WH40K: Thoughts on that new Cadian Recon Squad

OK, here's a few words on these guys. I'd actually forgotten about them until their 40k rules materialised, because A) it's very busy for 40k stuff just now, and B) in no way is anything from Cadia gonna be outshining Armageddon just now, when C) 11th edition is impending. But, I do think there's something worthwhile to talk about. 

 

The obvious thing to say about the Cadian Recon Squad, other that point out their Kill Team name of “Spectre Squad” is much sexier,  is that are Infiltrators. This means they do things like board control and mission objectives well, although the specifics of how 11th ed missions are still uncertain at time of writing. Making judgments about how good they are just now is unwise, so I'm not gonna, but there is obviously competition with Ratlings and Gaunt's Ghosts. The Recon Squad compares most favourably with the hobbits, due to being typical guardsmen profiles, but with more of them for a modest surcharge. It's not a 1:1 comparison in form or function however, as while Ratlings are better snipers and more agile, they just can't get a meltagun. The Ghosts are obviously more capable with that uppy/downy thing and named character energy, but you can only ever have one of those, and it costs more. More generally, the Recon Squad sets somewhere to the side of Kasrkin, being generally less elite, but still having decent weapon options due to this unit being designed for Kill Team first. The Recon Squad also brings a USP with it's Order shenanigans; only needing to be ordered once a game, and offering a servoskull for a bit of WiFi hotspot action. So, nothing overly amazing here, but probably a unit you could work with. What made me want to talk about these guys were the weapon options though. There's a lot of Kill Team bitiness going on. There is a Sargent, but he has no sword or fancy pistol. The lasguns all have the Assault keyword, an interesting choice but not unwelcome in this context; these chaps will want to run. There's a medic on the sprue whom goes ignored. Oh, and there's a guy with a sawn-off heavy stubber. But what is most interesting? There's a heavy weapon team in there!

 

 

I thought such things were prohibited since the 10th ed codex! Are we getting more stuff like this? Might some hypothetical future battleline unit do this also?! It's not executed as two guys to a base either, it's two distinct models, thus bypassing some rules faff! Yes, I know it's only a missile launcher, and those are mid to the point of being a cucumber sandwich in weapon form, but it's still a step up from lasguns, right? Right? Well, to talk about weapon balance again, I do think there's actually a choice to be made here, and without a screamingly-obvious musthave. A unit such as this probably isn't holding a gun line. It's off doing mission stuff instead, moving about, maybe getting close. So do you actually need the missile launcher, and the pistol armed loader, with these guys? The alternative being a lasgun and sniper rifle? It's a question worth asking, certainly. If lethal hits are a thing, I can see the case for leaving the missiles at home, instead advancing a lot, focusing on similar light infantry, and maybe the occasional assassination. Then again, you can also do the old school generalist loadout of Plasmagun and Missile Launcher.  Plus the machine gun and sniper set. That might make the unit a bit passive, but there are worse units to punch up with. Much is unknown about 11th edition, but I think they got the balance right with this one.


Although, maybe its a shame that most people won’t notice...

WH40K: Why I’m not buying that new Armageddon book (yet)

Righty, a bonus article. Part blog update, part opinion piece. If you follow 40k news at all, you might have noticed that things seem a bit hype lately. We've had a few campaign books, with new units added, the most recent being the for Armageddon front, the famous orks versus guard meatgrinder. This one is almost perfectly tuned to interest me, but like the 10th ed Ork codex I'm not indulging. Why? Because 11th edition has been announced, and we've got maybe six weeks before it goes live. Yes, I probably could get some new models painted and get a couple of games in, but I'm not playing 40k regularly just now, and I have other commitments. It's an expensive and silly idea to even try. I need only to point to my Astra Militarum experiences as to why being an early adopter with FOMO is bad idea. Truthfully, my plans with respects to 40k are to wait for 11th edition, get a deal on a launch box, and paint it as a long-term project. It should be easier to find new sparring partners around then too, as everyone will want to learn the new game.  This Armageddon book will either be a flash in the pan, made obsolete before the end of the year, or an expense I can defer for a while. As the actual data sheets and detachments are free to download, it's not like it's urgent. Its not like the lore matters...

All that being said, I didn't want to let Armageddon pass without comment. And I currently have a suspiciously coincidental 6 week buffer on articles, so you get a bonus post, to help make it i vaguely topical. Presenting room temperature takes on the stuff that interests me.

 

Commissar Yarrick: Possibly the best single retcon in a setting made of retcons. So good to see this guy back, and I'm so glad he has interesting and powerful rules. As opposed to "anti-ork 2+" or some other targeted bonus, that kinda thing is deeply boring and can feel like a fuck-you. See the assorted Imperial Oddments factions for where this can go wrong. I dunno if his power in ordering infantry will last, nerfs are probable, but if I did indulge in named characters, it would be he. I'm looking forward to fighting him with my Orks, and he is supposedly amazing in Recon Element, where he would lead scores of hard-to-see infantry.

Commissar Graves: I don't think anyone was actually expecting a deranged lady commissar on a pimpmobile, but I think we're all happy she's here. It takes a lot of charisma and novelty not to be immediately overshadowed by Yarrick in this context, but I'd say yeah, she's doing OK. Who doesn't like an efficiently priced vehicle that does good support work and some melee? Definitely of interest in mechanised forces, although the on-foot version suffers from similar design issues to the generic commissar. I also expect fan art and memes, but I'm not gonna go looking...

The Centaur RSV: Yes, it's a fine Ork Trukk! I will be doing that eventually, as will about 100% of all Ork players. As a guard unit, it's definitely a welcome tool to have for objective play. It's current price is perhaps not ideal though, coming in at the same cost as the Chimera for a much less durable and less well-armed platform. What commentary I've read on this suggests that we'll see this unit as a ride for heavy weapon teams, Ogryns, or Kasrkin, which would be kinda boring, but ok. I'm not a huge fan of when Orks try that trick, trying to form a light tank or mobile bunker from a transport, and I don't think it fits the guard vibes either. Catachans and Combat Engineers probably have a nice new ride though. 

 

The Hippogriff AFV: And speaking of light tanks, we have this. I like the look of the Hippogriff. I like it's fire & fade rule. I also like how that new Armoured Infantry detachment plus this tank, means that guard can do more mobile styles of play, like mechanised but more agile. But I don't like the mislabeled weapons, and I don't like the price comparisons. For most things you want this tank for, you'd just take a Scout Sentinel, which is cheaper. Hellhounds and Chimeras are also potentially unfavourable contrasts, those being more established with the option for HK missiles. I do really want this unit to work though, and it looks to be a great board control piece. I suspect we won't have a good handle on this unit though for a while. Probably not until 11th is established and we know what is "optimal" weapon fit is. Is it all melta? Or does the cannon/stubber option have legs? We just don't know. 

Wazdakka Gutsmek: Yes, it's grand to see him with an actual model after all this time. And the model is incredibly extra.  Not my current vibe for Orks, and I'm not into Epic Heroes as mentioned, but I see the appeal. I would have liked more Orks in the Armageddon book, TBH, but if we're in the 11th edition starter box we're probably fine.

The Various New Detachments: Yeah, these look fun, especially the Superheavy Tank one. I'm not touching any of them until the meta settles though.

And to end on a sour note...

The Steel Legion Controversy: For heaven's sake, could we fucking not? I get it. I'm angry about the loss of the generic infantry squad too. And it makes sense that you'd want actual Armageddon troopers for an Armageddon campaign book. But Krieg started out as player 2 colours Steel Legion, just reverse the trick. Or look up Death Fields, maybe? I think the Catachans need the attention more.

 

Plamo: Orks Runtherd and Gretchin

 

I didn't have a great time in early January. I'd survived December, but I was struggling with respect to life goals and various petty annoyances. Then I got a head cold. Yay. So, a new project was needed, and thus today's article.

Anyway, I'd been meaning to pick up some more grots for a while.  It's not because they are especially good, or even competent, it's because they can do the boring objective holding stuff, while generating Command Points, and generally being a nuisance to remove. Gretchin die to almost any attention, but die so quickly any attack feels like a waste of bullets. Also good for screening and movement-blocking purposes. There's definitely diminishing returns with these little blighters, but they do tend to create dilemmas.

Dating from 2009, this kit is probably the realistic plateau for plastic grots. These are mostly fixed pose models, although many have alternate heads, with a random assortment of weapons. There is just enough flexibility to prevent them from getting boring, and there is compatibility with Ork kits of the same generation, something I used for the Runtherd. While obviously smaller than most, these go together with minimal fuss, and generally hit the goldilocks zone. It's also arguably a budget release, offering significantly more points per pound than either of the two Ork Boy kits, although that's approximately £1.45 a model in real terms. I do hope that GW doesn't get it into their heads replace this with something needlessly complicated and/or extravagant.

I didn't do anything fancy with these, merely experimenting with fabric colouring and some highlighting. I did find some of the details a touch soft, so maybe a few of these guys have trousers where there were no trousers before. Getting into the right headspace was in some respects more difficult than the actual painting. I don't think I'm actually getting better, but I am becoming more efficient with what I do, something I felt with my more recent Guard units.

I probably need to find something more interesting to do, but these are OK for now.

Orks: A Return

So during my August holidays, I decided to field my ork forces again. It's something I've been mulling over for a while. I have a decidedly non-trivial boneyard of ork models, so many in fact that I donated a bunch to charity in an attempt to be less of a hoarder. I use the term boneyard quite deliberately there, as while I had lots, not much was table ready. Codex creep and damages meant that it was gonna be a lot of busy work to get the stuff ready, and the 10th ed codex hadn't made me rush out and play. Nor did the Dakka Detachment Debacle. However as time passed, the need for a change increased, as did free time for busy work. My guard forces aren't going anywhere, and I have two things on order even, at time of writing, but I needed something else to do for a bit.

 

I spent a couple of hours auditing what I had, and forming a basic 1000 point list. It  didn't take too long as I first thought of doing this back in March. This was followed by about 7 hours of repairs and rebasing. Word to the wise, bicarbonate of soda is not advisable for texture paint as it separates over time. I also found some wall filler basing experiments that aged poorly. Most of these were made as creative exercises post-Covid, which is a fair time ago I admit, but not long enough for this to be necessary. This problem was/will-be addressed mainly by mixing new texture paints with sand and dabbing in top of the offending bits, and then dry brushing Zendri Dust for consistent finish. I also should have pinned the metal nobz as these did not like storage and liked travelling even less. I might have to do something about that.
Anyway, here's the list. 

Warboss with Power Klaw and Follow Me Ladz
10 Nobz with Big Choppas – escort for the Warboss
3 Squads of 10 Boyz, with a Rokkit Launcher and BC Nob each
4 Trukks - to carry the above.
3 Killa Kanz, one with Kan Shoota, two with Rokkit Launchers

Did this work? Well, this was fielded in a slightly non-standard 3-way battle, using White Dwarf rules, and the "High Octane" rule from the new mission pack. This was a less than ideal test sample, and the results there are not likely to be representative. That said, I did win, and it's difficult to actually feel bad about an army you won with. The battle was against Blood Angels and Necrons, beating the former through violence, and the latter on points. I lost a trukk on the way in, but I managed to pull off a textbook WAAAAAGGGGGHHH, mullering the Angels, and setting myself up for a trio of held objectives. Things went less well against the Necrons, a unit of Skorpekh Destroyers being a consistent problem, but by the time I was able to give the Tin 'eads proper attention, I was leading on points. I actually had five of six objectives held before we called it. All in all, it felt good to have the lads back on the table. I got rather lucky with that WAAAAAGGGGGHHH, and my foes hadn't really seen Orks before, so I don't wish to get over-confident. But, after too many years of not wanting to play Orks, it's good to be back. I've played two other games since to lesser success, but still success. Trukks seem to great for objective play and secondaries.

 

As to where things go from here, I'm less sure. There's numerous little repairs and modifications my models need, which may not be blog material. But we will be seeing new models in the future....

Blog Status Update: So, why no Ork Codex article?

Eh, good question.

So, this post got started when an internet friend rightly called me out for not posting any Ork projects. I am, of course, currently working on Project Chem-Dogs, when I could be doing one of any number of Ork things. New Codex, new possibilities, and all that. Its a fair question to ask. Well, there's a number of reasons, and its not just because I'm working on a guard force, something which I've always kinda wanted to do. One aspect is simple budgeting, I'm trying to control my expenses, I’ve actually flogged stuff to fund my recent projects, and £35 RPP for a rulebook when I'm not actually playing just now? Its hard to justify, and I can probably wait a month or so.

More deeply, while I love my Orks, I don't feel I can take them further with my current skill level. I've done basically all the units I want to, at least twice, and I'm just not into Beast Snaggas, which is the only aspect of Orks I've not dabbled in. The new codex doesn't actually help with that. Its been massively well-received, and from a game design angle I can't fault it, but there's nowt to get my teeth into, and its possibly due a nerf in 12 weeks. There's no new modelling angle to explore, and I don't think I can add to the discourse*. On a related note, as part of their ongoing ForgeWorld cull, a number of my recent projects are no longer allowed in matched play, which is disappointing. Not that I play anyway, but I do like my models to be game legal, and nobody likes building a model only to have it invalidated by rules changes. Again.So, on balance, I've lost units and modelling options with the new codex. I don't recall using a monkey's paw. On the plus side though, I'm pretty confident that when I do eventually pick the codex up, I'll have a good time, and a Dreadmob is very much within my means.

Anyways, what does this mean going forward? Well, being an ork player is a state of mind as much as anything else, so I'm going to try to direct that energy into other projects. Orks will likely become an occasional feature of the blog, possibly as part of Gaslands and such. They will return in time for Orktober, and by then I will hopefully have a fresh angle and maybe some new skills.

So, less Orks now. More Orks once inspiration hits, and the dust has settled on the new rules.

 

* It does amuse me to see how the Adeptus Custodes codex released at the same time prompted fanboy tears because they weren't overpowered any more and now feature girls. SHOCK HORROR. I digress, but I wanted to mention that somewhere.

Project Chem-Dogs: Part 3

Righty, part 3. I'm acutely aware of my attention span and the "pile of shame" concept. As such I'm going to alternate between units as much as possible, thus keeping things relatively fresh and varied. I decided to make up some of the old style Cadians I’d brought, but as mentioned, I’d build them as Catachans.

 

I suppose I should talk about the Catachan Jungle Fighters a bit. The short version is that they are Vietnam-era Americans as filtered via the Rambo and Predator movies. The actual planet Catachan is a Death World of hostile jungle, which is actively resisting human settlement and full of very hostile lifeforms, the most genteel of which is probably the Catachan Face-Eater. People from there make for good survivalists and scouts, with an indifferent attitude to danger. Its basically Space Australia, but with more trees, and fewer soap operas. The Catachans were also notable for being one of few guard regiments to get plastic kits, alongside the Cadians, and it was like that for a long time. Its just a shame that their basic troop kit was naff at the time of release, some twenty odd years ago, and against all sense is still on sale today. In terms of game mechanics, the Jungle Fighters have waxed and waned a lot; they actually had their own spin-off codex back in the day, at other times edged into being melee specialists, but right now are a Battleline unit with some minor buffs and some very limited weapon options. Its the old Tankbusta problem, GW limiting their options to exactly what's in the kit. No doubt this will remain the case until they get a Kill Team release. That said, Jungle Fighters have the advantage of being notably cheap, the benefits of the Scout rule, and a modest boost to AP in the first round of a melee. What I would use my unit for would be either objective control stuff, and/or being a discouraging response to things that try to charge my gunline.

 

So, with these chaps, I took a similar approach to squad 1 last week. That is a fairly conventional build, with rags and bags added atop, preparing the gasmask heads separately before final assembly. I went for two flamer dudes in a nod to the old lore, although as and when I do another squad of these, I'll probably do Grenade Launchers. Flamers are a weapon that make a lot of sense for a unit that's gonna get close to the enemy, but grenades are more versatile. I also opted for a more elephantine gasmask style as it was somewhat easier to drill into the heads that way. Details such as straps were GS sculpted, including an entire backpack, although a lot of their stuff was spare Ork bits and surplus lasguns. That Stargrave Mercenaries box also played a part.

 

This turned out alright, although I'm still perfecting my techniques. I think Ive got a handle on the gasmask bit, although I'm not quite there with the skin, and there’s a few minor mistakes here & there. Its good enough for now though, I just need to get more practice in with the rank and file before working on any officers. With the above squad complete-bar-drying by Sunday afternoon, I started working on some Heavy Weapons Teams too. I wasn’t able to get these completed in time for my Tuesday cut-off, but here’s a picture of them in-progress.

 

 

I’ll talk about them a bit more next week.

Plamo: More Killa Kanz, Because Reasons

OK, context. It was the days leading up the TFNation Mini-Con. I'd fumbled the travel arrangements a touch. I had booked off the day before to make travel easier, i.e. stay overnight so I could assist with setting up the Toy-Fu stall in the morning, but I'd ended up booking a cheap train ticket late in the evening. I would later regret this choice due to train difficulties. This also left me with more free time than I would usually have, and my brainworms didn't like this. It goes against the grain just to take a lazy day, so, OK, let's have a model to work on in between chores and packing the overnight bag. The question was exactly what. I'd pulled the plug on Project Sulaco that week, so I couldn't really do that. I'd already had ideas for a replacement, but I'd promised myself that would give it at least a week before trying something like that again, lest it be undercooked. Then I remembered my old plastic Killa Kans, which had been stripped but forgotten. That'll do.

 

These models were the first plastic Kanz I ever assembled, and I have fond memories of the process. It had a very GW problem of having only one of each gun, something that maybe worried me about a future 10th Ed Ork codex, they've been back and forth on that sorta thing, but even in those early days I could kitbash. Otherwise though, these have pleasingly modular, balljointed limb design, which even with a straight build you can be quite creative with. Just be mindful of the extremities like exhausts or ankles, I had to fix a few bits before and during painting, although that might just be their age.

As projects go, this was a relatively simple one, and I got the vast majority done during a leisurely 24 hour period. I decided early on to replace the ranged weapons on two of them, opting for a Rokkit Launcha and Kan Shoota in the name if variety. My brainworms however insisted I take things a bit further, resulting in two comedy hats and a set of horns. While I'm pretty sure I could have finished them all off in one day, but I was out of sand to make mud paint with, so I put that on hold. You can use bicarbonate of soda, but I've had that mix break down on a few models recently, so why risk it? I ended up getting in some modelling sand by Gale Force 9, which is pretty good, but I need to refine the mix a bit for next time. I’d also opted to use less gap filler on the bases to minimise the risk of chipping.

Job’s a good ‘un.

 

 

Scratchbuild: Ork Gobsmasha

I started this one when I was kinda in a bad mood. Work had been stressful, I was processing a few things emotionally, I was going off Project Sulaco, and finding myself at loose end creatively. So I ended up opting to do another orky scratchbuild. I've done a great many of these, and truthfully I fear falling into a rut without realising. I've got a method for these locked in, and while the results speak for themselves, it gets samey to write about. That said, I find these fun and therapeutic in way that Project Sulaco wasn't really. So, with that in mind, the Gobsmasha.

In order to put the Gobsmasha onto context, we have to go back the earliest days of the 40k setting. You know, the 1st edition, early Epic, mostly metal rather than plastic, pre-me, sort of time period. As I've mentioned before, actual 28mm scale vehicle kits were not something GW could easily do, which is why things like jet/motorbikes and dreadnoughts were so common unit types at the time. And in many ways still are, but I digress. This isn't to say there wasn't a demand for heavy vehicles at the time, the 6mm scale Epic system was all about that, and 40k had vehicle rules from day one, but GW was a much smaller company back then, and such things were a major investment for them. It's not like you can 3D print stuff in the early 90's is it? As such both the 1st edition rulebook and subsequent White Dwarf articles featured a variety of scratchbuilds and kitbashes, even to the point of featuring plans for complete vehicles. Games Workshop absolutely would not do that today. The Gobsmasha, as featured in this link, is one such vehicle. It's one of the numerous and oft odd battlewagon-adjacent vehicles that turned up in Epic, had an obscure resin model in 28mm, but otherwise has been forgotten. it's overall vibe is typical of the super early Ork vehicle pool, sitting somewhere between a self-propelled gun and an olde timey traction engine.

 

Now, I could have gone and attempted the plans as is, but I didn't for three reasons. 1) Size creep is a thing, and I'd probably end up with something more akin to a Grot Tank or buggy than a modern Battlewagon. 2) I'm not a fan of papercraft stuff, being too clack-handed and impatient. 3) In my hubris, I felt that in between my bitzbox, my experience, and a hot glue gun, that I could free-form something better. Arrogant, I know, but those plans are 30 odd years old, I've got things they didn't, and this ain't my first barbecue. I use the word "hubris" as I ended up crafting the front wheels from 60mm bases, and the result isn't perfectly circular, something that sets off my perfectionism something fierce. It doesn't matter in the wider context, although it's a shame I wasn't able source some suitable lids for use in this project, that would have sidestepped some faff. The main body was built up from three tubes hot-glued together in a H shape, which was then layered with old toy truck panels and such. My stockpile of resin pieces from Ramshackle Games came good with a boiler and chimney piece suitable for a traction engine, while the weapons are GW plastics. Now, as a first edition thing, the Gobsmasha predates the modern orky armoury, but there's some fairly obvious equivalents to go for, i. E. heavy bolter = big shoota, a convention I've used on this and many other projects. As the Gobsmasha had a big cannon on it and two machine gun type things, this led to me me treating as a Big Trakk, like my recent Basilisk. That's not actually ideal given the size this ended up, plus it doesn't actually have trakks, but I didn't feel adding all the ancillary stuff that comes as standard on a modern Battlewagon. That would spoil the effect I was going for. Innumerable rivets later, I got to drybrushing.

Its good to be back :)

Kitbash: Looted Basilisk

While Orks seem to get a reasonable amount of attention these days, it wasn't always so. The GW design team would go for consecutive editions without giving them any real attention, so even a good codex, and the 4th Ed codex was infamous, would decay into mediocrity. Part of that was a stated belief by GW that Orks should have difficulty in dealing with tanks at range. I might be misremembering that, but Orks spent the time from 3rd edition to the 8th edition revamp with the Rokkit Launcher being S8 when your typical tank had AV14, meaning they could only harm it on a 6, and then only a Glancing Hit, which could just inconvenience it. There was a period when the only way Orks could deal with the famously durable Necron Monolith was to ram it with a Dethrolla, which was awesome, but no mean feat. Tankbustas were a thing of course, but also obvious targets, and I'm summarising a fair few years here. This, anecdotally, led to Ork players sourcing actually feasible anti-tank guns, either by whatever Looted Wagon rules were in play at the time, or going to Forgeworld for one of their, possibly not tournament legal, indulgences. For today's article, we have a combination of both. Basilisks were/are enduringly popular self-propelled guns, great to work into Ork armies, while Big Trakks are their rough equivalent. Kinda. It's more that they are midway between Trukks and Battlewagons, while having an option to be an assault gun. Today's subject is a Looted Basilisk, using the rules of a Big Trakk.

Like so many of my projects, this is something that's been sitting in my bitzbox for so long that I no longer recall its origins or why I got it. I assume I got it because my opponents were asking for it. I also assume that the model was somebody's first kitbash. Somebody added a Gorkamorka trukk gunner into a hatch, and proceeded to dab red onto bare plastic. I respect the enthusiasm, but the lad, I presume it was a lad, on the balance of probability, hadn't been trusted with spray paint. And they had issues with the track links, which is understandable. The vehicle was largely intact, with the gun still movable, but lacking much of the trimmings. There was a dozerblade which I snapped-off without really meaning to, the loaders platform was missing it's guardrails, and no additional gubbins like a Hunter-Killer Missile were present. With the exception of the tracks, none of that really counts as a negative when this is meant to be an Ork looted vehicle though.

I was fortunate to have a few spare track links, so fixing the worst of it wasn't a problem. The original owner had tried to add track guards to the top too, so I built those up as well, using parts of the gunshield to hide a few flaws. I then proceeded to replace the shield on one side only, leaving the left open for a big shoota. A new gun barrel was sourced from my bitzbox, while the ram and replacement panels were made from various materials in my usual way. i.e. flat-packers, bits of old trukk, scrap plastic and EVA foam. I also sculpted a few glyph plates in green stuff, before proceeding to paint. This was the usual drybrush-stipple-wash-rust-bucket style, but remixed slightly to acknowledge it's Imperial origins. A late addition were some freehand "blitz" glyphs as kill markings, following a suggestion from social media. I don't think I'd do the gun barrel in dark grey again, it doesn’t go with the blue very well to my eyes, but it does look as rusty as anything, so that's fine. 

 

Job's a good 'un. 

 

 

Project Tankbustas: Part 1

OK, lemme start out with a brief look back at Project Tonks, what worked and what didn't. As exercises go, that was quite therapeutic, and I am now entirely confident in my ability to make little tanks. As I was working to a self-imposed schedule of weekly updates though, I found myself getting a bit frustrated when something disrupted my plans, and on a couple of occasions had to put the breaks on, lest I speedrun the whole thing. I still need to work on this "self-management" business, especially as my day job has featured a store refit overlapping with the Xmas rush. Not fun. So with this being a new year, I feel I can spare the energy for something a touch more involved. I'm going to give 28mm scale miniature sculpting a proper try.

Stock Image of GW’s Tankbustas

Let's talk Ork Tankbustas. They are Orks, and they bust tanks. Who ya gonna call? Its not a complex topic. Unfortunately, Tankbustas are one of those units that suffer under the yoke of Finecast, and the "exactly what's in the box" convention of 10th edition. They are therefore a squad of 5, three with rokkit launchas, including the Nob, one with twin rokkit pistols, one with a tankhammer, and two Bomb Squig models/tokens. That isn't an ideal load out for their stated job, and you can't scale them up so as to get a critical mass of dakka to start seriously worrying tanks. As such they are not hugely good, and not great as models either as Finecast famously sucks. This does however present a good candidate for the skills I want to practice for this project: miniature sculpting. I've dabbled in this before, but never that deeply. But I have more confidence these days, and numerous scratchbuilds behind me. I'm pretty sure I can do this. And it's more up my street than airbrushing or 3d printing. As with Project Tonks, I see this playing out incrementally, starting simple, before going full sculptor later on. So here are the stages as I see them right now.

Stage 0: Preparation and research. Looking up videos on YouTube, getting the raw materials together and such. Obviously I did this over chrimbo.

Stage 1: Glyph Plates. As a warm-up, the creation of orkish glyphs via sculpting, followed by the creation of a single one-part mould to mass produce them. The target number is four, with the idea being that should I make too much putty, I can use the excess here. I have similar moulds already, it’s handy to have such things for other projects.

Stage 2: Rokkit Lads. The modification of two older style Ork Boyz to carry rokkit launchas, and one to have two rokkit pistols. This involves new weapons, stowed rokkits, and additional details like helmets or targeters etc. This would be a mix of green stuff sculpting and plastic tubing as appropriate, with some minor kitbashing.

Stage 3: The Nob. A conversion of an older style model to carry a rokkit launcha. This will require GSing and converting along the lines of stage 2, but will possibly be more challenging as Nobs don't usually have such a weapon. Said weapon also needs to be somewhat "extra".

Stage 4: The Tankhamma Lad. The modification of an older style Ork boy to wield a two-handed hammer made from explosives. If stage 3 didn't involve a lot of careful cutting and repositioning of plastic arms, stage 4 most likely will. Using putting to fill gaps in the flesh and muscles is fairly likely.

Stage 5: Squig prototypes in Das Clay. As a material, Das Clay is well suited to experimentation, so I can get my eye in before going for the serious modelling putty. The aim is to make at least three of the little blighters, starting large and getting smaller each time as I refine my technique. This will probably a couple of weeks, as I've not tried sculpting a whole figure before. Note that these are not bomb squigs at this point, just regular ones. I'm trying to nail the look of the little bastards before strapping them with rokkits and such.

Stage 6: Squig prototypes in green stuff and or milliput. As above, but with actually good materials. Possibly these could be used in other contexts, but we'll see.

 

Stage 7: Bomb Squigs in green stuff and or milliput. The actual sculpting job, I also expect this to be a multi-week affair as I need two of them. Due to their nature, these will also feature explosives, but given stages 1-4, that shouldn't be too bad. 

Stage 8: Painting. Need I say more?

When this post goes live, I actually have some time off, so I expect have something for you next week. Ciao fer now.

Kitbash: Killa Kans Restoration

I'm not planning to go quite as hard on Orktober this year. I've done a lot of Ork projects with 10th edition being releases, so doing a month of Ork content isn't quite in me. I am however still doing something, so as I prep that, here's a quick orky post tide you over.

 

I've been modernising/cannibalising a lot of stuff of late, and these Kans are another beneficiary. I got them cheap second hand ages ago, which puts them in the same eBay rescue category as the Looted Rhino. While the main bodies where intact, several weapons were missing. This isn't totally unexpected, as while I like the plastic Kan kit, it only features one of each gun, so people get creative. I almost didn't write about these models, as I had a great many Transformers to talk about at the time, and TBH, doing up a bunch of scrap metal robots within grots inside is rather routine at this point. However, as its Orktober, and I feel I did a good job on these, here we are.

The heaviest kitbash, "Mistah Slap", required two new weapons and a completely new arm. These were mainly gunpla bits, with the hand being a salvaged piece from my original Mega-Armoured Warboss. I neglected to work in a piston for the new arm, as there wasn't really the space. The choice of a Kan Shoota was something I went back and forth on. New for the 10th edition Index, this replaces the often-underwhelming Big Shoota, thus retconing the weapon in my pre-existing kan units. It's probably inferior to the Rokkit Launcha as a default option, but it does have the Devastating Wounds ability, which has only gotten more interesting after the balance update. I eventually decided not to over-specialise and have Mistah Slap bring the dakka, while attempting a "tacticool" pose.

"Drilly Don da Dontist" was a little bit harder to work with, as he had been assembled with more of a pose, retaining much of the grotzooka arm. He also had three exhausts, which I understand, but I felt this had come at the cost of the third Kan, so I snipped one off and passed it on. Using a variety of beads and tubing, I built up a new rokkit launcha, which works well. I also built up a new jaw, as the model had a bit of a"chinless wonder" thing that would not do. 

 

"Da Dunce" was the simplist to assemble but ultimately the one I loved the most. It benefited from a metal Gorkamorka era rokkit rack for it's gun, with a bead as a new mount and reclaimed plasticard as a shoulder guard. The backpack had the donor exhaust installed, and then I remembered something I did with those Killbots, a hat made from a superglue lid. My initial thought was was to do this one up as a Smurf. No, not an Ultramarine, an actual Smurf, but then I remembered the old Dunce Hat trope. Its not often that I freehand symbols, but I love how it turned out.

Thanks for reading, and best wishes to all whom celebrate Orktober!

Kitbash: Deathskull Looted Rhino

 

Imagine the scene. It's the run up to TFNation, and I've decided to scratchbuild a Battlewagon. This process begins with a rummage through the cavernous bitz boxes I have, which will no doubt be a right nuisance to my survivors some day. This search presents a largely complete Rhino APC. I decide against using it in the project as Rhino hulls are on the lighter end of the tank spectrum, but I put it to one side. The battlewagon project continues apace, resulting in a well-received vehicle, and the week directly before TFN comes around. Rather than doing the Ork infantry I've putting off, I decided to work on the Rhino instead. Because I have brainworms. 

 

The idea of Orks nicking other factions' vehicles is a grand old tradition, one that even the often po-faced GW is known to be somewhat supportive of. It's more the stuff of "Narrative Play" these days, but many an excellent conversion starts with this idea. Key to this is the concept of a "counts as" as a rules justification and work around. I.e. you could Orky up a Sentinel, and use it as a Killa Kan. Google that, those tend to be great. Doing up a Rhino like that is a fairly mundane example, and one that can be achieved with relative ease. Put a big shoota on it, rough it up, take off the roof, and you've got a "counts as Trukk". This is how my brain is, I consider such things to be a light and easy change of pace. 

 

Possibly I'm under-selling my efforts, as the Rhino was an eBay rescue in all but name. The previous owner had the idea of merging it with a Gorkamorka era Trukk, and had to rip those bits out. It's not a bad idea, to be fair, but their reach exceeded their grasp. And they built it a bit wonky too. In their defence, they did put in some good bullet holes. After salvaging, the hull lacked the roof hatch and a door, no loss, but also a chunk of the front end and the weapon mounts. I toyed with the idea of building it out, before replacing missing panels with chipboard and gubbins. The gun barrel and three of the exhausts are resin pieces, while the wrecking ball assembly is off a poundshop toy. I'd used the same thing on my recent Battlewagon, but I dressed it differently here, placing a bead on one side of the arm to suggest a spool of cable. It's probably less obviously a wrecking ball than other examples, but I'm pretty sure it's the most durable one I've made. Painting followed in my usual style, with interior left muddy but basic.

 

 

The main thing of note here from a painting/modelling perspective was the use of Mod Podge to add texture, something which I had tried on the Battlewagon, but not as extensively as here. A Rhino features a lot of flat panels, as befits it's function of cheapo battle taxi, but as a subject that can work against me as a painter whom likes drybrushed models washed in gunk. Furthermore, as a vehicle "misappropriated" from an opposing force, a certain degree of wear only makes sense. Modge Podge when applied in rough or stippling manner solves that problem. The stuff seems to have an almost memetic variety of uses, I recommend it to scratchbuilders for adding texture to stuff. It's also useful for sealing and concealing the surface of wooden beads, like on the wrecking ball arm. I need to experiment more, but its looking like PVA glue, but better. Also: shout out to AK Dark Rust Deposits, it's good stuff.

A very pleasing end result, I must say.

 

 

 

Oh! And BTW, I did eventually do some infantry. Well, Warbosses. Perhaps not my best work, but definately table-ready.

Scratchbuild: Another Ork Battlewagon

 Yes, I sometimes repeat myself.

With the new edition, I inevitably began thinking about modernising my forces. And how certain units seem to have been reshuffled Given my specific cocktail of neurodivergence and neurosis it's very hard to put things like that aside, so once I did those Grot Tanks, I decided to take a swing at doing another battlewagon.

The weird/annoying thing about battlewagons just now is how they interact with the "exactly what's in the box" design philosophy found in the index lists. This is because the kit spent two editions representing 3 distinct variations, one doing the classical 'wagon, one being about the deathrolla, and an unpopular cannon one. (There's also Forgeworld units, but honestly I don't care.) Putting guns on one wasn’t usually viewed as an especially practical option given A) ork marksmanship, and B) how these act as an ork party bus. With this in mind, creating and pricing the unit on the assumption that people would build one with all possible options is daft. Experienced players wouldn't have done that under the previous points systems, as the options are contradictory in purpose to an extent, while beginners would have to look up the difference, and thus likely came across the opinions of the former. So, for this new project I took a "can't beat 'em, join' em" approach. I'd build a wagon with all the guns, and most of the melee options. The Wrecking Ball option is not actually in the kit, I assume that was a concession to kitbashers, so I skipped it. The choice between Firing Ports and Ard Case meanwhile is still largely a matter of side grades and what dakka if any the passengers have. I went for Ard Case as it simplified the build. As to how practical such a battlewagon is, I'm unsure. Putting a lobba, kannon, and 4 big shootas on a single platform means it can unleash 40 odd shots in a single volley. I dunno if that's good on something that carries troops and likes to pancake people. You'd be looking at 14ish S5 hits, which isn't bad, but it's the sorta thing you can get elsewhere. I see this as a tactical battering ram and distraction.

 

 

Having done… frankly too many such modelling projects, this thing went together with relative speed and a lot of hot glue. I decided on a wheeled design fairly early on, first going for eight wheels, and then realising that was far too big even by my loose standards. In terms of techniques and materials used, I’d call this a “pragmatic” scratchbuild. The wheels, weapons, and details like exhausts were pre-existing bits, either plastic or resin. That’s the sort of thing I could try doing myself, and have done, but I have the bits, so why not? The majority of the hull however was more mixed material; bits of toy, flatpackers, chipboard, scrap plastic, and EVA foam. The curved shape comes from what remains of a fork-lift toy. It was then painted in my obsessively rusty style.

I’m very pleased with one. I’ve been grinding away at lot of rusty projects over the last year or so, and it seems to be paying off. I should probably stop putting off the infantry though.