Hey guys, welll with the ‘real world’ playing a major part it has been a while since my last update. But hopefully it is worth the wait!! I have a bumper update for you including my Lead Belchers and the start of my 2 Rhinox!

Gaming with them starts tomorrow! ENJOY!!

LEAD BELCHERS!!

RHINOX RIDERS!!!!!

Cheers,

Matty

After some discussions about the Ogres and bases mixing to much, I have redone the base colour scheme to gain a better contrast between base and model. ATM I am not fully satisfied with the result. A little bland?? Maybe after I add reedsand water it might enhance it. The tatoos have been painted to give more detail and character.

 As for the Iron Guts ( I really need to give all these units alternative funky names) they were not as hard as I thought to rank up after some body manipulation. I have another 4 guts to do another unit as soon as I find more peg wings. 

The gnoblars are coming along nicely and will blend the existing bright colours up to a pearly white making them different but uniform throughout. No idea on how to attack the Dream warriors or Sylphs but will get to them.

Really looking forward to getting this army up and running fro DOGCON next year which starts another big year for the Aussie Tourney Scene. Hope your enjoying the updates so far and make sure you check out Inner Circle for WIP photos in between these updates.

Cheers,

Matty

G’day party peeps, here is another short update to my Ogres. Attending a onedayer with the rest of the Podhammer crew and coming 2nd to Dave on a countback left me only a little time for modelling. Since the last update………

 I have assembled, undercoated and did the 1st ‘wet’ drybrush layer on the gnoblars. Here I will highlight up further to a goldy/yellow brown with bright sprites. As with most people I am definately a victim of the “Ooooh Shiny” syndrome and couldn’t resist assembling some Iron gut models and am very pleased with the progress. 

Happy gaming!!

Cheers,

Matty

since the last update my weekends have been spent wargaming and well, MORE wargaming, with a podcast in between . Focusing on getting my Chaos Dwarfs up and running for the ANUWTF tourney in Canberra and smashing Dave and Jeff in the lead up to the special edition podcast last weekend, there really isn’t much to update you on for the Ogres……….

Lucky for us, i have been able to kick my girl friend out of the house for this weekend and make sultry love to my neglected ogres. As promised, here is a list that I am working towards for the fellas. I am lucky to have been able to play with the army long enough before hand to gain a better understanding of what build an ogre army needs to be fun and competitive.

I would also love your insights and opinions, plus tell me how your ogres are going for you.

Cheers,

Matty

Hey guys, well it has been a wait between updates but truth is I haven’t had much time to do anything, with the exception of this past weekend. While trying to figure how this army is progressing aesthetically, I have decided to take Mr. Shrek’s advice, ‘LAYERS’!!

I have decided to hold off on the tattoos and markings on the models until the end where I can see what the models/theme is actually missing. This also led me to the conclusion that the bases were to be applied after painting the ogres. This not only allows me to undercoat the bases black but will speed up the painting process. I have included a few pics of the last 7 bulls that will make up my 2 units of 4 bulls.* I’m not to alarmed that they look fairly plain, because as the layers build up (scenic bases, tattoos, spites etc) they will create detail and contrast to the figures.

Today I have started to put my gnoblar units together (see Part 3 picci for overall idea) I’m really excited about these little critters as they have so much character. I have glued together 4 back-2-basix forest bases and used a GW scenic tree as the centre piece for the little critters to scatter throughout.

If you got any suggestions let me know. The Podhammer Boyz will be down the weekend after next to play my first games with these new ogres and talk about how the army is progressing on the podcast. So stay tuned till then.

Matty )  

Welcome to Update 3 for my Bi-weekly Podhammer Ogre Army Diary. Here you will find a few pics of models, conversion ideas and model inspiration that I intend to implement within my ogres. All those ogre lovers out there will realise that there are a couple of units missing (maneaters, yettees, giant etc), for atm I am focusing on those models that I will definately be fielding. I hope you enjoy them!!

I do have some pretty crazy ideas for this army and am not even shore if it is going work…. But like the guys said, ”I’m a freak!”  So where to start….

Tyrant (Worg): Using the model ‘as is’ w/hippogryph wings.

Butchers (Lonwolf’s and Rune Guarians): Not sure about these guys. Any ideas?

Gnoblars (WE Sprites, Sylvan Animae, Dream Warriors and Daikinee Zeiphiers): Now, these guys are going to be on a scenic movement tray using the GW plastic trees in conjunction with the Back2Basix forest bases to convey and emphasise the forest spirit theme.

Ironguts (Irix the Ultimate): Now this is one wicked model and will stand as the basis of the Irongut model while the smaller Irix the Fury will give me a few extra bits to convert them differently. Also the use and manipulation of metal pegasus wings to emphasise movement in the different poses.

Leadbelchers (Wolfen and Warhawks): I will be removing the crossbows and converting them similar to the ol’ school WE Falconeer. I have had a look at the size comparison to these two different models and the warhawk shouldnt be too big… I hope!

Rhinox (HE Dragon and Wolfen Riders): Wo0o0o0oT!! Wo0o0o0oT!! Give me a sec………… Oh yeah, I think they speak for themselves ;o)


Thats all I have for this update. Stay tuned for the next one, so don’t be a square, see you all there!!


Cheers,


Matty )

Aright guys, here we go and the first pics of my Ogre army are up and running! I would like to say that I waited for Swearing Dave’s cult of followers/stalkers to stop flooding the server with emails or that him spanking me like a biatch with his new Top Dave status on the gaming table; I would have had this up earlier. But the pressure is on and I have to pull my head in!

After painting this guy three times, I was finally happy with the colour scheme suited for a forest/wood themed army, still haven’t done the tats to define his rank etc. I will talk more about the theme in the next podcast, but what I have learnt is the wonders of the black vs white undercoat and to do the bases and models separately!!

I’m still waiting for a few models to arrive though next update will be about what models I will be using for each of the characters and units PLUS how I am going to personalize them to fit in with the others.

Hope you enjoy these updates and please post any comments, advice and/or criticism.

Take it easy!

Matty ) 

Hi guys, this is the start of hopefully many blabberingly boring blogs for my Podhammer Ogre Army. Firstly a huge thanks to everyone who contributed towards this project. A grand total of $450 was raised and there are just too many people to name, though I would like to take this opportunity to let you know how much it has lifted me back onto that horse. BUT your job isn’t over just yet; I would love constructive criticism along the way and for you to bear with me in times of nuttiness.

So while I wait for the remainder of the minis to arrive and post up images for what I have install for this army, I have included my thoughts that go through my head when deciding to start, prepare and construct an army. Hope you enjoy!!

Army Selection

Before playing style and even background fluff, I always look at the models. You will find you spend as much, if not more time preparing your models for the tabletop. So we may as well enjoy it. Select 2-3 armies you like the aesthetics of and then do a little research on the playing style of each of them and see if it appeals to you. Are you aggressive or defensive?? You will find that any successful army build will have a combination of both to maintain flexibility. Of course, the obvious exceptions would be Chaos and VC’s. Before you buy, borrow a copy of the army book from a mate. I then look at the conversion opportunities involved with these ranges. Can they easily be converted? Are they primarily plastic or metal? Are they already too busy? I personally prefer the weight of models though am in love with the opportunities presented to us with the new detailed plastic kits. Financial constraints also have an influence. How can I complete this army cheaply yet effectively? Do I already have the options for conversion in my bits box from a previous army? Is it a relatively new or popular army to influence my chances buying second hand models? All of these questions need to be asked before starting to put brush to model. Are you a painter or gamer? How much time am I prepared to spend on this project? If you plan on using figures from a different range, how will they fit aesthetically with the rest of the army? Will it cause confusion? Scale in proportion? Confused yet??

Colour Scheme

Next is one of the most important points of all and that is the colour scheme. This will influence how your army will appear on the table top as a whole and advertise/promote you as a hobbyist to the community. You could be a wonderful sculptor, have conversions coming out the wazoooo but if the colour scheme doesn’t fit then all the hard work will have been lost. Have a look around at various sites, in particular the army blogs section for your specific army online. Do a quick ‘Google’ search for “*insert army name here* Forums” and you will have several to choose from. CMON (coolminiornot.com) has some wonderful conversions and paint jobs done by very talented hobbyists. Though remember you are not restricted to just looking at your specific race. There are plenty of schemes out there that will suit most armies.

When considering theme and colour scheme also consider how the models will be based. Sandy, gravely, flocked or a combination of the three. Want them plain or scenic? If so, does it fit the theme? Get ideas from sites such as Back2Base-ix. How will they rank up and will they be uniform.

Army composition

Once you are happy with your preparation and have brought the army book. Sit down and go through a few initial lists. Research yet again is crucial here as you probably already now from reading this that the web is the best thing that has happened to allow us gamers forming close knit communities to share our ideas and experiences. By writing lists you will get an idea of the type and quantity of models you will need.

Assembly and Painting

There are a number of different ways to assemble and paint an army. They range from one extreme (mass production) and the other (figure by figure). I like to assemble my figs even to a base level (torso/legs) before painting as it allows me to get a few games in to generate excitement in the completion of the army and allows me to confirm what units work and appeal to me in game play before spending hours/days on a unit that you may never actually use. Though remember that with time, with experience and army build, these units will come in handy later in the armies gaming life. So DON’T sell them!! Hold onto them and use them as you grow with the army.

When painting your army make sure you follow these simple points:

• Find yourself a clean area for painting, preferably away from distractions.
• Put unpainted models away, as they only dampen your hopes to complete an army.
• Finally keep a colour diary. If you are like me and get distracted really easily ‘Ooooooh, shiny!’ When you go back to painting previous units you have a step by step colour description to continue with to increase consistency throughout your army.

And most important of all, is to invite your mates around for a few painting sessions. I can’t stress how much this will drive you to paint your minis. Turn it into a bit of a competition and discuss goals that you both will try and achieve.

Well, that is all from me for now. This definitely isn’t the be all and end all to constructing and starting an army, but it is what I have experienced since being addicted to this wonderful hobby. Next week I hope to post a few pics on what I am trying to achieve with this Podhammer Ogre army, so keep an eye out!!

TO BE CONTINUED……