Its been seven months since I posted my first batch of Deadzone Marauders. Three more have since been sitting on my painting table in a 90% finished state, but I managed to finally get them completed alongside the first of Skabsquigs Skallywags over the weekend. So today I have another three space orx mercs finally finished.
The knife fighting guy who looks like he is actually at a rave is a Commando Sergeant, the squad leader. The model looks a lot like the regular troopers, but armed with knives. As squad leader I would have liked the model to have something more distinctive or iconic to make him stand out. A largely bionic head or a big smelly looking cigar are staples for that sort of thing, but this guy doesnt feature any. Ho hum. I probably should have altered to knives into glowsticks (or maybe mini lightsabres).
Next we have a guy with a flamethrower. Painting the fuel tank bright red is probably a bit unrealistic – whatever unrealistic means on this context – but I couldnt resist. The guys carrying the explosive ammunition always have some sort of unlikely telltale in video games so you know which ones to shoot, so I applied that logic here too. I forgot to dirty up the end of that flamethrower nozzle though. I am definitely going to have to go back to that when I am painting the Skallywag with the flamethrower later this week.
Finally we have this guy, the Marauder Commando Captain. I quite like this model, its very reminiscent of some of the first Blood Axe ork miniatures.
And lastly, some shots of all the Deadzone figures that I have painted to date, Deadzoning it up.
Filed under: Miniatures | Tagged: 2014, 40K Skirmish, Bigdogz, Blood Axe, Deadzone, Marauders, Orks, Orx, Sci-fi, Warpath |
sho3box 
You’ve done an impressive job on making them look good, but how do you find them as models in-hand? I’m still waiting on mine, but not having been all that impressed with most images I’ve seen, my plan has always been to proxy them with GW Ork models
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Thanks Azazel 🙂
I have had some fun with a few of these painted DZ guys in games already and I like aspects of the models and dislike others. I seem to go against the crowd a bit in this regard Azazel, so take whats written below in that light 🙂
No matter how good a miniature is, I dont want to paint thirty of them or slight variations of them. I am only interested in assembling forces for skirmish games, rather than large unit based games. Whether unit based games are fun or not, I dont want to have to paint loads of the same model or unit because it works well in a meta environment. I have done that before and I am not doing it again: its doesnt fit with the painting side of the hobby which is what I enjoy the most about it.
With all of those things in mind, I only want about ten of each type of model, max. I enjoy painting similar miniatures from different sources and tying them together with a coherent colour scheme: a handful of DZ commando types, a handful of RT orks and a handful of plastic modern boyz etc. I value the variety over the individual sculpts in many respects.
Some of the DZ Marauder poses are a bit goofy. There are elements of the aesthetic over all that I think could be better. But as a small (and cheap) part of my miniature ork forces, I am fine with these guys as my SWAT or Commando types.
A lot of people choose the crocodile-esque heads as something to get worked up about, but I dont mind that element at all, I quite like it in fact: its fun to paint. The more variation that I have when painting the happier I am and if some orks have longer heads than others, then thats fine. Its not National Geographic in Space, its a ridiculous table top game about space monsters shooting at and hitting each other, so mild inconsistency from sculpt to sculpt and range to range is something that I embrace.
I also note that many of the people who bitch about various sculpts online are often guys who talk a lot about painting, but never really do it. Their opinions dont really interest me, even if they seem to be the noisiest faction online.
The Deadzone Marauders are better than some models and worse than others. I like how chunky they are and I enjoyed painting a handful of them.
That was a bit rambling, but wasnt intended as a rant. I hope that it made sense. I also hope that you enjoy your Marauders when you get them, but if you dont you have plenty of very appropriate alternatives available I am sure.
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Well, the way I see it, is that I’ve got plenty of Orks already – from multi-part plastic and metal Nelson to classic Kev Adams RT-era – so if the DZ Orx don’t take my fancy, they can just go into a box, never to be painted. I’ll have to see the heads in-hand, I think. I’ve got some very old WFB3 (WFB2?)-era orc sculpts by The Perrys and Kev that have the more crocodillian heads (not to mention Paul Bonner’s art of the day), so it’s down to the individual sculpt for me. It’s good to hear they they’re not a total write-off, though I suspect that my almost-painted Blood Axe-inspired force will be doing the majority of the lifting once I get the game in hand. Being almost-painted does that, after all. Might paint the commissar to go with them, and then get stuck into some Rogue Trader Orks as well…
I certainly understand your preference to paint individuals. That’s always been my preference as well, which I’m going against at the moment with my forays into mass fantasy battles – and while each unit seems to go well for awhile, they then turn into this horrible quicksand I have to force my way through to get completed. The only exceptions seem to be units of ogre models that are essentially individuals, or actual individuals and heroes for the various armies.
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I find painting units to be a drudge and not the sort of drudge that is all worth while in the end either. I occasionally get an urge to paint up a faction or a squad or two and when they are done I reward myself with space cats, or fishmen or a pilot or an Inquisitor or some other low investment/high reward hobby activity.
Thats why my Inquisitor warband stuff is expanding steadily I think, because each member is an enjoyable micro project rather than a glorified wound marker like 75% of most units are.
The DZ Marauder Commando leader is a decent figure by any measure I think. I have a Maxmini (or possibly Kromlech, I cant remember) head that will turn the spare DZ Commando leader into a very acceptable Freebooter Nob at some point.
Oh yeah regarding whether the others are worth painting, I did use two of the Commandos in a Pulp Alley campaign earlier this year. I liked that they looked relatively professional, like they new what they were doing to an extent in comparison with most of my other painted orks. This is what they looked like alongside the other green reprobates:
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I like red orks. That is a little bit like Evil Sunz (but also different). I was really impressed with the fine details like the medals on the Commando Captain’s chest. You minis have a great look.
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Thanks redfox4242.
I tried to avoid the clan colour schemes when I was trying to come up with a decent scheme for my orks a few years ago, but the green flesh encourages the use of red, so it was bound to end up as part of the scheme I guess.
As time has gone on my orks have elements of Goffs and Evil Sunz creeping in, but when the six clans cover pretty much the entire rainbow, its hard to avoid some similarity 🙂
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Though the sculpts are rather different, you have made them quite coherent with the Citadel Orks, which is really meritorious! Can you put some pics together to see the differences?
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The style is very different to lots of the ork miniatures available, but I enjoy tying miniatures from numerous sources together with a colour scheme. I get a kick out of it infact.
I dont have any pictures of the Deadzone orks alongside the tiny Rogue trader guys, but the post about the first batch of DZ orks that I painted does have a couple of images comparing them to modern (Black Reach) plastic orks.
I will try to remember to take a few photos of the DZ guys next to RT guys when I finish the next batch of Skallywags.
Thanks for the feedback Suber 🙂
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Excellent brush work and colour scheme. There is really nothingto improve. The whole unit looks just incredible. These orcs remind me of Space versions of the good old Ork range of Rackham. They also had a more crocodile shaped head and I really liked that look as it was unique and something new. Good to now Arklash finally reached the space age. The whole in-fighting and Ragnarok seems to have been only a temporary hold up :P.
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Thanks daggerandbrush.
I dont tend to be as familiar with fantasy ranges as I am with sci-fi, but now that you mention it they do look a bit like the Rackham guys. Most ork players have a few spare heads that could easily be attached to the Commando bodies if a unique, cheap unit was required. I am fine with the heads as provided though.
Thanks for the feedback.
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[…] the project that I had in fact already painted a number of spec-ops orcs a few years ago, some Deadzone Marauders in 2014. I even painted them in black with red hats. […]
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