The biggest, baddest, greenest warlord in all the galaxy returns to Black Library this Saturday, as the hotly anticipated hardback edition of Ghazghkull Thraka: Prophet of the Waaagh! goes up on pre-order.
Previously only available as a limited edition release, this book tells the absolutely true and completely unexaggerated tale of Ghazghkull’s rise to power, as Lord Inquisitor Tytondia Falx pries the full story out of the one source who’s seen it all: Makari the Grot.
To celebrate the return of this awesome story, we asked you to show us your take on Ghazghkull’s larger-than-life miniature – and were blown away by the number of responses. Your work was so impressive that we asked the author, Nate Crowley, to pick out some of his favourites to show off Da Great Prophet’s oomie-stompin’ might.
Spencer Stone
Nate: I don’t know about you, but I know a miniature’s been painted exceptionally when I feel like I can smell it. In this case, the smell is somewhere between a fridge whose power went out two weeks ago, the bottom deck of a cross-channel ferry, and the last day of a metal festival. Horrendous.
And Ghazghkull, being the very epitome of a creature built for war, is in his absolute element. *chef’s kiss*.
Dave Gormley
Nate: There’s a really superb command of tone at work in this paint job, which makes Ghazghkull really “pop” in three dimensions. I love the sheer solidity and sense of mass to this miniature, and Dave’s deep shading, edge highlights and understated use of gloss really make the most of the sculpt. Where’s Makari, though?!
Aaron Carr
Nate: This is a beautifully posed photograph, and rightly puts Makari in pride of place. I imagine all grots having a permanent runny nose, and so that red tinge on his hooter gets a big thumbs up from me.
I’m also a big fan of the yellow and black scheme for Ghaz’s power cables… hazard stripes aren’t just for Iron Warriors, folks!
Joshua Clough
Nate: I love the simplicity of this Contrast-only paint job; Joshua has been really disciplined in sticking to a narrow palette here, while making use of some interesting textures, contrasts, and corrosion effects in order to stop things getting monotonous.
The red and the green really jump out as a result, and the overall effect makes me think of a late ‘90s comic cover, where Ghaz is being introduced as the kind of villain readers will immediately root for… as it should be!
Bruce Norling
Nate: I’m loving the bold weathering effects and simple colour scheme on this one… but not half as much as I’m loving the brash deployment of a green-rimmed base! Takes me right back to 1996, the smell of Goblin Green,* and my first ever Ghazghkull.
It’s a great little nod to the character’s history, and also a great big splash of green: appropriate for the prophet of Gork and Mork.
Kieran Wilson
Nate: Now that’s what I call an homage to Ghaz’s second-edition roots. The primary colours! The wonky lines! The daubed slogans! It’s all so jarring and anarchic, but playfully deliberate at the same time.
Pure ork, in other words, and a paint job that made me grin instantly. Love that light maroon base colouring, too.
Lloyd Davies
Nate: The warm, low-saturation yellow tones of this one are really working for me. Together with the ash and dust on Ghazghkull’s armour and the desolate basing textures, it makes it really easy to imagine the Prophet on his beloved “home turf” of Armageddon, enjoying the smell of burning hive clusters in the morning.
Jim Moriarty
Nate: Even discounting the fact he’s standing in front of my book, this is one of my favourites of the lot. The colour scheme hits like a hammer, and sets the Warboss of Warbosses completely apart from the various clans under his command.
There’s no lucky blue, go-fasta red or dakka yellow here – just stark black and white, and the aggressively high-saturation green of Gork and Mork themselves. Also, although you can’t see it in this photo, I should note Jim’s Makari has a giant burn scar on his back – which will make sense once you’ve read Prophet of the Waaagh…
Delve deep into the warlord’s dark and brutal (and kunnin’) past when Ghazghkull Thraka: Prophet of the Waaagh! arrives for pre-order this Saturday. If you feel like swimming in the green tide while you wait, check out more Orky action in Brutal Kunnin’ and Da Gobbo’s Revenge by Mike Brooks – and if the Horus Heresy doesn’t have enough Orks for your tastes, delve into the epic The Beast Arises saga.
* Goblin Green may have passed into the arms of Gork and/or Mork, but we can recommend Warboss Green in its place.