ork Archives - Felix's Gaming Pages

Ork speedy vehicles

In the Ork displays at Warhammer World there were some nicely painted Ork Vehicles.

This is a Megatrakk Scrapjet.

A favourite amongst Speed Freeks and grounded Flyboyz alike, Megatrakk Scrapjets provide rocket-propelled acceleration, impressive firepower and the hilarity of ramming into enemy lines at the helm of what is effectively a gigantic, thrust-driven drill. These vehicles allow former Ork pilots to revel in the dimly-remembered joy of mowing down enemies at point-blank range – a joy which, of course, often caused the Flyboy to crash in the first place. Explosions blossom amidst the enemy as rokkits and missiles collide with their targets, while Grot tail-gunners blaze away with chattering big shootas – the array of weaponry welded, bolted, riveted and lashed onto a Megatrakk Scrapjet is fearsome.

Megatrakk Scrapjet on my workbench

The Rukkatrukk Squigbuggy is a type of Ork attack vehicle. The first Rukkatrukk Squigbuggies were invented by enterprising Snakebites in order to feed Speed Freeks on the move. Mobile pens full of edible squigs, the vehicles kept pace with the warband’s Warbikers, buggies and Trukks while their grinning crews hawked their wares at the tops of their lungs.

Once a suitable bag of teef was slung across to them by a hungry driver or passenger, choice Squigs were loaded into the Rukkatrukk’s Squig Launchas and fired into the hands — or even waiting gobs — of the hungry customers. Legend has it that it was only after a rabid Attack Squig was accidentally stuffed into the launcha and fired into a luckless Ork’s face that the true potential of this mobile murder-menagerie was realised.

Nowadays, Rukkatrukk Squigbuggies are often seen muscling their way through their fellow Speed Freeks as they roar towards the front lines. Easily identified by their rugged construction, the throaty roar of their engines, and the anarchic masses of Squigs and Orks riding aboard them, these vehicles employ their close-range living artillery to wreak havoc amongst the enemy ranks.

Rukkatrukk Squigbuggy on my workbench

This is the Shokkjump Dragsta.

The Shokkjump Dragsta combines two of the foremost triumphs of the Mekaniak’s art – recklessly fast speedsters and deranged weaponry. It is perhaps unsurprising that it has become one of the most popular forms of transport amongst the Mekboyz of the Kult of Speed.

Armed to the grille with guns, blades and greenskins, the Kustom Boosta-blasta is one of the deadliest Ork vehicles around. Ferociously fast, absurdly heavily armed, and boasting the capacity to set things on fire by simply overtaking them, it exemplifies everything the Speed Freeks look for in a vehicle.

Speed Freeks Miniatures Gallery.

Aeronautica Imperialis Tiny Planes at Warhammer World

Aeronautica Imperialis is a game of aerial combat set in the Warhammer 40,00 universe. While ground troops push forward to secure tactical objectives, winged squadrons push forward in the skies to decimate enemy positions and intercept enemy fighters.

At Warhammer World there are some lovely Aeronautica Imperialis models on display.

The Marauder Bomber is the workhorse of the Imperial Navy. Capable of both atmospheric and void operations, it is used as an attack craft in fleet actions as well as fulfilling a tactical role, supporting ground offensives by bombing enemy troop concentrations and support positions. Such tactical bombing missions are often launched prior to, and in support of, Imperial Guard offensives.

Sacrificing a portion of its bomb payload in favour of nose-mounted autocannon and an increased complement of Hellstrike Missiles, the Marauder Destroyer specialises in low-level assaults on ground targets.

The Thunderbolt is the mainstay weapon system of Imperial Navy fighter wings and is a rugged, well-armed and armoured heavy fighter with all-around capabilities, a good maximum speed and above-average maneuverability, powerful nose-mounted weapons and hard points located on the wings for missile or bomb load-outs. The Thunderbolt’s primary combat role is as an air superiority fighter. It seeks out and engages enemy aircraft in dogfights or hunts enemy bombers to establish air superiority.

As well as the Imperial Navy there were some great looking Air Waagh! Ork flyers as well.

Among the smallest and most numerous of Ork aircraft, the Dakkajet is built for speed and firepower, capable of unleashing devastating hails of buffets from its arsenal of quad big shootas.

The diminutive Gretchin have long been enthusiastic supporters of Ork aviation, whether gleefully pushing bombs out of open bays, crawling into tight spots to fix engines, or acting as spotters and even gunners on ork planes. It doesn’t take long before they become obsessed with flying just like their bigger kin, begging for their own turn on the control stick.

Some enterprising Ork meks decided this arrangement could be mutually beneficial, and created guided missiles that could be flown like a tiny, gretchin-sized airplane. Fitted with a short-burn rocket engine and stuffed with unstable explosives, some rabid grots are happy to climb aboard just for the (short-lived) thrill of speed and freedom. They’re loaded into the wings of specially-fitted Grot Bommers, and launched in support of the Air Waaagh!

Aeronautica Imperialis Miniatures Gallery

Aeronautica Imperialis Workbench

That’s not just big, that’s mega!

In my blog post about what next for Aeronautica Imperialis I said

could we see a huge Ork bomber or transport aircraft?

I didn’t think we would see one, well we now have a new huge Ork aircraft for Aeronautica Imperialis.

The Ork Air Waaagh! Mega Bommer is a 61 piece resin kit (from Forge World) that is the biggest model (so far) for the game.

If you thought the Eavy Bommers were big enough, you don’t deserve to call yourself an Ork. Obsessed Mekboys constantly compete to create the biggest and shootiest aircraft around. The Mega Bommer is the extreme end of that line of thinking.

In addition to its sheer size, the Mega Bommer is a wonderfully unsubtle design – all wings and bombs and guns and jets. Not only is it exceptionally hard to take down, loaded to the rafters with dakka (including a full flak cannon battery every bit as deadly as the ground-based version), but it also carries the final word in indiscriminate destruction – the mega bomb itself.

I quite like this model and I have put it on my wish list.

Rogue Trader Space Ork Raiders

One of the nice things about Warhammer World is that they don’t ignore what has been before. Here is an original box of Space Ork Raiders from the Rogue Trader era in the late 1980s.

These Orks were metal castings and are smaller than their later bulky bigger Orks that came later. Though they had similar poses the castings were all different. I really like the artwork on the box, which is somewhat abstract but it works for me.

I did have this boxed set and this is one of them.

Not entirely sure where all the other Orks went…

I might see if I can find them, or even try and find a box on eBay.

The box was useful as well, as there was an expanded polystyrene tray in the box that the metal miniatures came in, but this meant that it was also useful for carrying the painted miniatures in, to games and for storage. As a result my box became somewhat tatty.

Rogue Trader Space Ork Dreadnoughts

I liked these Space Ork Dreadnoughts when they were released back in the 1980s.

They had a certain charm, even they had Imperial weapons on the arms.

They were a little challenging to put together, well I was using an epoxy resin which took ages to cure, so could only do one part at a time. Today I would probably use the superglue.

LE24 Sleazy Rider

As with my Ork Warbuggy photographs, I recently found the original photograph of LE24 Sleazy Rider, so I decided to rescan them as I had only low-res ones on the site.

Sleazy Rider was a Citadel Limited Edition released in July 1987. At the time it was £1.95, which though appears cheap today, wasn’t then!

This is Sleazy Rider the original Orc biker (at that time there were no Orks just Orcs).

Despite the bike, the hemet and the shotgun this was a fantasy model, Sleazy was an Orc not an Ork!

The advert from White Dwarf #91 has text talking about a fantasy ‘car’ race involving vehicles with steam boilers and Snotling Pump Wagons.

‘Dad was hero,’ gasped Mad Sid, ‘he died out on the track…’ A silence fell upon the tribe as their leader wiped a tear from a piggy little eye. ‘Dad was a real orc, an orc with a dream! All he ever wanted was to win the Undun Appoluz. It was neck and neck coming up to Death Pit Corner. Dad was on the inside with the Stunty Evulcan Evul on the outside. As they went into the bend, Dad opened up and went into the lead. For just one second he was in Evulcan’s sights…’ A lump came to Mad Sid’s throat, ‘the bolt hit the steam boiler. They never found Dad. It took three weeks to fill in the crater.

As Mad Sid bowed his head in memory of his sire, a tall, made-eyed and rather oily orc wheeled the new machine forwards. ‘She’s faster than the Borgheim Bersekers super-charged steam dragster. She’ll leave the Drastic Dik and the Snotling Pump Wagon on the grid. She’ll go like a Stunty rat-catcher with a red-hot poker up its…’

‘What are we waiting for!’ Bellowed Mad Sid. ‘Undun Apollouz Allcomers here we come!’

The bike rear was based on a Judge Dredd bike, but the front had a wooden wheel and an Evil Sunz glyph.

In the advert, the Citadel painted model had a US flag painted on the fuel tank, so when I painted mine I did the opposite and painted the Soviet flay on my model.

As I was writing this blog post I got thinking that maybe there was something here about a new game, a fantasy racing car game. Well Bloodbowl is fantasy football!

I have distant memories of playing a chariot race using the Warhammer rules, and we didn’t just have chariots either, there was probably a Snoting Pump Wagon in the midst as well.

Well that’s got me thinking…

Rogue Trader Ork Warbuggy

I recently found the original photograph of my Rogue Trader Ork Warbuggy, so I decided to rescan them as I had only low-res ones on the site.

I had added a jerry can and a (small) oil drum as well. My hazard striped were done by hand (can you tell?).

This was an all metal kit, which made not just the kit rather heavy and challenging to not just to glue together, but to stay together as well.

As for the components, you got the four wheels, the chassis, a rear axle, the engine (with mudguards) a choice of weapons as well as a choice of three drivers and gunners. I did like the variety of crew and guns.

When this was released, Citadel also did a small version, which was awful.

I am not surprised that it didn’t sell, one it didn’t look as cool as the large version and the larger version was only 45p more.

Ork Warbuggy Miniatures Gallery

Rynn’s World

Inspired by the artwork from the original Warhammer 40000 Rogue Trader rulebook, this diorama shows the Crimson Fists making a heroic last stand against hordes of Orks.

That artwork from the rulebook was always to me quite inspiring.

Another view of the diorama.

Painting the scrap piles and barricades

All Mekboyz can perform battlefield repairs using no more than a weighty wrench-hammer, a sack of nails and a healthy dose of gumption, but most do their best work in the comfortably anarchic surrounds of their own workshop. Meks are more than capable of cobbling together a workspace from whatever is lying about, with rudimentary workshops springing up from battlefield wreckage even while the bullets are still flying. Greenskin vehicles roar toward such teetering structures, their crews throwing sacks of teef at the resident Mek – he and his crew get to work immediately, sending the Ork customers on their way with snazzier guns, souped-up engines and extra armour plates.

I have been thinking about getting this kit for a while now. So on a recent shopping trip to my local games shop I decided to make an impulse purchase and buy the box. Well it was nearly 30% cheaper than on the GW site (and it’s out of stock on their website).

As well as the named workshop you also get three barricades and three piles of scrap. Before starting on the workshop part of the kit I decided I would paint the scrap piles and barricades. Having cleaned the plastic parts I gave them a Corax White undercoat.

I then started painting the basecoat across the scrap piles and barricades using a combination of Base and Contrast Citadel paints.

With this large barricade, the bit of Dakkajet was painted red, whilst the bonnet was painted yellow. Other parts were painted with Leadbelcher.

For this barricade I painted a key part of it with Leadbelcher and Contrast Cygor Brown.

I wasn’t too impressed with the Cygor Brown, it covered well, but there wasn’t too much contrast.

On this scrap pile I painted the Imperial ammo chest and the dented oil drum with Contrast Militarum Green and the tyres I did with Contrast Basilicanum Grey.

The majority of this scrap pile was painted with Leadbelcher and some parts were done with Contrast Cygor Brown.

The tyre I did with Contrast Basilicanum Grey, and as this barricade appears to have figher parts I did these parts with Base Averland Sunset.

On the largest piece of scrap I did the pile of tyres with Contrast Basilicanum Grey, whilst the chest was done with Contrast Militarum Green.

Contrast Cygor Brown was used for some parts of the pile.

See the workbench feature on all parts of the Ork Mekboy Workshop.

Assembling the workshop

I have been thinking about getting this kit for a while now. So on a recent shopping trip to my local games shop I decided to make an impulse purchase and buy the box. As well as the named workshop you also get three barricades and three piles of scrap.

This workshop is the main model from the Ork Mekboy Workshop boxed set. It is the only part of the kit that actually needs to be constructed.