Step by Step: Ork Boys

     I thought I would do another step by step for you to take a look at. This one is the beginning of my second unit of Orc Boys. When I paint models en mass like WFB units or 40K Squads I normally break then down into manageable groups. This helps me gain the feeling of progress as the unit grows, and it also help to cut down on the monotony of painting the same color in the same place...20 times. So this is the progression start to finish on the back rank plus one extra trooper I have laying around.

     Something to think about. I planned these minis the same way I have the rest of this army. There are really only a few colors used, and they all work well when washed with GW Devlin Mud. This way I can crank out the models in a fairly quick time frame. They have a decent table top quality paint job, and once I am finished I can go back in and do some extra work on special things like the standards and unit champions. My total working time on these six models is roughly 4 hours (2 hours a night for two nights) 

Black Primer

     I started off like I do many of my miniatures and that is with a coat of black primer. It is not really important what kind you use. I used to use GW Black and White exclusively but I have recently started using Krylon Camouflage paint. It works great on plastic, and is ultra flat. Also, they have a few other colors you can work with if you want a different base. After I spray them black and let them dry I go back in with some thinned down black paint and use a brush to cover any areas that the spray may have missed.

VGC 27 Scurf Green

    The first thing after the primer I work on is the flesh. The first unit of orcs I did for this army was done with a bit more work, and I need to try to find a way to get close to those models. I started with the same base. The main difference with the skin is I will do one less highlight before the wash, and then no work after the wash. I proceed with several thin coats of the Scurf Green.

     Since I am not really doing any highlighting for most of this model, getting an even coat is really important. I think it took four coats to get it consistent. Remember, several thin coats are always better than on thick one. It may take a bit more time, but it is worth it. For these I simply applied a coat to one model and them moved to the next one. By the time I got to the end model, the first one was pretty much dry and I could start over. It actually went fairly quickly.

VMC 970 Deep Green

     The next step is a dry brush on the skin. This is the reason I started with the flesh. It is gonna make a mess of the other areas and this keeps me from both going slow, and having to go back and cover up mistakes later. I did not really worry about highlight direction too much here, I just dry brushed all the skin to show the detail on the model. This is also the only area that I will be dry brushing. As I said in the last step, I am trying to get close to another unit look so I pretty much have to. It really does not take much time so it is not big loss.

VMC 984 Flat Brown

     After the skin was dry brushed I moved on to the largest area of color, the leather parts of the model. If I was actually taking my time on these I would try to come up with a few different shades for the leather. As you can see I choose the quick route and everything that looked, smelled, or tasted like leather received a coat of Flat Brown. Since I had the color on my brush I also went ahead an filled in the mouth with the brown as well. It will provide a backdrop for the teeth later on.

VMC 988 Khaki/VMC 875 Beige Brown

     With the leather and skin finished it was time to move on to one of the accent colors. All the wooden surfaces (staff shaft, and some of the weapon handles) receive a coat of Beige Brown. The fur lining on the boots and the decapitated heads were coated in the Khaki. Remember I am choosing colors for ease so I do not have to load up my brush for a lot of small areas. So the heads will have to do with a khaki coat.

VMC 856 Ochre Brown

     This next step is one of the larger colors on the model. It is also the color I am trying to put on every model to tie the army together. All the cloth on the models get a coat of Ochre Brown. While I have it on my brush I also hit the teeth in the mouth, the finger nails, and any teeth they may have hanging off them as trophies. I will be covering the teeth later in a bone color, but this ochre makes a great base. I will explain more later. The pants/cloth get three or four coats of this color. Once again, since I will not be doing any work after the wash the base colors need to be consistent or any flaws will show once it is all dry. I have icons on shields and other areas of the army that are this color so you will notice that the third model from the left has it painted onto the belt plate. This will match other models where I have done that, and it also helps to break up the large amount of metal that will go there.

GW Chainmail

    This step covers by far the most amount on these models. I cover all the metal with several coats of GW Chainmail. Normally I would not start with this bright of a metal color, especially for orcs. Since we are washing and then leaving them, it will tone down nicely once finished. This is also the color that I must be the most careful with. Any bit of metallic paint on another color will stand out like a sore thumb. There are also numerous small rivets or bolts that need to be touched to look right.

VMC 837 Pale Sand

     The last color that goes on before the wash is Pale Sand. This is a slightly tan bone color that I often use for teeth, bone, or other things of this matter. Remember a few steps ago we used the ochre on the teeth. When when we paint on the pale color we want to leave just a tad bit of that ochre showing. This will help give a really nice definition to the teeth. The ocher will also mean we need fewer coats of the pale to cover the teeth.

GW Devlin Mud

     After all the above steps are done and dry, now is probably the easiest step of the job. Devlin Mud is taken straight from the pot and applied to the entire model. Be sure not to go too crazy. If you leave too much in any once place it may leave you with a fairly ugly spot. If you notice I made that mistake on the one in the middle. If you do a quick scan before you put the model down to dry, you can take a damp brush and soak up a little bit of the wash to keep this from happening. Since I choose all the colors together, and close in tone the wash will not only shade the model it will help to tie them all together.

     You could easily take a few more steps to make these look even better, but I am not going to at this point. I am simply moving through my army trying to get everything painted. If I decide later they need it I can come back and add some detail touches at a later time.

Oh and one more thing. Once the final wash/paint is dry, don't forget to seal in your hard work.