Black Crak'in and Mates - Orktober 2022

Happy Orktober! If you recall, last year I painted up Captain Mogran and his crew of mercenaries. Since then I played a few games and collected a few more orks to fill in some gaps. What better time than now to paint up the new additions?!

A unit of Captain Mogran's Orkish Mercenaries scrounges through the abandoned Space Station

Among the various Orks collected to fight under Captain Mogran, none is more feared than Black Crak'in. Once the huge warboss of his own clan, Crak'in suffered a tremendous defeat leaving his body and mind broken. His once ally Mogran saved what was left, and ordered his team to rebuild Crak'ins body. Now with the brain power of a child, Crak'in is little more than muscle for the captain... but sometimes that's what a mercenary needs the most.

Reinforcements!

I knew Mogran needed a few orks with normal weapons. I spent so much time creating specialists, I missed out on the more basic troops. I picked up a few old Rogue Trader plastic orks and modeled two up for that purpose. Love the models, but the details of the plastic back then has something left to be desired when actually painting them. I also gave some arms to an old minder I had picked up. He looks suitably menacing, and is likely the handler for Crak'in.

This fit better than some options I considered.

Was going to cut, but greenstuff worked better.

I couldn't make some orks without a conversion; and needed someone with a heavy weapon. I was going to go with another plastic ork, but ended up with an Ork crossbowman holding a plasma cannon of some sort. It's an idea I've happily stolen from Axiom over at Magpie and Old Lead. The cannon is from Wargames Atlantic's cannon fodder line, and I just added a wire and some green stuff to his bolts to make it look like a power pack of some sort. 

Kinda more specialists? 

Almost twins

Stole these from some 'umans.

Then while you are painting orks you may as well paint a few more. First up was the Orkling King from Skull and Crown's Space Scrappers line. Such a cool model I wanted to get paint on him. Since I already had a boss I did a variation of the Rum name to come up with the story above. Next I pulled out two goblins that would make great Stargrave runners. But why two when you can have three? I had a pile of fantasy goblins I had almost converted up last time, so I figured I may as well do that this time. Used a piece of sprue to give him a hammer, and gave him a backpack and holstered gun. 

You try to take the hat...

Captain Mogran's Gliph

Fine tuned engine.

Labor party

I was just about ready for paint... when I recalled the little grot I got from Ramshakle Games last year for Orktober. So I added him to the pile!

Work work

Hammer time!

Painting was all done similar to last year. Some variations on the skin tones... mainly because I like it that way. I gave Black Crak'in some dark brown skins like the black orks in Lord of the Rings. That thought also lead to a white ork, and thus decided his handler would look good as a contrast. All the ork clothing was painted as before with oranges, blues, and tans. Weapons were all paineted up in dark metalics, except for the the two exotic weapons (plasma cannon, and Crak'in's blaster) painted white. In my little head cannon the old ruling empire weapons were white, so this makes them stand out a bit from the standard orkish stuff. 

Very happy with how they turned out. I wasn't sure part way in, but the colors came together, and just in time to slide in before the closing of Orktober! And just like that I've nearly doubled my orkish forces!