28 November 2016

The HeroQuest Hero Quest: The first Orc

Hi everyone! Suber here reporting for duty! I'm coming on board of this sweet, crazy HeroQuest Hero Quest project. So let me take my hat off to all of you and get down to work.

When I was approached for this, I thought 'fuck, I've already painted all my HeroQuest minis!'. No sweat. I'm ready to strip and repaint whatever you throw at my face. Ha!
Yes, I know. The most obvious answer would have been buying more stuff. Under general circumstances I would have done so. But I was so excited I couldn't wait!

I'm in charge of an Orc. The reliable backbone of any self respected Evil Army. The quintessence of dungeoneering. The... well, you get the idea. I chose this mini as starting point:

Huh? What's wrong with me?



After years of using different scales of pure green on Orcs, I've lately been switching my mind onto different, darker colours. That would be my focus here. Nothing too flamboyant, not a red Orc, but rather a greenish/brownish Orc. So, after stripping and adding a round base, I put my brushes to the endeavour, until I got this:

Not that I have changed that much
I put some more attention to the clothes and shoes. The checkered pattern was a must, of course, and I also put some more effort in the shades of black on the clothing itself. The tiny mushroom ornaments are just greenstuff. So it's all new but in an oldschool fashion!

[David Attenborough's documentary voice] Here you can see the Orc in its natural habitat. The dungeon.
He feels safe and confident, unaware of predatory adventurers
No much fuss about it. I kept it simple, as it is the very point of the challenge itself. On a retrospective, it just looks like I put an Instagram filter on the mini, but the old fashioned way. Oh, my, did I make a hipster Orc?

Hope you like it! The challenge goes on!

21 comments:

  1. Its great to have you on board Suber :)

    The lip and ears give the orc quite a Gremlins vibe. The mushrooms are a nice touch.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can honestly say I'm most delighted to be part of the project :)
      Haha, Gremlin look is something I hadn't thought of! :D I find it fun painting the fleshy parts in this kind of colour, brings more variety to the face too. I should try more contrast though. Hmmm, more Orcs need to be painted!

      Delete
  2. For some reason, I never think of repainting as a possibility but you prove you can considerably upgrade a model with a very high efficiency/time ratio by doing so. The little classic touches really give him that charm of the old days.
    I love it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I scarcely do so, and under normal circumstances I would just have bought more minis :P
      But this time I thought that stripping and repainting a single Orc would take less effort than delving into eBay and buying a full army I don't need right now (you know, these things happen).
      The main problem now is that I don't have any excuses to not repaint the rest of my Orcs :O
      Look what you did to me!!

      Delete
  3. Great job Suber. I love the simple colours with subtle skin shading approach. He looks like the kind of orc who carries heavy objects for a necromancer like Morkar. ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! Yup, he's the most reliable Evil enforcer you can find in the vicinity. Or do you think Good Guy Sauron entrusts his sensitive stuff to regular henchmen? Never! Orcs FTW!

      Delete
  4. Replies
    1. Thank you! I'm breaking the chains of the bright green skin tyranny, multi-ethnical Orcs are the future :D

      Delete
  5. Nice work! I love those toadstools on bases, they give me a nostalgia hit every time I see them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! It was just a last minute decision, but I think you are right, they add some nostalgia vibe, hehe :)

      Delete
  6. Replies
    1. Hehe, thanks, guys, they are a must. I should have added a Mario Bros green mushroom :D

      Delete
    2. Most dungeon ecologies revolve around the fungus. The snots tend them, the grots eat them, the orcs eat the grots, the adventurers kill the orcs and the orcs feed the fungus. It's a beautiful wheel of life :)

      Delete
  7. I do like that olive green on orcs - it feels much more naturalistic. Excellent choice. The checkers have come out great too. He obviously takes a bit of care over his clothing selection ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'd love to explore different skin tones on Orcs, from olives to browns, greys or even blu-ish. It would be fun :)
      Of course an Evil servant has to look after his garments. Evil must be conducted in a fashion! :D

      Delete
  8. Wow, Suber! Nice to see you among such great company!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Asslessman was very kind to offer me the chance, and Cheetor encouraged me to keep on, I'm flattered to be counted among these gentlemen for the HQ project (though I suspect some of them would feel offended for being called that! :P)

      Delete
    2. Its true. I do hate it when people call me "Asslessman".

      Delete
    3. Tush tush, you have a magnificent ass

      Delete