Kitbash: Another Deathskull Ork Trukk. Plus Nobz

Well, here we are. Trukk #5. Like the last one, this is a modernisation/repair job, although the first I've made in the 10th edition environment. I made it because a) trukkz seem pretty useful just now, and B) it would be handy to have some "official models" in the event I somehow end up playing in a GW shop. Time for a ramble.

 

 

With this one, I had slightly less material to reclaim, but all the essential worky bits were there. This required a new flat bed, and frontend. The latter ended up with a resemblance to a piece of farm equipment, which wasn't quite what I was aiming for, but OK. Of note is the gunner and wrecking ball. The gunner had previously had a rokkit launcha converted from a big shoota, which I would now convert back. Full circle, and all that. And yes, as I initially suspected, its very much a “present” weapon in 10th. Meanwhile, the wrecking ball is something I absolutely would not have added in previous editions, as it is physically fragile and had some mediocre rules. Right now? Its a freebie that works very well with the tankshock stratagem. I will possibly add similar gubbins to my other trukkz, but it's not a priority. Painting proceeded in my usual rust bucket style. This generally came out OK and up to my usual standard, people seem to like it a lot, but I will admit that the big shoota looks a bit off.

 

This trukk was attempted concurrently during something of a hyper fixation, where I had decided to paint some more infantry because I had the models,  I needed something to do and I’d probably need them eventually if I ever decided to actually play. This, to be brutally honest, is the drudgery of liking orks for me. As my recent Iron Brothers detour proved, its entirely possible to do humies with a low effort colour scheme. With Orks, you’re looking at a lot more bare skin and colour variations, and that’s before you get into the GW penchant for over-complication. This was not fun, but I think I’m getting close to a refined technique that works OK and doesn’t bore me. As they say “Good enough is perfect.”. So I did a bunch of Boyz like the last lot before onto some Nobz. Wielding some Big Choppas.

These were a selection of models that I’d had in storage or in pieces for a long time, a roughly 50/50 mix of 3rd ed metals and 5th ed plastics, with bits from more modern plastics, like the Ammo Runts. These were fairly uncomplicated as a project, although I was painting these in groups of six so I could see results sooner. Getting there… I think. What’s interesting about these guys is how their equipment was amalgamated for the new edition, with a few edge cases dropped completely. Previously, Nobz had the option for regular choppas, and the two-handed big version. The regular version was unpopular as much better weapons were present and often were better calls, with the big version eventually joining the ranks of “better”. Now the models for both get the same statline, which I suppose is fair enough given that the regular choppas Nobz tended to use feature blades about as large as your average human torso. This has allowed a lot of otherwise redundant parts to be used here, and in a way that seems to be mechanically useful. Big Choppas have S7 and D2, making them valid against a lot of targets, if not excelling at anything specific. This ties into some synergy with Warbosses, which possibly makes them more appealing than Meganobz just now. Meanwhile, the Ammo Runtz were holdovers from previous editions, its not something the squad needs, but they are free, so why the zog not?

If I’m totally honest though, the real reason I made these is so I can say “My nob has a big choppa.” in absolute seriousness.

Oldhammer: 1st Edition Ork Dreadnought (Warhammer 40k, Metal Miniatures)

Goddammit, I have a hoarding problem. I was cleaning out my bedroom, and found this. I must have brought it donkey's years ago, put it in a box, and forgot about it. Good thing actually, I needed something to do. 

 

So, allow me to do my usual context-providing ramble. The reason why this is a Dreadnought, and not the modern Deff Dread is because that term didn't exist yet. Rather, in the days of 1st edition, basically everyone had access to the same common pool of equipment, something which 2nd edition would move away from, and 3rd ed would largely remove. This was a period when the setting was still in flux, and often dictated by the moulding tech GW had. At this point, the concept of a "Dreadnought" was one of the few vehicle platforms available, and these were small, chunky affairs cast from lead. Plastic kits made by GW were much less common, to the point of actual rariety. There's much mystique associated with this period, although it's outside of my personal nostalgia window. I consider almost every Ork release prior to Gorkamorka and the 3rd ed revamp as early instalment weirdness. Ork Dreadnoughts of this period do however have their own charms, and are a fascinating precursor to what came later. Ork examples came in two distinct sizes, one with a claw and gun, and a taller one with double that. These are obviously the ancestors of the modern Killa Kanz and Deff Dread, if with a rather different look, like an angry potato. They also feature what are literally the same guns as the infantry models, with an odd curved mount. There's a lot of curved mounts, actually, with all the limbs attaching via ball and socket joints. And, yes. This allows for some posing, but only some. Mainly, this only serves to make gluing them together more of an arse than it needs to be. I will however own that I didn't notice some mould lines until it was too late, as I am prone to do. 

 

This model was incomplete when I got it, and I remember thinking at the time that I was not a fan of the weapons. The plasma cannons would be kustom mega blasters under modern rules, but this would have under the 4th ed codex, and I wasn't a fan of overheating. That's probably why I put in storage and forgot about it. The pilot was also missing and so was the banner pole. No biggie on either matter, I just kitbashed an exhaust, and closed the hatch. Getting the thing together though, as mentioned, was a bit of a ball-ache, this model needed some flat connection points and pegs. I attempted to pin these joints, breaking a drill bit in the process, before opting for the baking soda trick. That's probably not great in the long term, but this is a display piece, and a fairly light one at that. 

 

 

Once I got around to painting, I entered my usual zen state of simple/repeatable techniques. Dry-brushing, ink washes, technicals, contrasts and stippling etc. If you are one of the maybe 3 people whom reads these posts regularly, you know what I did. One point I would like to highlight are the orange sensors/windows. I wasn't entirely sure what these details were at first, but I did manage to find an old painting guide. Once done, these really brought the model to life. Job's a good 'un.

All in all? As a model this is really showing it's age, even versus 3rd edition era models like Killa Kanz. Metal minis are always tricky to work with if they have multiple components, but the basic sculpt is primitive. No disrespect to a model about as old as I am, but this is suspiciously close to something I could have moulded from miliput. It is also, smaller than a modern plastic Killa Kan . So, if you really want one, be aware of the work you'll need to do. I wonder if there's a 3d printed equivalent knocking about... 

 

Orktober Project: Mega-Armoured Warboss

Something which happened a lot in the old days was that Games Workshop would present rules for something, but neglect to put out a model for it. A lot of the time this was fairly mundane, like a lesser-known special character or particular weapon option requiring a conversion project. GW was, historically, quite happy for people to do this; they allowed people to order specific bits from them, routinely put conversion advice in the codexes and White Dwarf, with some entire armies like Kroot Mercenaries being heavy duty kitbash affairs. This practice has long since been stopped, it was the Chapter House Studios legal battle I think, and GW seems to be limiting possibilities for customisation that might allow a third party to happily undercut them. This brings us to the modern Mega-Armoured Warboss, the first actual model for this unit ever, it took them decades to actually make one, and while it's undeniably lovely to an extreme, its a fixed pose affair that has none of the usual Meganob weapons. Funny that.

Now, Ork players are a resourceful bunch, many built their own, and when the 3rd edition Ghazghkull Thraka model came that just got easier. A head-swap, a few gubbins, your clan colours, and you're there. That's what I did. I think everyone did that. And their mums. And their dogs. It's not really table legal now though, and I like my stuff be theoretically game worthy. So, there's another modernisation job. After mulling it over for a while, the scale of what I was actually attempting hit me. At the bare minimum, I'd need to do new hands, possibly entire new arms, but hands would the tricky bit. If that new model been equipped with the standard klaw and gun combo it would have been a simple matter of looking at Deff Dread bits. Instead I was looking at a polearm and a little grot on top firing a machine gun. It's an undeniably awesome concept, don't get me wrong, but I was gonna have to step outside my comfort zone just a little. 

 

Eventually what I decided to do was to use arms from non-mega Warbosses and build them up with plating and gubbins. This is an approach attempted by various people more talented than myself, dressing wholly plastic models usually, but I was aware of my limitations. I wanted this done within a week of vacation time, and in a manner befitting the grand celebrations of Orktober. Smaller and more intricate works will come later, but here I took advantage of the sheer size of the metal model and kept it basic. The hammer arm is taken from a 3rd Ed metal Warboss with armour built from foam, cable ties, and the ring from a floss dispenser. Its piston is a bead on a wire, with the hammer being a largely hollow affair built from a clothing tag, bits of old trukk, foam & and water pistol innards. The right arm was off a "black reach" plastic warboss built in the same manner, but given a spare hand from a 30MM kit. This was both expedient and a nod to the previous version of the model, which had a big 1/100 hand to slap fools with. Yes, that works.

The big shoota and gunner grot were a bit more finicky. I visualised this as a turret made from T'au bits, and produced one that was fine but approximately twice the size it should have been. That will get used in another build, so I had a rummage and found the tiny Gretchin co-pilot from the Stormboyz kit. The completed build was then painted in largely the same manner as my meganobz, but with one final flair, a tattered cape made from a bandage. This along with the hammer is a nod to various giant robot shows, and you may recall a previous attempt in the before times. I dyed this over-night in a pot of thinned-down paint, which kinda worked, before being attached via thinned down PVA glue. It worked reasonably well, but drying the thing out took a wee while. I named hime Gorion Da Hamma (& Timmy).

I like how this came together, and I may very well make more Meganobz in future as scratchbuilds.

 

Work in Progress Pics

 

 

Oldhammer: Deathskull Ork Meganobs

Following the Battlewagon, I found myself in need of something to do, but not quite having a hold on what to do next. I do have inclinations to do an Orktober buggy for, well, Orktober, but it wasn't clicking. I've done more Boyz since the last lot too, although that's not hugely interesting. So, I got some dettol, and went for a project less time consuming. A repaint and renovation job. Meganobz.

Meganobz are a venerable unit with a phallic name, having roots as far back as 1st edition, but 3rd edition gave their current niche. They are for all intents and purposes the orkish answer to Space Marine Terminators, ultimately not as varied as beakies, nor as blessed with invulnerable saves, but quite happy in the comparison. As such, these can present a bit of a surprise for an opposing player, whom might expect an Ork force to lean more on numbers or speed. What, you say you’ve got 2 million flame weapons? Well, OK, it might not help. When I originally built these, the modern clan system did not exist, so I did mine in red, which is a big part of why they needed repainting. As to why they are equipped as they are? Well, killsaws weren't a thing yet either, but kombi-skorchas were. These worked a bit differently back in the day, but it was hard to beat them for cost-effective murder, something that still seems to be true today. The rokkit dude was something from a mixed lot, and I don't think he's ever seen combat because rokkits were/are a poor fit for this unit. 

 

I'd already customised these, so the renovation here was less involved than with the Killa Kans. The major difference was new heads on two, and various additional gubbins and rivets to break things up. There wasn't a great variety in the original metal tbh, but I will admit to building up the shoulders help with the joins. I also applied a bit of wall filler in places to add rusty texture, as well as on the base. Painting was attempted in much the same manner as my scratchbuilt vehicles, with any un-armoured bits of Ork done in the same manner as my Boyz. Painting progressed relatively quickly as a result, as I've honed in on a passable way to ork skin & teeth that goes well with dry brushing and stippling for metal. 

 

In general, this was a great success, definitely table-worthy. I'm not overly fond of how the horns came out, and maybe it could be a lighter blue, but it works. 

 

Oldhammer: Kan Upcycling

 

This article follows on from this one, where I discuss the salvaging and repainting of some metal Killa Kans. So, with the "factory spec trio"done, I had 4 Kans left to do repaint. Kinda. Even before I cannibalised them for modelling fodder, these were incomplete. I'd got several in an eBay auction in the distant past, lacking numerous bits, which I compensated for with my first conversions. So, this becomes not such a matter of recycling so much as renovation and modernisation. New arms and guns were required for all, as well as a few hatches and power plants. And, if I'm doing that much work, I might as well make it extra.

 

Now, modernising models like these presents a few challenges. Matching styles is one, Orks having been through periodic redesigns, and proportions is another as scale creep is a thing. As I was still using the original legs, I ended up having to extend the shoulder mounts to give new parts the needed clearance, which wasn't ideal. I also had to scrap my initial run of arms as they looked wrong, too gangling and oddly posed. I went back to basics and used smaller lego bits and beads, which worked better, but with one thing or the other, these Kans have ended up stockier than most. I am however quite pleased with the mono eyes, and the klaws, which were mainly made from vegetable tags and EVA foam sheets, which I'd been meaning to try in a project. While this foam material is totally unsuited to structural use, it lends itself easily to curved panels and crude plating. Meanwhile, the leftover Big Shoota from the Deff Dread found a home here, as I scaled back a bit in the name of fun.

Once the unexpectedly lengthy assembly was completed, I obviously started painting, where upon there were some minor difficulties before it all came together. As can happen, painting revealed some imperfections and weak joins. The wrecking ball for example had its chain replaced with wire as the chain had already broken once in antiquity, and why tempt fate? Sadly, it still managed to demand further gluing once painting was underway. It happens, but it is a nuisance. Also, while the paintwork downplays the flaw, I'm not happy with how the elbows turned out, and I'll have to refine that idea further. I relied too much on green stuff, and a few bits of plasticard where probably needed to complete the desired effect. On the positive side, progress definitely accelerated once I got painting. I tried Colour Forge "Trench Brown" for a spray undercoat, which I’m quite happy with, and refined my homebrew texture paint method. Here I used some common or garden "Burnt Umber" craft paint, which worked much better than I expected. Brown seems to be a colour you can go cheap on... 

 

Nitpicks aside, I'm quite happy with how these turned out. My painting technique seems largely perfected, at least in the realm of "tableworthy", and I am now confident in my skills as a scratch-builder. However, having done 11 ork walkers in rapid succession, it's time to take on a fresh challenge.

Work in Progress Pics

Oldhammer: Kan Recycling (Warhammer 40k, Metal Miniatures)

Oh. People really loved the Deff Dread too. Zog it, I suppose I'm back doing 40k models then. Why fight it?

I have a daft amount of Ork stuff in storage. Granted, a lot of it is some combination of broken, incomplete, obsolete and unpainted, but it's there. So, before moving onto my next major scratch project, I decided to strip the paint off a few, and bring them up to my current standard. On inspection, I had 7 of the old 3rd edition Killa Kanz, because of course I fucking did, and chose those. However, as these are decades old at this point, an idea presented itself. As these are now retro, a case can be made for a "straight build" as it were. I normally like to convert everything I can with Orks for variety, but these are old enough to be curiosities as is. So, I cobbled together 3 "factory spec" Kans from the available parts, which I'm talking about today. (The remaining 4 featuring new and/or scratchbuilt components will feature in a future post.) 

 

Salvaging metal miniatures like this is relatively easy as common paint removers work OK, but the medium can be a mixed blessing. It's very easy to strip paint, but metal is obviously heavy, and surprisingly bendy in the small bits. These Kans in particular go together with the kind of ease you'd associate with tax returns or prolonged dental procedures. The bike-pedal-shaped connector for the guns and hatch handles are a right bastard for not staying put or bending, not to mention gaps and such. A not-insignificant amount was spent trying to get things to go together, and replacing/fixing those mounts. Yes, they don't make em like they used to. Because they learned from experience. That said, I did bring some difficulty on myself, as I'd forgotten how tricky these can be, and got overconfident with my hot glue gun.

Painting and basing also suffered some minor setbacks. I ran out of both my preferred undercoat and my usual texture paint ingredient, so I had to improvise. I'd also opted to try pound shop D.I.Y filler as a basing material, which had a few teething troubles. These bases look fine of course, but are a bit tacky to the touch due to the home-made paint mix. The actual kans themselves went more smoothly, although the white proved to be a learning experience due to the small area. Otherwise, painting was quick and easy. 

 

 

All in all? A fine outcome, with useful experience for what comes next. Kan upcycling.