1 - Assessing the Orc Slayers

The Orc Slayers unit comprises a leader, a standardbearer, and various troopers in two poses.

The Leader

As you might expect, the leader of this wild bunch is pretty wild himself - waving a giant axe with one arm, while holding up the severed head of an Orc foe in another. His only attire is a brief skirt, leaving his belly bare and protruding. There's also a bracer on one arm, and torcs (?) on his upper arms.

This figure also has its hair - and beard! - "punked out" in a trio of tufts.

The Standardbearer

The standardbearer clutches the standard in his left hand, while reaching back to draw his sword with his right hand. He's wearing a brief skirt (with a knife on his belt).

The standard itself is a tall pole with crossbar, supporting a rectangular banner with a scalloped bottom. There are tassles on the ends, and the whole affair is topped with chains and what look to be severed heads.

However, according to the background: "Some of the standards of the Orc Slayers are decorated with trophies of past battles, most commonly Orc skulls." So I suppose these are probably skulls, not complete heads.

This Dwarf has been dipping into the hair gel, as the beard is stiffened to stand out from the face, and the hair is standing vertically (runs up to the bottom of the banner).

The Troopers

The first of the troopers in this unit is equipped with a double-handed halberd, and is standing in a braced position. Though shirtless, he manages to look more buff and less pot-bellied than his companions.

His mouth is open - yelling? snarling? - and his hair is pulled into four tufts on top, and braided (?) down the back. He's wearing a fur skirt.

The "other" pose shows a Dwarf with a raised two-handed axe. He's wearing a fur skirt, but what really stands out - literally - is his hair. He's got a beard that is braided (?) and sticking straight out, his hair on top of his head is tied into some kind of giant tuft, and there are braids handing down in back.

The Plan

I described the figures to Deane of Goodwins Painting Services as reminding me of ancient Celts/Gauls/Britons, who would put lime in their hair to look more fearsome.

"I am thinking go totally that direction," says Deane. "Blue woad in the hair, tattoos, and some type of patterned cat-fur for the loincloth to up the visual interest. I am thinking colorwise something like an ocelot/cheetah look, not sure about the patterning yet - I'll have to look at the figs to decide."

Deane sent these two photos of 15mm scale Corvus Belli Celts to give an idea of the approach being considered.