into the unit.
Conclusion: I'm really happy with how the units turned out! And look, I even completed the bases! I had some old ballast lying around that I thought would fit perfectly with the blasted lands the Abyssal Dwarves no doubt occupy. The reds turned out nicely, and I think they work well with the green skin. I'm also fairly pleased with the "poor man's NMM" on the metal gear of the orcs. I didn't want to resort to metallic paints for them, but at the same time I didn't want to get bogged down in detailed NMM for a massed unit of lowly orcs.
- M:M
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