Reaching well beyond my grasp

I am here because I have been inspired. The Bloodbowl community has created some amazing customised teams and I have decided I'd like to try building my own team.

I have never done this before, my painting skills are mediocre at best and my modelling skills....well non existent. This is in all likelihood a doomed journey. But I hope it gives others of my skill level and ambition the courage to try.

This is my first attempt at blogging, so some things I feel you should know.
The good blogs out there post on a weekly basis, yeah... this isn't going to be one of those good blogs.
Also I take terrible photos. Really. You have been warned.

UPDATE: I have added a Lessons Learnt page. Here I note little tips I learn as I go along. A summary of things that may help others who decide to give kit bashing a go.

Sunday 26 February 2017

Birth of an Orc team franchise.

To make this orc team I will need a number of things.
  1. Most importantly a name for the team.
  2. Tools, paint and supplies.
  3. Set of orc models to work with.
1) The team will be called the Badlands Big Toof Tigers. I am currently thinking about a black and orange colour scheme with tiger stripes. Never painted tiger stripes before and highlighting black Is something I haven't tried. So really pushing myself on all parts of this project. But the painting won't be until later so things may change in that respect.

The team roster is:
2x Black orcs
4x Blitzers
1x Troll
2x Throwers
2x Goblins
(3 re rolls and 1 fan factor)

I ' m not going to spend any time on strategy, tactics or team choice. There are much better sites and people for that, the roster is based on what I wanted to play and what I wanted to try and make.

2) Knowing I was doing some converting/ kit bashing I got myself  some stuff













A saw, modelling tools, clippers, Green stuff, plastic glue and a cutting mat. I already have scalpel, file and those tiny drill pieces






3) For the roster above the GW line had a number of kits I felt I could use. I ended up getting:


Will you look at that! I have no idea about Age of Sigmar, but these Ardboys look like they're already ready for a game of Bloodbowl! The armour looks suitable, they even have a drummer who can be a cheerleader model, something I hadn't considered originally. Making the throwers may be tricky, From the picture on the box none of them are in a throwing pose.

A box of Stormboyz. I like the dynamic leg poses and hope to use them. I also have this idea/ image in my head of the gretchin in the rocket pack. I want to have a jumping orc, with a barrel on his back with the Gretchin/Goblin inside it having it's arms extending out catching a ball.

These seem perfect for the Black orcs.

A box of Gretchin to use as Goblins. This feels like it will require a bit of work to make them more Bloodbowl-esque.

Finally a set of 3 river trolls. I think for me this will be the biggest challenge. I want to make 2 trolls as I also want to eventually make a goblin team. I actually like the LOTR troll models more, but this was the cheaper option.

I will need to add armour and also want to give the trolls helmets. The other idea I want to try is to have one of the trolls about to throw a goblin.

The trolls I think I will tackle last after I have got a better idea of how to put different plastic bits together.

Well there you have it, My first blog post setting out a fairly ambitious goal. Wish me luck.

9 comments:

  1. Good Luck Amit, If you need/want any help with any modelling/painting advice or whatever just let me know. I'm sure Dan or Ed too if you ask.

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    1. Thanks Mike, I certainly will be seeking help at some point I am sure.

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  2. Good to see you on the bloggersphere Amit. Looking forward to reading about your progress

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    1. Thanks Alex. Any general tips you have on blogging or suggestions on improvements to the blog will be gratefully received.

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  3. Cant wait to see all your progress!!

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    1. Thanks. I've realised that doing this blog is a commitment to see this project through, which is a bit of a double edged sword.

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  4. It's taken me a good couple of years to finally feel comfortable on how I go about preparing a post. 1. I let my photographs lead the narrative. Then your text has something to refer to. Otherwise you can spend a great deal of time on the description, potentially boring you audience. 2. Write with you our voice. Let your audience learn your style, rather than attempting to write in a manner which you think will be well received. For example, I am conscious that my readership is worldwide, but I will continue use phrases and terminology that may be very 'British'. 3. Be cautious of giving strong opinions that may attract comments that will lead to long and drawn out discussions. There is nothing wrong with opinions, but you may need to decide whether you want to respond to a comment from a reader. 4. Decide if swearing is a thing for you. Knowing you as a person, I don't expect to see any, but sometimes you might want to throw the odd 'bloody' into your writings. 5. When writing about a game, I need to appreciate that my opponent is not able to give their point of view in my battle report. You might want to avoid mentioning when a disagreement took place, or where they made a particularly bad mistake. They might not want the world to read about them being a jerk and/or an idiot. 6. As a rule I don't give out full names of players (I have referenced six Daves in my posts, and differentiate between them with their surname initial only). 7 I decided to write a post a week. A dumb decision. But it does mean that I keep up my hobby, but sometimes there is just nothing to write about. Don't force out a post just for the hell of it. Writing should be a pleasure not a chore. Happy to chat down the club on any of this.

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    1. Cheers Alex, Good advice. I will take it on board and try to make the best use of it.

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  5. Welcome to the blogoverse Amit! Great first post. Looking forward to seeing more of the Orks. I recall a 40k blog post about painting Tiger stripes; I'll try and find it for you.

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