Warhammer 40k: Ork Deffkoptas/Jet Bikes completed

After a late night session on the Orks I have managed to finish the Jet Bikes/Deffkoptas just in time for the end of Orktober.

After first seeing the the Jet bikes at BOYL 17 (available from http://shop.ramshacklegames.co.uk/) I knew I had to have some for my Ork army and I think they fit in well with the Rogue Trader/2nd Ed look.  The sheer amount of parts I had to play with on these meant that I was like the proverbial  kid in a candy store, each bike is unique but there are elements on them all that tie them together so it looks like one nutty Ork Mech threw these together (namely me).

For the paint scheme there was only ever one way to go and that was red and to help them match in with the rest of the army check marks were also the order of the day (I think i'm seeing these in my sleep now).  For the kustom arms the boyz are sporting I used some of the newer GW paints (Typhus Corrosion and Ryza Rust) to give them a bit of depth and wear.  This is the first time I've used these so didn't go overboard with them but they work really well and are going to see a lot of use when I get to Nurgle's minions.

As I was happy with how these turned out I thought I'd get some decent photos of them but after setting everything up I discovered the camera battery was flat so the phone camera had to do at a push but even so these haven't come out too badly considering.

As I had everything set up I thought I'd also takes some snaps of some of the other keys Orks I've been working on for the army to give them a better showing than a work space shot.

Finally here's a quick work in progress shot of what is up next and is (for now) the last pieces for the army, as also any comments and criticism are welcome.

And now a break from your normal programming schedule... Kings Of War: Vanguard

Not a normal post from me (though don't worry the Ork jetbikes are close to being completed so pictures will be up soon) but as you may know I'm a keen fan of the Kings of War rules from Mantic, not only for use with their own miniatures but for large scale games of Lord Of The Rings.  Well they're expanding the world of Mantica with a new game system which looks very promising, Kings Of War: Vanguard.

Here's the blurb from Mantic:

Before the first charge, before weapons clash in brutal close combat, before the victor gathers the spoils of war, battles in Mantica can be won by the brave deeds of small, elite bands of warriors. 

These are the fighters relied upon by their commanders to identify tactical positions, light beacons to show their comrades the fastest route, or harry and disrupt their enemy’s vital supplies. If the raiding parties do their job well, the war is won long before the battle lines have even been drawn.

FANTASY SKIRMISH RULES – take command of a crack team of elite fighters, including captains, support units, weapons experts, along with grunts and warriors to overwhelm the opposition

IN-DEPTH CAMPAIGN SYSTEM – track the progress of your key members to earn experience and gain new abilities or improved stats

FULLY COMPATIBLE WITH KINGS OF WARS – use the incredibly detailed, dynamic miniatures from Vanguard as the heroes or elite troops in your Kings of War army

3D SCENERY – use Mantic’s new range of pre-assembled, plastic TerrainCrate scenery to bring your skirmishes to life, and with lots of different scenarios to play, every battle will look – and play - differently

INNOVATIVE RULES – issue special commands in the heat of battle with the unique Power Dice abilities, and gather your troops with the Group Actions

EQUIP YOUR FIGHTERS – ahead of the fight, choose from a range of equipment to improve the abilities of your characters, or unlock new and more powerful abilities during campaign play

I see a lot of promise in not only the rules system itself but also the potential of being able to cross over into full on games of KOW or even Dungeon Saga in one narrative arc.  I've already got myself some bases coming from www.warbases.co.uk so that both my Lord of the Rings/Hobbit and Conan miniatures can sit inside them (https://warbases.co.uk/?product=regiment-tray-25mm-slots-2mm-top-layer the 1x1 option here for those interested) as square basing in integral to the rules.  More importantly Mantic have put up the Alpha rules so that you can give them a try:

Download Vanguard Rules

If you're interested in the game why not give it a try and then head over to the Vanguard Fanatics group on Facebook to let Mantic know how your games went and chat with other players.

From what we've already seen we'll be jumping in on the Kickstarter and probably have a game this weekend, now to get out those Abyssals from Dungeon Saga...

Warhammer 40K: Ork build done! Now on to painting...

A certain amount of satisfaction was felt this morning as I finished building the last bits for my Ork project and though the painting is still to come (and I'm no speed painter) it felt good to look at the finished vehicles at last.

First up we have the last Battlewagon, a kit bash between a Rogue Trader Blood Angel Predator, a modern Ork Deffrolla, a with a gunner from the Ork Dreadnought, some Gorkamorka bits and finally some Ramshackle guns and a bit of plasticard.

Then we have the completed jet bikes/Deffkoptas, not much was need to finish them off except basing but due to their size I decided to pick up some brass rod and 60mm bases to ensure stability on the table top.

The key thing I wanted to achieve with these was a sense of movement and speed which I think has worked quite well and I can't wait to see them bombing (quite literally) towards their enemies lines!

This last bike was the heavily kit bashed one from random bits and pieces and I don't think I've showed how bulky it actually is so here's a few shots.

Next up I'll be getting them sprayed on Sunday and then it's on to the painting.

Warhammer 40k: Ork Deffkopta progress plus Battlewagon/Scrap Tank

I've been holding off doing an update till I had something substantial to show and after a burst of activity this weekend I think there's something decent to offer up.

I managed to build six bikes in total, mainly from the actuall bike kit but one had a substantial amount of parts come from Curtis' mis-casts box from BOYL which I then added some plasticard to to finish it off (my first time using plasticard but I feel like it worked well).

When I saw that Curtis had included an extra Goblin driver I instantly knew I wanted to make some wacky bike that would be able to stand in as a Nob 

This chap was thrown together using all sorts of bits and pieces, some of which I'm not even sure what they originally were for!

The aim with these was to build a unique bike for each one yet have a similar enough look so you could tell they all came from the hands of the same Mech.  They key for them was to each have Dakka, Bombs and close combat weapons so they fitted with the Deffkopta profile, you might not be able to see the bombs but each bike carries one on it's undercarriage. I'm just waiting for the arrival of same brass rod and I'll get these mounted and ready for spraying.

What I love about these is how they remind me of a mix of Star Wars Pod Racers and Mad Max vehicles, I just hope to do them justice with the paint job.

After I realised I needed plasticard to finish the last of the bikes I decided to look at the pile of parts I picked up from Curtis' mis-cast boxes at BOYL and see what I could come up with and very quickly the rough shape of a tank started to take place.  A bit of clean up and gluing later and I had a half decent Battlewagon, I just needed to use the newly arrived plasticard to fill in or cover up any odd gaps which occurred and it is now ready for spraying.

Next up on the table is the final miniature for the Orc army and it will be another Battlewagon, this time made up from various bits but based around a Rouge Trader Blood Angels Predator.