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Hi all!

Being a new member to this forum and wanting to share some of my meagre attempts at creating a 40k army worth showing to the world,
I present to you: Waaagh Ztahlinork.

Beware, this is not a blog about "showcase quality"-models.
Having an average attention span of about 10 minutes, deteriorating eyesight and wanting a tabletop-ready army without spending aeons of my life
does that to you.

So: here we go.

It all started with the AoBR boxed set. Must have been 5th edition.
At the time, I just got back into 40k (I stopped the moment 2nd ed stopped) and I really didn't know what army to pick.

So I got myself a box, swapped the marines for more orks and before I knew it, I had about 300 models staring at me in all their greyish plastic simplicity.
It could have ended right there - having so many unpainted models on your workbench and no real plan what to do with them,
is perhaps not the wisest of things to do when you're starting an army.

So I started looking around for a colour scheme I could like, would be quick and fun to paint, and wouldn't become boring (or tedious) after the first 20 models.

And I didn't find it.

So, as a true hoarder, I thought the best plan of action was to start another project.
Something small, just for fun.
So I bought me some Orcs. What?
Yes: Orcs - not Orks. Black Orcs to be precise.

So I now had 310 greyish models staring at me. Some even with some sprues attached to their various body parts.


Picking up a Black orc, I wondered what it would look like wielding a chainsword. An Orky chainsword. On a big stick.
Hmmm, this might just work...

That was two years ago...

This is what that Black Orc looks like now:



And his fellow Black Orcs:



Hope you like.

You have a fantastic army and would be proud to fight your WAAAGH with my Freebooterz WAAGH or Soul Drinker army. Take a bow good sir you are indeed at showcase quality in my mind. Its superb.

The paint job is wonderful and love the banner! Nice stuff sir!

Thanks guys! Much appreciated!


The propaganda-theme was an important part of the entire project.
I made a couple of them based on WW2 Soviet-posters.

The original Waaagh-banner used to be a red soviet flag taken from some Warhammer kit, but I wasn't quite happy with them.

It's also a little more silly to use a paper poster as a banner.
A tiny flame and there goes your banner

Seriously: by making a couple of designs, I could place them with different sizes on a piece of paper, so they can be used as leaflets, posters etc.
Without having to freehand everything again and again.

Here's a picture of it more close:



And used on a smaller scale for one of the propaganda-grotz (ammo runtz):



And for dessert: Zthalinork himself.



Main body is a FW Grotbot/Runtbot (forgot the name), a spare Gazghkull-head and some bits & pieces.
Hope you like

Fantastic! Zthalinork looks real menacing! I really like the rusty effects on your orks! Do you use some sort of powder for that?

@ Leviathus: I think some kind of a how-to overview is needed

Painting a Zthalinizt ork:

- Infantry:
> spray white
> paint all skin green. thin down the paint so it flows easily and keeps the white shining through
> paint trousers or some bits and pieces an offwhite/light dusty brown. once again: keep it thin (not too thin, mind you)
> paint all straps, boots, ammo, weapons, ... brown. something like bestial brown or something similar. And yes: keep it thin.
> paint red parts. Paint should be a mix between red and brown. Don't apply this too thin - it looks bad.
> clean up all the spots, splatters, ... on the white. on some parts (helmets, armour, ...) it's not too bad to leave some splatters...
> add orange patches/oxydation to all meal bits. do this at random. I tend to use the GW technical paints, but sometimes you may want to add some more or brighter colours.
> once dry, wash the entire model with a dark brown wash (devlan mud, a mix of reikland flesh shade & badab black, ...). Try to make sure the wash doesn't pool too much.
> leave to dry.
> add details again, starting with the flesh and adding more white to the mix.
> white armour = mix between dry brushing, sponging & brushing.
> use a fine sponge/small brush and add spots/scratches with storm vermin fur. you may want to add some black to make it contrast more.
> add more orange and oxydation where wanted using the technical paints. build this up as far as you like.
> add metal highlights using bolt gun metal and an additional chain mail/mithril silver highlight for cutty things.
> use some typhus corrosion sparingly to add more depth and texture to certain metal areas.
> to add further depth: use weathering powders (sand, rust, dark earth, ...) where needed.

- Vehicles:
only the first step is different, but it results in deeper rusty effects:
> spray the model black. WHILE this is drying, spray from varying distances (and preferably trying to get a blotchy/spotted effect) with a bestial brown (army painter has something like that).
Of course: if you have an airbrush and know how to use it, you can use that.
> once dry spray parts white, but don't be too clean.
> then, follow the same steps as for the infantry.

Here's some pics of my megadread to illustrate the result:

Impressive! Thanks for the clarification!

Perhaps I gonna give it a shot when I paint my warboss!

Cool beans, dude! The banner design is spot on, as is the paint job.That rust and white works brilliantly together.

Brilliant weathering here and I like the white.

Thanks guys, much appreciated

I guess the big secret is speed - the megadread for instance took me about 2 hours start to finish.
Won't be winning me a golden demon with it, but it kinda works...

Onto some more stuff: Tankbustaz.

These guys originated from having way too many Burnaz.
So what better than to convert them into rocket-wielding lunatics?

The main reason off course were the bombsquigs, which game wise I kinda like.
I didn't have any squigs to spare and I already had my eyes set on some of these Kromlech remotely controlled bombs,
until I found an old WD (the very early 90's) with some runtbots.
That's it: what better than a wobbling orkish robot loaded with explosives?

I still had some old plastic epic stomps lying around and a couple of Kromlech heads.
So half an hour of cutting later, I had the basis for my "boombotz".
Well, they still need detailing - both in paint and in modelling : some bombs/ammobelts attached at the front/back, a remote attached to the back of the head (with antenna) and maybe some arms.
not sure about the arms yet - will see.

The tankbustaz were pretty strait forward: chop off any "burnt bits" and add any rocket or rpg-like device I could find.
Stikkbomz are actually great for this kind of stuff.

So far, they've been painted up to a tabletop standard. I'll add details later.

Hope y'all like.

Those little bots are great! Awesome idea. Nice work on the bustaz as well!

This is a fantastic army- brilliant idea and very well executed indeed.

Your army is gorgeous, absolutely original in every way. I toyed with an off white scheme for ork, couldnt make it work. Yours is perfect, especially with the theme you have.

Thanks guys, much appreciated.
If any of you would have any suggestions, please feel free to do so


@40kFSU : it's just white with a wash and some simple "highlight".
the only thing which may not make the scheme work for orks is in keeping the painting too clean.
with some other colours (traditional Goffs for instance) a clean scheme doesn't hurt, but here it would do more harm than good.


To continue with the rocket-theme: the rokketbuggy!
well, 3, actually.

With the "nerfing" of the killakan, I suddenly found myself with too many kans.
mind you: I like kanz. The idea that there's an armoured walker, piloted by a freaked-out grot, rampaging around a battlefield =

So what to do with them?

Going through the codex, I noticed the old classic: the buggy.
So far, I had stayed away from them. Never had much love for that model.

A friend had given me some and I had begun cutting them up, before ditching the project.

Then it dawned: why not make them look like some kind of armoured car?

So I cut of the legs and removed the arms of the kans and simply stuck them onto the chassis of a buggy/trakk.
And somehow, I think it works.

I still need to go over some parts of the paintjob (especially the "glassy" bitz), but I really love them.

In the meantime I've gotten hold of another 6 trakks/buggy's, so I may end up using these as grot tanks,
and keeping the others more standard to differentiate on the battlefield.

What do you think?

I love the scheme you have going on for this army! The colors and weathering are top notch, as are the tiny details in the models. I really like the "bunny" on the buggy. It's nice to see someone that can get a great looking, characterful force without spending hours on each individual model.

@Peredyne : I do would like to be able to spend hours / days / ... on a model, but I must not kid myself - that's just not me.

I just want my models as quickly as possible gaming ready. So, I'm always on the lookout for some shortcuts which may combine a few steps in the painting process.
For shading I tend to use a dark brown wash (in the same way as dipping, but without the shiny stuff) : it dries very quickly (about 1/2 hour under a hot lamp),
adds warmth / depth and works for any colour (contrary to a black wash). It also adds a bit of grime, without having to resort to powders, etc.


Now onto some bigger stuff: battlewagons.

While visiting a couple of museums regarding "The Battle of the Bulge", I found in one of the shops some Mercedes Maultier kits.
I thought of using them straight out of the box, but upon finishing the first kit, I noticed the model looked actually too long and too narrow.

Also, it was a little underwhelming height-wise.

Now, I've always loved the stuff Irondog Studios did / does. especially the big-wheeled trucks.

So I went looking for some of these big tyres of my own.

it took me about 3 months before I found the right ones (yes - I hardly ever shop online, which means finding things may take some time) :
they even had embossed stars! what more could I want for a Soviet army ?

Now, my plasticard and scratch building skills are not the greatest.
So, it's a little rough here and there, but I figure I can always add more detail later.









Painted, they look something like this:







Note: The deffrolla was made using some tankwheels glued together, but it could use some more detail (rivets, cabling, ...)

I have been admiring your work for a few days now and have to say this is one badass Orc army, from the colour scheme to conversions impressed

As for your PC work the trucks look great and you don't have to be to clean with it its Orcs after all, I think you have a pretty good balance with your converting and detailing work so don't worry too much on that front.

Great stuff and will be dropping in to check up on this one

@ lone dirty dog : thanks, mate, make me blush

looked at your scratch built tanks and must say: very impressive.

Cheers for that but your work is truly awesome now blush away

Time for another update: looted wagons!

Now, everyone loves them, even though they may not be the best unit
or the fact that they have to compete in an overcrowded force selection slot.

Still: they're kinda fun and wel, orky.

Mine started off as a Leman Russ Demolisher and a Rhino.
But I kept them simple and cheap: just adding a deffrolla (when it was worth taking), a couple of big shootas and a skorcha.

That way, they can even double-up as Mekboy Junka (even though this configuration is not living up to what a real Junka should look like).

There's a very lame thing about the LR deffrolla: it's made up of a bunch of model tyres and it shows
Have to fix that.












And sometimes the boyz loot something really big...





Yes, it's the old FW one, now used as a count-as Battlefortress.

It was (and still is) quite damaged: missing track links, missing details, wrongly put together (it kinda angles in many, many different directions)
but I got it for about €40 - which wasn't all that bad.

I fixed some stuff (missing turret, guns) and quickly painted it to be tabletop-ready.

I'll be adding stuff to it later: a grot-manned watchtower, an outhouse, grot sponsons and crew, more guns...
but piece by piece, so the model is always available to play with.

Dunno why, really - nobody wants to play against super heavies

That tank is soooooo..... AWESOME! Your theme for you orks is great. Would love to see more infantry.

Your Orks are lucky boyz

Between the colour and the conversions they Rock, personally I like the tires myself

I'm really liking this. Because I like Kromlech's Orc Gasmask heads so much, I'm doing mine with a WW2 German theme (as soon as I find the best online store to get Kromlech in bulk from).

Looking forward to seeing what else you come up with, and maybe shaking some green fists from across No Man's Land at Ztalingrad.

 Veteran Sergeant wrote:
I'm really liking this. Because I like Kromlech's Orc Gasmask heads so much, I'm doing mine with a WW2 German theme (as soon as I find the best online store to get Kromlech in bulk from).

Honestly, the best online store to order Kromlech in bulk from is Kromlech (http://bitsofwar.com/). Sign up for an account with them and make sure you sign in every time you order from them. Every purchase, you earn voucher points which can be exchanged for store credit later on. They even tell you how much any particular item is worth in voucher points on the item description.

Looks awesome so far. Good use of scale model vehicles and really solid plasticard work as well.

Hehehe, That's an awesome motorpool you're building up. Awesome stuff!

That's one of the coolest ork armies I have seen in a while. White just fits well and the weathering is fantastic. The vehicles are really spiffy, you have a look and feel that fits across the board. You really need a stompa,

Thank you all for the support, guys.
Means a lot.


Hope to get y'all an update by the end of the week.

What this log doesn't show is I got sidetracked:
painting a weird daemon army for a friend and gotten myself a fully painted Blood Raven/Grey Knight army in return.


But I need to adapt it to fit more with my style.

First I need to finish some real life stuff, though:
applying for a new and interesting job.

Well, of course I couldn't resist of posting some pictures


But not Orks this time - no da Meuhrienz haz taken over.

I'm kinda out of my comfort zone here : I've gotten myself a painted army, but it's not my style of painting at all.


Since it's a kind of 4th ed army, a lot of stuff is missing, so I'll have to adapt to have units fit into the army.

Here's my first efforts - terminators!



Boy, I hate these Ravens! Well, freehanding them.
This will take a LOT of practice...



The banner came out ok-ish...



As did the blood drop I think...



And their ride is also quite ok...



omg, not another raven...



or should they take this one as a ride?



No "bloody raven" on this side



I need to redo the 2nd LR. Sponsons are way too small...
And these guys will need a lot of weathering.

Just to hide the horrible mistakes and layers of paint.
Before I painted them, I discovered 7(!) layers of paint on the 2nd one.
No way to remove all of that...

What do you guys think?

Ok, ok, of course I couldn't resist posting some more Orks...


It's down to the regular boys.

These guys are in dire need of some serious pimping.
The main thing is they need some more details done.

I already did this little mob:



I think adding the deep red parts adds more depth and interest to these rank-and-file guys.

This is the state of some of the others:



One of the "big" mobs.
There's 2 more like this to go (about 45 boyz).

They're basic AoBR boyz - the shootaz are actually 2 sluggas cut up and glued together.
El cheapo - I know