Battlewagon 1 Completed

Battlewagon 1, now named the Grim Villun as been completed and participated in its first game yesterday!

As you can see I did some new Glyph work, although the Grim Glyph isn't anywhere near as perfect on this Battlewagon as it is on BW2, I rather like it. Because this glyph is mounted on the side instead of straight it only further enhances the look of the model. Interesting side note on the Villun glyph is that it is from the Freeboota book from 2nd Edition, which I still have never been able to find a copy of.
Dags were really the name of the game in detailing the Grim Villun, and I did so in a number of places. This is for a couple reasons, one of which is that the now standard and iconic checkerboard pattern of black and white strips is actually a Goff Symbol (and the only Goff I like is a Goff Rocker), but the Dag pattern which is less often seen is universal for all clans.

And here in these last pics are just a few of the other details hidden about the tank, such as the damaged Trakks, the rear hatch, and the Reinforced Ram. Boom Boom Boom, the Grim Villun Freeboota Battlewagon is rolling thunder down the town, better gangway before getting flattened!

Battlewagon Blues

I got dem Battlewagon Blues, all down dat line. I say I got dem Battlewagon Blues, just all da time.

...
Er...

Right, so I've been working on them, none of them are exactly finished.

Been working mostly on the finer details of Wagon 2 and the main assembly of Wagon 3, already nicknamed LongHaul. Its strange how the first and 3rd Wagon I seem to get some energy and creativity to put through and I get stalled out on the 2nd.

Anyway, here's some shots of BW 2...
Yea, I'm rather pleased with how that Glyph turned out. The Grim Glyph, its always been my personal favorite glyph design. Something about it just screams Waaaga to me. Now admittedly I didn't get it perfect, but it does look better in person than in the picture. And even though it's a minor detail, its by far one of the coolest details I've ever made and its easily the best Glyph I've ever made.

Oh, there will be the usual top to the front weapon mount, I don't know what happened to it which is why it is missing from the picture in the left, and as for the right, ignore the metal miniature staring through the window, he's just your average Peeping Tom. Actually I'm going to have either a Grot or Ork head peering out of the window, which will make it harder to paint what with final assembly happening post painting, but it'll be worth it in the end.

And on to BW 3, which really exploded from nothing around 2 or 3 last night. Number 3, AKA Long Haul was planned to be a reversed Leman Russ with a chopped off front end and a Kannon centered in the middle of the Hull. Well plans change...
I think its obvious where Battlewagon 3's nickname comes from. This puppy just looks long and sleek like a nice classic caddy. This wagon, along with the first wagon's back carriage is a scrapper, meaning that since my supply of Plasticcard is so low I actually took apart an old naff looking conversion to put this one together.

I see it as a kind of Orky recycling, the krummy konversions of yesterday, powering the new Krumpy Konversions of tommorrow. The Grot spotter is one such example of this, it was originally the main detail of a buggy that I never quite finished that's been sitting in my bitz box for... I don't know how many years. The Grot himself was/is from the now discontinued Fantasy Starter Box of Orcs vs. Dwarfs. I still have to model in a handle for his little door, but its still the best use of a crummy one piece model.

Debating on if I want to put in a Trukk bed type of device or not into the back. I could, it wouldn't be hard, but it also might be nice to instead plop a bunch of worky bits on to the back of the section. These questions and more will be solved after I solve them.

Peace
~OD

Battlewagon 1 70-80% complete!

So this first Battlewagon, which as laid incomplete for Gork knows how long is getting ready to lumber down the battlefield, which means its 2 brothers aren't far behind. I am starting to think that maybe people won't take it for a Battlewagon, and complain of it, but one thing's for certain is that after painting no one will recognize that the sides are not GW gray.

The picture on the right is yet another mundane detail of the standard Leman Russ, where these circular bits on the side correspond with the wheels driving the tracks. It's not flashy or big, but its the little details like this which bring this scratchbuilt track unit closer to the Imp Guard standard to which its supposed to have been looted from.

One of the best features of this tank I worked on considerably last night and today, only to realize that I had been forgetting to take pictures. This piece would be the Turret itself, and I needed to have at least one of these 3 new wagons to have a classic style'd turret.
From bland and Boring to nice and Krumpy. I had to go to lengths to cover that hole and try to scratchbuild together a cover. I knew I wasn't going to have a pintle weapon on the mount, but didn't want to waste the bit when I know I'll need it elsewhere. Hence the hatch from the hull mounted gun went up along with a base and some plasticard to make what appears to be very similar to the GW pintle mount.

Here's a side by side of a regular Leman Russ turret with this Orky design. The scratchbuilt hatch is admittedly not a perfect copy, but its close enough that it's likely that only a guard player will note the difference.

And so here she is in her close to completion state, the first in my new line of Battlewagons.
Unfinished bits:
Left side minor detailing of the wheel holes, finishing right side minor detailing
Attaching or retrofitting Side Sponsons
Attaching the side doors leading to the interior of the tank
Attaching the rear door
Gluing down the Reinforced Ram
Creation of a scenic base for the tank

Peace
~OD

Setbacks

So we all experience them from time to time, I've been experiencing one for the last week or so with having to completely up-end my work area for the need to use the Garage as a car-hold.

But despite that I'm back to work this time on Battlewagon 1, trying to get a little more of those details down so that few (if any) recognize that the sides are not GW grays.

So today's big work is in the side piston, which any real Tread head would know is integral to how a Tank can turn right or left. Of course any real Tread head would know what the hell they're called.

But that little dinky thing on the side couldn't possibly have been difficult, right? Well actually it was more difficult then it should have been, and I didn't even get it completely accurate since it's supposed to have some armor and rivits in a rectangle around it, but sometimes you have to let something go.

Of course I realized after finishing this near worthless detail that its not going to really be seen too often.
This would be my current plans for the sides. Unfortunately the Big Shoota got a little cut off in the photograph, but I think you can pretty much get the jist of it.

Peace
~OD

A Kannon any Pie-rat would love

Battlewagon 2 is going smoothly for the time being, with only bits and pieces slowly coming together. Since I didn't post a pic of it in the last post, here she is with the magnetic KFF

She's not bad, but could definitely use a bit more work, which is where this new experiment came in, a modular Kannon.

What started out as a Leman Russ Battlecannon is now an Ork weapon of war. But what's modular about this? It certainly looks unimpressive. Well if you were a Grot and you said that you'd get kicked, but no its not the most impressive thing in the world, although take a looksee at this.

This Kannon doubles as a turret and an artillery piece when the Wagon is not in use, and its always great to find a way for your conversions to be multifunctional.

Peace
~OD

Wagons Ho!

So my Order of the Leman Russ bits came in. Definitely regretting not getting one of the accessory sprues at the same time as money as gotten a little too tight again for any sort of expenditure other then the essential food and gas.

But I did get started with them a bit today. Already planning this one to be a reversed Looted (and Orkified) Leman Russ. I know nothing to look at now, but note where its been cut. Thats because this Wagon is going to have a detachable armored transport area for WYSIWYG armored top

But this one's on hold for the moment. Thats because with 2 of those Leman Russ sprues on the line I figured I'd tackle the easy Konversion first.
Say hello and a quick goodbye to the pristine plastic.
I think maybe this time I went a little overboard with the damage detailing. But then again its amazing how much a difference painting makes.

At first I thought the kannon in what's traditionally a Lascannon port would be best, but as time went I began to think about how it'd be nicer to have a Kannon on a turret of some kind instead of just mounted at the front. Also I thought about the awesomeness of a barricade and extended cab to further illustrate the differences between Imperial Leman Russ's and mine. Plus that barricade ended up being home to a number of shavings, filings, and other plastic flotsam and jetsam.

Oh and that extended back is also where I can attach/detach the KFF sat dish.

Tired, sleepy time now.

Battlewagon 1

Okay, so now that I don't have any Battlewagon's left and with a serious need for them I turn my head back at the past. Way Way back, to an unfinished project from 2005 maybe 2006, a looted Imperial Guard Leman Russ...
Not great, and not exactly complete I know. But hey I didn't pay for the Leman Russ. Then again the Leman Russ wasn't exactly a complete model and without a receipt I couldn't go in and say, um hey I'm missin a sprue here!

So I originally went the extra step and not only made my own trakks but the side plating as well, which still is not completely Imperial in design, or finished being Orkified.

Not a perfect copy, I admit it, but I am so pleased that I went to all the trouble in doing it. With GW's recent new and improved *cough cough* Leman Russ they released a couple sprues of the old Wagon on their Bits section. Expensive, but I've ordered 2 of the old Chassis sprues which has the center chasis, the top half of the Turret mount, a lascannon, heavy bolter, something I'm guessing are hand grips (I haven't held the sprue for a couple years) and some other assorted bits I might use, all at about 1/3rd of the cost for a Leman Russ.

And since I still have one of the sides to work off of I think I can replicate and then Orkify to a point where no one will suspect its Plasticard instead of GW grey. Or at least I hope.

One other useful addition is this...
Yum beer... But there is a reason for supergluing a Beer bottlecap on the interior of a Leman Russ (soon to be Battlewagon). What exactly? Well its fungus Beer what do you think powers Ork vehicles and gives them a good buzz? No actually the metal used is magnetic, allowing me on the back to mount something which I have planned but never actually as of yet built.
A magnetic KFF which can/will detach from the Mek when he enters a vehicle and that KFF attaches to a point on the vehicle for quick reference and as a reminder to me to exactly where the KFF is.

Last but not least is that I know that a Leman Russ is a little small compared to the release of the new Battlewagon mini from GW that honestly is one of the worst kits they ever produced. It lacks imagination, width, intrigue, and just looks god awful. (I could go on and on, but I think that's sufficient). I will be creating a Base for the Land Raider(s) which will add height, an extended back portion, access doors, Sponsons, armor plates, and all other gubbins so by the end it'll look propa.