ISSUE 20

14th June 2014

Editor: Jes Bickham
jes@whitedwarf.co.uk

Assistant Editor: Matt Keefe
mattk@whitedwarf.co.uk

Senior Staff Writer: Adam Troke
adam@whitedwarf.co.uk

Staff Writer: Daniel Harden
dan@whitedwarf.co.uk

Production Lead: Rebecca Ferguson
rebecca@whitedwarf.co.uk

Digital Editor: Melissa Roberts
melissa@whitedwarf.co.uk

Lead Designer: Matthew Hutson
matt@whitedwarf.co.uk

Designer: Kristian Shield
kris@whitedwarf.co.uk

Designer: Ben Humber
ben@whitedwarf.co.uk

Photo Editor: Glenn More
glenn@whitedwarf.co.uk

Photographer: Erik Niemz
erik@whitedwarf.co.uk

Photographer: Martyn Lyon
martyn@whitedwarf.co.uk

Distribution Lead: Andy Keddie
andy@whitedwarf.co.uk

Publisher: Paul Lyons
paul@whitedwarf.co.uk

And so the Ork invasion continues! This week the Meks in the Design Studio bring to bear their latest death-dealing inventions, the Mek Gunz, along with a bold and brilliant new interpretation of an evergreen favourite, the shokk attack gun. I’m still painting up my army of Imperial Knights (I‘m getting a bit obsessed with House Terryn heraldry), but I can feel my hobby focus wavering as the call of the Waaagh! grabs me in its big green grip and refuses to let go…

I’m not the only one, either. Adam, in particular, has been countin’ his teef and proclaimed himself rich beyond measure – to celebrate, he has written features on the most notable Ork Waaaghs! and the fact that you can now build a properly shooty Ork army, thanks to advent of the Mek Gunz, Gorkanaut, shokk attack gun and Flash Gitz. More dakka is always a welcome thing.

I hope you enjoy the issue – why not drop us a line at team@whitedwarf.co.uk and let us know what your favourite bit is?

Jes Bickham - White Dwarf Editor

Orks love dakka, and there is no finer example of pure Orky firepower than the hulking artillery pieces known as Mek Guns. With batteries of these at their disposal, the Gretchin can tear, smash and crush the enemy from afar while the Boyz get stuck in with choppas.

Above - The bubblechukka projects a wide orb of force field energy around its victims, before contracting it to crush them to death.

Ork Mek Boys are responsible for making all the weird and wreckful wargear the greenskinned hordes unleash on the battlefield. With nothing more than a mismatched pile of scrap, they can build guns, armour or even war machines, just as long as you give them enough time. Of course, the number one item that any Warboss wants his Meks making is things that kill the enemy in as noisy, explosive and messy a manner as possible and thus, in Ork camps everywhere, the mekshops resound to the clangour of industry, as volatile munitions, temperamental power supplies and endless cabling are cobbled together to produce the wonder weapons known to the Orks simply as Mek Guns.

These formidable artillery pieces are among the most powerful weapons in the Orks’ long-ranged arsenal, capable of turning the tide of battle. Firing them usually falls to the Grots, who take a vicious glee in letting off massive explosions and killing things in new and unusual ways, all the while remaining a safe distance from the target.

The Ork Mek Gun kit contains everything you need to make one massive Mek Gun and its attendant crew of six industrious Gretchin. The gun resembles a crude artillery piece equipped with one of four characteristically Orky weapons: the bubblechukka, smasha gun, traktor kannon and kustom mega-kannon.

The design of the kit means that you can build the main chassis, including the wheels, firing position and gunshield first, then choose the type afterwards. The traktor kannon – identified by the central barrel surrounded by four metal ‘petals’ – is designed to grab hold of enemy flyers and rip them out of the skies with a powerful force beam, using the momentum of the target against itself. The kustom mega-blasta is an energy weapon that can punch holes through tanks with ease (although it’s seldom safe for the unlucky Grots firing it). The smasha gun, which resembles a large claw, uses lifta-droppa technology to hurl enemy vehicles about, crushing them against the ground with dreadful power. The last gun in this brutal quartet is the bubblechukka, a comedic-looking but often brutally effective weapon that projects a force field around its intended target. While that might not sound especially deadly, the bubblechukka then tightens the field of power until anything within it is crushed slowly and painfully to death.

Above - The kustom mega-blasta fires a zappy ray of energy that scythes through flesh and armour with brutal efficiency.

The gun chassis is bodged together from crudely-shaped armour plates and set on a pair of tires that wouldn’t look out of place on an Ork Warbuggy. In fact, the whole artillery piece has the look of something that could easily be towed into battle by a Trukk or Wartrakk, dumped in an advantageous firing position, and left to provide cover while the bigger, tougher Boyz dash into battle.

There are six Gretchin in the kit, and in many ways these are the stars of the show. Each of them oozes typical Gretchin character and ‘charm’, a comical mix of industriously operating the war machine and blatantly slacking off. There are actually seven heads in the set, and any of them will fit onto any of the Gretchin bodies. Many of the arms are also interchangeable, meaning you can create a wide variety of Gretchin (easily numbering into the hundreds). Typically, one Grot acts as a spotter on the little observer’s platform beside the main gun, four act as the crew and one is an Ammo Runt – with a bit of care you can give them combinations of all the right arms and heads to fulfil each of these roles, with binoculars for the spotter, a crate containing some kind of power cell for the Ammo Runt and a selection of ’ard at work limbs for the rest of the runts. (Our favourite is the lazy git leaning on a cable drum.)

This kit is one of the most entertaining things we’ve seen in a long time, and brings quirky, kustomisable and, most importantly, deadly dakka to your amy. AT

Above, Left- Behind the main gun is a complex array of controls which look like they’ve been pilfered from some kind of Adeptus Mechanicus device and then cobbled together with lenses, dials and associated wotnots.

Above, right - The Mek Gun has a pair of stabilisers to prevent excessive recoil, anchored into the ground with crude but effective claws.

Above, left - The spotter’s platform enables you to place a plucky Gretchin in position to direct the Mek Gun’s fire.

Above, right - The kit comes with a choice of two gunshields – either this one with the vision slit cut out of it, or an alternative shield with a heavy gauge mesh protecting the spotter from incoming attack.

Above - The smasha gun uses lifta-droppa technology to fling its victims about, smashing infantry or vehicles to pieces against the floor or each other.

Above - The traktor kannon is a typically Orky solution to dealing with enemy flyers. It fires a beam of energy that grabs hold of the target and brings it smashing down into the ground, akin to fixing an invisible anchor to a passing fighter jet.

Ork Big Meks have an innate understanding of technology and the shokk attack gun is the pinnacle of their craft. Utilising powerful force field generators, it tears a hole in reality, delivering a payload of rabid Snotlings through the Warp and into the enemy battleline.

Easily one of the most recognisable weapons in the Ork arsenal, the shokk attack gun doesn’t fire conventional ammunition but, rather, anything the Big Mek can scoop up nearby, hurling his deadly cargo through the Warp to appear near, on, or even inside his target. In this case the ‘ammunition’ is an unfortunate Snotling, who’s in the process of being hoovered into the gun’s ammo chute.

To Orks, bigger always means better, and the shokk attack gun’s massive bulk is barely held aloft by the Big Mek carrying it into battle. Indeed, the Mek is so busy with his creation that he’s constructed a rig to help him carry it, a hefty hydraulic arm mounted on his shoulder to stabilise the vast weapon.

This new plastic kit remains faithful to the shokk attack gun’s time-honoured design, complete with whirly gubbinz (a technical term for the spinning force field array) and all manner of pipes, cables and energy coils of dubious safety and reliability. Not renowned as cautious scientists, the danger of using it is lost on the Big Mek, who’s clearly enjoying himself, mouth agape and legs braced as he prepares to open a new tunnel through the Warp. DH

Above, left - The terrified Snotling about to disappear into the shokk attack gun is already being stretched and twisted into Warp matter. How he’ll emerge at the other end of the Warp tunnel is anyone’s guess, effects ranging from utterly rabid to completely pureed. On occasion, the Snotling may not emerge at all, replaced by a raging ball of incandescent Warp energy. This is, of course, exactly what the Big Mek planned all along…

Above, right - The ammo chute into the shokk attack gun may look innocuous, but it’s actually the entrance to a powerful Warp gateway. Bulges along its length suggest that unlucky Snotlings are already on their way into the weapon, where they’ll be blasted across space and time, hopefully in the general direction of the enemy.

Containing ten hardback books, including Warhammer 40,000: The Rules and nine small-format Codexes, the Warhammer 40,000 Librarium is the ultimate addition for your hobby bookshelf.

The Warhammer 40,000 Librarium is a shelf-busting selection of small-format, hardback books contained within a slipcase. It includes the nine most recent Codexes (Chaos Space Marines, Dark Angels, Daemons of Chaos, Eldar, Tau Empire, Space Marines, Tyranids, Imperial Knights and Astra Militarum), along with a copy of Warhammer 40,000: The Rules. Each book is bound in a new style, with glorious artwork on one side and a unique army icon detailed with the Citadel Vault logo on the reverse. The smaller size of these books makes them ideal for tucking into your bag to take to games, but act fast because the Librarium is only available while stocks last. AT

The Adeptus Mechanicus travel to the ends of the galaxy in search of the fabled Breath of the Gods.

By Graham McNeill

Paperback | 416 pages

Following on from Priests of Mars, Lords of Mars is now available in a premium paperback edition.

Magos Kotov’s expeditionary force has travelled beyond the limits of the galaxy in search of an arcane device known as the Breath of the Gods. McNeill captures the politicking and intrigue of the Adeptus Mechanicus perfectly, with loads of sub-stories that began in Priests of Mars fleshed out in this novel. The action is unrelenting, with Kotov’s forces taking on crystalline alien life forms in their quest to find the fabled artefact. While the Titans of Legio Sirius and the Black Templars are the book’s action heroes, my favourite character is Magos Dahan, a Mechanicus Secutor with an axe to grind. DH

Pursuit of an ancient relic, lost since the time of the Heresy, stalls Lord Solar’s mighty Crusade.

By William King

Paperback | 416 pages

A decade has passed since the events of Angel of Fire, and the Crusade of Lord Solar Macharius has brought hundreds of worlds back into the Imperial fold. But a chance to reclaim the Fist of Demetrius draws the attention of the Warmaster and his band of followers. Sergeant Lemuel and his trusted crew must protect Macharius from the menaces of the battlefield, internal threats and an alien warlord more sinister and powerful than any they have matched wits with before. Fist of Demetrius is an absolute triumph, painting the Warmaster, a man pulled straight from legend, as a believable character of flesh and blood.

The second in the Macharian Crusade series, Fist of Demetrius is now available in paperback for the first time. AT

The long aeons of Phil Kelly’s Design Studio existence have seen warlords rise and fall, whole worlds conquered, entire armies mustered and obliterated. Here he talks about those faithful little warriors who’ve soldiered on through it all…

Phil is one of the Design Studio’s background writers and has been around long enough to revisit most of his armies a good seven or eight times…

Whenever a new rulebook, Codex, army book or even dataslate comes out, I find my enthusiasm for its subject matter reinvigorated. It’s not long before I’m looking at my collection with fresh eyes. (Being a Dark Eldar fan, I keep a bunch of these in a pickle jar in the garage.) If I already have a force from whatever faction is in the spotlight, I’ll usually refashion that army to try out new approaches and configurations. Models get moved from one squad to another, champions get promoted or demoted, and brand new items, squads and vehicles find their way into the force. This process owes more to what I think looks cool than new battlefield tricks, but it touches on the core of what I’d like to talk about this month – namely, the fact that once a model in your collection is assembled and painted, they’re in it for the long haul.

Let me introduce you to Sergeant Jaric Graegor of the Midgardia 144th. I always intended this chap to be a mid-tier character in my Imperial Guard army, but I’ve never got around to installing a more senior officer. Until I do, Graegor’s the man on the spot. Over the last 12 years, he’s faced the horrors of the 41st Millennium with little more than a bolt pistol, a chainsword and a nifty haircut. In that time, I’ve used the model in more games than I can remember, from squad-level skirmishes to the kind of game you need an empty hall, a dozen mates and a lot of pizza to really pull off.

Graegor started his career as part of an ‘inducted’ force chosen from the Daemonhunters Codex of 2002, a book which included an earlier, cruder version of the allies system. I’d originally collected a few squads of Cadians to bolster my Radical Inquisitors and their cyber-weirdo retinues, purely because I like infantry models, and head swaps in particular. Almost all of my Imperial Guard had bare heads, some as hairy as a Yhetee’s derriere, others entirely bald or with close-cropped grey hair. At the time, the concept for the force was that they had been on the wrong end of a Warp transition, and had returned many decades older than when they set out, leaving a kind of Home Guard assemblage of grizzled geriatrics. These guys made it to the tabletop over and over again, not only in lunchtime games of 40K, but also as a Kill Team of tough old buzzards – think Colonel Schaeffer and his infamous Last Chancers, but with more dentures and toilet breaks.

The force grew larger and larger, gaining a couple of heavily-converted Rhinos, some Stormtroopers (recently given new life as Tempestus Scions), a trio of Sentinels and the Ogryns I call the Canteen Crew. Before long, Graegor and his lads split off from their Inquisition masters, going it alone as a compact but characterful army of Imperial Guard. I really enjoyed playing games as a humble servant of the Imperium for a few years; even though I’d never really intended to have a separate Guard army, that’s where I ended up.

Then came the Space Wolves. I’d originally opted for a blue-grey and white colour scheme for Graegor’s Guard and, when the Sons of Russ hit the gaming scene like an avalanche of fur and bad attitude in 2009, I reinvented the Sarge’s gang as the garrison from a world neighbouring Fenris. All those hairy heads came in very useful in tying the two forces together. With the addition of a few wolf-tail talismans across the army, the Midgardia 144th were born.

Before you could say boo to a Daemonhost, my Inquisitorial Rhinos were revisited, their Inquisitorial seals replaced with wolf heads, lupine bones and the nose-wrinkling scent of wet dog. Strangely, Graegor and his chums had spurred my first proper foray into the world of power armour and mass-reactive bolt guns. So began a collection of Space Wolves that is now larger and louder than my Imperial Guard force.

For a while these guys only fought together in games of Apocalypse. When the allies rules were introduced in the last edition of Warhammer 40,000, the collusion became stronger than ever. I had a lot of fun exploring the strengths and weaknesses of a highly varied army, all tied together by the same colour scheme.

This approach has just been blown wide open by the advent of the latest edition of Warhammer 40,000. Before this point I found it difficult to cram the sheer number of Fenrisian Wolves, Thunderwolves, Cyberwolves, belligerent Alaskan huskies and ambitious Yorkshire terriers I had painted up into the same army as the Guardsmen, but the new rules allow me to field precisely what I please. With the release of Codex: Astra Militarum, Graegor’s got a whole new set of orders to issue and I’ve revisited all those Imperial Guard models I painted over a decade ago. Naturally, I have been spurred on to add more stuff to that army; I have on my painting desk another large platoon of Cadians, each with a different hairy head taken from my Space Wolves bitz box. This time their Sergeants wield Fenrisian-style power axes, which look very fierce.

I’ll soon be investing in some Militarum Tempestus Scions to accompany my existing Guardsmen, and I couldn’t resist buying an Imperial Knight, which I’ll be painting in the white of House Degallio with a little blue-grey as a spot colour. It’s a good time to be an Imperial citizen, even if my Radical Inquisitors might not enjoy their Fenrisian allies growling at them whenever they dabble in a bit of harmless Daemonology.

Sergeant Jaric ‘a chainsword’ll do me fine’ Graegor’s journey doesn’t end there. Once in a while, I will field every Imperial miniature I can muster in a huge game of Apocalypse. The Midgardia 144th are occasionally in the driving seat, and Graegor finds himself promoted to Warlord – or even Warmaster – of the entire Imperial side. I love the idea of a humble Astra Militarum Sergeant thrust into overall command by a quirk of fate. The idea of old Jaric calling upon a Finest Hour and benefiting from some superhero-like abilities is making me grin even as I write. I can just imagine Marneus Calgar standing nearby, trying his best not to look upset.

Next up, my Midgardia lads will be reinvented once again, pretending to be Cadians in an upcoming Studio campaign. In the end, they can take any role to better forge a cool narrative. Be they Daemonhunters, Fenrisian wannabes, Cadian Shock Troops, Last Chancers or even downtrodden bullet catchers in an Imperial Shield Infantry Company, the Sarge and his guys will be at the front line.

I can just hear their rousing battlecries now: “For Midgardia, for Fenris and/or for Cadia, charge!”

The Ork term ‘Waaagh!’ is at once a war cry, a rallying call and the word that the greenskins use to describe a massive Ork crusade. When a Waaagh! is unleashed, worlds fall, and all the galaxy trembles in dread. Here, Adam Troke explains it all.

It is a commonly-held belief among the great and the good of the Imperium that the Orks are one of the gravest threats to besiege the galaxy. Orks are a prolific and relentless menace that cannot be avoided, reasoned with or placated. Worse still, Orks are apparently without number, able to repopulate even catastrophic losses at an alarming rate. They require little by way of industry or infrastructure to operate, instead possessing the ability to easily manufacture highly-effective weapons and wargear, just as long as there is a suitable source of raw materials (or things that can be broken down into raw materials). If Ork society possesses a weakness, it is that the greenskin tribes are constantly riven by squabbles and rivalries which often see them squander their impressive military power with infighting or outright civil war.

Sadly for those who oppose Ork-kind (mostly everyone), this relentless need for violence also provides the Orks with one of their greatest strengths, since all Orks revere pure might and kunnin’ and will rally behind the biggest, toughest greenskin within their number. For a greenskin, all that matters is that might makes right and the only person worth following is one who can krump you harder than you can krump him. As such, this incessant infighting will eventually reveal the biggest, baddest, nastiest Ork in the group or tribe, and that’s where the real problems start. Such an Ork will take upon himself a glorious appellation, such as Warlord, Overlord or Arch-fiend, and carve himself a domain within the stars that grows bigger and more deadly with every victory it claims.

Since the Imperium’s earliest days humanity has contended with greenskin empires, and endless wars have been waged to clear areas of space of Orkish infestations. Even as early as the time of the Great Crusade, Orks were a blight on the nascent Imperium. In fact, it was the shattering of the mighty empire of the Ork Warlord Urlakk Urg that proved Horus Lupercal worthy of the title Warmaster.

Urlakk had created such a colossal empire that it took the absolute might of Horus’s Legion, supported by unfathomable numbers of Imperial Army soldiers, to crush his domain in a massive campaign remembered as the Ullanor Crusade. Of course, this event took place at a time when the Imperium had the luxury of deploying 100,000 warriors of the Adeptus Astartes to a single battlefield, and possessed champions as mighty as the Primarchs to call upon. Even so the eventual victory was only won after protracted and gruelling fighting.

Through Horus’s victory at Ullanor, and the combined efforts of the Legiones Astartes elsewhere, the Ork threat was much reduced, at least for a time, but the Orks have ever been quick to recover.

The presence of an Ork empire is a significant menace to all around it, but painful experience has taught the armies of the Imperium that there is often worse to come: eventually the Warlord will decide to take his own brutal brand of dominion to the stars. This uniquely Ork phenomenon is known as a Waaagh! Essentially a greenskinned crusade, a Waaagh! is a massive military expedition that sets out with some vague goal in mind (to kick in an old rival’s ’ead in, capture a resource-rich forge world or similar), but all end with the same inevitable result – hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Ork Boyz rampaging from world to world in fleets of ramshackle star ships.

During the 32nd Millennium what is widely considered the mightiest Waaagh! of all time struck the galaxy, as an Ork Warlord known as the Beast nearly conquered the galaxy. Thousands of worlds were lost to the greenskins, billions were slain and the Imperium was brought to its knees. In the end, the incredible efforts of the Adeptus Astartes, Astra Militarum and Imperial Navy turned the tide; some say the Imperium has never fully recovered from the extreme measures required for victory.

One result of the Waaagh! of the Beast was that the Imperium realised it could never again allow an Ork Waaagh! to gain such momentum unchecked. In the millennia since, the Officio Assassinorum, Adeptus Astartes and Militarum Tempestus have all played their part in pacifying nascent Waaaghs! by eradicating likely Ork Warlords before they can plunge the galaxy into flames once again. Agents of the Ordo Xenos watch anxiously for signs of a Waaagh! gaining pace so they can quash it. Such efforts are fraught with peril, and many assassins have been pummelled to death by would-be victims. The memory of the Obsidian Glaives Space Marines Chapter – wiped out attempting to halt the building Waaagh! of Ork Warlord Grukk Face-Rippa – shows just how costly trying to counter the Ork threat can be.

In the waning years of the 41st Millennium, has experienced a marked increase in Ork activity. Between the vast Ork empire of Charadon, which threatens to engulf Ultramar, and the lunatic advances of Waaagh! Wazdakka, the Imperium faces a tumultuous time ahead.

Of all the Waaaghs! now threatening the galaxy, two stand out as particularly alarming. The first is that of Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka. For more than 70 years he has proven one of the Imperium’s greatest foes, and only a stupendous effort and expenditure of resources have so far deflected his machinations. Many fear, however, that Ghazghkull is just getting started, and that his belief he is on a divinely appointed mission from the Ork gods Gork and Mork is no mere delusion.

While xenologists argue about the nature of Ghazghkull’s Waaagh!, the invasion fleet of Grukk Face-Rippa claims victory upon victory, setting a region of Imperial space to the galactic north of the Maelstrom ablaze. Even by the appallingly brutal standards of Ork Warlords, Grukk has gained a reputation for taking vicious and sadistic glee in killing his rivals and opponents – the moniker ‘Face-Rippa’ is no mere epithet. Currently his colossal fleet of warships is setting Sanctus Reach ablaze, their red-painted hulls actually daubed in the blood of countless thousands of slain victims. Still reeling from the drastic losses inflicted at Armageddon, many wonder if the strength remains to halt Grukk’s offensive. AT

THE ARCH-ARSONIST

Nestled to the west of the Ultima Segmentum is the domain of the Arch-Arsonist of Charadon. For centuries this troublesome neighbour has been kept in check by the Ultramarines, however Snagrod, the current ruler of this domain, has sworn that he will overthrow the Ultramarines, and is preparing a Waaagh! of epic proportions.

THE UNFORTUNATE CASE OF ARMAGEDDON

While the Imperium numbers something in the region of a million worlds, few possess the notoriety of Armageddon. While it was the site of a terrible Daemonic invasion, few living souls have any knowledge of that. Instead, this mighty Hive World’s reputation comes from the twin invasions of Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka.

During the first of Ghazghkull’s invasions, the planet would surely have fallen were it not for the heroic leadership of one Commissar Yarrick. Though the Orks smashed several of the Hive cities, and ruled the field against the Armageddon Steel Legion, Yarrick marshalled an incredible defence of Hades Hive. Against all odds and in the face of a never-ending greenskin onslaught, Hades prevailed when reinforcements arrived in the form of three Chapters of Space Marines. With their efforts, Ghazgkull was thwarted and the wracked world of Armageddon was delivered from the hands of the greenskins… for a time.

Unfortunately, while the Imperium considered the Armageddon war a great victory, Ghazghkull thought of it as a bit of fun and good practice, and exactly 57 years to the day after the previous war, Ghazghkull returned. This time, as a statement of his intent, Ghazghkull flattened Hades Hive by dropping massive rocks on it from outer space. In a stroke, the symbol of Armageddon’s defiance and chief bastion of resistance was destroyed, and the planet was left with a single stern warning that would become synonymous with the brutality of Ghazghkull: surrender or die.

This time, three Chapters would not be sufficient to halt the Beast of Armageddon, and by the end of the conflict scores of Astra Militarum regiments, more than two dozen Space Marine Chapters and countless other Imperial organs had bled to halt the Orks. Even now, with Ghazghkull having moved on, the planet remains contested by the greenskins.

NAZDREG UG URDGRUB

One of the most remarkable things about Ghazgkull is his ability to join Orks to his cause. Perhaps his most profitable alliance was with the Waaagh! of Bad Moon Warlord Nazdreg, widely considered the most kunnin’ Ork tactician of all time. This alliance came to a sticky end, however, after the grievous battle against the Dark Angels at Piscina IV. Initially thought slain at the hands of the Dark Angels, a resurgence of sightings of his Space Hulk Scylla suggest reports of Nazdreg’s death has been greatly exaggerated.

WAAAGH! WAZDAKKA

Waaagh! Wazdakka serves as an example of the kind of insane kunnin’ and megalomaniacal schemes that can drive an Orky crusade onwards. Led by the notorious Speed Freek Wazdakka Gutsmek, Waaagh! Wazdakka is driven by a crazy idea that Gutsmek and his Boyz can somehow join worlds using the same technology that enables Warp-faring vessels to enter the Immaterium. Wazdakka’s sole aim is to create a network by which he can ride his massively super-charged and up-gunned warbike from one end of the galaxy to the other without having to dismount.

Despite his apparent lunacy, Wazdakka is a highly successful Warboss, bringing dozens of worlds under his dominion, carving out an empire that spans a large chunk of Segmentum Pacificus and Segmentum Solar. There are reports that Wazdakka may be planning to meet up with Waaagh! Ghazghkull.

One of the things that sets Wazdakka Gutsmek apart from most Warbosses leading a Waaagh! of their own is that he rides into battle on a massive kustom warbike, a dangerous occupation under any circumstances. Rather than avoiding risks, Gutsmek openly embraces them, and the tale of how he raced up a mesa to leap his warbike into the face of an attacking Imperial Titan is legendary. For a Warboss as crazed as Gutsmek, catching fire (and having to repair his bike) was worth the satisfaction he got wiping out the Titan crew with his massive power klaw.

WAAAGH! TUSKA

Of the many Waaaghs! to assail the galaxy, Waaagh! Tuska could be considered the most mystifying. What initially seemed to bear all the hallmarks of a more traditional Ork invasion took a peculiar turn when Tuska and his Boyz, having conquered a planet on the edge of the Eye of Terror, turned away from the awaiting Imperial battlefleet and launched their Waaagh! right into the swirling Warp rift.

What awaited the greenskins within the maddening realm beyond the Eye was an eternity of battle the like of which no Ork had ever dared imagine. The Greenskins found themselves embroiled on a world the colour of blood. There Tuska and his lads finally met their match, as unending legions of Khorne Daemons assailed them. For Tuska, this was the best possible outcome, and the fun he had more than compensated for the disappointment of his eventual defeat.

“I’m da profit of da Waaagh! an’ whole worlds burn in my boot prints… I iz more kunnin’ than a grot an’ more killy than a dread, da boyz dat follow me can’t be beat. … I’m Warlord Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka an’ I speak wiv da word of da gods. We iz gonna stomp da ’ooniverse flat an’ kill anyfing that fights back. We iz gonna do this coz’ we’re Orks an’ we was made ta fight an’ win!”

– Scrawl found on a destroyed Imperial Titan

The Citadel Hall of Fame is a collection of the finest miniatures in the world, nominated by the people who know best: the artists, figure painters and designers themselves. This month, Forge World model maker Daren Parrwood nominates the Lord of the End Times.

SCULPTED BY BRIAN NELSON
NOMINATED BY DAREN PARRWOOD

Daren is a renowned Forge World model maker, with a penchant for tanks and flyers.

Daren: At the time that Brian was designing the Archaon model, I was working as a mould maker assigned to the Design Studio. Even while I was making the master moulds, I was deeply impressed with the design and the vision that Brian had for the model, and I remain so more than ten years later.

As a hobbyist myself, I am primarily a collector of centrepiece miniatures, and I think that is a large part of why Archaon appeals to me so much – mounted on Dorghar and with his chaos blade outstretched, the Archaon miniature has a strong, statuesque quality. Whatever angle you look at it from, there is some inspiring detail to behold. The composition of the model is reminiscent of a classical painting of a historical general, or a life-sized bronze sculpture on a plinth celebrating a famous victory. The flavour of the model is undeniably Chaotic too, treading that fine line between Archaon being covered in exquisite detail, yet still practical. He looks invincible, rather than flamboyant.

Below, left - “There is a flow of dynamic motion on the Archaon model that I find particularly impressive,” says Daren. “You can see it in the way Dorghar is rearing up, his head tilted to the side, his cloak swinging up in the direction of Archaon’s raised sword.”

Below, right - “I imagined that Archaon was so vile and corrupted that wherever his steed trod the ground was despoiled and perverted,” Brian says. “The base is detailed with evidence of this warp-corrupted taint, a nod to his role as Lord of the End Times.”

Brian is a mainstay of the Citadel design team, responsible for fantastic models, from Cadian Guardsmen to the Warhammer Giant.

Brian: I find it very heartening that Archaon is still so well regarded, even after all this time. He actually caused me considerable consternation as I designed him. As I neared completion I began to get anxious that I had done it all ‘right’. Behind that concern was the knowledge that I had only recently finished work on a boxed set of Chaos Knights, which had been a significant evolution of the previous models, and I wanted Archaon to possess such presence that anyone looking at them would know he was lord over them – and that’s no mean feat when you consider how powerful and brutal they appear.

Daren’s words on Archaon possessing a statuesque quality help me feel I got it right. I believe we as hobbyists find our models spend more time on painting tables and the shelves of our cabinets than they ever do on a gaming table. To that end, I always aim to make miniatures that show well. My aim is to give each model a sense of presence, from a lowly infantryman or an Orc within a mob of Boyz to Archaon the Everchosen, Lord of the End times. My goal is to create models that engage with the imagination of our hobbyists, and reflect the imagery and story behind the Citadel miniature.

Orks are renowned for their savagery in close combat and the brutal delight with which they clobber their foes. Adam explores the idea that Orks aren’t just great in an assault, but can also conquer the galaxy with copious amounts of dakka.

Adam Troke is obsessed with the art of fire discipline, and believes even an Ork can be convinced to win through firepower.

“Orks are the close combat army.” We’ve all heard it said around a gaming table when comparing the attributes of various forces, or when introducing the greenskins to a newcomer to our hobby. “They’re great for overwhelming people in a fight,” is another good example of this universally agreed philosophy. And I happen to agree with it. They are great at smashing skulls and they always do well in a scrap. They should do, they’re Orks after all.

I just happen to think that Orks are also sensational at the shootier aspect of the game. When I was a teenager, I had a very shooty army based around some artillery, a squad of Death Skull Lootas and a Big Mek with shokk attack gun – and it caused carnage. A lot has changed in the (nearly 20) years since, and in my mind the Orks were no longer on their perch as a Dakka-oriented force, That is, until a spate of battles against Erik and Dan (a pair of Ork Warbosses) here in the office.

When my Tyranid army went to war against Dan, I found myself getting shot to ribbons by his Looted Wagon (the ominously-named ‘Boom Wagon’) and his Shoota Boyz. As I removed yet another Genestealer brood from the battlefield, I realised that Ork shooting was as good as it has ever been. Erik’s singular Air-Waaagh! philosophy also provided a stark wake-up call to my Dark Angels.

The brilliance behind the Orks as a shooting army is that they have so much dakka at their disposal that they can do basically any job. Need enemy tanks busted? Call in the Mek with shokk attack gun, use some Mek Guns or bring in the Tank Bustas. Need hordes of infantry gunning down? Consider the charms of a Bubblechucka, some Death Skull Lootas or the Burna Boyz. There is a specific shooting unit for every occasion.

Now, many will decry the Orks for their Ballistic Skill, and the traditional standpoint is that Orks couldn’t hit a Squiggoth with a slugga at ten paces. Allow me to make a couple of observations on that, however, using the ubiquitous Shoota Boyz and my own Dark Angels Tactical Marines as my example. For about the same points, you can have 12 Shoota Boyz or Five Dark Angels… Now, bolters have a longer range than the shooters, but if you can keep your Boyz from getting within rapid fire range of the Space Marines, you’ll actually find you can outshoot them with weight of fire. The odds are the Orks will triumph, especially if you can keep your Boyz from dying. So, here’s my thinking – if you want to play the shooting game, get your gun-toting Boyz forwards and into some cover, where they will get decent saving throws against incoming enemy fire, which will improve your Boyz’ longevity and tip the odds further in your favour. A city ruin or Aegis Defence Line will halve your casualties from bolter fire or pulse rifles in a heartbeat.

So, here’s my top tip for budding Ork Warbosses, or long in the toof Nobz who are looking to get a new kick out of unleashing the Waaagh! Stock up on some shootas, get your Tank Bustas out of mothballs and treat yourself to a battery of Mek Guns – not only is rolling handfuls of dice when shooting enjoyable, but it will also take your opponent by surprise. AT

SHOCKING DEVElOPMENTS

Nothing conveys the insane deadliness of Ork shooting quite like the mighty shokk attack gun. This weapon works by projecting a tunnel into the Warp, through which unfortunate Snotlings are propelled directly into the enemy. Literally into the target. The sudden appearance of a screaming, wriggling Snotling in a ribcage, skull or ammunition hopper is usually fatal for all involved.

The shokk attack gun’s rules reflect this madness, with a host of random elements. However, behind them are several undeniable truths. First, the gun has a Large Blast, which means it can hit a lot of targets and the Ork Ballistic Skill is less of an issue. Secondly, with AP2, even Terminators are in trouble if they are hit by it, and vehicles can be destroyed by a penetrating hit. Finally, the random Strength of 2D6 (averaging 7) makes it one of the deadliest (if most unpredictable) guns on the battlefield.

BRING THE BIG ’UNS

The shooting power of the Ork vehicles should also never be overlooked. Killa Kans and Deff Dreads can be stocked up with an outrageous amount of firepower (and since Killa Kans shoot better than most Orky stuff, give them rokkit launchers). Battlewagons can have the very desirable killkannon (and an Ork big gun into the bargain, if you want), which makes a bloody mess of Space Marines, Tau and Eldar with equal indiscrimination.

From a shooting standpoint, I’d also recommend the Morkanaut, which possesses two anti-tank weapons but also comes with the option for a kustom force field, which ensures plenty of Boyz or nearby vehicles can take a bit more shooting from the enemy.

WATCH THE HAND...

Alex Boyd is one of the Design Studio’s most notorious Ork Warbosses. For years, this otherwise quiet and unassuming artist has unleashed his massive Evil Sunz army on the unwary. As a result, he’s a repository of good ol’ fashioned Orky advice. Lissen’ up.

Alex: Adam has hit on something with his take on Ork shooting, and my own experience with the Boyz backs it up. Orks may lack the shooting finesse of the Tau or the Eldar, but they do well with volume fire. My army has a lot of big shootas in it, and these always feel like a real luxury – my Orks win by making my opponent take so many armour saves that eventually the casualties start to rack up.

The key to this are my mobs of Shoota Boyz, who have seen increased use over recent months. They pour out a lot of shots every turn, and that’s very satisfying, but their biggest advantage is actually in dealing with my opponent’s counter charges. Small elite units struggle to even make it into assault against them. I often find that I can wipe out a unit of Genestealers or Dark Eldar Wyches, just through Overwatch when my Boyz are charged. Most armies see a big loss in accuracy with Overwatch, but the Orks aren’t that bothered, since they just need 6+ to hit instead of 5+. The same is actually true of almost all Ork shooting units. I played a game against Phil Kelly’s Tyranids recently, and my Tank Bustas inflicted three Wounds on a Carnifex in a single shooting phase, and then finished the beast off with Overwatch fire when it charged them in Phil’s following turn. Ten rokkit launchers are dangerous, even if they need 6s to hit.

The one place I would offer additional advice is to point out that using lots of firepower with the Orks needs a distraction to work really well. Your opponent isn’t going to let you have it all your own way, and he’ll kill your most threatening units one at a time if you let him, so I employ a little bit of ‘watch the hand’ shenanigans. While my (very cheap) mobs of Boyz run across the table like an angry green distraction, my bigger guns are spared the worst of the enemy shooting in return. Not many people are willing to ignore 30 Boyz bearing down on ’em.

UNLEASH THE AIR-WAAAGH!

Erik Niemz has earned himself something of a reputation with his Orks, insisting on taking at least one Dakkajet into battle in every game he plays.

Erik: It’s not going to surprise anyone, but I can’t believe Adam didn’t talk more about the Ork flyers. They are the best things in the Ork arsenal in my opinion, not just because they are a lot of fun to use in the game (they are), but because they are so powerful when they attack.

My first pick when I use my Ork army is my Dakkajet, which I always upgrade with the extra supa shoota, for nine twin-linked shots every turn. Supa shootas are Strength 6, which means that most flesh and blood targets are going to be blown to bits by your high-velocity slugs if you can get a bead on them. Even vehicles are in danger if you can line up on their side or rear armour. I’ve lost count of the number of times I have swooped down with my Dakkajet and blown up a Chimera or Rhino tank with a burst. The range on the supa shootas is also fantastic. You can take your pick of targets on the battlefield from the turn your Dakkajet zooms into play. Even better, in the turn you call a Waaagh! all your Waaagh! Planes get a nice rosy bonus to their shooting attacks. All those extra shots quickly add up.

I’ve got to give a nod to the other Orky war planes too. The Blitza-bommer is good at killing absolutely everything, since it can drop two massive boom bombs during the course of a game. These bombs have the Armourbane rule, so they shred vehicle armour with ease, and that all-important AP2 gives them the edge when it comes to rolling on the Armour Penetration table. Some people say these are unreliable (because there is a chance you might crash and burn), but I say don’t worry… if you crash a bommer onto your victim, it’s even more devastating for them!

The Burna-bommer is great for digging units out of cover, and there’s nothing better for prising a squad of Guardsmen or a Tyranid brood out from behind defences, since the burna bombs and skorcha missiles all ignore cover.

LET’S GET LOOTIN’

While Dan’s army of Goff Orks prefers close combat to shootin’, Dan has slowly added more firepower to his green horde over the last few years. He now firmly believes that shootas can be just as much fun as choppas.

Dan: Orks were the first army I collected when I started in the hobby all those years ago. Much like Adam, my collection was made up of a mix of shooting units and close combat troops. As the game evolved and Orks became better in close combat, my army headed in the same direction, Death Skull Lootas being replaced by Skarboyz and the shokk attack gun disappearing to make way for Meganobz.

The epiphany came when I bought a box of Burna Boyz and found that the Loota deffgun rigs that come in the same kit fit on normal Ork Boyz. I had a few unbuilt Boyz so I built a unit of Lootas and used them in my next game. To say they were amazing was an understatement. Stationed on the roof of a building, they impressed me with their very first salvo, cranking out a whopping 15 shots and blasting a Thunderbolt fighter out of the sky. And they don’t even have Skyfire! I think all of us were surprised at how much damage they caused. Next battle, I had 10 of them. The Lootas led to an increase in firepower in my army. The shokk attack gun returned in my regular Apocalypse battles and the Mek showed the quality of his creation by ripping a hole in the Warp on several occasions. He fired himself through the gun once, too, and punched a hovering Vendetta out of the sky.

The weapon that regularly draws the most outrage from my opponents is the killkannon on my battlewagon. Everyone forgets how powerful it is until it fires, ruining a squad of Space Marines. Also, contrary to popular belief, the Battlewagon is still open-topped even with the killkannon on the roof. Don’t forget that when you’re disembarking your troops.

So what next for my Orks? As I mention on page 24, Traktor Kannons are a definite must-have and, seeing as Flash Gitz are like super-Lootas, a unit of them is definitely on my shopping list. Do Games Workshops take payment in teef?

Paint Splatter provides handy tips and stage-by-stage painting guides for the week’s new releases. This week, the Big Mek with Shokk Attack Gun.

The Shokk Attack Gun is an unusual weapon, even by Ork standards. With gubbinz whirling, it makes an impressive sight on the battlefield. Here’s what Studio painter Chris Innes has to say about painting this technological marvel.

Chris: The Big Mek with Shokk Attack Gun is a large and impressive centrepiece model and you should definitely spend a little extra time on him if you can spare it. I started by basecoating the areas I wanted to be yellow with Ushabti Bone, which makes the next layer of Flash Gitz Yellow much brighter – very fitting for the showy Bad Moons. When it came to painting the skin, I made the Ork deliberately darker than the Snotling. Remember, the darker a greenskin, the more powerful they are.

Chris: When painting the Studio’s Bad Moon army, we used blue as the spot colour for energy effects such as the power coils on the Big Mek Gunz, kustom force fields and the whirly gubbinz on the Shokk Attack Gun. The colour works harmoniously with the green Ork skin and yellow armour, drawing the eye, but not being too overpowering (like red would be, for example). I painted the Mek’s trousers in dark blue for consistency, but also as a cheeky nod back to ye olde days when Orks from the Bad Moon clan often went into battle wearing blue clothing. DH

ASSEMBLY TIP

While you can paint the whole model in one go, Chris found it much easier to leave the whirly gubbinz off so he could paint the Mek’s face without the energy globes getting in the way of his brush.

Orks use Mek Gunz to pound the enemy from afar and bring much-needed artillery support to an army renowned for its up-close-and-personal attitude to warfare. They come in many different guises, from heavy bore kannons to devastating force field projectors.

Dan: The new Mek Gunz offer a whole range of possibilities for Ork armies. The bubblechukka makes a welcome return and presents an amusing dilemma due to its variable Strength and AP. Seeing as you won’t know how powerful it is until you fire it, my suggestion is to blast lightly-armoured units such as Imperial Guardsmen and Eldar Guardians; you should always do some damage even if the bubbles end up being a little weak.

The smasha gun is brilliant for crushing light vehicles. A good roll for its Strength will enable you to penetrate an AV10 vehicle easily while its low AP should ensure you destroy it outright (especially if it’s open-topped). The same applies to models wandering around on their own: roll high enough for the gun’s Strength and you might inflict Instant Death.

The kustom mega-kannon excels at taking on light vehicles and heavy infantry. Terminators (especially if they’re nicely bunched up after deep striking) should be the primary target for its blast template, followed by light tanks. Targets of AV12 or less are ideal.

The traktor kannon is one of the best anti-aircraft gunz around. Make sure you’ve got an Ammo Grot for every one of them so you can re-roll your To Hit dice and pound those flyers out of the sky. Take a whole battery of these exceptional weapons and your opponent will wish they’d left their aircraft at home.

MEK GUNZ

* Roll once each Shooting phase to determine both the Strength and AP of the bubblechukka, after the target unit has been chosen. For example, if you rolled a 3, the shot would be resolved at Strength 3 AP3.

* Roll once each Shooting phase to determine the Strength of the weapon, after the target unit has been chosen.

Traktor: This weapon automatically causes an Immobilised result in addition to any other effects when it scores a glancing or penetrating hit against a Zooming Flyer. If a Swooping Flying Monstrous Creature suffers one or more Wounds from this weapon it suffers a -3 penalty to its Grounded test that turn.

The roar of Mek Gunz has heralded the end for many a hapless foe. Spitting out blasts of crackling energy, swatting planes out of the air or crushing their victims in crackling fists of bright green force, these big, clanky field guns have enough dakka to stomp even the toughest targets. Of course, as no self-respecting Ork would be left behind when there’s a fight in the offing, crewing the gunz is left to the long-suffering grots. The Orks drag the Mek Gunz into battle behind speeding wagons and Trukks before abandoning them in a heap and leaving the grots to sort them out. Though capable of blasting a tank in half or scything down enemy infantry, these weapons are just as likely to backfire explosively. The biggest hazard for enemies facing Mek Gunz is that, until they start firing, no-one is really sure what they will do.

UNIT TYPE:

Artillery.

UNIT COMPOSITION:

1 Mek Gun

2 Gretchin

WARGEAR:

Gretchin: Close combat weapon

Mek Gun: Kannon

OPTIONS:

May include up to four additional Mek Gunz (each including two Gretchin)…18 pts/model

Each Mek Gun can include up to two additional Gretchin…3 pts/model

Each Mek Gun can include one ammo runt…3 pts/model

Any Mek Gun can replace its kannon with one of the following:

- Lobba…free

- Zzap gun…5 pts/model

- Bubblechukka…12 pts/model

- Kustom mega-kannon…12 pts/model

- Smasha gun…12 pts/model

- Traktor kannon…12 pts/model

The Big Meks have been working overtime in the workshops this week, producing a range of big gunz to obliterate the enemy. From smasha guns and traktor kannons to a new shokk attack gun, here’s what the designers have to say about their latest creations.

Maxime Pastourel and Edgar Ramos are the Ork Meks behind this week’s releases.

It must be a daunting task to follow in someone else’s footsteps, but Edgar Ramos has done so admirably with the Big Mek with Shokk Attack Gun. “Seb (Perbet) sculpted the last version,” says Edgar, “so I already had a great design to work with. Making it into a plastic kit gave me a lot of scope for new details and dynamics.”

Edgar’s first thought was of the shokk attack gun itself. “When you’re working from someone else’s design, it’s important to know why they created it the way they did. Seb changed the design substantially from the original model, making it bigger and more complicated, with the hoover attachment instead of an ammo hopper. I wanted to take it a step further and make it look even crazier, with extra cables, pipes and tubes, plus a mechanical arm on the Mek’s back to help him hold it. He’s got a lot to do, what with holding the gun, hoovering up Snotlings and trying to aim the whole contraption. The rig on his back is his concession to the fact that he’s created something so big and impressive that even he might need a hand carrying it.

“I wanted the Big Mek to look like he was having a lot of fun with his latest creation, but also that he was really struggling with it. His legs are braced ready to take the recoil of the gun, his right arm holding it as far away from his body as possible, while his left arm hoovers up a nearby Snotling. That was my favourite bit of the model to sculpt. The shokk attack gun works by transforming Snotlings into warp energy and blasting them across the battlefield. I wanted to show that on the model, with the Snotling being twisted and distorted as it disappears into the gun. I also made it my mission to add arcs of energy coming off the spheres at the front of the shokk attack gun to make them look like they were actually spinning round to generate the Warp tunnel, leaving a crackling trail of Warp energy behind them.”

Orks love destruction in all its forms but, given the choice, they’d rather be in the thick of the action, leaving the long range artillery to their diminutive Grot helpers. “The idea behind the Mek Guns was to make something that looked Orky and powerful that would look right at home next to a Killa Kan or Battlewagon,” says Maxime. “They needed to look like a Mek creation, but one that was tinkered with by Grots when he wasn’t looking. The gun chassis had to look like a means to an end, a cobbled-together method of carrying the big gun into battle.

“Talking with Matt Holland (the lead designer on Projekt Ork), we decided to revisit some of the really old Ork weapons such as the traktor kannon and the smasha gun. They’re high-tech artillery pieces, but constructed by Orks, so they look really improbable. But that also makes them great fun and perfect for reinvention.

“The new kits draw on the look of the original weapons, but combined with current Ork tech. The lifta-droppa (the smasha gun) has the spinning force field generator mounted behind the gun barrel, while the traktor kannon has energy globes. I like the idea that the arms at the base of the gun barrel are normally folded in, but spread out like petals as it draws its target closer.

“The bubblechukka was another Ork weapon that I wanted to bring back. I liked the idea of its power being represented by huge brass balls. We have no idea what goes on inside them, but they’re probably glowing red-hot or crackling with energy. You wouldn’t want to touch them.”

While the big guns are the focal point of the model, for Maxime the real fun was to be had with the Grot crew. “Originally there were only going to be two crew,” says Maxime, looking sad. “That wasn’t enough Grots for my liking, so I sketched out loads of different ones and crammed as many as I could onto the sprue. Sure, they’re only Grots, but they’re really important to the narrative feel and character of the big gunz. Some are shouting and pointing, others are fiddling with things, but my favourite is the one leaning on the reel of cable. I wanted him to look really lazy. Many of the parts can be swapped with those in the Gretchin box, too, and you can use any spare crew as Grot Riggers.

“The Grots helped me finalise the design of the Mek Gunz. If you look at my sketch, you’ll see that it doesn’t have a gun shield or armoured front. When the Grots see Ork Battlewagons with massive armoured rams, they want their war machines to look the same. I imagine them welding bits of metal to the front, imitating the jaw-like prow common to most Ork vehicles. From the front it looks like a squat, armoured bunker. From the back it’s typically functional, with a techie screen for the Grots to point at and bicker over.” DH

WOT YOU LOOKIN’ AT?

While we managed to fit in a concept sketch of Maxime’s Mek Gunz, we ran out of space to squeeze in the Grots. Turn over the page to see a few more of his characterful sketches.

Join us for a round-up of the week as we share comment, opinion and trivia on the all latest releases, plus other fun tidbits that have cropped up in the White Dwarf bunker. This week, we take a look at Grots, Archaon, Ork invenshuns, a Treeman and vomit. Yes, vomit.

ADAM OBSESSES OVER THE TINIEST OF GREENSKINS

The principle that might makes right within greenskin society transcends the Orks and applies to the Gretchin and Snotlings too. Both of these sub-species of Ork-kind are essential to every aspect of Ork life. They are also brutally subjugated by those bigger (and better) to keep them in line.

It is the lot of the Gretchin (also known as Grots) to fetch and carry, help the Meks build their latest inventions and keep the Pain Boyz’ tools sharp and ready. If a Boy is running short on ammo, a barked command will bring a grot scrambling with handfuls of spare slugs. The biggest Orks will often have a number of Grots at his beck and call. A well trained Grot is considered almost as useful as a spare choppa, and while an Ork won’t be bothered if it dies, if another Ork tries to borrow his Grot, it’s worth a good kicking.

Snotlings are the (even smaller) cousins of the Gretchin. Tiny, feeble and impossibly stupid, Snotlings would never survive, except for their innate ability to farm the Squigs that are vital to Ork society. They are also a ready source of entertainment in the form of target practise, ammo and, if you’re really hungry, food.

SQUIGGLY BEASTS

A curious constant of Ork society is that wherever they appear, so too do the bizarre alien creatures known as Squigs (or Squiggly Beasts). Squigs come in many shapes and sizes and have dozens of practical applications, from Sniffer Squigs that guard Ork camps from intruders to Gnasha Squigs that can be set on the enemy in battle. They are also a primary food source for the Boyz. It’s very dangerous to confuse different types.

MAXIME PASTOUREL’S MEK GUN GROT CREW CONCEPT SKETCHES

You may have read about Phil Kelly’s Imperial Guard army in his column (if you haven’t, you can find it on page 10) and here are the models themselves: “Graegor’s platoon are essentially Cadians,” says Phil, “most of whom have had their heads replaced with those from the hairy heads sprue from the Empire Knightly Orders boxed set. I’ve taken care to include as much variety as possible. There are a couple of repeats in the ranks, but I’ve taken clippers to them to ensure they’ve got a different hairdo at the least. The icon on the shoulder pads is from the Space Wolves transfers sheet which, along with the wolf tail talismans, ties them in nicely to my Space Wolves.”

Perfect for adorning the base of anything large enough to squash a Goblin, intentionally or otherwise, this unlucky little chap is also ideal for adding some sculpted relief to Dwarf or Empire tavern signs. So, ours is a XXXXXX and we’ll see you at the sign of the Squashed Goblin…

Over the last couple of weeks we’ve featured winning entries from The Fang painting competition, which took place in Stockholm last year. This Helbrute painted by Rickhard Ågren won a deserved third place in the Warhammer 40,000 large model category.

The sickly green armour contrasts nicely with the mangy, rotten skin and rusted metalwork, showing a Helbrute in the advanced stages of decay. That hasn’t stopped him stomping into an Imperial building, though, as shown by the aquila-stamped rug beneath his feet.

If you’ve painted a miniature that you think is worthy of a place in White Dwarf then why not send a picture to:

team@whitedwarf.co.uk

If it’s something we can use, we’ll be sure to get in touch.

When Necrodomo the Insane foresaw the coming of Archaon the Everchosen, he prophesied that he would wield the treasures of Chaos. It fell to Brian Nelson to recreate these upon the Archaon model.

“A large part of Archaon’s legend revolves around claiming the Treasures of Chaos,” Brian says. “These items prove his dominance as Lord of The End Times. Prior to the Storm of Chaos, Archaon had five of these artefacts: the Slayer of Kings, the Eye of Sheerian, the Mark of Chaos, the Armour of Morkar and the Steed of the Apocalypse. Dorghar was described as a mighty daemonic steed, stolen from the Realm of Chaos, snorting flames and reeking of sulphur so I really wanted to try and capture that otherworldliness.”

The White Dwarf team is a font of hobby knowledge, a metaphorical repository of useful facts. If you have a question about Warhammer 40,000 or Warhammer, need a bit of painting advice or you’re after a few tactical tips, drop us a line: team@whitedwarf.co.uk

QUESTION

When building the Lizardmen Bastiladon I noticed that the controls on the solar engine have space for five fingers, but Skinks only have four. What’s that about?
- Ron ‘Finger Puppet’ Johnson

GROMBRINDAL SAYS

Well it’s obvious, isn’t it? They just didn’t count properly when they made it. Shoddy workmanship, that. Here’s what the sculptors think about it:

Seb Perbet: The solar engine is a weapon of the Old Ones. Tragically, Lizardmen have less digits than them, meaning it will always be stuck at 80% power.

Oli Norman: I heard only a C’tan can activate it. Could be problematic.

Seb: Maybe there’s a Skink out there with five fingers, they just haven’t found him.

Oli: Have they tried sticking a severed human hand in it yet? That might work…
- Grombrindal (and Seb and Oli)

There are few weapons quite as disgusting (or highly corrosive) as Troll vomit. “It’s like a pukey tidal wave,” says Adam, “full of fishy bits and chunks of stuff that will eat right through armour, skin and bone.” The problem is, nearby vomiting often acts as a catalyst for further eruptions and Trolls find watching their enemies retch highly entertaining. Their efforts are pitiful in comparison, however, the Trolls having to show them how it’s done properly.

We’ve had a few people email in recently asking how Jes painted Madrigal, his Freeblade Knight, which we showed in Issue 5. “The basecoat and main armour colour is Naggaroth Night,” says Jes, “followed by a chunky edge highlight of Xereus Purple. I then do a fine edge highlight of Genestealer Purple. It’s actually the same colour palette I use for the bio-weapons on my Tyranids, minus the final edge highlight of Slaanesh Grey.”

Notes from the worlds of Warhammer. This week: Orky invenshuns.

TELLYPORTAS

The Big Mek known only as Orkimedes was the first Ork (on record, at least) to use force field technology to teleport Orks into battle. While not quite as reliable as Imperial teleportation devices, Orks are very resilient and can endure the trauma of atomic reconstruction far better than a human can.

KUSTOM BLASTA-X

This ominous-sounding weapon belongs to the Ork Warlord Nazdreg Ug Urdgrub, who had it specially made for him. Combining volatile fusion and unstable plasma technology, it’s a recipe for disaster. Fortunately, Nazdreg wears a great deal of armour.

BOMB–SQUIGS

To an Ork, strapping a bunch of high explosives to a Squig is an invenshun, and a very kunnin’ one at that. With a bit of training, the Squig can be taught to run under enemy vehicles, where the ‘operator’ will press a big red button and blow both the tank and the Squig to smithereens. Really high-tech Bomb-Squigs will explode on contact, which makes nearby greenskins get out of their way very quickly.

DA VULCHA

Boss Zagstruk’s personal plane is known as Da Vulcha. Painted a lovely shade of red (so it goes fasta), its fuselage has been substantially lengthened to allow Zagstruk and his Stormboyz to fly into battle in almost no comfort whatsoever before dropping out of the bomb bay doors to land on an unsuspecting foe.

SPLATTA KANNON

To the casual observer it looks just like a kannon, but this cruel invenshun fires shells attached to a ball and chain. When fired, the shell and ball flip over each other like a massive metal bolas.

Mel’s Treeman is the talk of the White Dwarf office and one of the finest painted miniatures in the bunker. “I wanted my Treeman to be relatively youthful and full of life,” says Mel. “I gave him light bark and bright green leaves like a silver birch tree. The bark was actually pretty simple to do. I undercoated him with Skull White Spray and then washed the whole model with Seraphim Sepia. A few Ceramite White highlights and the bark was done. I then carefully painted in the heartwood with Dryad Bark (a fittingly-named colour for the job). His claw I painted in the same colours as the stones around his feet, while his strangleroots are painted in vibrant yellows and oranges to look like the stamen of a flower in bloom. To finish the model off, I carefully glued a few Middenland Tufts into his joints.”

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