WH40K - Plastic Warboss - minor additions

Some further work on the Black Reach Warboss. I added a scope from one of the Ork plastic sets - could have been the Boyz box set - I am losing track of which bits came from where! Also, I replaced the power cables with a pair cut from old headphone wires, and plugged into the grill part of an Ork Slugga.

WH40K - Plastic Warboss

This is a slight conversion of the plastic Warboss from the Black Reach boxed set (I bought the Warboss and the Nobs on eBay.)



I cut the claws off and replaced them with the horn pieces from the Battlewagon, as well as a horn clipped from the plastic Black Orks banner. His head came from one of the five plastic Nobs from the Black Reach set, with the neck carved so that he is looking slightly to his left.

The original banner top and hairpiece were cut from the bannerpole, and the pistol grip of one of the Sluggas replaced with one from an ordinary Shoota. I also added the top piece from the old metal Nob boxed set banner pole - pinned in place with a bit of paperclip. Lastly I clipped a couple of the spikes off the figure - notably the boots and shoulders.

I wanted to build a tough looking but slightly subordinate Warboss, to add to the "Thraka's Boyz" Apocalypse formation.

Lego - Bride and Groom

I made a Lego bride and groom (and wedding cake). Photograph by Kate Nutt.

WH40K - Ork Flakka Trakk

The main body work on the Flakka Trakk is complete. I used most of the hull of the 1/48 KV-1 tank, just gluing it together and sawing it off at the right length. This made the whole car a bit tall, but it looks better in my hand than it does in the photos. I added a couple of cut up deck pieces from the Trukk model at an angle, to give it some bulk and make it look more like an ork construction.

Then I got lazy and made 'baskets' at the back, rather than continue the sloped sides. These can be used for stores or to carry grots. I will probably use the new plastic grots in these, to represent grot riggers.

WH40K - Deff Rolla and Flakk Turret

Work in progress on the Deff Rolla (Death Rolla) attachment for the Battlewagon:

As I mentioned, I have cut the original rolla into three sections, shorter than the original. I inserted two disks cut from scrap plastic. (The disks were cut with clippers to make a cog/saw blade shape).

Here's the turret for the Flakka Trakk.

It is made from a 1/48 model kit of a KV-1 tank (the WW2 Russian tank with an absurdly large turret), pieces of brass tube and spare bits of plastic, including the aerating tube from an aquarium. I decided that building a turret would be simpler than assembling firing mechanisms for four flakka guns. I will add hatches, battle-damage, grot loaders and other details. I still have to figure out how to mount it on the truck bed of the Flakka Trakk vehicle, so that it has some clearance over the cabin.

WH40K - Battlewagon on Wheels

Here's the next Battlewagon. The eight wheeled configuration is supposed to be reminiscent of an ASLAV, Stryker or even a BTR-80.

WH40K - Deff Rolla

A Deff Rolla (Death Roller) is an ork attachment for squashing foes. I found a toy roller which could supply the bits necessary to add a Deff Rolla to a battlewagon or two. A typical Deff Rolla attached to an Ork vehicle can be seen here, at Waaagh Gargunki.

Here's the toy, made by Bruder and bought from the local toy shop for AUD $30.

Bruder Roller toy with GW Ork Nob (Black Reach box set) for size comparison:

Concept comparison - the roller might be a touch too big for the Battlewagon.

I will add spikes, rivets and other details, so if I decide the parts are too big, I might saw the roller into two or three parts, cut out a short section and glue it together around some 'saw blade' shapes:

WH40K - Searchlight

This is the AFV Club 1/35 searchlight - or Flakscheinwurfer according to the box. It is a detailed model kit of a WW2 German searchlight but I intend to build it as an Imperial Guard emplacement. It may be a freestanding model, or I may put it on a small diorama base as an objective.

Here's a review of the kit from the Perth Military Modelling Club.

It cost about AUD $30 from a local toy shop, which is comparable to Forgeworld Sabre Platform searchlight kit in resin. (GBP 17.60 or about AUD $35 at the time I write this, plus postage.) The Sabre Platform can be found on this page; pics of that kit on various vehicles are here.

Note: I first read the box label as "Flakschweinwurfer" which I took to mean "Antiaircraftpigthrower" or somesuch. The sentiment seemed appropriate.

WH40K - Trukk and Battlewagon Wheels

There is a slight difference between the large wheels that come with the Battlewagon and the Trukk model kits. They are not quite the same in each kit. Both have the 'round' and 'square' style wheels, but the rear axles on the trukk are a tiny bit smaller than the ones on the battlewagon. Also, the battlewagon wheels have a bit of a raised rim on the inside of the wheel, where the axle goes. This means that the battlewagon wheels are a little loose if they go on the truck, or the trukk wheels are a little difficult to put on the battlewagon axles. This shouldn't be a challenge for even an amateur conversion - just use some imagination and your hobby knife... carefully!

WH40K - Flakka Trakk (and new Trukk)

Here's the Flakka Trakk so far:



It comprises the track units and rear bed of the battlewagon, joined to the cabin and front wheels of the trukk. Wheel arches and front pieces come from the old plastic war buggy set.





The 'chassis rails' that join the two structures are from the straights and L-pieces in the modular movement tray set. Fuel tank is from the Imperial Guard vehicle accessory sprue. (The wheels and tracks aren't glued on; I will paint the body before attaching them.)



The trukk has been built pretty much out of the box, but with a lot of the spiky bits clipped off. The truck-bed sides from another trukk kit have been cut down to close in the truck bed a bit more. The gaps in the piece behind the cabin have been covered with Forgeworld ork glyphs and pieces of strip styrene.

WH40K - Flakka Trakk (and Trukk)

Smaller pics for Librarium Online and Work In Progress forum posts.

WH40K - New Battlewagon and New Trukk

I have started some work on the new plastic Battlewagon - and finally gotten around to putting one of my trukks together.
Here's the scheme so far:

Battlewagon 1 - front cabin, front chassis (four wheels) and part of rear cabin built. Awaiting purchase of other battlewagons, so I can supply this one with four or six more of the same style of wheel. This will be my 'Stryker' style Battlewagon.

Battlewagon 2 and Trukk 1 - cut and shunt to make the Flakka Trakk. Left over bits going into sundry vehicle projects.

Trukk 2 - being built pretty much standard, with a touch of kustomization to distinguish it from other trukks.

WH40K - STOMP-E

Ideas for Ork Stompa based on WALL-E toy:

- it should be armed in accordance with codex/Apocalypse rules, and WYSIWYG.

- it should be look more heavily armoured around the weapons and vital areas.

- guns and CCW will come from the GI Joe Sigma 6 walker.

- STOMP-E could stand for "Supa Tuff 'Orrible Machine for Poundin' Everyfink".

WH40K - Battlewagon Barmy

I have gone a bit Battlewagon Barmy and bought a third one, as well as an additional Trukk, to add to my first (unbuilt).
Here's the plan. It involves a bit of the old 'cut and shunt' (vehicle halves being welded together. Very unsafe to do, or indeed say after about a dozen squig ales.)

Battlewagon 1 to lose tracks and be given extra wheels to become wheely battlewagon. Probably an eight wheeler, like an ASLAV or Stryker. Bits from the modular movement tray pack will help restore the chassis here.

Trukk 1 to lose four wheels, and gain tracks from first battlewagon. Add a big gun and it becomes a Flak Trukk. The grot riggers will be falling over themselves to get on board that one.

Trukk 2 and Battlewagon 2 to be built pretty much normal. That way you can see what havoc I have wreaked on the other ones.

Battlewagon 3 to become bitz for STOMP-E (that's the new name for my WALL-E based Stompa. Expansion of the acronym to follow)

I will definitely use the 'jaw' pieces from a battlewagon on the head of STOMP-E, and I might buy the deff rolla sprue from GW direct if and when it comes out.

WH40K - Anticipating the Battlewagon

I am buying two battlewagons. One will fall victim to my Mekboss genetic imperative and form the outer details of the WALL-E Stompa. The other will be built pretty much normal - although some kustomization is mandatory.

Ideas: Lowering? Biiig exhaust pipes, hot rod style? I am thinking of leaving the 'jaw' piece off and building a death roller (or waiting until the direct-only death roller sprue becomes available from GW)

I have seen the early pictures of the GW plastic Stompa and I am very impressed - but it's not what I want in a Stompa. So, like any Mekboss worth his bolts, I will be going ahead with my own (the WALL-E Stompa). It will have the weapons and gubbinz described in the Apocalypse books, but will be more angular than the 'production' model.

My main critique of the GW Stompa design is that while the body looks well armoured (in an appropriately ramshackle way), the weapons are very exposed. I imagine that a Stompa would be a fire magnet on the battlefield and even the dimmest grotrigger wouldn't want the crucial mechanisms (ie: honking big guns) to fail because of a stray bolter round.

Lego - 8285 Tow Truck for a song

I found a bargain in the Boxing Day sales: a Technic Lego Tow Truck (set number 8265, from 2006) for AUD $20 at Kmart! It's a big set, and I haven't decided whether to build it or sell it. The box is a bit ratty but it looks like all the parts, instructions and stickers are intact.

WH40K - New Battlewagon

I have seen the Battlewagons in my local GW store and they do look a lot better than the photos suggest. They are more squat than they look in the pics. They are also very modular: The turret can be fitted on the rear or the cab. The jaw piece hinges, or can be left off, revealing a more conventional truck-like front. Also, the lid comes off the rear section, making it more of an open topped car, and the small turrets and guns are all interchangeable. Price in Australian dollars: $75 or $85 apparently. Touch and go if I will buy more than one. Or two...

Wish list:
- one or two Battlewagons
- one more adding detail to my long postponed second Battlebarge/Tankboat.
- one for bits to add to the WALL-E Stompa.

A thought strikes me: the Stompa should have a stupid joke acronym name like "WAAAGH Attack: Lots 'n Lotsa Enfoosiasm"... I think I can do better than that.

Edit: Cyborg Trucker also demonstrates some deep orky enthusiasm.

28mm - Armorcast Resin Scenery - MegaCannon

Another company making resin scenery for 28mm and other scales: Armorcast.

They have a great range of figures, scenery and weapons, from which I have purchased the MegaCannon. It looks very impressive in the pics; I will have to see how well it goes together when it arrives.

This outrageous weapon will either become a weapon arm for an Ork Stompa, or an emplacement for the Boyz (or the Imperials. When the fighting gets nasty and the scenery takes some hits, sometimes it's only the graffiti that tells you who owns a particular piece of turf.)


If the Armorcast MegaCannon is good, I might return to their site and buy some of their Soda Can Storage Tanks. These are resin bases and fittings that suit a standard sized (American) soft drink can, turning it into a piece of scenery. As the site says:

Upside down soda/soft drink cans look cool as storage tanks, but what do you do about the depression in the top of the can? Armorcast has solved the problem for you with Soda Can Storage Tank kits. You supply the cans and Armorcast provides a base with recesses for two or three upside down soft drink cans and detail pieces that fit into the tops of the cans. Drink a soda, build gaming terrain and recycle at the same time!

Very imaginative. It's what gamers have been doing for ages, but the resin pieces turn an objet trouvee into a work of art.

28mm - Ramshackle Games - 28mm Postapocalyptic Vehicles

Increasing my collection of 28mm scale vehicles for Cyberpunk and/or postapocalyptic roleplay, I found Ramshackle Games' Website. I ordered the armoured Quad and the Truck, as a generic transport vehicle for my future world.

I have also decided to paint the second Old Crow Models Trojan in a sort of splintered olive drab/grey-black scheme, a bit like a WW2 Stuka or a modern Swedish AFV.

These pictures are from the Ramshackle Games website, showing the vehicles I bought:

Old Crow Models - Other people's work

Here are a couple of sites I found where people have painted their own versions of Old Crow Models vehicles:

http://wastedroads.blogspot.com/2007/11/road-warrior-another-update.html

http://marks-minis.blogspot.com/2008/01/old-crow-grav-tanks-preview.html (15mm tanks)

http://brandlin.blogspot.com/2008/01/creating-grymn-force-ii_12.html

and this is a very good painting guide (PDF):

http://www.kevindallimore.co.uk/pdf/web%20THUNDERBOLT_RGB.pdf

If I see any more I will add to this post.