The Orcs of Inneath

Another journey has begun and this is the most exciting part of it (ok, I'm joking, the part in which I receive KS funds is the best one by far, but I wanted to keep some kind of romanticism...).

The Orcs of Inneath, is not a mystery (on the contrary to the content of the Makasete! Edition #1!), shall be the 4th episode of our journey through Inneath and, once again, it will be exciting to gather many crazy ideas and try to turn them into a proper range of 32mm miniatures (well, being Orcs, expect that the real size of these guys will be definitely bigger!).

I've already written a proper post about how I imagine the Orcs of Inneath, so in this post (for your happiness!) I'll focus less on words and more on images of the first sculptures that Valerio and I managed to design.

SHAPES!

Of course, the first thing you may notice about these Orcs is their kind of Spaghetti western feat. Conquistadors vibe, which I think really fits these subjects, but despite their style being obviously one of their uniqueness, my first goal with this range is to create a lot of different shapes (silhouettes?) and so give each of my Orcs a distinctive personality and characterization.

This is particularly evident if we look at two of these first characters, the Gunslinger (still deciding his name..) and the Sniper. They are Orcs, and it's clear, but they are also very different. One is all about thin and long volumes, the other one is chunky and large.

I think that it's interesting to start from an extremely basic concept (in this case, a raw shape) and elaborate a whole character all around it. The Sniper is probably the character that reflects this process the most: I thought that it would be fun to shape the character the same way as his gun!

The Gunslinger, instead, is almost the opposite: large is the keyword of his concept and even his two pistols are chunky and squared off!

My favorite detail is his helmet, which is a larger version of the iconic conquistadors' ones: I wanted it to remind the classic cowboy's hat and, in the meantime, enforce even more the "large shape" theme of this character.

"Before the Battle", whom 32mm version will be renamed in a more classic way (I think something related to the fact that he's a towering warrior bearing an enormous sword... maybe "the Gatsu"? Ok I'm joking), takes this concept to the extreme: in a world of bulky living beings, he just is on another level. Even Urghor, who's a massive Orc that really spends a lot of time training in the gym, looks tiny if put side by side with this enormous tank!

So, yes: expect to see a lot of different types of Orcs, in this range. Tall, short, old, young, square, round, massive, thin...there will be an Orc for any taste!

INNEATH'S MOST WANTED!

So, let's talk about Urghor.

If you read the first episodes of his saga, you may know that this guy is something special, and has great importance in the story I'm telling with my minis.

Urghor is, at least at the moment (blink blink) the main villain (let's say "antagonist", he's not a bad guy in my opinion, or at least he has a good point!) of this story and so he deserves a special treatment for what concerns the thing that, in the end, we care about the most: the miniature.

I know, this is the case where "miniature" sounds a bit silly, but you know what I mean.

I wanted an impressive model, something that can set the bar at a superior level.

I wanted to portray, also, the real essence of this character and how he developed over the years: the first version of Urghor was sculpted six years ago, which is a considerable amount of time for an Orc! Urghor looks aged but also changed, and all the details reflect his steps through his own saga. Three elements are crucial in the scene: the Imperial Erdraz, Lucille, the ship wreck, and the brand-new and functionally improved mechanical arm.

These three elements are deeply connected to Urghor's story, and I will talk about them in the next posts, even if you can already guess the original name of the galleon that now lies in ruin under Lucille's paws...

As you may imagine, this is just an appetizer for what I've in store for you. Being Italian, the appetizer is still extremely rich and tasty, but I hope it's not a problem for you.

The whole Orc range will be focused on Urghor's fleets (yes, many Orcs pledged loyalty to him!), so expect to see a lot of colorful and extremely heterogeneous characters, a range worthy of the most ambitious Orc on Inneath!