Probably the first real kitbash an average Ork player will have attempted is that the common trukk, the standard greenskin battle taxi. Part of this is due to the old and often forgotten game: Gorkamorka, which encourages such things. For example, consider the "Gubbinz" bag release they did back then, a bunch of sprues and wheels for easy conversion, which is the stuff of legend and absolutely not something GW would like do today. There was also the matter of Gorkamorka truck kit being small and easily found even twenty years later, so people like myself bodged two together. Or if you were cost minded, you'd try rolling a child's toy truck in bitz and then call it a day. Today's project is in the spirit of the latter. Well, I don't want to sell myself short. I'm going for the scratchbuild root, but the spirit is there.
So, my thought process was a little like this. I'd tried to work out a few army lists based on what I had in storage, as I would unavoidably want to play at some point, and had come to a few conclusions. The first was that I'd have to paint a load of Boyz, which is half the appeal of Orks, but not something I was hugely looking forward to. My last attempt at painting Ork skin had been disappointing, and I wasn't feeling confident. So, while I was figuring that out, I'd make some trucks, which would also reduce the sheer number of Boyz needed in the end. I'd just make my first and experimental truck with an enclosed cabin. After trawling discount stores, I'd acquired various candidates for truck surgery, but after I'd had them in hand for a while, I decided to start with a purer scratchbuild.
Here, three poundshop toy cars died to provide wheels that were then attached to pen lids as axles, while a toy tractor provided the curved front end. The main Hull was built from a resource I recently discovered, Broadfix Flatpackers, an item more normally used in DIY projects & door fittings & such. These are slabs of plastic about the size of a chocolate bar, with assorted surface detailing to assist installation and cutting. This makes them desirable from a scratch building perspective, and coincidentally also come in a bag for easy converting, equating to a 9p a slab. I'm surprised that more people don't talk about them, if only because a single one forms a near ideal basis for a truck. A happy accident occurred when I decided to make my own rivets rather than just use my usual stick on gems. I acquired some hole punch pliers which can be used on plasticard to create little circles, but trying it on foamcard presented a surprise. The tool could not pierce the foam, but it would leave an imprint like a recessed rivet, which was awesome. I used the pliers to make more conventional rivets too, in conjunction with stick-on gems, and repurposed the leftover plastic for the flatbed.
It was however still a learning process with respects to the wheel base, which still is a bit off. Its also too big, as overall size which crept up as my scratchbuilds are want to do. I can only assume I was visualising one of those big lorries you have to climb, or something the local Warboss likes to drive on weekends. Then again, the stock/official Trukk has a bigger footprint than a Leman Russ battletank, so maybe I'm being too hard on myself. Painting continued in what is now my standard style. I attempted to spice things up with a checkerboard pattern, but it didn't work out, so I painted it over. The tires were painted in Vallejo Glossy Black, before being smothered in homebrew texture paint mud. Things came together then and I'm pleased my scheme works on larger models.
Overall, I'm happy with the paint job and the general vibe, but less with the overall size and proportions. It's absolutely fine as a first try, and as a gaming piece, but the next one will be better.
Work in Progress Pics
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