ChrisP's Orks - April - Rank and File 3

Evil Sunz Nob on bike with plasma gun - 39pts

5 Evil Sunz on bikes - 235pts

Total 274 points

 

 

The speedy contingent of my army grows with these warbikers. The models are mostly standard, with a few small conversions to replace components lost or broken over the decades. Naturally they're red, with the yellow gun-muzzles inspired by an even older warbike that I remember from White Dwarf battle reports. 

Next up will be another fast and reckless mob - Stormboyz in May!

ChrisP's Orks - March - Rank and File 2

 Snakebite Nob on boar with bolter and power axe - 29pts

7 Snakebite Boyz on boars - 126pts

Total 155 points

 

A challenging month for sure - these boarboyz are covered in details, and I really wanted to do them justice. Four of them are the same torso sculpt, so I did what I could with other components and colours to add some variety. I'm happy with the result, and it's always a pleasure to get more grinning green faces on my shelf!

ChrisP's Orks - February - Leader Month

 This month I've painted my warboss, and also a little diorama.

 

 

 

 Like I hoped, Thrugg Bullneck works well in Evil Sunz colours.

This diorama is my attempt to re-create this classic artwork:

 Of course, it's not a one-to-one copy of the art, but I think I captured the spirit of it. I used a modern Horus Heresy marine because it's so large, making it easy to arrange all 3 orks around him. The orks were bashed together out of all kinds of bitz, from plastic zombies to chaos warriors. And yes, that's a marine shoulderpad on the screaming ork's head. For the colour scheme, I wanted something grimy and earthy to contrast with the marine, so I chose a "pre-clan" paint scheme for the orks. This was inspired by another artwork, the cover of the classic supplement 'Ere We Go.

ChrisP's Orks - January - Rank and File Month 1

War Buggy with heavy plasma gun - 50pts

Deathskull Nob with bolter and chainsword - 18pts 

6 Lootas with 3 kustom kombi-weapons, 2 heavy plasma guns and 1 autocannon - 185pts 

 

Really happy with how this lot turned out. I stuck to my new year's resolution to paint for at least a few minutes every day, and I think it paid off. The buggy was fairly straightforward - I looked for some good examples online, and brought in the elements I liked most. Deathskulls can be more of a struggle, since it's easy to make them very visually confusing, so I stuck to a limited pallette for the clothing. There's also a little tribute to my Deathskull wierdboy from a a couple of years ago, with his pinkish sunglasses. I hardly ever risk freehand work, but I have no regrets this time.

ChrisP's New Ork Horde - Intro Post

 

 For my 4th OWAC, I'm returning to my first love in the hobby - Orks Orks Orks! I completed a fairly respectable little horde in 2024, and now is the time to paint a second standalone force, focused on supporting the previous mobs.

Let's start with the boss - I've gone with the original warboss, Thrugg Bullneck himself. Alongside him is an Evil Sunz Mekboy, to tinker with the bikes and buggies later in the list.

 Next up is the Deathskull Lootas, including a Nob and a variety of kustom and heavy weapons. I'm looking forward to painting this mob, since it includes a kustom head sculpt from Kev Adams.

 My Kommando mob is composed of repaired originals from my childhood, plus some of the recent re-released models, and a spare Blood Axe boy to carry a meltagun.

 There's a also a skwadron of Stormboys, including one who spent far too long on the korps and turned to Khorne.

 The speedy theme continues with my boarboyz, who were on the list for 2024 but missed the final cut in favour of some new freebooterz.

Similarly, I'd been planning on painting these trakks and buggy in 2024, and it's really about time I got them done.
 

Finally, I've prepared a small mob of Evil Sunz bikers, with mounted Nob.

 Here's the whole lot. It's mostly a mid-90's army, with a few small conversions that hopefully fit with the classic lead. As usual, I'm aiming for a bright "red period" paintscheme, and I've planned out most of it in my head. A camo pattern for the kommandos is still to be decided, and I have some developing plans for the stormboyz too. Thrugg, I think, will be an Evil Sun, since that's a major clan this year, and I reckon he'll look great in red.

This is the provisional 2nd edition army list:

Warboss with bolter and chainsword - 70pts

Mekaniak with meltagun and power sword - 30pts

Deathskull Nob with bolter and chainsword - 18pts

6 Lootas with 3 kustom kombi-weapons, 2 heavy plasma guns and 1 autocannon - 185pts

Drillboss with power fist - 30pts

7 Stormboyz with jump packs - 112pts

Snakebite Nob on boar with bolter and power axe - 29pts

7 Snakebite Boyz on boars - 126pts

3 Wartraks with lascannons - 180pts

War Buggy with heavy plasma gun - 50pts

Evil Sunz Nob on bike with plasma gun - 29pts

5 Evil Sunz on bikes - 235pts

 

Last bit of business is the entry fee, which I'll be sending to Jaakko soon. I searched my leadpile for an armoured orc to fit with the era of Jaakko's amazing army from last year, and settled on a champion from 1985. Rather than my typical bright and brash scheme, I've tried a somewhat muted paintjob to match Jaakko's horde.

 

George's Bad Moonz, Wrap Up Post

Big Gobb was proud. Very proud.

After countless humiliating defeats he’d won a battle! Just like his father had won all those battles!

Close observers might have noted that Big Gobb was standing at the back, far from danger as his boyz charged the enemy lines. But there weren’t any close observers.

To celebrate his first victory, Big Gobb had raised a mighty banner as more and more boyz flocked to the WAAARGH!

Now Big Gobb and his big mob were ready to take on anyone and everyone. As they prepared to march into the galaxy in the hunt for glory, the boss took a moment to soak it all in.

He was a flash git. And he bloody loved it.

I’m chuffed to bits to have finished this challenge!

Bringing Big Gobb’s mob to life has been so much fun, and I’m delighted to finish a project that has been ongoing for 2.5 years! Having said that, there are plenty of orky models I had collected and still need to paint. Life, work etc. forced me to reduce my plans, but I was pleased to finally add a banner this month.

This is the first time that I’ve painted orcs and I’ve loved it. The Rogue Trader era originals are a joy (and let’s not forget that Hero Quest wizard!) and the recent sculpts from Old School Miniatures, Foundry, Ramshackle Games and Knightmare Miniatures blend in really nicely.

Bad Moonz are a great fit for me: bright colours and weird. I've found my clan!

Huge thanks to Byron and the tireless committee who keep this challenge going. And to the other challengers for the motivation and inspiring projects. So many glorious armies to enjoy!

But I don’t have too much time to enjoy the celebrations as I’m planning something pretty big for OWAC IX. It’s already time to get the modelling knife out!

Total Army Points:

Warboss: 90 points

Warboss’s Retinue (5 x Nobz, 5 x boyz): 310 points

2 x Weirdboyz: 100 points

1 x Mekaniak: 15 points

3 X drill bosses: 60 points

Big Mobb (10 x boyz): 280 points

1 x Rhino: 350 points

Total: 1,250 points

Big Gobb leads his big mob!

Big Gobb pictured moments before moving to the rear!

A Rogue Trader flash git!

Weird boy courtesy of Foundry!

Banner!!!

Another Rogue Trader flash git (thanks Jaako!)

A Knightmare Miniatures nob!

A Hero Quest wizard turned weird boy!

Big Gobb 'imself!

"C'mon!"

Another nob from Knightmare Miniatures

WAAARGH!!!

George's Bad Moonz, Month VI: Leader

 

Big Gobb could feel the power of the WAAARGH pulsating through the air. His big mob was ready.

His father had been a great war boss. Now Big Gobb was one too.

He loved the feeling. Loved it more than anything.

Well, almost anything.

What he loved even more was how flash it all looked. Yellow, red, green with blue and white checks. These really were the flashest gitz in the galaxy and Big Gobb felt huge pride that they were his flash gitz.

He opened his huge mouth and called the mob to attention. Nobz, Weirdboyz, boyz and tanks formed into a mass of yellow, red and green.

The mob hung on his every word.

Big Gobb pointed the way forward and yelled a battle cry at extraordinary volume. The mob joined in, chanting at the tops of their voices and advancing at terrifying speed.

Big Gobb took the opportunity to move steadily towards the rear, well away from the danger as bolter shells and missiles began to fly by.

His father had been a great war boss. But he had also died in battle, and Big Gobb had no intention of doing that.

 

 

Phew! I’ve dragged myself over the finish line.

The Wonderful Ramshackle Games produce a mini perfect for Big Gobb. I actually painted one last year, the only miniature I managed to finish before entering the Field of Bones! It felt like retribution to buy another one, and for him to be the finishing touch for my complete army.

It’s fair to say that May and June have not been good months for my hobbytime. A lethal combo of work and real life have drained any painting opportunities. Fortunately, I had foreseen this before the challenge started and painted enough from January-April to get me through.

I would have loved to have done more, and to have added some flourishes, but life has had other ideas!

However, I’m still proud as punch of this army.

In my first OWAC (OWAC VI), my goal was to finish. No fuss, no fine detail painting. Just finish. And I managed it. I then crashed out after Month I of OWAC VII.

This time, I wanted to stretch myself a bit more, finishing whilst using a few more techniques. With such a wonderful selection of models available for space orks, this has been a great opportunity to go wild! Finally gaining confidence with colour blending has been a real joy, and I’ve loved adding texture to all of those bold yellows and greens. It’s been great fun!

Anyway, I’ll save the Oscar speech for my wrap up post!

Month VI Points:

1 x Warboss: 90 Points

Big Gobb!

Big Gobb and his nobz!

Big Gobb's Big Mob!

George's Bad Moonz - Month 1 - Rank & File

 Maybe Big Gobb wasn’t a great general like his father. But he knew a thing or two about how to dress. Bad Moonz love bold colours, and Big Gobb was a proper Bad Moon.

And he wanted his boyz to look the part. As his mob formed, he spent loads of teeth on the brightest uniforms. He spent so much, that even a warlord as rich as him nearly ran out of teeth.

The mob started to grow as the call to WAAARGH! Spread, and Big Gobb looked with pride at the brightly attired boyz who gathered. Sure, their weapons might have been a bit rusty, but who’s counting?! These flash gitz were dressed to impress.

 

Well, I’ve made it through month one! I’m absolutely delighted. Last year I finished one mini as part of the challenge. This year I’ve finished at least ten – win!

Most importantly, it’s been great fun. I’d always wanted these posable plastic orks (released in 1990) and when I found them on ebay, I was excited to find that they had been heavily kitbashed by their previous owner (a ten year old!) I almost felt a bit bad restoring them (I made a video about them that you can see here), but feel that my childlike love of bright colours has done them justice!

So here we have it, Big Gobb’s Big Mob is taking shape. I’ve loved painting again and can’t wait to do more!

Points:

1 x Bad Moon Big Mob – 100 points

2 x Heavy plasma guns – 150 points

2 x power arms – 30 points

Total: 280 points

 Them boyz knowz 'ow to dress!

Sarge was always the flashest git!

Sunglasses all year round, rain or shine!

For my challenge offering, I painted up this chaos sorcerer, sculpted by Bryan Ansell himself! I only learnt recently that he sculpted a small number of chaos minis for Citadel in the early 80s. This dubious little chap is now flying to Finland to join his new master Jaako!

Chris P's Ork Horde - OWAC VII Wrap-Up

I'm calling this year a success. I ended up painting a slightly different selection of minis from the initial plan (added the freebooters, more grots and a support weapon, but left the buggies and boars for a future project), although I'm really happy with the variety of these guys. I like to think they look reasonably cohesive as well, even if they only thing they all share is brown boots!

The warboss's Goff Nob buddy was my pre-OWAC test model, and the Runtbot was a very kind gift from Ben F, so they don't count on my army list, but I've included them in the photos. Hopefully I've achieved my goal of creating something that might appear in a mid-90's White Dwarf.

 

Final Army List

Characters	Points
Warboss	65
Eavy Armour	7
Powersword	6
Boltgun	3
Freebooter Kaptin	35
Mega Armour	25
Power Fist	10
Boltgun	3
3 Nobz	39
1x Mega Armour	25
3x Power Fist	30
1x Plasma Gun	6
3 Gretchin Assistants	9
Mekaniak	18
Boltgun	3
Painboy	18
Power Fist	10
Plasma Pistol	4
Weirdboy with Minderz	85
Runtherd	18
Boltgun	3
Mobs
9 Freebooter Pirates	114
1x Missile Launcher	30
11 Bad Moon Boyz	132
1x Plasma Gun	6
1x Lascannon	30
9x Bolter	9
11 Goff Boyz	132
1x Flamer	7
11 Gretchin	55
Support
Ork Dreadnought	120
Splatta Cannon	60

 

Total 1117 points