Suffolk, England, 1989. My best friend and 40k guru Dr TSG and I had been taking shopping trips into Ipswich and Colchester to build up 40k armies. I had amassed a sizeable collection of blisterpacks throughout the year and the time had come to try to figure out how to paint them. He had this really cool fantasy orc that had been painted up in a professional standard (as it was back then anyway) that we both admired. We chose that as how we thought ork skins should be painted. He asked to try out painting that scheme on one of my minis over a weekend to see what he could do with it. What he brought to me on Monday morning is what you see pictured here.
The Ork range back then had an awesome character to it. It was as if they were Mad Max mauraders in space. They had the craziest gear that looked like it was pillaged from the closest space port/hive/ dystopia tbey could raid. Yet, this also gave them a fun vibe at the same time as some of their trinklets were just odd. For example this mini with his inverted horns and ski goggles, more pouches than Bat-Man, and what appeared to be a pair of wellies, was just so cool in that way.
He painted this model using the Citadel and Humbrol paints he had gathered at that time. His use of Bilous Green over a dark green became the template that I would follow when it came to painting the rest of my orks. This alone made this miniature the most important one I owned for so many years. I referred to it often, always trying to top it.
Why is he called Ragglebum Foulbreath Jr? Back then we, our circle of gamers that went to Woodbridge American Highschool, named every model in our armies* and some of us put their names on their bases. Most of Dr TSG's minis from this era had names on their bases, and they earned their name usually when he finished painting the model. So when he presented this finished mini to me I was surprised to find out this chap's name. Close to 30 years later, and I have no idea who Ragglebum Foulbreath Sr. is, but I am sure he was a powerful and influential Ork in his day.
The painted job that inspired a legion. Not only inspired me, but set Dr TSG on his own course as well. It was not long after this model was painted that the plastic Space Orks box set was released and we both wound up with ork collections. He continued to evolve his ork skin scheme by incorporating a water-activated calligraphy ink that gave him some crazy blends that still look great today. My own ork skin scheme evolved from Ragglebum as well, and I think the apex of my usage of this influence is the Ork Nob I painted in 2015.
In our games Ragglebun Foulbreath Jr was just a frontline grunt who rarely did more than die. Usually because he was "the painted one." A curse that befalls many players I believe. The mini has held up well, save for a few chips on the paint, and sometimes he might even find himself back on the frontlines contributing to the dakka.
*The armies back then were much smaller and much more intimate compared to today's fodder-filled armies.
No comments:
Post a Comment