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Not really sure if that is the best subforum for that:
I consider dipping a toe into orks, but I'm just interested in modelling/converting and a bit of lore, not actually playing them. So I guess I don't need the newest codex for that and am more looking for one with some interesting lore snippets, nice pics for painting inspiration and maybe as a cherry on top some conversion ideas. I really loved the 3rd edition IG Catachan Codex that had a lot of that, including tutorials on jungle plants etc.

Can anybody point me to which editions codex might be the best to look out for on Ebay and the like?

The visuals have changed over the years. I’m not that familiar with the or s specificly. A good default answer os the 2nd ed codex. But orks also had some classic RT tomes full of goodness.

But a lot has changed since those days.

Codex: Armageddon is what converted most of my friends to play Orks.

Try to find some of the oldest:
Waaargh the Orks
'Ere we Go
Freebooters

TONS of fun and silly but cool ideas and conversion options!

My favorite?: Warp power addicted Weirdboy (WarpHead) possessed by a Daemon (who is stuck inside a creature it can NOT control!)

Good fun!....

'Ere We Go has an expansive treatment of Ork Kultur that is worth dwelling on for lore. They even had Khorne Orks.

 NOLA Chris wrote:
Try to find some of the oldest:
Waaargh the Orks
'Ere we Go
Freebooters

TONS of fun and silly but cool ideas and conversion options!

My favorite?: Warp power addicted Weirdboy (WarpHead) possessed by a Daemon (who is stuck inside a creature it can NOT control!)

Good fun!....

What he said, the first editon books are the best by a country mile and it’s all still relevant today. You won’t do any better than that.

As far as a Codex goes I'd say the 4th/5th Edition one is pretty revered in the ork community. It was fun, it was orky and had some nice fluff. It will also be much cheaper than the other stuff from 2nd edition, you can get it for 5€ if you're patient/ lucky.
The 3rd edition one is pretty light on pages but has the infamous report of the magos at the end, everything from 6th/7th edition looked nice but already reduced the orkiness, and 8th+ is overall light on fluff again and has boring streamlined rules. I know you don't want to play, but I always found fun rules and weapon options inspiring for my conversions and modelling.

Thanks for all the input, that helped a lot. So off to the hunt on Ebay. And of course: WHAAAAG!

For my group the 4th ed codex is our favorite tied with the FW book imperial armor 8 the raid on kastorel-novem

The best and orkiest of all

Well, the good news is Orks have had some of the most stable background.

Waaargh! The Orks isn’t cheap to get hold of, but is 100% background. Whilst some of the scales have gone upwards, its description of Ork society remains consistent with even the most modern sources.

For pure background, I recommend the Ufthakk Blackhawk novels

For modelling? Orks is Orks. Provided any conversion or scratch build is of the same approximate size*? They’re Orks. Go crazy. They often do.

*Not you, cheating fit from 3rd Ed who made “advertising boards” for his Ork Trukks, to ensure they blocked as much LoS as possible. That’s not a cool scratchbuild, that’s you being a dick, and well you knew it.

I've never read the Rogue Trader books, just 2e, 3e and 4e books. Of those, 2e and 4e were definitely my favourites. I really like the Gorkamorka "orkology" ideas with the spore based ecosystem, and I prefer the post 3e orks to 2e orks (I like my orks to be good in a scrap, and 2e orks were a lot like Imperial Guard with wackier weapons). I do like the fun and jokey nature of the 2e background though.

But my best time in the hobby was probably messing around with the 4e book and I really enjoyed the background section - it had some great bits like the time travelling warboss who kills himself to have a spare of his favourite gun.

In my mind, nothing can ever top the OG trifecta of

Waaargh The Orks (1990)
'Ere We Go (1991)
Freebooterz (1991)

In terms of lore and illustrations. They will always be the GOATs for me. I much lament the loss of a lot of the cool stuff from those times, so much so that I wouldn't even want to play Orks in the current editions..

 aphyon wrote:
For my group the 4th ed codex is our favorite tied with the FW book imperial armor 8 the raid on kastorel-novem

The best and orkiest of all

Spoiler:

These two books describe modern orks the best, and I'd actually drop 10th edition's codex on top of that. It's not better than 4th edition's codex, but I also don't think it's any worse. It's a worthy successor.
With fluff being returned to the codex, you get a good overview of what the ladz have been up to since the timeline started progressing and a ton of pictures of the newer models.

Got the 5th edition codex on Ebay for cheap as a startet and dang, there is some fine stuff in there. Lots and lots of lore, nice artwork and even if the model-pic section looks a bit old-schoolish, it's pretty nice. Thanks for the recommendations

Glad you liked it, the love the original GW crew used to put into the 3rd and 4th ed books is sorely lacking in modern 40K. the 4th ed main rulebook not only has the core rules/lore for normal 40K but also combat patrols, kill teams and terrain building tutorials.