40k 15mm Style: Orks Part 2

Hi!

So I've spent a little bit of time trawling the interwebs for suitable 15mm scale Ork proxies and this is what I've found thus far:

Ground Zero Games

Possibly the largest selection of 15mm scale sci-fi figures in the UK at the present and they even produce some suitably hulking alien types that make excellent Ork proxies.

There are currently 3 packs available consisting of two packs of grunts and a heavy weapon team. While they are a bit more hard sci-fi in styling, they'd make an excellent addition to any Ork warband and looking at the other 15mm Orky projects folks have done, they seem to be the popular choice.

Vanguard Miniatures

Vanguard have made a name for themselves in small scale gamers with their rather wonderful selection of Epic related sculpts but do also produce some really rather snazzy Boyz too in the form of Skinnerz.

Wartrukk (not painted by me!)

These Orkish types are more similar to the newer GW style of figures but look fab and showcase what one can do with 3d printing these days. I have to admit that I was unaware that they even made 15mm scale Trukks now too.

There's currently about a dozen packs in the range which includes some rather good warbikes for a Kult of Speed and are well worth a shot if you're looking for a more brutish Ork aesthetic.


SLAP Miniatures

SLAP Miniatures also produce a range of Ork proxies called Dorkz which have a somewhat more old school charm to them but are only available in a single pack which is a bit of a shame.

These chaps are a bit of a hybrid stylewise between classic Ork and newer 40k stylings and do have rather a lot of character with somewhat zany weapons and the odd xenos types the pack also includes.

Alternative Armies

Alternative Armies produce one pack of Ork proxies in their Space Viking range that I sculpted many moons ago. They're pretty crude by modern standards but they form the basis of my Badmoon warband:

I also converted some of the other Star Viking range into Ork heavy infantry for my own setting and they do the trick in a pinch!

They also produce some Malig Troops in their Ion Age range which look good too!

CP Models

CP also have some interesting sculpts that again, while a bit crude, do have buckets of character that are worth a punt on.

I also converted some of the Human Adventurers to add to my current warband (as they were sculpted by me too, the style fits in with the Space Vikings from AA).

I'm sure there are others out there making suitable Ork proxy miniatures and combined with a bit of converting, sculpting and bodging, there should be pretty much enough for most Warbosses to put together a decent warband so hopefully this rambling report will encourage folks to give 15mm greenskins a go!

In related news, I've almost finished sculpting my warboss, Orko Fatbelly and will post some pics of his portly magnificence once I've got him finished and painted!

In the meantime, all the best!

40k 15mm Style: Orks Part 1

Hi!

I thought I'd spend a little bit of time pondering on playing games set in my re-imagined Imperium in 15mm scale and thought I'd get the ball rolling with the Orks!

Now in my version of the Imperium, Humanity has moved from a scientific dark age into something a bit more like a renaissance where the Imperium once more ventures out into the stars and human life is no longer short brutish and bloody with pretty much everyone being doomed.

My current Ork warband is pretty small and I will be using the next few updates to post some details on my plans for them...

The Orks are still a rather brutal and warlike culture but the long arm of the Imperial Code has encouraged several clans to settle relatively peacefully in Imperial space. Saying that, the Orks are by nature a warlike culture and the Imperium has sought to channel their more violent tendencies into something practical, namely unleashing them on their enemies.

The most integrated of the Ork clans are unsurprisingly the Blood Axes who settled en-mass in the Imperial frontier sectors and regularly supply enthusiastic regiments of warriors to the Imperial warmachine as it gives them the chance to have a good ruck with some dead snazzy dakka! (forgive the Orkish!) and the Imperials tend to send them to the bloodiest of warzones for some reason resulting in the survivors being dead hard and bedecked in medals (not to mention scars, bionic replacements and many, many war stories to tell yoofs!)

Others such as the Deathskulls and Badmoons will join Imperial forces if the money's good but are also prone to raiding their sometime allies when bored or in search of loot. The more traditionally minded Goffs and Snakebites tend to be more antagonistic to the Humies as they feel they are watering down Ork Kulture. The Evil Sunz agree to some extent but the temptation of laying grubby hands on Imperial tech is often their deciding factor.

In the Farpoint sector, the largest Orkish Klan is the Badmoons under the command of Orko Fatbelly, a scoundrel of an Ork who has risen to power due to his low cunning and vast wealth. He's thus far managed to keep the Imperium from unleashing a full scale attack on his holdings by bribing the previous Governor and supplying troops when paid to ward off attacks from rebel forces. 

As his name suggests, Orko is a massively fat Ork, something he is inordinately proud of and he tends to spend most of his time lounging around eating vast meals with his equally chubby Nob retinue but when angered can be a terrifying opponent. 

His warband is armed with the best gunz and equipment his Mekboyz can provide and also has quite a decent amount of looted tech to give him an edge in combat and the new Governor General is becoming rather alarmed at his sway in Imperial space, a matter not helped by the Governors own lander being recently shot up by some of Orko's boyz.

I had hoped to put together a quick guide to my reworked Song of Blades but have currently got a games table covered in books as we got a couple of new and larger bookshelves to store our terrifying book mountain so I'll be using the downtime to put together some of my thoughts on the reimagined Imperium instead.

Hopefully I'll have a couple of updates in the next few days covering all manner of Orkyness as well as looking at what miniatures are on the market at the moment for the 40k gamer in a smaller scale!

In the meantime, All the best!

Skirmish at Con-Am 17

Hi!

I managed to play a quick game of my heavily modified Song of Blades last night which pitted the forces of the Governor General against the local Orkish tribe.

I didn't manage to grab a few pics of the action:

The Imperial forces suffered from a decided lack of motivation at the start of the battle due to some really rubbish activation rolls which saw most of them stuck in their own deployment zone for a large chunk of the game:

 The criminally unpainted Sentinel scurries forward

Entertainingly, our cat Mab decided to invade the battlefield whenever I rolled a dice which made for an interesting obstacle on the table:

 Quake before the mighty death cat!

The Orks didn't suffer from any lack of motivation and they cheerily charged forward blazing away at the Governors private shuttle riddling it with bolter shells and setting it ablaze.

 Dakka! Dakka! Dakka!

They also spotted the unpainted walker and proceeded to light it up too causing considerable damage to the embarrassingly underpainted machine.

Meanwhile on the right flank, the Grot herders surged forward towards the now badly damaged walker while the local Mekboy zoomed towards the command squad in his souped up Speeda.

 The action heats up

By the mid point in the battle, the Orks pretty much have control of the refinery but suddenly stall, again due to poor activation rolls which allowed the Imperials to regain the initiative.

 Orks get distracted by watching the Governors ride burn...

Slowly the Imperial troops, no doubt chivvied on by the incensed Governor Generals shouting about his treasured lander going up in flames while they skulked in the trees.

 Midway through the battle

At this point, Mab has briefly calmed down and was now reclining on her chair watching the action unfold.

 Bloosh!

Just as the Imperials seized the initiative, having shot up the forward Ork squad, the enraged Orkish survivors shot up the already damaged unpainted Sentinel sending it crashing to the ground in a ruined, unpainted wreck.

 Jeering Orks

Meanwhile the Mekboy, closed in on the Governor's command squad and gunned down one of his bodyguards with his Super Snazzy Mega Gun.

 The Mekboy performs a driveby 

The return fire from the survivors of the command squad was surprisingly effective as the Mekboys Kustom Mega Shield Generator spectacularly failed to deflect or defeat anything whatsoever and the speedsta hurtles on out of control and belching flames.

Eventually, the Imperials forced the Orks to retire leaving most of the Grots full of holes but it was a pyrrhic victory as the Governors shuttle burned and one of their Sentinels destroyed too.

  

 Imperial Troops finally move out of the forest

I really enjoyed playing out the game and the rules are shaping up nicely. I still need to work on how activation works but combat was suitably bloody rather than the more usual push and shove of Song of Blades.

Imperial Sentinel of utter uselessness

The most useless model of the game goes to my painted Imperial Sentinel which managed to activate only once in the whole game and spent pretty much the rest of the battle lurking in the shrubbery. The Governor General will be spending some time encouraging his troops to be more zealous in future...

I really need to paint up my second Sentinel as it's lack of snazzy paint saw it shot to pieces in its first game!