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So.

I don't like the GW battlewagon.

It's fine, don't get me wrong! I mostly just don't like the idea of every Ork vehicle being uniform in design. So, for a while now, I been slowly collecting various pieces to build myself some customized battlewagons. Now the good thing about Orks is that you don't necessarily have to be 'good' at modeling vehicles thanks to their ramshackle aesthetic.

My plan pretty much boils down to this mindset.



I'm randomly putting pieces together until it looks like it might work.

I've gotten some work done already. I'm need to figure out the best way to connect these two chimeras chassis together and that will make a nice, long body and then build a box to fit a turret on top. The two smaller turrets will hopefully sit beside each other on the front. I'm trying to make something inspired by the T28.

Looks like you're off to a promising start . Will you be cannibalizing regular battlewagons? I've 'improved' all of mine as well, so can definitely relate!

I also share the concept that two orks vehicles of the same type MUST look quite different from each other.

Not just the BW: I wanted that for all my walkers, mek gunz, trukks, buggies too.

Plenty of ways to do so: looted vehicles, a kitbash of different ork vehicles, third party tanks or scratch built models using plasticard. Or a mix of each.

The two chimera chassis could definitely work, I suggest using some plasticard to connect them though. It's really hard to assemble a nice looking kitbashed BW with 100% GW plastic.

I'm also in the camp that Orky vehicles/mechs should vary wildly in design; though having a couple that look *similar* is ok as it shows that maybe the same mek worked on them, one was copied by an apprentice mek, or they share the same base components.

By using two chimera, are you planning on having a fixed structure, or something jointed in the middle, like those bendy busses? Alternatively, use the 4 Chimera track units in the same way the Halo Scorpion tank uses it's track units for an insane drivetrain

I have some more progress!

The plasticard seems to be the right idea. I've never worked much with it before so I bought myself a variety pack. It come with a nice, thick piece and I just put a piece of it across the belly. Sorry, no articulation for this vehicle. A little bit of flex but once I build up the body it should be more rigid.



I have a few battlewagon kannons, so for now that will be main armament. Not too many battlewagon parts, but I have plenty of other Ork bits I can put on.



I think I need to measure a bit better. My squares aren't exactly lining up. No worries, with a little green stuff I'll make it look a grot with some generous welding skills came by.

Gork bless me, I think I have a tank! It's a little plain, but a few more layers of different types of plating should fix that up.

I'm not sure if I should build a larger passenger compartment on the back half or leave it at the height it's at right now. It doesn't quite feel like twelve orks passengers could fit in their, but scale is not exactly a vital component of 40k. Let me know what you think. I also need to figure where to add some doors.



I have hit one little snag though, and it has to do with the turrets.



The two turrets don't quite fit and the turret on the right is just too bulky to fit on the front. Sigh, I guess I'll just buy another turret!

Looks like you(re off to a promising start . The turrets will indeed need editing, as you pointed out. If you want it to look like it can handle more passengers, how about adding a deck that extends over the tracks?

Looking good!

I love the triple turret at the front - just screams ork to me. Some finagling and they will be just sweet - although I kind of love the idea of only one of them being able to point in any given direction at one time or else they bump into each other. Picturing the gunners fighting over who gets to shoot what is a great mental image.

I know battlewagons aren't technically open topped, but a deck like CK said would be sweet and could even wrap around to the front chassis too in a sort of U-shape. Alternately, you can never really go wrong with a big rack off box on the back.

Looking forward to more!

 CommissarKhaine wrote:
Looks like you(re off to a promising start . The turrets will indeed need editing, as you pointed out. If you want it to look like it can handle more passengers, how about adding a deck that extends over the tracks?

I like the idea of extending the deck over the tracks. This will also give me room to add things like ammo boxes, spare weapons and grot riggers around the tank. Help add more of that personality.

Also looking at the T28, my main inspiration, it also extends the body over the tracks. I'll have to see if I can build out rather than up.

Nice to see battlewagons like this for Orks. I also like the general kit well enough, but seeing two of them in the same army is very disconcerting for me. Even when people put a lot of effort into differentiating them, they often look too similar.

Building out is easy, add a diagonal strut to the outside of the tracks, add plasticard, skin properly, and add a railing. Plenty of examples of that on these esteemed forums . For added fun, add a chain from somewhere higher that looks like it's holding up the edge of the overhang.

I little work on the gangways. I like the idea of using chains for suspension, I might use a mix of this and some struts to get more of that ramshackle look.

Love a good ork conversion blog, keep it up!

Good start, it immediately changes the silhouette of the model and adds some room

Good news, I am moving!

Of course the bad news is that I have not been able to get any work done. And I probably won't have anything new until the new year. Is there a standard on what counts as threadnomancy in the P&M blogs?

In the meantime I have something else I will eventually get to. I unfortunately can't take credit for this because I actually bought the model. It's amazing what you can find on Ebay. It's skillfully made, but I guess it doesn't really work well in regards to WSYISWG. Hopefully I can just explain which guns work on this thing and my opponent will be forgiving.



I am quite jealous. Hopefully my stuff can look this good.

I am finally moved in to the new place. I managed to find a pretty good space for my workstation.



The fool I am, I did not mark down where I put the battlewagon pieces so that took a while to figure out. But progress has been made. I built up an engine room/transportation space on rear section. Because nothing pumps you up for combat better than a deafening engine and petrol fumes. Although, I imagine that the meks don't really care about such minutia. I'm getting to the smaller details now. I've figured two access points so far; a large hatch on the back and a smaller one closer to the front.

Hopefully a fire doesn't break out and they'll be fine.




I'm a little lost on what I should do around the sides of the vehicles. The first option is the easiest and I would simply craft a long corrugated steel skirt along the sides. The downside is that big, plain surfaces don't always look good on orks. The second option is to make a more ramshackle, cobbled together ablative plating down the sides. More tedious, but will give a more broken shape.

What do you think I could do along the sides?

The pain train is looking good! For the sides, stuff hanging off will work, as well as patched-on armour plates and glyphs to show ownership. IF you have old xbox-credit cards the like, they make a nice different thickness of plasticard. Some glyphs like lightning bolts can easily be traced on plasticard and then carved out.

Looking good, and congrats on the house move. There seems to be an appropriate amount of exhausts and the chains on the side really sell it for me.

Might be a bit of work, but cutting into some of the panels would integrate your orky bits into the machine and look like upgrades and not just added armour on the sides. Could be a hassle though with resin.

CommissarKhaine wrote:The pain train is looking good! For the sides, stuff hanging off will work, as well as patched-on armour plates and glyphs to show ownership. IF you have old xbox-credit cards the like, they make a nice different thickness of plasticard. Some glyphs like lightning bolts can easily be traced on plasticard and then carved out.

I unfortunately tossed out all my old xbox/credit cards during the move. but not to worry, I nought a variety pack of plasticard sheets. Ill have to try my best to mix of the thicknesses. Carving out some plasticard to make some 3D glyphs is a great idea.

Tyranid Horde wrote:Looking good, and congrats on the house move. There seems to be an appropriate amount of exhausts and the chains on the side really sell it for me.

Might be a bit of work, but cutting into some of the panels would integrate your orky bits into the machine and look like upgrades and not just added armour on the sides. Could be a hassle though with resin.

Thank you.

I have a Dremel tool somewhere so I could probably drill out some holes and get a saw in there. Add a few more door and access panels.

So I think I'm going to hesitantly declare this gunwagon build as 'complete'. It vaguely has the look of a soviet T28 with the three turrets and the ammo hopper on the side (is that an ammo hopper?). Although, I have to admit the 'pain train' is also an apt name for it. I was able to find a nice fit for another hatch on the side unfortunately, but I managed to find a few extra bits and some extra plasticard. I think I've piled on enough armor on the sides.

A also added some grots riggers. They're having an intense discussion on the necessity of portholes on a tank.





Next I want to make turrets to represent the kustom jobs like Da Boomer and The Zagzap. Does anyone know a good way to make a turret ring? It's hard to find plastic tubes with the right dimensions.

What do you think, is there anything else I should add to my gunwagon?

So, as an Ork player, I think I can safely say that the kustom jobs made available in Saga of the Beast are pretty cool. So I thought it would be equally cool to properly represent these upgrades on my models. With that in mind I've first cobbled together a zagzap cannon. A had a bunch of scrapped electronics which were perfect for some scratch built batteries. Although I did learn something new:

DON'T DRILL INTO A CAPACITOR

Hearing a mystery gas being sprayed into the air around me was not a comforting experience.




Next up will be 'da boomer' and then after that, I might have the beginnings of a promising forktress.

Such a characterful model! Truly an orky translation of the real-world inspiration

Thanks for sharing

And here we have Da Boomer. I've devised a complex, twin action firing mechanism consisting of two grots with hammers. The Ork commander just has to yell into his speakerphone and they'll start whacking away.

Lots of grot action on this one. Looking at scale, presumably it's grots operating the smaller turrets too, eh?

A grot action gun is genius and perfect Orkiness! Great idea!

The model is all around Orky. The custom big turrets are awesome. Keep up the great work.

With the gunwagon pretty much done it's time for the next project. This is going to be my battlewagon/forktress. Something that looks like a moving bunker that can properly fit twenty orks inside.

Not too much work lately. I've been on a Warthunder kick, and haven't managed my time in the best manner. Videogames: they're fun, but they'll eat away at your attention.

I've built up the rear of the vehicle into some form of engine room. I have also figured out exactly how I want the treads to sit against the body. The body is a little longer than I wanted, but the other solutions require a lot more breaking.



I also wasn't pleased with the front of the vehicle. I figured that a battlewagon should have plenty of exits to better get to the action. So I added a gangway to the front so my boyz can get stuck right away.

The main shape of the tank is pretty much done. Now it's down to the weapon options and extra plating. From what I've heard it's not very point-efficient to give battlewagons the big guns, so I'm just going to throw a few big shootas. This might actually make this thing feel more like a bunker. I'm not sure on the shoota arrangement just yet. Let me know what you think about the gun layout.



Now the next step might be more interesting. I'm planning to pile on a bunch of sandbags and some barbed wire. Let me know if you have any tips for that sort of thing.

I love the idea of the Orks creating a mobile bunker, and think it really suits the Orks!

Thanks for sharing