Rogue Trader Project

[Jeff McC]

The 40K universe has never quite appealed to me in the way that the Warhammer Fantasy world has; however, I've decided to give it another try. I'm attempting to put together the forces to play the Scenario at the back of the Rogue Trader Rulebook. I may have enough later era space marines hiding in storage to get me to the 16 needed (on the other side of the Atlantic - sadly I traded away my 30 plastic beakies years ago in a time of constrained budgets to buy more fantasy models.), so I'm going to start by focusing on the Ork patrol. I'm off to a decent start, courtesy of a bit of Christmas cash and a bit of Ebay luck, I've 16 orks to get me started...
As an added bonus they've never seen paint before , or had the flash removed . (and they have a pretty box ) I'm setting myself the goal of having the forces assembled, painted and ready to play by the end of 2015. (Of course there's an overseas move somewhere in the mix to keep things "interesting" too.) Updates as the project proceeds...I'm currently thinking desert colors for the orcs...err, orks. Wish me luck!

 

[Orjetax]

Hooray for space orks and hooray for RT.

I'll be following eagerly.

 

[symphonicpoet]

I've been using orcs and orks (and even occasionally orkz) more or less interchangeably lately. I figure Tolkien has pride of place for inventing the word, but Citadel deserves some props for making the things what they are now. Heck of a find you have there. Looking forward to seeing where it goes. And if you find yourself needing some plastic beakies PM me. I can probably spare a few. (All BADLY needing a dip in the green stuff. Acquired used and generally very badly painted, but possibly available in trade of for reasonable purchase.)

 

[Blue in VT]

I love those raiders...great figures. Good luck finding marines!

Cheers,

Blue

 

[Jeff McC]

Back from holiday, so a bit of progress made. I've gotten two orcs cleaned up, primed and ready to serve as test models to work out the color scheme. I was a bit surprised at just how much flash these guys had. Skin tone done so far.
(Sorry about the shadows)

I've also started playing with the basing for the models. I wanted to get away from my standard fantasy earth tones, and work something that said a bit more "barren alien world". The color test is below; I think I'll be going with one of the dark reddish brown variants.


Regarding the marines, after a good look at ebay and a few other websites, I've decided to create the marine force using the current tactical squad models, in the best "How to do Oldhammer" tradition. Ultimately after looking at a lot of the assembly jobs performed by our younger selves, and given that plastic cement won't just undo like cement joining metal parts, I figured it was probably more cost effective to go that way. (That said, the offers of assistance were much appreciated! On that note, if anybody has extras of the beakie heads for the current models, I'd be interested in getting a few more of those. It looks like the current box comes with a couple.)

Updates as progress continues.

 

[Jeff McC]

Test models done. (basing not done as I expect to repaint one, but base color roughed in for reference)
Happy with both - I was kind of hoping one would be an obvious winner, but I think they both work well...Also considering the possibility of using both -1 scheme per squad, and coming up with a 3rd pattern for the 3rd squad...Thoughts?

 

[Whitehorn]

Great to see these guys getting some modern paint work. I've kept myself a couple for my warband. Drop me a PM if you need any more as I'm trying to shift the remainer.

 

[daddyorchips]

one of my projects for this year is to paint up the crimson fists and the orks from Rogue Trader, so i am going to watch this eagerly to see how yours turns out

 

[symphonicpoet]

Looking great! I love your red orc eyes. I've always done mine yellow, but the red works quite nicely.

 

[Jonas]

I think both are great and will work well together in a squad if you want.

 

[Orjetax]

I think both are great and will work well together in a squad if you want.

I agree with Jonas.

To me, orks ought not to be too uniform.

 

[Jeff McC]

Not much progress on the painting front. However, I now have all* the models for both forces, and have spent the last week or so assembling plastic marines. So here are the assembled forces as they currently stand:

The Crimson FistsUsing the beakies for sergeants & officers.

Da Orks* While I have enough models, I'd like to replace the heavy weapon ork and the squad leader with the knife. (Whitehorn, PM sent)

Capt. Cantor and Thrugg. Scale creep was not as bad as I was afraid it might be. I know Capt. Cantor's counter shows him as helmetless, but I've always felt that if you have a helmet that not only protects your poor fragile head, but also filters out toxic gases, that you really ought to wear it.

Now that I have the squads divided up, I can start pushing forward on the orks, I'm stuck waiting for a warm-ish day to prime the rest, however

 

[Jeff McC]

Quick update on my progress thus far. Skin tone finished for all the Orks. Test model complete for marines, and a couple in base coat. I was disappointed to discover that the crimson fist decal that came in the box will in no way, shape or form lay flat on the shoulder pads. I have managed to free hand a fist that's not too terrible, but I doubt that I'll be able to get the fist to look the same across all the marines.

 

[axiom]

Looking good! The Crimson Fists have a really strong colour scheme - yours are looking tasty!

 

[Suber]

Taking shape... I like it!

 

[Jeff McC]

Thanks guys.
Good day for painting yesterday; finished 1 squad of Orks. I'm tying the squads together by the base color of their camo trousers, I've used grey for this squad. I'm pleased with the results, although I think the bases still need a bit of "plant life" to look right...I looked at my normal static grasses, but they all seemed too Earth like, so I'm keeping a look out and will see what I can come up with to give a bit of alien feel...I decided to go old school and put names on all the bases - I cheated and used a fine point sharpie, it catches the light a bit funny in the photo.
For those who are really interested, from left to right we have: Uthrot, Narblad, Zogmor, Droggabab, and Ghulog. (The name charts from Mighty Empires were most helpful )

 

[Scalene]

Those orks look great. I like the military look more than the later bright colours.

 

[Captain Crooks]

Decals are tricky beasts. Here is what I do to get a flat decal on a domed surface.

1: Paint the whole area with 'ard cote or the brush-on gloss varnish of your choice.
2: Once dry, place the decal. It will bubble in one or two places due to the curve.
3: take a very sharp knife and make a teeny teeny incision on the bubble, starting from the middle and working to the edge. If you're very tender the decal should overlap itself very minutely and lay flat on the dome.
4: Once dry, use a little paint to touch up any damage or inconsistency, then cover the decal in like 3 more coats of varnish, making sure to dilute a little to get a smooth surface. This will help disguise any minute lump caused by the tiny overlap and protect the decal.
5: Once the three coats of varnish dry, paint on a layer of flat medium. This will take away the shine and make it look like you painted that sucker freehand. You will be the envy of all your friends

 

[Jeff McC]

I've had good luck using solvaset with decals, it softens the decal a bit and lets it form to shape. Moving company wouldn't ship liquids when I moved to the UK, and I've no idea what the local equivalent would be. I think I've committed to freehanding the fists, but thanks for the advice.
(also they were really big bubbles/wrinkles )

 

[Jonas]

Very nice, the squad looks awesome and still rag tag and uniform at the same time.