Da Black Fire Boyz

They're veterans of Sigmar alone knows how many skirmishes against the forces of Averland for control of the Black Fire Pass. Hulking greenskins, their low cunning has somehow granted them a glimmering of insight - their own howling mobs having broken and been repulsed by the Imperial pike formations over and over again, these orcs have begun to crudely imitate a pike block themselves. They've also begun dressing in uniforms stripped from Averland's casualties; it remains hotly debated whether this is a simple case of imitation, or if the orcs are dressing in these uniforms as an act of psychological warfare.

 

As a corollary to the Old World Army Challenge, a bunch of us in the OWAC Facebook group did a 10-figure side challenge this year from October 15th through December 15th. I took the opportunity to paint ten of the Mercenary Orc Spearmen I'd primed for this past OWAC but hadn't gotten around to during the Challenge. These figures are from Warmonger Miniatures. 

I'd specified in the fluff I'd written about the WHFB Orc and Goblin army I painted for the OWAC that they originated in the Black Fire Pass of the Old World, linking the Imperial Province of Averland to Tilea, the remaining Dwarf strongholds, and the Border Princes. Averland is my favorite province of the Empire in Warhammer (and a good buddy of mine has been talking about building an old school Averland army for a while now), so my Orc army is peppered with little nods to the province - a dead Averlander under a troll's foot, another in the chuck wagon awaiting his turn in the stew pot, etc. 

It was a no-brainer, then, to paint these Landsknecht-style orcs in Averland's colors of yellow and black, and Da Black Fire Boyz were born. Red sashes and feathers provide a unifying third color across the figures.

The standard bearer was originally a halberdier; I cut away his weapon, drilled out his hand and inserted a 4" steel pike from North Star Military Figures to serve as a banner pole. I considered a lot of different designs for the obnoxiously-large banner (2.5" square) including a traditional "Evil Sunz" design, and a very-ambitious "Gork and Mork breaking the two-tailed comet of Sigmar like a Thanksgiving wishbone" idea. Ultimately I traced a heraldic boar head on to both sides of the banner and painted it in the yellow-black-red scheme and I think that worked out best. 

The bugler is also converted; he was originally holding a musket in his right hand, which I trimmed away, drilled out and replaced with a plastic spear I had laying around from I think Fire Forge Games.