I've got my first 16 Ork slugga boyz done. I like how they came out, I think my process is relatively fast, and provides some very nice looking Orks by tabletop standard. My only issue, which I have with most models I do, is that the final clear overcoat tends to detract from the overall impression. In this instance I went with a dull coat, which flattened out some of the blending. I could have gone with a semi-gloss, that might have made them look a bit sweaty and damp, but they're on desert themed bases, so I thought dusty would be best. I'm not going to risk them without an overcoat, because they're meant to be gamed with, and paint chips and wears off of unfinished models quickly.
So now it's time for some custom built vehicles. I took a shot at this last night, but was dissatisfied with what I came up with. I got some hexagonal rod which makes great bolt heads, but the halftrack type suspension I tried to build didn't please me. I got halfway through before I noticed that my tracked suspension didn't have individually articulated road wheels, and thus wouldn't really work in practice. It was also overly plain, and would require a great deal of work to build out the structures I'd need to make it work. I think it demands a certain amount of artistic ability, which I don't have, to know what looks “cool and military” and then recreate it from scratch.
One way around that, is to steal... My new personal hero, “Nightserpent” has a nice looking Battlewagon on his site. I took a look at it, and because I'm a fucking genius, I recognized the model he based it on. It's a Sturmtiger, a WWII German assault mortar tank.
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See? So, I bought this kit, which is an Sd.Kfz. 184 “Elefant,” a big self-propelled gun also based on the Tiger chassis, and also with a big chunky hull to base an Ork Battlewagon off of. It should be pretty good, I'm confident about my ability to chop up slabs of Orky looking armor, and make bolts to hold it on with... I think it'll come out good. One thing that is sorta horrifying, is that the kit I got has individual track links. That means I have to cut each and every link off the sprue, and assemble it over the road wheels. That's gonna be time consuming. Still, I think that starting with a real tank, with a real suspension, and a framework to build upon, will give me a better chance of producing a nice looking Battlewagon.