With the release of the new ork codex, the Battlewagon got a real boost in power and performance. I also needed an impressive ride for my 'Ard Boyz mob.
 

I picked up a monster truck toy (a Humvee actually) that I used as the cab. Everything else is scratchbuilt. I wanted to build a cross between a dump truck and a monster truck, complete with a super-charged engine.

The massive tires and spiked ram plate mean this thing can bulldoze it's way through most obstacles and terrain with impunity.

The Big Shoota is there mostly for looks and to soak up any 'Weapon Destroyed' damage results. It's usually rolling too fast to shoot anyway.

Here's a shot of the underside of the chassis.

I used heavy plastic I-beams and drilled holes for the axles.

This sucker will roll, just like my other trukk conversions.

Here's the chassis right side up. I've started on the engine as well as the support structure for the bed of the trukk.

The engine is from a 1/35 Sturmtiger tank model which will see itself on these pages in the future. As another Battlewagon probably.

A shot from the back showing the support struts for the bed. I used the small Imperial Tank tread wheels as risers for the bed.

Here's the cab being test fit on the front.

So far, so good.

A shot from the other side. I like the way the air filters stick above the hood line, Very 'muscle car' looking.

Bird's eye view of the engine compartment and cab. The small white circles will be where the spark plug wires go in the finished version. Still a lot of work to do before that point.

a 3/4 front view with the bed in place and a boy for scale.

A side shot with a boy for scale. DAMN those tires are BIG!!!

3/4 rear view

Bird's eye rear view showing the carrying capacity of the bed.

This thing will hold over a dozen orks easily, which should represent it's transport capacity of 20 very nicely.

This thing will be a real beast when she's done.

Now that the basic structure is in place, time to start the 'gubbinization' process.

Here you can see where I started work on some of the suspension bitz for the front wheels.

I also started on the dozer blade rig for the front.

Here you can see some of the armor plating. I wanted to give it an armored car feel and I think the vision slits acheive that pretty well.

A shot from the other side, showing the armor plating and the big shoota.

I lined the bed with window screen to make it look like metal grating. This portion of the trukk still needs a lot of work.

I'm also going to put a bunch of junk in the bed of this thing. Orks aren't exactly 'tidy'.

I've finished 'gubbinizing' this beast. I've included all kinds of little tidbits, like the rhino door trophy chained to the side.

I've also carved in a whole bunch of battle damage.

Here's a rear view showing some more of the haphazard armor plating.

You can also see some of the undercarriage as well, more on that later.

Rear view of the other side.

Here's a shot of the bed of the trukk. I wanted to put more bitz and trash in it, but there is a balance between detail and practicality. If I fill it up with junk, I won't have any room to put the models who are supposed to be riding in it.

Rear shot showing some of the undercarriage bitz. I modelled the drive train and fuel tanks, there are even a couple of fuel lines.

Better shot of the underside, showing the complete drive train as well as some underside armor plates. You can just make out the red fuel lines coming from the gas tanks.

Aerial view showing the engine and other bits. For all the armor this thing is carrying, the weaponry is pretty light. Just a Big Shoota and a Stikkbomm Chukka.

HERE COMES TROUBLE!!!

Now that construction is complete, it's time to slap some paint on this beasty..

I tried out a new painting technique on this model, kind of by accident actually.

I use Krylon Ultra-Flat spray paint to prime my models. It's designed for use on cars but I've found it produces nice results on miniatures too, providing an even coat without obscuring detail.

I meant to buy black spray primer but accidentally bought dark brown instead.

I decided to go with the dark brown primer and then gave the whole thing a wash of watered down black paint after. The overall effect was a greasy, rusty look that fits an ork vehicle perfectly.

After the wash had dried completely, I gave the whole vehicle a liberal drybrushing of Boltgun Metal.

The brownish-black primer coat showed through the weathering nicely, giving the whole thing a very 'battered' look. Just what I was hoping for.

So far, so good...

Next up, I painted the armor plates with Blood Red and painted the 'danger striping' on the front bumper.

Blood Red has a nice hue to it, but it doesn't have the same pigment concentration of some other colors. I had to do several coats to get an even tone.

Even though I tried for a good solid coat of red, an even tone isn't all that critical on Ork vehicles. You probably won't even notice after I paint on all the scuffs, dings and battle damage, but I like to be thorough

As you can see here, the next step was painting all the scuffs, scrapes, dings and battle damage.

At this stage I also did a lot of the detail work such as the roof lights and the trophy chained to the side of the passenger compartment.

Those poor Crimson Fists!

The funny thing is...nobody in my gaming group plays them.

Guess that'll be one of my future projects. I've got some marine bits laying around, I'll probably paint up some beakies for Da Boyz ta beat on!

At this point I toyed with the idea of some armored hubcaps for the front wheels.

I'm not quite sold on the idea yet, but I made them hubcaps removable so I can decide at a later date.

I made the hubcaps from plasticard cut in a circular shape.

I added some scuffs and dents, as well as a bunch of rivets, to "orkify" them.

I then glued some cut off pieces of a plastic wine cork to the back of the hubcaps. The cork is actually from a bottle of Chaucer's Mead, if you haven't tried it... you should! Good stuff folks!

The cork is just the right size to fit into the rims on the battlewagon. I can pop the hubcaps on and off as I see fit.

The next step was the mud and grime. I used a wash of thinned down brown paint the gunk up the lower edges of the body work as well as the tires.

Nothing in an ork army should be spotless and clean!

At this point painting is pretty much complete. All that remains is to spray on some clearcoat and take some glamor shots.