Waaaagh! The Orks are coming!

Nafzug's head hurt. There was an insistent pounding that would not end, no matter how hard he wished.

"Boss! Boss! Wake up, boss!"

Nafzug realized what was causing his headache - his grot assistant, Noblitt.  Noblitt was furiously beating on Nafzug's skull with his tiny fists, trying to get his master to wake up.

Nafzug swiped at the area around his headache and connected with Noblitt, knocking away the little grot and his fists. The assistant landed with a wet squelch and muffled screech. Nafzug's head still hurt, but at least the pounding had stopped. That's when Nafzug noticed the smell. The Ork opened his eyes and was hit full on with one of those beaky-boyz plasma bursts.

That's what it felt like anyway. Once Nafzug's eyes adjusted, he realized that it was midday, and the sun was directly above his prone body. Nafzug took a deep breath of fetid air and sat up slowly. He realized that there was a reason for the smell - he was in the drops.

To base or not to base, that is the question:

So I was able to piece together the mess o' tank parts shown in the previous blog post. I am missing quite a few of the hatches, but a fellow player can hook me up with replacements. Now my main sticking point is whether or not I base the vehicles.

Obviously, you base the infantry in Epic, since the models are so small. The vehicles, on the other hand, are usually of a manageable size, so basing is more of an aesthetic preference. I went out and spent a fist full of dollars on precut Litko bases and magnetic sheet, but now I am having second thoughts.

I kind of want the bases so I can more easily stage the models in a case, and the magnetic bottoms will help to keep them in place, but I really like the look of the unbased models on a table. Basing the vehicles kind of detracts from that suspension of disbelief you get when looking at a nice model on a good looking table (see the Direct Fire header photo at the top of the page.)

Sigh.

Leman Russ Vanqisher scratchbuild

I've got a full company of Epic: 40K era Leman Russ battletanks, but unfortunately, the models don't come with a Vanquisher turret option. Looks like I gotta improvise... I picked up some brass rod that was slightly thinner than the regular Leman Russ battlecannon, then used some plastic rod to make a baffle and build up the cannon. I placed the rod in my Dremel and used a file to shape the plastic parts. I'm not 100% satisfied with the way the plastic was shaped, but I was having issues with the seating of the rod in the Dremel - got some wiggle, which threw the rod out of true. I think it will look ok when painted up, though.

Artillery - Primed and Ready!

Got some more assembly and priming done this weekend. I added a few more stands of Imperial Guard to bring me up to six full Steel Legion Imperial Guard companies. With the addition of a couple more stands, I can also field eight Baran Siegemaster companies or four Death Korps of Kreig companies. I think I have enough in the way of regular troops... The next troop project will be two companies of Stormtroopers. I tend not to use Ogryns or Support Fireteams, so they will probably be back-burner projects.

I also did up some self-propelled artillery, in the form of a company of custom Armageddon-pattern Basilisks. They will be replacing my Forge World Basilisk company. I like the Forge World models, but the barrels on the cannons are very thin and fragile - I've broken a couple in transit. The new models should hold up a bit better.

And in the towed artillery category, we have some Kreig Earthshakers. I haven't glued the barrels yet, so that's why they look less than elevated in the photo.

That's it for now - I'll probably get to the Chimeras and Russes next.

Base - How low can you go?

I've been looking for some cost-effective basing solutions for my Epic: Armageddon models. In addition to the possibility of basing my vehicles (which I'm still not sure if I'm going to do,) I need base solutions for some of my troops. My Imperial Guard and Space Marines will be mounted on the standard Games Workshop strip bases, but I need to figure out what I'm going to do with my Orks and Chaos Space Marines. I don't have enough of the strip bases as part of my Ork and all of my Chaos purchases were second hand and came without bases. In addition Games Workshop's pricing for their strip bases is pretty high ($4.50 plus shipping and tax for 16 bases.)

As a result, I've been looking at some options - here's what I've come up with:

Games Workshop bases

Thickness: 2.17mm
Size: 10mm x 40mm
Pros: Perfect for Epic infantry
Cons: Expensive ($.28 per base); only comes in infantry size

Self-made bases

One of the first options I tried was to create my own bases from plastic card. I measured out and cut strips based on the size of the GW bases, then punched holes in the strips with a standard 1/4" hole punch. After much cutting and hole-punching, I had some sore hands and partially finished bases. I then cut strips out of a thinner card and glued them to the bottom of the punched strips - instant (after a lot of work) bases. Epic guard fit right in the bases, and I locked them in with model cement. Unfortunately, the glue caused the thin bases to warp, and the stands didn't sit properly on the table. In retrospect, I think the plastic sheet idea is sound, but the bottom layer should have been magnetic sheet - there would have been no warping of the bases, and they would have been magnetized, to boot.

Thickness: Varies on the plastic card and method of construction you use
Size: Unlimited
Pros: Cheap (depends on what you pay for your plastic sheet); scalable for any size base
Cons: Labor intensive, prone to warping if you use the same methods as I did

Litko bases

On a recommendation from a fellow gamer, I ordered some bases from Litko. Litko will laser cut wooden bases to your specifications, which is pretty cool if you have anything that is kind of a weird size. Another neat thing is that Litko offers pre-cut magnetic or flexible steel sheeting that adheres to the miniature bases - very handy for securing your infantry in your carrying case. Litko's pricing is based on the base size, base thickness, material, and quantity of bases you order. For the Epic-sized bases I ordered, I was paying around $10-$12 for 100 bases. Shipping is a little high, so it makes sense to get together with some friends and place a larger order. The Litko bases do not come punched though, so you will either have to drill holes for the infantry models manually, or just glue the models directly to the top of the base.

Thickness: .8mm, 1.5mm, 3mm
Size: Unlimited, cut to spec
Pros: Reasonable pricing, depending on what you order (roughly $.10-$.15 per base); cut to any size; huge array of options
Cons: Labor intensive if you have to drill holes; price per base doubles if you want magnetic bottoms; high shipping

Woodsies

Again, on a recommendation, I went to the local Arts and Crafts store to take a look at a product called Woodsies. Woodsies are a line of wooden shapes that can be used in crafts projects - popsicle sticks, circles, squares, etc. The first store I went to, AC Moore, had a very limited selection, and I did not find what I was looking for. Michael's, on the other hand, had a larger selection and I was able to pick up a bag each of rectangles, squares, and circles. Each bag contains an assortment of 140 small, medium, and large shapes and runs $2.99 plus tax. In the circle assortment, I found 26 large (32.4mm), 65 medium (21.3mm), and 49 small - I didn't measure the small pieces, but they fall well under the rules requirement of being at least 20mm across. Again, these are obviously not punched for Epic infantry, but you could do it yourself with a drill. I know Dave and Capt. Piett on the Tactical Command forums both use medium rectangular Woodsies for their infantry - I feel the bases are a little large, but you have additional room for scenery effects.

Thickness: 1.8mm
Size: 32.4mm, 21.3mm (lg and med circle); (lg and med square); (lg and med rectangle)
Pros: Super cheap! ($.03 per base - even cheaper if you can find a use for the small pieces)
Cons: Limited in size; not punched for infantry; might be hard to find, depending on your location


Conclusions

As stated, I'm already using the GW strip bases for my Imperial Guard and Space Marines. If I decide to base the vehicles, I'll most likely use the Litko bases for the models, since I already bought and paid for them. As for my Chaos and Ork armies, I think I am going to seriously have to look at a combination of Woodsies and Litko round bases. The medium Woodsies are going to work great for stuff like weapons teams, Big Gunz, Sentinels, etc - things that are small and don't require a larger base. The large Woodsies should work for Rhinos, tanks, and battlewagons. I can then fill out the remaining base needs with Litko products - 25mm rounds for infantry, etc.