I certainly don’t want to seem self-absorbed, but there is one more piece of fallout, so to speak, from my recent birthday to deal with, and it’s brilliant enough that I wanted to share it with you:
You may remember that I built a pirate cheerleader for Annie’s new Blood Bowl team, the Piratz, a while back:
Well, it’s fair to say that she has now returned the favour, seriously upping the ante in the process. Here’s what I found when I unwrapped the birthday present I received from my colleagues earlier this week:
A huge troll that is seemingly the Orkheim Ultraz’ biggest fan! While I’ll admit I did have a hunch that Annie would be preparing some kind of model as a surprise, I was seriously blown away by this big guy! Seeing that huge troll in the colours of my Blood Bowl team was just an amazing surprise! Perfect!
It was only when Annie sent me some WIP pictures, however, that I realised how substantial her modifications to the base model (a Willy Miniatures’ Underworld Troll, by the way) had been. The conversion work involved, among other things, the cutting off and reattaching of fingers, limbs and what have you, and the accompanying sculpting work. Just take a look at these WIP images of the model:
I have told you time and time again how much I hate having to make bigger conversions using metal models, so Annie’s handiness with a saw never fails to amaze me. It’s almost a little unfair that the conversion seems so seamless on the finished model, because it’s almost impossible to imagine how much work must have gone into it.
Speaking of which, let’s take a closer look at the finished troll, because there are so many great things about it: The flag (complete with “grim” glyph, no less) and hat in Orkheim Ultraz colours, for one:
I also love how the model recalls the venerable GW metal stone trolls from my earlier years in the hobby! And there’s the fact that the troll seems to echo some of the characteristics of the pirate cheerleader pictured above, such as the flag and a barrel appearing as part of the model.
Regarding that last part, it goes without saying that no true fan of the Orkheim Ultraz would ever head to the stadium without a generous supply of fungus beer on their person:
Annie even ran a straw from the cask into the troll’s mouth, so he can have a drink even while cheering on the team (or bashing in a couple of skulls, if push comes to shove):
What an awesome little touch! And, judging by the colour of the troll’s nose, the drink hasn’t failed to work its magics on the big guy — I think the fans of the opposing team may just be in for a world of hurt after the game…
It should be obvious that I am extremely happy with this latest addition to my collection! What a wonderful birthday present! Let’s just hope that Annie will be able to put in some work regarding herown Piratz team soon, because I would love to show you the finished models sooner rather than later!
In closing, I can only offer another hearfelt “thank you!” for this amazing model! This guy will certainly be cheering the clumsy efforts of my team on from the sidelines during the next match — for all the good that might do ;-)
So yeah, as always, thanks for looking and stay tuned for more!
Filed under: Blood Bowl, Conversions, paintjob Tagged: annie's conversions, bb, best birthday present ever, birthday, blood bowl, cheerleader, conversion, kitbash, orkheim ultraz, paintjob, troll, underworld troll, willy miniatures
