My Little Tank(s)

Hello!
It's been slighlty later arriving than I'd planned, and since these pictures were taken I may also have undercoated these blighters...

But here we have a group of 12 Grot Tanks, hand crafted by Yours Truly.

Now, For anyone wanting to build Grot tanks, and look for a Good Tutorial, I can highly recommend Kanvass' tutorial on Youtube. The guy has crazy skills and if you follow his tute, you'll end up with some beuatiful looking models.

If you do it my way, you will probably end up some rather haphazard things (which I'm very proud of) which all do indeed look very different and hopefully are also fun to build.

To go into a bit of background on these (and I wouldn't recommend anyone follow the methodology behind my construction of these past the initial groundwork!) Last November, The Code Gang had a big apocalypse game. Beakies Vs Orks in the Return of the Battle for Big Toof. As is (apparently!) tradition, The Orks always need new, and bigger, and crazier toys.

The problem with this... is that I always leave it too late...
...which is how I came to find myself in my tracksuit bottoms, at 5am, finishing the construction of the last tank, the day we were due to play... and I hadn't done the rivets.

Needless to say I was *quite* tired (talk about an understatement!) on the day, and the game probably suffered for it (plus we put them into tactical reserve, and they didn't come on for ages, and were a bit disappointing on the day, but that's going down to User Error)
so anyway, enough waffle.


Here are some tanks!

and this is an explanation of how I made them!

Every tank's basic shape is constructed in a roughly identical fashion.

One track is made of the following.

2 pieces of Plasticard 20mm x 30mm

1 piece of blue insulation foam 18mm x 28mm

1 piece of thin plasticard scored lightly (this simply needs to be long enough to go around the tread which means, roughly, it should be 110mm (extra 10mm is for wrap around gluing factor)

then as you can hopefully see from the pictures, I've angled each tread to hopefully mak it look a bit more tank like, this is absolutely to personal taste. Here do what you want, just make sure that each set of 2 treads per tank are the same!

so, for one tank, you will need double the above.

PVA two pieces of matching plasticard to one piece of matching blue foam and let set.

Then PVA the entire facing of the blue foam that is showing in 'the sandwich' and wrap you scored thin plasticard tread around (bending it it around the angled treads in the places it needs to), using the overhang and some polycement to stick the tread to itself.

now for the chassis.

you will need

4 pieces of Plasticard 20mm x 30mm (These are 2 x sides and 1 x front and 1 x back)

2 pieces of Plasticard 30mm x 30mm (this is the top and bottom)

It's basically a square. Now you can angle these as well, but I happen to think they look best with only 1 angle cut, either front or back. (but again, your mileage may vary)

If you angle it, be aware that you will need to shorten one of your front/back sections accordingly, and cut a new angled frnt/back section to match.

Polycement these all together to make your boxy tank body shape.

Then take your 2 x treads, and polycement them to the body of the tank.

you now have your basic shape.

From here, hopefully, the rest should be fairly straightforward. using 10mmx10mm pieces of plasticard, you can make the gun turret, or, shoudl the fancy take you, use other GW cupolas from other tanks (as I have done on a few of them)

alternatively you can use a hemisphere to make your turret... the key is that you do something a little different somewhere on the tanks!

to make them look a little less like homogenous boxes, I also used a lot of plasticard extra plating, and cannibalised lots of unused Killa Kan/Truck/Orky parts to individualise each tank.

Rivets are also key. To be honest, I think I went a little overboard on the Fighta Bomma... (coming next!) However, where Ork Vehicles are concerned, rivets are what takes it from a scratchbuilt piece, with very flat panelling (and looking a bit simple) to something that could conceivably have been cobbled together by some crazy Mek!

So later on this week, I will show you how Gruber's finest Little tanks look with a bit o'red paint on them (I think it's made a huge difference) as well as a certain Butchered up Italieri kit and some more rivets morphed into a Fighta Bomma!

Hypa Out.

Waaaghhh!!!!!! Bluddtoof wip

With SVA XII and Carnage looming close I'm getting a few new bits and bobs together for my 5 new lists I'll need for them. Sounds a lot but as my Orks are my most prevalent painted stuff I've got the vast majority of what I need already done.

Just built Trukk number 5 and here's a few photos...........

As you can see I've used the Forgeworld Ork half trakk upgrade kit, not a bad price considering you get a full plastic trukk kit as well as all the resin trakks, wheels and engine. You're left with plenty of extra bits, specifically wheels and an engine with which to make another trukk!! Huzzah!! 2 trukks for about £35. As long as you've got plenty of bits lying around, which any self respektin Mek should have or course!

So the kit........

...as with all resin..... FLASH! And plenty of it, especially around the trakk linkages, take your time and it comes off with a nice sharp craft knife to leave a really impressive mould, well impressed with the quality and Orkyness of the design.

Not too tricky to assemble either but you have to remember it's Orky so it's meant to look uneven and wonky and once I'd done the chassis it looked good and was quite strong and rigid.

The engine blokk is made to connect to the drive shaft of the plastic kit as with the original however the resin gearstick was a pain to get in place so I ended up swapping it out for a scratch one. Don't try to use the original plastic one as it won't be in the right position and hits the front bulkhead of the cab section, stopping correct positioning of the cab.

I also bought the Forgeworld Ork weapons set which is a fantastic assortment of Big Shootas, Skorchas and Rokkit Launchas; 11 weapons altogether with mountings and all unique too. So one of those went on in place of the original plastic one. All helps to create the desired impression of each vehicle in my Waaaghhh! being a unique creation of the competing Meks.

I'm now working on Trukk 6 which again uses Forgeworld upgrades, this time the Enclosed Kab Trukk kit. Piccies of this in due course........

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaghhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!

Boss Bluddtoof

I'm Back!

Well after a long break since my last post I thought it was about time I updated everything I've been working on. So here you go!

Cast your minds back to christmas, the best time to be thinking about what projects to start, as if you've been a good boy, Santa Claus might bring you some nice new shiny's!

With my mind focused on the most excellent Spiky Clubs, up and coming SVA Tournament, I was keen to be ready as the last year I was painting right up to the last second.

The last time I took my orks so this time I wanted to take something different for 2 reasons.

First of all I wanted to take something more competitive as although my list previously wasn't terrible, it wasn't really picked to smash the opposition to bits. So I'm flicking through various Codex' for inspiration & what I'd need to make a competitive Tournament Army. I asked myself "Whats a really competitive (cheesy) army that is quite forgiving and means I won't get my ass handed to me like last time?"

"DOUBLE LASH"........oooh thats a bit cheesy I thought.........oh well....

Ok so I wasn't going to make any new friends but hey, friends are overrated ;-)

So with no apologies intended, I went for the following ballbusting, no god preference, beast of a cheese list: -

Chaos Space Marines 2000pts List

2 Daemon Princes (Mark of Slannesh, Double Lash, Wings)

Greater Daemon

7 Nurgle Plague Marines (Champ - Powerfist,Melta) 1

Rhino (Extra Armour)

7 Nurgle Plague Marines (Champ - Powerfist,Melta) 2

Rhino (Extra Armour)

7 Nurgle Plague Marines (Champion) 3

Rhino

8 Khorne Bezerkers (Champ - PW)

Rhino (Extra Armour)

3 Obliterators

3 Obliterators

Defiler

The 1500pts version was without the defiler, greater daemon and nurgle/rhino squad 3 & the Oblits are split into 3 squads of 2.

SIMPLES.

So Crimbo came and I hooked myself up with 2 brand new swanky daemon princes and a couple of rhinos and I was ready to start building and painting.

I began painting straight away but with a January 31st honeymoon to Australia for 4 weeks lined up, that was obviously the deadline date. Well as my fellow bloggers will testify, I wouldn't be me, if I didn't leave it all to the last minute. By the deadline date, to give myself credit, I had completed most of it but still needed to finish off a nurgle squad & a rhino. I then decided, after contracting a heavy dose of painting fatigue, It would be best finished when I got back from Oz, and it was.....the night before.....till 6:30am in my pants!!! Suffice to say, the boys weren't too impressed or really surprised for that matter! But hey, all done in the end! Still a little sketchy based on the time frame but I can always go back in and finish them off another time, as long as they were tabletop ready I was happy :-)

So heres some of the latest additions mostly finished: -

Converted Obliterators

Greater Daemon of Nurgle (sculpted & painted)

Plague Marines (Work in Prog) Champ & Guy to right finished only

Daemon Prince No.1

Daemon Prince No.2

Well theres just a handful of images to look at for now but i'll post up some more this week. I'll post up a couple of battle reports from SVA XII and how the Double lash got on at the weekend. I'll also post the start of my next project which I plan on starting this week -

The Sanguinary Guard Army

Take it Easy

Luko

KANS STOMP IN

Hi all,

Completed pictures of three scratchbuilt killa kans (built by hypasist). Amazing fun to paint something so different to my wolves.

Hope you like?

DOC

The Dreadmob Grows!

OK, been a while since an update... but I *promise* I haven't been slacking (well apart from tonight.. special dispensation from the Warboss and all that ;)

so first up, was the state of play about a week ago. 8 kans completely finished, as pictured below, however it wasn't long before these little fellas were to be broken up like a litter of new puppies and sent off to a new (albeiot temporary) home!

See DOC's stirling post's on their new and exciting journey!

Then, in the last week, I made some more progress. and by progress... I mean PROGRESS!!!

(and there was the recruitment of a local Spanna boy to throw into the mix!)

Below are the remaining 9 Kans which include 2 of the 8 above, (you might be able to spot them!) and 7 of their new, grot filled brethren, all steeling to kick somefink big an Green!

The, erm, large chap in the distance might be recognisable from a previous post...

Yes,. the Meka dread is in Town!

So this monstrosity has been created with removable Rokkit Bomm Racks, a Shunta (which is basically an Old Dark Eldar Raider piece, with Eldar weaponry shoved on in spades) and a dead bigg Rippy Klaw which I think is made from Grabba Klaws (Kindly donated by local Warbosses!)

Along with a top down, and reare view. This Behemoth is fully riveted, with feet and everything, and now just needs a road test to prove how dead 'ard an killy he is!

Hope you like them, and with just under two weeks until SVA-XI it's going to be tight, and a lot of Grots might get squished along the way! (But I'm sure it will all end right!!)

Further Kan Progress

Hi,

A second work in progress shot!




Thoughts Please?

Doc

WAAGH KAN MOB

Hi All,

Well ive been watching hypasist scratch build all these fantastic Kans and thought i want to be involved! It's such a cool idea and scratches a geek itch like nothing else!! So i offered to paint up 3 for him, for the upcoming SVA campaign weekend. They are so much fun to paint!! Also he hasnt painted any himself yet.... so im helping develop the colour scheme. No pressure then.....So heres a work in progress shot.



Feedback is more than welcome, I want to develope a simple and effective finish.

Waagh for now
DOC

Slow but Steady Stompa progress!

Very much in theme with the Previous post I too have some solid Hobbying objectives... though, most of mine are somewhat restrictive in nature!

Last year, I promised myself I wouldn't buy any more models until I had painted the ones I had (for the record this was somewhere close to 10k of Dark Angels, 2k Sisters of Battle, 3k Orks)

sooo....

I painted 2k of Orks.....

.. Bought more Orks, Bought some Chaos Space Marines (about..., maybe 5k's worth?) Traded Sisters for Tyranids... and bought more Tyranids... (perhaps 6k in total?)

*ahem... *

anyway, this year, my designs are more modest (especially as I got some Elysians for Christmas!)

1) Do NOT start any more armies (I have resigned myself to the fact that I *will* buy more models, restricting it to current armies is at least a step in the right direction!)

2) Paint as many figures as I have made/bought. (to date this is 97 figures and we are still in January... :-O )

3) Build at least 50% of my City Scenery (I won this a couple of years ago in a store auction £100 box for £30, bargain! only, I've never built any yet... *sigh* )

4) Suck less at SVA. (This should be easy, last year I was 0/4/1 W/L/D )

I can't do worse.... (right?)

So there we have it, some Hobby related targets for the New Year!


Onto the update!



so it's been a month (ish) since the last update. I've made what I consider to b e good progress. (it will still be tight to get this Dreadmob finished, but I am beginning to get on a roll I think)

Last time, there wasn't really a single completed model... Well today I can exclusively reveal not one, not two, not three, but FOUR completed* Stompa-Kans!!!

(*when I say complete, I mean built and unbased/painted)

I have also constructed a Kilkannon and Rippa Klaw arm for a Mega Dread (this needs more work, pictures another time)

And furthermore completed all the Structures needed for every Kan/Dread/Mega/Meka Dread. and these shall appear as they are completed. (My wife is also very pleased as this means less blue foam being carved all over the house!)

Hope you enjoy the pictures.

so my progress chart (oh yes) now looks like this.

Meka Dread 0/1

Dread 0/4

Kans 4/15

Mega Dread 0/3

and these have to be ready by Feb 26th you say?

Back to the Mekshop!

Dread Progress

OK, so some more progress on the Dread Mob occurred last night as I managed to get a very brief step-by-step on Stage 1 of how I made the first Stompa-Kan, and then batch processed another 8 to that stage!

So. to begin with you

1) Take a cut piece of blue foam, my pieces are all (very) roughly 4.5mm x 3mm x 5.5mm (WidthxDepthxHeight)

2) Then, using a wide craft knife slant the sides of your box from top to bottom. For the top I use a 2mm x 2mm square in the middle and take this out pretty much to the width of the base, so that you end up with something along the lines of

top.
2x2
bottom
4/4.25x2.75/3
obviously, the height stays at 5.5mm

3) Once this is done, you are ready to begin!
(in this example below, I am making the Stompa-Kan with a Grotzooka, represented by a Belly Gun, hence the pipe, this is clearly optional, but just push in the pipe, make a space, and cut away some of the internal foam, and glue it in with some PVA)

4) Cut yourself two pieces of plasticard, one each for top and bottom, the purpose of which, is to give you something to put head and feet on, the rest will come together on it's own.

5) Prepare yourself a random assortment of Plasticard peices, or, if you are like me, and have an offcuts box, raid it mercilessly!

6) next, slather the foam sides (not top or bottom yet) in PVA and stick random assorted bits to the body to create the bottom skirt layer.
once these are positioned, then cover top and bottom in PVA and attach your pieces.

And then below is the progress I made last night, that totals 9 Stompa-Kan frames to work with, next begins the joyous labour of creating the arms and weapons for these bad boys!

Hopefully I will get the chance to do a bit more on these before Christmas day.. but it might be tight, so maybe in that comfortable lull between christmas and New Year :)

Dread Mob List

ok, so it's been a while since I posted, this is mostly down to running around after my wife and our new little snotling!

Anyway, early next year (in February to be exact) there is another SVA Tournament in Reading, and whilst myself and three other Code members played there last year (and MASSIVELY) enjoyed it....


I was on the end of several good hidings.

Stompnutz, to be blunt, wants REVENGE!


so, with the promise of Imperial Armour/Forgeworld army lists being allowed, I sat down and thought to myself

"What would a really, really angry Big Mek, with a particular fascination for Revenge, Stompin' and Gork (or Possibly Mork) build?"

The Answer, (at least in this part of the world) is a Dread Mob!

However, clearly not just any old Dread mob would be blessed by Mork (or Possibly Gork!)

Only a dread Mob built as Effigy's to the Great Orky God's of Kunnin and Krumpin' would do...


so, in short, the 'plan' (and I use this term fairly loosely you understand!) is to create an entire Dread Mob of Gork (or Mork) Effigy's.

1 Meka Dread
2 mega Dreads
3 Dreads
15 Killa Kans

all built around the Stompa Chassis, for maximum exposure to the Orky Gods.

I've started small, beginning with a Kan. Using a (solid) Blue Foam core, which I have layered in PVA Glue and Plasticard, I haved then built this up with a lyer of 'plating' whilst scratch-building the arms (Rokkit and CC weapon in this case) All that remains (I believe) for this one, is the power source and flue at the back, and a whole ton of Rivets.
Once this is done, I will mass produce (or at least, as quickly as I am able to do!) the remaining 14 Kans, Whislt I think about exporting and/or changing the design for the larger models.

I'll also do a step by step (although, in fairness, it shouldn't be hard to deduce what I have done here ;) )

and without further ado...

The First of Big Mek Stompnutz' Stompa-Kans!

ORK SUPA HEAVIES

Hi All,

So here i was this afternoon looking back through pictures of old games and came across the massive 30,000 point game we played last year! In this game the guys pulled out all the stops to bring new mega death so i though i would share with you the ORK SUPA HEAVIES of the code.

First off Z Skullhamma By Warlord Tweedy




Next the sracth built STOMPA by Warlord Tweedy



Last but by no means least TRASH CAN STOMPA by Extreme Luko




Enjoy!
Doc