Victoria Miniatures Human Bomb and 40K Ork Heavy Weapons

Here's a model that's been hanging around primed for some time, that I finally buckled down and painted today. It's Victoria Miniatures' "Penal Guard Human Bomb" sculpted by the talented and prolific Bobby Jackson.

I think I got it as a free add-on to an order made years ago. It's a resin casting of course, and very reminiscent of the old GW Human Bombs that were part of the Imperial Guard. Decals are from the excellent Death Korps of Krieg decal sheet that was in my folder for some reason!

Of course back in the dim distant past of 40K there was a part of the Imperial Guard Astra Militarum called the "Penal Legion". These were composed of chaps whose crimes (desertion, murder, overdue library data-slates etc.) were so heinous that they merited assignment to the Penal Legions... essentially food for powder. Penal Legion troopers were equipped with explosive collars that could be triggered by a commissar to thwart a desertion attempt or "pour encourager les autres" in the event of a lapse of squad morale. But the worst of these offenders were equipped with explosive harnesses and became human bombs. 

Believe it or not, there were actually rules for deployment and use of human bombs, although mercifully these have been absent from 40K for some time now... as I was writing this post I've been looking for those rules (I could have SWORN that there was an example of template/blast weapons in a rulebook that used an exploding human bomb) but have come up empty... nothing in the Compendium, Compilation, Codex Imperialis, Codex Army List... Penal Legions yes, but human bombs nada. If any readers remember where those rules were (other than in the Citadel Journal list linked above) I'd be grateful if you'd post in the comments.

 

Anyway that's it for this guy. Pretty fun to paint if you don't think too hard about what his fate is likely to be. I seem to remember that part of the fluff was that there was a chance that the explosive harness wouldn't detonate, and if it didn't, the penitent was forgiven!

EDIT: Here are the original rules and background for human bombs, from WD 109. Thank you to reader Scott A. for the reference, much appreciated!

The other thing I've been doing the last few days is painting some old metal Orks for the Red Star Boyz army. My plan is to pit the boyz against my Sisters of Battle in the New Year's Day 2026 game.

Here we have a heavily armoured Nob and a plasma gunner. 

Heavy plasma and heavy bolter. The heavy weapons in this lot are separate castings, except for the heavy bolter boyz that are one-piece models. 

I've painted the pants in the universal camo pattern that all the Red Star Boyz wear.

Heavy (I don't know) flamer? Another heavy bolter, and "rokkit launcha".

These old metal Orks were pretty cool weren't they?

I still have a bunch of metal Orks left should I ever get the urge to paint more, but I think now we'll be good for the game. Sadly the 5th Ed Ork codex doesn't really have a "heavy weapons squad" entry so I'll have to figure out how to fit these new models in - maybe as a Tankbusta squad??

Ork Dakka Jets for Aeronautica Imperialis

Bad Moons in the sky! Ork "Dakka Jets" for Aeronautica Imperialis.

Another fun bit of random painting - a pair of random "Dakka Jets" from GW's "Aeronautica Imperialis" rules for air combat in the Warhammer 40k setting. These are multi-part plastic kits from GW. 

Love that crazy "V"-shaped twin tail...

"Aeronautica Imperialis" was cancelled last year just as "Legions Imperialis" was released. While the game was available, it had great models, and these Ork fighter craft are a lot of fun to work with. They are kind of a genius model design, essentially a very interchangeable set of components you can organize in a variety of ways to create aircraft that look broadly similar without all looking the same - this is a perfect solution for the Orks, where each larger craft or vehicle is an individual work, and not something assembled off of any kind of specific plan. 

Seems like a totally safe craft to me...

The "Dakka Jet" is the basic fighter for the Orks, and as you might imagine, in the Aeronautica game they fly very fast and don't last too long damage-wise. They can also be upgraded with an assortment of bombs, rockets or even MORE blastas and other assorted whacky Orky weapons. While the "Dakka Jet" would generally be dog fighting and trying to shoot down opposing aircraft (most of the time), you can also equip it with weapons for ground attacks, so they can be used in the various scenarios the game offers.

Nice view of the engine work - surely a low-emission thing?

The wing-man...

These two models had been built, primed, and sat in a box for over a year, and they turned up here in Toronto while I was unpacking a box of hobby bits. I thought it would be a fun little palette-cleanser of a project to finish these two craft. I decided to make these primarily yellow/"Bad Moonz" type craft, to add to the color variety of the Ork ships I have painted so far.

Bombs and/or rockets away!

Love the little landing skid on the bottom...these things are so whacky...

In terms of weapons, I added a mix of bombs and rockets under the wings just to offer some further variety to the look these crazy ships. I find Ork craft don't paint too quickly, as the Orks are not the sort to go with uniform paint schemes any more than they are the sort to with uniform designs or blueprints.

So the Ork air fleet is now increased to six of these "Dakka Jets", to go along with two "Fighta Bommerz". Plenty for a game sometime. Might be time to work my way up to some of the larger "Bommas" in the Ork air arsenal...perhaps another palette-cleansing project for later in the summer? We'll see! That's all for now - thanks for reading, and I hope you have a great weekend!

Ork Dakka Jet and Ground Assets

Ork Dakka Jet and ground assets - plastic models from GW.

Hi again everyone - my furhter efforts on my WW1 painting have been delayed by a sudden lurch back into GW territory. This is an Ork "Dakka Jet" and set of Ork "ground assets" for GW's 40k-themed air-combat game Aeronautica Imperialis. These have been sitting on my painting desk for months, and when I finished those 10mm Roman Auxilia, I thought I might as well finish these bits too. 

The dakka jet is the basic fighter for the Orks - can be upgraded with extra rockits for air-to-air combat, or given bombs for ground attack missions.

Aeronautica is a fun game - obviously the setting won't be everyone's cup of tea, but I enjoyed the original version of these rules that Forge World released many years ago. The re-booted version, with nice plastic models, is a lot of fun too. The rules are not complicated, and it is fun to have these little combat aircraft from the grim and dark future zipping around, blowing up stuff, and each other. 

A bunch of random colours and patterns...fun little models to paint, although it can be slow going.

The initial model range focused on the Imperial Navy and the Orks, but it has since expanded to include Imperial Army (Valkyries) and the Tau (really cool!). I started painting my initial sets last summer, with the expectation that I would finish all of the models in short order...but hobby squirrels run around in my brain and I get distracted. This is a particular issue when trying to paint Ork subjects...they don't really have a uniform look to their gear and kit, and so each model is something of an individual effort for me, which makes painting Ork stuff a slog. I've always been impressed at how Dallas could paint whole groups of Orks...I can never manage more than one or two at a time.

And so this poor Dakka Jet has been sitting even longer than the Roman Auxilia from my last post. Probably since last November, when I had been last working on Aeronautica stuff...this one Dakka Jet was sitting there at the corner of my painting table, falling on to the ground occasionally, with a couple of base colours already on, waiting for me to finish it. But for months I just could not find the inspiration - I didn't feel like painting check patterns at the time, and besides, I had momentum with some other projects - but I finally just picked up the brush last week, and now it is ready.

Ork ground assets...a bunker of some kind, and assorted flak batteries to protect it.

In the Aeronautica game many missions involve bombing runs - that makes sense, it is a common sort of mission for combat aircraft. You need something to bomb - that is where these "ground assets" come in, both as targets and as additional defences. The bunker-looking thing serves as a target for the incoming bombers, while the assortment of Ork flak emplacements which would protect this and add to the fun in the game. These were all sold in very nice sprue packs - each with a bunker and group of ground defence pieces. Sadly, these packs no longer seem to be available.

Another view of the ground assets...these are in the same "scale" as the models for "Adeptus Titanicus"....

So there we are...my first GW and first sci-fi models painted in many months! Now that I am looking once more at GW stuff under my brushes, my hobby orbit is likely to spend a little more time in that world, meaning the WW1 project may have to take a back seat for a time. We'll see...goodness knows there is still lots of time for painting thanks to f*cking COVID. Thanks for reading, hope you are all doing OK out there. Cheers.

Ork Fighta Bommerz For Aeronautica Imperialis

Headz up! Here come more Ork flyers!

Back in the summer, I posted about a new project - the re-booted Aeronautica Imperialis air combat game from GW. I predicted this would be a "summer project", and proceeded to...not touch any of the models during the ensuing summer months. Granted, I was busy preparing to move, but that's my squirrel-like hobby brain for you: one minute, something is "the next big project", and suddenly it ends up on the back-burner...oh well, I like to think a lot of hobby folk have the same challenges. :)

Tail guns turrets - both behind the cockpit and right in the tail assembly - provide extra protection.

Since the new version of Aeronautica is a hex-based game, I thought it might have some potential to play over Zoom, and so I dug the stuff out and took a brush to it again. I am still working on models from the starter box. I made a start back in July, finishing the three "Dakka Jets" which had come in the box set, and so I turned to work on the other Ork craft that came in the set, the two "Fighta Bommerz". I finished them off last week. 

You can see some of the underwing ordnance available for these fighter-bommerz.

These craft are more "multi-role" than the Dakka Jets. Where the Dakka Jets are essentially Ork MiGs, the Fighta Bommerz can engage Imperial interceptors and ground targets. They have enough maneuverability to dogfight a bit, and they also have rear turrets for extra protection against enemy interceptors who outmaneuver them. 

You can mount bombs, or extra guns - or both - under the wings to provide some extra flexibility for different missions. These aircraft have no internal bomb bay, so if there is going to be a ground attack aspect to the mission you will need to put bombs or rockets on under the wings. The model kits come with all of the possible options to mount under the wings, but there is no reasonable way to magnetize the weapon mounts on these models, so I just added an assortment - one of the craft has bombs, the other has some extra "shootaz".

From this view you can just make out the smaller "shootas" mounted right into the tail assemblies.

These new models Aeronautic Imperialis models are very, very well done by GW, quite intricate and detailed. The Ork craft are spot on with the current "look" of the 40k Orks, and any fan of the 40k greenskins will likely enjoy the assortment of models available. I find this look to be neat, but also a bit of a struggle to paint, as the slap-dash nature of their construction is one that does not necessarily lend itself to orderly assembly-style painting. The consistency of Ork equipment and vehicles is only very broad and and general, and each one would be a little different in so many ways.

Ready for the "skies" - hope to get a game in with these sometime and try out the new rules!

All this to say that, for smaller models, these took up more time than I would have hoped. That said, I enjoyed the whacky outcome. I am now turning my attention to the Imperial craft from the box set, so the Orks will have someone/something to shoot at. Stay tuned for more on that - in the interim, thanks for visiting the blog - hope you are safe, sane and able to enjoy your hobby amidst the lockdowns. 

Ork Dakka Jets For The New Aeronautica Imperialis

Ork Dakka Jets from GW's "Aeronautica Imperialis" buzz the countertop in my kitchen.

The summer weather continues to slow my painting, but I'm still messing around with a few small "projects" for the summer - one of these will be "Aeronautica Imperialis", GW's aerial combat game set in their Warhammer 40k universe. These are models of Ork "Dakka Jets", plastic kits from GW that came with the initial (re)release of the game last year, the "Wings of Vengeance" set.

These new models are much larger than the previous versions...but also very, very nice, I have to say.

These models are new to me, but the game itself is not totally new. "Wings of Vengeance" came out last year, but "Aeronautica Imperialis" itself is even older than that. It was originally a set of rules released by Forge World many years ago - Dallas picked up a copy, and the Conscripts have enjoyed many games of Aeronautica over the years.

Overheard view.

The original version of the game was a nice, clean and fun set of rules. It made use of the old Epic range of flyers, models which were subsequently sold through Forge World for a time. Dallas has an excellent collection of the old metal ork and Imperial fighters and bombers from the long-departed Epic game, augmented selectively with a few resin flyers from Forge World. The Forge World collection, back when it existed, was ostensibly the same scale as Epic, although the flyer models were much larger.

Much simpler scheme on this model.

This new version has built on that tradition - indeed, many of the rules will be familiar to anyone who has played the original version of Aeronautica Imperialis. But there are two significant changes. First, the movement and maneuver are now hex-based, instead of using the card template system in the original rules. Personally, I think the card template system is better, as it frees you from needing a hex-marked gaming surface. At the same time, it is easier and easier to get different game mats marked with things like hexes, so that is not such a big deal. Certainly, I think you could play without the hex map, as long as you have some hex-shaped markers to help with the maneuvers.

This one makes me think of the old US P-47 Thunderbolt from WW2 for some reason...

The second big change is found in the models themselves. In a move that will be familiar to fans of "Adeptus Titanicus", GW up-scaled the models when they re-issued Aeronautica (in fact, they are supposedly in a scale to match the new range of Titans). The new models are absolutely gorgeous, but they will not really fit at all with any of the older models...not an issue for me, but this will certainly turn some players off, no doubt. These Dakka Jets are two or three times larger than the old metal Ork fighters from the Epic game, and I suspect they are a health portion larger than the later resin models from Forge World.

Another view of the formation...those fancy flight bases will need to be painted!

The "Wings of Vengeance" box is set amid the campaign around the Ork invasion of Rynn's World. The box comes with a small selection of models for the Orks and Imperial air fleets to get you started. These "Dakka Jets" are the basic fighter/interceptors for the Orks - fast, maneuverable but not very armoured. They can be augmented with bombs and rockets to give some extra punch.

The models are very nice, faithful recreations of the strange look of GW's 40k Orks. So many rivets and random plates, all bolted/slapped together. It's a sort of shabby-clap-trap-but-still-somehow-scary Ork "technology", stuff that seems to work mostly because the Orks believe it will work. I haven't painted much Ork stuff over the years - it was fun to try (and mostly fail) to come up with checkerboard type markings, but on the whole, I'm pleased with how these turned out.

The bases are quite fancy - but a little annoying. They are so prominent that they will need to be painted at some point, I think. But they do not come apart very easily in order to facilitate priming and painting...so that will be a tricky business. I think I'll save that step for last.

You can see a couple of bombs peaking out from beneath the wings - giving this Dakka Jet some ability to hit ground targets.

Earlier this year GW released another Aeronautica set, "Skies of Fire", set during the Taros campaign and involving the Tau. While I am much, much keener on the Tau kit than the Ork stuff, but Orks are fun, and I thought they would be fun models to practice on in order to get used to painting these small model aircraft. My goal for the summer is to get through the Ork and Imperial models from the first box set, and we'll see where things go from there.

Thanks very much for reading, hope you are having a great summer!

Analogue Painting Challenge X

Here are some of the models I've completed for the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge so far.

Militia Force Commander in Power Armour

Ork Deff Kopta - Puppets War Miniatures

Imperial Militia Brute Squad

I was hoping to complete a few more units for the Hussars, buy I've been painting a lot of red lately and may need a brief distraction.

Bloodbath at Orks' Drift! 40K Battle Report

A few weeks ago, Founding Conscript Curt was in town so we decided to host a Thursday game that he would be sure to get a kick out of - a 40K 8th edition smackdown pitting Conscript Greg's amazing Praetorian Guard against my all-metal all-Rogue-Trader-era "Red Star" Space Orks.

Of course we had to call the battle "Bloodbath at Orks' Drift!"

The idea was that the Praetorians were defending an outpost and some ruined buildings on some forsaken planet or other that had been overrun by Orks. The outnumbered (but sadly not outgunned) Praetorians had to hold out against overwhelming odds to defend the outpost.

Praetorian lascannon battery (!)

Lots of heavy weapons in the Praetorian force. They are obviously believers in the "bigger gun theory."

Conscript Curt and I took command of the Ork horde. We had three large units of Boyz as well as some Tankbustas in a trukk, two Deff Dreads, a unit of 10 Stormboyz, and a Boss in Mega-Armour with a Mega-Armoured retinue... and of course, Da Red Barun!

Deff Dreads followed by Mega-Armoured chaps.

Da Red Barun cruising for a target.

Trukk with Tankbustas.

Imperial Commanders Mike F. and Greg.

Ork bosses me and Curt!

Da Red Barun and his extra-shooty plane evaporated a Praetorian heavy weapon squad in a pink mist.

The green tide flowed across the battlefield in the classic "Headbutt of Mork" formation.

The Stormboyz did not do great in this outing - Praetorian shooting wore them out to the point of ineffectiveness. They did manage to take out the Ratlings though - but just barely!

Greg's Ogryns were tough opponents.

Praetorian commander pondering his next move.

 

I'm not gonna go into great detail on the battle itself as frankly, we're more about the social interaction and spectacle than who wins or loses. (This is especially true if I'm on the losing side). Suffice to say that the Orks did not succeed in wiping out the Praetorians as was required to fulfill their victory conditions. However, we did have a ton of fun playing with some models that hadn't seen action for some time, and that was cool. But I guess I shoulda brought out the Stompa after all! :-)