Orks and Nostalgia Don't Mix, Part 2

Ah, my only ork Dreadnaught.  This guy has seen some action over the years.  Can't say he ever did much, but I was really happy the conversion has lasted all these years.  The Klaws are from the "old" metal dread that's out of print.  In the '98 ork codex there was a piece of wargear called a "stikkbomm chukka," that allowed a vehicle that couldn't normally tank shock to do so.  So what I modeled was a sack full of stikkbommz on the front, with a grot ready to cut them loose.  Since stikkbommz are probably Strength 4, they couldn't possibly hurt the dread's front armor.  The dread would walk over the stikkbombz that were rolling like bowling pins all around him, causing explosive shrapnel to fly everywhere.

It only worked once.  Back-in-the-day, if you charged a unit that was falling back it needed to make a leadership or be instantly wiped off the board.  This dread actually tank-shocked a unit of guardsmen.  The humans broke, and ran only about 4".  In the assault phase I charged, and wiped out the squad entirely.  I'm glad it worked once, despite fielding this guy in probably over 100 battles (and that's not exaggerating).  Also, grots used to be Ballistic Skill 2, so at one time it was more than proper to have grots actually firing the weapons for this guy.  Always two rokkits.

A better shot of the leg in the air, and the grot behind giving pistol fire-support.

Orks and Nostalgia Don't Mix, Part 4

The Skullhamma.

One day my friend Brad gave me a Baneblade.  I forget if it was for free, or if I did something in trade or painted his basement or whatever.  Either way, he handed it to me with no strings attached and said, "Just do something awesome with it."

I think this is my best model.  I can't say that I would enter anything else into a competition, but I could try to bring myself to it with this one.  It sports a wide range of bits, found objects, all kinds of stuff is on there, and I tried really hard while painting it.

 The treads were replaced by wrapping bike chain around the wheels, then I added carpet stripping.  This stuff was difficult to cut accurately, and I remember bleeding all over the table when doing this part.  To this day, if this model was dragged backwards across the average game table it would take chunks out of the surface.  I've quietly noticed it damage styrofoam terrain, leaving small bright pink divets in its wake.  There's fiberglass screening, and extra armor plates made from old credit cards and the like.

The Gun is made from some washers and faucet parts... the cannon on the hull is made more orky and bigger by the simple addition of a sanding column from a rotary tool.

The turret is built from two hulls of a rhino, aluminum plate, shingles made from mat-board.  Note the unexploded "dud" hunter killer missile still lodged in the side armor.

In battle, the best thing this has done is draw fire.  It moves forward, and usually disgorges its passengers by blowing up.  Great for carrying ten Mega-Nobz around in.

Orks and Nostalgia Don't Mix

After soaking deep into the well of the yearly 40k mud bath we call the Big Game I came home, hungover to a degree, and loaded my totes full of models into the basement and didn't look twice at them as I turned to head upstairs.

I played orks for years, from 1989 to sometime in the early 90's, then lost my interest in 40k, sold (no, wait, just left them at someone's house) all my models and then started over again in 1998.  That 1998 codex I played with until the new one came out.  When the "new" one came out I almost immediately started losing interest in the Orks, the decade or more of losing over and over again with the old codex had taken their toll.  I was in love with those old underdogs.  Nob Spam was the new black, grots were suddenly useless, and Painbosses had lost all their flavor.

Enough bitching.  Its over.  Still, I had a ton of fun making ork models, and they'll probably always be my most favorite army to model and paint, just because the process I use is much more akin to assemblage sculpture than modelling, skirting the line somewhere between mosaics and modelling.

I'll be posting a few pics just for the nostalgia of it all, a few photos to remember these models by while they're packed in totes filled with styrene peanuts and lofted into the attic.

I guess the big deal here is: they're for sale.  I'm not going to put them on Ebay, nor am I going to set any prices.  But if someone, anyone out there really wants one of these guys, give me a holler and we'll work something out.

First: one of my favorite models.  Warboss Gobkrakka.

 This guy has been a Warboss for me since 1990.   He got mounted onto a bike once that was more viable in the newer codex when he could accompany Nob bikers into combat and gain the benefit of the doc in there.  His trike comes equipped with a Stikkbomm Chukka, steering wheel, and foot-activated Dakkaguns.  

I always fielded this guy with close combat weapons that struck on initiative.  In the previous codex he had a shoota/skorcha with a bionic arm (those were cool).  For this version I gave him the 'Uge Choppa, since he's actually got Initiative 4.  The only guy in the ork army that goes that high- I always wondered why people put a powerfist on their warbosses.  It made no sense to me at all- you'd lose an attack and go at the same speed as a Nob with the same loadout.  So instead I gave him the 'Uge Choppa, which allows him to swoop into combat to just clobber someone with his Initiative 4, Strength 8 (on the charge), 6 attacks.  He worked great against either swarms, usually instakilling bases, groups of pleebs (he did really well against s3 opponents that would need a 6 to wound him back), vehicles and dreadnaughts.  With the invention of hitting rear armor on tanks, 6 attacks at Str8 was just as good at glancing a vehicle to death as a Strength 10 powerklaw.  His attack squig is from the old squig catapult squig, mounted onto a chain on his choppa.

Detail of the front of the bike.

Some photos of friends and family

I've got a crappy phone.  So if you send me a picture of something you're working on, I've gotta download it to my laptop if I am to get a good look at it.  I thought I should post a few things I've been sent from friends and family.  Anonymity is granted, but speak up about your figs if you wish.  I'll continue to feature them here, as long as you keep me updated.  Thanks.

Big Game 2014

Ten years ago D-Company started holding a yearly event called "The Big Game."  I've been to every one since.  This past weekend was the most recent one.  I broke out some old orks for this battle, unfortunately my camera's battery failed half-way through the game, and I just decided that someone else would take some photos for me.

The ork army pictured here is a combination of mine,  and my buddys Dale and Ben.  Together we fielded 18,000 points of orks not counting the super-heavy vehicles.

Let me stress that a bit more.  This is 18,000 points of orks, probably well over 20,000 if you count the numerous superheavies.  It was a beachhead assault, a really great game hosted by this guy:  http://apostlesofcontagion.blogspot.com/

Anyways, on with the pictures.

Deployment... about 33% of it.

One flank...

And the other.

The Stompa formations.

Some of Peter's new guys...

 

 

Chapter Three: The Continued Query in Mr. Quasar

A voice transmission has been intercepted and decoded.

++ intercepted transmission translated as follows:

Sirs.

++An investigation has been launched into possibly treacherous activity surrounding the activities of the Rogue Miguel Quasar,  previously of JLYN-55 Defense Regiments and before that a renegade Rogue Trader and Eldar consultant.

--garbled static

++The Errants, led by Master Malgar had been informed of the position of the Infinity Relic upon En Fuego Prime.  The large detachment of Errants took the rear flank behind the JYLN Regiments and proceeded to the rendezvous with the Grand Farseer Eldrad.

++Only three other currently undisclosed Imperial officials know of this meeting.  This is of the greatest security to everyone involved, it goes without saying.  

 --long pause, static 

++The tacticals held back in a covering fire formation, while the Errant Honor Guard swept to the right flank.

+May the demons who haunt the victims of the Eldar have mercy upon their wretched souls.

+Malgar and Eldrad met face-to-face around the Infinity Relic.  There are those that doubt the power of the Infinity's ability to enhance warp travel, and those that claim it actually destroys the minds of Librarians, wild psykers, even Eldar Warlocks if you are to believe them.   Whatever it does, the Errants wanted it, and the Eldar were prepared to deliver.

++Something fell through with the negotiations, and ah...

--static

Marines deployed to the left, Eldar to the right.  The relic sat in the middle of the board.  We had played a custom scenario where Eldrad and Marneus Calgar (Malgar in this report) met in a classic "Battle of the Big Camp" style fight.  Rules were somewhat added on as we went. 

++Everything was all set for the meeting.  Marneus approached Infinity, which stood between him and Eldrad.  This was in an open area of the small ruin at the top of the plateau.  Almost immediately the Errants spotted a large section of Eldar breaking off from the plateau, using grav-tanks to quickly flank to the north of them.  This splinter of Eldar raiders headed straight across the ridge to assault the defense forces of JYLN to the southwest of where they were now.

--garbled static

Malgar (left) and Eldrad (right) meet around the Relic (center).

Things go south.  Malgar goes first, charges Eldrad.  Their forces activate and begin their approach.

Eldar on the scene!  A waveserpent with Dire Avengers deploys to the south.  The Avatar stalks behind them.

Marines scramble through the ruins, trying to grab ground.

The Eldar arrive.  Wraithlord and Dire avengers slip into building cover to the north, a bright-lance guardian defender squad approaches the middle and gets some easy cover.

Malgar eventually gives Eldrad a body-slam and takes him out of the contest.  Eldrad, gasping for air, retreats into the shadows.  Malgar waves his landraider Redeemer forward and charges the building full of Dire avengers ahead.

++They fought for a while.  Almost seemed like they were, um, toying with one another, if you could say that.  Malgar seemed to eventually get a hold of Eldrad and wouldn't let go, eventually Eldrad just disappeared into the darkness.  Malgar ran into the Eldar troops and their blazing shurikens.  The battlefield erupted into chaos.

The landraider redeemer lays some firepower into the building, roasting the Dire Avengers that just shot Malgar down to the ground.  The landraider becomes immobilized by the Fire Prism, and was eventually torn apart by the wraithlord.

Marines on the hill.  These guys launched missiles where they could, and would wait for the end to rush to the objective.

Honor Guard flanks to the south, gets obliterated by dire avengers, avatar, and warp spiders.  Marine advance is stopped by a rhino running into a small hill with a plant.  Eldar wave serpent flies to just past the Relic and provides cover.

The Eldar close in on the relic, impervious to the fire from the marines.  The relic is near the smoke, now surrounded by Eldar forces.

Night-vision view of the Eldar advance.  Probably an external security camera.

Dire Avengers wade through the wreckage of the Redeemer, picking off anyone who might have survived, and laying claim to the Infinity Relic.

At the end of battle, the Marines couldn't muster up enough of the charge to get the Relic back, too little too late.  They'd have to fight their way through a Wave Serpent, an Avatar, and then actually capture the Relic, and had run out of time and range.  The battle was called.

++They didn't even have a chance at capturing the Infinity Relic at this point, and a general withdrawal was declared.  Their chance of escape back to the drop zone- this was Alpha Charlie 10- you know, it was being cut off, and AC10 was quickly becoming threatened by an ork advance from the south.  

++I think if they had captured the Infinity Relic it might have been used to deactivate the warp signal planted by the Orks on JYLN that's been sending bugs here for the past year, or who knows.  They'll have to find another way to repel this new ork form of weaponry without the help from Infinity.  As for the investigation...  hang on...

++garbled static

++Mr. Quasar is suspected of willingly leading the Marines into a trap.  I believe it has something to do with the Infinity Relic or more likely that actually the Relic that was at the meeting was not actually the Infinity Relic.  He survived his encounter with the Warpsmith and has not been found. However,  if they every find him he'll be executed on the spot.  This I now know for sure.  Much more effort is being put into finding out exactly where Infinity is right now than the search for Mr. Quasar.

++Anyways.  There's a file on this on your deck.  You can check out the specifics.  We will keep comms open for a while, but then we'll be silent for a bit.  You'll be on your own.

++Out.









Transmission ends.

The game against Iyanden.

Local store just started a new league-hopeful Wednesday night.  While I can't make it every night, at least I did last night and it was a hoot.  I fought Eldar with my 1850 marine list.  I felt like a fish-out-of-water again, but did some things right.  Some things wrong.

He had two Wraithknights and four (or was it five?) wave serpents.  His troops were fragile (5-man dire avengers) but the rest of his army was solid, and hinged greatly upon the shots of the serpents.  Still, I had a great time losing to him 3-1 (or something like that).

Toward the end of the game, a five-man combat squad and dreadnaught threaten one of the wave serpents, while Thad Allen and his two tacticals charge another, and there's still one marine left from a squad back there somewhere...

Dire avengers land upon my objective, I shot them down to one man at the end of the game, but they held it still.

The board toward the beginning.  The second wraithknight is behind the building.

Highlights for me included killing both the wraithknights by the end of the game, one of them was in assault with my master of the forge.  His army was really well painted and a joy to look at, and his wraithknight stands on a single toe-  he said theres a wire running all the way up the leg into the hip.