My Converted Ork Nob Bikers Unit Update Part 2

 So with a 1000pts 40k tournament this weekend this is currently on my to-do list, to get them finished. And I am quite pleased when it turned out. As I said in my last post and quite late to the party when it comes to nob bikers, and in this post I'm going to update yourself in regards to progress and how things are coming on. So make sure you look at  My Converted Ork Nob Bikers unit Part 1 as things are moving along quite nicely.

The biggest change  is, I decided to do mudguards on the front wheels, as I think it makes them a little bit more chunkier, which in turn makes the model as a whole a little bit more unique on the table. I want them to get recognised for the old bikes but I do want them to be a little bit different.

Above you can see a close-up shot of the mud guard and looking at the front keeps the unit a little bit more up-to-date.

Sorry but I'm not going to go into a lot of detail in regards to the exhaust fumes, as I'm going to leave it to another post to go into a little bit more detail.

I also decided to shorten the barrel's of all the big shooters on the bikes as I think it looks a little bit better.

Probably the most important nob in the whole unit with his power claw, I also still have to do is WHAAAA banner, although I have a sneaky plan which hopefully might save some time.

When it came to doing the shoota/skorcha Kombi-weapon, I really was struggling on what the best way was, considering he is wielding a two-handed axe, it was becoming quite difficult, but sometimes simplicity is the best option. So after a little bit of trial and error I decided that this was probably the best way by simply removing one of the big shoota's.

So there you have it another day another update so enjoy.

Help Beating Grey Knights With Orks To Win

I recently came across some tips and tactics around the Internet and I thought I would put them to good use by posting the best ones that I came across. Grey Knights are an elite army which can make them seem over powered but it also gives them some glaring weaknesses. 

Due to their elite nature they will always have far fewer squads than us orks. This means they can only shoot at so many targets per turn and if they want their squads to support each other they will have to concentrate their forces in a single area of the board.

Some tips I learned the hard way:

• Don't let them charge you. Run away if you have to. The only exception to this rule is if you're setting a trap by sacrificing a unit to get a GK squad in a kill zone.
• Accept the fact that you're going to lose a lot of units early on. Have redundancy!
• Deffkoptas -> Dreadnoughts; Sprint them into range to give them cover then let rip. If they target your Koptas they're not targeting your transports, which is what you want anyway.
• If they're sitting in Rhinos shooting your boys, assault them by circling the transport completely. If you wreck it then his units won't be able to disembark because of the 1 inch rule and they'll die. Fight cheese with cheese!
• Concentrate your violence on single units. Pick a unit and focus all your shooting on it, then assault it with at least 2-3 units of your own. Never go one-on-one with an elite arm
• Take out the transports first! the msu style lists rely on getting where they need to go in the safety of the tanks. using lootas for this.
• After the transports are popped, the most important thing to do is to get real close and hit him in cc. try not to hit the purifiers unless they have been reduced to less than 5 guys. at that point, even the half of your squad thats left can take them. 
• Rifleman dreads can largely be ignored unless you play a tank heavy list, they will take out about 17 orks each if they have something to shoot at the whole game; so you need to hit them in cc by turn 3 at the latest.
• Draigo wing is a little trickier. boys are not your best bet here at all. meganobz fair slightly better if they survive. the most effective thing i have found is to focus 3 full squads of lootas into them for a couple rounds before charging. in other words make them roll ones. burnas in a battle wagon might also work, but i haven't been able to try it out yet.
• Also having a couple 30 man squads really help as they act like a hammer that even a squad of purifiers could have trouble with.

The bottomline is that there is strength in numbers so target all your efforts into one thing and hopefully it will pay dividends when it comes to the end of the game.

My Orks V The Galaxy And Repetitive Loss Injury (RLI).

I come to you suffering a bit from repetitive loss injury (RLI). I know that the Orks are a comedy race, and I do adore their comedy stylings, excellent models and daft background, but I’m finding that it is difficult for me to do well on the tabletop. I am starting to become a little tired of putting down a fair whack of boys, losing all of them, and having to rely totally upon powerklaws scattered throughout the units. Any army with lots of vehicles (which is basically most armies) present a very particular problem for me. 

My typical list is something of the 

Typically, the boyz mobs evaporate, the gretchin seem to survive more often than they should, and the fast attack units tend to fail to do damage at critical points. I’ve learned that bikes are not actually a melee unit, which has helped their usage. But very often I am relying very heavily upon things that aren't dependable and all too often let me down.

So, what should I be going for?

It's not as if I don't have the models because that's not the case, it's just seems to be the strategies that I use are at times very repetitive and I'm sure for my opponents simple to work out, namely deploying a lot of boys and move them as quickly as possible to the enemy. Only to have them shot to bits, over a couple of turns, at times it really is that simple. At tournaments I can hold my own although losing to the same old culprits like us all It seems that I have almost ran out of ideas. But then it makes winning all the more satisfying when I do.

So is it time for a new Codex? 

I suppose the answer is yes and no, as I think the current book still has lots of potential so in many ways I think it's getting back to basics. Something that ork players shouldn't find too difficult.

So do you suffer from the same problem?

Alternate Colour Schemes For Painting Grey Knight.

Like many gamers we probably spent too much time looking around the Internet, because recently I came across these beautiful Grey Knights on a topic that was originally started on Dakka Dakka, I always had a idea of painting Grey Knights actually grey. I know it sounds strange but these are a beautiful example of what can be achieved when keeping your colour scheme very simple and straightforward,and as you can see less is definitely more.

The highlighting have been To the bare minimum which means painting can be done relatively quickly so you shouldn't have too much trouble banging these guys out in no time at all.

So is very straight forward, keeping it simple from the very start, which means that you can easily spend a little bit more time on things that really do help make it stand out, so whoever owns these I'm quite jealous.

Are 6th Edition Orks Getting kicked In The Balls?

So with 6th edition just round the corner, and a so-called copy already leaked, on the Internet I thought I would just take a few minutes to air my thoughts and opinions in regards to what lies in wait for the green juggernaut. I like many of the changes a lot as far as changing the overall game so let's go into a little bit more detail.

Some of the changes I really like:

1. Forests are "dense" and thus you can't draw LOS through them (encourages maneouvering)

2. The awful KP system has been changed so units award KP based upon their actual cost (exspensive units award more KP, etc.)

3. Reserves are actually far more interesting and useful and not just randomly arriving.

4. Deepstriking can be low or high risk depending on how aggressive you want to be

5. Stratagems add depth and variety to gameplay in many different ways

6. Terrain in general is more varied and impactful on play. Fortifications, etc. will be used more (all this means more play variety).

7. All models within 3" (currently 2") of a friendly attacking model within a unit can attack. 

8. Run moves are not random anymore

9. Turn phases: Move, Assault, Shoot, Consolidate (so all those shoota shots are not going to allow your opponent to take your assault away by removing key models)

10. "Alpha Strike" by subsequent ork mobs on enemy units already engaged means striking at INT10

As for Orks?

On the plus side ork boys with slugga/ccw get four attacks each on the charge...=) (Horde armies will return, especially orks and nids) 180 orks rushing across the table at far greater threat range then before are going to be scary. Loss of save in cc due to ccw having AP6 is sad since many other armis didnt suffer this loss.

So shouldn't boys be cheaper?

 Fearless actually got somewhat better - you don't automatically take the fearless wounds UNLESS you fail a leadership test. This leadership test seems to be modified by the number of wounds suffered, I think. Now, most mobs will have LD10 for Mob Rule, so this helps. The Bosspole may help here as well, not sure. Also, close combat attacks are calculated from the models in base to base and out to 3" instead of just 2" like we have now. So that weight of attacks will really help even things out.  

We won't always be attacking a character leading a unit, and the character can't always charge the nob in a close combat, he'll likely have to still use his Directed Attacks against models he's in base contact with. The sniper rules for Directed Attacks mean we are always going to want to take 'Eavy Armor for the Nobz, that's for sure and change in wound allocation means nobz are far less durable, and this used to be the prime thing that people used to justify their points cost.

 Regarding snipers being able to target Nobs. If a unit shoots through an intervening unit, it cannot make use of the directed hits special rule. So Grots became really useful for protecting our PK nobs from snipers and such, which is something the (nerfed) KFF cannot do.

Shootas are still going to be amazing at shooting and just as solid (actually a bit more) in combat. Surely it means that a sensible option is to take a bit of both? That way your Sluggas can run ahead and the shootas have a more supportive role. To be honest if I ever ran a Green Horde, I'd have done that anyway in 5th. So I think saying Shootas suck ass just sounds a little silly to me. Shootas can still hand over more armour saves in shooting than most other units whilst on the move in a unit that will spend most turns fearless. They're still going to be exceptionally adaptive. It just means you'll have to relearn how to use them. If you don't want to do that, I'd give the whole of 6th Ed a miss, because it'll be the same for everyone. Shootas have become less obvious vs. Sluggas, that's all. IMO a wise Ork player always keeps themselves a sizeable collection of both.

Flashgits count as having targeters, so always count their target as stationary. This means they hit most things on a 4+, which is very nice. 

The KFF I was expecting to be adjusted like that, so it's not a huge shock. It was odd that it protected vehicles better than troops somehow.

Kan squadrons actually got better. A squadron gets to have a save against Stunned, Shaken, and Immobilized, and the save is modified by how many models are in the vehicle squadron. So the save starts out at 5+, and would go up to 4+ or even 3+, depending.

Weapons damaged from combat works differently, and it seems you won't always lose the biggest and best gun you have straight away.

There's a lot that's changed - even the turn sequence seems to be Move > Assault > Shoot > Consolidate, with out of sequence things like Bombs in Movement phase and shooting attacks done in Assault. Still have to read a lot of it.

Bikes got the biggest screwin' over. The +1 Toughness works only against shooting... At least we will all agree now that bikes are a shooty unit. Needless to say that biker nobz are completely out the window. Also, the improved Evasion Value bikes get is negated if the unit that is shooting them has its leader within 12".

The way I see it

That change is definitely on the horizon for the short-term anyway until the new 40k rule book and Ork Codex comes out, but fear not GW has a good idea of what it wants to get out of orks, and I'm sure there's something quite sneaky coming down the line. So all in all if it means getting back to basics in regards to your army them it's going to be no surprise after all keeping your orks nice and simple is the best way to play.

My Boss Snickrot Conversion Part 2 Painting

So progress at the minute is rather slow in regards to getting him finished but nonetheless I thought I would do a post, with a quick update.

I didn't want him being too flashy so I decided that his colour scheme would be very dark in keeping with the fluff that Ork Kommando those would have in the real world.

Below you can easily see the effect the green stuff has which makes his T-shirt stand out. I'm also thinking about the blood on his knives to see whether or not I can do something a little bit different.

From the back it was more of the same in regards to colour, less is more.

So another post done and dusted hopefully I'll have more soon.

PS I'd just like to thank all the new members that I'm attracting to my blog it really does give me much-needed inspiration, knowing that hobbyists are enjoying what I do. 

So once again thank you.

My Boss Snickrot Conversion

As I stated in my last post I recently attended a 40k tournament and decided to take Boss Snickrot. I have never been a fan of the original head but loved his model, as I think his head didn't quite look great and I wanted to go with something a little bit more traditional. So I decided to get the green stuff out and see what I could come up with.

 It wasn't long before I decided on his head replacement as I think it is more in keeping with his model, as a whole and his  just beret adds another neat touch that makes him look like a proper, WW2 commando. I also plan to do his squad the same as I think it would make it look quite unique on the tabletop

I also positioned the model as if he were sneaking up behind someone, after all that's what commandos do, or so I've been told which meant that I had to reposition his head and make his neck longer, which meant I came up with a rather good idea to convert him to having a T-shirt rather than having him barechested.

This is a very simple conversion and wasn't too difficult to achieve, and because his model is quite big it's very easy to achieve. He is a popular choice with any ork player and makes mine a little bit more unique.

 You can also see his neck has been lengthened as you can just about see where his T-shirt.

By simply putting a line of green stuff the hallway along his upper arm you can easily make it look like he's wearing a T-shirt, also it will also help when sculpting his neck to make it look a little bit more refined,

 I must admit I was quite pleased with the results. and I'm already thinking about some ideas is for his unit so do you have any suggestions?

Dominion Day V Battle Report Game 1 & 2

So last week I attended Dominion Day at Arkham Gaming Centre and over the course of the jampacked 12 hours of gaming, I managed to squeeze in 5 games of 40K at 1000pts with a mixed bag of results.

So this is what I decided to take bearing in mind that there was some restrictions in regards to what you could take. you can see 40K HIGHLANDER Rules 1 Day 5 Round 1000pts Tournament for more info.

a

So the main focus of my army was to attack and attack fast I had two very mobile units which could very easily assault by turn 2 if I needed to.

    * Warboss (90pts) 

        Bosspole (5pts), Power Klaw (25pts), Slugga

    * Kommandos (135pts) 

        Boss Snickrot (85pts), 5x Kommando (50pts)

    * Nobz (Troops) (275pts) 

        * Nob (45pts) 

            Choppa, Slugga, Warbike (25pts)

        * Nob (50pts) 

            Big Choppa (5pts), Slugga, Warbike (25pts)

        * Nob (55pts) 

            Big Choppa (5pts), Shoota/Scorcha Kombi-Weapon (5pts), Warbike (25pts)

        * Nob (55pts) 

            Big Choppa (5pts), Bosspole (5pts), Slugga, Warbike (25pts)

        * Nob (70pts) 

            Power Klaw (25pts), Slugga, Warbike (25pts)

    * Ork Boyz (220pts) 

        30x Boy (180pts)

        * Nob (40pts) 

            Bosspole (5pts), Power Klaw (25pts)

    * Stormboyz (280pts) 

        20x Stormboy (240pts)

        * Nob (40pts) 

            Bosspole (5pts), Power Klaw (25pts)

 Also being able to play on a 4x4 having Boss Snickrot at my disposal to appear from anywhere with my war boss I was hoping to keep my opponents on their toes.

So how did it go well from the start it didn't exactly go to plan 

Game 1 Pitch Battle.Capture and Control 
Opponent Adam Sleinner Grey Nights 
Result Draw  8 Battle Points

At the minute are always a hard matchup and I really did struggle considering I was up against Paladin terminators and purifiers which isn't exactly easy. 

Alan list is pretty simple straightforward list.

 for my deployment it was important for me to pick the fights that I could win.

As you can see I made a dreadful mistake enabling my bikers to get assaulted in my opponents turn. Although my storm boys successfully wiped out his whole Paladin terminators: which was quite fun.

The dread night was devastating, his firepower was pretty effective all game
considering the matchup I was quite pleased with the draw.

Game 2  Spearhead Seize Ground 3 Objectives
Opponent  Scott Waring Orks 
Result Loss 5 Battle Points

I really went into this game a lot more comfortable considering I know the Codex very well,and was very nearly taking something quite similar.

 scott list centred around 20 boys in a battlewagon and truck with some mega-armour nobs so all in all it was quite fast, and Boss Snickrot.

So it was important for me to play this one a little bit more defensive.

 I expected the scott ork it move forward as quick as possible towards me which in turn he did

 he too was also runing Boss Snickrot and on turn 2 successfully rolled his reserves.

 looking back another mistake letting my nob bikers getting assaulted which as you can see it wasn't going to plan and like in  game 1 these mistakes were costing me dear, as I wasn't using their mobility properly.

I also took the decision to assault his 10 Gretchen that were holding his objective which would mean that the boys inside the battlewagon would have a choice to make whether to move forward or to go back to hold it.

At the very end it was going quite well as I was playing for another draw but to no avail, it came down to my objective being contested by a enemy death copter in the final turn which meant a loss.

Not exactly the best start you can have at a tournament but hopefully in game 3 I would get something a little bit each lucky in regards to my opponent something nice and soft.

So there you have it.

How To Cast Resin Tutorial Demoulding Gatling Gun Big Shoota (Part 6)

So it has been awhile since I have last updated this tutorial, and being it is the first post of the new year there's no time like the present. Also if you missed the first one check out the link below.

How To Cast Resin Tutorial Part 2 What To Cast (Gatling Gun Big Shoota)

So in this one I'm just going to focus on the big shoota that I scratched built some time ago for my 9 killerkans. This was the first time I have ever tried casting for myself and was a bit worried in regards to the results that I would achieve. 

So I was very nervous to see exactly what way it would have turned out,

You can see close-up of the resin has casted very well with no bubbles so it is definitely worth your while taking your time when pouring the resin.

 Bearing in mind that all my killerKan are magnetised, it was as simple as sticking some nuts to the side of them so they would easily be attached. and before any time had passed 3 of them were complete ready to paint.

 In these pictures you can see them attached to the unit of killerKan.

I was really surprised how well they turned out considering that something might have gone wrong either with their mould or the resin itself, but on this occasion everything was perfect.