Sunday 16 June 2013

Rogue Trader Orks: Luggub's Drop Legion. 

   As part of my photographing of stuff I have here Luggub's Drop Legion, from the 1988 Book of the Astronomican.  I had planned to scan the army list for people to look at as I presented the relevant squads. However, my printer/scanner is not having any of it (I tried lighting incense on it like a good tech-priest, but no joy) , so if you want to look at the book, there is a link on this blog :

 http://ramshacklefort.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/my-oldhammer-narrative-part-one.html

(not sure if I need to put something legal here, so I point out I own none of the intellectual property involved.)

When I first started playing Rogue Trader back in 1987, it was to the Orks I was first drawn. The Space Ork Raiders captured my imagination as they had a very Wehrmacht feel and to me they bridged the imgination gap between the 40k universe and the mass of World War Two films that were always on TV. I would have flights of fancy imagining them not only attacking Space Marines and the Imperial Army, but also maybe chasing John Mills to Dunkirk, or even making it across the Channel to stomp their way through the 1980's Sussex countryside of my youth!

With this in mind, when I came to re-painting them many, many years later I wanted to achieve two things. Firstly to keep that World War Two feel in the colour scheme. So I used Vallejo World War Two paints. For the bulk of the army I used Vallejo Field Grey WWII , and the Commando Squads Vallejo German Uniform Green. For the Dreadnoughts and Buggies is copied German tank camo schemes.

Secondly, I wanted to keep that very early Rogue Trader feel, that almost ad-hoc early feel to the hobby, before the new Ork Clans and before Rogue Trader gained more momentum from 1989 onwards. So, I have only used the older, non-grinning idiot/clan Orks that came later, but the ones aesthetically more in common with thier fantasy counterparts of the 1980's C series and of the ealry rogue Trader I loved most.

This is also why I arranged the army into Luggrub's Drop Legion, with the addition of the Dreadought update from White Dwarf #100 .  These were the Orks that attacked Rynn's Worlds and the Crimson Fists. They  were part of the Charadon Empire, which featured in several early background articles and army lists, most notablety the Dark Angel Ravenwing in White Dwarf #96,  the Wolf Time scenario, and of course the Battle of Jadeberry Hill scenario in White Dwarf #94.

In non-Ork news, I added a couple of pictures of the ongoing painting up of the Dark Elf army. I have been very busy this week, and so done very little painting, most of it on friday evening. I did manage to sort out the Empire and Bretonnian army lists (more of later) and win some Fimir from e-bay for the Norse!

Here is the Ork army, as per the army list  in the 1988 Book of the Astronomican: 

 The customary whole army photograph!
 Side view.
 Luggrub himself (as the army Overlord), and the limited edition LE1 Space Orc (acting as the army Warchief).
I do have the other two early power armoured Orks, but there is only room for two Orks with power armour in the list. 
Two Shamans (Ork Psykers)
 Two Ork Commissars.
They could'nt shoot their own side like the later Imperial Guard ones, but were more independent minor hero field officers with a porta-rack and medi-pack!
 Two more Commissars
 Three Discipline Masters, using the Ork Command group standard bearers.
They had Champion profiles. 
 The other three Discipline Masters.
 Left to right,  RT102 Buzzy Buzzacks, and the two drummers, Karlsbro and Shugbro. I never got the third drummer, it seems they never released him.
 Six Grenadier squads.
 A Grenadier squad in action.
 Three Orks, used as squad leaders.
 Two heavy bolters. The one on the left is the one from the Space Ork Raiders boxed set, the other is carrying the old, old, style heavy bolter from 1988.
 The other side of the Heavy Bolter, and an Ork with flamer.
 Orks with flamers, including the two at the back with the shoulder carried 'heavy flamer' from the heavy weapons release.
 Bolter armed Orks
 More Orks.
 Three Bombadier squads. 
As per the army list, you can slightly alter the compostion of the squads, and as I did'nt have Orks with grenade launchers, I swapped them for plasma gun of which I had several.
 Bombadier squad advancing.
 Two squad leaders, a converted space marine missile launcher second from left, and the old metal one on the far right.
 Ork trooper, and three plasma gunners.
 Four bolter armed Orks.
 Four Commando Squads.
Again, I altered the army list entry, and swapped the two bolt pistols for bolters.
As these Orks are equipped with mesh and flak armour (giving 4+ save), I painted them a different colour, German uniform Green, to the rest of the army (Fieldgrey coloured) to help highlight the difference.
 A Commando squad advancing.
 On the left is he first ever Space Ork (then Orc) miniatureI bought, before Rogue Trader was released. He came in a pack with a Goblin and two Army troopers. The other two are squad leaders from the Space Ork Command group.
 Orks in mesh and flak armour! 
These three show the often mentioned Citadel technique using one miniature as a base and then making separate variants from it (good idea really).
 Orks, one with chainsword, two with bolters.
 Three more, and variations on the one model as previously mentioned.
 Three Orks with bolters.
Love the shades :) 
 In addition to Luggrub's Drop Legion, I painted up Thrugg Bullneck's Ork Raiders, famous from the Space Ork Raiders box set, and the attack on the farm scenario.
They can be used again in The Battle of Jadeberry hill in White Dwarf #94. I do have the same number of Orks again, but so far unpainted, that can be used as the Ulruk's Assault Grenadiers.
 Advancing.
I painted the raiders up a Khaki colour with red/white warpaint, blue tatoos, and metal helmets to match the artwork on the boxset and page 106 of the Rogue Trader rulebook. It also helps to differentiate them from the rest of the army, especially where I have used other raider trooper models to fill in gaps.
 A single squad.
 As they are a light scouting force, their squads are lightly equipped and smaller, comprising of only five Orks.
 Thrugg Bullneck, and his second in command Hhurk.
Looking for treasure no doubt ! ;)
 Squad leaders. 
The one on the left came with the boxset, the others are additions, and are the models used in the table shot on page 65 of the Rogue trader rulebook.
 One each of the Ork troopers.
 Getting back to the army list, five Ork Battle Buggies.
 Heavy Plasma gun.
 Heavy Bolter.
Ork Dreanoughts.
For those of you not familiar with Rogue trader, the Orks (and Eldar) had Dreadnoughts, before they were renamed 'Killa Kans' (and Wraithlords). There were two Ork types, the Super-attack Onslaughter, and the smaller Killer Dreadnought. There is an entry for them in the Book of the Astronomican, but this was almost immediately updated in white Dwarf #100 with a new 'cut and stick over' insert.
Super-attack Onslaughter Ork Dreanought. 
The Ork trooper gives and idea of the size. I re-based it on a square 50mm base, not avaliable at the time (the largest bases only 40mm square in the 1980's!) . The new list allowed for 0-3 of these Dreadnoughts per army.
Not a pretty sight for a human!
The smaller Killer Ork Dreadnought. 0-5 per army.
The Killer Dreanought, but with the stubby leg option. 
You could replace the legs of both types of dreadnought with the little stubby legs. No rules benefits, but just for aesthetic value, as well as easier hiding behind walls.
Killer Dreadnought with Gretchin pilot. 
The flock on the leg is'nt stuck there, just loose stuff that I forgot to brush off.
Side view showing the three old style weapons, right to left; las-cannon, heavy plasma gun, heavy bolter. Also shows the relative size difference of the dreadnoughts.

Dark Elf crossbowmen work in progress.
Close up.
 I am purposely going for a very predominatly black colour for the army to give a shadowy feel. I am avoiding any use of purple, beuase in my opinion  as soon as you do, the army seems to become a 'purple' army. The colour scheme is to be black, with very dark midnight blue shields/oddments, metallic and gold armour/details, and red fletchings for the crossbow bolts. 
Only Mangil Manhides will have something different, flayed flesh cloaks!
Dark Elf Wizard (WIP).
I thuoght I would paint up a Bretonnian Villain with Halberd as I have been sorting out the army list of late. He is an old Maruader miniature with one of their old Fleur de lis sheilds. 
Looking at him I need to tidy the sheild up a little, and highlight the halberd.
The joy of e-bay! 
I managed to bag twelve Fimir to use as an ally contingent for my Norse army, and at  £1.25 each too :)
Added to the one I have, I now can field thirteen, working out to a 690 point list I drew up for them.
 I will convert some up to be Fianna Fimm.




21 comments:

  1. Another great post with a massive amount of great minis. Thx for sharing! /Hans (http://realmofcitadel.blogspot.se/)

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    1. That's ok, thank you for looking!
      Glad you liked the Orks.

      I like the work you have done on your Nurgle Warband, especally the Chaos Dwarves. Very nice shields.

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  2. Aye really enjoying reading your blog. Loving the old skool orks. Back in the day I wasnt taken with 40K "well its just elf, dwarf with "space" stuck in front. I dont like it it's stupid"!

    Oh the folly of youth still now I am older and wiser I can apreciate the rules and minatures as they are meant to be. And the old space orks are the best, buch better then the oversized wazzy plastic rubbish that they are fobbing off on the kids today. Ill have to point my mate to your blog hes crazy about WW2 Germans and orks so will get a real kick out of this post.

    ttfn

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    1. Thank you,
      I always saw them as a sort space fairing World War Two Germans, mainly due to the Stahlhelms and the Wehrmacht feel to them. They fitted into the standard 'bad guy' adversary role, but with all the added background of 40k and the war films.
      Hope your friend likes them too :)

      I was less focused on Rogue Trader than Warhammer to start with too, but it was a release sheet with all Imperial Army and Space Slann on it that I got with a mail order in the summer of 1987 that got me interested in the upcoming Warhammer 40k !
      I was sold when the Space Ork Raiders were released. You're right, they are better and more characterful than the current ones. I do have an unfinished current army of Orks, but lack of motivation for them means they are still unfinished.

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  3. Great job once again.

    I really like th eway you tretaed them. I am not and never have been fond of greenskins but you just managed to make them more appealling to me. With your dark paintscheme and camo devices their smile and red eyes really make them look nasty and likely to invade the galaxy. The same smile and red eyes with a bright colours PJ always made them look like a bunch of irresponsible weedsmoking youths...
    Don't get me wrong, Kev Adams' orcs/orks/goblins rock but I can't manage to see them as a serious threat...

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    1. ..."same smile and red eyes with a bright colours PJ always made them look like a bunch of irresponsible weedsmoking youths.." Love it! But hey! Them be my Orks you're talking about, Asslessman!!

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    2. Gald you liked them.

      I went for the dark paint scheme, darker flesh tones, and the uniform look to give that slightly battle hardened and unwashed feel to them, but a coherent look to them. It also makes the red eyes stand out more, and give them that 'up to no good' nasty look without being full on evil or evil 'lite'.

      Never liked the Ork clan system or the practice of painting brightly coloured orks (except Frasier Greys ones!) , always saw them as 3rd edition fantasy Orcs with technology and Wermacht leanings. That always lack the coherance of an army, more paint-balling Orks!

      Personality wise, a cross between the 3rd ed fantasy Orcs, bovver boys, and WW2 cinematic Germans. Also, much later, the Mangalores from Fifth Element.

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    3. Don't worry Private, though I don't like greenskins in particular , I do fancy the "red era" look with the clans and all, it's just that it doesn't look as "impending doom" as an hive fleet for example.
      Moreover, this being a RT army, I totally agree with Lee's interpretation and his choice to display these orks as Wermacht oriented (though I'd prefer invaders to let Normandy be for a while). We 're talking of an era where marines (toughness 3) had 3 days old beard, smoke, shot scavvies in the head and were more acting like a bunch of blokes than like the genetically modified zelots they are now.
      I'm looking forward to your marines army Goblin lee !

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  4. ORKS!!! Just fabulous as always, Goblin Lee! Rogue Trader Orks just rock (although I do like the 3rd ed. 40k plastic ones too)! I really like the uniform approach you gave them. I've always seen Rogue Trader Orks as a hodgepodge collection of troopers and maniacs, and that is how I always approached them for my own collection, but seeing them in uniform really makes them scary looking - a force to be reckoned with! Nicely done.

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    1. Thank you,
      I liked the uniform look and thought it gave them a sense of cohesion and purpose, and the style of the sculpts suggested World War Two Germans. I am pleased with how they look, with a sense of a purpose and looking like an army.

      Going for the drab realistic colours only helped to give a real world feel to miniatures that can all too easily look too cartoony.
      Personally, I think uniform is the way to go with the early Orks, otherwise they can look disjointed. I try to keep a lot of the painting I do for everything simple, and then use any other colours for some of the smaller details to individualise an otherwise uniform paint scheme. The good thing about older miniatures is that they have lots of those details on them.
      I can just imagine them causing real mayhem across some unsuspecting planet (that may or may not look a little like Northern France! LOL)

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  5. Looks like the whole Empire of Charadon is on the move - what a great horde.

    The Space Ork Raiders have been on my wish list ever since I got my hands on the Placcy Space Wombles box set many moons ago!

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    1. I can recommend the Space Ork Raiders, they are a great set, especially as they all look like they are advancing.

      They are fun and easy to paint, and always look the part. They turn up quite often on e-bay, and not too expensive. Some of the special and heavy weapons can get pricey sometimes though.

      I have always liked the very first Space Orks and I am really pleased that I managed to complete the Drop Legion with the extras finished and painted. It seems to have more meaning to do than just collecting a big army of the current souless feeling plastic Orks.
      Quite proud of the Dreadnoughts as they add some 'heavyness' to the army, and they add to that early feel of the army, before the plastic tanks (apart from converted Airfix stuff!) .

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  6. Quite the Ork horde GL! Another great slice of your huge collection, thanks.

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    1. Thank you,
      they have been a labour of love that I revisited now and again over the years. It is good to finally have them finished (finished then a year or so ago).

      I still have 20 of the Orks Raiders miniatures to paint for the Assault Grenadiers from the Battle of Jadberry Hill in White Dwarf #94. I want to add them to the Drop Legion like I have with Thruggs Raiders, as an auxillary scouting force.

      I have replaced Thrugg with the Buzzy Buzzacks miniature, but kept the Hhruk miniature. I like the idea of the two competing Raider units being the same but slightly different, like Father Ted and Father Dick Byrne, only armed with bolters in space :) .

      I'll probably paint them a different unform colour.

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    2. Guess you'll need 28 mm scale "careful now" and "down with this sort of thing" signs then...

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  8. Thats one huge Ork army! It looks really killer in those army grey colours, a bit less silly than the later clans (Which I also like, but to me the later bright coloured and silly clans is not really Rogue Trader spirit).

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    1. Thank you,
      I agree that the later paint schemes and the clans were a change from the early part of Rogue Trader, and that Orks got sillier for a while as a result.
      With this army I wanted to keep that early feel, and the later clan and paint schemes do not really suit these miniatures.

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  9. Hey Lee, new to your blog – but I really like your painting style. Would you mind if I used your Thrugg Bullneck picture on my blog? I've done an updated version of the character, and wanted a picture of the old one to compare him with – yours is the best painted I've seen.
    I really like the WWII feel of your orks – a great inspiration. Looking forward to digging through the rest of your posts. :)

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    1. Thank you,
      feel free to use a picture of him.
      I tried to get that balance between WWII and that old Rogue Trader feel to the early Space Orks.

      I like your blog, you are a very good painter. I especially like the Ultramarines/Imperial Fists, and the Imperial Guard on your blog.
      Love the colour choice on the Hasslefree miniatures Space Pug too :)

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