Waaargh Grimsnaga (Smasha squig)

[Kierdale]

As a youth yoof I had a predominately Evil Sunz army, starting off with the old box of 36 plastic Space Orks you could get for twenty quid. I had a load of metal minis too including the first Shokk Attack Gun and some artillery. Even had two of the first battlewagon, one of which was adorned with my very own canine teeth.

No joke.

The B&C now allowing Xenos, it allows me to explore an urge I've had since getting back into the hobby, an urge which got stronger as I looked over the AoS greenskin range actually.

A (predominantly) Snakebite army.

I played with the name generator in Waaargh The Orks! and after a couple of rolls I got...

...which pretty much sealed the deal and Waaaaargh Grimsnaga was born.

I chose Snakebites as they're not often done and I rather like the imagery...

...and as I said I'd like to use some of the AoS Orcs in my army.

I'll be starting with the Start Collecting: Ironjaws box from which will come...

Warboss Grimsnaga himself atop a warbike cyboar. Will be riveting or strapping some dakka guns onto the boar. Will likely give Grimsnaga himself the eyepatch-head. Do I keep that excellent looking Big Choppa or give him a Power Klaw?

The other two...one a Painboy, for sure. The other...I'm not yet decided. Snakebites do have Meks, so that's a possibility.

These...

...will be nobs, if 'ardboyz don't make a comeback in an eventual codex. Perhaps Snakebites, perhaps not.

Looooong ago there was an Ork mini of a pair of Minderz 'firing' their weirdboy:

In remembrance of that, my weirdboy (perhaps with copper staff rather than dem bones):

...will he held aloft by four minderz:

More savage orks will be simply boyz, of which I know I'll need a lot.

Savage boarboys will get their mounts cybered to varying degrees to be more bikers.

Stormboyz Da Batz

"If Gork n' Mork 'ad wanted Orks ta fly dey'd 'ave given uz batsquigs. And dey 'as!"

Some of the savage orks will be getting batsquigs implanted onto their backs (gargoyle wings and Green Stuff). No jump packs for Grimsnaga's boyz.

Commandoes Da Bloody Braves

Da 'ardest and the maddest of Grimsnaga's boyz, dey likes ta get kickin' da enemies before everyone else so deyz sneaks up right close, like snakes, and STRIKES! No one tells 'em dat deyz a buncha sneaky gitz, coz they likez ta eat everything an' everyone and suck all da blood out and paint demselves in funny patterns wiv it.

Khornate Snakebite commandoes.

And some regular (Snakebite) boyz with shootas. The sluggas from the kit will be given to the AoS models.

Allies Mates

I like the AoS Moonclan grots (old models though they are) and intend to get a few boxes as time goes on, to convert into gretchin. Will be scratchbuilding a lot of guns (though likely not one each). These will be owned by a Bad Moon runtherd.

The Badmoon Rising

Take one Necron flyer. Tear out the pilot. Tear off the pansy guns. Tip it so it flies vertically like a crescent moon. Stick a Badmoon Mek-flyboy in it. Paint it up Orky.

Possibly do the weapons as magnetised pods on the sides so I can change between dakka jet and the bomber types.

Perhaps the runtherd and his grots are the flyboy's ground crew/hangers on.

OpFor Base decoration and trophies

When I make an army I always decide who their foe is.

My Imperial Guard were modelled as if facing an old friend's Bad Moons, as features in the regiment's home world history.

My Psychopomps are modelled fighting Harlequins and Biel Tan Eldar, sacrificing their souls to Slaanesh.

My Mentors will be in a diorama against a Genestealer cult.

...and for my Snakebites I have chosen Necrons. Opposites in many ways. The puny tin men will also make nice trophies!

And back banners.

Lots of back banners.

Challenges completed:

Waargh 2019

No joke.

For reference

Ork Skin

My quick recipe is:

Basecoat - Deathworld Forest

Heavy drybrush - Elysian Green

Light drybrush - Ogryn Camo

Wash - Athenian Camoshade

Or if I’ve got a bit more time (characters):

Basecoat - Deathworld Forest

First highlight - Elysian Green

Second highlight - Ogryn Camo

Wash - Athenian Camoshade

Final highlight - Ogryn Camo

[Brother Casman]

All of this sounds awesome! Looking forward to seeing it take shape.

[Kierdale]

Thanks.

What sort of basing do you think would go well with the army, bearing in mind they've decided they like the look of a Necron Tombworld and woken up the residents?

Desert or wilderness fits the Necron 'Egyptian' theme but would it compliment the browns of the 'Bites or would they blend in too much?

Simple rocky grasslands would be a change for me and might be good colour-wise...

[Brother Casman]

I think a yellow-ish desert would fit alongside the browns and greens of the Orks rather nicely.

[Redtoof]

Sounds good. Not enough of us Snakebites around. For inspiration you might do well to look at some of the late 2nd edition Ork stuff, when it was still a bit colourful and crazy, but everything started to get duller and more gritty. The Gorkamorka era. Stuff like the Massacre at Big Toof River diorama and 'Grand Warlord' Adrian Wood's orks featured in the classic battle report Last Stand at Glazer's Creek.

 

Personally I'm a big fan of combining browns and tan clothes, rusty weapons and dirty armour with brighter coloured war paint and 'accessories' like their armour straps etc. I like my units to have coordinated warpaint, so one unit with red warpaint, one with white etc.

 

One thing to note is though Snakebites are fond of the old ways, they don't have to always be primitive. It's ok to mix and match conventional Ork tech with more feral solutions. All my bikers are converted boar boyz, but I still run them alongside battlewagons and force fields and the like.

[Evil Eye]

Now THIS I can get behind. There aren't nearly enough Snakebites Ork armies out there, and given the awesomeness of your Psychopomps I'm foreseeing great things. The moon flyer sounds absolutely fantastic.

 

And just because I am the king of coming up with silly conversion ideas (even if I am the knave of actually finishing them) here's some ideas I had for this (steal or ignore at will)...

>Because the Snakebites are live off the land types, I reckon ramshackle farming-type vehicles could be cool. Trukks could be "Traktors", and perhaps for a centrepiece you could do a "Kombine 'Arvesta" Battlewagon- so essentially a looted tank with a huge whirling blade assembly on the front.

>Deff Dredds and Killa Kans could be represented with various squiggly beasties- perhaps convert the Finecast Jabberslythe to look more orky and call it "Da Wrong'un" as an example of Squig breeding going hilariously, horrendously wrong.

>If you do any other Orky flyers, perhaps WW1 style fabric (or in their case most likely hide) skinned biplanes and triplanes would fit in with the aesthetic? A lot of those older planes were made mostly from wood and doped textiles, which would be more fitting for Snakebites than metal construction. Plus, WW1 aircraft are cool.

>And finally (and perhaps most stupidly of all), perhaps for a Power Klaw, an Ork could have a Squig surgically grafted on in place of his forearm.

 

Anyway, I look forward to seeing more from this blog!

[Kierdale]

Thanks for the comments and suggestions! :tu:

Yes, Redtoof, I agree that Snakebites don't have to be so primitive.

...is a great image IMO, which clearly shows the warboss on a cyboar. I think how the tech-stuff is painted is important.

And Squigsquasher! Thanks for the suggestion! Someone's arm will definitely get amputated (deliberately?) so the painboy can graft a squig on! :D

[Kierdale]

Bought:

Start collecting Ironjaws

1 box of Savage Orcs

1 box of boyz

 

That's a cyboar warboss and painboy + 1 more cyboar character

10 nobz

16 boyz with sluggas (1 with a heavy shoota or rokkit...or not bother?)

11 boyz with shootas (1 with heavy shoota or rokkit, plus a nob)

1 weirdboy

 

I know I need more boys before toys but I might get that Necron flyer while I'm over here too...

 

I'm going to have models to keep me busy the rest of the year!

[Sith’ari]

Sounds like a great start to me boss!

 

I tend to find that I start going insane after painting my twentieth boy and need to paint something else to restore my sanity, so It might be worth picking up the flyer after all!

[Kierdale]

Necron croissant: purchased :tu:

 

And some FW autocannons to bolt on to my cyboars for their cannons.

[Sith’ari]

Niiice! Can't wait to see Da Bad Moon take flight! B)

[Kierdale]

I see a Bad Moon rising...

... I see trouble on the way.

[StoneSentinels]

That is just awesome! Can't wait to see it grow into a truly Orky waaaghhhplane!

[Evil Eye]

Iiiiiiiiit's happening!

 

This is gonna be great.

[Augustus b'Raass]

Oooh goody! BAD MOON RISING!!

[Kierdale]

With my IG submitted for AoP I can get on with my Orks!

Slugga/choppa boyz:

Shoota Nob (right) and boy:

Aaaaand work on my weirdboy!

He’s strapped to a couple of poles (right foot in the process of breaking free) and being carried overhead by four minderz. Most of his armour’s horns will be replaced with lighting rods, tesla coils and whatever else I can scratch build. Copper wire will also snake from speartip to speartip (will likely paint the speartips as beaten copper rather than stone).

Necron bitz will be added -trophies and the like- once I get some! I guess the basic warriors box will be a good start.

And I need to scratchbuild a LOT of sluggas, which I’m actually looking forward to. :)

[toaae]

I dig it. Proppa' ferals/snakebites are few and far between, and I like what you're doing with them. I especially wanna see scratch-built sluggas.

[Kierdale]

I hope to try some sluggas this weekend :)

More for the shoota mob...

Big shoota wit kustom barrel-mounted git-stabba

Boyz

And one awaiting a weapon swap (though it’ll be more of an axe than a spear)

[Kierdale]

Red makes ‘em go fasta, true, but in the case of a cyboar this work too...

Hidden Content

Promethium injection, right up the jacksie :tu:

[Gederas]

Oof.... Right up main street! :lol:

I'm seriously excited to see how these guys go. Its' already looking really cool.

[Xenith]

Any progress on the Bad Moon croissant?

 

Looking great so far! Was the ork glyph generator in the 2nd ed codex?

[Guest Triszin]

I like it

[Kierdale]

Any progress on the Bad Moon croissant?

 

Looking great so far! Was the ork glyph generator in the 2nd ed codex?

The glyph generator is in 1st edition ‘Waaaargh Orks’ for sure...and likely in the 2nd edition one too. And on the web. And in pdf...

 

I’m waiting to see the codex before doing more work on the croissant, so I can decide on armament. I need to get some AoS grot fanatics to add to it: cut off the ball from the ball and chain, and have them hanging onto the Bad Moon as it flies. Ground crew who didn’t let go in time...

 

 

I finished making the shoota squad and will post photos soon. I didn’t realise you got 11 Orks in it, which is nice. I got to give one a big shoota and still make a shoota boy to replace him if I don’t want to bother with the big shoota.

Need two more boxes of them now :D

[Krakendoomcool]

I’m excited to see you get back on the Orks.

 

Great idea with the weirdboy. Looking forward to you ‘tech’ing him up a bit. Like a big magnet for waaagh energy.

 

The cyborg made me lol. Thats so Kierdale

 

I’m generally a fan of clan specific Orks. As Redtoof has mentioned above I really enjoyed 2nd edition Orks with clan specific models. I’m enjoying your Snakebites.

[Xenith]

 

I finished making the shoota squad and will post photos soon. I didn’t realise you got 11 Orks in it, which is nice.

 

Datz cuz orks iz da best. Silly oomies goez up to ten. But orks goes up to more.