Hi, my name is Hugo, and I used to paint and play back in the days of RT and 2nd edition. I had an Ultramarines 40K army, and a big Eldar Epic force, but around 2000 I kind of lost interest, and stayed away from the hobby for 14 years before finally returning a couple of years ago. This time I decided to go with Orks, mostly because I love the models, and all the modelling opportunities they provide.

However, having a family (with two wild little grots) doesn't leave me with much time, so progress have been fairly slow. So far I've managed to put together a couple of Speed Freeks mobs (will post photos of those later), but the latest project has been to build a mob of Wildboyz out of Savage Orcs. Now I have finally finished the first 10, which I thought I'd share with you guys.

So, what I have done is basically that I have repositioned the arms of the Savage Orcs to give them shootas, and then filled the gaps (often at the back) with green stuff.





Then I've painted them in a rather limited pallette; Ork skin, bone, leather and rusty metal. And on top some white warpaint.









Next up is their ride:

Wow I love these wildboyz! Crisp and ckean jobs! keep up the good work!

Mate, those look awesome. I've been thinking of doing something similar with mine, you've definitely convinced me I should.

I love these, to the eBaymobile!!

Thank you mazik765, Joyboozer and Dez!

Apart from the Battlewagon, I now also have these little guys on my painting table. Gotta love 'em, so much character. I thought about maybe doing "Wild Grots" to match the Wildboyz, but figured I liked these guys so much that I'd just make them regular Snakebites. Maybe I'll do some Wild Grots at some point later.



Go ahead, punk. Make my day.



You talkin' to me?!

I definitely like that the Savage Orc bodies aren't as hunched over as the 40K Orks tend to be. That posture was something I addressed when I made my own Orks, and I wish the 40K Orks shared that more upright look.

I've always wanted to do something like this for the Snakebites clan, but it seems really expensive... :(

You could buy some Goblins and/or Wolf Riders to do some Snakebite Shenanigans!

I love the look of these guys! That's exactly what Snakebites should look like. I like that Battlewagon too, but it should really be a Squiggoth!

@Veteran Sergeant: Yeah, the Savage Orcs poses are really great - a lot of dynamic motion, you can tell that they are newer sculpts (although I do love them, the Ork boyz are starting to show their age in comparison)

@RadiationCurse: Not that expensive, really. If you've ever made a mob of slugga & choppa boyz, you should already have a bunch of leftover shootas. And that's really all you need, everything I've used apart from the Savage Orcs themselves are leftovers from the standard boyz sprue.

@Dez: I have considered using Forest goblins, but I'm not a big fan of the models. They're very static, and not nearly as characterful as the 40K Grots. The Spider riders are a bit better, but they all have riding legs, so then I'd have to use both Forest goblin and Spider rider parts, and THAT would be a bit too expensive...

@Brother SRM: Thanks! Well, I have a fluff reason they couldn't bring any Squiggoths - they had to buy the Battlewagon from their Evil Sunz allies to not to be late to the fight...

I love the look of these guys. I have two boxes of savage Orks waiting to be painted myself. Thank you for sharing, these are an inspiration. Keep up the good work!

Really nice stuff, always nice to see an army where not only has the painting been done very carefully, but the modelling aswell. Love the cheeky conversions from savage orks!

Oh I really like seeing this wild/feral/snakebite ork style, so underused!
Keep it up, looking forward to more

Those are amazing!

Totally awesome!
cant wait to see some of the world's best painted gretchin too!
beautiful work all round.

Thank you Cleatus, STG, Tobber1202 and thenoobbomb!

@theCrowe: World's best painted gretchin? Oh, I don't know if I can promise that. I'll do my best though.

I haven't had much hobby time lately, and I'm still on the fence on whether I make the grots into Snakebites or Evil Sunz. But it's leaning towards Evil Sunz at the moment - maybe there is a way to use those Spider riders anyway. The forest goblins have been taken OOP now, so I guess they're out of the equation.


Anyway, believe it or not, today marks the 16th anniversary of my Orks. I started my first real job on April 1st 2000, and to celebrate, I went to the GW store and bough a box of Ork boyz, a metal nob and a Wartrakk with the intention to start a brand new Ork army.

Now, an Ork army 16 years in the building might sound impressive, if it wasn't for the fact that I actually only painted a handful of boyz before putting them back in the box, and then leaving the hobby for 14 years. Work, parties, girls and eventually kids and mortgages kind of got in the way. But a couple of years ago, while on paternal leave with my second son, I figured that maybe it was time to start up the hobby again, and there they were - my Orks.



So I built a few more boyz, put a PK on the Nob, and got them a Trukk (because no self-respecting Evil Sun would go into battle without some kind of transport, right?).







So, basically this was the first mob I finished, about a year and a half ago now. Since then I've also finished a few Deffkoptas and a Tankbustas mob, in addition to my Wild boyz, and then there are all the building projects I started... Well, I'll post more about that later. This will have to do for now...

I've started painting "da Green Beast" as I've come to call it. The first thing I did was to try out the hair spray method on the reinforced ram. I sprayed it with a metal primer which I darkened with a few coats of Earthshade and Sepia. Then I sprayed a layer of Purity Seal, and on top of that a layer of hair spray. Then, when that was dry I painted Straken green over the hairspray, which I then scraped away using a moist drybrush. This was the first time I've used this method and apart from the horrible smell of the hairspray (that stuff is way more noxious than any paint or thinner I've ever used), it was fairly easy. However, in the end I decided that I'd rather strip the paint and start over again and try some regular spongeing instead. Mainly for two reasons (three if you count the smell); one, the contrast between the metal and the Straken green was not strong enough, and two, this method is probably better used on large, flat surfaces than the curved and rivet-filled Battlewagon ram.

It looks ok in the photo, but in reality the contrast was very weak and the results were rather meh. So, I've put it in a tub of liquid soap to strip it and start over again.



Anyway, I've started with the wagon proper, and man, do I wish I had an airbrush! Bristle-painting all the nooks and crannies on this thing is taking ages, especially as I need to do two coats to properly cover the primer. I've gone with Loren green instead in the hope that the darker color will contrast better with the metal I plan to use for show wear and tear. I will still use the Straken green for highlighting though. I thought this would be a rather quick job, but I realize now that this green beast is going to take a while to get done. It kind of makes me dread tackling the Stompa and the Kill Krusha tank I just managed to get my hands on...

I really like that Trukk. The Battlewagon is a huge kit. I tried scratch building one, and I'm pretty sure it has infinity bitz.
Keep at it, you'll get there. I haven't seen many green Ork vehicles (go figure). Will be interested to see how this turns out. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks, Cleatus! Yeah, I figured that if the Wildboyz got to decide the color of their ride, they'd make it green, like the great beasts back home. Plus, green is best!

Wow, just wow

Cool. The tribal Orks looks amazing! Keep up the great work!

EDC

Nice evil sunz. Looking forward to seeing more work done on that battlewagon.

Thank you JustALittleOrkish, evildrcheese and Warboss_Waaazag!

So the Big Mek and his painting grots have been busy with the Wildboyz' Battlewagon. Straight out of the Mekshop it looks a little like this. A light Earthshade wash, and some drybrushing with Straken green gives it a bit of depth.



But no Ork vehicle is going to stay in this pristine condition for long, so I did some sponging with Rhinox hide mixed with a few drops of black, and then added metal highlights with Leadbelcher to give the impression of chipped paint. Now it is starting to look like it's seen some action.



Next up is adding rust, and then dust and mud, at which point the main job is done and it's time to start with the detailing. This is certainly taking some time - I spent around 4 hours yesterday night on the sponging, and another 2 hours tonight on the metal highlights, but I'm taking my time and enjoying the process.

I'm painting the body, wheels, tracks, ram and turrets separately, but this is how it all looks at the moment when everything is kinda stuck together. I think it is coming along nicely, and more or less along the lines I imagined it. This is the first time I've tried sponging, and there are a few other techniques I'm going to try for the first time, so this is kind of about discovering new ways to paint for me. For example, in hindsight I think I might as well have skipped the Straken green drybrushing because it doesn't really show through the chipping, but there you go, you learn something new every time.

I love your green and white theme, it looks fantastic on the boyz, and looks fantastic on da wagon. Aside from the glyphs on the sides, are you going to do any more block sections of white? Perhaps some checks and dags? Waaagh on my friend!

Thanks Lorax! Well, I had originally thought about painting it a bit like the Wildboyz, with white painted "tatoos" on the hull, but then I came up with the idea with the shields instead. But now maybe it's a bit too plain on top, so maybe I'll add some warpaint there. I would have to redo the weathering on that area, but that should be easy enough.

These are looking great. I really like the stylistic, very fine highlighting on the Wildboyz, it looks absolutely fantastic.

Thank you, Hivefleet Oblivion!

Not much, but a little progress tonight. I made a rust wash by thinning down Skrag Brown with half water and half acrylic medium. I think it adds some depth to the green color. Maybe I overdid it a bit, but I plan to tone it down with some washes, the metal will get some highlights too, and then there's the dust as well, so I think it will look ok in the end. I tried doing a few warpaint things, but I'm not sure - they need to be weathered anyway, so I'll decide if I keep them or paint them over once I've done that.

The rust doesn't seem like it's too much at all. I'd leave it.

Oh yeah. Just look at that big green wagon, it's beautiful!

EDC

Love the look of the rust.

Huh. I guess good painting skills are like riding a bike. You never forget. You must have had a lot of pent up inspiration to cause you to return. I can tell...

Awesome stuff

Thank you, guys!

Not much has been done the past couple of weeks. Some detailing on the 'wagon and some base colors on the grots. Nothing worth showing, really. Anyway, I won't be doing any fancy photography for a while since my computer has packed up and died. It was a pretty hot gaming machine back in 2008 when I put it together, an we've shared many memorable moments, but now it's time to move on to some current hardware. Not so much a gaming rig this time though, no time for that anymore...

Anyway - I looove the look of the new Orruks, and I just had to get me one of those Megabosses. I went for the one on the Maw Krusha, because the monster looks awesome, and I'm sure I'll be able to think of something fun to do with that later. The Megaboss I will convert into a... uh... Megaboss for my Snakebites. He'll fit right into their style.

He's quite a big guy, which is great. About the same height as Grukk, but with considerably more bulk. I'll be giving him a klaw and a twinlinked shoota, and maybe do some primitive mega-armor details. I made a size comparison of a boy, a nob, Grukk and the Megaboss. The slugga boy is so tiny!

I really love those Orruks...they look awesome. If I hadn't just invested in Bolt Action I'd be going for them, even if nobody would play a game

Thanks Dez! Yeah, they're really great - I haven't been a big fan of any of the new AoS minis yet, but the Orcs they really nailed. Love them.

Anyway, I finally had a little time over to get started on my Warboss. I gave him the Klaw and Shoota from an AoBR Warboss, and Grukk's face. It suits him very well, I think. Now I need to decide if he should have a running pose or if I should lean him back a bit and make him more "passively" threatening.



And another comparison for size. With a proper base and a bosspole he'll be even bigger.

This blog needs more Boyz for the waagghhh!

Great conversion on that warboss! Those Wild boyz are top class!

I would like to say the word "Yes" in regards to that warboss

The Warboss looks amazing. GW really hit it out of the park with this new AoS Orks.

EDC

Loving the Warboss, but he could use a few more 'Ork Tek' bits on the armor.

I came for the Wildboyz...Staying for the Megaboss!

Thank you everyone!

@Dez: Yes, the armor is pretty "basic" if you don't use the iron gob or the special character head, so I'll probably add something to give it some character. I don't want it to be too techy though, as I want this to match the Wildboyz - the only techy stuff they have is their weapons. Maybe just a couple of armor plates with spikes or glyphs.

The fluff behind these guys is that their Weirdboy had a vision, and they came out of their wastland to join the WAAAAGH with hardly any tech at all (but with with a lot of teef). So all their stuff they've bought from my Evil Sunz Big Mek or taken from other Orks (like the AoBR warboss, hurr hurr).

This guy is incredibly cool. Makes the old AoBR warboss look like a 2nd ed. Goff!

If you don't have a name already you should hold a competition to name this guy. Winner gets big green bragging rights and lots of props for coming up with the most badass orky name.

Thanks theCrowe! Yeah, I have some ideas - right now he goes under the name "The Tusk of Gork", but that's just a working name...

Anyway, I'm digging through my bitz box to find a suitable bosspole and something to put on his chest. I might actually just use the big tusks that come with the kit - it goes along very nicely with the Nob's bosspole and the battlewagon, but I'll keep looking.

In the meantime - I forgot that I actually finished the first batch of Grots. So here they are! In the end I decided to make them Evil Suns - too many tech bitz to feel like propa Snakebites. I might do some feral Grots later though, maybe using parts from that giant spider kit. We'll see.

Really nice paint work!

Great looking army, I am jealous of your painting skills. I love an army that has so many conversions. I think the savage orks look better than the 40k orks too (others said this and I agree). It's about time the grots got their due! Join da revolution and all! Nothing makes me smile more than an ork player who lays down a few mobs of grots, and then does damage with them! (I can smile about this now...but when my cannoness went down to grot blasters...)

those grots look amazing!

 theCrowe wrote:
Totally awesome!
cant wait to see some of the world's best painted gretchin too!
beautiful work all round.

Now that's what I'm talkin about! Excellent stuff again- even more excited for feral grots!

Nice! how did you paint your bases? I like the colour of the sand

Thanks, guys! You're making me blush with all that praise. Credit where credit is due though - the sculpts are really great, so full of character. Every one of these little guys have tons of personality, I really love them, and it makes them so much easier to paint.

@STG: the bases are primed black (including the sand), then drybrushed with first Steel Legion Drab and then Kharak Stone. Simple as that. Then the rim gets two layers of Steel Legion Drab, and the finishing touch is a few patches of static grass (Dead Grass from GF9, I think) put into place with watered down PVA glue.

Finally, da Green Beast is done!

(Well, there are always details that can be improved, but at some point, you have to just let it go and declare it done.)

The last steps were adding details to the shields and drybrushing the dust on the wheels, tracks and lower part of the body. Anyway, here are some shots. I got myself a new computer as well (a Mac!), and tried Affinity Photo instead of Photoshop for photo editing. It's a bit different, but close enough to be easy to use.

I really like those Feral Orks. Nice mixing between fantasy and 40k !

Absolutely love it!

Also, try using Pixelmator. It's cheap and my go to for years now

Thank you RazgrizOne!

@Dez yes I've heard good things about Pixelmator before, I think I'll try it out, thanks!

Ok, next up is a kind of a creative side project. I've been planning this for a long time, and today I finally found some time to get it started...

So, these brown boxes aren't very exciting, are they?





Well, how about we get a few cans of spray paint and try to Orkify them?





Now, that's much better. But, just spraying them red and green isn't very Orky, is it? Well, after an hour or so in front of the computer, I think I'm onto something.





Now I only need a few supplies - some cheap acrylic paint, some card for making stencils and a couple of kitchen sponges.

To be continued...

I'm liking where this is going

Thanks, STG!

I did a couple of test pieces, call it a proof of concept.

Stencils:



Sponging:



Results:



Close up:



I'm happy I did the test pieces, because I learned a lot. The white was pretty easy, but I think I will go lighter on the coverage next time, and leave a few green spots to give a more weathered impression. They yellow coverage was pretty bad (surprise), and I had to do an extra pass with the sponge. But the paint is still kind of transparent, and it was difficult to get a sharp outline because of this. The stencil absorbed a lot more moisture as well and started warping badly, so another pass would probably not work. I don't really know how to solve this, maybe I just have to accept that the white simply looks a little better - yellow is always difficult to get right.

I think I will try to be a bit less neat when making the glyphs on the cases - if these were real Ork glyphs, they would probably have been painted by a Grot, and everyone knows that those little runts never do a proper job (if they can avoid it)...

Quick update: Started on the first case today - the Snakebite one.

Masking:



Main color down, adding some weathering:





It's starting to look like something. Now I need to dirty it up a bit. I'm not quite sure how to do this, because I don't think a wash would work in this case. Maybe I'll just water down some Scrag brown and try for a rust effect. I will have to think about this.

Also, I wasn't really happy with the Evil Sun design, so I made an alternative. I think I like this a bit better - it has more of a Speed Freek vibe, which I think would suit my boyz well.

Fantastic blog. The Orks are coming together very nice. And adding the individual artistic touch to their respective carrying cases is genius! Thank you for sharing.

Love everything you're doing here! Looking forward to seeing more!

Snakebite one looks rad! really good idea, think I'm going to steal that not gonna lie.

Thank you, Sarigar and NathanD298!

@STG: Absolutely, go ahead and loot it (like any proper Ork would do)!

It will probably be a couple of weeks until my next update, as this week I'll be off with the family for our traditional pagan ritual of celebrating the summer solstice (by eating herring, drinking spiced spirits and dancing around a great big pole - yes really - it's what we do in Sweden). But then I'll be back with the Evil Sunz case. Take care!

Summer time! Vacation, lots of free time! Right?

Right?

No, not really, but at least I've done something - I finished my carry cases! Maybe not as neat a paintjob as I usually do, but I think it's good enough. It's a bit cartoonish, and I thought about trying to add rust as well but I think I'll skip it since I like the way they look now (and I want to get back to painting miniatures). I can always go back and continue on them later if I want.












Next up will be a continuation of a project I started last summer. And it's not Orks! (*gasp*)

Those are ridiculously cool. Love em, the free hand is great on the symbols!

I love them!

Nice work on the cases! They look great. Don't worry about them looking "cartoonish", they're very Orky.

Thank you Dez and Cleatus!

@Spacewolverine: Thank you, although it's not really freehand - I made the stencils on the computer and printed them before cutting with a steel ruler and a scalpel. The smaller test pieces on the last page were freehand though.

And now for something completely different!

(A man with a tape recorder up his nose?)

No, an ancient foe has risen!

Last summer, I hit a kind of hobby slump - I guess I was disappointed that painting my Orks was sooo slow, and at the current pace, I wouldn't have a playable army until 2020 at the earliest. On the other hand, I had set a level of aestetics that I didn't want to compromise on - rather the opposite, actually - and I really wanted my Orks to be unique and be convert as much as possible - after all that is what I think painting Orks is all about. So the idea was born to do something else for a while - to paint an army with a simple color scheme that I could just churn out the vanilla models without converting everything, and which would be possible to build a complete army of in a short time so I could actually start playing the game in the current edition.

When I first got back to the hobby a couple of years ago, I found a big box of miscellaneous Ork stuff on ebay - a codex, an AoBR set, a box of Killa Kans, a Big Mek, a Painboy, a metal Ghaz and some paints and other stuff. First I figured I'd build a marine army, I had the ones from AoBR after all, but I actually had an Ultramarines army way back in 2nd ed. and I wasn't super excited to build another one - marines are a dime a dozen it seems, and if I was to use it to play, I'd rather have something else. But among all the things I got from ebay was also a Necron Battleforce box. Hmm, maybe that would be something?

Around this time the new Necron codex dropped, which sealed the deal - I would make a Necron army. It would be a lot less models than my Orks, no conversions (hrrmm, more about that later), and a simple color scheme. My eldest son was also interested in these ancient alien murder robots, and as he was going to help me paint them, he go to decide the color scheme. He wanted them to be gold and purple, so gold and purple it was!

A metal primer sped up the process considerably, and after he had helped me apply the washes, it didn't take long to complete the 20 warriors from the battleforce.





Great, finally some speedy progress!

Then I decided to tackle the Ghost Ark, and that is when I got stuck. Don't get me wrong - I love the model, it's super rich in detail, and it's a great concept - but I also hate it because it's super rich in detail and an awful concept to paint. There are millions of nooks and crannies that need to be reached with the washes, and millions of edges that need to be highlighted. So, my grand project of quickly building a playable army got crashed and burned right here. I lost interest, and went back to my Orks.

Fast forward a year, it's summer again, hey what about this old Ghost Ark that has been sitting in parts on the shelf, collecting dust for a year. Let's get it done! So, the project is back on track, and I actually finished the Ghost ark.

More or less the state I abandoned it in last year:



Now it's done (except for the base):







This feels great, and next up are these fine gentlemen. After that, there are only some Scarabs bases left, then the Battleforce is done, and the first towards an actual playable army is complete!

Awesome, Necrons are my other army besides Orks Wonderful to get the kids involved, my daughter is eyeing Sylvaneth

Behold! The Immortal cohorts of the Ka-Varnak dynasty marches forth!

(uh, or five of them at least)

Now, only a few Scarab bases remain, then I'm done with the Battleforce (and I am allowed to buy new models). Yay!





I'm working on an update of my photo setup - a larger background and stronger lights to allow me to take photos of several units at a time. So, excuse the crappy phone photos for now, when I'm done with the Scarabs I'll snap a few "proper" ones.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
We have these nice pine trees growing all around our house, and I've long thought about using the bark for making rocky bases. The texture is lovely, but they are quite brittle, so I coated the pieces in superglue to give them a hard surface to protect them. Cyanoacrylate fumes are quite nasty, so a tip for anyone who is planning to do this is to do it outside or in a well (and I mean extremely well) ventilated room. I had to take it out on the balcony, it wasn't enough with two open windows plus a balcony door.

Anyway, these little buggers are well on their way now. I primed the undersides black, but I'll use the metal primer on the top side. I think the Scarabs will be gold, even though I had originally thought that only the Necrons themselves should be gold, and all their machines dark metal. But the dark metal will probably look a bit dull against the dirt of the bases. But we'll see when I get there.

@Dez: Cool! Great minds think alike, right? It's nice to get the kids involved, my son has painted a few Space Marines (because it's fairly easy), but he is really into Orks now so that's his next project.

The bases are coming along nicely by the way.

Love the wagon. I reckon the time doing the straken highlight was worth it, personally, even though it is only visible in a few places.

Thank you, Fifty!

The Canoptek Scarabs are done! The Battleforce is done! Now I only miss a HQ, and then I have a legal, playable Necron army. A small one, sure, but it's a start. So, next up is an Overlord, and after that, some Tomb Blades, and then I'll have a Reclamation Legion.

So, here are some phone shots of the Scarabs. Sorry for the bad quality. I am working on expanding my "fancy" photo setup with a larger backdrop, so I can snap some pictures of the whole Battleforce, but that is still WIP.

Hot diggidy damn that is some nice painting and modelling, Those wildboyz look amazing!
I'm sad to see you shifting focus :(

Keep it up da paintin!
Vid.

That rust looks fantastic

Thanks Vidrian! Don't worry, I'll get back to the Orks soon - the Necrons are mostly just a side activity. But I think it is one I need so I don't burn out only painting Greenskins.

Thank you Imperial Monkey! I guess you mean on the Battlewagon? I'm pretty happy with it too - and it's so easy; just a little watered down Scrag Brown, carefully applied.

Small update: I got my hands on an Overlord, it's a nice model but I don't like the head, and I don't like the Warscythe. He's not supposed to be in CC, so better to just keep the Staff of Light. So I used the head from a Ghost Ark driver, and made a new top out of a Deathmark gun and a few pieces of plasticard, maybe it can pass for a Solar Staff if I want to.

Is the pic not working for anyone else?

How come you don't like the War Scythe? Every tine I've gone tow to toe with an overlord they seem to do well with them.

EDC

Pic doesn't work? Hmm, works for me in multiple browsers on multiple devices...

Well, it depends on how you play him - in a Royal Court-star he can have a Scythe as it's supposed to bring the hurt, but if you run a standard Reclamation Legion and join him to Warriors or Immortals for protection, he's better off with a ranged attack so at least he has the potential to join them in shooting. That's my theory at least - since I haven't actually played my Necrons yet.

I'm not very fond of how the Scythe looks on that particular model either, so if I'm going to try it in the future I might cut this one off and magnetize it with a custom made Scythe.

Oi, wat's dis? Paintin' dem tin boyz? Why not paint some propa boyz!? I got somefink 'ere fer ya, I'm puttin' togetha a small krew fer a quick smash an' grab sorta... uh... fink. Whaddaya' say? Ya up for it, or are ya a weedy grot?

. . .

”Oi, some ’un shut dat racket down, or I’ll start crackin’ ‘eads”, Baznakk growled, sending gretchin and boyz alike scurrying out of his way. The tinny blaring of the klaxon grated in his ears, and at his patience. Typical ‘oomie stuff, stating the obvious like that.

Baznakk didn’t need no fraggin’ alarm to tell him something was wrong, especially not after a huge, rumbling crash had shaken the deck enough to send everyone sprawling, and the gut-wrenching feeling of dropping out of the warp that had followed. For a moment, he wished that damned Mugbuzz had never got the power plant of the ancient ‘oomie ship running again, then he wouldn’t have to stand this infernal racket. On the other hand, it was kind of good that they’d got proper air to breathe, and light for all those cramped corridors – but damn it, why did ‘oomies have to build everything gretchin-sized?

Stooping low to fit through the bulkhead, Baznakk arrived at what the mek had claimed was the “enguneering deck”. The long, vaulted chamber finally allowed the warboss to stretch out to his full height, which he did, taking the opportunity to reach out and whack a grot over the head, sending him flying into some machinery with a crash.

“Watch dat!” cried Mugbuzz, who was standing with his back towards the room, by a large control panel of some sort, filled with blinking red and yellow lights. The mek was busy pressing buttons and pulling levers - probably at random, figured Baznakk. The warboss growled, which caused Mugbuzz to jump.

“Sorry, guv! Didn’t see you dere,” the mek shouted over the din, and gave his boss a toothy smile. Then he turned back to the control panel, and gave it a good whack with his spanner. He’d have to watch that one, Baznakk decided. That mek was a bit too smart for his own good. He’d have to show him who’s da boss soon, before he got too cheeky. Best let him shut that fraggin’ alarm down first though.

. . .

First finished member of Mugbuzz' Mek Krew: Morgog da Kutta



More to come!

Amazing is too subtle a word to describe your Orks. They're so good they've got me flowing with jealousy, and really motivated me to get a move on with my own Orks. Kudos to you!

Loving those cases by the way - must try and make one myself some time

G.A

Nice Burna Boy.

Agreed with General, looking at your blog is motivating me to get back into my painting chair. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks you, General Annoyance! It feels great to be able to inspire others to be creative!

Thanks, Cleatus! That's right, get back and paint, I'd love to see more of your stuff.

So, what's the deal with abandoning the plan to paint a Necron army? Well, I am going take part in a 10-player narrative Kill Team campaign using the Heralds of Ruin rules, and I'm super excited! I've spent the past few weeks building a list and furiously painting to get my team ready. It will be lead by my Mek Boss, Mugbuzz, and their objective is to find all the gubbinz needed to fix their ship (so that they can go join Waaagh Ghazghkull). Also, since they're a Mek krew, they'll of course always "be keepin' an eye out for fings ta loot" as well.

. . .

They’d found this old oomie ship embedded in the huge hulk that was taking them on the Waaagh, and they’d fought hard for it, clearing it of the Goffs who thought they’d owned it. Good riddance - Baznakk spat as he remembered that bunch of squigstains. Just because they’re from the same clan as the great Ghazgkhull Mag Uruk Thraka, they had got in their heads that they’re better than all other Orks, strutting around bossing everyone else around. But Baznakk had shown them.

“I sent a couple boyz down to da loadin’ bay,” Mugbuzz said, “and when dey opened da doors, they was sucked right outta space.”

The loading bay was where the ship had been attached to the rest of the hulk. Baznakk had set up barricades there, to defend it if the Goffs got the idea that they might want to take it back.

“Maybe dose Goffs blew da airlock, and sent us spinnin’?” Mugbuzz scratched the scraggly hair squig attached to his chin.

“If dey did, I hope dey’re having a good larf about it, ‘cause when I get a hold ‘o dem, I’ll…” Baznakk’s klaw revved into action.

Mugbuzz quickly shuffled over to some kind of scope or screen next to the control panel. It cast an unnatural blue light across his ugly mug as he peered into it.

“Uh… I don’t fink dat’s possible, boss,” he said. “We was booted outta da warp, an dey continued on. Dere’s no way for us to get back.”

“You got da power runnin’,” said Baznakk. “You sayin’ you can’t get da engines runnin’ too?

“Well, boss, dis ship’s got too power plants. A big ‘un, an a little ‘un. I got the little ‘un runnin’. Da engines need da big ‘un, and it’s… well it’s got a big hole right through it. Dat’s why we don’t go into da main engine room, dere’s no air. Dat, and da radiation…”

“Radi-wotnow?” Baznakk was getting annoyed. And an annoyed warboss was not a good thing.

. . .

Next up: some extra dakka for da Trukk boyz

Baznakk’s face was starting to hurt, his mouth was not used to doing this much talkin’, and his ears and head was still ringing from the alarm and the prattling of the big mek.

“So we’re stuck in dis here tin can, wiv nowhere ta go?” he asked, talking slowly, concentrating hard to contain the murderous rage that he knew would feel good, but wouldn’t help much right now. Mugbuzz seemed to sense as much, and you could see his gears working as he thought about how to answer his warboss.

“Well, Boss…” he started, ”I don’t fink it’s possible to fix da big powa plant… it’s well busted up and all.”

“But!” the mek continued, backing off as Bazkakk’s klaw, for the third time, went into action.

“Boss! Listen, I fink we can build a new one! We got most ov da scrap we need, we just miss a few gubbinz. Just gimmie a minute, I gotta speak to ma boyz.”

Mugbuzz scurried away, leaving the warboss alone in the engineering deck, his power claw idling. So that was it? They’d set out for the greatest Waaagh the galaxy had ever seen, only to be booted out and set adrift in the middle of nowhere? This was not the fate Baznakk had figured Gork and Mork had in store for him. But they were probably out there, laughing at him right now, the bastards. Baznakk felt the rage flow through him and flood out of him, like a frothing wave, a promise of destruction. He eyed the tiny door in the bulkhead. His klaw screamed as he revved it up, full throttle.

. . .

Boyz and grots alike had fled him like before a storm, and he had left a trail of destruction as he worked his way to the hangar bay. Bulkheads, hatches, ladders, pressure doors – nothing had withstood his rampage. Twisted metal and great sheets of steel torn apart marked his path through the ship. Now, finally, as he straddled his warbike, he let the last of the rage wash out of him. As he fired it up, the thunderous roar of the engine echoed through the hangar bay. Now, this was music to his ears.

. . .

Here they are, Mugbuzz Mek Krew!

I played a first test game against a Skitarii force this week, and my Orks performed very well - the Grots in particular, they were fantastic - don't underestimate the Grots! Next week is the first "real" game of the campaign, and I'll be playing 'The Last Stand' as the attacker. WAAAGH!

Here's the whole team. Remember, we're using the Heralds of Ruin games, which allows Mega-armour and individual specialists like my Burna and my two Lootas. The Boyz and Grots are divided into two teams of 5 each.





And here's Mugbuzz, by Boss Mek and Team Leader. I gave him the grumpy head from the Nobz kit, and added a greenstuffed beard and sideburns. He also got some looted Adeptus Mechanicus gubbinz. His arms and the tellyporta bit on his back are magnetoed, so I can upgrade his equipment during the campaign.

Just wanted to offer a quick note as I finished thumbing through this Blog.

Amazing work and very excellent execution on your orks (and Necrons!).

Love it, and look forward to seeing more updates on the current ork and future updates on your force.

Take it easy.

-Red__Thirst-

Thank you Red__Thirst!

Quick update today: We're supposed to play one game every two weeks, and in order to be able to finish painting any reinforcements, I've prepared a few candidates.

A Lobba, a Mek with KMB and a Runtherd for my Grots.

That's a great looking lobba and the Necron scheme from earlier is one of the best I've seen.

Thank you Cap'n Facebeard! I actually built the Lobba a long time ago, but never got around to painting it until now.

So, two victories and one defeat so far in the campaign, and now I get an extra 50 points to reinforce my team!

The Lobba is done, complete with two crew and an ammo grot (who sadly won't fit inside the points limit, but I like the little bugger so much I painted him up anyway).

It is magnetized, and can be swapped with a cannon part, but I haven't painted that yet.

Now I need to finish the Runtherd and a Burna boy before I play the next game. This week is gonna be pretty busy!

Love the lobba. Keep up the good work!

Is that a kataphron tread I see?

Also, as much as I love your orks (I'm a krazy mek myself), I have to say that the purple and gold really pop off your necrons.

Man your stuff is killer, love it!

Thank you Cleatus, kakita and Guildenstern!

Yes, those are looted Kataphron tracks! When I first saw them being released, I instantly felt that they would be the perfect size for a self-propelled artillery wagon.

Aaaargh now I need to order kataphrons lol

Just chipping in to say that as a person who's other main hobby is restoring classic cars, you've got the scuffed paint, rust and glint on the edges absolutely pitch perfect.

I've got an MG B outside that looks very similar!

Top marks

Sterling work as ever Oguhmek. That lobba and the grot crew are super characterful.

Ynneadwraith- hope the condition of your MG isn't that bad. I understand that when those things rust they really mean it.

Thanks Ynneadwraith! And it's so easy to do - just a piece of kitchen sponge and first some dark paint and then the metal on the edges. I was quite surprised by the results myself!

Thank you theCrowe!

Now, I got inspired to bash up a "Defensive Turret", basically a sentry gun that you can buy for your Kill Team. Several of my opponents already got theirs, and I'm thinking about getting one myself. I can't really afford it in my current plan, but if I skip the 'eavy armor on my new Burna boy perhaps...

Anyway, I think it turned out pretty well. Should be super quick to paint too - basically just metal with a little red paint on the face.

And now, with paint!

Hugo,

Loved the orks. Now I am off to visit your gallery.

Cheers,

CB

Defensive turret? Can any team take that? I should totally check it out.

Very cool kit bash and paintjob too.

(Btw I don't know if I've mentioned it but I really like the gold and purple necron colors. Very interesting)

Thanks, Captain Brown!

kakita, we're playing with the Heralds of Ruin rules, and you can buy a gun emplacement as an upgrade to you "base" as part of the campaign rules. Oh, and thanks!

Love it! Can i exalt again?

Thanks Oguhmek, I'll have to check it out. I wish Admech had a cool mix of units to use for kill team. Kinda stuck with Vanguard, Skitarii or the Rust Stalkers/Infiltrators

And damn your Ork stuff is making me tempted to go back and paint my orks again.

Thank you theCrowe!

And absolutely, kakita - you should!


So.... I just painted my first marine in 16 years. The last one I did was a Techmarine for my Ultramarines, some time back in 2000, and to be honest, I haven't been very tempted to either - I can't really say that I carry a burning passion for Space Marines, there are so many other great armies to collect. Anyway, I've had a bunch of marines laying around from miscellaneous purchases - mostly from the Black Reach box, but some other stuff too. And my Orks do need someone to fight, so why not paint up some oomie cannon fodder?

The idea was to more or less speedpaint a bunch of Space Marines, which meant simple techniques, few colors and focus on speed instead of precision. I initially thought about Crimson Fists, but in the end I settled on a custom chapter (I have no name for them yet - their chapter symbol is a light blue lightning bolt in a circle above a horizontal line), so that I can try out different chapter tactics if I want. I like the dark blue color though, and since I don't have an airbrush and I still wanted a color primer I got a can of dark blue acrylic Montana Gold. Now, this paint is not made for models, so it was a bit too shiny, and it had a slight texture to it as well. Initially I labeled it as a failed experiment, but in the end I decided to try to paint it up anyway.

The results are ok - not really up to my usual standards, but thinking about the time it took (it was really quick - I can never paint an Ork in an hour and a half), with a couple of layers of Purity Seal in top, I think it's good enough. It actually looks better in real life than in these photos, it's not as cloudy and the blue is really deep and vibrant. I wanted a "dirty", beat up look, and the texture fits that pretty well. With some practice and routine I can probably speed it up even more.

So here it is, my quick and dirty marine:



(Fear not, I'll be back with some Orks soon - I need to paint a couple of Kommandos for my next Kill Team game)

Wut? Wat's dis? Ya paintin' oomies now? Whadontya show some propa boyz instead, ya silly grot?!

Ok, here we go - two new Kommandos in progress for my Kill Team. And even though they're not Blood Axes, I just had to give one of them an axe, in honor of the classic models. Sneaky gitz.

Kommandos are done! Sneaky gitz!

And skulking around in their natural environment:

great stuff. love the boxes! the snake bits are great!

Wow, it's been a while since last time I updated this plog!

Well, I haven't actually painted any more Orks, although I've been playing a few more Kill Team games with Mugbuzz's Mekboyz, and it's been super fun!

I've been busy with other projects - namely painting terrain. Fantasy terrain actually. Fantasy terrain for Frostgrave, even. So I got a multipack of Ruins of Osgiliath, and put together one set more or less according to the instruction, and then "hacked" the other sets into a few different ruins.

Then I found my old Argonath bookends from the LoTR DVD special edition box, and painted them in the same scheme - they fit the theme pretty well I think.

So the other day I finally got the time to put everything together, and snapped a few photos of all the terrain together with the first encounters I finished - Wraiths made out of GW Grave Guard.

Next up are some trees, which I will make in autumn colors to match the "Fallgrave" theme of the ruins.

That terrain looks absollutely awesome.

Those two statues are book ends, aren't they?

That terrain looks awesome man, well done

Ruins of osgiliath, never thought i'd see them used outside of lotr. Noice!

Really well done conversions. Hope to see more.

and the terrain... just awesome!

Thank you bigfish, STG and Shrapnelsmile!

Damn you GW! I was moving to a different skirmish game, and then you went ahead and released Shadow War: Armageddon with some awesome terrain. Aargh, I will never be free of you - of course I needed a set.

I finally got some time to start painting it up, and man it's detailed! Maybe too detailed, because it's very difficult to set a limit on what to paint - you can't really paint every pipe, cable or vent, that would take years. Anyway, the set is great, and it's huge. I just finished all the stacks and pipes, but the walkways remain, plus all the details - cranes, skulls, railings, ladders etc. This is gonna take a while.

Damn you GW! I was moving to a different skirmish game, and then you went ahead and released Shadow War: Armageddon with some awesome terrain. Aargh, I will never be free of you - of course I needed a set.

I was about to start up Infinity when they released shadow war: Armageddon. Now I'm running a campaign for our club .

Nice work on the terrain, and all the greenskins as well of course (I love that sentry gun )

Love the terrain.