Total Waaagh! – Part 6

…And here we have it, the final update of the annual Ork painting contest versus IRO (at least until next year of course). I’ll be away from home tonight so realistically I’m not going to get any more painting done before November. Still, my weekend was quite productive so let’s take a look at what all I managed to get done.

First up, another of the savage Beastsnagga Boys.

Inspired by a couple of Orks I saw at Dave Stone’s Wargames Terrain Workshop, which incorporated a bit of purple in the skin, I decided to try giving him some purple warpaint. I think it’s a bit subtle here, I was a little cautious with it and the blue animal-skin cape draws the eye away from it, but it’s something I’ll keep playing with as and when I get around to the rest of the squad. For now, here he is hanging out with the rest of his newly painted Beastsnaggin’ buddies.

Speaking of Beastsnaggas, next up we have an imposing Beastboss (a Snakebite Warboss by any other name). I built him pretty much “as standard” but swapped out his head – I wasn’t too keen on the original although I reckon it’ll work well on a different model.

He’s a big lad – towering over the rest of the boys.

One of my objectives for this month was to build and paint the warboss who rules over my rambunctious horde. Sadly he’s still in bits, but at least the Beastboss can stand in for him in the meantime.

Next up, another Kommando.

I’ve wanted a squad of these ever since I got into the greenskins and doubly so since the new kit was released. With these 5 sneaky dudes (plus Snikrot of course!) done I’m calling that objective achieved although I love these models so much it’s safe to assume there will be plenty more in the future.

Then, roaring over the horizon in a cloud of dust, we have another squig-hog boy.

I really like these models, especially this one with a wheel instead of hind legs, and getting at least a couple of them done this month was a key goal for me. In a perfect world I’d have liked to paint a squad of bikers as well, and kitbash some boarboys on cyboars (hint GW; add these to the next wave of Ork models you release eh!) but no matter, all of that will come in time. In the meantime at least these lads are ready to ride out.

Lastly, but by no means least, I’ve finished off the third of my Killa Kans.

Much like the Kommandos I’ve been wanting to add a squad of these to the collection for years and years and years so I’m chuffed to bits to have the three of them ready to go at last.

In fact, I’m really pleased with everything I managed to get painted over the last few weeks. IRO thoroughly trounced me in our contest of course, but that’s ok because it just means I’m going to have to work harder to regain my honour next year! In fact IRO has been an absolute painting machine this month, churning out awesome terrain and all kinds of Orks at a rate with which no mortal man can compare. He’s also been an excellent sport and a real gent, both on the blogs and “behind the scenes” as it were (although the less said about what his wife thinks I’m called the better…). It really is worth repeating that without the challenge I would have got an awful lot less done so thanks to IRO for giving me the encouragement to find the mental discipline to get these painted and keeping me on my toes all month. There is NO need to be concerned and one of his monkey ninjas is NOT threatening me, knife clasped in one hairy paw, as I write this. I repeat, there is NO need to send help and I’ve NOT been abducted and threatened into writing this praise by murderous simian thugs in the employ of a ruthless Antipodean.

At the start of the month I thought about laying out a list of objectives I was intending to achieve. Having given it more consideration however I decided that this would be unwise, I knew this was going to be a busy time with “real life” concerns and I wanted to have fun with the challenge rather than put too much pressure on myself to complete specific goals. Still I’m pretty damn pleased with everything I did manage to get done; Snikrot, the Kommandos and the Killa Kans have all been longstanding ambitions, and I’ve been wanting to get started on the Squig-hog boys for the last year or so as well.

There are a fair number of things I didn’t get done of course, but then my eyes have always been bigger than my stomach when it comes to painting miniatures. I’d have like to get the Warboss finished, and the aforementioned squad of bikers. Vehicles are another thing my Ork army is a bit short on; IRO actually has an awesome fleet of ork vehicles (seriously, don’t tell him but I’m a bit jealous – you should go to his blog and check them out if you haven’t already). I do have various unassembled ork buggies sitting around, plus a whole heap of ideas I’ve done nothing with, and part of me did dream that I’d so something about that this month – alas it was not to be. I also planned to add a squad of Flash Gits but that too fell by the wayside, although the balance was redressed somewhat when John of Just Needs Varnish! sent me this awesome git.

And although this month was mostly about my Warhammer 40k Orks I did manage to sneak in another addition to the Blood Bowl collection with the star player Varag Ghoul-Chewer.

So, where does that leave us? Why, in need of a parting group shot of course! Let’s take a last look at all the ugly greenskins I’ve managed to accrue over the last few weeks.

The score for this weekend comes to another 7 points (1 per Ork and 2 each for the Killa Kan and the Squighog rider). Add that to the score accumulated so far and we find ourselves looking at a fairly respectable 27 points. This falls a little short of IRO’s score (38 points at the time of writing although god knows, by the time I get around to posting this he’ll probably have knocked out half-a-dozen more mad, ramshackle vehicles and added a few more districts to his Ork town).

As for what comes next I’ve got a whole heap of projects that have been crying out for attention, and have been completely ignored over the last few weeks as I concentrated on Orks so all being well they’ll get their turn in the sun next. Or who knows, maybe IRO and I will just carry on painting Orks, disregarding all other concerns in a glorious WAAAAGH! that never ends! Watch this space I guess…

Total Waaagh! – Part 5

It’s Week 4 of Orktober and time for another roundup of my progress, after which I’ll have just a few more days to squeeze in a final ork or two.

I’ve still not finished building the Ork Warboss who’ll someday be leading this army but I did get around to kitbashing this nob to carry his banner.

Next up another rusty Killa Kan joins the one I painted last week.

Then we have another Ork boy.

Meanwhile this boy stands ready to annihilate IRO and his minions with his trusty rocket launcher.

Last, but by no means least, I’ve finally done it! It may have taken me over a decade but Boss Snikrot is painted at last!

Now I said back at the start of the month that if I could get Snikrot painted I’d be calling this month’s endeavors a win. As you can see that goal has been achieved so let’s all agree that I have indeed won and not look too closely at our respective scores…

Oh you’re going to insist on seeing the scoreboard are you? Very well – this week brings me another 6 points so the tally for the month now stands at 20 points. Meanwhile my painting adversary IRO has put on another burst of speed and extended his lead even further – at the time of writing he has 32 points under his belt. I’m no quitter but I think it’s safe to say I’ll need some very fancy footwork indeed to catch up to him now.

Ork Reinforcements Arrive!

Well here we are, the clock ticking inexorably down towards midnight on the 31^st of Orctober and the end of the annual Orktober Wudugast vs IRO greenskin showdown. You might think I’m on the ropes, with IRO having pulled out an unassailable lead. You might think I’m as good as beaten already. You might be right. But this is the moment in any good high-stakes action thriller when, just as you think the hero might be defeated, that help arrives from an unexpected quarter. The villain (in this case a certain nefarious Australian) hesitates mid-way through his triumphant speech. The hero, paint-splattered and exhausted but still defiant smiles grimly. The audience shifts to the edge of their seats, watching events unfold with baited breath…

Alright, maybe I’m over-egging things a little, but I’ve got something really cool to show you today. I do have a load of Orks painted (not enough to defeat IRO yet but enough to make my defeat less humiliating) and I was going to talk about them today but instead I’m going to save them for tomorrow (by which time who knows, I might even have painted some more). Instead we’re going to look at an Ork painted by someone else – and no, it doesn’t count towards the contest because that would be cheating and if I’m going to be beaten by IRO I’m going to do it fair and square. (The orks painted by my production-line of slave minions locked in the basement do count, of course, but we don’t talk about them in case they start plotting to escape again).

A few days ago I was contacted by fellow blogger and all round top bloke John from Just Needs Varnish (seriously, if you’re not already familiar with him do yourself a favour, go and check him out and give his blog a follow). Those of you who are familiar with him will know Orks aren’t the kind of thing he usually paints but as it happens he did paint one recently and he sent it to me as a gift. What a guy eh!

Now funnily enough this is a Flash Git and I’d been planning to paint some of them this month but, for various reasons, I’ve not got around to them and I really don’t see it happening now. So having resigned myself to not adding any to the army for a little while it was a particularly nice touch to have one arrive out of the blue. The story of how the Ork came to John, and why he then decided to paint it and send it to me is for him to tell if he wants, suffice to say I’m chuffed to bits to have this classy-looking guy in my collection.

Edit: If this has whet your appetite for Gits of a flash variety and you want to read John’s side of the story, he’s now written a post about it which you can find here.

Total Waaagh! – Part 4

Well here we are at the end of week 3 of the great annual Orktober painting battle between the Imperial Rebel Ork and myself. After IRO’s storming start to the month and my fairly dismal performance in week 2 a lot of people will have sensibly written me off so it’s time to come back swinging.

First of all we have this clanking, smoke-belching, rusty monstrosity; a Killa Kan. I’d quite like to add a whole squad of these to the army this month but we’ll see how it goes.

Next, another ork boy…

…and another of the new Beastsnaggas.

Lastly we have a couple of the new Kommandos. Have I mentioned how much I like these models? I like them a lot! This boy is ready to smash the door and unleash havoc!

Whilst his mate is a vicious knife-fighter, and he’s ready to get all stabby!

So let’s see what that all adds up to. To keep things (relatively) fair we’re using a scoring system which you can find out all about here. As a vehicle the Killa Kan is worth 2 points, whilst each of the orks (plus Varag Ghoul-Chewer who got his own post earlier in the week) is worth 1 point each, making this week worth a total of 7 points. Add that to the 5 points I scored in week 1 and the 2 I scored in week 2 and we find ourselves with a grand total of 14 points with just over a week left to go. IRO still has a lead on me but I’m back in the game (note “in” not “on”) and there’s still everything to play for as we hurtle towards November and our cataclysmic showdown.

Total Waaagh! – Part 3

Oh dear, oh dear – not so much progress this week; IRO is going to thrash me this year if I’m not careful! For those who don’t know (where have you been?!) I’m currently involved in an Ork painting contest with fellow blogger, the inimitable IRO, and frankly I’m going to need to get my bum in gear before it turns into a rout. Still, some progress is better than no progress and I’ve been working on a few Orks this week – although sadly I’ve only actually finished two of them.

First of all we have this battle-scarred Beast Snagga (the new “not Snakebites” that Games Workshop added to the Ork range last year).

Sneaking up behind him we have this Ork Kommando (finished after I snuck in some late night painting last night).

So yeah, not loads this week but I do have a lot more Orks on the desk so hopefully next week will be more productive. IRO is pulling out quite the impressive lead on me I think so I’m going to have to really crack on in the second half of the month.

Total Waaagh! – Part 2

Well, here we are – one week into Orktober already and it’s time to take a look at how I’m getting on in my now annual struggle to the death against fellow blogger IRO. (Can one have an annual struggle to the death? I’m going to say yes…).

First up we have this ugly brute, and his mighty squig-hog! I’m not sure you can call this a conversion as I didn’t add anything to him, but I did leave quite a lot off. The original model was a bit too busy I felt, with lots of extra armour, grots hanging on and so forth, and I preferred a more slimmed down look.

Meanwhile this Ork Nob started out as one of the single-pose models from the Assault on Black Reach set but I decided to make him a bit more interesting by chopping off his arms and replacing them, and giving him a new head into the bargain.

In the past I’ve talked about my mixed feelings in regards to the new ork boys kit. I really wish it was easier to kitbash them to create a rag-tag horde of unique models – but on the other hand they do make for cracking miniatures straight out of the box. This one is a particular favourite.

And speaking of cool models, last but not least we have this Kommando.

By my count the Squig-hog rider is worth 2 points and the other 3 models are 1 point each so I’m currently looking at a score of 5 in my contest against IRO (find our “rules”, such as they are, listed here). The coming week is looking pretty busy and I’m going to be working through this weekend so progress is likely to be slow but at least I’m off to a solid start.

Total Waaagh! – Part 1

The boundary between reality and the Warp shivered and bulged before, with a flatulent squelch, tearing itself open. Like a goblet of phlegm coughed up by the green gods themselves the space hulk Wurldbreaka tore free of the immaterium and thundered back into real space. Cut off from their natural home, the daemons which had been attacking the ship began to collapse, wailing and giggling, their unnatural forms crushed by the uncaring hand of harsh physics. Down in the bowels of his ship Mad-Boss Murdakk da Mighty put aside his favourite shoota, giving a last idle kick towards the dissolving carcass of a thing with many eyes and wings which had, until a moment before, been trying to tear off his face with it’s many suckered hands.

“Roight!” he said to no-one in particular, “Let’s find out where we are den!”. All around the ship still echoed to the sounds of wailing grots, decompressing metal and the sudden cracks and bangs as overenthusiastic boys fired a last few shots at dying daemons or their slower and duller-witted mates. Murdakk smiled contentedly to himself. He’d heard that the Imperium, cowardly gits that they were, used a thing called a Geller Field when transversing the Warp in order to keep their ships from being overrun by the howling creatures of Chaos. “Sounds roight borin’ to me”, he muttered, “Gettin’ to fight dose weird gits is da best part of space travel. No wonder humies are weak”.

He turned to Bashem, his second in command. Bashem had all the qualities Murdakk liked in a first officer – being both hard of thinking and an expert in the field of shouting.

“Let’s get to da bridge, find out where we are. I’ve got a good feelin’ about this one!”

+++

“Kaptain on da bridge!” yelled Flickit the grot, smirking to himself as he spotted the predicament of Bugelit, the Mad Boss’s personal grot-herald. Caught quite literally with his pants down, Bugelit hopped desperately back from the drops and reached his station just in time to burst into a rousing chorus of Murdakk’s famous anthem. “Mad-boss, Mad-boss, whatcha going to do? Whatcha going to do when he yurk…”.

“Shaddap,” Murdakk muttered, squashing the little grot flat with one armoured boot. “You”, he jabbed a finger at Flickit, “New Bugelit. Clean dat up!”. Parking his massive bulk in the Kaptain’s chair he growled “Get sensors online”. At once a fearful grot scurried to throw open the shutters and allow the assembled orks to see out through the window.

“Enhance da image”. Obligingly a mob of sweating grots pushed the Mad-Boss closer to the window.

Ahead lay a planet shrouded in dark clouds of filthy smog, the atmosphere occasionally lit by flashes of green lighting. Looking straight down from their vantage-point in the heavens the Orks could see a city directly beneath them, it’s rusty towers emerging from leaning mounds of junk, it’s outer walls ringed by roadways littered with burned out wrecks and its scrap-lined streets busy with the distant figures of thousands of orks.

“I fort so”, the big ork growled. “I’d recognise dat pit anywhere! New Ork Leans! We’re back boys!”

“Fort you said we wur goin’ where da best fightin’ is?” said Furst Mate Bashem uncertainly. Murdakk treated his old buddy to his friendliest scowl. “Don’t you worry mate”, he declared, “We’ve found it!”

Well here we are, another year older and not a bit wiser and it’s time once again for Orktober and my now annual Ork painting challenge vs fellow blogger and all-round top-bloke the Imperial Rebel Ork. IRO has already been hard at work putting together his awesome kitbashes, including laying the foundations of the great greenskin fortress known as New Ork Leans. Meanwhile I’ll be trying to clear my way through more of the heap of unpainted models that have been gathering dust on and around my painting desk. Some of my unpainted orks date back more than a decade so for now the focus of my efforts has switched from “Convert or Die” to “Clear The Backlog or Else!”. Last year I battered through 37 greenskins of various shapes and sizes (and bizarrely enough, so did IRO).

This year I’m aiming to focus on my Warhammer 40k Ork army, although there might be the odd fantasy Orc sneaking in here and there. I’ve been working on this army since the mid-2000s, they were my first 40k army and they’re still probably my favourite faction. Of course a side-effect of this is that there’s a lot of models that have fallen by the wayside and never got the paint they deserved. A month or so IRO posted an inventory of all his Orks so far, which inspired me to look back and do the same thing. Here’s the total fighting strength of my Murda Boyz after almost two decades of recruiting.

1 Warboss

2 Big Meks In Mega Armour

1 Weirdboy

Ghazghkull Thraka (and Makari of course)

105 Ork Boys

22 Gretchin

2 Runt herds

2 Painboys

7 Burna Boys

5 Lootas

16 Nobs

4 Meganobs

5 Stormboyz (although these really need repainted and rebased)

1 Nob riding on a Smasha Squig

3 Deffcoptas

1 Truck

1 Lobba (plus crew)

1 Deffdread

Total – 181 angry futuristic green gits

So what am I planning to paint over the coming month? Well, Orks mainly – I’ve dug out all the stuff I’ve assembled but never got around to painting and its a pretty sizable heap of gits; mostly infantry but also some vehicles, kans and bits of scenery. I don’t want to box myself in by committing to too many specifics but one model I will definitely be aiming to paint is this guy; Boss Snikrot.

I loved the background for him when I bought my first Ork codex, and loved the model even more when it was eventually released. I pre-ordered it with my (at the time very limited) funds and so its somewhat embarrassing that I never painted it. If this is the only model I complete this month I’m calling it a win (IRO may of course argue that this isn’t enough in to count as a win in and of itself and I still need to actually paint more models than him – don’t listen to him!).

That said, even Orks must adhere to the rules of war and this year we’ve structured things a little differently to make sure this cut-throat competition is as sporting as we can manage. Here’s IRO himself to explain how it all works.

This year, after much behind the scenes squabbling, long nights pondering over ancient scriptures and scrolls, debating with scholars and military tacticians we have come up with a new set of rules. 

Last year, quite simply, it was one model = one point. 

This year, still quite simple really, the point scoring system is as follows: 

One greenskin (grot, stormboy, nob etc) = one point 

One vehicle (buggy, trukk, Deff dredd etc) = two points 

One terrain piece (scatter terrain, tower etc) = three points

Anyway, needless to say I’m dead excited about Orks right now, and that’s been translating into a desire to paint something green and mean. On the other hand I wanted so save my Orks for Orktober (somewhat counter-intuitively because the aim is to get my backlog painted not leave it sitting there but go with me here). Instead I wanted to paint something Orky, something that would fit into my Ork army, but not something that I could paint a few days from now and count towards the contest. What a conundrum eh! Luckily I knew exactly which model would fit the bill – a mean little git who’s most definitely not an Ork, in fact he’s a thorn in the side of Orks everywhere; da Red Gobbo.

Da Red Gobbo first appeared back in 1998 where he led the Gretchin Revolutionary Committee in the game Gorkamorka, his goal nothing less than throwing off the shackles of oppression for gretchin everywhere, raising the flag of revolution in every Ork camp and putting the bigger greenskins in their place once and for all. He returned with a limited edition model for Christmas 2020 (which I chose not to buy, feeling it was bit on the pricey side) and another for Christmas 2021 which I caved and snapped up.

I remember when he was announced enjoying a quiet chuckle at the forced controversy that sprang up online, especially in those parts of the internet where people refuse to just enjoy themselves. Either he was very offensive because he mocks Communism (something that must never be the butt of a joke comrade – workers of the world unite!) or he was very offensive because he mocks Communism (something which is no laughing matter – even to mention it without caveats about how dreadful it is places us on a short, slippery slope that ends in a Stalinist purge). Anyway, I think he’s pretty cool. Check this detail out for instance. This is the inside of the squig’s stomach.

That’s right, the sculptor has taken the time to add the various baubles that the greedy squig has eaten, even though no-one will ever see them on the painted model. That’s attention to detail! The one thing I’m not keen on about him is the Christmas theme – that’s a joke that only works on one day of the year and the Gretchin Revolution is for life not just for Christmas. I trimmed away all the Christmas elements, painted him in a more restrained style, and ended up with this. Vive la révolution!

Anyway, dat’s enough rabbitin’ on from me for one day – tomorrow we go to WAAAGH!

Orktober 2021 – Da Big Round Up

So having announced just yesterday that I’m embarking on another painting challenge I thought it was high time I padded my post count took a look back at the last one. Last month was Orktober (sometimes spelled Orctober – but never, ever spelled October because that’s for wimps!). I had a plan for the month; to paint as many of my unpainted greenskins as I possibly could. Then I discovered that my fellow warboss and blogger, the legendary IRO had the same plan and from this a contest was born (more on that below).

Now as the dust settles I find myself looking at 37 newly painted Orks. Want to see what they look like as a group? Of course you do! (As usual don’t do your eyes a mischief by peering at the pictures, click on them for a proper look).

Quite the mob isn’t it, but with so many green bodies crammed together it’s hard to make out what’s going on so let’s take a closer look at some individual groups. My Ork army for Warhammer 40k is my longest-standing collection (that I still have anyway). It was the Orks that first got me into Warhammer 40k back in 4th Edition when I stepped from being a casual observer of the 41st Millennium to being a full-blown addict. Back then the Ork warlord Ghazghkull and the Second and Third Wars for Armageddon were intrinsic to 40k (nobody talks about the First War for Armageddon on pain of being taken away by the Inquisition…). The struggle to control that planet remains one of my favourite 40k storylines and so it was a real pleasure to add Ghazghkull to my collection at last, alongside a whole bunch of other boyz.

It wasn’t all about the grim darkness of the far future however, I worked on a warband of Savage Orcs (or Bonesplitter Orruks if you prefer) to run riot in games of Warcry.

I also added a couple of models to my Kruelboy collection, enough to turn them into a Warcry warband as well. These two very different greenskin philosophies will have to determine which is best soon in the only way they know how – by battering each other silly on the tabletop.

I already have a small collection of Ironjaw Orcs, the bigger, more heavily armoured breed of Orc living in the Mortal Realms (although even a paper bag is more heavily armoured than the Bonesplitters, many of whom forget to even wear clothes). Three more joined the ranks this month, including a pair of Brutes and a hulking Warchanter.

Long before Orcs started looting tanks in the 41st Millennium or sneaking around in the swamps of the Mortal Realms they were indulging in a spot of hobbit-bothering and ransacking the civilisations of Middle Earth in Tolkien’s masterpiece The Lord of the Rings. As I’ve commented many times the LotR miniatures range (or the Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game as it’s known currently) never really hooked me in, but I do have a few Orcs to paint from that range too and this seemed like a fine moment to be working on them.

 Sport has been described as war by other means as nations prove their superiority over one another through teams of athletes rather than armies of soldiers. Of course, if you’re a Black Orc playing Blood Bowl there probably isn’t much difference. This month I motivated myself to get the Orc half of the team painted, and I’ll aim to work on the goblins that accompany them soon.

Of course a team needs a few cheerleaders to keep the fans on side, and no-one in the crowd is going to dare to misbehave with this lady keeping an eye on them!

It wasn’t just about greenskins either, I even managed to sneak in a few other models of a distinctly un-orky persuasion.

And there we have it – 37 greenskins, and 4 other miniatures, not bad for a month’s effort. Of course I didn’t do this alone. A good adversary is vital to an Ork, giving them someone against whom they can test themselves. The more an Ork fights the bigger, tougher and meaner he becomes. Faced with a good enough enemy an Ork who might otherwise have been just a weedy little yoof can grow into a warboss whose tread shakes the galaxy itself. The Commissar Yarrick to my Ghazghkull Thraka was that mightiest of warbosses, the mean, green antipodean, the Imperial Rebel Ork himself. We set out at the start of the month to see which of us could paint the most Orks in a single month and against all odds battled each other to a draw. Really there’s only one thing to do in a situation like that and that’s come back for another go next year!

Orktober – The Final Nobs

The final hours of Orktober are ticking away and it’s time for me to down my brushes, or at least paint something that isn’t green for a change. I wasn’t sure if I would get these three finished in time but the impending deadline inspired me to make one final effort, faint heart having never won fair Ork maiden and all that. 

I couldn’t resist painting up this brutal looking git, an Ork who’s clearly been on the receiving end of many a battering over the years but can still give as good as he gets with that massive axe. 

Then we have this mean individual, kitbashed with spares from the Flash Gits kit. As it happens I intended to paint some Flash Gits this month (and various other things as well) but never got around to it – their time will come however…

Lastly this Nob was inspired by my co-conspirator and fellow Waaagh-lord IRO who painted a similar looking Ork earlier in the month. Is he a sneaky Blood Axe sent to infiltrate my collection on behalf of my rival, or is he just an Ork who knows fashion when he sees it and has copied the iconic look sported by IRO’s miniature? 

And speaking of IRO I’d like to end by giving him a massive shout-out for being a fantastic sport and a great rival in our month-long Ork painting extravaganza. For those who’re only just encountering this for the first time blogger, kitbasher and Ork enthusiast extraordinaire IRO and myself have been spending the whole of this month painting as many greenskins as we could manage. IRO has produced some truly amazing pieces so do go and check out his work if you’re not already familiar with it. For myself this brings my total number of Orcs painted this month to 37 (a quite ridiculous number of models to paint in a month, especially by my standards). I think that deserves a group shot don’t you? I’ll try to get a round-up posted in the next few days. 

Ghazghkull Thraka

He’s the biggest, the toughest, the meanest and quite possibly the greenest. He’s the Beast of Armageddon, the Prophet of the Ork gods, the warboss’s warboss, the bringer of the Great Waaaagh! He’s a force of nature, a figure of legend, and one of the most important characters to stride the galaxy in the 41^st Millennium. No I’m not talking about my fellow Ork enthusiast IRO, although many of these things are true of him as well. Instead I’m talking about Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka, undoubtedly the most famous Ork to have been (allegedly) named after a British Prime Minister.

Ever since I was a yoof Ghazghkull has been my hero, his struggle to unite the warring Ork tribes of his backwater planet and unleash them upon the galaxy at large reflected in my own struggle to paint a mighty greenskin horde of my very own. Sadly the model for old Ghazghkull really wasn’t all that, it appeared to be showing its age even when I discovered the Orks all those years ago (although in fact it hadn’t actually been released that long ago) and time didn’t really do much to put a gloss of nostalgia on it. Thus it wasn’t until early in 2020 that I seriously considered adding Ghazghkull to my own army. That was when a new model was released for him (stalled slightly by the outbreak of good old Covid but even Nurgle can’t halt our boy for long).

Ghazghkull, you see, is hard to kill. Shot through the head by a space marine when was just a young Ork he came back swinging, inspired by the voices of the Ork gods (that only he could hear) to spread the word; it was time for the boys to stop messin’ about and get on with the job of stompin’ the universe flat! During the Psychic Awakening series of books Ghaz went up against the legendary Ragnar Blackmane of the Space Wolves in a fight so ludicrously over-egged and heavy on hyperbole that both characters needed new miniatures afterwards. This time Ghazghkull ended up decapitated entirely and even that wasn’t enough to slow him down for long, soon his head was found and sewn back on and he was ready to roll up his (heavily armoured) sleeves and get back in business.

One of the main things I wanted to do this Orktober was add the big man to my army, even going to far as to paint up his little sidekick Makari in advance. Now, with the month almost over, the big man himself is finished at last. He’s a big lad so the pictures are a little larger than normal, give them a click to see him at his full, imposing, size.

Did I mention that he’s a big lad? Here he is towering over one of the ordinary boyz.

And of course, here he is next to his little buddy and personal flag-waver Makari.

I wanted to give this one my best efforts so although I was keen to get him finished this month I didn’t want to rush him. In the end I’m very pleased with the results, there were some tricky moments (the less said the better about the night spent painting stripes on all the cables only to realise in the morning that it looked terrible) but I got there in the end, and just in time for the end of the month.

Incidentally, if that’s still not enough Ghazghkull for one day I highly recommend you check out this version painted by Mcmattilaminis, it’s a real thing of beauty and was a big inspiration as I tried to get the big man finished myself.

Is he the last of the Orks on my painting desk? Not even close! That said he may well be the last one I paint this Orktober, although the month isn’t quite over yet so who knows…