+ inload: Ork squad leader +

+ inload: 'An Ork Called Hruk' +

+ Ident@ pict-capture ref: Muphrid theatre – ork sub-commander and slaves +

+ Hruk is another personality from the Rogue Trader scenario Battle for the Farm. Hruk is introduced in the ork player's brief, which reads:

'You are Thrugg Bullneck, an Ork Commander of the Charadon invasion force. [...] During the initial fighting, you led your troops against a small farm where you slaughtered the human defenders before firing the buildings. During that fight, you and one of your squad leaders (an ork called Hruk) discovered a cache of jewels. Not wanting to alert the rest of your command about this highly desirable loot, you buried the jewels [...] You don't trust Hruk and, to be fair, he doesn't trust you. You have both spent the past week watching each other very closely indeed.'

+ Who's Who? +

+ Identifying which of the original models is Thrugg and which is Hruk proved a bit tricky. The models are based on the RTB02 'Space Ork Raiders' box, which can be seen on the Stuff of Legends website here: [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+]. The artwork on the cover seems to show the ork I'd identified as Hruk in the dominant eye-catching position, while the one I thought was Thrugg is lower down and on the left. The advert also emphasises the 'Hruk' model, putting him front and centre of the personalities (though Thrugg is in the centre of the main shot). +

+ I thought I had solved this when I spotted that the paper counters at the back of Rogue Trader (intended to let you try out the game) showed Hruk wearing the distinctive helmet and armour of the model above. Unfortunately, having painted the model, I then ended up idly looking at the Collecting Citadel Miniatures wiki, and found that the models themselves solve this: the tabs listing 'Thrugg' and 'Squad leader' – as you can see on the wiki here [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+]... The only problem then is that the other ork personality is labelled 'Hruk' – d'oh!  I should probably have seen this coming, as the equipment lists in the scenario indicate that Hruk has a bolt pistol, something only present on the third personality. Obviously Thrugg is right to be suspicious, as Hruk is clearly dead sneaky! +

+ That minor [SCRAPSHUNTERRORABORT] aside, I'm pleased with the result. This chap will likely be renamed something else once I've got the 'real' Hruk built and painted, but in the meantime, here's a rundown on this squad leader. +

+ Painting: Theoretical +

+ What better colour to use for one of the Arch-Arsonist of Charadon's armies than Charadon Granite, one of my favourite colours? Sadly, my pots of that are quickly getting diminished. Figuring that orks are a good opportunity to play around with colours (slight variation and discolouration between models is a good thing for orks, after all) I took a punt at a replacement; IV-02 [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+], from a company called Instar. I'd not used this company before – I think they're a new start-up – and I'd like to do a more full review in future. Suffice to say that the colour match is excellent – you can see it here on the ork's armour plating/padding. +

+ Getting the pseudo WWII feel across was important, so I added a range of muted browns to the palette, brightening and warming things up with a splash of accent orange, Solar Macharius Orange. A muted palette like this can stand a couple of accents, so I also used a mid blue for the goggles. I like my orks to look a bit grubby, and these colours can all be mixed together in various proportions to produce a great range of subtle hues. +

Image from Rogue Trader

+ I definitely wanted to add some period-appropriate symbols, so decided to add some freehand. The scenario contains some ideas for painting the orks, which I thought would work well – the Rogue Trader symbols have a particular brutal sci-fi aesthetic that is quite distinct from 'modern' orks, and would be perfect for this slightly more militaristic take on the greenskins. In particular, I wanted to incorporate the Luggub's Drop Legion symbol (a knife through a skull in a circle) somewhere. +

+ Painting: Practical +

+ Large areas of browns and grey can look a bit dull, so I livened up the model with some freehand; a couple of kill stripes on the shoulder pad, a subtle smiley face on the gun – things like this are fun, but I didn't want it too distracting from the focal point of the face – and a bit of freehand on his chest armour. +

+ This shot shows the wood effect on the stock of his gun; and also highlights his chainsaw-crested helmet. The original had an odd triangular ornament on top of his hat; I thought I'd update it to be a little chainsaw, made using a Forge World chainsaw bayonet as the basis. +

+ A side view shows a back-up shotgun, and a skull of an unfortunate enemy/rival – scrawled with 'runt' as a final orkish insult. +

+ I've incorporated a couple of bits from the original plastic ork release. The shoulder pad had some sculpting on top to add some detail, but the pouches at the back are straight from the box. +

+ He might not be Hruk, but he does have style. Let's see how this squad leader gets on! +

+++

+Bubbling under +

+ The Alien Wars project – labelled #alienwars – seems to be ticking along – I've had half a dozen or so inquiries about it; and some very intriguing work-in-progress pictures appearing on Instagram, too. All very heartening; I hope it continues to tick over. +

+ For my part, it's got me enthused, so I've been cracking on with more greenskins; a pair of Sisters of Battle; and some Titan crew... +