Dats wut we's need for a proppa WAAAGH!

     I've completed the assembly of my Deff Dread. This new model is supremely awesome. The options are plentiful, the bits are bountiful, and the end result is properly menacing. The model is freaking massive to boot. I took a pic of him along side a standard Space Marine dread for size comparison. The pic above shows him with the four close-combat arms, but I spent quite a bit of time magnetizing the other weapon options. I'm thinking I'll most likely run him with a Kustom Mega Blasta and a Skorcha. That will allow him to sit back on an objective (being that he'll be a troop choice) and just pester the opponent. Should anything take the time to shoot at him, that means they're not shooting at my Trukk or my Nob Bikerz. At only 95 points, he'll be a nifty little trick to throw at my opponent. Basically, I don't plan to play him aggressive unless I absolutely have to. In addition, I'm hoping to have a mek in the back-field hanging around with the Lootas. This gives me the potential to effect repairs. Wouldn't that be Orky thing to do? Regardless I've got an awesome model to assemble, paint, and show off. If it happens to pan out in the game, that's just sugar on top as far as I'm concerned.

     I had another great game on Saturday. I managed to squeak out a victory against  my buddy's Eldar army. We played yet another Battle Missions game. That book is paying off big time. Thus far I've had nothing but interesting games out of it. I had a good time, got to play some of my newer Orks, and punched a few Space Elves in the face. Nothing wrong with that. Watched a few interesting games. Had to leave early though as my wife was getting out of work earlier than she normally does on a Saturday, so I wanted to spend some time with her.

     Here are some detail shots of the mighty Deff Dread:

'Os Da Boss?

     He's done! This represents a true mile-marker for me. This is my first Forge World model that I've purchased, assembled, and painted. I'm completely thrilled that it came out as well as it did. His little squig partner looks like he's enjoying the ride back there, so I think that was a proper addition to the model. I've actually decided NOT to glue the Warboss down. This is mainly because I painted quite a lot of detail on his chest, and I'd hate to just leave it covered up forever. I've got eight lootas sitting there to be painted next, but I think I'm going to take a small break from just straight unit painting and try adding a little flavor to my army along the lines of a nice barrel of fungus beer to ride in the back of the Trukk. I'll take some time to start assembling the Deff Dread just a bit, getting a feel for the model.

     That's all I got for now. I'm looking forward to putting this bad boy on the table. Here are some detail shots and some nice size comparison shots:

Speaking of Bikez... I have Bikez!

     I'm nearly finished with the bike for my Warboss. I think she is coming along excellently. I'm pleased that the end product is looking very much as it did in my mind before I started painting it. I still have a few touches to work on, but for the most part, this thing is done. I tried a slightly different approach to weathering. I used a tiny bit of sponge, dabbed it in a very dark brown, then pressed it to parts of the orange paint. I then highlighted near these marks with the base orange mixed with some Bleached Bone. I think the effect is really nice. It gives a slight hint of a 3rd dimension.

     Though I was slightly daunted by the complexity of this model, I think I've been most inspired by it. I'm yearning to get some more of this Ork army over and done. Here are a few more detail shots:

Hogz for Nobz and Games for Me

     Can you smell the exhaust fumes? That could actually just be the primer. Regardless, my Nob Bikerz have doubled their numbers and my little biker gang now boasts two power claws, three big choppas, and a painboy. I pieced together the Painboy from the Ork Nob box consisting of the saw arm and one of the Cyb-ork heads. I think he came out alright. All of my bikes are unique, which is pretty sweet. I green stuffed one of the big choppa arms so that he's holding the weapon lower to the ground and away from his body. I think it gives a little appearance of speed and, in my mind, represents him speeding towards his next assault.

     This weekend was most excellent. I managed to get in a teaching game (my Marines got slaughtered by my Orks at approximately 550 points), an 1850 point level battle mission game, and a Kill Teams game. I won the last two. I enjoyed teaching, but I don't know if the guy from work got much from it. One thing I can say for sure is that it is supremely annoying when you're trying to teach the game and people keep stopping by and offering tips and tricks, side-tracking me and trying desperately to clean up what knowledge they're spilling. Just being enthusiastic about something, doesn't mean you're an excellent teacher. Just KNOWING a lot about something doesn't make you a great teacher either.

      My 1850 game was absolutely perfect! I played against a fantastic opponent. He was gracious, gentlemanly, and played the game for fun, not just to win. His list is very fluffy and well painted/converted. He has an entire Thousand Sons list with a Demon Prince as the lead. We played the "Pillage" mission from the Chaos Space Marine Battle Missions, and I have to say that it is one of the best missions I've played thus far from the book.

     My Space Marines, at 1850, are severely lacking. I've essentially hammered it together, stretching my anemic army to get to that value. I throw in my Grey Knight terminators simply to soak up some points (which is what they do best, frankly). Imagine my surprise when they actually started earning their points back! They performed admirably given my expectations and their previous record. The big BIG VIP of the game, however, was my sniper scouts. I think I might even have to say it was mostly Telion. He was a right bastard to those Thousand Sons. I managed to kill the Demon Prince and THREE sorcerers with my sharp shooting. Telion's ability to assign the wounds is PRICELESS in these situations. Furthermore, if you get those rending hits, you're a GOD! Even with the 4+ invulnerable saves, you're going to fail eventually.

     Kill teams still seems enjoyable to me. I enjoy the faster pace, and the unique strategies. I think I've found the list I enjoy playing the most. I take a five man Sternguard squad, and a five man scout squad. You're really only taking minimum gear, but you have some deadly firepower in these choices. Once my Orks are finished, and I've started back towards my Space Marines, I have a few ideas for making a themed army for Kill Teams.

     Lastly; I purchased my Deff Dread. I just can't wait to get this guy put together and painted. I have a really fun idea for some customization that I know people will enjoy. In the meantime, I've primed my eight lootas and my Forge World Warboss, so look forward to those within the next week or two. I leave you with some more pics of my new bikes:

Bikerz go WOOOOOOO!

     Here's a little peek at those Nob Bikerz I mentioned in the last post. The happy fellow in the middle is my Painboy, and you might see the Space Marines flamer attached to the Nob with the Big Choppa. I also have a sneak peek at my Forge World Warboss with a little hitch-hiker that I purchased for just this purpose some while ago. I think it's perfect! Gotta love that Ork character!

Incoming Ork Bikes and Armies of the Future

     With the Kommandos done, I was fired up. Like I said in my previous post, the painting process for those Kommandos was just painful for various reasons. Once completed, I was refueled. I plunged into one of my Ork Battleforce boxes and immediately started gluing my last three Nob bikers together (and my fingers). I have combined a few bits to build a Painboy on a bike, and I even scavenged a Space Marine flamer to make my shoota/skorcha Nob. I'm chomping at the bit to paint them up and that will lead me towards my Warboss on Bike! HURRAY!

     I've been pondering my future army ideas. I'm constantly thrilled with how deep this hobby goes. My imagination and creativity gets a goodly amount of exercise just dreaming up new armies. Right now I'm thinking of doing a group of Sternguard as Deathwatch. I've got my theoretical Imperial Guard army tempting my wallet as well. My more immediate thoughts are of a Salamanders variant of my Space Marines, so once the Orks are done, I'll have to refocus on those guys.

     I just purchased some foam trays for my Orks from Battlefoam. I can't fully explain how awesome my Battlefoam case has been for me. My current case has been getting some really good use. I've got this thing loaded up to near full capacity. I just noticed that they have a new bag coming out and it looks slick. I'm wondering which bag I'll eventually upgrade to: The new 720 or the massive 1520. I guess this depends on what my third army ends up being.

     Last bit of news here. I've found a new 40K related podcast that I've been enjoying. It's called 11th Company. The podcast is very focused and nearly completely 40K tactics focused. 40K Radio has been sucking and I'm tired of pointless babbling about beer drinking and shitty puns. I've enjoyed World's End Radio, but they aren't strictly 40K focused. Check out 11th Company if you get a chance.

Shhhh... I've got a "sekret."

     FINALLY I've completed my Ork Kommandos with Boss Snikrot. I must say that painting these guys has been the most painful squad I've ever done. I'm not sure why, exactly. The fact that every model was different in sometimes extreme ways maybe didn't help. Maybe it was because they were all metal (with the exception of the two with burnas). All I do know is that it seemed to take forever. They do look pretty good together, although I'm not happy with how some of them fit (or rather DON'T fit) on their bases. These models have their feet WAY too far apart for a normal 25mm base. You basically have to balance them on their heels and it doesn't look good. The burnas are worse but since they are plastic, their weight doesn't cause all the problems that the metal models have.

     I've been tweaking my 1500 and 1850 point lists for my Orks. Things seem to be falling into place. My thoughts keep slipping back to my Space Marines and all the additions I'm planning on making to that army. I really just need to find some focus in order to expedite this Ork army so I can get it on the table. I have eight Lootas, three Nob bikerz, and the War Boss on the Bike left to go to reach my 1500 point list. To hit my 1850 mark I'll need to throw in a Deff Dread (those new models are insanely cool), and some Deff Koptas in the very least.

     By the way: Am I the only one out here that just wants the Blood Angels Codex to be released already, purely for the fact that it means we can get to a non-Space Marine based codex a little faster? I doubt it.

     Here are some more pics of my Kommandos: