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Hi, all!

A bit pressed for time atm, but thought I'd do a cheeky update! Here's what I've been tinkering with of late! I'll do a proper text update soon, to explain all of this madness, but for now...

...pictures, and a sense of wonderful mystery, as something daft and ambitious hits my hobby table, and hopefully the underhive, too, soon!

All good cows are brown though.

Fancy models, out of what are they built?

Not Online!!! wrote:
All good cows are brown though.

Fancy models, out of what are they built?

Unless I've super goofed my Kanji, (very possible) Online 先生, I believe that says crows.

I've cobbled them together out of all sorts, really. Any metal is courtesy of @JoshInJapan - who very kindly donated them to my cause, and is a truly stand up guy, while the resin is either FW upgrades, or from puppetswar - I raided a few of their Japanese sci fi upgrade bits.

 posermcbogus wrote:

Not Online!!! wrote:
All good cows are brown though.

Fancy models, out of what are they built?

Unless I've super goofed my Kanji, (very possible) Online 先生, I believe that says crows.

I've cobbled them together out of all sorts, really. Any metal is courtesy of @JoshInJapan - who very kindly donated them to my cause, and is a truly stand up guy, while the resin is either FW upgrades, or from puppetswar - I raided a few of their Japanese sci fi upgrade bits.

Lad, it was supposed to be a joke

Nice dude then.
Ah just realised. Should've read propperly.

What gang will you use them as?

So: this project!

Waaaaay back when Orlocks first dropped, I wasn't really much of a fan. The lil goatees and goggles looked weirdly steampunk, and I wasn't sold on the shoulder pads, either (still not totally there either ATM, might do some more ambitious converting).

However, all of this changed about a year ago. As I finished up in Korea, I decided to take my first proper holiday in 2 years. On my madcap adventure, I found myself at the Kishiwada Festival. Where Korea always had this odd tension with the past, the folks of Kishiwada seemed to charge in and out of it, riding colossal wooden shrines at break neck speeds (Google Kishiwada Festival, it's great). I had a few beers with the gruffly-spoken locals, and feel in love with the odd pairing of blue-collar Japanese workmen and centuries old Japanese cultural tradition. But I also super fell in love with the 'happi' festival jacket. Each team had a unique design, and I have since been to a bunch of festivals, and even got the chance to wear one.

All throughout the rest of my trip, I kept wondering about pairing Japanese historical motifs with sci fi ones. I spent a chunk of my late adolescence watching anime like Jin-ro, evangelion, cowboy bebop and so on. Eventually, I came to the frankly bizarre realization - the waistcoats on the Orlocks could easily pass for happi. I took that ball and ran with it. I'm still playing with the fluff, but I'm pretty pleased with how it has turned out. I've got 5 boyos left, and tho I'm tempted to try to save 4 to make a biker gang out of the Atalan Jackals (and keep the subsequent bits for my GSC ), I'm going to consult the rules first, and maybe also yaktribe, just to make sure I haven't made any dreadful decisions! Thanks for looking fellas!

Poser McBogus, continuing to make good on his promise to finish at least one mini a week, since I started this self-challenge like a week ago.
A test for this project, and one I'm pretty pleased with. I like how the metals have come out, and think the blue/white scheme fits. In future, I'm planning on getting a bit more ambitious with the freehand, and adding some more black and mephiston red to the patterns.
Any suggestions for plasma coil colours? Right now, I'm thinking superheated metal orange.

Thanks for looking! CnC always appreciated!

oohhh, nicely done.

Pretty! Excellent conversion ideas and the paintjob is great too.

Not Online!!! wrote:oohhh, nicely done.

Thanks very much, Not Online! A first test mini is always a bit of a nerve-wracking experience, and I've never worked with blue this much before. Glad to know folks think it looks alright!

Vejut wrote:Pretty! Excellent conversion ideas and the paintjob is great too.

Thanks very much! There were a whole bunch of points where I worried this conversion might end up looking terrible, but I'm pretty pleased with the results - I even re-sculpted the tip of the chainsword, something I've never done before. And cheers very much for the kind words about the painting!

I kind of imagined this character as a grizzled veteran of the group, called in one last time for a final big job. He'd managed to buy his way out of the Crows, and had set up a local ramen shop, doing honest work to make a better life for his kid, when some Crow goons discovered that he was using real meat in his food, not synthtein or corpse-starch, and threatened to cut his supply lines and ruin his restaurant's reputation, unless he temporarily re-joined to use his expertise to give the Crows the upper hand in their conquest of the underhive.

I like them a lot, these Kazuko from the far future! The conversions are great.

 posermcbogus wrote:

Not Online!!! wrote:oohhh, nicely done.

Thanks very much, Not Online! A first test mini is always a bit of a nerve-wracking experience, and I've never worked with blue this much before. Glad to know folks think it looks alright!

Vejut wrote:Pretty! Excellent conversion ideas and the paintjob is great too.

Thanks very much! There were a whole bunch of points where I worried this conversion might end up looking terrible, but I'm pretty pleased with the results - I even re-sculpted the tip of the chainsword, something I've never done before. And cheers very much for the kind words about the painting!

I kind of imagined this character as a grizzled veteran of the group, called in one last time for a final big job. He'd managed to buy his way out of the Crows, and had set up a local ramen shop, doing honest work to make a better life for his kid, when some Crow goons discovered that he was using real meat in his food, not synthtein or corpse-starch, and threatened to cut his supply lines and ruin his restaurant's reputation, unless he temporarily re-joined to use his expertise to give the Crows the upper hand in their conquest of the underhive.

honestly, for someone as talented as you, you do worry to much. You should adopt a more happy go lucky attitude, especially considering you are working on a bunch off , well , let's just state "irregulars"*

(me on the other hand )

Ahh, but Not Online!!!, you're also busy at being the foremost tactician for R&H - the great and fearsome ordinance tyrant to us miserable wretches rolling low on the uncertain worth table.

And don't be too concerned by my worrying! I like to think of my worrywart nature as something of a two-edged sword. Being a bit of a perfectionist with painting has pushed me on to try to be better, but I'm also quite ready to accept when I need to improve. I've always thought that being a bit obsessive is a cornerstone of being a nerd, and I'm happy to indulge that with this hobby especially! Your kindness is always appreciated, though. I'm always glad to see that lil Swiss flag, and remember that I really should get around to more chaos sometime...


...(stay posted!)

Thats an amazing Orlock

Arigatou, Orkish! I hope to get through some more, soonish!

久しぶり！ Hi all! Back in the underhive for a little bit! Got a real mish-mash on my workbench, as usual, but this paint scheme seems to go on really fast somehow! Hopefully I'll have a few more for you in the coming days!

This guy was a real test - I initially wasn't so hot on him - y'know how sometimes with a project, there are minis you just naturally like more and less?

But since painting him, I've really warmed up to the character in the sculpting etc! And I think I've finally got more of a confident handle on the skin tone, which is nice!

He's one of my two bolter boys - I've been warned by Yaktribe that bolters are really killy on Orlocks, so I decided to limit myself (though I do also have a guy with a heavy bolter...). And I couldn't resist hazard stripes! As usual, lol.

I added some nail stickers around the lower edge of his happi - I want to try to customize each jacket, and make the Japanese flair a bit more obvious. A while back, I was in a 100 yen shop, when I spotted these. They're 3D enough that you can pick out the detail with a brush, and wash will settle in the creases. I think they don't look half bad at all, though they take a bit of getting used to in application.

Really fun guy to paint, looking forward to getting more Crows finished!

Thanks for stopping by!

Nice job! Cool vibe you've given the gang, thosr nail stickers are a great touch.

Really nice conversions and paintwork. The vibrant colours remind me of the game the first time around. Look forward to seeing more.

monkeytroll wrote:Nice job! Cool vibe you've given the gang, thosr nail stickers are a great touch.

Thanks very much! To be honest, they felt like a bit of a gamble, but I feel like it paid off! The other day I was at the local bookstore, looking for something completely unrelated to hobby stuff for a relative, when I came across some gorgeous photobooks of various period clothes, and was so tempted to pick them up...

...might still. I want to try to get a bit more freehandy to try and keep the vibe nice and interesting!

JamesY wrote:Really nice conversions and paintwork. The vibrant colours remind me of the game the first time around. Look forward to seeing more.

Very kind of you to say. I've been on a bit of a retrohammer kick lately, so that's probably had a bit of an impact, haha.

So, like, once you have 5 members, you're totally a gang, right?

Finished 3 gangers last night! Looks like rainy season has hit here, so no more priming for a few months, which probably means painting more Space Marines than anything else. But I'm pleased with how these boys turned out! I tried out a few basic ideas with them, and while it was challenging, I had a lot of fun, and I think they look pretty good, to boot!

The sniper is from Scotia Grendel's Triad range. I grabbed him because of his Tengu mask, but I think he fits really nicely - the cuirass is a really nice, historically-founded touch.

Hope you all like them!

Now that is a nice looking bunch of wannabee samurai? i guess

Not Online!!! wrote:
Now that is a nice looking bunch of wannabee samurai? i guess

Thanks! Ahh, Samurai..? That's not a word heard often in the lower hives... These men are somewhere between Ashigaru and Bandits. Not since the days of the Heresy have low-born men fought with honor. That time has passed, now is the era of the silently drawn blade, where heroes are felled from behind by mere commoners with firearms.

...but, that's not to say that those born of a higher station don't have a vested interest in the Crows. The thrashing of the underhive, so too, makes ripples amongst the great, towering Pagoda spires of the ruling caste. From time to time, they say, the blades of the Damiyo will strike deep into the hive, or can be seen, from time-to-time engaging in the bustling bartering and haggling of its markets, bars and entertainment districts.

Sniper is a great addition - and nice job on the lens. Looks like a proper gang to me.

I like the idea of the Damiyo's blades sometimes appearing in the underhive like the old spyrers. Are there kitsune and tengu roaming the underhive too?

 monkeytroll wrote:
Sniper is a great addition - and nice job on the lens. Looks like a proper gang to me.

I like the idea of the Damiyo's blades sometimes appearing in the underhive like the old spyrers. Are there kitsune and tengu roaming the underhive too?

Thanks very much, dude! The Tengu Mask guy from Kimetsu no Yaiba inspired the sniper, so I think that's that base about as covered as I'm going to be able to manage. I'd love to incorporate some more Yokai and other folkloric stuff, but it's going to be a little tricky. I raided my local bookshop, and got a small pile of reference materials for this project - Kabuki characters are my latest infatuation, though I'd love to toss in a Sumo, and maybe some female gangers as well.
Kinda holding my breath until the announcements for the wave 2 'munda minis for orlocks drop. I imagine it'll be a while, but I'm hoping for something fun, to get my converting juices really flowing.
Also wondering about compatible bare male torsos... for reasons.

 posermcbogus wrote:

Not Online!!! wrote:
Now that is a nice looking bunch of wannabee samurai? i guess

Thanks! Ahh, Samurai..? That's not a word heard often in the lower hives... These men are somewhere between Ashigaru and Bandits. Not since the days of the Heresy have low-born men fought with honor. That time has passed, now is the era of the silently drawn blade, where heroes are felled from behind by mere commoners with firearms.

...but, that's not to say that those born of a higher station don't have a vested interest in the Crows. The thrashing of the underhive, so too, makes ripples amongst the great, towering Pagoda spires of the ruling caste. From time to time, they say, the blades of the Damiyo will strike deep into the hive, or can be seen, from time-to-time engaging in the bustling bartering and haggling of its markets, bars and entertainment districts.

I suggest an attempt at missionary conversion in order to make the underhive more orderly, but i have a feeling that'd backfire due to deja vu


10/10 tough.

Some sci-fi Kabuki players would make for some great characters. I've always liked the idea of komuso monks in an SF setting too.

I'm just envisaging a model expansion out into the wider world of the pagoda-hives - don't mind me, I'll keep throwing off little things out there to see if any of them work their way into your mind