+ inload: Waaagh da Orks! +

+ Accept no substitutes +


+ Orks! A long time coming, but Thrugg Bullneck's boyz are ready to take some heads and invade some Chapter homeworlds. Some nice timing, too, as Black Library have just released a new novel set on the world, Legacy of Dorn, by Mike Lee [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+]. I think I'll pick it up and get into the setting before the game. +

+ But enough waffling, let's look at da ladz:

+ Hruk's squad +

+ Second in command of Thrugg's forces, you can have a look at building Hruk in more detail through this link [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+].


+ Cheerful looking bunch, aren't they? I guess when your boss is the boss' mate, you get best pick of the loot (well, after da boss and da boss' boss – and da uvver bosses – have had their go). +

+ I think the greenstuffed grins are my favourite part of this mob, but the nailed-on hand that allows Hruk to use the bolter he looted from some luckless Crimson Fist veteran is a close runner up. +

The flaming skull on his belly plate is the Charadon Empire symbol (see below).


+ Zerox's squad +
 

+ This squad's got the best examples of the Rogue Trader elements I've tried to get in: a mix of ramshackle weaponry that nevertheless looks manufactured rather than all custom-built; heavier armour than modern orks; and a (slightly anarchic) sense of uniformity. I've tried to get more of a sense of individuality through, so they look like an undisciplined army, rather than a warband of beasts. +

 

+ Wortoof's squad +

+ The clans – Deathskull, Evil Sunz etc. – weren't around for the Battle for the Farm era, so I ummed and erred about whether to retcon them in or not. In the end, I decided to keep things simple to avoid diluting the look. +


+ With that said, not showing it off isn't the same as saying it's not there – I think it'd be possible to pick out a mob of more Snakebitey-looking boyz, such as the fur-clad Wortoof here. Similarly, the two in the front rank here look slightly more like Blood Axes than the others. +


+ Splatta's squad +


+ This mob's a good example of the contrast between the jokier-looking ork on the right, and the more savage Splatta in the centre. I'm not against humour in orks; I just think it's more fitting when there's a nasty streak to it... +

+ Ident-markers and ikonography +

+ Backplates came in with Waaagh the Orks, and were given a lot of emphasis in terms of markings – working as a bit of blank space equivalent to a Space Marine's shoulderpad. They haven't really been mentioned much since 3rd edition, though they haven't explicitly been written out. The models, however, still have 'em, so I used the info from Rogue Trader to add the symbol of Luggub's Drop Legion to them:



+ Warpaint's also mentioned, so a few of the boyz have got classic chequers, dags and – what better for the troops of the Arch-Arsonist? – flames. +


The ork on the right here is based on the Bolta and Kleaver model (rightmost, top row). Can you spot any others?
+ This has been a really fun little project, and it's great to get it 'finished' to a state I can play a game, rather than sighing and thinking 'only three more squads and tanks to go...' +

+ I'm looking forward to getting 'em on the field. +

6 comments:

Dutch_Law said...

Beautiful work - I especially like the way in which a sense of mischief (?) has been injected into the models. Very inspirational. Thank your for sharing.

apologist said...

Thanks very much – and yeah, I think mischief is probably the right word; though a couple are downright malevolent! :D

Lasgunpacker said...

Love them! So much that I have started a couple of my own RT-esque orks, but have had a bit of a stall in progress.

Best parts for me: the more realistic colors, the shoulder pads, and the reworked faces.

Walt said...

I've been looking at way to use GW Orks but make the boys not have destroyed spines... this is aaaaah FABULUOUS!

apologist said...

Cheers Walt – or should I say WAAAAAGHLT? :)

apologist said...

Cheers – it's been fun to tone the orks down a bit, and make them a bit more sinister in the process.