Before Gorkamorka Orks were still green but their appearance was much less brutish. The new savageness was brought to life by a particular sculptor – Brian Nelson, or at least that’s who this White Dwarf attributes it to.
Orks went from this sort of thing:
To this:
Originally published in White Dwarf 216 (December 1997) this four page article isn’t just about GoMo but it’s a solid read nonetheless.
May 17th, 2013 at 13:45
I loved the old Boyz, and loved the transition to the GoMo boyz, but the next step was too much. The early GW Orks had a goofyness to them that they lost over time.
Thanks for sharing.
Noel
July 12th, 2013 at 22:21
I agree with Wes. Ork design has steadily shifted to appeasing 12 year olds with no sense of irony or humour. The old boyz had character, which is so much better than what said 12 year olds would call “being awesome”.
July 14th, 2013 at 14:14
I’ve got to disagree with both of you to some extent. The new boyz just follow the style set by the Gorkamorka metal models, I feel. The metal stuff for GoMo was fantastic but I always felt the plastics were even worse than the old RT-era Orks.
I feel their goofiness remains but has been shifted to be darker. They’re still silly but in a much more morbid way that I find much more enjoyable.
It is a shame that we don’t have some of the old units though. I’d love to see a modern interpretation of madboyz, for example!
July 14th, 2013 at 20:01
OK I did not draw a clear line when the cut off from me came. The day they released the first Ork after the GorkaMorka Orks was the end of the Orks for me. Now I have some of the newer one but feel I have to hack them up to make them look good.
July 30th, 2013 at 15:26
Not sure about the new boyz following the aesthetic of GM metals. They’re so much bigger for one thing… the plastic boyz (in 40k and fantasy) are about the size of the metal GM nobz shown above. The new orks also have that weird gorilla stance.
As for the morbid thing… morbid =/= better (except in the minds of those 12 year olds I mentioned). Grimdark is simply monotonous, the tone of 40k 2nd edition and earlier is much more varied and gives better scope for creativity.
just my 2c
May 9th, 2014 at 09:50
I think the sculpts work well as I have mixed them all together. Orks vary in size and stature so as long as you mix them up they look good. I find there is not enough variety so do rely on Kromlech, Spellcrow and the like for headz and bitz. It is the Kultur that is ruined the most we need new interpretations of Madboyz and reform the clans and delineate them properly with different traits and wargear etc. I think the new unbound rules will allow the use of the Freebootez and Ere We Go army lists but the codex and supplements would go a long way if they reflected bck to these books and proper ork kultur perhaps then the sculpts might become less gorilla like which is emphasised by AOBR but can be avoided with a little flair when building the standard boyz, I have always liked orks and still do but I have a good feeling about them regaining their kultur and their kudos.
August 15th, 2014 at 06:20
[…] article is a little like one we posted last year: The Life of Brian. That covered sculpting but dealt with more than just Gorkamorka and similarly this piece on John […]