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So I went to the post office today to get the parcel that I missed on Saturday. I know, two days before Mantic said they were going to start shipping it. Win - but I still missed it! Well, looking at them now, I can tell you that I will never again consider GW Orc/ks. And I mean it. The models are absolutely superb in person, the mold lines are almost non-existant(!!!!!!) and the quality of the casting is fantastic. It's a bit like their range of Elves; everybody always says that they look better in person than in picture, and I can tell you that this is exactly (if not more) the case with the Orcs. And of course there's the price. I don't think I need to even mention their excellent value. Mantic and Renedra of truly out-done themselves. I really can't wait to get stuck into these beasties!

The models are full of charm. From the hilarious little Orclings to the big ugly brutes (they are Orcs, after all!). The heads are bursting with the brilliant Mantic charecter that seems to have emerged amongst the fantasy frontier of late. The top hat Orc looks just the business; I can imagine him scheming away in a candle-lit dark room. Posing the models is a blessing. The only trouble I had was with the heads, but a little blue tac would do the trick. You can dry assemble the whole unit within moments, their big features meaning that it's easy grab hold of all the bits. I can't stress enough at just how wonderfully mold line-sparse they are... I really, really can't wait to crack on with them!









...so whattsa going on? Here's a little look:



Mantic I LOVE YOOOOOU!!!!

*Ahem.*

Stay tuned folks...

*Edited for spelling and grammar errors.

Hey cool start , and charming opening. I have been considering getting the Mantic ghouls and zombies , because they look really good and are dirt cheap. your orks are really living up to my expectations of the minis. The empire gunners are nice too.

It will be good seeing a few closeups and so on of the Mantic stuff in various stages of assembly.

Personally the orks' legs are too skinny and their heads look a bit strange. How much play is there in the actual poses?

Thanks for the kind words guys! @SilverMK2: Interesting question. You'll have to understand that they're probably even more posable than the Ghouls and Zombies - having two frames in all and even more components. They're allot more posable than the Skeletons and Revenants (which aren't very posable at all when you think about it - they make up for this in the sheer number of combinations available with all of the different sprue options). The clever thing about the Ghouls and Zombies is their ball hip joint. This means that the slightest variation of the angle at which their body's positioned creates wildly different appearances... but back to the Orcs. Regarding the picture below (also above):



Here you can see the three bodies that you get from the Orc Ax Troop Frame. Apart from the body on the right of the picture (which has a left arm that is already attached), they do not have arms, and so you attach these help of a firm peg joint. You have a fair amount of choice here, with three different (for the right arm) axes and two shields (for the left arm).

The body on the left of the picture has it's head already attached (which is onward facing). This leaves two bodies needing heads, and there are three different heads to choose from for this. They all face towards the left (imagine looking to the left of you. As silly as it sounds, this is in effect what it is like). They too have a peg joint, although in this case there's more freedom to move them about.

The pre-attached arm that the Orc on the right of the picture has can wield either an axe or a shield (of which there is one of each). With an Orc I have softened the fingers with glue and bent them inwards (to make a fist) so that the shield looks like it is being held tight. Now I think about it, he could even perhaps hold the rasberry-blowing Orcling on the Command Frame... hehe!

You might be thinking: "but that means that their axe arms are all their right arms and they almost all look left!" In which case you are very much correct! However, if it wasn't this way, you wouldn't have a hope in The Abyss of ranking them all up correctly! Think of the current Empire State Troops.

About the legs. When you see them in person, they actually look fine (which I know is always the thing to say, but they really do). Don't forget that Mantic works in ture-scale, not heroic, so they actually have very strong legs. GW Orc/ks are for show (*cough*steroids*cough*).

Well, if you read all of that, I thank you very much, for I am terrible for flicking through blogs for the pictures - of which there will be more...

I suppose that I am just used to looking at heroic scale models

More updates soon...

Hi all, thanks for stopping by.

This is actually an edit. I've changed a few other things so that they read easier too.

I originally wrote allot of background, but it was probably darker than a Dwarf in his cups! It has got me more motivated to paint though! Below is a campaign map; it's completely made up. The Elves live in the middle of a vast desert, one that is impassible and deadly. Their city hides a very large body of fresh water (called an "Oasis" in this case) that is their only means of survival. The desert, unfortunately, is haunted by the living dead at night, but the Elves fear that the Necromancers they pursue may become strong enough to terrorize with their dreaded servants in the day too! Add to this that the Orcs from the North and the Dwarfs from the South want the Elven city for their own, and things couldn't get any worse! ...or so the Elves desperately hope...




As night decends, so do the dead rise from their sandy graves...





Quickshade really is awesome! This was just a test unit for how I was going to paint the undead. I realize that there is some pooling on the shields but I am very happy with them.

Got to go now, thanks for reading. There's allot of models to be painted, and I'm hoping that the upcoming Mantic open day on the 7th of July goes ahead okay! Come along too!

Hello all, just a tiny update here.

Look what came through the post...



Yep, the new Greataxs, and a Very fast delivery too, I must say. Look at all those sprues!

If the Axs were great, these are even better. There is less variation with all the parts you get, but the first time that I saw a picture of them, I could hardly tell at first glance. Let me tell you, these brutes are HUGE!



The sculpting is ace, in a nutshell they're much nastier and bigger than their lesser Ax kin. They can be assembled either right or left-handed. See below for a comparison to an Ax warrior:



At first inspection the models appeared to have much more mold lines than the Axs, but they took no more time to assemble and clean up. They stand taller than them too, as they have less of a hunched-back. For me, this further reinforces they're strength and superiority. All-in-all, they are the biggest single plastic models that Mantic has made to date, and are yet more fanstastic value and quality miniatures to add to my painting queue! See below for size comparisons of (from left to right) an Elf Spearman, an Undead Skeleton, an Ax Warrior, and the Greatax warrior himself:



What do you guys think?

Thanks for reading, and now that my Ebay auctions have finished, expect more updates soon! Take care,

Cosmic.

Awesome, thanks for the comparison pics. Those greatax are huge!

Your undead turned out well too. I wasn't sure about them at first, but now they've got the quickshade on them they look great.

Hey 'squig, thanks for the compliment. Yes, the Greatax are indeed rather big!

The thing I like about Quickshade is that, once you have put down the neat basecoats (which always makes for good practice), next is just to dip them and then BAM! It's like, "did I really do that?" but the Quickshade is the one to thank.

Lately I've been looking at speedpainting, and have decided that the two best ways to get things done fast and good are:

1.) Dipping and

2.) Washing.

Drybrushing can be used for both. I like washing because it gives you more control, and more ways to develop things further. I like dipping because the shading is nothing but fantastic. I've been looking at the way Gaarew from Warseer speedpaints. It's literally just giving everything a Devlan Mud bath at the end. Here's his tutorial on Mantic's site.

Similarly, here's how you paint an Ironclad by using Quickshade.

Both ways seem just as good, but I think that I'm beginning to prefer the "painted" look more. These Tyranids that I painted not long ago took no time at all to paint, and I'd say they look better than the Imperial Guardsmen that I did around the same time.



I've also been reconsidering the colours that I am using for the Undead and have decided against the green/orange scheme. I like green/orange so much, but realistically it takes are fair amount of time (each colours requiring multiple, if not several coats until a nice and flat is achieved). Recently I found these Skeletons, and I think that I'll do something similar.

But until July the 7th, I'll be painting these guys below the green/orange way, just so the other Skeletons don't feel so lonely!



God I love the way that you can pose Mantic Skeletons!



"Come on suckas, gimme your best shot!"

(No, it wasn't a very good photo. I'll post a painted version soon!)

...and that's enough from me. Thirty models is a reasonable target, and it gives me a chance to have some fun. Until then, Dakka! Thanks for reading.

Cosmic out.

Coming on nicely..

Hey Randy,

Thanks for the encouragement. I plan for a big(ger) update soon. So watch this space!

You have a very cool Imperial Guard blog yourself!

Cosmic.

Great work so far. Keep up the good work!

Hi imm0rtal reaper!

I noticed that this is your first post. It is an honour!

So, thanks for the kind words, and welcome to Dakka! Be sure to let everyone in the introduction forum know that you're here.

Cosmic.

(EDIT: Please don't worry, Mantic fans There are things to be finished, and 40k is my roots. Kings of War is very much in the works! )

I have some Warhammer 40,000 things to show. Here is another shot of the Flame Eagles Terminator that I painted for the New Space Marine Conclave Project



Here is a few little WIP shots of what's to come (EDIT: from a project that began over three years ago, it is time to finish these guys. They'll have to be used for Warpath in the future! ):

Nice stuff all round Cosmic. Liking the orks they look like pretty crisp castings. Mostly liking your marines though. Really nice brushwork dude.

Thanks green! Here's a link to the Marines if anyone's wondering:
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/382731.page

I mentioned that I would paint more Marines, but I am not so sure. A dilema, you could say! They were something that I really felt the need to complete, lingering at the back of my mind. I didn't paricularly intend to take them any further, but the buzz that I got from finishing them and the fantastic response from here on Dakka was (and still is!) immense.

I don't know, but I think that Mantic is the way to go. What d'ya think, green?

Always go with whatever is more Green mate ha ha. Be it Mantic or maybe Mantis? Mainly paint the thing you enjoy the most 'cause you know you'll finish them mate.

That's probably some of the best hobby advice I've ever heard mate. I'll think about it. Thanks green.

No worries mate I'm full of weird advice, just wish I could decide what my next project will be. I've got a draw full of mini's and a tonne of ideas just not enough time in my life to do all the things I want ha ha.

lol

I know man

Sweat Blog, I may follow...

Great to see the Orcs hopefully they'll start releasing Gobbos smetime soon.....