Rynn's World: Thrugg Bullneck, Hruk, and Pedro Kantor.

Getting back into Warhammer 40,000 has made me nostalgic, but in a different kind of way. Rather than going back to my wargaming roots with the original models I bought to play Rogue Trader all those years ago, I decided to give the old theme a new twist. I wanted to play the first wargame I had ever played, the "Battle at the Farm" from the original Rogue Trader rulebook, but with new models. While I have a fond nostalgia for my gaming origins, that fondness does not carry over to the models themselves. I know Oldhammer is big these days, and I get that. It's just that, well, to my eyes the old models suck. They haven't aged well in my opinion. They look like the lumps of lead from the 1980s that they were. And that's ok really. It's just not very aesthetically pleasing to me. I really like how the imagery of Warhammer 40,000 has progressed over the years (if not always what they have done with the universe-especially the Squats!). That doesn't mean I like the look of all of the new models. But I do think there has been a pretty steady development in the quality of the style.

Anyway. The Orks project I had started a few years back but just got rolling recently has gotten me in the mood to refight the old scenario. To that end I had finished a squad of Crimson Fists marines, but did not have a Pedro Kantor to lead them. I could have just bought the Games Workshop version of this iconic leader, but I didn't like how he was armed and it just didn't fit in with the style of the rest of my force. And while I had finished a whole horde of Orks, they didn't have a Thrugg Bullneck or his sneaky henchman Hruk to lead them either. I could have used the warboss I had painted up, but it just didn't quite have the right character for Thrugg nor was it armed properly.

So, I recently finished a few models to rectify this. Below are pics of my own conversions of Thrugg Bullneck, Hruk, and Pedro Kantor.

Here is Thrugg Bullneck. An ork nob of the Waaagh Snagrod the Arch Arsonist's forces during the attack on Rynn's World. I made a custom chainsword for him to wield and tried to capture some of the original pose and feel of the older model.

For comparison, here is the original Thrugg Bullneck (pic is from the Stuff of Legends website).

Here is Thrugg's sneaky git and right hand man, Hruk. This time I used pretty much standard Ork nob parts, but added a blade taken from an Ork Deff Dred power saw. I tried to keep the original pose and feel with this one too. I decided to keep the head simple because I didn't want to add goggles or the weird helmet crest of the original to keep it in the theme of my current Ork army.

And here is the original Hruk.

I owned this box set back when I first got into Warhammer 40,000 Rogue Trader. Thrugg Bullneck's Ork Raiders and the first Space Marine Box set (RTB01) were the first real models I painted (and painted badly).

Last but not least is Pedro Kantor himself: chapter master of the Crimson Fists as he was armed and equipped from the original Rogue Trader Battle at the Farm scenario. I used parts from a number of Space Marine kits both recent and old. The legs, shoulder pad, backpack and chest are from the Sternguard box. The helmet is old and I'm not even sure where it came from (it was in my bits box). The rest is standard Space Marine parts such as pouches and grenades. I gave him a Power Glove and a Bolt Pistol and a pretty simple pose. I hope he captures the feel of the original game (there was no specific Pedro Kantor model back then), but with a little updated look to set him apart from the rest of the squad.

And here is the force he will be leading:

I hope you enjoy this (slightly updated) trip down memory lane. I will be running the original Battle at the Farm scenario using Disposable Heroes: Point Blank modified for Warhammer 40,000. Once I paint these models and finish a few buildings that is...

Stay tuned!

(also coming soon...more Badab War stuff. Mantis Warriors, Sons of Medusa, Lamenters etc. Keep your eyes on this space!).