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EDIT: I am not limiting myself to a German theme. Instead I think I'm just going to go for a 'WW2 militaristic' approach. So I'm considering Soviet, British, American, German, you name it... so long as it looks Orky

For colour palettes, I'll likely do vehicles black with red and metal bitz. The infantry in grey greatcoats with a mix of pickelhaubes, gas masks, Soviet fur caps and the MicroArt non-descript officer hats.

Hey guys,

So I was thinking of knocking up a mechanised Ork army at some point in the future with the Micro Art Studio greatcoat bodies/Ork gasmasks/helmets, etc.

Since this inevitably, in mute colours, leads to what some interpret as a 'Germanic feel' I thought I might have some fun (and possibly save some money) by converting up WWII vehicles.

As it stands I need to know what to use for Trukks, Battlewagons and Looted Wagons.

For Looted Wagons I thought perhaps a Panzer IV, but it might be an issue to get the roof off to make it open-topped, so I am not sure how practical this is (I do not own a hacksaw and I don't trust myself with one ) I thought maybe an Ostwind, as it would already be open-topped, but the cannon on it is just insufficient. I can't really think of any open-topped self propelled guns that had turrets, I know there are plenty with fixed casemates to pick from, but I think this vehicle would demand a turret. Of course, there's always the possibility of converting the vehicle up with a sufficiently 'orky' gun; hell, now I think about it, even a Panzer IV's 75mm would look puny compared to most Ork ordnance. Any ideas?

Trukks; I thought maybe half-tracks of some kind, but these just seem too small. I could always get some from a scale larger than what is actually needed but I don't know. If I were feeling really cheeky, I suppose Opel Blitzs are a genuine option. But this is where I am more clueless than anywhere else. I recall the Germans having an open-topped hauler for their artillery/ammo of some kind, was a tracked vehicle with a large capacity on the rear, but I can't for the life of me remember its name. Anyway, here is where I really want some advice; I might just buy old Gorka Morka trukks but I fear they won't blend well with the rest of the force.

Battlewagons: Again, not so sure. I think I would have to severely mutilate an oversized kit of some kind; perhaps a Maus or a Karl Gustav (if the gun can be removed convincingly?).


Anyhoo, does anyone have any ideas? I've never tried 'orkifying' anything before, but it will likely consist of lots of roughly cut plasticard slabbered all over the hull and application of lots of bitz.

And, perhaps most importantly, what scale do I want? I read somewhere that 1/35 is much too large, but for vehicles like the Trukk this might be necessary. I also believe 40k is a little bit too 'big' anyway. But I would need vehicles that wouldn't look hilarious compared to the minis (say, an Sdfkz. where the driver's seat is visibly larger than any of the Orks it apparently carries). I might want to oversize the tanks. I had heard that 40k equates to around 1:42 but I am not aware of that being a scale?

Edit: Prowling has shown me that there are models at 1:48 scale? Is that 'close'?

look around for 40mm ww2 vehicles, i think thats 1/42, and should match Warhammer's 'heroic scale'. It would also make the ordnance look more impressive.

For looted vehicles, why not 'loot' some Soviet vehicles? Its not quite open topped, but the USSR's KV-1 (or KV-5 if you want to be imposing) was the closest thing the real world ever got to getting a Baneblade.

Some of the smaller 1/35 work really well too.

This is 1/32 and savage orc (slightly taller than normal ork, 1-3mm more) was used for the girl:

http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/259620-.html?m=2

Lord of Timbraxia wrote:look around for 40mm ww2 vehicles, i think thats 1/42, and should match Warhammer's 'heroic scale'. It would also make the ordnance look more impressive.

For looted vehicles, why not 'loot' some Soviet vehicles? Its not quite open topped, but the USSR's KV-1 (or KV-5 if you want to be imposing) was the closest thing the real world ever got to getting a Baneblade.

I actually came across this Battlewagon conversion that was most impressive:

http://www.the-waaagh.com/forums/?showtopic=30018#entry424883

And I do like that vehicle, iluknissa. I am wondering if a 1:35 Opel Blitz truck might look the part?

If I were to use a KV-2 for the Battlewagon, I am still wondering about the usual tank... I asked myself what German tanks look 'orky' and I think the Czech tanks used by the Wehrmacht could look good on a 1:35 scale, as they'd be bulked up... the main gun would definitely have to be replaced, though. But since they're riveted I am unsure if I'd be able to do much conversion work. Would a venerable Tiger (aka, big box?) look better? Or should I go for a less well-known tank?

Alternatively, France is an amusing option:



The problem is making this stuff open-topped...

1/35 vehicles are good for large items. 1/48 if you want more...realistic scale I guess




Never actually bought from them but scale hobbyist is probably a good way to find some of these

http://www.scalehobbyist.com/index.php

If you want an open topped, WW2 German vehicle with a big gun then the Sd.Kfz half-track would be a good bet. It usually carried artillery but there where were troop transport variations too. Here is a photo from a book i own.



Hope this helped!

1/35th has worked pretty good for some of my conversions. The biggest problem I have is that real world guns are NEVER orky enough.

I thought about using a Char B1 as a tank, but it's far too pricey.

Thanks for the info about the halftracks, that pic blew me away a little; might be what I use for Trukks!

But what I want to know is just what to use as the Looted Wagon... the Battlewagon is without a doubt going to be a KV-2 (it did have some competition from the T35, but I could find no decent 1:35/1:48 scale items for it).

I'm thinking I want a tank that's Leman Russ sized (so, for a WWII medium, probably 1:35... I'd think about Tiger tanks but 1:48 looks too small and at 1:35 it might rival the KV), looks 'Orky' (and Leman Russ'ish, so probably an early WWII or interwar design) and has a turret that looks like it could sensibly accomodate a Leman Russ battlecannon.

A bit of a tall order!

I was thinking about the Matilda:


But I dunno, does that actually look 'orky' to people? It has curved elements on the armour, that's what bothers me, though it could be filed down and have plasticard 'scrap metal' plastered all over it. The gun mantlet could be removed and filled in with green stuff, and it'd likely accommodate a battlecannon.

I think a Panzer IV looks about right shape-wise, but it looks too well-built/engineered. I might resort to one as they are cheap and abundant but I dunno... anyone got a (under £30) medium tank that looks lovely, riveted, with big flat sides like a Leman Russ?


Edit:

The T-26 is nice, especially, I think, if I were to get it in a large scale. But I can't find any kits that don't look scary as hell to make (200+ parts) Wish there was a resin version:



I also wonder if my biker Warboss could be modelled onto either of these:


I doubt that A. I will ever get that far or B. I would bother, but a Kettenkrad Warboss would be amusing So would a BMW Motorcycle with a sidecar filled with Grot 'helpers'..


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Korpral Killytoof wrote:If you want an open topped, WW2 German vehicle with a big gun then the Sd.Kfz half-track would be a good bet. It usually carried artillery but there where were troop transport variations too. Here is a photo from a book i own.

[

Spoiler:

IMG]http://i39.tinypic.com/35aot8h.jpg[/IMG]

Hope this helped!

Your towing truck idea:


Is the perfect contender

It was the vehicle I was thinking of: in the game Blitzkrieg it's referred to as a 'Hanomag Hauler' I think. Orky enough if you ask me.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Heller's S35 would've been almost exactly what I was looking for:


Buuuut it's no longer being produced.

Panzer 4 shape is what you want? The Sturpanzer IV had large, flat armour plates on the side, and looked quite orky too.Plus, It was just a modified panzer 4 chassis. Try not to bend your neck!



Thanks again!

What about the matilda hedgehog.

Sturmtiger? Also, this:

http://militarymodels.co.nz/2010/05/29/kit-review-trumpeter-german-geschutzwagen-tiger-fur-17cm-kanone-72-sf/

It's open-topped, and that gun is pretty damn big.

I'm using mostly 1/35 scale Brit, Russian, and American vehicles, with a spattering of german stuff - by in large it works scale wise.

For Battlewagons I think that Sturmtigers and SPGs (especially open topped ones) are a great choice. But doesn't the kilkannon have to be able to rotate?

If I were to run a second with just a kannon, I might consider a Geschutzwagen or something similar and just leave the original gun in place. Though I do worry that the interior would not be 'orky' enough.

A sturmtiger could represent a lobba, but I am not sure that they're a great choice?


Automatically Appended Next Post:

steelcult wrote:I'm using mostly 1/35 scale Brit, Russian, and American vehicles, with a spattering of german stuff - by in large it works scale wise.

I'd love to see some pics of that