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2015/01/12 12:14:40
Subject: Cleatus Paints Again! (now with 200% more ink)
Introduction: Oi! Hullo Dakka Dakka! After reading so many excellent project blogs here on Dakka, and at the urging of my friend, I decided to start up my own project blog. Fair warning: there's gonna be Orks. And scratch builds. If that bothers you, please move along. If you think that's awesome, keep reading.
I got started with Warhammer 40k when my college buddy introduced it to me in 2013. He was looking for someone to play with, and I said sure I'll give it a try. I didn't know anything about any of the armies, so I looked around online at some pictures, and I decided that it had to be Orks. Space Marines just didn't interest me, nor any of the other armies. So Orks it was! To start, I picked up some second-hand Ork Boyz and Gretchin off eBay. I've been adding to my forces piecemeal ever since. Somewhere along the line I decided that I wanted to add some toys to my collection. That's where things really started to get out of control. I built a Deff Dread out of plastic scrap from the recycling bin. Encouraged and emboldened, I made some Trukks, and artillery, and... well, you can see some pictures below.
I don't claim to be the greatest painter or scratch builder, but I'm having fun, and this little blog is meant to share whatever I happen to be working on at the moment. Enjoy!
Most recent finished model(s):
Highlights of what you will see here:
Spoiler:
This message was edited 85 times. Last update was at 2019/07/16 12:11:06
I started playing Warhammer 40K in 6th edition (I know, right?). I picked up two units of ten Ork Boyz, twenty Gretchin, and a "Warboss" on eBay. (The "Warboss" later turned out to be a metal Nob. I didn't know any better. ) Here's an image of what the Boyz looked like back then:
I played a couple of skirmishes with a friend, but it was obvious in a hurry that I could use a few more models to help beef up my forces. Soon I picked up the Ork half of the Assault on Black Reach set, and a unit of Lootas. That gave me several more options and made the games more interesting.
It was around this time that I began looking at ways to expand my army. I did a lot of research on Google and found that some people did something called "scratch building". I stumbled upon DakkaDakka and was amazed at some of the things that people created. And that's when it started to get really interesting...
Deff Dread: This is the first thing I ever scratch-built. He's a big'un! Made from plastic scrap I found around the house. I think he still has a certain charm. This project definitely helped to sell me on Orks. It was so much fun slapping bits together and creating a model that I could field which looked halfway passable. I'm tempted to revisit him and slap some rivets on the poor guy. I only fielded him twice, I think, and I have no plans to field him in 7th, so there's not a lot of motivation to go back and fix him up. I have plenty of other projects to keep me busy.
Trukks: These are some early Trukks I built when I first started 40k. They're made from dollar store tractor toys, and some scraps of plastic I had in the recycling bin. I acquired a hole punch and was playing around with rivets and rust effects and just had a great time making them. My skills have improved a tiny bit since then (I think). They won't win any awards; mostly I was shooting for "thematically correct", for casual games. If you are interested, here are some WIP shots of the Trukks:
Spoiler:
I started with some dollar store toys.
Then mocked up a template from cardstock.
This was the first one I built.
I added some rust effects later.
Big Mek with KFF Here is a Big Mek with a Kustom Force Field that I built in my early days of 40K. First attempt with GS too. Sadly unfinished. I might go back and touch him up at some point. I used him a lot in 6th ed, but since the KFF has changed in 7th ed I'm not sure how much I will use him now.
So those were some of my early scratch-builds!
My P&M skills have improved a little since then.
Here are two sample AOBR Slugga Boyz I converted to be Shoota Boyz.
Converted Shoota Boyz (Group Shot)
Some Ork Boyz with Big Shootas. Model on the right is an early attempt. The two on the left were done more recently.
Here's s shot of my Ork army towards the end of 2013:
Oops, I forgot to include the Deff Dread.
There, that's better. Seems legit.
This message was edited 12 times. Last update was at 2016/03/06 02:03:13
Ork Boy conversion. Fluff: after this poor Ork Boy had his legs and lower torso ripped off, he was hauled into the Dok's surgery tent. A crazed Painboy patched him up with a pair of arms from a "donor", and sent him back out on to the battlefield. I affectionately refer to them as "Ground Pounders".
More pics:
Spoiler:
Ground Pounder # 2:
More pics:
Spoiler:
I think they're hilarious. I hope you enjoy them too. Thanks!
This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at 2015/03/11 23:44:18
Supply Drop!
Kinda looks like a Warhol painting, doesn't it? My plan is to making a a biker boss or two, and a MAWB. Not sure on the others. So many possibilities.
Slightly related topic:
I've been in the market for a paint stripping agent for a while now to clean up second-hand minis. After doing some research I decided to give LATA a try. There's a nice writeup here with lots of pics. Based on what I read it seemed like the right product for me. And the price was right -- I got it at the dollar store!
First test:
I let these guys soak for 48hrs, then gave them a scrub with an old tooth brush. Worked great! Still a tiny bit of paint the deep crevices. Also, I think that's GS between the fingers of the model on the right. Weird.
Oops, I forgot to take a "before" photo for the first test. So, here we go, second test:
Before:
Yes, that's enamel black paint! After:
I pulled his arm off to scrub underneath. Just seemed easier that way.
Summary: LATA removed nearly 100% of the paint without damaging the plastic. Success!
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2015/03/11 23:44:41
Ground Pounders: I wasn't completely satisfied with the previous shots of my Ground Pounder Ladz, and I realized that the poor Lad was entirely too glossy. So I gave him a shot of Testors Dullcoate and took a few more pics.
Much better!
More pics:
This message was edited 8 times. Last update was at 2015/11/02 12:17:01
New scratch build:
Ork Monowheel Warbikers! These were created from yogurt lids, card stock, sprue, and various bits of stuff from my bits-of-stuff box.
You might notice that they Boyz sit a little bit low in the bikes. (I jokingly refer to them as war kayaks. ) That was actually an intentional design decision. The idea was to create a warbike body that I could insert a standard Ork Boy into. This allows me to re-purpose some of the footslogging models I have. I think they are pretty good for a proof of concept. I plan on tweaking the design when I get ready to make more.
More pics:
This message was edited 4 times. Last update was at 2015/11/02 12:17:23
you´ve collected here some amazing and crazy stuff!...
the ground punders is something so weird...yet you made them look cool and convincing nevertheless...
your mega noob conversion... i like the power fist conversion done there, where did you get the actual fist from?...and the handles on the arm are really cool additions...
also...you earned deep respect for the warbikes... first...complete scratch builds, second...adding actual noobs makes you save up on expenses for not having to buy bikers... that´s brilliant... and i was always a fan of monowheels!
you´ve collected here some amazing and crazy stuff!...
the ground punders is something so weird...yet you made them look cool and convincing nevertheless...
your mega noob conversion... i like the power fist conversion done there, where did you get the actual fist from?...and the handles on the arm are really cool additions...
also...you earned deep respect for the warbikes... first...complete scratch builds, second...adding actual noobs makes you save up on expenses for not having to buy bikers... that´s brilliant... and i was always a fan of monowheels!
Ork Factory: So, I was sorting recyclables, and I said hey that's a neat shape. And this on top of this would look cool... oh, and if add some tube... Oops, I built an Ork Factory.
A lot of playing around with rust and plasma effects. I could post some WIP shots if people are interested.
What could the Orks make here? Shootas? Warbikes? Pants? (Only Orks would put a plasma generator on the roof a factory just to make pants. )
It was a fun build. I hope you like it!
This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at 2015/11/02 12:18:09
did you know that the league of extra ordinary riveteers is holding their ongoing terrain building competition?
depending on your WIP pics and how you treated the bitz you used you could even enter this one...
Wow, thanks for the praise guys! And thanks for the tip on that contest. Looks like I might still have time to enter. I need 6 or more photos of the completed model, so I guess I need to take some more.
The body of the piece is a Kleenex/facial tissue box, and the smoke stacks are paper towel tubes. The plasma generator on top is the plastic packaging from a CFL. Other details were made from drinking straws, corrugated paper, and cardboard from cereal boxes. The rivets are cardboard, created with a hole punch. Here are the WIP photos for those who are interested:
Hullo DakkaDakka! Been a while since I've posted here. Work has been crazy, and I haven't been gaming much lately either. As a result, not as much motivation to paint. However, I did manage to find some time to do a little scratch building. Take a look:
Ork Pumping Station:
An Ork Pumping Station, courtesy of the recycling bin.
More pics:
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2015/11/02 12:18:39
insaniak wrote: The monowheels need some teeth spaced around the wheels, for a little traction.
Clever idea slotting regular boys in there, though.
Yes, for monowheels 2.0, I think I will add some more spikes/teeth, improve the body design, and add more dakka of course. I started one for my Painboy but haven't finished it yet. Thanks for the feedback!
I found some time to work on some more Gretchin. First, a short story: a while back, I won an eBay auction for some plastic Gretchin, and some other bitz. They were practically a steal. After I received them in the mail, I put them in my bitz container and resumed working on other projects. Fast forward to today, and decided to start working on a squad of Grots because they are quick and easy and that's what I have time to work on right now. That's when I realized that I had actually purchased Gretchin bodies (torsos), not whole models. Whoops! The thing is, several of the models come as a single piece, complete with head. The others are 2+ bits (torso+weapon, and head separate). Anyway, my dilemma was what to do with these Gretchin torsos (other than buy more heads)? I was discussing this with my friend, and he mentioned he had a bunch of Easterling Warrior heads just sitting around. Now there's an idea... One problem though: the helmets are just a little too small. My solution was to sculpt the back of the head, ears and jaw out of GS to give the impression of a Grot hiding behind that helmet. I'm pretty satisfied with the results. Take a look.
1st attempt:
2nd attempt:
With stock painted Gretchin for comparison:
Working my way towards completing this unit of Gretchin. I'll post more photos when I get a few more done.
) Here's an image of what the Boyz looked like back then:
- 670 pts || 
- 354 pts || 
- 46 pts || 
- 106 pts || LoTR - 400 pts (Evil) vs 0 pts (Good) || Space Hulk - 1/35 || Deathwatch Overkill - 0/50
The Black Hand
