Orcpocalyse Orctober

"Orctober" is around the corner and it's time to consider the possibilities. Actually, I should be well into the planning phase at this point. But what's the fun in that?

A box of plastic orcs, not quite ready to be painted.

To fit the theme of this orc-based October project, I am tackling the over two dozen orc miniatures I got from the Reaper Miniatures Bones: An Evolution Of Gaming Miniatures Kickstarter. Yes, that was roughly forever ago. Reaper's first Kickstarter is truly the gift that keeps on giving for me.

The "Orcpocalypse!" option of that Kickstarter added 20 Orcs to the 5 Orcs and Warboss already available as part of the "Vampire" pledge level. Here's the break down:

• 77042 Orc Marauder (Sword and Shield) - Plate armored orc armed with a sword and shield. x5
• 77045 Orc Hunter (Spear) - Plate armored orc armed with a spear. x5
• 77051 Orc Stalker (Two Weapons) - Plate armored orc armed with dual swords. x5
• 77056 Orc Sniper (Archer) - Mail armored orc armed with bow and dagger. x5
• 77059 Orc Berserker (Two Handed Sword) - Plate armored orc armed with a great sword. x5
• 77064 Kavorgh, Orc Warboss - Big plate armored orc leader armed with an axe and shield. x1

That's 26 orc models made of the white, vinyl-like plastic used in early Reaper Bones miniatures. I'll have to straighten bent spears and clean up the surfaces before I even think about putting paint on them. And I'm still mulling over paint schemes because I don't want to spend all October painting green.

Maybe this is a good time to learn how to use an air brush?

XL-07 Out of Mothballs and Into a Ditch

The time to drag this unfinished project out of storage has come! It's based on modifying and repainting a "Lightyear Hyperspeed XL-07" - a toy tie-in to Lightyear (2022). That's the Buzz Lightyear movie with Chris Evans and the talking robot kitty. The Lightyear movie didn't seem successful, but it did spawn some toys that work pretty well next to 28mm miniatures. This project smoothly went through customization, priming, and masking phases until I hit a snag with the first coat of paint. It was banished into storage in 2022.

The moment when I found out how good of a masking job I did.

Previous Project Posts:

Lightyear Hyperspeed XL-07 Pre-Conversion
A post about the toy, it's features, and how it scales with 28mm miniatures (answer: quite well).

Lightyear Hyperspeed XL-07 Modest Modifications
Posting about the small details I added to the toy.


Zenithal Priming

I chose three spray primers with an eye towards the colors that would eventually go over them.

Krylon Fusion All-In-One Paint+Primer Matte Black
This went all over the toy as a base coat. Bonded to the plastic nicely.

Krylon Fusion All-In-One Paint+Primer Matte Coffee Bean
A dark brown that I sprayed over the top of the toy. My original intention was to paint the red directly over this, but it turned out too dark. However, it still provides a good undercoat for certain areas such as the cockpit.

Tamiya Fine Surface Primer (L) White
A highlight layer sprayed over the top of the toy. This resulted in a zenithal prime simulating light shining down on it. This stuff is the only reason I'm reluctant to take up an air brush for priming.

Not bad. I've done worse.

Masking and Painting

I next masked off sections of the engines and the canopy. Both are getting metallic coats and I didn't want multiple coats filling in the details. I have enough experience with masking off sections of a model to know how little I know about it. This was good practice as the masked off sections were mostly straight shapes.

Krylon ColorMaster Paint+Primer Matte Poppy Red
This paint delivered good news and bad news. The dark and light underlayers show through the red paint. This makes the bottom noticeably darker than the top with a nice gradation in between. On the other hand, the paint was tacky in spots. I suspect the issue is with the different kinds of plastic used throughout the toy.

This illustrates something about our hobby - the only way to find out how two materials interact is to give it a try. No amount of internet searches, questions posed to online communities, or small scale experimentation will reveal every problem. These steps help, but it ultimately comes down to doing the thing and seeing how it works out.

I monitored the situation for awhile. The stickiness slowly improved, but not to the point where I felt comfortable painting over it. The project went into storage to give the paint more time to cure. That was back in 2022.

The green arrow indicates areas of paint removed with my thumbnail. The blue arrow points to where I gently scratched the paint off with a screwdriver. Note that the primer underneath doesn't seem to be damaged.

Updates

One of my hobby goals for this year is to get back into miniatures painting. With only a few months left in the year, I went digging around for projects to tackle. The red paint finally seemed to have cured which I checked on it. That sent this project back to my dusty work table.

Removing the masking tape revealed some clean work at protecting the sections I didn't want painted red. It's not a perfect job, but it's better than some of my prior attempts at masking. I'll want some more practice before taking on something that requires masking irregular shapes.

I brought out the paint brushes for the next step - the canopy's first coat of metallic color. I chose a new-to-me paint - Vallejo Game Color Metallic Tinny Tin. Basically, it's the replacement for my long dried up pot of Tin Bitz and does a wonderful job. It pops over the undercoat of Krylon Coffee Bean. I'm planning to add gold highlights over it to simulate sheen, but that's for later.

Then I made a mistake. Rather than use a miniature paint for the engine sections, I decided to test out a craft paint over one section - FolkArt Treasure Gold in Antique Silver. It went on thick. The brush marks were obvious and I worried about the details being filled in. I discovered the real problem after it dried. It did not adhere to the surface at all. I was able to remove it with my thumbnail.

At this point, I'll have to remove the FolkArt paint before moving on. Fortunately, I only painted one section with it as a test. I suspect that the FolkArt paint would do better on a more porous surface. I'll test it again when I have a project using MDF, cardstock, or something similar. For now, I have some scraping to do before I resume this project.

Citadel SKULLS First Impressions

DISCLAIMER: I bought this box of Citadel SKULLS with my own money. I have no connection to Games Workshop except as a customer. The opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own brand of snarky nonsense.

Surprise! It's a box of skulls.

This product is exactly what I expected - a box containing four sprues of 28mm scale plastic skulls. It's from our hobby's leading authority on molding skulls on models - Games Workshop. The Imperium of Man in 40K is a prime example. Just look at the sheer number of skulls they slap on everything that can't run away fast enough. Armor? Gear? Vehicles? Industrial machinery? Buildings? Skulls, skulls, skulls, skulls, and skulls. No need to ask if they're the baddies! They are.

The back of the box claims there are 340 skulls contained therein. Closer inspection reveals that 20 of the models are, in fact, jawbones. However, I don't think that the jawbones are included in the 340 skull count. Even if they are, that's still over 300 skulls. That's plenty of skulls for all but the most ambitious projects.

Four plastic sprues of skulls. All kinds of skulls.

Variety is pretty good in this product. Roughly half the models appear to be based on human skulls. The larger models are skulls of various non-humans. A fair number of the skull models are specific to Games Workshop properties. The Kroot skull models are pretty distinctive and may need modification to fit another setting. On the other hand, few are going to quibble about using "Ork" (40K, sci-fi) skulls as "orc" (fantasy) skulls.

This is the kind of product that most will slowly use up over several years. One or three skulls dressing up a miniature's base gets the point across. Even a pile of skulls to dramatically pose a miniature on will only use a dozen or so. I don't foresee the need to buy another box for myself coming for awhile. Unless I get an idea for some project that needs hundreds of 28mm scale skull models. Like a wall of skulls or something.

Okay. I need to leave that train of thought behind before it gets me into trouble.

Price? It's Games Workshop, a company that takes exceptional pride in their products and only lets others play with them if they part with substantial amounts of money. If there are more cost effective products that serve the same purpose, please let me know. I don't know how much products from the UK are going to end up costing here in the US over the next few years.

TL;DR: This is a good option for folks who need a few hundred 28mm scale plastic skull models, but check around for less pricy alternatives first.

RPGaDay 2025 Final Week Roundup

The RPGaDay 2025 challenge is over until next year. Here's one more compilation with extra remarks. Additional commentary is in italics. For background information on RPGaDay, see this introductory post. Here are links to the week one, week two, week three, and week four roundups.

Day 25: Challenge

A challenge can be a duel, a contest of wits, a wager, a tournament, et cetera. Whatever the form, it should give participants chances to shine and moments where they're stumped. Challenges best reflect the character of those taking them on.

The biggest challenge in doing RPGaDay is coming up with something to fit the daily prompt. It's easy enough early on, but inspiration doesn't come so quickly after the halfway point. My workaround was to look up the definition of the word used as the prompt. It was just enough to get the creative juices going.


Day 26: Nemesis

The Nemesis System gives NPCs in "Shadows of Mordor" personality. They recall past encounters, hold grudges, gain new traits, etc. Warner Bros owns the patient, but it appears to only cover video games. Will TTRPG space roll those dice? Dunno.

A good break down of the Nemesis System as it's used in "Shadows of Mordor" can be found here: The Nemesis System (link to IGN).

It could be argued that this could all be accomplished by GM fiat. While true, such an argument ignores the long tradition of random tables and rules that govern what happens in game. A system helps to ensure impartiality and allows players to see patterns in the system. GM fiat can be a little too random and arbitrary for players to feel that they have an effect on things.

I really need to get around to writing a post about the Nemesis System and TTRPGs at some point. Any interest?


Day 27: Tactic

A tactic is a means for achieving a goal. Tactics rarely survive contact with the table on both sides of the screen. It's not a bug, it's an intended feature. Keeps everybody on their toes.

GM plans fall apart due to the players. Player plans fall apart due to the GM. I figure that it's fair all the way around.


Day 28: Suspense

"It's the suspense that gets me" - Bugs Bunny, "Easter Yeggs" (1947). Generating suspense takes disciplined play. The reward is tantalizing uncertainty. The sense that something is about to happen, but not knowing what.

Suspense is the feeling that keeps players on their toes. Like the atmosphere in horror games, it takes focus to establish and maintain.


Day 29: Connect

More of this hobby takes place over an internet connection than ever. My introverted, possibly neurodivergent self welcomes it. On the other hand, TTRPGs are an activity where I'm willing to come into close proximity to other people. I'm conflicted.

Gaming over an internet connection is still personal interaction. In person gaming has more fidelity - expressions, gestures, and tone of voice are easier to perceive. It also lacks the convenience of using a device in the comfort of one's home. Which one gets used by a particular group often comes down to circumstances and personal preference.


Day 30: Experience

My first TTRPG experience involved a GM who carried his gaming stuff around in a hand-me-down white Samsonite hard shell briefcase. His D&D/AD&D campaign featured a Learjet and a red convertible. I think it was a Cadillac.

Yeah, the first campaign I played in was gonzo. In the defense of everybody involved, we were all still in grade school.

I sometimes consider getting a white Samsonite hard shell briefcase out of nostalgia. Those things are awkward and heavy, though.


Day 31: Reward

The true reward is the friends we made along the way. And the tales we get to share. Plus the loot our characters found. And the levels they gained. But mostly the friendship thing. And the stories.

The real, true reward is getting to the end of this challenge. It's fun and gets me back into the habit of writing, but the end of it frees up time and attention.