Citadel Hall of Fame

I am not sure if everybody saw this or not. I found the reasons why people picked their nominations to be very interesting. Eric and I not to long ago were discussing how people must like different things than we do(and why so many new models are bad), so it was really fortuitous to see an article like this.

I pretty much think people have picked great models so far. I never really thought much of the Cadian Colonel but Brian Nelson's explanations gave me a greater appreciation for it. Anyone have a guess what ork model is made after Elton John?

The Grail Reliquae model seems like it had tons of potential, a dead venerated knight seems like a neat idea, but the pilgrims always looked not right to me.

Picking Jes Goodwin's Plastic Space Marine seems like a little bit of a cheat, but I never really was a fan of John Blanche's artwork or models(conversions) so I am not surprised I find his pick pretty lame. I think that the space marines are good and about as iconic as it can get but a real model would have been nice and not just a sprue . I guess they certainly couldn't use any of the character models, he he.

I did not expect the harlequin model to be chosen, I liked those models but I didn't think that they were groundbreaking. The comment about free-painting surfaces makes sense, so I guess less is more sometimes.

I am glad the orc shaman was chosen, It truly has stood the test of time and is better than any of the other alternatives that are out there. I am surprised to learn that Brain's first attempt at orks were bad. The world would be a different place without his second chance that is for sure. Without his orks I probably would not be playing Warhammer 40k, or any Games Workshop games.

If I had to pick a model right now without giving it much thought I would have to pick Gorbad Ironclaw. I really like the motion of the model and the vibes that it gives off. It really fits as a menacing warboss really well. Too bad the rules for him leave something to desire.

Review: Killa kans!

So this is my first post on ‘ERE WE GO and while my time is largely occupied with work at graduate school, I hope to continue posting on and off. Currently much of my free time has been spent assembling a unit of killa kans from the new multi-part plastic boxed set. What better a time to write a review of the kit? I will apologize now that my digital camera is out of commission, so there will be no pictures.

First and foremost, these little guys are much easier to work with than Brian Nelson’s aged metal versions. This primarily stems from the fact that the pieces are cast in such a fashion that they actually fit together; and while I love Nelson’s version, the two halves of the hull simply do not fit together without a great deal of filing and cursing. On top of the labors required to piece the metal ones together, somewhere along the way GW, in their infinite wisdom, decided that of the three variants designed only one was needed and limited their production to that variant. This made conversion work essential, which did not bode very well with their resilient white metal frame. The plastic kit resolves these issues nicely, providing you with three different bodies whose parts can be interchanged amongst one another. Additionally, there are three different engine blocks that add even more variety to the models. I also feel I should mention the casting on the kit is wonderful; the details are crisp and well defined and the sprues are designed to minimize mold lines (truly something to smile about).

While I am very pleased with the kit in general, there are a few things that could have been a little better. My primary concern is the lack of arms, this includes both the guns and those for close combat. Sadly they only give you one of each gun, so if you were fancying a unit kitted out with rocket launchers you will have some converting work ahead of you. Also, while I am happy they included the grotzooka, they decided against including a kustom mega-blasta. On a positive note, the deff dread gun arms can easily be modified and used on the killa kans (the deff dread comes with two of each weapon, including the kustom mega-blasta). While not really a problem with the killa kans, some of the close combat weapons for the killa kans are reused on the deff dread. Aside from the lack of guns, there is also a surprising lack of extra pieces to customize your walkers. Once you assemble the base models, you will find that you used nearly all of the pieces in the kit, leaving very little to come back to for future conversions.

In terms of aesthetics, I think Dale Stringer has done a pretty good job at merging the shifting persona of the orks from the various editions. The new models exude that kind of quirky 2nd edition vibe while still retaining much of simplicity and brutality pioneered by Brian Nelson in the 3rd edition. And while I welcome some of the comical nature coming back, I only welcome it in moderation. Some of the pieces in the kit are a little too over the top for my taste. This is particularly true with some of the exhaust pipes for the engines. It is almost like each one is competing with the next to be as big and unwieldy as possible. Thankfully the worst of the offenders are separate pieces that must be glued on. With a little greenstuff work the exhaust pipes can be refashioned to a more reasonable size and complexity. Along these same lines, some of the close combat claws/buzz saws are a little busy and flashy (much of the worst of it can be removed with a little trimming). Each of the walkers also has two peg holes on their front hull to glue on three different decorations coming in the form of various jaws and tusks. I found the jaws made the overall model look a little cluttered and opted to convert tusks for all three of the models (tusks taken from a variety of black orc and orc models). Still, the overall look of the models is very pleasing and I could not help but smile as I began gluing the walkers together.

If you were ever considering a unit of killa kans, never has there been a better time to do so, as you get three in a single box. Priced at $45 you cannot go wrong considering a few weeks ago you had to buy the metal ones separately for around $25. My dreams of a legion of death walkers are now more possible than ever and I am nothing but pleased.

Rebel Yell

This is the first battle between the Rebel Grotz and the Gorker Klan Da' Best. Ever since the purchase of Digganob, Eric(pictured above) has been very excited to try out the Rebel Grotz. So a list was devised featuring a big lugga with splatapult.
We rolled for the scenario, and it was determined that Eric's Head Honcho Chachugga would lead a raid against One of Shizzpounda's convoys. I rolled a "D3" to determine the number of ladz that would accompany the driver and gunner, and managed the always happy 1. I also rolled a 2 for scrap counters. Shizzpounda decided that he himself would guard the newly acquired scrap. Chachugga left the cutta and the big lugga crewed by six rebels in reserve to spring the trap on the unexpecting Ork nob.



Chachugga had to liked his odds facing so few boyz. His men scattered into cover to limit the damage that the big shoota would inflict on the Ork's turn.
The Ork trukk twisted, turned and then eventually failing a thruster test, swerved into position to open up on the banna waver and and a rebel grot. The big shoota fires off 4 shots managing to polish off the grot, and force the banna waver to go down.



The grotz moved into position and prepared to make war. The big lugga arrived and surged forward 15 inches, but the cutta was nowhere to be seen. In the shooting phase the spatapult elected to fire a flaming shot, but to avail, and failed to penetrate the trukk's armour. The rebel footers fired a salvo at the roaring trukk, but the hail of bullets graze off harmlessly. In the recovery phase the banna waver got up and was ready for some more fighting.
At the start of the Ork's turn, Shizzpounda leaped off the trukk and charged the closest grot he could find. Gorebag, the Ork gunner charged at the banna waver. Combat started with Shizzpounda breaking a grot's head in, and Gorebag, despite winning combat, failing to inflict a wound against the weaken banna waver.



Turn 3 started with the arrival of the cutta right near the action. The big lugga continued toward the fight but lost one of the crew in the process. the grotz swarm the nob hoping to overwhelm him and bring him down. A crewman from the cutta jumped off to assist the banna waver against Gorebag. The banna waver and grot hold up against Gorebag. The combat against the nob is a little more interesting. Due to fortuitous experience rolls and some leg surgery Shizzpounda has an outstanding base 3 attacks and 4 when using two close-combat weapons. This combined with well timed sixes and fumbles from the opponent, he managed to beat off 3 grots before losing combat to the head honcho. Chachugga, much to the chagrin of Eric, failed to wound his target, do to his(and all grotz) pathetic strength. At the end of the recovery phase all but one grot engaged with Shizzpounda get back up to fight again, keeping the game up in the air.
During the Ork's turn the trukk cliped the cutta causing 1 hit to the trukk and a D3 result of 1 on the cutta. Both vehicles suffer a movement penalty, but nothing too serious. In the process the trukk hit Gorebag and banna waver. Gorebag shrugged off the hit, but it was too much for the banna waver as he went out of action. The Nob takes down all besides Chachugga and another grot, and Gorebag cuts down a grot for good measure as well. All of these casualties piling up will result in a bottle out test for the grotz, so after some deliberation the grotz voluntarily bottle out. The game was over with the Orks and Shizzpounda victorious.

Easy Rider

Here are two pictures for potential muties. The one picture I painted yellow to make it easier to see the gaps. At first I thought it would be ok, then the gap seemed just too big and now I think with some green stuff to bulk the cold one out a bit it will work fine. The dark elf legs for comparison are very tight against the cold one. Ungor heads are a little smaller than the marauders but it is not noticeable in my opinion and is advantageous if I want to use some of the dark elf bodies. The gene stealer head is kinda big but I think it could be made to work, exspecially with bulkier arms and some cloaks or robes to build him up. Overall I am about as excited for the muties as I have ever been! Although preparing this stuff help made me realize that it won't be easy, but if done right it will be great.

No muties, just men, er boyz

This is a boy I have been working on for Gorkamorka, I am not sure if it is the pose I actually wanted, but I think it turned out ok.

Test Post

I guess I'll use this for Greg's sake