Hive World Terra

Waaagh! Grimjaw: Fast Attack

Ork Bikes - Da Bikaz

History

Give an Ork a vehicle and he will succumb to the natural Orky love of speed and noisy equipment. In Da Bikaz, all of this is combined with Kustomized bikes, revving engines and twin-linked Big Shootas. Da Bikaz were once just Orks who liked the idea of getting into battle quicker, and were brave (or daft?) enough to try one of Mek Botchit's "Speshul Vee-hikles". After this the Cult of Speed took over and they forever became Speed Freaks, racing down the flanks of Waagh Grimjaw with all guns blazing. These Orks will now never give up an opportunity to race into battle, and if they aren't fighting they can be found either getting the newest Kustom Job or repainting and polishing their beloved red Bikes. After all, every Ork knows that "Red unz go fasta".

The Models

For the models, I used a combination of the Gorkamorka Biker, the 2nd Edition plastic Ork Biker and various pieces from the Ork Sprue and Gorkamorka vehicles to individualise both the bikes and riders. The flag poles have been removed from the twin-linked Big Shootas on the back of each bike, partly for ease of storage and partly because it makes them look more Orky and vicious. The peg from the bottom of the banner pole was, however, used as it filled the hole nicely without the use of Green Stuff. Some of the extras include Ork Weapons arms so that they can be fielded as Big Shoota-less Bikers. This works in combination with the fact that they have been painted so that the guns can be removed from the back of the bike. With the Big Shootas in place, the Sluggas can be ignored, with the Big Shootas removed, the Orks clearly have sluggas and close combat weapons. Space Marine shoulder pads were also added to some of the Orks, and then suitably battle damaged, to act as primitive armour and as a sign of previous victories. Finally, all but one of the bikes had the "Evil Sunz" symbol removed from the front of the bike, and replaced with a metal glyph plate. These glyph plates were taken from a sprue which came in a mail order offer of "Orky Bits" for Gorkamorka, and were used to Ork-ify the bikes.

The Bikes were given a very simple paint scheme. Firstly they were given a couple of coats of Magenta Ink over a white undercoat. This was then highlighted with Blood Red to give them a redder colour and make them look less pink. The Orks were painted in a variety of tones, with their clothes generaly painted in earthy browns and their skin painted in the normal fashion. The bullets along the rear supports for the twin-linked Big Shootas were painted with Shining Gold to give them a brass-type looks. The barrels of the guns were painted Boltgun Metal. Other details such as shoulder pads and helmets were painted with Boltgun Metal highlighted with Mithril Silver. The glyph plates on the front of each bike were first painted with Chaos Black, then the plate was painted with Mithril Silver before the glyph itself was painted with Blood Red. Leaving a line of Black around the glyph lets it stand out from the plate well with good definition. Finally the details were painted - teeth with Bleached Bone, Goggles with Snakebite Leather for the material and Enchanted Blue for the glass and a small dot of Blood Red for any of the visible eyes.

Trakks - Da Yung Gunz

History

Before a Yoof can be considered good enough to join Da Bikaz of Waagh Grimjaw, he must first prove his worth as a pillion rider and gunner on one of Trakks. As such, the vehicles gained the nickname "Da Yung Gunz" amongst the rest of the Waagh. There may only be two of Da Yung Gunz, but in combination with Da Skorcha and Da Bikaz, they can form a formidable flanking force which is enough to put all but the hardest general off his plan and distract their attention, while the rest of Da Boyz close in for the kill.

The Models

Da Yung Gunz are made from the Ork Trakks in the Gorkamorka game, with a few minor changes to Orkify them and make them fit into the Gorkamorka imagery better. Firstly, to make the two vehicles different, one of them has been converted to use the pillar from the Spear Gun in place of the normal girder-style pillar. The other vehicle has been modified in the style of some of the Snakebite Ork Gorkamorka models in an old issue of White Dwarf, where plates were added to cover the tracks. This adds an extra armoured feel to the vehicle and looks good. Both vehicles then had extra stowage and assorted Ork Vehicle components added, as well as the arbitrary battle damage.

Since the Trakks were originally designed for Gorkamorka, they have been given a relatively simple and beaten colour scheme. The whole model was first given basecoat of Chaos Black, and then the metal was painted Boltgun Metal. The wheels were highlighted with a drybrush of Space Wolf Grey, the seat was painted with Vermin Fur, the wooden boxes were drybrushed with the same colour and the Trakk handles were painted with Bubonic Brown. Following an Armour Wash to all of the metalic areas, the lower parts of the Trakk were drybrushed with splatters of dusty mud (Bubonic Brown paint - although something closer to Bestial Brown is probably better for normal mud). The Orks were painted in Emerald Green with Goblin Green higlights over a coat of Ork Flesh Wash. Their clothes were painted in earthy tones again, with Chaos Black used for boots, bracelets and gloves. Any metalic areas on the models were painted with Mithril Silver and as a final touch the gunner Ork was given a Blood Red bandana with Skull White spots.

Skorcher - Da Skorcha

History

Da Skorcha was created when Botchit added a Skorcha turret to one of Da Yung Gunz. Ever after it has been considered too good to be left to mere Yoofs and so has been driven by a real Speed Freak and his trusty grot rigger. In battle Da Skorcha races along with the rest of the vehicles, burning anyone who is stupid enough to try to hide in cover.

The Models

Da Skorcha was made as a normal Skorcher trakk with very few changes. The biggest change was using one of the other Gorkamorka Ork bodies as a gunner in the Skorcher turret. The upper half of a body was filed and cut down so that it fitted easily inside the turret and was glued in place. Next, arms were attached and the turret 'lid' was glued in an open position. The driver was also slightly converted, with one arm being replaced with an arm holding a small knife. Again this is only a minor change, but it adds some Orky individuality to the models.

Being a real Speed Freaks' vehicle, Da Skorcha was painted in a similar method to Da Bikaz, with a Crimson Gore basecoat being highlighted with Blood Red. The metal on the trakk (e.g. the tracks and the spokes) were first painted black and then drybrushed with Bolt Gun Metal. The Skorcha barrels were then given a wash with Brown Wash and Chestnut Wash to give a rusted and burnt look. The other metal areas were given a thinner wash of Chestnut Wash to provide a weathered, but not burnt, look. The Orks were painted in the normal style, with Emerald Green skin, a wash of Ork Flesh Wash and then highlighted with Goblin Green. Their clothes were also painted in the normal earthy colours. The Grot Rigger was painted in a similar fashion, but his skin was started at Goblin Green and highlighted with Striking Scorpion Green following an Ork Flesh Wash. Finally, some of the yellow Skorcher transfers were added to the flatter areas of the vehicle to break them up and add decoration.