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Hello there! Haven't posted for months, thought I'd eventually come back out of hiding!

I had an idea for a 40k force, using the ork miniatures and codex, but swapping the heads to create.....well.....an army of barbarians/savages/rebels/mutants? Whatever you want to call them! Obviously I'd paint them human 'fleshy' tones rather than green, and have to come up with a whole load of fluff.

I've got some pictures below (excuse the camera skills) and I just wanted some brutally honest opinions.

An interesting project I should carry on with?

Or should I cut my losses and try something else?

Some 'boyz':











Some 'nobz':





The 'boss' (with dreadlocks!):







Many thanks!

I like the the warboss and nobs, but the heads seem a bit oversized for ordinary boyz.

Also, army of mutants is a great idea

They look cool, but I don't think that they really fit in the 40k world. Sorry.

Have to agree, boyz just don't look right but the nobz and your warboss are good. Really like the gun on your warboss.

Because of how broad the shoulders are and how short the limbs look compared to the heads they almost look like squats, scaled up to be the same size as ordinary people.

Mr. Shouty-with-Pistol looks a little goofy proportion-wise, but they make me think of 2nd edition orks. If you want a force that will look intimidating then these may not work. If you're okay with a bit of the comedy from an older time in Warhammer and want a unique army, I say keep at it!

On the boyz, the heaads look really akward, but that might be the look you're going for. On the Nobz and Warboss though, the heads look much better.

Now you've got to make some Gnoblar Grots.

I really don't think that the Ogre heads look good on the Boy bodies. Way too big, it looks cartoonish. They look a little better for Nobz and such.

If you want something in a similar style, but a smaller size, why not try the Fantasy Chaos Marauder heads? They should be a little more on-par with the body size, and shouldn't be too expensive on eBay or whatever.

It's always nice to see some mutant armies; however, I think I'd drop the iron gob on the nob. It's too specifically orky, not just barbarian, and it distracts from the conversions (and paint scheme) that are supposed by making what are primarily orks look more like humans.

I would second the idea of mixing some chaos marauder - or perhaps catachan - in the conversions going forward. The "mutant" sets for the LatD were originally ork bits, catachan bits, and chaos marine mutation sprues if I recall (actually, if you know any chaos marine players, ask them if they have any mutation sprues left over. I know I have some from my old army, most people never use them at all and you get a lot).

Many thanks for all the responses chaps!

My initial thoughts were 'these heads look ridiculous' but I thought i'd get a second opinion!

The 'Nobz' do look a little more in proportion, and it was suggested to me earlier that perhaps I try and field a whole army of 'Nobz'! I haven't had a chance to check the new codex but apparently this is possible....and not too ridiculous?

I'm really really attracted to this idea and would love to give it a shot! What do you guys think?

@ Orkeosaurus

You raise a good point there. I do need to de-orkify these models a bit more. I've noticed a few glyphs that need filing off and various thing like ork 'teef that need to go!