A Classic Pig-Faced Orc

This is my first entry to this year's Painting Challenge. As a nod to our dungeon theme, here is an 'Orc with Guisarme' (Orc1) from the venerable 1979 Minifig range, I believe sculpted by David Hutchins.

Yes, he's a real old school classic. This figure was originally from a group of twelve that I had ordered with our first set of D&D books and dice, directly from TSR out of Lake Geneva. 

When I finally received the figures I was so impatient to have them painted that I used my dad's nasty automotive paints (no primer!) and 'brushed' it on using some of my mom's sewing needles. Yes, very primitive, but you can't fault the pure enthusiasm of youth.

Here is the last remaining orc of that cohort. As you can see, almost all the paint has flaked off over the years. It took several hours of rummaging through containers of random bits to find the original hexagonal shield. I did snoopy's dance of joy when I found it.

A certain charm. The archivist in me was torn whether to paint this guy or just leave him be.  

As historical background, the original concept of pig-faced orcs is usually attributed to Dave Sutherland, who was one of the main illustrators for TSR in the mid to late 70s. His work on the cover of 'Swords & Spells' (1976) is probably the first imagining of the face de cochon orc.

That same year The Brothers Hildebrandt also produced a painting of the capture of Merry and Pippin by orcs. Who influenced who, I'm not sure, but the idea took hold for those formative years.

TSR continued the porcine depiction of orcs in their 1977  Basic Set and the 1st Edition of the AD&D Monster Manual (I can't look at this book without getting misty, recalling a younger me pondering the weighty questions of which monster had the nastiest stats, the best art, the most treasure, etc.)

Orcs in the AD&D Monster Manual

...and from the D&D Basic Set

While the style of orcs have changed over time, certainly with the dominance of Games Workshop and Peter Jackson's movies, good ole pig-faced Orcs are still 'canon' for nostalgic old school D&D geeks like me. I love 'em. Oink.

I decided to repaint this guy in a fairly natty armoured hauberk, with bronze for his helmet, shield edge and boot banding. 

In a nod to Games Workshop I went with classic orky green for this skin tone, though now I wish I had gone with a dark flesh instead. Maybe I'll try that with the next ones I do. 

Fans of these types of orcs will be happy to find that Otherworld Miniatures has an entire range of re-imagined snouted Orcs available. I hope to have a few of these done later this winter.

Curt

The Eleventh Annual Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge Begins in One Month!

Let's get old school.

Hey, it's November 20th.  Here in the Canadian prairies that means that the snow is in the air, the frost is on the trees and this hobbyist is ready to take solace in the warm indoors, his hobby desk and some good company. 

Welcome to the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge!

For our 11th edition of the Challenge we'll be adventuring through the dark vaults and dim passageways of... 'The Chambers of Challenge'. <cue ominous organ music>

For more information, head over to the Challenge Blog.

Curt Actual Out.

Hobby Studio Build: Part II - The Patio Doors Are In!

The hobby studio moves forward, slowly but surely. We've had a few delays with the closing in of our hobby studio, but this should be expected in these strange times. That being said, our sliding patio doors finally arrived (yah!) and we had them installed just before the snow flew last week.

The sliding doors are 9 x 7 (w x h), so will provide a nice source of natural light for the interior while allowing us to step out onto the patio during the warmer months. They are triple paned (and so are as heavy as sin), which will help with the heating and cooling.

Next is the main garage door. As I mentioned previously, the garage door is a bit of a conceit as the space will probably never see a vehicle in it, but it will help for resale value down the road. Right now the opening is covered with plywood sheeting - not the most elegant solution, but it keeps the elements out.

The building inspection can't be done until the space is fully enclosed, so I'm sort of at an impasse until the garage door arrives. Of course it was a special order (nothing can be simple with us), so I'm not expecting to see it until mid December. Sigh. As they say, good things come to those who wait... I'll post an update when we've had some significant progress.

Thanks for dropping in folks - Have a great week!

Up Next: An Annual Announcement!

From The Prairies to the Trenches: Saskatchewan and the First World War

Me mugging at one of our video installations at the Saskatchewan Legislature, 2014.

 

Hi All,

Since Remembrance Day is just around the corner, I thought I'd shamelessly plug the video series my team at the Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan did a few years ago commemorating our province's involvement in the First World War.

We began the series in 2014, and released a video for each commemorative year of the war. The project started out quite modestly, but over time it gained more notice and increased popularity. By the closing segments we were filling local theatres and had formed a partnership with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and Radio Canada to provide the entire series in French and to further increase its promotion and distribution.

Anyway, if you have a little time over the next few days I invite you to view the series. Also, if you enjoyed them please consider clicking the 'like' button and subscribing to our channel - it would mean a lot to us at the Archive. I'm very proud of the work that we did on this series as I think it provides a unique perspective to our province's involvement during those tumultuous years of 1914-1918.

...and I was kindly reminded of an interview I did to help promote both the series and the Archives.

Saskatchewan Remembers

The Dreaded Ambull and the Zoat 'Archivist' for Blackstone Fortress

Here are two of the larger denizens of Blackstone Fortress, the dreaded Ambull and the Zoat 'Archivist'.

The Ambull is a bit ridiculous, but its lots of fun to play against in the game. The game's designers made it very hard-hitting and nigh on indestructible, which made our players very twitchy whenever one showed up on the board. 

The Zoat is a very cool figure. I like all the whacky cyber technology that's been grafted onto him, and who doesn't appreciate weapons that are called the 'Atomic Disassembler' and 'The Eradicator Glove'. Geez, I can't tell you how many work meetings I've been in where I wish I had these available.

I also appreciate that his nom de guerre is 'The Archivist' - I know, how very chilling...

Blackstone Fortress has been a blast, but I think it's time to switch gears. Not sure what yet, but something different.

I hope you all have a terrific week!

Curt