Hive World Terra

Waaagh! Grimjaw: Heavy Support

Lootaz - Da Feevin' Gits

History

Da Feevin' Gits are a hotchpotch of Orks all brought together by their love of battle and their insistence on 'clearing up' afterwards. They all also believe that blue is a very lucky colour, and so all their warpaint, tattoos and assorted scraps of material are of that colour. They joined Waagh Grimjaw after hearing rumours of the massive campaign that Grimjaw was planning. Being interested in the chance to 'acquire' more equipment, they followed the Waagh with their assortment of Space Marine Heavy Weapons, which they use to back up the charge. For sheer Dakka value, the Lootas carry three looted Heavy Bolters, and for the pretty colours and occasional destructiveness, they have stolen a Plasma Cannon.

The Models

The normal Loota Boyz were normal Orks from the Ork Boyz boxed set. Each was made with either a Shoota or Space Marine Bolter. Occasional Orks were given both a Bolter and a Choppa, since the old Bolters are small for an Ork. The Lootas were also given various bits of extra equipment and shoulder pads from the Ork and Orc sprues, plus any other interesting bits I found in my Bits Box. One Ork also uses a Slugga and Choppa arm, with the Slugga removed and replaced with a Slugga for variety of pose.

The Heavy Weapons Orks were slightly more difficult, as Ork arms are not designed for the old shoulder mounted Heavy Weapons. Firstly, the inside of each arm had a small 'V' shape cut out of it. This allowed the arm to bent up so that the hand could hold onto the handle of the Heavy Weapon. Two Bolters were made for right-handed Orks while the third was made left-handed. The Plasma Cannon had an extra hand-guard modelled onto it, as the trigger was mounted too far back for the Ork to ever reasonably hold it without loosing half of his forearm. Finally, one pence pieces were glued into the models bases to stop them over balancing so much on the battlefield. The Nob was made from custom-ordered pieces from the Nobz Mob boxed set.

Looted Predator - Da Dakka Vehikle

History

After a conflict with the Black Templar's Space Marines, Waagh! Grimjaw had managed to cripple several tanks, thanks in part to Big Mek Botchit's Super-Stikkbomb. With the Marines driven away, Botchit and the other Meks began working on one of the Predators that looked most salvageable. Despite being in relatively good condition, the Machine Spirit had been destroyed and departed. As well as the patching work on the front and left track, Botchit just had to do some Kustomisin', leaving the Predator with a nice new ram and a couple of extra metal plates. For added Orkiness, he also added a large Ork face on the bodged panel on the front. Now, Da Dakka Vehikle joins the Waagh! if heavy armour and lots of big guns are needed, as it is armed with twin-linked Lascannons and two sponson mounted Heavy Botlers.

The Model

The models is based on the old Predator Annihilator model, and uses some of the extra parts that come on the sprue. The tank was assembled mostly as normal, with the overhanging "L" shaped bits of plastic being removed (keep hold of them though, as they are used later). Some minor changes are to place the front plates on the inside, not the outside of the holes. This way they fill up the gap but the plate can sit flat over the top of them later. The rear holes were covered using the slanted plate, with the widest part at the bottom. Once assembled, the extra details were added. What can only be described as a large sheet of metal with a Ork Skull Glyph on it was attached to the front of the tank. A long strip of beaten metal was then glued down the left hand track housing. Both of these pieces, along with the metal glyph plates, came from a Ork Glyph Grab-bag dal that GW did a while ago. Across the front two track housings, the front plate from an Ork Trukk was glued, with the slight lip removed so that it sat back. The three pronged ram was then glued underneath this, and supports for them were added using small bits of sprue that were 'damaged' with a modelling knife. The "L" shaped pieces removed from the tank body were also used as supports. For final details, a metal glyph plate was stuck onto the front of the Trukk plate, one of the shield bosses from the Orc Boyz shield sprue was stuck on the right track housing and the Templars-style cross from the Soldiers of the Empire boxed set was bent slightly and glued to the turret. Finally, various assorted boxes and barrels from my bits-box were added as stowage.

The paint scheme was nice and easy. First, the tank was sprayed black, then highlighted with a Shadow Grey dry-brush. Next, the metal was repainted black and the white areas were painted Space Wolf Grey. The metal areas were then painted with Boltgun Metal and given two ink-washes. First was a wash with the old 'Armour Wash', then patches of Chestnut Wash were added to provide a slightly rusted appearance. The 'White' areas were highlighted with Elf Grey and then Skill White, with a very thin blue wash being used on the sponsons to pick out the small hatch. The lights were flooded with Golden Yellow, just enough so that it clings to the corners and thinly covers the centre of the light. This gives the lights a nice bright effect. All of the stowage was then painted in the appropriate colours before the final touches. The Templars' Cross was painted with a white centre and red edging, the handles on the turret hatch were painted red and the raised parts of the glyph plate were painted. Finally, since the vehicle is owned by Orks, battle damage was added. This was done by painting small amounts of Vermin Fur in areas where the paint may have chipped off. Most of this was then painted over with Boltgun Metal to show areas where the paint had been chipped completely. Not all of the brown has to be painted over, though, as some areas can be left to represent where the paint has only been slightly chipped.

Killer Kans - Da Tin Boyz

History

Leave a Mek and a Dok in a room together for long enough and they will soon come up with all sorts of madcap schemes to combine both 'sciences'. Although this sometimes ends up as a simple cybork, things occasionally get out of hand and the pair end up with slightly larger 'creations'. The most common of these is the Killer Kan, which can be found in many Waaghs, including Waagh Grimjaw. Orks have more sense than to agree to be rigged into a Kan. Despite the fact that it is a smaller version of the most Orky of vehicles, Orks still have more sense than to trust 'Da Dok'. Instead it tends to be a grot orderly who gets the dubious honour. In Waagh Grimjaw, two of Kutsnik's Orderlies have been patched into their new bodies. With the new found power going to their heads, Da Tin Boyz can often be found heading an Ork charge into the enemy's toughest troops, having earlier been kicked around by the Orks.

The Model

Da Tin Boyz are generally made from two normal Killer Kan blister packs. Once again, though, every Ork vehicle has to be different, and there are a few minor customisations. Both Kan's are armed with Rokkit Launcher and Close Combat Weapon, although one is armed with the cutting claws and the other with the buzz saw. One of the Kan's also has a big shoota painted up so that it can replace its Rokkit Launcher for use against more numerous and lighter armoured foes than the Space Marines. Although both Kan's use the assorted components from the miscellaneous parts sprue that comes in the blister pack, the first of the Kan's also has a little extra from my bits box. The Kan's banner has been attached to the top of the powerplant, in the centre, and then a Mordheim fur cloak has been attached dangling from the back of the icon. Other than this minor change, the other additions are simple things like the spotlight, which have been attached in positions that look reasonable.

The Kan's have been given a dark, and worn look, with the classic black and white squares added for decoration. First they were begun with a basecoat of Chaos Black, which was then drybrushed with a Space Wolf Grey highlight to highlight the edges and rivets. This was then given a coating of Black Wash to take a little of the brightness out of the highlights and to blend them in better. The metallic areas, such as the weapons and powerplants, were first given a drybrush of Boltgun Metal, and then highlighted with Mithril Silver. This was then left to dry and given a wash with Armour Wash to take the brightness out of the metal. The buzz saw weapon was also given small arcs of slightly thicker Armour Wash on its blade to give a feel that the blade was spinning. Next, the details were painted, with the cloak being painted with Snakebite Leather and a Brown Wash, the icons being painted with Shining Gold and the black and white checks being painted carefully onto various panels and flat areas. The glyphs on the front of the Kan's bodies were then painted in Crimson Gore with Blood Red highlights. Finally, the majority of the Kans were given a watered down wash with a mix of Black Wash and Chestnut Wash. This was allowed to pool slightly in some areas, and left the Kan looking more battle worn and used, and less like it had just come from a factory in an un-Orky fashion.

Da Kannon

History

Although Orks like to get up close and personal with choppa's and loud guns, they do still realise the importance of artillery and long range guns. However, no Ork in his right mind is going to volunteer to sit at the back of the battlefield and kill stuff at long range all the time, so instead Grots are brought in to man the weapons. Waagh Grimjaw only has the one Kannon, which was looted and rebuilt after a battle with another Waagh. Recognising its potential, and appreciating the loud explosions, Grimjaw had two grots assigned to man the gun and now regularly takes the weapon to the battlefield as a long ranged attempt to take out the harder enemy units.

The Model

The Kannon was built exactly as it came, with no additions to it. If I later decide to create a battery of Kannons, then additional features will be added, but the Kannon model looks good enough as it is, so this first one has been left alone.

Painting the Kannon was a very simple process. Firstly Boltgun Metal was painted over a black undercoat, which was then given a small highlight of Mithril Silver. To give the Kannon a more Orky and less shiny look, a Armour Wash along with some Chestnut Wash was then applied. Due to the simplicity of the Kannon, the details were now painted. The small panel on the left had checks painted on it, while the explosion on the right and the small triangles were painted red. Both were then highlighted up to a red-orange colour, but the tips of the explosion were painted to Blazing Orange. Both were then given a coat of Red Wash. Further detail was added to the end of the barrel and other parts of the Kannon, with Chaos Black and Skull White patterning being added. This was then given a similar mucky Black and Chestnut Wash to take the edge of the brightness of the markings. The grots were painted with Goblin Green, given a coating of Ork Flesh Wash and then re-highlighted with Goblin Green. One grot then had his pants painted with Dark Flesh, while the other was given a pair of Bubonic Brown pants with a wash of Chestnut Wash applied. Their bandaged feet were then painted with Bleached Bone, and the shell was first painted with Shining Gold then given a liberal coat of Chestnut Ink to achieve more of a look of brass. Finally, the finishing touches such as the black jaws, red eyes and teeth were added.