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!
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.
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!
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!
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!
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.
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. )
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.
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.
People have said that ork scratch builders only do it because you can literally take an old shoe and turn it into a wartrukk.
I want to see it done.
Never heard of that before, but then I haven't been in the hobby for very long. I do enjoy scratch building because it's fun; you can get really creative. Also Orks are the best army. So there's that.
I'd suggest trying to find an old leather shoe or boot, instead. Pull the rubber sole off, replace with a nice boxy bottom/frame (remove the laces, of course) and I think you could have a pretty decent start.
Newer shoes have the plastic, of course, but they're so spongey and foamy I think you'd have trouble with the cutting and attaching. And of course cloth or canvas shoes don't have enough structural integrity.
Cleatus wrote: Never heard of that before, but then I haven't been in the hobby for very long. I do enjoy scratch building because it's fun; you can get really creative. Also Orks are the best army. So there's that.
Anyway, uh, shoe... shoe...
Something like this?
Yeah, I'm pretty certain it's just whiny buggers complaining. I think I might've heard it on Whineseer itself, actually.
And you've got the right idea.
Just think, you can get two trukks done with a pair of old shoes!
Haha, that makes more sense now. Maybe one day I will scratch build an Ork Battlewagon in the shape of a boot, with Orks and Grots hanging out all over the place, ala "There was an old woman who lived in a shoe."
cfrag wrote: Man, I really like the look on that terrain! It seems such a simple idea, but it turned out amazing!
Thank you! Roughing them up gave them some texture which I like. Then it was just spray primer, black basecoat, black wash (to fill in the recesses), and a quick drybrush. I'm planning on doing another half dozen of these things. Not bad for almost free, right?
I was looking over my project list yesterday. I have a huge backlog. Like many others here, I'm struggling with staying on one project for very long before jumping to the next thing. The fact that I like scratch building makes it worse -- I don't just have a pile of unpainted plastic, but I have ideas for making new things that don't even exist yet! For instance, I've got some ideas for a custom Battlewagon, and some Buggies, and then there's the Stormboyz I want to convert, and...
So for right now, I'm trying to focus on getting this squad of Gretchin built, and then painted. I am not going to start painting anything else until they are done. Probably.
That is exactly how I feel most of the time (and our to-do lists are almost the same). Keep working, keep posting, use the community and we'll get each other through it. WAAAGH!!!
That is exactly how I feel most of the time (and our to-do lists are almost the same). Keep working, keep posting, use the community and we'll get each other through it. WAAAGH!!!
Mars! Your stuff is awesome. Thanks for your encouragement.
Over the last week I found some time to work on the rest of the unit. See what you think:
I really like how this second batch came out. Lots of character here.
Group shot:
"Action" shot:
I'm glad to be done assembling these guys. I have been itching to paint them. Now we're ready to prime!
The wee ladz are primed, and I started painting the first two. Results so far:
Easterling helmet Grot # 1:
Easterling helmet Grot # 2:
I wanted to convey the sense that these Gretchin had looted the Easterling helmets and hastily painted them blue, so I added some gold highlights to the edges. I'm on the fence with the results; I can't decide if I like it, or if the effect is too much. I don't want to spend a ton more time on these guys. Once I have all of them painted I'm going to base them, in case you were wondering.
Well anyway, here's the rest of the lot, all primed and ready to go:
Oh yeah, and while I was at my painting station waiting for paint to dry on the Grots, I started working on a Burna Boy. Skin is done so far, and that's one of the more important things with Orks. Take a look:
And here's a shot of them cleaned up, ready for detail work:
I'm hoping to have these finished up this week. Slow progress, but hey that's life.
Side project update:
A few months ago I won acquired a lot of 2nd ed Ork Boyz and Gretchin. Fantastic deal. Some of them came painted, some were bare plastic. I recently dug them out and tossed them into a LATA bath. I let them soak for several days (ok, I forgot about them under the sink), and then pulled them out and gave each one a quick scrub with an old toothbrush.
Before:
After:
As you can see, 95% of the paint is gone. I've read that using a stiffer bristle tooth brush can help get the paint out of those recesses. I might spend a few minutes picking out the remaining paint, but I'm not going to sweat it. Not sure when I'll get to these guys, but at least now they are ready to prime.
I finished painting the Gretchin this week. See what you think:
Not a great photo, but you get the idea. All that's left is basing and clear coat. I have a few more Easterling helmets, so I might make some more of these guys. Maybe bump up to a solid unit of 10, and shift the regular Grots over to their own unit. Eventually, not now. Don't get me wrong, I like them, but I have a lot of other projects I want to tackle, and I've already spent far too long on them. After all, they're only 3ppm troops.
In other news, I was inspired by Matthew's post on How to build a painting station out of cardboard, and decided to build my own.
Does this count as a scratch build? Or just screwing around with cardboard and glue? Probably the latter, since I wasn't making a model. I decided that I didn't like the look of bare cardboard, so I used some blue painter's tape and a few sheets of printer paper to give it a clean look. I used it several times this weekend while watching movies on the sofa. It's a modest attempt, but it gets the job done and the price was right.
They are done!
Gretchin with Looted Easterling Warrior Helmets: Based and everything. Phew!
Here's a shot of the little guys mix in with some regular Grots with the same paint scheme and basing:
I finished a unit. Finished. And I started very few other side projects along the way. Haha...
They do need a Runtherd, but I'll proxy one in for now. Assuming I get to play anytime soon.
I have a list a mile long of projects I'd like to do next, but I think I'm going to focus on cleaning up my existing models. A lot of my minis were acquired second hand, many of them with decent paint jobs, but they lack cohesion. I think if I based them all in a similar fashion that would tie the army together nicely. I want to drill out the barrels of some of the older models too. Maybe do some work on making my Trukks look a little better, and add some proper drivers and gunners. Oh, and artillery. I need Mek Gunz. And more bikers. And a Bikerboss. And a Painboy on a Bike. And buggies. And maybe a couple Gorka/Morkanauts. And a Stompa.
Ok, I've come up with my "sprint list" of projects I want to tackle next. You could call these micro-projects I guess.
I'm starting with some of the Ork Boyz I picked up when I first started the the hobby. Because they came from a variety of sellers, none of the paint matches, and most of them aren't based. So to start with, I plan to:
- Drill out barrels of 3 units of Ork Slugga Boyz (approx 33 models).
- Base 3 units of Ork Slugga Boyz.
- Update the paint on one unit of Ork Slugga Boyz to make them look like Goffs.
- Update the paint on one unit of Ork Slugga Boyz with a different color scheme (Evil Sunz?).
Red Harvest wrote: Oh my, Orcs and Goblins from the 2nd ed box. I haven't seen those in that sort of quantity in 15+ years. Takes me back. In a good way.
If you build something from raw materials, it is scratch-building. Nice work on the painting station.
Love your work, especially the monowheel bikers. If I were to offer random suggestions, I'd recommend tilting one of the monowheels over a bit to one side to make it look more dynamic and more use of inks.
Goff Slugga Boyz: Work on the Goff Slugga Boyz is complete.
Results:
Based, check. Barrels drilled out, check. Paint scheme updated, check. The paint job is fairly basic, but it's consistent and really ties the unit together. A big improvement over their previous colors.
Just for the sake of reference, they used to look like this:
Spoiler:
I'm pretty satisfied with the results. I could have done more detail work, but they look good enough for the table top, so it's time to move on.
I did base a second squad of slugga boyz, and drilled out the barrels, but I did not update their paint.
Good enough. Moving on!
I got started on the 3rd unit of Slugga Boyz. They are based, and have the barrels drilled out, but I still need to finish up their paint.
Other projects:
I've gone through several iterations of scratch-building Mek Gunz (Big Gunz, etc.). This past week I took another swing at it. I even drew up plans and everything. Here are my recently revised sketches for some Ork Kannons:
Spoiler:
Here are my prototypes:
100% scratch built out of a ball point pen barrel and cap, milk jug lids, cardboard, and a tooth pick for the "sight" on top. I used a hole punch for the rivets. I glued them down to 60mm bases for stability, though with those tails i'm sure they would balance just fine.
Eventually I want to scratch build some KMK's and other Mek Gunz. I'll finish these first, as well as the Slugga Boyz, then see where I stand.
Looks good! I really like the darker green on your boys rather than the standard bright greens you see out there. Loving those cannons too! Do you think you'll add any glypgs / spikes to the front of them?
Novasetri wrote: Looks good! I really like the darker green on your boys rather than the standard bright greens you see out there. Loving those cannons too! Do you think you'll add any glypgs / spikes to the front of them?
Thanks Novasetri ! Yes, I think I will add some glyphs. The official Kannon models have just the dakka glyph I think. I could freehand the glyphs for dakka and mek, but I have several sheets of water transfers so I'll probably go that route.
Experimented with creating wood planks for the LoER Terrain Contest:
Oh, and I decided to make some of the old 2nd ed Ork Boyz into Rokkit Boyz. Here's my starting point:
I trimmed off the sight on the slugga and the attachment point on the rokkit (which is from an Ork flyer). Then I fashioned a little box to slip over his slugga:
But it was missing something. Rivets, obviously. So, I added rivets!
Looks sufficiently Orky. Rivets make everything look better.
I was on vacation for a week, so I just recently got back to work on some of my projects.
Ork Kannons: Made some good progress on the Ork big gunz/mek gunz/kannons. I decided on a red, black, and metallic color scheme.
They kind of almost look like they were looted from the Sisters of Battle, don't they? The red is too bright in my opinion. I'm going to give it a dark wash, add some more weathering, then paint the rivets, and apply decals. Then base and seal. Phew!
Terrain: I knocked out a few quick pieces of terrain for my gaming table at home. Five more wall pieces, and one stack of industrial pipes.
I really like how the pipes turned out, and I'm going to make another one of those. The next one will be based on card, not foamcore board.
LoER Terrain Contest: I think I settled on a technique I like to create the look of weathered wood:
Now, do it a million times!
I've finished the kannons, just need to post some pics. Work has kept me busy. That, and I've actually been playing a fair amount of 40k too, so P&M time has shifted a little towards game. It's a wonderful problem. This guy is an enthusiastic new player, and I've been helping him learn the game. He's decided he likes Necrons, so that's going to be a shift for me. Previously I faced MEQ's primarily. We had one game last week, and I certainly see what people are talking about now. 7th ed Necrons are tough! So I'm planning on cranking out some MANz, and more Mek Gunz. We'll see how it goes.
As promised, here are pics of the completed Kannons:
Kannons:
I'm happy with how they came out. It was a fun build, I learned some things along the way, and the end result is something I'm proud to put on the tabletop. I'd like to try some KMK's next. Soon. Not right away though.
But Cleatus, what are you working on now? Glad you asked.
MANZ: I'm working on some Mega Nobz! This is my current WIP shot. He needs a Shoota, PK, and tons of rivets before he looks ded 'ard like a proper Mega Nob.
You might notice it looks similar to some other MANz here on Dakka -- that's because I shamelessly "borrowed" from some designs here, namely Luciusletroll. His tutorial on making Mega Nobz is fantastic. I hope mine come out looking that good.
I really need to get cracking on my LoER terrain comp entry too. Back to the workbench!
Having to give. Up painting time to play is a good problem to have if you ask me. Those Crons are tough to shift aren't they? Was he using the detachment that gives 4+ reanimation?
Having to give. Up painting time to play is a good problem to have if you ask me. Those Crons are tough to shift aren't they? Was he using the detachment that gives 4+ reanimation?
EDC
Thanks! Yes, Decurion detachment, and a Destroyer Cult. Nasty stuff.
mars2024 wrote:Nice work! Lucius has inspired a lot of us.
Lobbas look great too, btw. Can't wait to see your WAAAGH!! all together.
Thanks, Mars! Yes good idea, I should take an army group shot. My army has grown quite a bit in the last year. But, how to display them? Hrm, I'll figure something out.
I did some more work on the MANz last night. Made a pretty decent looking Power Klaw, and started on the TL shoota. He's coming together nicely. Pics soon.
Oh crap, my FLGS is holding a Black Friday sale. Looks like they're going to clearance out a lot of Fantasy stuff, and 40k stuff is on sale. My poor wallet!
Edit:
Supply Drop: Well, it was much worse better than I thought! Check out all this stuff I got on clearance. Two boxes of Savage Orc Boyz, a box of Savage Orc Boar Boyz, a box of Night Goblins, a box of Warriors of Minas Tirith, and a box of Knights of Minas Tirith. $10 each! My FLSG had ALL Warhammer Fantasy boxes on clearance. The remaining LOTR boxes too, including The Hobbit products. Looks like they're moving everything out that doesn't sell well. Malifaux, Infinity, and Kings of War have taken their place on the shelves. Kind of sad. But, some great deals for me! I honestly could have bought everything they had left, but sadly I need to be mindful of silly things like eating, and paying my bills.
I've had my eye on some Savage Orks for a while, with the hope of converting a few of them into Weirdboyz. Now I have... too many. I'm sure I'll figure out what to do with them. I also picked up a copy of Waaagh! Ghazghkull. Finally. I am hoping to make use of the Bully Boyz formation, and some of the other tricks in this book to deal with my new Necron adversary.
Rokkit Boyz: In other news, I built 3 more Rokkit Boyz from the 2nd ed models.
These minis are destined to be mounted in my Trukks as Rokkit Boyz. Nothing like some Str 8 AP3 on a 30pt Fast transport. You might notice that a few of them have missing arms. Such is the fate of second-hand minis. I decided to go with it. Consider it battle damage. How do the Orks reload? Who knows. Maybe they use their feet.
LoER Terrain Contest: Some progress:
It doesn't look like much yet, but that's the front of the house. Sure takes a while to glue all those little planks in place.
MANZ: I made a little progress on the MANZ. Made a custom scratch built Power Klaw.
After I mounted it on the model though, I realized it looks a little... too big.
Honestly, I think I'll leave it. It's so big, so comically huge, that it almost works because, hey they're Orks. If ever there was a model that could pull off such a huge and ridiculous weapon, MANZ could do it. Very gorilla like. Maybe he walks on his PK and Shoota, or plants his PK and kicks the enemy. I think I will add some supports, pistons, etc. His other arm will have a TL shoota, or Kombi-Skorcha. And it should be equally huge and ridiculous, I think.
Hooray for long weekends. Another progress update!
Rokkit Boyz: Made some good progress on the Rokkit Boyz for the Trukks. They just need a little more detail work.
LoER Terrain Contest: I am happy to say I finished the build stage of the front and rear of the house for my entry in the LoER Terrain Contest.
Still doesn't look like much, but I think I'm really capturing that "ramshackle" look. Once the model is assembled, primed, and painted, then it will look pretty good I think.
Rokkit Boyz: The Rokkit Boyz are done.
No, I'm not going to base them. They will be mounted in the passenger side of my Trukks, hence they don't need bases. They were only (lightly) glued to these bases just to give them something to stand on while I painted them.
I do like the way the horns turned out. I'll have to make a note of that for the future.
The last photo really shows off their severed (cauterized?) arms. Gives them a little character.
Phew, I'm glad they're done. Now I can get back to other projects. MANZ, terrain, etc.
MANZ update: I made some good progress on my scratch built Meganob. Lots of little details like rivets, spikey shoulderpad bitz, and... a six pack? Can Orks have abs on their armor? I say yes. If Space Marines can have abs (and even nipples for some reason ), then I'm sure somewhere a Mek decided to weld some leftover scrap onto this MANZ' armor. He probably thought it would make him stronger. You will notice that the oversized powerklaw now has a support arm (armature? exoskeleton?), complete with looted shoulder pad. That took me a while to get the angles right, but I'm pleased with the result. He needs a few more details before I'll mark him complete. An iron gob for his face, some sort of power source on his back, maybe some wires, and greenstuff to fill in the gaps.
More pics:
One of my friends suggested that he's big enough, I could use him as a counts-as MA Warboss. Yes, he's big, but not quite big enough. Here's a size comparison:
From left to right, that's a Boy, Nob, MA Nob, MA Nob WIP, and Warboss. The Warboss is clearly bigger than the MANZ. You might notice that I wedged some sprue underneath the Warboss's base. That's because the WIP Meganob actually has platform shoes (the plasticard hides the sprue), thus the sprue under the Warboss was necessary for a true size comparison. I have some unpainted AOBR Warbosses, so I imagine that once I put some mega armor on, the MA Warboss would tower over the other MANZ. Fun!
My entry is an abandoned farm house, fallen into disrepair. This entry was created with recycled card stock (from cereal boxes), recycled index cards, PVA glue, and acrylic paint. The roof shingles were textured with baking soda. Each "plank" was placed and glued individually, in order to create the impression of weathered wood that had been left exposed for many years and warped by the elements. I left spaces in between some of the planks to further emphasize the general state of disrepair of the house, and cut others to inconsistent lengths to show how rotten boards had been replaced over time by the family that used to live in the house.
Fluff:
"I was driving down this back country road one afternoon when I spied a structure in the distance. It was an old, abandoned farmhouse. As I drew closer, I could see that it had not been lived in for many years. Indeed, it looked to have been abandoned decades ago, perhaps during the great Dust Bowl in the 1930's. The structure was in terrible disrepair; all paint had been stripped from the warped wooden planks, the roof was collapsing, and every window was dark. There was no door on the front entrance, which was both surprising and unnerving; had it been ripped off by vandals, or a tornado? As I drove past the sad structure, my heart felt sorrow for the land, abandoned by the family that used to live here. Had their crops failed? Had the bank foreclosed? Had some other tragedy occurred here, and the family, in their sorrow, moved away? Only the house knew, but it stood alone in the field, a mute testimony to what once was."
Here's a little something extra, for those of you who happen to browse my little P&M blog:
An Ork Burna Boy chases a Space Marine ("Handy Andy") around an abandoned building...
The Space Marine ("Handy Andy") evades an Ork Burna Boy outside of an abandoned building. Will the Marine get away?
The Ork Burna Boy catches a Space Marine ("Handy Andy") off guard outside of around an abandoned building. He's toast!
Camkierhi wrote: That looks brilliant Cleatus, absolutely brilliant. Paint work on the wood is outstanding, roof looks fantastic too.
Great piece, good luck in the comp, you definitely deserve to do well.
Thanks Cam! Personally, I would have liked more time... but then, I didn't work on it every day of the comp, so that's my fault. Oh well. I'm pretty satisfied with how it turned out.
Shoota Boyz: I've been working on my technique, trying to push myself a little. Here are some Shoota Boyz I painted recently. They were converted from AOBR Slugga Boyz.
I spent some amount of time on these guys; probably too much, since they are just basic troops. I think they turned out pretty good. Still room for improvement, but I better than tabletop standard IMO.
So many other projects calling my name. I need to get back to my meganob, and then make another.
If I have time, I will post an army photo for those who are interested.
Cleatus wrote: Shoota Boyz: I've been working on my technique, trying to push myself a little. Here are some Shoota Boyz I painted recently. They were converted from AOBR Slugga Boyz.
I spent some amount of time on these guys; probably too much, since they are just basic troops. I think they turned out pretty good. Still room for improvement, but I better than tabletop standard IMO.
So many other projects calling my name. I need to get back to my meganob, and then make another.
If I have time, I will post an army photo for those who are interested.
Back to work!
Looking brilliant mate, not sure what your usual standard is but these are great.
Totally personal taste critique...
The trousers are a bit bright, they look like blue latex/pvc, maybe they are kinky orks!
And a little more time on the weapons, maybe a wash or two.
Your skin tone is excellent, and fantastic detail work making these two small details stick out a bit is all. The red is perfect the fur and teeth are brilliant, all good bud, and the points I am pointing out are well done, just a bit off is all.
Great to see you pushing yourself, and I for one definitely would like to see an army shot.
Looking brilliant mate, not sure what your usual standard is but these are great.
Totally personal taste critique...
The trousers are a bit bright, they look like blue latex/pvc, maybe they are kinky orks!
And a little more time on the weapons, maybe a wash or two.
Your skin tone is excellent, and fantastic detail work making these two small details stick out a bit is all. The red is perfect the fur and teeth are brilliant, all good bud, and the points I am pointing out are well done, just a bit off is all.
Great to see you pushing yourself, and I for one definitely would like to see an army shot.
There's a little too much shine on the pants, I think they need another shot of Testors Dullcote. Good tip on the guns, I'll work on that. Thanks for the feedback!
2015 Ork Army Photos Yeah yeah, I know, it's 2016. Whatever. I finally got around to taking some pics of my Ork Army. Unfortunately my camera isn't very good (only 5MP), so it was tough to get very good resolution images of the whole army. To make up for this, I took several close-up pics as well. Check out the photos of my Ork Army as of the end of 2015 below. Roughly 1850pts as modeled (~ 90% painted).
(I was playing around with merging photos into a panorama here. Need more practice. )
Closeup pics:
Now if only i could finish off that Meganob, and paint that one Trukk (the only "official" model, hah!), oh yes and finish that Warboss on his Warbike.
Speaking of which...
Ork Warboss on Warbike WIP This guy has been on my workbench for several months. I started a project to put a Warboss on a bike earlier this year, but got distracted and didn't finish it. As you can see, he's motoring around on a looted Space Marine bike. Still needs more plates, rivets, spikes, and generally needs to be more Orky before I'll even consider painting this guy. It's on my to-do list!
There you have it, that was 2015! I have a huge backlog of models to paint, so here's hoping that 2016 will be even more productive. WAAAGH!
You have a fantastic aesthetic going on, looks awesome all lined up.
Love the warboss, that thing looks like a monkey bike under him, really suits him. Looks much more appropriate for him than a silly Space Marine anyways.
Camkierhi wrote: You have a fantastic aesthetic going on, looks awesome all lined up.
Love the warboss, that thing looks like a monkey bike under him, really suits him. Looks much more appropriate for him than a silly Space Marine anyways.
Thank you Cam! Pretty sure I have another 1000 points un-assembled. If I do get around to building and painting it all, I think would need a better camera to take some decent pictures!
Thanks for the feedback on the Warboss on bike too. I think he's pretty cool, but needs more work to be properly Orky.
Nice Job man! Not only does the army look great, but it's always impressive when someone can maintain a constant standard with so many ork boys to paint.
What was your favorite model to work on thus far? Any hobby goals for 2016?
Novasetri wrote: Nice Job man! Not only does the army look great, but it's always impressive when someone can maintain a constant standard with so many ork boys to paint.
What was your favorite model to work on thus far? Any hobby goals for 2016?
Favorite model so far? Probably the MANZ. He's still WIP, but the build is approaching completion. He's been a lot of fun to build.
In a close second, I have to say the first Ork Boy Ground Pounder I did. He's just so silly, I grin every time I get to put him on the table. The monowheels were a lot of fun too, and the Deff Dread is special to me since he was the first thing I ever scratch built. The kannons, trukks, etc. were all enjoyable to build in their own way. I think I enjoy scratch building over just assembling. Sure, assembling minis is A LOT faster when you're trying to get something on the tabletop, but there is something to be said for creating something from nothing.
Hobby goals for 2016:
Paint that Trukk.
Paint the MANZ.
Paint the Warboss on bike.
Paint the Killa Kanz.
That will finish off everything I have assembled. Beyond that, I would like to build and paint more monowheel bikes, MANZ, Trukks (or BW's), Weirdboyz, etc. etc. etc. I could go on and on, but I don't want to get ahead of myself.
Progress on goals for 2016? None.
Progress on some random scratch-builds I started? Some!
Why finish a project, when you can start several more?
The Mekboy's thought process went something like this since January 1st:
"Hey that Trukk template looks fun. Should I be building another Trukk right now? Sure, I could use another Trukk."
"Warbuggies? Those could be cool."
"How about a Skorcha buggy? That sounds fun!"
"What about a Wartrakk? Absolutely."
There's also some terrain I started in 2015 that's still unfinished, a WIP Gorkanaut prototype, and some Lobbas I started but didn't quite finish. I never posted pics of these; my philosophy is that if I'm going to take a picture of something, it should be something worth looking at, if you understand me.
Hi there just found your project blog and I love it!!! I don't think It matters how good you are at painting or scratchbuilding Orks are all about fun, and that's what yours scream out to me FUUUNNNN!! lol. Some great conversion ideas too. Love the monowheel bikes and the boyz with 'donor' limbs are brilliant. I especially love how you made the bandages look.
Elblondino wrote: Hi there just found your project blog and I love it!!! I don't think It matters how good you are at painting or scratchbuilding Orks are all about fun, and that's what yours scream out to me FUUUNNNN!! lol. Some great conversion ideas too. Love the monowheel bikes and the boyz with 'donor' limbs are brilliant. I especially love how you made the bandages look.
Kommandos with Space Marine Costumes: The idea here is that the Ork Boy Kommando is wearing a Space Marine costume. Not a mockup of what he would look like inside Marine armour -- literally, he has painted up some metal scraps to look like SM armor, and has strapped them to himself so he can sneak up on the enemy. (Similar to the costumes featured here: http://www.boxheroes.com/) Bear in mind these are just mock-ups, artist's conception, etc. Not a finished product, just something I quickly printed out, cut apart, and tacked on because I thought it was a fun idea. If I were to go forward with this idea, I would add some straps or something to hold the costume armor plates on to the Ork Boy's limbs, chest and head. Or somehow make it look like duct tape. Also I would probably go with side-facing shoulder pads, and of course give him a SM backpack to complete the look. I almost wonder if I shouldn't trim the armour so close... just leave it on rectangles, so it's very obvious that the Ork is wearing a (poor) costume?
Genius, or stupid?
Here's the Ork Boy without the costume, if you are interested:
Spoiler:
Another way to go: a SM mask on a stick. Or a complete SM cutout, front and back, worn like a sandwich board. Hahaha...
EDIT:
I think the sandwich board idea (or poster or whatever) might be more fun. Similar to this, top left:
Oldie but a goodie.
Hey hey hey hey, I have a game coming up. Time to ramp up my P&M efforts. I really want to finish that Meganob, and at least get a good start on another. I've been proxying in a Rhino as a Trukk, so I'd like to get a replacement for that too. Alternatively, I could leave a unit of Boyz in my DZ. Oh, and there's that Skorcha Buggy I was hoping to field. Oh what a day, what a lovely day!
Maybe each Kommando can have his own interpretation of how to best disguise as a space marine?
Maybe the Nob can just be holding the body of a dead space marine in front of him by the neck? Or if it is a really big nob he could have a space marine marionette on puppet strings!
Automatically Appended Next Post: Forgot to ask a question; on your bottlelobbas you have made some really nice wheels!
For the rims of the wheel you have cut out lots of little circles, how do you cut your circles out so cleanly?!
nareik wrote: Maybe each Kommando can have his own interpretation of how to best disguise as a space marine?
Maybe the Nob can just be holding the body of a dead space marine in front of him by the neck? Or if it is a really big nob he could have a space marine marionette on puppet strings!
Automatically Appended Next Post: Forgot to ask a question; on your bottlelobbas you have made some really nice wheels!
For the rims of the wheel you have cut out lots of little circles, how do you cut your circles out so cleanly?!
Hehe, I like your ideas.
Re: wheels. I use a hole punch, or more accurately a 3-hole punch. To keep them evenly spaced, I divided the circle into eight equal pieces (like a pie), then aligned each "slice" with the guide on the 3-hole punch. Rotate 8 times, and you're done!
Cleatus wrote: wheels. I use a hole punch, or more accurately a 3-hole punch. To keep them evenly spaced, I divided the circle into eight equal pieces (like a pie), then aligned each "slice" with the guide on the 3-hole punch. Rotate 8 times, and you're done!
sunnyday wrote: Wow some very creative ideas here. Love the easterling grots, manz, scenery and crazy amputees (great way to use spare torsos btw)
Thanks sunnyday!
In Other News:
Had a game last night, Orks vs Necrons. Only got to play to through the bottom of turn 2 due to RL time constraints. But hey, I got to roll some dice and push some models around the table. Waaagh da Orks!
Also, happy P&M blog-o-versary to me. 1 year, and counting!
I've been trying to get out more and play. Last year I only managed I think a dozen games in 12 months. Kind of makes it hard to justify spending this much time and money on the models when I barely get to play.
On a related note: how do people squeeze in a whole game in 2-2.5 hours? My typical games last 4-5 hours. Between setting up terrain, moving models, looking up rules, and assaulting -- it just takes a long time to play out. My most recent game, we agreed to play 1250 points and a two hour time limit, including setting up terrain, rolling for warlord traits, setting up models, movement/shooting/assault (no psychic phase), tearing down the game board again, and packing up. Any disagreements over the rules, we rolled a d6. We only made it to the bottom of turn 2.
Maybe if I didn't bring so many models it would go faster? *shrug*
Oooooo, I just noticed the repositioning of the kommando's knifey knife hand. That's super cool. Also, happy 1 year blogaversary. I didn't know what to get you so I posted a comment.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Cleatus wrote: On a related note: how do people squeeze in a whole game in 2-2.5 hours? My typical games last 4-5 hours. Between setting up terrain, moving models, looking up rules, and assaulting -- it just takes a long time to play out. My most recent game, we agreed to play 1250 points and a two hour time limit, including setting up terrain, rolling for warlord traits, setting up models, movement/shooting/assault (no psychic phase), tearing down the game board again, and packing up. Any disagreements over the rules, we rolled a d6. We only made it to the bottom of turn 2.
Maybe if I didn't bring so many models it would go faster? *shrug*
It's model count. I play orks, too. None of my games last less than 4 or 5 hours unless I'm playing with 1,000 points or less. The only games that last less time are ones where both players know the rules inside and out (or have at least determined that they both interpret the rules the same way), are filming and have the benefit of being able to edit out all the nongame nonsense that also happens, or they are both playing some version of space marines so they don't have to think about their tactics because their models invariably hit what they shoot at and survive whatever is thrown at them.
Kommandos WIP: I built some more Kommandos out of Boyz bitz and Burna Boyz bitz I had laying around.
I'm planning on giving them a good amount of camouflage (pants, shirts, face masks, etc.) so that they stand out from normal Boyz. Still feels like they need something, especially that one holding the stikkbomb with the hole in his back. I'll see if I can scrounge up a backpack. The official Kommandos have lots of extra bullets, grenades, and even coils of rope. Maybe thread would be the right scale for a coil of rope?
Instead of thread, I'd try some thin-gauge wire. It'll be less annoying to work with. Try some of that florist wire maybe?
Oh, and throw on any pouches or backpacks you can find. I imagine one of the boys with three backpacks on his back... cause, "Mor is Betta"
Anpu-adom wrote: Instead of thread, I'd try some thin-gauge wire. It'll be less annoying to work with. Try some of that florist wire maybe?
Oh, and throw on any pouches or backpacks you can find. I imagine one of the boys with three backpacks on his back... cause, "Mor is Betta"
Good idea! Yes, that wouldn't move as much and would be easier to glue down as well. Yeah, the ladz need some more gubbins to make them good and proppa orky.
Actually, I'm running low on bitz. These five guys pretty much cleared out my supply of pouches. But that's OK, I need to return to my MANZ anyway. Also, the Lobbas are nearly done. I think you guys are going to like them...
Sneak preview...
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Are you ready?
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Young children might want to look away.
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Also, if you have epilepsy, don't stare for too long.
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I'm just -- I want to make sure you are prepared for this.
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If you're drinking coffee/tea, please set down the cup.
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I will not be held liable for you spitting on the screen.
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That's just gross.
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OK, here we go.
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Let's turn it up to 11.
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Maybe a little too much lens flare. And lazers. Or not enough?
Phew!
I'm mostly satisfied. If I had planned a little more, I would have thought about where to put the seam when I wrapped the barrels (aka, hiding it behind one of the teeth). But when I started on these, I hadn't even considered adding the Orky teeth, that was an afterthought. The wheels are a tad darker than I would like, and not nearly as interesting as the rest of the model, but... they're wheels. I added some muddy brown and red highlights to give them a sufficiently dirty and muddy look. I also tried for a heat distortion effect on the barrels. Lots of fun graffiti. As you can see, I tried a few different techniques, while at the same time trying to make them look like a cohesive unit. I hope you enjoy them. I had fun making them.
An Unpleasant Note... I created a separate post for this in the discussions sub-forum, but I'm reposting it here. Because it's my P&M blog and I think it's worth sharing.
Cleatus wrote: I recently discovered that some pictures of my scratch builds had been tagged "poorhammer". For what it's worth, the images in question had voting disabled and were marked as WIP. I also found some images belonging to other users that had been tagged with "poorhammer" and "cheaphammer". That's pretty insulting. It's one thing if you don't happen to like something that someone else creates, but to go out of your way to poor shame someone and mock something they have created because it's not an official model, that's pretty low. The Dakka Dakka community has been extremely supportive of scratch builders. It saddens me to see this kind of behavior here.
Screw those tagging 'poorhammer' they're just jealous they don't have your kick ass building and converting skills. Besides without all the scratchbuilders and converters we'd have a dirge of samey models.
Screw those tagging 'poorhammer' they're just jealous they don't have your kick ass building and converting skills. Besides without all the scratchbuilders and converters we'd have a dirge of samey models.
Keep up the great work.
EDC
Thank you!
Slinky wrote:The battered paint job on the panels is simply amazing - Well done, Cleatus!
Thanks!
If you guys have any suggestions to make them a tiny bit better, I'm open to feedback. Now is the time before I clear them off the workbench. Maybe some steel highlights?
Gork alive, people's stupidity never fails to amaze me. To mock someone for being resourceful & creative, especially in a faction that so easily encompasses all manner of crazy scratchbuilds, is idiotic.
Keep doing what you're doing, Cleatus! We appreciate you. Those Lobbas actually look awesome. Your freehand makes mine look like the scribblings of a three year-old. My only criticism would be that maybe they could do with a few more small details (the usual suspects: rivets, gubbinz etc).
The firepower you're gonna be able to lay down with those is gonna be sweet!
Some brilliantly orky dakka there, good job!
Reckon the next ones want some ladders (for the snotlings) and some handles or tow hitches so they can be moved.
NidLifeCrisis wrote:Gork alive, people's stupidity never fails to amaze me. To mock someone for being resourceful & creative, especially in a faction that so easily encompasses all manner of crazy scratchbuilds, is idiotic.
Keep doing what you're doing, Cleatus! We appreciate you. Those Lobbas actually look awesome. Your freehand makes mine look like the scribblings of a three year-old. My only criticism would be that maybe they could do with a few more small details (the usual suspects: rivets, gubbinz etc).
The firepower you're gonna be able to lay down with those is gonna be sweet!
Thanks, NidLifeCrisis! More rivets, hmm, OK. I'll have to see what I can do.
stonned_astartes wrote:Some brilliantly orky dakka there, good job!
Reckon the next ones want some ladders (for the snotlings) and some handles or tow hitches so they can be moved.
Thanks, stonned_astartes! Ladders and tow hitches, oh, I like that.
Camkierhi wrote:Brilliant and inspiring work, totally love those, will be stealing the idea.
Ignore the idiots it only encourages them when you acknowledge they exist.
You have a fantastic army coming on here, brilliant work. Can't wait to see some more.
This was a relatively simple modification. Just a small indentation, then glue in some beads, and a quickie paint job. I could do this on the others as well. I think it adds a little more detail to the wheels.
nareik wrote: Looks great! maybe stick a slightly bigger rivet on to the very centre of the wheel too?
Heh. I'll see what I can do.
By the way, I have recently discovered the wonders of GIMP's auto white balance adjust. I've been struggling with odd tinting in some photos (blue, pink, yellow, etc). The automatic white balance adjustment does a fantastic job correcting this issue in seconds.
OK, all of you rivet-heads. Ask, and ye shall receive:
Lobbas
Now with more rivet action. (Rivety action? Riveting action? )
In case anyone is curious, those are water filter beads. I rescued these from one Britta water filter:
Enough for 100's of scratch builds. Or a single really big one...
I'm calling the Lobbas done. Time to move on to another project.
Speaking of which...
I started painting these little guys. I have a lot of these Grots in my pile of plastic, but since these two had already been primed, I figured I should finish them in an effort to clear off my workbench. Painting Grotz is about all I have time for currently due to RL commitments. Sorry for the shadows, it's not a great photo. Very WIP.
Another random photo for you to gawk at if you're bored or just like color theory:
That's my wet palette for the grots. I've gotten to a point in the hobby where I'm pretty comfortable mixing my own custom colors. Sometimes you just need a lighter/darker shade, or want to try something new. For these grots I'm trying a range of yellow, green, and brown. Earth tones. It's tempting to paint their tunics bright yellow though, ala Bad Moons. I'm going to give them some very rusty Grot Blastas too. Maybe they'll get lucky and give da 'umies tetanus.
I like how they have turned out so far, but... they're a little bland. I know they're just basic troops, but still. They need something else. I thought about painting the tunics Bad Moons yellow, but then the rusty Grot Blastas wouldn't make much sense. Bad Moons would have shiny weapons (costs more teef). I could add camo and face paint, turn them into Blood Axe Grots. Good practice for when I get ready to paint the Kommandos. Heh, yes, I like that idea.
Good work on those wheels! They look good enough to move on* now.
That gretchin skin is so nice, almost glowing! Very reminiscent of the 'official' 2nd ed paint job. I like how it looks so lively compared to the drearily coloured fatigues the grots are wearing. Stops it being too cartoony!
nareik wrote: Good work on those wheels! They look good enough to move on* now.
That gretchin skin is so nice, almost glowing! Very reminiscent of the 'official' 2nd ed paint job. I like how it looks so lively compared to the drearily coloured fatigues the grots are wearing. Stops it being too cartoony!
I'm quite pleased with how these guys have turned out. I have never done camouflage before. I was just going to paint the tunics with camo, but in a moment of inspiration I decided that I should give the little guys some face and body paint as well. They look so fierce! (you know, for Grots ) Now I just need to base them and apply clear coat.
Another shot of my wet palette. Not sure if these are worth sharing. *shrug*
Spoiler:
Ork HQ's What Need Patchin' Up: In other news, I recently picked up a Mad Doc Grotsnik model. Well, most of one...
This was an eBay rescue. The poor guy don't have no arms! How can he operate without arms? Call the Pain-bulance! Fetch some Painboyz and Grot Orderlies! Code Green, people, code green!
Here's another Orky HQ that needs some help. It's Nazdreg!
Well, parts of him. This guy might be a little harder to resurrect. He needs a torso and a head. He's an older model, so the proportions are very different than today's Orks. Not sure what to do with this guy.
Thanks, Viktor von Domm. Yes, I agree it does look like Ah-nold in Commando or maybe Predator.
If Grots could take a dedicated transport, I would field an army of these guys. Hilarious. Yes, I could buy them a Trukk or something, but what's the point?
On the other hand, Infiltrating a unit of Grots painted up in camo is a fun idea. Seems like something a sneaky Git would do.
They're done! Not sure if it is noticeable, but I added a little bit more highlighting here and there. Looks good to me.
I think this was a good exercise in painting camouflage. Good practice for the Kommandos. I'd like to paint up an entire unit of these guys. And I probably will, eventually. My hobby time is pretty limited; if I can squeeze in 30 minutes here or there, I take advantage of that. This weekend I based these Grots, removed mold lines from some minis, and drilled out the barrels of a few of my older models. It was really bothering me.
On the workbench:
MANZ Kommandos
Buggy prototypes
That's too many things. I need to pick one and finish it. That was part of the drive to paint these poor Grots who had sat around primed but unpainted for months. Now they are done, and I can move on.
I tentatively have a game coming up soon. Necrons. We'll see how that goes.
i think if you´d be willing to convert them a little, especially convert the gun barrels a bit for variety, then this design of yours could come a long way... looking very cool...
Automatically Appended Next Post: oh... you could make a ghillie suit version maybe?^^
Viktor von Domm wrote:i think if you´d be willing to convert them a little, especially convert the gun barrels a bit for variety, then this design of yours could come a long way... looking very cool...
Automatically Appended Next Post: oh... you could make a ghillie suit version maybe?^^
Thanks, Viktor von Domm. Hmm, different barrels you say? I'm open to suggestions. I have more 2nd ed Gretchin sitting in a drawer. I do like the ghillie suit idea, not sure how to pull that off though. Maybe lots of moss, grass, etc?
the ghillie suit i probably would try with basil or other kitchen herbs... dried one... or tea? straight from a tea bag?...
as for the barrels... well if you have filler, GS or milliput or something you could cover up the sides of the guns...maybe add a larger plank there and bolt it on with rivets... or you could change the mags... never worked on thee old gretchkins... curiously... ... drum fed, sickle...they´re so mono posed that you need to change some... maybe a headswap would do you some good too... your paint scheme is way too cool to waste it on similar looking chaps ...
Viktor von Domm wrote: the ghillie suit i probably would try with basil or other kitchen herbs... dried one... or tea? straight from a tea bag?...
as for the barrels... well if you have filler, GS or milliput or something you could cover up the sides of the guns...maybe add a larger plank there and bolt it on with rivets... or you could change the mags... never worked on thee old gretchkins... curiously... ... drum fed, sickle...they´re so mono posed that you need to change some... maybe a headswap would do you some good too... your paint scheme is way too cool to waste it on similar looking chaps ...
I like these ideas. I have another box of the new Gretchin. I could paint them up with camo too.
Viktor, I like your enthusiasm. I'll see what I can do.
In other news, I had a chance to play 40K recently, and I won! Against Necrons!
Batrep if folks want to read it, spoiler-ed for people who are just scrolling through:
Spoiler:
This is literally the first time I've managed to win against Necrons, so you'll have to excuse my enthusiasm. Hang on, let me say that a little louder...
I WON A GAME AGAINST NECRONS! WITH ORKS!
We played The Relic, 1500 points. He brought a Necron Decurion (Warriors, Destroyers, Tomb Blades, Flayed Ones), a Doomsday Ark, and a C'tan Shard. I brought a CAD composed of a MAWB with Da Finkin' Kap, a MAWB with DLS, 3 x Trukk Boyz, a Battlewagon full of Boyz, 2x Tankbusta units, 3 solo Deff Koptas, a unit of KMK with extra crew, and a unit of Kommandos with Snikrot. MAWB's went in the Battlewagon and 1 Trukk. I was hoping to get the Master of Ambush Warlord trait on the Strategic table, and Infiltrate some of my units. Unfortunately I did not get MoA... I took the Da Finkin' Kap, rolled both my Warlord traits on the Strategic table, and I was even running a CAD so I could reroll... but no. Ended up with the traits for +1 to Seize the Initiative and Move through Cover.
I won the roll off, but he seized the initiative. The KMK took a Str10 pie plate from the Doomsday Ark on T1, then failed their Ld check and ran off the board. (ouch.) Bottom of T1, I moved my Trukks up 24", with the Battlewagon following. Turn 2, I lost all but 1 Trukk due to good shooting from the Heavy Destroyers, and sadly the Tankbustas ended up footslogging the rest of the game. Amazingly none of my Trukks exploded. My Deffkoptas were dispached by Destroyers and Warriors. The C'tan rolled Antimatter Meteor on T2 and dropped it on my Battlewagon, but failed to roll high enough to damage it (it 'bounced off'! ). Two units of Boys from the wrecked Trukks fanned out in a semi-circle around the Relic and secured it. I tried to maximize model spacing to mitigate the pie plates, while staying out of range of the Warriors' 24" shots. Bottom of T2, I moved my remaining Trukk with the MAWB Warlord and Boyz up on the right side of the board, towards the Doomsday Ark, and inched my Battlewagon closer to the Relic in the middle, and ran my Tankbustas. I unloaded the Battlewagon and launched my MAWB with DLS, BC Nob and 17 Boyz at a unit of Destroyers to wreck face. I caused 5 wounds to the Destroyers, they lost the assault, and failed their Ld check! I couldn't sweep because of SnP, so the 1 remaining Destroyer fled 3d6. I also assaulted a unit of Tomb Blades that got too close to the Relic with a unit of Boyz and PK Nob, tying them up. Turn 3, the C'tan rolled Sky of Falling Stars and nearly wiped out the unit of Boyz controlling the Relic, reducing them to just 2 Boyz and a Nob. They passed their Morale check and held on! The MAWB w/ DLS and his Boyz took a Str10 pie plate from the Doomsday Ark, and were finished off by Warriors. The Flayed Ones joined the ongoing assault with the Boyz and Tomb Blades, making quick work of the Boyz. Bottom of T3, I outflanked the Kommandos and brought them in behind a building, hiding from the Doomsday Ark and nearby Necron Warriors. I loaded that tiny unit of 2 Boyz and a Nob holding the Relic into my Battlewagon for shelter. The footslogging Tankbustas managed a few wounds on some Necron troops with their rokkits but were much too far away to shoot the Doomsday Ark, let alone assault it. My Warlord MAWB ended up assaulting the Doomsday Ark and punched it until it exploded. The Warboss shrugged off the explosion, but hilariously a few nearby Necron Warriors and a Destroyer failed their armor and RP saves and took wounds. T4, the C'tan rolled poorly and failed to damage the Battlewagon. The Necrons attempted to take down my Battlewagon, but only managed to strip off 1 hull point. My Warlord's unit took heavy fire and lost all but 1 Boy, the MAWB himself only taking 1 wound. (I like to imagine him laughing at their poor shooting, 'hey, that tickles, stop it!' ). He also passed his Morale check with a smug grin on his face. Bottom of T4, the Kommandos assaulted a unit of Necron Warriors to tie them up. The Battlewagon motored backwards away from the advancing Necron Warriors, Heavy Destroyers, and Tomb Blades, with the Relic on board. We called the game there on account of time (~4.5 hours). It was a tough, messy battle, and I lost well over 75% of my forces, but I held the Relic until the end of the game and got Linebreaker. Woo!
Work and other RL stuff has been kicking my bee-hind lately, so hobby time has been very minimal. No painting progress to speak of, but I did manage to find time to scrub the paint off some old minis I had soaking in a LATA bath (for over a month! ). And I cleaned the mold lines off a few Ork Boyz too. So now I have several more models in the 'ready to paint' pile. Maybe I should post some pics of all the stuff I have yet to paint to encourage me to get to work. If I did 1 mini a day, that would be 365 by the end of the year. It would be more reasonable to shoot for 5-10 per week, or even 1 per week. That's still another 52 minis over the course of a year. I dunno. I prefer to work in batches. This weekend is the first one in recent memory where I am not working, so I should be able to squeeze in some time to paint. My plan is to base coat at least 1 unit of Orks (likely the Kommandos), and see what happens from there.
Spent some time on these guys today:
That's a Warbuggy driver and gunner, in case you were curious. Not bad for one painting session. I'll probably finish them tomorrow.
Yes, good eye. I actually built this, uh, over a year ago. It's been sitting in my pile of shame for a long time. Finally getting around to painting it.
Yes, good eye. I actually built this, uh, over a year ago. It's been sitting in my pile of shame for a long time. Finally getting around to painting it.
My collection of milk bottle tops is slowly building week by week in preparation for my mek guns Oh no It is too easy though, i've got a ridiculous amount of base coated tanks piling up...
The Warbuggy itself is more or less done. I'm waffling on adding more details. I considered adding a plasma effect where the radiator should be. Because why not?
"Hey Boss, we ain't got no Dakka! Wot you want me do, fart on da 'umies?"
Yes, yes, you need a gun. Probably a TL rokkit launcha, or a Skorcha.
Should be finished this weekend, then I can return to the Kommandos.
Really the only detail that I would consider is maybe a bull bar on the front. That would be suitably orcy.
Was thinking it could perhaps do with some spikes or ram or the such.
A bull bar, spikes, ram -- interesting ideas. Maybe a set of horns on the hood? You realize you're encouraging me to spend even more time on this project instead of finishing it and moving on, right? You devils.
You might have been wondering if I died, gave up 40k, or perhaps just hit a lazy streak. In fact, the reason I haven't posted anything here since May is much more (less?) interesting. Earlier this year Mrs. Cleatus and I began the process of buying a house. We closed on the house in Mid-June, and we've spent the time since then fixing the place up and unpacking. Bonus: I now have dedicated gaming space.
Skorcha Buggy: Complete 'Ere We Go, 'Ere We Go, 'Ere We Go! As promised, pictures of the completed Skorcha Buggy:
I added the plasma effect to the engine, gave the gunner a Skorcha, bolted on a ram on the front, and added some mud to the tires to give the model some character. I think it looks right proppa Orky.
There are a few details I'm not 100% happy with. The driver apparently steers with bluetooth enabled handles for one. That's a hindsight/build issue. If I build more of these in the future I'll make sure to address that. Another thing that bugs me is that the plasma engine effect kind of overpowers the Skorcha as the focus of the model. I tried to balance it out by highlighting the tip of the Skorcha with a bright white drybrush. On the whole I'm satisfied. It was a fun model to build and paint.
Looking absolutely brilliant. Great job. Engine glow is nice, don't worry about the driver, if he believes it works it works. Nice overall feel. My only truly tiny thing is the colour of the mud. Too close to rust. Maybe my phone screen mind. I love the look of it, and the feel of the model is excellent, but my first thought was, why does it have rusty metal wheels! Then I looked closer. Problem you now have is you need to do a squad of them. Maybe 6
Personally, I like the thick mud. My vision was that these Orks enjoy mudding.
Yes, now I need more of them! Now that I'm getting back into the hobby groove, I might be able to crank out a few of these guys. 5 to a squadron, right?
I hear what you're saying about the "rusty" color of mud through. Perhaps I can darken it with some dark brown drybrushing? Open to suggestions.
Skorcha Buggy: More Pics! I guess I'm easily influenced, because I went back and added a layer of burnt umber to the mud. Results:
On the plus side, it now looks a lot more like traditional mud and less like rust. On the down side, I lost some of the grainy detail. If you're curious, the mud was a mixture of flour, PVA, paint and water. Nothing revolutionary, but the effect is nice when it dries. Very chunky. Next time I try this technique I will start with the burnt umber paint mixed into my mud so that it starts out dark, and then grittyness of the mud texture will reveal itself as it dries.
Overall I'm satisfied. I finished a model that's been in my pile of shame for months. Woo hoo! Plus I learned some things along the way and took notes for next time.
On the Workbench: Still continuing to unpack here after the move. Lo and behold, I found my Kommandoes! They are back in my painting queue. Also in this photo, some Tankbusta Boyz and some Nobz with Kombi-weapons that I began several months ago. Those are in my queue now as well. They are in various states of completion; some of them base coated, some of them I found mould lines after starting to paint them so I removed those and now have to start again. Hopefully I can finish those before the end of the year.
Oh yeah, and then there's this...
Earlier this year GW released some IoM shipping containers as battlefield terrain. I was inspired by those and thought, 'What would Ork versions look like?'. If it's not obvious, the base shape is a recycled box (rhymes with "cold rice"). This was a sort of idle hands project. I just had a lot of fun gluing scrap to the box and giving it lots of rivets. This is actually too big to be a Munitorium Shipping Container, but it will make a fun battlefield terrain piece.
Container looks awesome. Like the idea of containers for battlefield terrain, don't like GW idea of sticking gun mounts on them randomly, whole point of a shipping container is it is a box that can be stacked up, bit difficult with a gun mount stuck on the top. Anyway yours looks brilliant, and agree just a bit christmasy
LOER Comp entry, WIP:
I carved out the speaker hole, and filled it in with spackle. Looks more like a speaker cone now. Need add back the center bit (dust cap) before I can start painting.
Nobz squad is coming along:
More terrain:
I had some fun with scrap MDF, foam board, and spackle. Turned out pretty well. Bonus: the materials cost less than $1.00. Still needs some paint and detail work. Maybe a little moss?
Phew! That's the most work I've put into a single piece of terrain in a while. And so small! This was deliberate; I wanted to make sure I wasn't too ambitious with this project, so that I could finish within the allotted time. Even so, I had a few rough weeks and couldn't work on this piece. I'm glad the comp was extended by a few extra days.
Fantastic work bud, looks amazing, great idea keeping it small, nice and usable piece. Great details, love it, good luck in the comp buddy, wonderful work.
That terrain reminds me of the old Goffic Rock Band models of yesteryear.
Just looked through the whole PLOG and Cleatus this is a great log filled with all sorts of interesting conversions. You can also see your painting improving with each unit you have added. Well done all around.
Captain Brown wrote: That terrain reminds me of the old Goffic Rock Band models of yesteryear.
Just looked through the whole PLOG and Cleatus this is a great log filled with all sorts of interesting conversions. You can also see your painting improving with each unit you have added. Well done all around.
Cheers,
CB
Thank you Captain!
Four day weekend coming up. I'm hoping to finish a mini or two.
Finishing up one of my Nobs with a Kombi-skorcha... pics will be delivered soon.
Considering opening a separate P&M blog for some other stuff I've been wanting to work on for a while. Ad Mech, non GW minis, etc. Non-Ork stuff basically.
Nob with Kombi-Skorcha, WIP: OK, he's not done, but...
I'm always a bit nervous about showing WIP shots. But it's been a while since I posted anything and I'm really excited about this piece. I wanted to show something. So you get a profile shot, and a rear shot. (heh) In truth, he's 95% done. I need to do a few touch ups, and give him a proper base. I'm thinking 32mm, and possibly a nice rocky or layered cork base.
Ooh...that is some tasty yellow there!...nice work
If I had to be picky, the highlights are maybe a little chalky/powdery though...thin your paints (although yeah, that is a painful process with yellow specifically)
Slinky wrote:Looking very good, Cleatus! Love your painting style
Thanks!
stonned_astartes wrote:Sweet paint job mate, hope to see a front view when hes done.
Thank you, sir!
ZoBo wrote:Ooh...that is some tasty yellow there!...nice work
If I had to be picky, the highlights are maybe a little chalky/powdery though...thin your paints (although yeah, that is a painful process with yellow specifically)
Thanks. Personally, I think the chalkiness makes the paint job seem more authentically Orky somehow.
Anyhoo...
I finished the Nob's paintjob, and got him based. The humidity has been high in my area recently (it rained here on Christmas), so not a good time to spray varnish. Should get pics this week. Work has also been bonkers recently, and as a result my free time has suffered. Oh well. It's a hobby.
Cleatus wrote: I think the chalkiness makes the paint job seem more authentically Orky somehow.
I agree actually ...in fact, quite often when I'm painting "painted" armour/vehicles/etc, I actually try to make it a bit rough/wonky/imperfect, to simulate it having been painted by the grots
Ork Nob with Komb-Skorcha: Here he is, painting is complete. Not entirely satisfied with the way these pictures turned out. They seem to have a strange blue-pink hue to them. Need to readjust my lighting rig.
(EDIT: I took a second set of photos of this guy. I think they came out much better than the first. Previous pictures are in my gallery if you're curious.)
I still haven't had time to spray varnish him. Hopefully this weekend. Anyway, here you go:
One more overexposed dramatic shot, just for fun:
I'll take a few more pictures when I've got him varnished. Hopefully I don't mess that up! hahaha...
Other Stuff: I recently started painting some Reaper minis. No real use for them, just something fun in between more serious business. Here are the first two, Cassie and Sister Maria.:
Primed:
I've actually finished painting Sister Maria. She's a gift for a friend.
I found it a bit challenging trying to highlight the details on this tiny little mini. Overall I would say this was a nice change of pace.
Still not sure if I will start a separate blog for these other minis or not. Maybe I'll just rename this blog "Cleatus Paints Whatever The Heck He Wants", or "Happy Little Trees, Orks, Et Cetera". Or leave it as is. It hasn't been purely scratch builds the whole time to be sure. Some conversions, some scratch building, some painting. The name just fit nicely with my little joke, which is a play on "Cletus the Slack-Jawed Yokel" from The Simpsons if you hadn't already caught on.
OK folks, back to work. Hopefully I'll have some hobby time to myself this weekend. My backlog of projects needs attention. Miniatures, they're so needy!
Just caught up with this PLOG - googled "Scratchbuilt Gargant", wound up here and very glad I did, there's truly inspirational stuff here - I doff my hat to you, sir!
Skinflint Games wrote: Just caught up with this PLOG - googled "Scratchbuilt Gargant", wound up here and very glad I did, there's truly inspirational stuff here - I doff my hat to you, sir!
Thanks! Gosh, I haven't even built a scratchbuilt gargant... maybe I should.
Camkierhi wrote:He looks brilliant bud, love the yellow you ar doing.
Sister Maria looks cool, nice gift, and it was good advise to me recently, change it up a bit, really helps.
And as I said before, 2 blogs can work, but splits your readership.
Thank you!
evildrcheese wrote:Combi-Nob and nun look great.
Really like the yellow on the Nob.
EDC
Thank you!
Really, thank you gentlemen. (Or ladies. Or dogs. Or fish. Whatever.) Your comments are greatly appreciated.
On the Workbench: Working on another Ork Nob, same color scheme. WIP shot:
Still some detail work to do. Needs shoulders, maybe a backpack.
Started work on my entry for the new LOER competition.
I'm imagining a structure being climbed by Grots, and then when they reach the top the little guys slide down in some fashion. Perhaps from corrugated awning to awning.
Not much to look at yet, yet, but here's some cardboard I've cut to size to get the ball rolling for the tiers:
Taking inspiration from these images:
(spoilered for size)
I may have bit off more than I can chew with this terrain project. I've been letting it grow organically thus far. Last night I was starting to assemble the substructure, and I realized that if I were to follow the Tower of Babel image closely, the build would call for 8+ tiers, and at least a 12" diameter base for the first tier. Impressive, but perhaps a bit too ambitious given the my available free time. So I think I need to scale back, by let's say 50%. If i have more time, I could always add additional tiers and details.
I'm using a 6"x6" base for this build. If I manage to get it finished and painted before the deadline, I might add more tiers.
Here are some concept sketches:
One thing I have struggled with when building with cardboard in the past was making right angles. Specifically, holding the two pieces together long enough for the glue to set. For this build, I made myself a jig out of foamcore to hold the pieces in place while the glue set. This allowed me to quickly knock out these little 1"x1" shanty buildings.
The build is proceeding nicely. I might be able to finish the overall structure this weekend, but there's still quite a bit of detail work to do.
Pardon me for this brief interlude...
2nd Ed Ork Boy Just for fun, I decided to paint up one of the (many) 2nd edition Ork Boys I have sitting around. I used the same skin technique that I used on my current Orks, but stuck with a bright paint scheme for the armour. Oh, and I gave him a classic green base too.
We now return to our scratch-building, already in progress...
stonned_astartes wrote:Thats wicked mate, Looks very ramshackle like I've always imagined orky abodes.
Thanks!
adamsouza wrote:Those buidlings are great.
Thank you!
Anpu-adom wrote:That jig is brilliant, but since when do Orks care about right angles? :-P
Right-ish angles. And this is a Grot city/town/scrap-heap. They are smarter than the average Ork.
More WIP photos. It's getting there!
Have to work a little this weekend (gotta pay the bills!), but hopefully I can squeeze some hobby time in.
Thanks, gentlemen. Closing in on the finish line. Will post some pics tonight.
In other news...
Spoiler:
This has nothing to do with the hobby.
I found out that I was passed over for a promotion again. Four years in the same entry-level position. I'm frustrated. It's not like I thought this would just drop into my lap. At the beginning of the year we had a discussion and I stated I was interested in moving up. I asked what steps would I need to take, what skills would I need to improve, etc., to position me for consideration for a promotion. I asked for additional responsibility, tasks and projects that would push my limits. It was a good discussion. I had an action plan. I was given additional responsibility. And more work. A lot more, in my opinion. I pulled late nights, weekends. My manager gave me positive feedback and praise at my accomplishments throughout the year during our 1-on-1 chats. I thought I was doing great. He asked me to take on more, and bigger projects, and to assist with mentoring new hires. Things were looking great. I was ridiculously busy, but I held on to the hope that my efforts were going to be recognized. Then I had my performance review. Again, lots of praise, but the words rang hollow. No promotion. What didn't I do? Why did I work so hard? I told him I gave 110% this past year. He led me to believe that I was on track to be promoted. No, he said, you're doing pretty good, but you're not there yet. Maybe next year. I was crushed. Motivation completely drained. I left early, went home, didn't sleep that night I was so upset. A few co-workers that I texted the news are shocked. I'm shocked. If I didn't have a family to support, I would have walked away. But I'm kind of stuck right now. I like my job, the pay is decent, and I'm grateful to be working. But it's reasonable to want some sense of career progression.
So in that light, I'm going to dive in and finish my LOER comp entry this weekend. Try to take my mind off things for a while.
That would be a real blow to my motivation, too. Even understanding that things take time, it still hurts to believe that your efforts will be recognized only to be shot down when the time comes. It sucks, it really does. Hang in there. We're rooting for you that things will turn out for the best.
Fluff:
Somewhere there is a band of Gretchin who have managed to assemble a little encampment for themselves. They have managed to loot and weld together a town of sorts, where the Grotz live, play, sell, trade, steal, eat, and sleep. Gretchin from all clans are welcome here, though it is a bit crowded. A favorite past time of the Grot residents is sliding down the corrugated roofs of the various shanty dwellings. As is typical of Orkoid culture and logic, domestic housing and fast food establishments co-exist side by side with toxic waste pipelines and smokestacks which belch black smoke night and day. The Grotz care not. This is their home, and if necessary they will defend it to the death!
About the build:
The Grot Shanty Town is made almost entirely out of card stock and cardboard. Silly straws and a little bit of balsa wood were also used (supporting the roof of the lookout tower). It was painted with craft paints (DecoArt Americana, FolkArt Plaid, Delta Ceramcoat), with the addition of some shades and washes (Nuln Oil, Agrax Earthshade, etc.). The base is cardboard (2 layers), textured with spackle. I used a few decals, but all of the graffiti is freehand. The final piece measures 6"x6" square, and 5" tall.
Zoom shot to show off some detail work:
It's hard to see, but there's a Blood Axe icon there on the side of the tent.
My scale Gretchin looks lonely. Let's invite some friends!
And done.
I'd like to thank caffeine, insomnia, stress, work, family, PVA glue, craft paint, and of course cardboard. I couldn't have done it without you guys.
EDIT: Added the fluff and details about the build which I sent to Cam for the competition. Just in case anyone was interested.
sorry to hear about the work issues man, trust me, I can relate...I'm also quite familiar with the heady brew of "caffeine, insomnia, stress, work, family, PVA glue, and craft paint" ...some great things can come from that combo...as we see above!...just keep on keepin' on man
stonned_astartes wrote: That really is absolutely brilliant mate, like its been taken from the pages of a novel (one that had orks in).
Pride and Prejudice and Orks?
The Catcher and the Ork?
Great Ork-spectations?
The Great Gatsb'Ork?
Catch-22 Orks?
Ender's Ork?
....
I could go on, but I won't. Haha.
If you haven't read it yet, go see if your local library has it. (and remember, you can request that they get it for you as well, either via Inter-Library-Loan or by buying it).
2nd Ed Ork Boy I painted up another 2nd Ed Ork Boy. This little guy is earmarked for the "Creating a real ork mob, with your help! - the Dakka Dakka Clan" project: https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/656634.page The base is unfinished, which is intentional. Once all of the models are assembled, kb_lock will base them all in a similar fashion. Pretty cool idea.
GW Anecdote Had an odd encounter with a GW store employee yesterday. Our metro area did not have a GW store (erm, "Warhammer store") until last year. We have a few FLGS in the area, and that's where I tend to game when I have the time. I happened to be at the mall where this new GW store is located yesterday so I thought I would pop in. Middle of the day on a Saturday, not a single customer or gamer in the store, just the lone GW employee. We chatted for a while about new and upcoming releases. He was very pro-GW (no surprise there), and pro-7th edition too, but it was clear he was a gamer and not just a guy working there. When I mentioned that I play Orks and that they were kind of hurting this edition, he rolled his eyes and said, "yeah, well, they're Orks". He went on and on about how cool it is that you can take superheavies in normal 40k games now, how cool the formations are, and why fliers are awesome. I offered up my opinions on things like the Ork Stompa and Gorkanaut versus Imperial Knights, such as how the Ork units are overpriced and under powered. He again said, "well, they're Orks", and then "Ork stuff is ramshackle, they're cheap, so take a bunch of them". I could see I wasn't going to get anywhere with him, so I dropped the subject. I mentioned that I wished GW would re-release the Stormclaw box, because I missed out on it during the limited print run. Why wouldn't GW print more of them if the initial print run sold out? He told me I didn't understand how business works, and that it's expensive to make models, and besides the re-sellers would just part them out... Whatever. I hung around for 30-40 minutes, and not a single person came in to play or buy anything. A few curious mall visitors wandered in and looked around but that's it. I actually bought something out of pity for the guy. Though now I have the buyer's remorse. He was kind of rude. You would think he would say something like, "yeah man, Orks are cool, you should totally buy this thing", instead of dismissing my favorite army as junk. Honestly thinking of returning the box today for a refund. I have plenty of little plastic dudesmen to paint; it would probably be a year before I even assembled these models. I'm rather turned off by my experience, and think that I will continue supporting my independent FLGS. They respect and appreciate their customers.
GW Anecdote Had an odd encounter with a GW store employee yesterday. Our metro area did not have a GW store (erm, "Warhammer store") until last year. We have a few FLGS in the area, and that's where I tend to game when I have the time. I happened to be at the mall where this new GW store is located yesterday so I thought I would pop in. Middle of the day on a Saturday, not a single customer or gamer in the store, just the lone GW employee. We chatted for a while about new and upcoming releases. He was very pro-GW (no surprise there), and pro-7th edition too, but it was clear he was a gamer and not just a guy working there. When I mentioned that I play Orks and that they were kind of hurting this edition, he rolled his eyes and said, "yeah, well, they're Orks". He went on and on about how cool it is that you can take superheavies in normal 40k games now, how cool the formations are, and why fliers are awesome. I offered up my opinions on things like the Ork Stompa and Gorkanaut versus Imperial Knights, such as how the Ork units are overpriced and under powered. He again said, "well, they're Orks", and then "Ork stuff is ramshackle, they're cheap, so take a bunch of them". I could see I wasn't going to get anywhere with him, so I dropped the subject. I mentioned that I wished GW would re-release the Stormclaw box, because I missed out on it during the limited print run. Why wouldn't GW print more of them if the initial print run sold out? He told me I didn't understand how business works, and that it's expensive to make models, and besides the re-sellers would just part them out... Whatever. I hung around for 30-40 minutes, and not a single person came in to play or buy anything. A few curious mall visitors wandered in and looked around but that's it. I actually bought something out of pity for the guy. Though now I have the buyer's remorse. He was kind of rude. You would think he would say something like, "yeah man, Orks are cool, you should totally buy this thing", instead of dismissing my favorite army as junk. Honestly thinking of returning the box today for a refund. I have plenty of little plastic dudesmen to paint; it would probably be a year before I even assembled these models. I'm rather turned off by my experience, and think that I will continue supporting my independent FLGS. They respect and appreciate their customers.
Thanks for stopping by.
Interesting. My experience with GW stores are a bit mixed as well. I like that they have huge selections of tools, accessories, paints, models, etc. and the employee is very knowledgeable about the hobby. But I really like regular FLGS because the staff are not biased toward GW and I usually can find a lot of other great supplies, especially stuff for making my own terrain, that GW does not offer. (For some reason, they think every battlefield should be composed solely of their ~10 different terrain pieces...) I also think regular game/hobby stores are better for getting people into the game because they come in for other things and discover the game, just like any other game. The owner/employee at the GW store near me is friendly and knowledgeable and not too pushy, which is nice, but he is too uptight about what models he allows to be used on the store tables. The models must be painted using at least three painting techniques, such as basecoat, shade and dry brush. They cannot just have the colors blocked in, for example. And he disallows any model that has any third party bits whatsoever. Every model must be 100% GW/FW parts, which is excessive in my opinion. I think a customer coming in and seeing a well-painted army that uses 95% GW components with some unique conversions using 3rd party bits would be quite appealing so they can see how you can take the models from the boxes and truly make them your own rather than being forced to just paint the models out of the box, exactly like everyone else's.
You are lucky that you have both in your area because everywhere I have lived has only had one or the other within a reasonable distance of me.
GW Anecdote Had an odd encounter with a GW store employee yesterday. Our metro area did not have a GW store (erm, "Warhammer store") until last year. We have a few FLGS in the area, and that's where I tend to game when I have the time. I happened to be at the mall where this new GW store is located yesterday so I thought I would pop in. Middle of the day on a Saturday, not a single customer or gamer in the store, just the lone GW employee. We chatted for a while about new and upcoming releases. He was very pro-GW (no surprise there), and pro-7th edition too, but it was clear he was a gamer and not just a guy working there. When I mentioned that I play Orks and that they were kind of hurting this edition, he rolled his eyes and said, "yeah, well, they're Orks". He went on and on about how cool it is that you can take superheavies in normal 40k games now, how cool the formations are, and why fliers are awesome. I offered up my opinions on things like the Ork Stompa and Gorkanaut versus Imperial Knights, such as how the Ork units are overpriced and under powered. He again said, "well, they're Orks", and then "Ork stuff is ramshackle, they're cheap, so take a bunch of them". I could see I wasn't going to get anywhere with him, so I dropped the subject. I mentioned that I wished GW would re-release the Stormclaw box, because I missed out on it during the limited print run. Why wouldn't GW print more of them if the initial print run sold out? He told me I didn't understand how business works, and that it's expensive to make models, and besides the re-sellers would just part them out... Whatever. I hung around for 30-40 minutes, and not a single person came in to play or buy anything. A few curious mall visitors wandered in and looked around but that's it. I actually bought something out of pity for the guy. Though now I have the buyer's remorse. He was kind of rude. You would think he would say something like, "yeah man, Orks are cool, you should totally buy this thing", instead of dismissing my favorite army as junk. Honestly thinking of returning the box today for a refund. I have plenty of little plastic dudesmen to paint; it would probably be a year before I even assembled these models. I'm rather turned off by my experience, and think that I will continue supporting my independent FLGS. They respect and appreciate their customers.
Thanks for stopping by.
Interesting. My experience with GW stores are a bit mixed as well. I like that they have huge selections of tools, accessories, paints, models, etc. and the employee is very knowledgeable about the hobby. But I really like regular FLGS because the staff are not biased toward GW and I usually can find a lot of other great supplies, especially stuff for making my own terrain, that GW does not offer. (For some reason, they think every battlefield should be composed solely of their ~10 different terrain pieces...) I also think regular game/hobby stores are better for getting people into the game because they come in for other things and discover the game, just like any other game. The owner/employee at the GW store near me is friendly and knowledgeable and not too pushy, which is nice, but he is too uptight about what models he allows to be used on the store tables. The models must be painted using at least three painting techniques, such as basecoat, shade and dry brush. They cannot just have the colors blocked in, for example. And he disallows any model that has any third party bits whatsoever. Every model must be 100% GW/FW parts, which is excessive in my opinion. I think a customer coming in and seeing a well-painted army that uses 95% GW components with some unique conversions using 3rd party bits would be quite appealing so they can see how you can take the models from the boxes and truly make them your own rather than being forced to just paint the models out of the box, exactly like everyone else's.
You are lucky that you have both in your area because everywhere I have lived has only had one or the other within a reasonable distance of me.
I am lucky, I know. I wish I got out to play more, but eh, such is life.
I ended up returning the models to the GW store. My backlog is huge. I can always buy more at a later date.
) Here's an image of what the Boyz looked like back then:
Nice! 
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RL it sucks. Been there bud. Thoughts are with you, all I can say is keep your chin up.
