NOCF, Da Ironskull Ladz, Blood Bowl Black Orcs
Last year I had the great opportunity to work on a Death guard Kill Team for the lovely folks over at the NOCF, and when they asked for some project ideas for this year’s raffle, I enthusiastically suggested modelling and converting a team for everyone’s favourite ultra-violent sport, Blood Bowl.
The whole range is fantastic, full of character and a sense of humour, but the recently released Black Orcs are a personal favourite. They’re some of the best Orc sculpts we’ve seen from GW, with a real sense of aggression and violent potential.
Each player was converted so no two were exactly the same. It took a little bit of work, cutting various arms off and attaching them to a different body, using a bit of greenstuff to resculpt some of the shoulders or just helping to blend the parts together. This wasn’t actually too difficult, and the results are a team of unique players where no one feels too similar to another, and I’m quite happy with the results.
I made sure to number each player for ease of reference when playing and keeping track of the team and opted to put them on the players themselves, usually the shoulder pad, instead of the back of the base.
I also decided to magnetize the ball and each of the player’s bases. I did this for a couple of reasons. First, it let me have a nice flat complete base, without the peg hole found in most Blood Bowl bases which breaks the immersion for me and just generally takes away from the model. It also takes away some of the messing around with the ball, which now just snaps into place when given to a player.
Along with the base members, I decided to add a Star Player to the team, one Varag Ghoul-Chewer. He’s massive, even for a Black Orc, and his aggressive, charging pose gives him a fun sense of immediate violence. His companion/possible snack was a lot of fun to paint. I might just be a big Night Lords fan, but I really enjoying painting dead or unhealthy skin tones, working in some purples and reds to give a fresh and bloody feeling.
Of course, the team isn’t just Orcs, as someone needs to actually play the game and not just beat the opponent bloody. The Goblin Bruisers add some nimble and quick-footed players to the roster, and I like how different they feel to the usual Goblin types we see, with very aggressive poses that fit perfectly with the Black Orcs.
The kit also comes with some turn counters and a few balls. Uncomplicated to paint, but useful in-game and they add to the overall vibe of the team. The balls were a lot of fun. Can’t say I’ve ever painted up a football before!
To add some more muscle to the team, but mostly for fun, I built and painted three Trolls, each with a unique colour to make them easier to pick out on the table. They’re made from the Rockgut Troggoth kit, with the only conversion being the removal of the rock hat Big Blue/13 was wearing and the addition of his shoulder pad, taken from one of the Black Orcs.
I doubt you could field all three in a single game, but I figured being able to choose from three unique Trolls would be a fun design, and they were a joy to paint.
And that’s the team! Don’t forget to check out all the NOCF raffles and stay safe.
Miniature painter, Warhammer nerd, Female Marine enthusiast.
Great conversions, would love to see the process.