Change Has Come

Greetings!

Change inevitably comes to all things in time, even my beloved dwarven stronghold. While working hard to get some of my Bretonnians fully painted up to show you I found some time to hone my blog's appearance in between my studies and actual work. You may already recognize certain changes even as you're reading this, but let's just compare the current appearance to the old one to highlight the differences.

Here is the previous look of my hobby hideout:

That's from almost a year ago and my blog's been looking like that until very recently. Now with all the fanciness I've added and the "loose parts" I've cut off, this place has a nice and fresh outfit while still maintaining the same overall feel. At least that's what I aimed for.

So what did I actually do?

I edited this site's CSS and HTML quite heavy-handedly to implement stuff that Blogger does not offer by default. Here's a quick list of the changes:

- the top navigation bar got a new custom-skin with jovial buttons!
- the headers of the sidebar widgets were changed to themed icons
- crude battle report and tutorial links were hidden behind a handy drop-down menu
- the spacing of the items in the sidebar was adjusted to make it look more pleasing
- a small dwarf icon now decorates your browser's ExtraBushyBeards-tab
- the widget for following my posts was removed, all you need now is an email notification!

To leave some feedback on the changes I've made you can answer a small poll right at the bottom of the sidebar. Just select the options that reflect your reaction to these renovations and click Vote. The vote is open until the end of the month.

Until next time!

Wozoc & Grom

Back again with some Sunsplitterz!

This time around I have the tribe's heroes to introduce to you, a Savage Big Boss and a Wurrgog Prophet!

This dancing voodoo-fellow is Wozoc Squinteye, the Wurrgog Prophet and spiritual leader of the Sunsplitter tribe. It is he from whom the tribe draws its peculiar name, for it is Wozoc's dearest dream to defeat and split the sun that burns him so every day of his brutal life. By destroying the blazing sphere in the sky and absorbing its powers Squinteye believes he will become the living embodiment of Gorkamorka in the Nine Realms, enabling him to hunt gods in the same manner as he now hunts their worshipers.

He has no idea how to bring this great plan about, however, so he merely leads his tribe from region to region and Realm to Realm on a whim. Interestingly (but not surprisingly), his declamatory quest attracts other bonesplitter orruks wherever he travels. Although his tribe is yet a minor one it keeps growing on a daily basis as the grazed and the power-hungry flock to his bony banner in order to witness the destruction of the Aqshy's sun!

Then there is this heap of muscle. Boasting a set of outrageous abs, Big Boss Grom the Punch of the Shifty Mountain is the brawn of the tribe whereas Wozoc is the brains. Originating from a peculiar place called the Shifty Mountain, Grom's life was pretty uneventful before he encountered Wozoc and joined the Sunsplitterz. The great mound of bedrock on the barren slopes of which he lived was a floating thing, dozens of feet above the fiery grounds of the Realm of Fire, constantly sailing the scalding winds from horizon to horizon. With nothing better to do the orruks that crawled out of the fungus-infested caves on the mountain's sides fought among themselves, the biggest and the strongest inhabiting the summit to leave the weak and the dead dwell on the bottom or fall off the floating landmass altogether.

Being the biggest and the strongest of all living things on the Shifty Mountain, Grom and his few chosen burly followers grew bored over the years. There was just no challenge for them in the weedier and weedier orruks that stumbled into the daylight from the mountain's depths. That was before they encountered Wozoc Squinteye.
On a particularly boring and hot dawn Grom was bashing in the heads of half a dozen weaklings when he heard thunderous laughter from below the Shifty Mountain. Straining his head over the edge he caught sight of a Wurrgog Prophet running for his life, chased by a towering Aleguzzler Gargant. Without further thought Grom leaped from the floating landmass to land on the sufficiently tall monster, cleaving off its head in a single blow and landing safely on the soft carcass, earning himself the title "Punch". Because his landing packed a punch.

Impressed by this feat, Prophet Squinteye used the power he absorbed from the slain gargant's bones to bring the Shifty Mountain down from the skies with a mighty ritual of much frantic dancing and yelling. Having thus secured himself a bunch of strong brutes and a famous Big Boss to lead them, Prophet Wozoc Squinteye resumed his quest of splitting the sun.

Here's a group shot of all the Sunsplitterz I have painted thus far:

Dawn of the Sunsplitterz

Evening!

After weeks of planning, assembling and painting I have finally finished the first unit of my latest faction: Bonesplitterz Savage Orruks!

Green orruks just seemed too common to me so I went for a more personalized theme. Orange.

These ten Savage Orruks are armed with Weepwood Chompas and Bone Shields, forming the basis for my growing warclan. I have a Savage Big Boss, a Wurrgog Prophet and a unit of Savage Arrowboys still waiting to be painted!

To compliment the warmer choice of colour I went for a deep red on their scaly tunics and such, while keeping the furs and pelts a bit paler. Purple seemed like a nice choice for some variation in the palette, with black and light blue on the weapons to catch the eye as the one cold spot on the model. The rest was just dark wood and dirty bones.

There was plenty of muscle to paint in this merry lot. I started with a basecoat of Bugman's Glow washed over with Reikland Fleshshade, using two thin layers of Jokaero Orange to pick out each muscle cord and hump, leaving only the crevasses darker.

The weapons also received a pretty simple treatment: Abaddon Black highlighted with Dawnstone, and Ceramite White with a very very thin coat of Lothern Blue to make it pop out.

The header says Sunsplitterz. Who are the Sunsplitterz?

Well, I'm glad you asked. They are an aggressive and relatively young Bonesplitter tribe living in Aqshy, the Realm of Fire, hunting down any monsters they encounter to claim the energy of Gorkamorka they believe resides in the bones of any creature of such ferocity and size. Their skin comes in shades of orange instead of green due to their harsh living environment amidst the blood geysers and volcanoes of the land, but otherwise they do not seem to differ from any other Bonesplitter tribe in the Mortal Realms. It is their Wurrgog Prophet and his ambition that drives the tribe onward and earns them the name Sunsplitterz.

Ever since Prophet Wozoc Squinteye burst into the world from his volcanic mushroom, the big burning sphere in the sky has had his undivided attention. Surely such a powerful creature held untold power within it, how else could it float above the world and deliberately burn everyone in sight? With this in mind Wozoc went about his life's quest, gathering like-minded orruks arond him on his great journey to defeat and split the sun, to absorb its powers and to become the living embodiment of Gorkamorka in the Realms!

Here are some more pics on the first of the models from when I was testing out the scheme:

I hope I didn't traumatize you with these non-green orruks but believe me, the hobby is infinitely better with an open mind.