Balogog's War Host

[kaaras]

Here are a couple of WIP photos for the Maw Krusha:

Front view. I have glossed his face to match the rest of his scales.

Next up is to do is the mega boss, finish the back spines and tail. Then base it...

Once that's done, back to the grind of Ard Boyz...

[kaaras]

After some more expended hobby energy, here is Balogog, complete on Maw Krusha. 

Here is the front view. The mask is removable for aesthetic reasons only. 

And a more side on view sans mask. I think he turned out pretty well. As you can see to the left, that is the next project. 10 Boar boys that need to be completed for an upcoming doubles event I hope to get to. Some Savage Maniaks to go with my quite lonely savage orruks.

[kaaras]

More boyz to join the gang. These are orruk boar boyz that have picked up some savage tendencies so I can use them as either. I haven't modified these pictures and they are a bit rubbish but you get the idea. I have finished 8 of the pigs, 3 riders now. These are pretty slow going, or I am, but I will have them finished by months end.

I am using a Bonesplitterz force in a pairs tournament with my brothers Gloomspite Gitz, so should be very silly. Which is good. 

[kaaras]

These boarz aren't half mad, thought Balogog astride his mount. Must be the nutterz riding them. I can see the touch of Gork (and/or Mork) pourin' out of 'em. These were just boyz not dat long ago. Must be all dis darkness and sneakin' about, makin' 'em go funny...

So Balogog has his ride on a boar as well as the Krusha now, (Slorz... does that work as a name... Big Smasha or Gut Skwisha (in honour of the rampage ability, I just imagine the big fella belly flopping on people) doesn't really do much for me...) and his entourage of 9 other boar boyz. I mixed and matched the models to have a combo of normal boyz and savage boyz but made all of them look more feral as if they are turning to Bonesplitterz. They aren't there yet and still have some armour and iron weapons, but the tattoos are out and some of the weapons are certainly more primitive.

I think they turned out well. Interesting at least. I can run one group of 10 or two of 5, which is handy. 

As always leave a comment or critique. Next up... hmm, I am not actually sure. Maybe the chariot or Ironskullz boyz...

[kaaras]

So, I jumped onto the arrer boyz. I have 30 or these to get thru so its time to just crack on. First 10 done...

[kaaras]

Hmm, seems I haven't added much here lately. Ironskullz Boyz have joined the horde, as have another 10 boyz. 

and a different view:

and the 20 boyz all together:

Sadly, not one game all year thus far, so bit hard to tell of Balogog's exploits in the mortal realms. I guess he is just waiting for his time to strike.

Thanks for visiting!

[kaaras]

And now for some magical support. Not a bad model to paint. 

[mhsellwood]

How many points of painted Ironjawz are you up to now?

[kaaras]

Including Ironskulls boyz, 1060. 440 of that is the Maw Krusha. Its the battle line elements that are low. Overall, depending how I split up the Boyz, I can get the army to 2500 points almost exactly. 

[kaaras]

Well, its been a very long time but I have finally re-embraced the Waaagh after life got in the way. This is a pick of the first pig I finished.

There is a unit of these done that I will put up soon.

On a different note, Balogog finally got to go to Waaagh!!! Despite a close loss, it was a lot of fun and the Big Waaagh stomps face if you use it properly (which I didn't but that's ok). I am also working on some more Ard Boyz (should bring me up to 20, although 15 seems to be to magic number) and then just 10 Brutes, 7 Greenskinz and a Wurrgog prophet to accompany Balogog to war. Its a lot of fun running the mixed list and I rate it. Next part of this is to set it up to run as all cavalry, gruntaz and boarboyz with a MK and Maniak Weirdnob. Should be fun.

[kaaras]

Balogog watched as the mad prophet sauntered out the cave entrance, a number of his boyz in tow, slavering and shouting incoherently, their warpaint glowing and squirming very uncomfortably. The prophet had a vision of some tree monster and their loathsome pointy ears in tow. Apparently, the sap of this monster would power up their weapons for months. Well, best go have a look, Balogog thought. Should be a good krumpin, one way or another.

I had a quick 1000 point match against a friends Wanderers army with straight Bonesplitterz. I took this list:

Wurggog Prophet (man of the match, Fist of Gork on double 6's, must have killed a dozen or more dudes over the course of the game...)

Savage Big Boss

20 Savage Boyz

20 Arrow Boyz

2 x 5 Savage Boar Boyz

His list was:

Treelord

High Prince Wood Elf dude with bird (name escapes me...)

20 Rangers (these are nasty)

20 Eternal Guard

10 Sisters of something archers

We played using the Open War cards (why more people don't use these is beyond me, so good...). The battlefield was split straight down the centre lengthwise, with no X inches from the centre line. The objective was Treasure Hunter (6 objectives, if you control it at the start of the hero phase, on a 6 its yours) and the twist was all melee weapons add 1 to attack, and a second one forced the winner of the roll off to deploy their entire army in one go, then the second player deploys theirs. On a roll of 1 after deployment, the second player steals the initiative as well... I won't go blow by blow, but some highlights:

The Wurggog dominated, dropping mortal wounds everywhere and really keeping the army together

5 pigs slammed into the Treeman turn 1, took 11 wounds off before the Wurggog finished him off next turn with a well aimed arcane bolt

The rangers battering my archers for a massive 26 wounds in one round of combat (with that extra attack, they were devastating)

1 pig surviving on 2W for about a turn and a half as the sisters archers just couldn't quite finish him off...

It was a 2-1 win to the Bonesplitterz on objectives. I was very fortunate to get the first turn every time the whole way through the game. If I had been hit with a double turn on either turn 2 or 3, I think it would have been a lot closer and I would have had to have changed tactics completely. Still, it was good to get a win with the boyz.

On another note, the army is almost complete. One more month and I think the warhost will be done. It will come in at about 3k all up, which is more than I expected but here we are. On the list to finish:

5.2 x Brutes

1 x Megaboss on Foot

1 x Wurggog Prophet.

Really hoping to get this done in March so I can move onto my next project. The Warclans will be my gaming army, this new one is a painting and modelling one to try to push my skills and do something totally different. I will probably still add units to this as I am missing a few of the Bonesplitterz and would like to be able to run each of the battalions if I feel like it, so a bit of a ways to go yet but it will be in slow time now. I will post individual unit photos and then the whole thing when it is finished. This is also novel as it is the first army I will have painted to completion. Well, within reason right... there are a few things I want to do like get some checks done, some more warpaint, that sort of thing. But done, enough.

[kaaras]

Those zoggin aelves are back again, Balogog noticed with fury. Right, time to send the boyz out to stomp some face, and this time, it's time to hit em with my boyz. Balogog assembled his Ironjawz shock troops, boyz, brutez and the gargant that seemed to like hiding in the caves and the grog that the grots ere made. As the army streamed from the caves, another enemy approached. Zog it, thought Balogog, flying stunties. Ah well, lets krump em as well, have a proper good fight...

Another 1k battle, but this time a 3 way between Balogog's Ironjawz, Wanderers and Kharadron. We used the open war again and this time it was a kill match with whoever took the most wounds winning the match. The Wanderers and Ironjawz deployed in the top corners of the battlefield, with the Kharadron in the centre opposite. 

Balogogs horde for this battle:

Ironjawz:

Megaboss on foot: Metalrippaz, Brutal Cunning

Shaman

Warchanter

10 x Ard boyz

10 x Brutez

1 x Gargant ally (coz I felt like it)

Wanderers was the same as the last list. Kharadron had two haulers, 5 thunderers, 1 lord, 9 endrinriggers, all flying and teleporting all over the place.

Notable highlights: I won the roll off to go first every round. Didn't help much... 

• Megaboss hacked the Treelord to kindling, then was killed outright by the poncy aelf prince...
• Gargant slaughtered the thunderers with his club and a headbutt, then cleaved through 9 rangers and 5 more fleeing to battleshock (he did well in this one) only to be mowed down by the rangers in turn.
• 3 ard boyz surviving to the end of the battle (no one else did)
• Brutes getting flung across the board to engage the Kharadron, making a 9in charge on an 11, only to be wiped out but the weight of fire and combat in the Kharadron turn.

In the end, it was a close run thing, but having so many wounds and giving up a lot of them I ended up losing. The Kharadrons ability to basically just ****** off wherever they want is a pain...

[kaaras]

Alright, so almost 3 years to the day (tomorrow actually) my painting journey with the Orruks Warclans is over (for now). From starting with the idea of a large mixed destruction list morphed into a mixed orruk list and then finally into the Warclans we now have. It has been a long journey with multiple distractions in between; however I now have a game ready army that is what I want it to be, with enough options to play pretty much any way that comes along. My skills have improved as I practiced, and I think the final army looks solid and cohesive when the whole thing is on the table. 

Without further ado, I will showcase the entire army as each unit and hero (apart from the chariot, the photos failed on that one...)

Group Shot:

Ironjawz all:

Bonesplitterz all:

Ok, yes, I repurposed normal greenskins with Bonesplitterz bits to make the majority of this army, but it works for me...

Wurggog Prophet: I love this guy and am really happy with how it came out. I think he is one of the best character models I have painted

Savage Big Boss: This guy has been here before, but he has warpaint now

Wardokk: This guy is good fun too

Arrowboyz are up next. These are kit-bashed a little to make them a bit more Savage and some warpaint to make it fit. The orange really does it for me with all that green...

Next up, the boarboyz. Again, these are sourced from greenskins with some Savage bits added to make it work. Played as Maniakz these guys are a lot of fun

Lastly, the Savage Boyz. This was the last unit I finished with their warpaint (just this morning) but they were the first unit I started. Figures.

So that ends part 1 with the Bonesplitterz. I am overall very pleased with them. I make a decent 1k list with these and they help fill out the warclans list with a bit of magic, shooting and speed. Ironjawz and the ancillary units next up.

 

[kaaras]

Part 2 of this plog, I present the Ironjawz. These guys really inspired me when they dropped (Maw Krusha for the win) but they have taken me a long time to finish for a number of reasons, mostly because as I went along the paint scheme altered. Anyway, they look pretty good so here we go:

Group Shot again:

The big kahuna, Balogog himself, on Maw Krusha. Love this model and he is so great on the battlefield.

So good. Anyway, when he feels like perambulating, here is the Megaboss on foot. This was a lot of fun too, and I tried to build up the base a bit more and added the Chimera head, coz reasons.

Next up are the Ard boyz. These have been here before, so just a group shot. Hated painting these...

The Gore Gruntaz. They look great, hit hard but take forever to paint. 

The Weirdnob Shaman. This guy was fun, haven't had a lot of reason to use him yet.

And his running mate, the Warchanter. So valuable in game, really need two of them...

The Brutez. Again, these look great but take forever to paint each one. I converted 5 40k Nobz to run as Brutez and it works ok.

So that is the Ironjawz. I can run a Brutefist or Ironfist. The IJ do the heavy lifting in the army and are pretty good at it too.

Lastly, the ancillary units:

Gargant. Ok, he is purple. He was a chaos gargant, but I sold my entire chaos collection recently (outside the WH:Q stuff) and kept this guy to use in this army, or SoB when that comes around. I did take off the chaos icons and added some orruky stuff to him.

Yes, those are decals. No, I haven't worked out how to blend them properly.

Finally, the Fimir. So dirty they discontinued this line and that I didn't get the Noble before he disappeared. The fact I can't ally them with the Warclans anymore is also a downer.

And that, folks, is it. Thanks to everyone here and elsewhere for the support and nice comments. I am sure I will revisit some of these models in time, but for now, Balogogs painting journey is over. I will add battle reports and photos here as they happen (once lockdown ends...) and when I add more units (there are some heroes to do and some more BS models I would like to do) but that is it for now. I have a few projects that will be coming up, so if you like my stuff, keep an eye out and hopefully that will be good too.

Peace all, happy painting.

[kaaras]

Well, its been a very long time but Orruks are back! Balogog gets some new slimy friends which is very nice, and I now get to make more questionable list choices in the name of fun. I ended up with two sets of the Kruleboyz (still don't really like the name but not much to do about that) and am slowly painting them up (which is how I always paint everything... slowly). Anyway, I settled on:

20 Gutrippaz

20 Hob grotz (that may never see the table again after their first outing...)

6 Boltboyz

2 Shaman

1 Banna

1 Foot boss

1 Mount Boss. 

All up thats about 1400 points or whatever they will be when I get my hands on the new book. I would provide some WIP photos but I have managed to smash the camera on the phone (makes checking in interesting) but I will get some soon. I tried so hard to keep a simple palette this time, started with 10 colours, up to about 30 now... I am also up to about 5000 points of Orruks, so making lists is now getting really hard. I find combining Savage and Krule works well, and IJ and Savage is good too, not found a way to make all three work or IJ and KB work. Still, see how it goes.

I did get one game in before this land down under went to COVID custard (relatively speaking). Played against a Gravelords list with 10 Dreadknights, a Vampire Lord on Zombie Dragon and another Vamp. Suffice to say that my dice abandoned me when I needed them, but regardless I was obliterated. Total domination by the Vamps. I was just using the Krule boyz out of the box and yeah, didn't end well.