O is for... Orks!

One thing that is occupying us at the moment is getting the rest of Jamie's 40k Ork army painted. He did a few of the stand-alone models a while ago, but had become disheartened by the prospect of painting unit after unit of the basic Ork soldiers, so the army had been on the back burner. But now we've discovered the absolute joy of lazy painting (using the Army Painter dips and varnishes), he's rediscovered the love for Ork painting. So, since he doesn't have the time to blog about them himself, I thought I'd use my "O" post to share the great work he's done so far!

This Ork Trukk was one of the first vehicles he painted. It was painted with "traditional" painting techniques - layer upon layer of carefully applied colours, washes and highlights. We'll probably have to go back over it once the rest of the army is done, to make sure it looks right alongside the newer additions painted the lazy way. It's also massively dusty, having sat out on a shelf for ages after being finished.

The Big Mek with Shokk Attack Gun was a labour of love. It's a huge model compared to the normal Ork troops, so it will stand out on the battlefield and needs to look awesome. The lightning balls were my contribution to the project. He'll need a matt varnish to match the rest of the army, though, as he's a bit shiny.

This is a Killa Kan. A sort of armoured robot, piloted by a tiny Grot (Space Ork equivalent of a goblin). They go in units of three, but we've not got them all painted yet. I love the grimy stains on the pincers.

These are the basic Ork soldier models. Most of this bunch were painted using the traditional methods used in all the previous models, with the exception of one. You can see the difference in the two close up shots in the bottom right. The bottom model (the one in the hat) is the old style of painting. The one above has been painted the lazy way. With a matt varnish on the old models, you won't be able to tell the difference. I think this picture really captures the unique style of the Ork models - they are so full of character. The detail in the sculpts is incredible, and the kits are so flexible. The two Orks in the top right picture are made from almost identical parts - they have the same legs, body and arms (well, the right arms have different choppas, but are otherwise the same), all that is different is the head and the way they've been positioned. They look completely different. That's the great thing about these Games Workshop model kits. There's so much variation. You can have a whole army of individual models, if you are careful about how you put them together.

These guys are Lootas, with a Mekk (the guy with the pole). These have been painted in the new "lazy" way. The base colours are applied just as carefully, but with far less layers. The skin, for example, is just two layers in two different shades of green, whereas on the older models, you've got at least four or five different colours, applied using careful layering techniques to get the right shading and highlighting. These guys you just paint the basic colours on, then paint the whole model with the Quick Shade varnish. The varnish creates all the shading for you. It's great! All they need is a matt varnish, to take away the shiny-ness. Again, these models have so much character. I love the variety of heads you get. Lightning balls again, my work. I also contribute to the varnishing process, as once the varnish is painted on, a careful eye has to be kept on the models to prevent the varnish pooling in crevices. So while Jamie paints the varnish on, I'm sat, hawkeyed, staring at the models armed with a piece of kitchen towel, mopping up any excess.

Here are some Ork Bikers. Again, painted the lazy way with the Quick Shade varnish. They still need matt varnishing.

We would have done the matt varnishing, but ideally you want to do it outside on a dry day. All we've had this week is rain, so we've not had a chance to finish them off. Even when it hasn't been raining, the air has been too damp and muggy for the varnish to spray on neatly and dry effectively. We don't really have good enough ventilation in the bathroom to do it inside, but if the rain doesn't let off soon, we may have to!

The last thing we need to do to really finish the models off is to paint the bases. Bases are also my job, so I need to find some time to sit down with all the models finished so far and get the bases done. The Orks will probably get bases painted to look like mud.

I'll put up some more pics when they are done!