Identifying, Updating, and Painting a Bucket of 90's Era 40K Orks with Lawnor
Please start at the other end
This project is about getting me some information, for now at least. I have questions and they start at the start of the project. Which is the end of the project log. So please skip to the end so you can begin reading with all the information and questions in mind.
Thank you
Here’s my current thinking of what to make:
1-2 Weirdboys (From Weirdboy and perhaps Snakebite or minder) (40mm base?)
1 Big Mek woith Shokk Attack (40mm base)
1 Skorcha Wartrakk (Don’t know base size)
1 Watrakk with Twin big Shoota (Don’t know base size)
1 Warboss on Warbike (70 x 25mm oval base?)
27-28 Ork Boyz (25mm bases)
1 Flash Git Freebooter Warboss (40mm base?)
1 Warboss with powersword (From Bolko. Not sure in rules) (40mm base?)
1 Runtherd (Was a minder or snakebite) and 11 runtz (25mm bases)
Sell/Repurpose:
Hop Splat field gun & crew
2x Tinboyz
How does this look? Any comments on my choices? Might I want more Weirdboys? I have a limited bits box but I might be able to do mods I haven’t thought of yet. Please confirm or correct my base sizes and definitely fill in the blanks. I really don’t understand GWs attitude towards base sizes. I’m a warmachine player and all this stuff is essential and clearly defined.
Update: 30/7/18 I just found this link to a 40K base size guide. Theres no date on it and I only know DakkaDakka from their paint chart so I can’t guess to its accuracy. Anyone care to comment?
https://www.dakkadakka.com/wiki/en/Basing_Guidelines_for_Warhammer_40,000
Since this is 40k we are talking about, there are only 8 base sizes.
25mm Round (~1″) – Standard base for 40k, the round that comes with marines, guardsmen, etc.
32mm Round (~1 1/4″) – the “new” infantry base size.
40mm Round (~1.5″) – What I think of as a Terminator base. Used mostly for larger infantry.
50mm Round (~2″) – Relatively new base size, seems to be intended for very large infantry, most notable example are Space Marine Centurions.
60mm Round – Monsterous critter base, also used for dread’s.
30mm Clear Round – Small Flight Base (Often clear plastic)
55mm Clear Round – Large Flight Base (Often clear plastic)
25mm x 70mm Long Round end – Biker or Beast or Cavalry Base
90mm x 120mm Large Oval – With or withough flying stem for Valkyrie, Vendetta, Stormraven etc ie large flyers
Legend for below:
R – Round
CR – Clear Round
LR – Long Round
LO – Large Oval
HQ
40mm R: Boss, Big Mech, Weird Boy (Megaarmor or no)
Bike Base LR (70x25mm): Boss/Mech on Bike
25mm R: Mad Dok Grotsnik
Elite
25mm R: Nobs, Lootas, Kommandos, Burnas, Tankbustas
40mm R: Mega Nobs
Bike Base LR (70x25mm): Bikers
Troops
25mm R: Shoota/Slugga Boyz (Including nob)
25mm R: Gretchin
25mm R: Runtherd
Large Flight Base CR: Deffkopta
Bike Base LR (70x25mm): Bikers
25mm R: Storm Boyz (Including Nob)
40mm R: Zagstruk
Heavy Support
60mm R: Deff Dreads
60mm R: Killa Kans [2010 release]
No base: No bases for Big Gunz however, Grots are still on 25mm R
40mm R: Flash Gitz [2014 release]
40mm R: Captain Badrukk
Old Versions
25mm R: Flash Gitz
40mm R: Kill Kans [1999 release / metal]
If this is correct, then I have enough information to start work, once I clear off my paint station and order in the few bases I need. I might still base the wartrakks as I prefer having a base. I don’t like dragging painted models over a tabletop. This would mean I’d end up with 120mm x 92mm bases for my wartrakks. Or I have a pile of 35mm-ish bases I could use just to raise them up off the table?
Oh man, you’ve got some amazing stuff here! I’ve only skimmed over your posts and don’t have time to write a great deal now, but a few quick thoughts: The plastic orks you’ve got are virtually worthless. There must be billions of them floating around and they’re the wrong scale, wrong shape and too mono-posed for people to want to use them these days. GW is likely to be bringing out a new Ork Codex (source/rulebook) this year. They’ve been without one for quite a while now, but the point is, rules may change, old units may be reimagined or… Read more »
@angelicdespot Some of this is definitely pretty cool. Some of it is definitely showing its age. Those generic plastic orcs are pretty rubbish, but they will make up numbers in a squad. I might be able to pose them a little differently and perhaps swap out/mod their melee weapon a little if I’m lucky. I was originally wanting to swap out the outdated guns for legal ones, but it did occur to me that scales and such probably wouldn’t match up anymore. Now you have confirmed that I am much happier to continue with what I have. I would still… Read more »
That’s cool. I’ll try to dig out my old books and minis and compare them with your pictures. If it would help to have a photo showing some of these figures next to modern orks, just let me know. (And if you decide you’d like to fill out this project with others in the same style, there have been a couple of Kickstarters and other companies who produce new minis that will fit in with these.) The ork bases are currently the standard 25mm diameter ones (at least, I think they’re 25mm, I’ve never actually measured). I’ve got hundreds of… Read more »
I’m hoping to have the option of mixing and matching these old minis with new minis, should I decide to expand. As such, I am interested in comparing the classic sculpts and paint jobs with their modern alternatives so I can try and update them where appropriate. I was planning on using the GW website and google for this, but other pics will be appreicated. Thank you. Don’t know if I’d consider going oldhammer with any future purchases (Or even if there will be any), but it’s good to have options. As for the bases, thank you for the sizes.… Read more »
I should clarify… I’m not heavily involved in the 40K community any more, so I don’t know if there’s a feeling that base sizes will change. If I was a betting man I’d say that they’ll stay the same, but for reasons already explained, I think it’s a possibility. 33mm* was something that I think GW brought in to invalidate the stocks of the various 3rd party resin base casters back in the dark days of ‘we hate our fanbase’. They do look good, but they could easily have been 30mm or 35mm. As for a release date, I don’t… Read more »
I saw a recent Spiky Bits article saying Orks were due up next for a codex. What next means from GW is anyone’s guess though. You might not be heavily involved, but you know a hell of a lot more than me. I played Space Crusade growing up, badly read Rogue Trader so I could beat my brother with the Space Crusade minis when I was about 10 or 12, and I played Dawn of War a few years ago. That’s about the extent of my experience of 40k. I’ve played 2 quick games of 8th as as Tyranids a… Read more »
On the subject of painting, I know Orks have a thing about colour. Does 40K take it to the extent that the colour of models actually affects their stats? Please tell me it doesn’t. its awesome as fluff, but terrible as rules.
I don’t believe so. There has in the past been a ‘red paint job’ vehicle upgrade which, if you were playing ‘What you see is what you get’ meant that you had to paint the vehicle read to gain an extra inch of movement, but I don’t believe that’s in the rules any more. There haven’t been any other colour-related rules for a long time. It used to be the case that different clans had their own rules, and sometimes their own models. For the last 5 (?) editions of the game they’ve really downplayed them and had them as… Read more »
From what I’ve seen of the new codecies I expect there to be a few clans declared with minor power option differences, but otherwise all be the same. Same as how the Nids can pick a different fleet, but it doesn’t greatly affect the game, or the mini selections. Orks do have a greater fluff identity though and certain character tied to clans. We will see. Very happy to see GW appear to have moved away from paint job dependant rules.