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@Cam: Yeah, I like the P&M threads about speed painting rank and file troops because of the range of times quoted by ork players. I’m getting “faster”, but a single ork boy from sprue to finish still takes me at least 8 hours and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I agonize over every bit and position choice trying to imbue the model with a theme of sorts that gives them personality and makes them unique. If you take the time to pick out every buckle and don’t let any two adjacent items (eg boots and pants) have the same color, an ork boy becomes a real commitment, but this is what I enjoy and do to relax. Thanks for posting, it’s nice to know others out there feel the same.

Finished my basing project, now my entire army is on bases that are at least passable for say, Armies on Parade. The last holdouts were actually the box of grots that got me back into the hobby after a twenty year hiatus. I only broke one foot in the process and discovered that those chisel-point X-acto blades work better upside-down (put the bevel side against the base and the flat side under the foot, and the minis break off relatively easily). And I have the first grot sniper model ready to go (it's happening GW, whether you put it in the codex or we have to homebrew our own rules for them). The funny thing is I'm getting better at basing the more I do, so now the best bases in the entire army belong to the lowliest troops.
I turned this:


Into this (rabble):

Lookign good! I prefer a more neutral brown for the base rims though, but that's up to personal taste, of course. Have you expeirmented with rhinox hide or something similar?

Nice work on the bases bud, looking a lot better.

Thanks for the feedback. The black on the base rims is intentional; it’s just the aesthetic I’ve settled on. To me it keeps the idea that the minis are still individual sculptures or works of art.

My October/November project was this guy. It's a good day when you post a pic whose tags are Ork, Slugga Boy, Kilt, Mohawk. Happy with my greenstuff work, proofs:




and painted:






Comments, criticisms, and (especially) gallery votes are always greatly appreciated.

I also went a little crazy (for me). I know some of you drop a ton of teef on this hobby regularly, but I usually buy a few bits at a time. At the end of October, I bought my ork codex, got the index off eBay the same day for $5 (gotta keep my KFF Big Mek, lobbas, and kannons, dontchaknow?), aaaaaand bought the Kill Team starter set. Painting the terrain alone in that set will keep me busy all winter (I'm about half way through assembling it all), but now I've got AM and GSC to build/paint, too! It's fortuitous timing though, because I've recently discovered that another friend of mine is just starting 40k, so this should be a good intro for both of us, since I've only played three times (all 7th) in the last 20 years. Still here, gonna pause with adding boyz for a while though, until I get my Kill Teams up and running.

Since getting Kill Team, I've devoted all my hobby time to building the terrain. It's a pretty amazing set; fit-up was clean and easy, and it looks great, particularly if you stack it up like so:



There's even enough to use for a normal game of 40k if you spread it out a bit. I finished assembly last week, and got a game of Kill Team in with a buddy of mine who plays Eldar:


Neither of us had played before, and it was late on a week night, so we made it through army listing, one complete round, and a little bit of the second. Now that we know the rules, I can see how you could get a game in in not too much time, so I'd definitely recommend Kill Team to anyone (like me) who doesn't regularly have time for full-blown 40k. Also, I'm excited to build up the Admech team that came with it, and once I finish the GSC too, I'll have 3 factions (counting my orks) to choose from. Those are pretty much my priorities; now that the terrain is built, even thinking about painting it is a bit daunting, but at least I can put it on the table and use it.

First game was a blast, and afterwards, I kept thinking about what I would change to my list, tactics etc., but the only takeaway I kept coming back to was, "That was awesome!"

I can't wait to get another game in, and now that I'm more familiar with it, maybe I'll do a proper batrep next time.

Sounds great bud.

As to the terrain, bit at a time bud. Spray the whole thing dark grey throw a drybrush over it and wash with black. Will look good enough for now and you will enjoy the feel in game as well. Big difference playing on proper terrain and stuff just not quite there. Later you can add all the details.

Lovely ork, and nice going on the killteam

...<|Enable Skitarii Kill Team Photo Dump|>...Commencing...

It's been quite a while since I've posted, but I've been busy, and actually doing hobby-related stuff to boot! I now have a regular MtG night every other week or so, managed to get a game of Gloomhaven in (the most awesome game evar), and got my second game of Kill Team in too.

On the p&m end, I've been working my way through the Skitarii from the Kill Team starter set I bought last year. The theme for my squad is that a small, elite group of rangers who call themselves the Ghosts of the Machine God have been clearing the horrors that now infest the streets of Vigilus for quite some time now. They have gotten quite good at sniping from afar and setting up ambushes, but nonetheless are down to only four remaining members. A squad of Vanguard including an alpha eager to prove himself and expand the size of his command has volunteered to find and reinforce their fellow Skitarii. Since the rangers are veteran snipers, they long ago learned that the red of their coats gave them away too easily, and so they now wear theirs inside-out. This conveniently separates the rangers form the vanguard in-game and I think it adds a nice thematic touch. I got 2 rangers done before January's painting comp, 2 done for January's painting comp, and was trying to get 3 vanguard done in time for February's "Into the Breach" competion, but I just finished them this weekend. I took a proof pic on February 4th:


and finished March 24th, meaning that I'm still keeping pace (exceeding, even!) my mini-per-month goal. Here's the rangers:


The Vanguard (front and back):




...and the squad as it stands:


I've been trying to up my basing game, so I've started experimenting with things like cogs and chain:


Now all that's left is to finish 2 more (Alpha and Plasma Caliver-weilding gunner), and I'll have a whole new faction to play in Kill Team!!!
If you're interested, there's more pics in my gallery.
Comments and criticisms always welcome, thanks for stopping in.

Disgusted to see this, but they are excellent work bud. Love them bud, really are great work. Like the scheme, and the basing is very well done, not to much, just about right.

Got my Skitarii Vanguard Alpha done in time for this month's competition. The super zoomed-in pictures reveal every flaw in my paintjob, but at arm's length, I think he looks really good, and he definitely stands out as the leader of my almost-finished AdMech kill team. I picked the weapons because I thought they looked the coolest, and once I read what they did, I got enamored of the idea of lighting someone up with the phosphor pistol as the charged and then clubbing them with the arc maul once they got in range - it's a nice visual. Pics:

On the Battlefield:










The lack of decals in the Kill Team box set is kind of a let-down, but it gives me a chance to practice freehand and pin-striping I guess. I took four or five stabs at that stupid cog and then said feth it, this is as good as it's gonna get. Plasma-caliver weilding heavy gunner should be done in the next couple days, and then I'll try to post pics of him and the whole squad together, since he's the last model I need to finish for it.

C&C always welcome, thanks for stopping by!

So I finished my plasma caliver-weilding Vanguard gunner:








That blue plasma effect is a lot of fun to paint. He was also the last troop I needed to paint to finish an AdMech Kill Team.

In December, I started painting Skitarii 2 or 3 at a time; 6 months later, I have a completely new faction to throw down with. This is so exciting! And now I'm looking at other AdMech models thinking, this could be the start of a whole new army (well played Gee Dubs). Here's the completed squad:


I'm feeling the need to get back to making orks, but I still have all the KT terrain to paint + a whole squad of GSC. Decisions, decisions. Whaddy'all think?

Back to painting an ork 'cause I needed a big shoota and I'm done wiv painting 'oomies. Finished in time to actually post to the competition this month too, which I'm particularly proud of given how crazy my life/schedule has been lately.
This was a fun little conversion/kitbash of a heavy stubba I've been wanting to loot for my orks ever since I saw it, and since one came with the Kill Team box set, the GSC lads will just have to choose the other heavy weapon options.
I tried some Spellcrow legs for the first time, and the fit and details are really nice. The "Death Guard" shoulder pad is something I cobbled together from the shoulder pad I clipped out of the Mark whatever rocket launcher from way back when, the tusk of some beastie, and a couple of spikes from the giant orc mace that comes with the fantasy boyz.
I really like the feel of this guy; the running pose is more dynamic than the usual hunched over footsloggin' GW style, and this mini just has the feel to me of the artwork that got me interested in orks back in the day in the first place. I hope you like him as much as I do, C&C always welcome.

Nice bioniks. Pretty mean lookin' big shoota too. Another great individual for da mob.

I'm working my way through painting the Killzone: Sector Imperialis terrain that came with the Kill Team starter box. I normally shy away from painting anything bigger than a Nob which might explain why I've had this stuff built but not painted for months now. This month's competition theme is Wild World, so it's a perfect excuse to overcome my fears and paint an actual part of the wild world of Vigilus.
To prevent myself from overthinking this and taking forever getting it done, I decided to follow the Warhammer TV video on YouTube as closely as I can (Duncan gets his painted in under 10 minutes on YouTube, how hard can it be, right?). The only downside is that whenever I see "Killzone: Sector Imperialis" (I watch the video every night before and after I paint a step), I get the Dead Kennedy's song, "California, Imperialis!" stuck in my head.
Rather than paint through all the steps on a couple pieces at a time, I am painting all the pieces at the same time, and I have had about enough time each night that I paint to finish one step per night. Without further ado, here's the pics and a little commentary/lessons learned for each step.

Ready for Priming:

I used some old pieces of wood I had in the garage and covered one side with two-sided carpet tape, leaving enough space on the ends for "handles". This way, I could pick up all the pieces and manipulate them to ensure good spray paint coverage on all surfaces. If I get the bug to paint up a number of orks en masse, I will definitely buy some green primer and hose them down rather than my usual paint-on per individual model primer method.

Primed:

All of the pieces stayed on the tape except for the big guy which took a nose dive when I tried to turn it almost upside-down. The primed models look so much better than the plain plastic that if you have a set of terrain assembled but haven't started painting it yet for any reason, at least prime it, you'll be glad you did. I almost called the project finished right then and there because I didn't want to screw it up, but I soldered on.

Heavy Drybrush and Basecoated Flooring:

My heavy drybrush is a little heavier than Duncan's heavy drybrush, probably because I didn't have any paintbrushes big enough and had to appropriate a couple from my kid's stash (the ones in the picture below literally say "Crayola" on them, the hallmark of true quality brushes). In fact, I was worried that it was a little too heavy and wasn't going to look very good.
Heavy Drybrush Close Up:


The spot where the floor met the walls and pillars looked crummy, too, but the next painting night, I tidied that up and was back to feeling like this just might work.
Cleaned Up Lines Where Basecoat Colors Meet:


Last night I did the first wash of Agrax Earthshade:

At this point, I would say these buildings are "battle ready" or whatever GW is calling tabletop quality these days. The shade tones down the drybrush contrast nicely, but my advice would be to check on it every few minutes as it dries, because it continues to puddle after you stop painting. I sucked up anywhere it was puddling with a brush and then went to bed. Today there are obviously places where a little more continued to run and collect in certain recesses, but it's not super-noticeable, and I'm still happy with the overall progress. Notice too, how much paint is (not) left in that bottle; that was a brand new pot, and the whole set so far has used over half of it. I think there's another step that requires even more of it, too. The heavy drybrush used about half a pot of Ushabti Bone.

Next is picking out all of those little mechanical bits with metallics. Thanks for looking, I'll try to post more updates as I get nearer to completion. I even have my first game of 8th ed. scheduled for this Sunday, so these ruins may have even more bullet holes the next time you see them.

After a couple of skirmishes on Vigilus, the fighting between the Aeldari of the Rimas Nadir and Waaagh Gulgog has intensified into raging battles.
That is to say, after playing a couple of games of Kill Team, I finally got my first game of 8th ed. 40k in. Both my buddy and I are still learning the game and time was short, but we got two glorious complete rounds in. Not only that, but between his scenery and mine, we were able to cover the table in some pretty legit and painted terrain, and his army is getting closer to fully painted, too.

Both armies face off across the battlefield:


Aeldari Deployment:


It was 1100 points which for my footsloggers is a stoopid amount of models on the table.
Ork Deployment:


There was tankbustaz and bomb squigs holding objectives:


Da Big Boss himself, da dok, and a couple a meks leading da shoota mobs:


Slugga squads waiting for Da Jump:

(the headhunter behind the statue is my proxy Weirdboy)

A buncha weedy grotz:


and Big Mek WarpRokka with his SAG that my 15 year old self converted and painted, and my current self still gets a laugh out of:


I'll be back with more terrain updates as I'm still working on it (metallics are finally done!), and after that, my next project is gonna be somethin' speshul...

Thanks for stopping by!

Finally 100% finished with my Kill Team terrain!!!
If you're just tuning in, I mostly followed what Duncan did on Warhammer TV for this. The only change I made was substituting a vallejo silver for the highlights on the silver bits (instead of the Necron compound he used) and instead of retributor armor for the eagles and such, I used a base of brass scorpion with a layer of skullcrusher brass over it. If I had it to do over again, there is one thing from his method that I would change, and that is to not waste time with a second wash of agrax earthshade over the silver bits. Maaaaaaybe it makes them look a tiiiiny bit more rusty/weathered, but if so, it's extremely subtle, and counts for a wasted evening in my book. It does help with the bronzy/brassy bits, just not the silver ones. Really, the best sequence of operations would be to do both kinds of metallics before even the first wash of agrax earthshade, because then they'd just get covered in it along with everything else.
Sidenote: I still can't drybrush for beanz. I was way too heavy handed with the screaming skull for the last highlight and now my whole buildings are lighter than I would have liked, but whatevs; I'm done and it will still look killer on the table top. There are photos of each stage sprinkled in my gallery if you're interested.
For a big project like this, it definitely felt like a slog at times, but ultimately, it was a lot of fun, looks amazing now, and upped the scale of what I consider doable.
(Tada!):


As always, C&C (and gallery votes!) are welcome.

Nice work. Looks great and nice little catch up with the blog. Great stuff sir, please continue.

Remember when I said I'd be back wiv somefin' speshul? Remember when I found that old 2nd ed. battlewagon in my parent's garage? Well, just look at 'er now! I wanted to remake this thing and use it in games as a Trukk so that it would actually carry a dozen orks plus the big shoota it's supposed to have as standard equip (that'll be the topic of a later post). I stalled out a bit because I couldn't figure out how to make the back end work (the main hold can easily hold 9 orks, 10 is kind of a stretch, so I have to have more capacity somewhere). This is still definitely WIP and has a loooong way to go, but my goal is to get the modeling done before the Pacific NW rains return for fall/winter so that I can spray primer it while the weather is still nice and then spend the winter painting and detailing. As usual, comments and questions, and suggestions are welcome!

After a whole lot of tinkering (and making/gluing tiny brass rivets), I'm finally happy with the build and declaring this stage of the project done. I was going to primer it, but the smoke from the nearby wildfires is preventing me from going outside, much less spray painting anything, so that'll have to wait, which is a shame because I'm dying to put brush and paint to it. Since the last update, I've added glyphs and some little details to help pull the whole thing together and make it more orky and hopefully more realistic.
The finished product, Beekee Bob has been returned "to his post":


Door glyphs, "Dis way to da Waaagh!":


Other glyphs, property of "Gulgog Tuftoof", engine built by BigMek "WarpRokka", and da gunner (to be added later via magnets) "Grimgob":


I couldn't come up with a name I liked for the driver, so the backstory is now just that when it's time to go to the front lines, they grab some random speedfreak (dere's always plenty muckin' about da camp) and tell him he can drive. The glyphs serve as words of inspiration for the driver, "dis way, fasta!, kaboom!":


Ladders on the back to get up to the upper levels:


As usual, questions and comments welcome, enjoy!

That vintage wagon is da Bizniss! Super job. Can't wait to see it get paint on. Ere we go, ere we go, ere we go!

The trukk is primed! Now I have something to work on all winter
I've got everything on a handle of some sort that I can hold while painting, and then I stuck all of the components with their handles onto a piece of wood using some 2-sided carpet tape for spray painting. We finally got some nice weather and the smoke from the wildfires is gone so it went on ok and dried nicely. I'm still a bit heavy-handed with it though, I feel like with more practice I could get a thinner coat and keep more depth in the details. Pics:

Your kill team terrain is looking great! Fantastic work. Looking forward to seeing the wagon coming together.

these ladz are representing the green machine on the Dakka front page!

Thanks for noticing, it makes my day when my stuff periodically pops up on the dakka homepage. I need to not stand on my meager laurels though and find the motivation to paint. The trukk project is moving forward at the pace of a grazing grox but I’ll try to post an update here soon. I was actually all fired up to paint tonight and then I remembered that Wednesday is not a painting night. Maybe I can muster the same gumption tomorrow night.

So in addition to finishing my trukk, on a personal note, I am ending a nearly 30-year abusive relationship. That's right, never again will I ever buy a Citadel paint pot of anything thicker than a shade or a wash. No more dried paint in the hinge causing fresh paint to ooze out onto my fingers. No more dried pots of paint that really aren't that old just because I didn't (or couldn't) get a proper seal the last time I used them. I'm going dropper bottles and never looking back, and to support me, my family even got me this for Christmas:


As for the trukk update, I found some pics of the original state of affairs, and my musings on how to make it actually carry the 12 orks it's supposed to:
(a pile of bitz and a bag of plasticard)




(this guy's always ready to go)


For the Dakka December painting challenge, I painted up the gunner and driver. I was quarantined because of a suspected Covid exposure (luckily, it turned out to be a scare and not a real emergency), which gave me a ton of time to just focus on the Trukk project, so I got them painted up in record (for me) time.

Wot're you lookin' at?


Since he's a Kromlech figure, I even tried my hand at magnets for the first time so I can remove him if for whatever reason I end up going to an event in a GW store.
As for the trukk itself, it was a lot of fun to give a 20+ y.o. model a fresh paint job, and I tried a few new things after alternating my quarantine time painting and watching Zumikito Miniatures YouTube videos. The exhaust pipe was my first attempt at NMM, and I like the technique, but I learned that I need to learn how to blend first. I'll be trying more though, I do like it. I also tried to make it look really rusty without resorting to special weathering paints (since I don't own any). This too could be improved, but was a good learning experience, and going forward I'll be developing it more so that my orks don't look quite so crisp and clean. Other features are that the door opens, and you can remove the cab top to see into the cockpit. As usual, questions, comments, and gallery votes would make my day, enjoy!


















Oh yeah, and lest I forget...
The Unfortunate Fate of Beekee Bob
Beekee Bob was the only survivor of a Space Wolves squad that had the misfortune of meeting Gulgog TufToof in hand-to-hand combat. His battle brothers were all given heroes deaths at the hand of the great warlord's klaw, but alas, he was cleaved in half by the power axe in the Gulgog's other hand whilst it was at full charge, which had the effect of cauterizing his grievous wounds as it sliced its way through him. Left for dead, he was eventually found by the lootas and burnas as they combed the battlefield for scrap and unarmed (and un-legged), was still trying to fight the foul xenos bare-handed as they approached him. They admired his fighting spirit and were awed that he survived a fight with the warlord himself, and so made him their mascot and chained him to the mast of their trukk. In true grim-dark fashion, his super-human physique won't let him die, so now he charges into battle against friends and foes of the Imperium alike, praying for death or a miracle that might return him to his chapter.

It’s great to see that old battle wagon get new life. I always wanted one of those so badly - based on the picture in the Codex: Orks but could never find one. Those are still great wheels. Good job.
And I really like the Kill Team terrain as well. I’ve painted my Sector Mechanicus but not my city ruins yet. I like yours and may do something similar. Priming with a colored primer is the way to go!

Greg job rescuing that old wagon! I remember thinking that they looked so cool in those WD battle reports, yours is even better for being able to fit all of the Ladz in!