So a running theme through 2024 is the struggle to find time for hobby projects, although I must say I do find myself at a loss as to understand exactly what has changed this year… but nonetheless, here we are, practically at the end of Orktober, in the weeds of 2024 and neither of us have got anything like as much built or painted as we planned – Jim’s Dread for Da Black Ork Cav is now primed and basecoated, admittedly, but my attempt to build a more… realistic (???) size Great Gargant for Waagh-Bozzhog is taking a little time to come to fruition.
However, coming to fruition it is, kicking and screaming though it may be while doing it. And now, as it sits in primer awaiting the first kiss of the brush bristle, allow me to share with you what I’ve got to show for the last few weeks.
We begin – multivitamin container (90 days – the 180 one is the right size for a Mega-Gargant though…) – bottle cap for head adorned with cardboard offcuts, a biro sawed into three to creat the arms and belly gun/ phallus cannon…. layered lollystick over cardboard for chainsaw, drinking straw and superglue tube cap for gatling cannon. Greenstuff with granny grating for the shoulder battle cannon turret and a 20mm MDF base for shoulder observation platform. Epic Slasher shown for scale.Extra detail added – bits of sprue & cocktail stick offcuts superglued to the observation deck, PVA rivets everybloodywhere and more cardboard armour plating. Rocking ound shop grey primer and an attempt at an underpainting prewash… Jim tried it on his Dread and it worked, clearly I angered the Underpainting Gods….Smokestack lightning – these were straws again, some sprue added with PVA/ superglue mix to help create the exhaust system. You might notice dome sprue bits reinforcing the joins of the feet to the gargant hull.Rivets, rivets everywhere… more layering of cardboard shapes to create the illusion of armour plating
So, this thing is a more sensible size than Big Red at least, and will make more sense when we play Epic… meantime, I’d better work out how to scratchbuild some Shadowswords and an Imperator!
Next up, painting – hopefully we can show you the finished articles before too long… and speaking of finished articles….
Having been through the 2.0 edition of Apocalypse: Earth like a dose of salts, correcting each others’ syntax and spelling and adding in the playing aids you need to axctually play the game, we are tantalisingly tantalisingly close to a real world release… so I say unto you O Blogosphere, O Roger, Joghn, Pete, IRO, Whittlesey et al… and YOU, gentle reader – will you help us with our quest?
Will YOU selflessly take a (free) copy and play a few games and let us know your thoughts? Will you show us the idiotic loopholes we’ve left in without realising? Will YOU help us balance our points values? And when the time comes, will YOU take a (free) copy of the finished article and give us a review?
Will YOU help a couple of inebriates put pen to paper and come up with something that hopefully plays better than 10th Ed 40K at but a fraction of the cost????
I’m not even going to labour the point that January was five bloody minutes ago, but the calendar says October so let’s go with that. Old man grumble grumble grumble.
Now, astute observers of the last post may have picked up on the fact that Jim and I have swapped Epic armies in order to rationalise with the forces we have for regular 40k – hence the Redeemers now becoming gloriously vermillion Blood Angels whilst Jim rolled out with Waagh-Bozzhog in the last battle report. It just made sense.
So now we have a deal – I’ll help with Orktober if he lends his papercraft skills to help get the 1991 Blood Angels over the line. And this is why I found myself turning from the Emperor’s light, superguing myself to some toilet roll tubes and cocktail sticks the other night.
The PLAN was – is – to get a couple of Dreads sorted for Da Black Ork Cav, enabling us to level up to some bigger 40k games – and I might finally be able to break out my Land Raider – along with retiring Big Red and building a sensibly sized Epic Great Gargant, possibly upgrading the other one to a Mega Gargant of we an find the time/ rules/ bitz.
But plans take time to reach fruition, so rather than have you all hanging on to the end of the month on breathless expectation…
I figured it might be nice to throw out a few WIP shots.
Dreadnought torsos – bog roll tubes with cardboard glued on top. From humble acorns…Legs sketched out on foamboardDetail added with cardboard and granny grating, rivets added with quick drying PVABuzzsaw arm built from foamcore, covered with cardboard, detailed with cocktail sticks and PVA rivetsA little more work – foamboard cpvered with card, dotted with PVA rivets.. cocktail sticks for exhausts and gun barrels, drinking straw missile launcherRear 3/4 glamour shot 😉 and she’s ready for priming!Meanwhile, in Epic scale…. we have ourselves a sensibly sized Great Gargant! Just needs a few more armour panels and rivets… and general worky gubbinz…
So that’s the state of play so far – next up, priming and painting- so I’ll leave you, gentle reader, to imagine these builds in all their finery 😉
Guess it’s that time again.. with Legions Imperialis and Mantic’s new Epic scale Warpath out in the world, it’s time to show how we rolled with the OG 6mm sci fi wargame back in the 90s!
Now I had command of Waagh Bozzhog, the mighty Ork horde now comprising a heavily reinforced mechanised Goff clan, a reinforced motorised Evil Sunz clan, a Bad Moon clan reinforced with two squadrons of Braincrushas, two Weirdboy Battletowers and a battery of Squig Katapults, a Death Skull clan maxed out with nicked tanks, Stompas and a Skullhamma battlefortress, a Blood Axe clan who the Warlord clearly didn’t trust with reinforcements, Big Red the Great Gargant, L’il Red the Slasher Gargant and Warlord Bozzhog himself with his attendant entourage and Stompas – all told this was 7500 points!
Up against this might was Dan’s thin red line of Blood Angels supported by the Granny Grating Guard & Squats – a Devastator, Battle & Land Raider company, supported by Dreadnoughts, robots, Thunderhawks, an extra assault detachment, Terminators. The Squats showed up with a Grand Battery and a Goliath Mega-Cannon, whilst the Guard brought a Leviathan, a Tactical, Support & Vindicator company, a squadron of Sentinels and Rough Riders, and a Warlord Titan to cap it all off.
With this, the stage was set for the biggest Epic smackdown we’ve managed yet!
The battlefield, generated using the Terrain Chart from the old 2nd Ed Epic playsheetGreenskins deploy onto the northern table edge.. who can stop this green tide!?“…with blade & bolter… with faith & fire!”The thin red line… would it be enough?View from the Guard Support Company position on the Imperial right.. note the Squat firebase in the centre featuring the Goliath Mega-cannon built from a pen…Goliath in close up..Turn 1 – Orks win initiative and move first, the Blood Axes rushing forward to nab objective 2 while behind them the Bad Moons roll on to objectives 7 & 8 behind them and the Death Skulls secure the satellite relay objective.With the Ork version of Ride Of The Valkyries blaring over the speakers, the Evil Sunz charge and crash headlong into the Support Company position on the Imperial right.Devastators and Warlord roll, deploying to (hopefully) more advantageous firing positions… Warlord Tricanium The Great feeling just a little spooked by the sheer size of Big Red!Guard & Blood Angel forces prepare to surround, cut off and counterattack the isolated Blood AxesCarnage on the Imperial right as the Evil Sunz crash into the Guard and Devastators!“Zulu, Zulu, Zulu!” Thunderhawks arrive to strafe the Bad Moon positionsLong range fire from the Braincrushas picks off a Vindicator and some Rhinos – unfortunately, said Rhinos were full of Assault Marines Dan had been planning to use to lead the counterattack against objective 2 and the Blood Axes!Thunderhawk (s) down – Bad Moon boyz ensure the gunships suffer the fate of all newly painted miniatures…Despite fearful losses, Guard & Devastators fight off the Evil Sunz assault!Gulp.
Turn 1 finished with the Blood Axes and Evil Sunz clans broken by their casualties, but whereas the Sunz failed their morale check and fell back, the Blood Axes held fast! Orks – 33 VPs, Imperial Coalition 23 VPs
Turn 2 – No. 2 Battle Company Tactical & Assault Marines charge the Blood Axes around objective 2 while the Devastators deploy in support.Terminators deploy onto objective 6 while the Ork centre holds in place and goes on to First Fire ordersOn the Imperial right, the Guard counter attack and the surviving Evil Sunz are wiped out by Blood Angels dreadnoughts and Guard Rough RidersThe Slasher unleashes hell! Battle cannons and BadMoons wipe out the Terminatoir detachment on objective 6, while a ball round from the Slasher takes down the Warlord!Devastators, Guard Support Troops and Squat artillery unleash a fearsome barrage, stripping the shields of both Gargants and damaging them while demolishing a building full of Death Skull infantry!Counter attack goes ill for the Marines – massive casualties amongst the assaulting Marines and the Squig Katapult eats five stands of Devastators!Turn 3 and the Warlord and Goffs launch a counter-counter attack, straight into the heart of the Guard infantry supporting the remains of Marines No.2 company!On the Imperial right, the trap starts to swing shut as Support and Devastator fire causes more damage to Big Red while supporting elements advance towards the Death Skulls on the satellite uplink objectiveGuard Leviathan lines up the Slasher, seeking vengeance…Carnage across the entire battlefield!Goffs and the Warlord entourage pile up the Guard bodies like matchwood, but take heavy losses themselves… including Warlord Bozzhog himself!Casualty piles from the big melee around objective 2!Imperial fire shreds the Death Skull armour, breaking the clan! And being Death Skulls, of COURSE they leg it…Across the field, it’s carnage but has the Ork assault run out of steam?Turn 4 and the Imperials press the counterattack in the centre, but the Slasher has other ideas…After hosing down the surviving Goffs and Nobz, the few remaining Imperial forces set themselves about pushing the surviving Blood Axes (now down to a single infantry stand) off Objective 2Already damaged by the Devastators, the Mega Cannon crew get a bead on the Great Gargant…..and FINALLY a shot strikes true! Penetrating the magazine armour and causing a flashback which ignites the entire magazine, igniting Big Red!!And all of a sudden all that dice karma comes good, as the surviving Land Raiders take down the Slasher!
With the Gargants down that was it for the Orks – the Evil Sunz, Goffs, and Blood Axes were all dead, as were the Warlord and entourage, the Death Skulls had run away and although the Bad Moons morale held they were broken too and it would only be a matter of time. Final score – 98 to the Imperials and 73 to the Orks!
To be fair, it might look like a huge disparity but a few rolls the other way and it could have been anyone’s game up until the end of Turn 4.. I think my mistake was to deploy and fight the Orks too much like they’re Marines and grab tactical advantages.. I reckon had I focused on rolling up a single flank I could have chewed Dan’s Imperial Coalition troops up good and proper.. still, was a blast and I do believe that’s the biggest game we’ve played so far! And DAMN those Marines look good in red Dan, really glad we did the swap 😉
Till next time, Slavia Ukraini and here’s a last look around the field of battle:
Warlord Bozzhog awoke with a splitting headache. At first he blamed a dodgy batch of fungus wine but as his surrounding swum hazily into view he recognised his own body lying a few feet away.
“Oh yeah..” he grunted, “bit of a scrap.”
Screwing his face in concentration, he guided his body towards his disembodied head lying on the ground, before his hands reached out and placed it atop his bull-like neck.
“Ah”, he thought, “dat’s better.”
One hand held the head in place while he rootled around his armour for a roll of gaffa tape, and with precision worthy of the best Painboyz in the camp, tore off a piece and wrapped it around his neck.
“Dere”, he grunted, “Dat should ‘old it”
He saw one of his favoured entourage, Boss Jizzgobbla, lying similarly beheaded a few feet away. Bozzhog picked up the head, and that of Clanboss Felchgob and began juggling them absent mindedly.
“Oi!” they yelled, “Put us back, Boss!”
Bozzhig grunted in amusement, taping Jizzgobblas head to where his crotch would normally be and Felchgob to that of his backside.
“How d’yer like da view from dere lads?” he grinned.
Swapping threats, insults and general bonhomie the three strolled off into the sunset to find a Painboy and a barrel of fungus wine.. it had been a good day.
Skinflint Games 