Youtube for Oldhammering Hippos: The Rogue Trader Braincrusha

I decided that I needed a centre piece model for Waaagh Gruntblasta. This is the result.

This will be followed shortly by an MFH on building a Gobsmasha based on the plans published in an ancient White Dwarf I found (around issue 120 I think). And no, not the one built from a Battlewagon kit - that is cool but I only have one vintage battlewagon so I don't fancy converting it.

MFH Ishoo Twenty-For Aye: Casting the wartrakk

Hail oh Hippos fans!
Ove the weekend I made molds for a few of my Wartrakk components - one body, one set of tracks and both sets of wheels. The moulds went very well, the first casts not as well. I had problems with bubbles and resin not flowing in to some of the narrower areas. I think I have overcome this now, the latest set of casts are setting as I type. Anyway - picture time!

I made a mould of the two sets of wheels first to test things out.

The first set of casts sitting atop my washing machine which I am using for casting and such things. I miscalculated the volume of the wheels so I didn't get full casts of all four. Note the majestic bubble on the body...

This is the first casting, which I've painted up for an upcoming project. The stacks on the engine didn't work that well so I replaced them with tubes. The original model had treads which stuck out from the track units - they didn't cast too well so I trimmed them back flush.

Ishoo Wun-Oh-Nin: Hotel Grunthos

Welcome one and all to the oh so bracing environs of Orkness! Orkness is a down-at-heal English sea-side resort circa 1950 which is A: on an Imperial world in the 41st millenium somehow and B: has been taken over by Orks. And it is the home of Waaagh Snaggatoof. 

I have been planning this for a while - a whole table worth of terrain based on old human buildings taken over and heavily modified by Orks, all of which will be used for NAZORK at Little Wars. And other games eventually. But it need to be completed for NAZORK.

Anyway, the first part of the project is also the largest; the stately seaside Hotel Grand... reborn as the Hotel Grunthos.

How hard is it to build a 1950s English seaside hotel which has been taken over by Orks from both space AND the future?

Here's Grot with a knotted handkerchief on his head.

Note: All of the detaily stuff above is left seperate to make painting easier. You won't see it again until the end - just assume the painting techniques are exactly those used on the building.

And there you have it Hippo Fans! Come back soon for the next part of Orkness - I've already started work on Spannanoggin'z Garage!

Youtube for Hippos part the second.

Esteemed reader; I pray you will also become an esteemed viewer.
Yes, I have posted some further video on Youtube!

First up; the long planned video showing all of the Wartrakk components and demonstrating alternate configurations.

Also, a preview of the next ishoo of TFH:

And finally...

Yes! The first update on the progress of the mighty and mightily vintage Waaagh Gruntblasta!

Since the last update, I have aquired some more vintage orks from another friend who has long since left the hobby - they're all from 2nd edition so they will fit in nicely. Handily, they include Kommandoes and Stormboyz, which will be stripped and combined with my own contributions to give more reasonable ten man units.

MFH Ishoo Twenty-Fiv: Modernising the Plastic Warbuggy

A lot of people find the idea of scratch building entire vehicles daunting. That's okay - it can be a big leap to take. But it does mean you run into a bit of a problem if you want an Ork speed freaks army; namely that the buggy kit dates from 2nd edition circa 1997 and the Wartrakk kit came out slightly later for Gorkamorka. They both look pretty dated, especially since the crews don't match the current range of Ork figures. Fortunately, it's not hard to get something like the old buggy to fit in to a modern 8th edition army. Here's Grot!

(note that this buggy kit came from Mad Juzzy the Flutist - the rear fenders had been used in a bike conversion and I had to rescue them; hence the paint).

And there you have it Hippo Fans! It really is that simple to update a kit that's six editions old to fit in with the modern aesthetics of the orks!