An Army Collection Series by Ashley Hall

I have been collecting Orcs and Goblins for many years now. When I first started playing the game back in 1990 Orcs were the first army I collected. I have drifted between several other armies over the last 17 odd years but I always come back to my hardy, unpredictable and brutal greenskins.

I cannot remember what initially drew me to the hordes of Orcdom. But I do remember my first Orc miniature. It was a model from another manufacturer of miniatures. The Orc was carrying a huge cleaver in front of him. The size of this weapon would put to shame any and all other weapons..including anything Square-Enix could ever hope to create for a character in Final Fantasy.

Actually, the size was ridiculous now that I think about it.

Maybe it was the size of the cleaver that made me buy the miniature. I was only 11 at the time and thus the mentality of bigger weapons means bigger carnage was probably running through my mind. I was also into 40k at that time and my first purchase was a Space Orc Shokk Attak Gun. That too was a big weapon but since this article is about my Warhammer Orc Army all 41st millenium related babble will cease here.

Anyways it was 1990 and at that stage my army was comprised of the Orc with the cleaver (my general) and all the greenies from the venerable game Hero Quest.

The army grew with the purchase of a very old Warhammer Starter set. This set contained High Elves and Goblins. Row upon row of goblin spearmen and ranks of archers bolstered what was pretty much an all sword/cleaver/choppa army. They were all 'clones' but that did not matter. All that mattered was that I now had a small, playable force with which to destroy my opponents.

The next time my army grew was when I purchased Warhammer Quest. There were loads of miniatures in that box and a good majority of them were Greenskins or their allies. I had Orc Arrer Boyz and even more Orcs with hand weapons. My units of goblin spearmen and archers also grew and a new unit was introduced to my army: Snotlings.

Snotlings were cool. They were little greenskins and they had a mischievous glint in their eyes. They all looked the same but a little conversion worked fixed this problem.

But then, sometime in the later part of the 90's I commited a major sacriligeous crime. I sold my Orcs. I sold them for cheap in order to buy the newly released Chaos Warrior Regiment Box (the first of its kind.. so cool with multipart warriors and full command!)

I waged war upon the empire for a while with my Warriors and for some reason my chaos army grew rather quickly. (probably had something to do with being old enough to work and actually having an income.) My warriors had many victories but there was something missing. That thing was the random nature that I had learned to embrace, even respect about my Orcs.

I needed them back and I needed them bad!

I swapped my Chaos Army for another copy of Warhammer Quest. My old copy had been very much trashed over the years and I'm pretty sure my mother mistakenly threw it out (not the only time she has done such a thing mind you, 2 Leman Russ's, 40 Catachans and 2 Sentinels have all fallen victim to my mothers need for ridding me of 'old' possessions)

I rebuilt my Greenskin horde over the years and with the advent of a new Warhammer Starter Set (the one with the Orcs and Empire) my army was soon bigger than it ever had been. With the release of Skull Pass and all the cool new plastics my Army was positively mighty!

Over the last couple of months my WAAAGH has grown to a relatively impressive size and with a recent bulk purchase from the Head Git himself I can now field an army of around 8-9000pts. I have a bit of everything at my disposal besides a few specialist units (Squig Hoppers and Squig Herds)

Games have both been won and lost and since there is a plethora of different armies to face at Doevy's Den my Waaagh is never bored from having to face the same army over and over again. All games are interesting and fun which has a lot to do with the great new armies book which is available.

But there is one thing I have never done with my Orcs. I have never really given them any character. They are lacking that certain something which helps to make my army stand out from other greenies. My Warboss has nearly always had a name, Gormath, but that was about it as far as army theme went. This is what I hope to remedy by writing these articles. I hope to give my Orcs a sense of character, a history: make it into a living entity.

I'm doing this by mixing my Orcs up with a pinch of Chaos. There will be no deviations from the rules. The addition of Chaos will only be for aesthetics and background. The next few parts of my series will introduce you to the boyz, and of course Gormath Grinsmasha himself.

This will be followed by army composition, conversions, painting, and tactics (non tactics as is the case with me and my boyz!)

Until next time I leave you with a little bit of a hint as to who Gormath is....

 

Excerpt's from 'Gormath Grinsmasha: An Orc Demon?'
by Scrivener Hindleiched

'It happened so fast. The green tide swept up through the valley... laying waste to all in its way. I have been privy to similar happenings before... but never like this...'

Mannfred Ootlander, farmhand, Kislev

 

'He was huge, the biggest Orc I have ever seen.. But it wasn't his size that disturbed me most. It was the horns... Never before have I ever seen an Orc with horns. I didnt even know they existed.'

Hurst Ullbrecht, Soldier of Osterland

 

''We were one of the lucky ones... If you could call it that. That Orc; that monster hit us hard. He went right up to our palisade gates and took them out with one blow of his axe. The cannon we had stationed just on the other side of those gates scored a direct hit. There was nought left of the brute besides his weapon, broken armour and a few pieces of his flesh. We managed to repel the rest of his horde. We lost many. Then, not even one month later he came back. It was not another of his kind. It was him. I do not know how this was so but it was. I knew from the horns. A new horde followed in his wake. We fled our town upon sighting him.'

Otterma gruelhelm, First Hammermark of Brolscht, Kislev

 

'Waaaagh Gormath... Waaaagh Grinsmasha.... thats all we heard. We were camped outside the the town of Uulberheim, just inside the forest when they came. I grabbed my family and fled deeper into the woods. The fires in the town started within minutes... along with the screaming. All the while Waaaagh Gormath.... Waaagh Grinsmasha could be heard. Eventually it trailed off into the night.

Ursula Groett, Herb Peddler, Kislev

To be continued.....

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