Tag Archives: Orctober

Building the Horde: The Clans of Orctober

Every October, LEGO builders around the world turn their attention to the brutal and boisterous denizens of fantasy lore: the orcs. For Orctober, I wanted to explore what makes these creatures tick: not just their monstrous brawn, but the different archetypes that define their place in the horde. We have a lot of noble heroes in LEGO, but now it’s the villains’ time to shine!

My goal was to create four distinct characters: each representing one of the RPG classics: Strength, Intelligence, Dexterity, and Guile – showcasing the diversity and ferocity that defines the Greenskin horde.

Zug zug. Click to read learn how Nick mustered his horde of orcs!

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Looks like meat’s back on the menu: 19 custom LEGO orcs [Minifig Monday]

From Tolkien to Warhammer and everything in between, orcs are the biggest, baddest, and often funniest fantasy baddies of any setting they appear in. This week we’ve put together a horrendous horde of LEGO orcs from the custom community. You’ll find more than a few surprises in this one!

A king of cohesion, capt.dark.shark unleashes Commander Kragg the Cleaver. There’s so much to love here, the new(ish) Viking helmet fits so flush with the CMF Orc jaw, while pushing the ears out to make a unique head shape. The oversized olive green arm is actually from Jabba the Hutt, and sticking an axe on the end of a prosthetic is delightfully impractical as it is fiendishly orcish.

Lessor in the orc kingdoms but certainly not in the minifig world, these night goblins from Karp_brick have some excellent black cape layering and subtle diversity in the heads and headwear. We’ve spotted faces from the CMF Goblin, Star Wars Niamoidian and a Ninjago orc.

Older bigfigs are famous for lack of customisation options, but dwalinforkbeard has expertly used black capes to cover a more scifi torso to create something that is right at home in a medieval fantasy setting. Add that to the whimsical mushroom picking vibe and you’ve got a great looking orc dude.

Where there’s a click, there’s a way… to see more orcs! Zug zug.

A dead bird’s eye view

Every time I see builds like this my mind goes wild with ideas for Dungeons and Dragons-themed sets. Though the LEGO Group may never make that dream come true for me, at least I can cherish the ideas of builders like Hugo Rouschop. This Orc Watchtower is perched precariously around a giant bird skull upon a nicely sculpted, spire-like rock structure. We all know scaffolding and bones are essential components to orc architecture, as well as chains and hanging cages with, of course, more bones. Add a net and some ladders and you have a place any orc would be proud to work in.

This angle makes the giant bird skull much more obvious. The bony beak rises above the roof while the eyes lay just below the platform. That roof technique is achieved with a net wedged between tiles and plates above and slide shoes below. Attachment points on the support beams keep the roof in place while the rest of the structure naturally curves.

Hugo certainly has a knack for orc builds. He has a good eye for fantasy and his builds are imaginative and playful. Now that I’ve got orcs on the brain, I’m going to go catch up on Critical Role for the rest of the night. Thanks for that, Hugo. Really.