“Da Red Ferret” – Shadowtrakk

I plan to bring a force of Red Shadowz to BOYL 2014 to take part in some GorkaMorka.  “Da Red Ferret” is a scratch built shadowtrakk taken from my regular ork forces and given a good pimping up for the event.

Da Red Ferret

It now features reinforced armour, reinforced ram, a new engine, a pintle mounted big shoota and a shiny new red paint job.  The red paint was immediately given a large amount or weathering using my newly acquired rust and corrosion Games Workshop technical paints.

If the orks with the leather fetish don’t kill you the tetanus might!

The Red Ferret is inspired by the Action Force Hyena.  I was certainly torn between going for a cleaner toy like style of painting and weathering the shit out of it using my new technical paints…needless to say the new paints won out.

Hyena + Red Jackal

The pintle mounted gun has been magnetised for easy transport and interchangeability with other weapons if the whimsy takes me to make a rocket launcher option.  There is plenty of space to fit a couple of models into this vehicle which while not necessary, is a useful feature for immersive GorkaMorka play.

Zardork and the Black Major crewing Da Ferret

Decals are all hand painted and then ruined with overzealous weathering for that authentic orky feel.

Blood for Da Baron

Test model for a future force of Orks…Da Red Shadowz.

 

Red Shadow Ork

The Red Shadows were the main bad guys in the Action Force comics when I were a lad, and the uniform always made an impression.

The Red Shadows toys

 

The toys were made from the same moulds as for Wermacht infantry with a change of head and thus they are relatively easy to convert from any german uniformed model.  Luckily enough Games Workshop used to make an ork stormboy dressed in a Wermacht uniform, I doubt they will ever make models like these ever again.

Un-politically correct stormboys

Various people have done conversions like this one, and the best ones I am aware of are at: http://actionforcevsredshadows.blogspot.ie/

To my knowledge I am the first one to attempt to marry the GW model with the Red Shadows conversion idea.  Here are a couple of more angles.

Side view showing green stuff work to make sleeves with cuffs from 2nd Editon GW Ork arms

I have avoided to use of hilights here, just a simple ink wash for some definition, as I want to carry over the look from the toys.

The face mask is flat and devoid of detail, the eyes are simply painted on, just like the toys

I just painted the attachment point for the jump pack black like a backpack. I could add a skull and crossbones to this later…perhaps.

Rear view showing the attachment point for a jump pack

I will do at least another 4 of these fellows, and a halftrack.  I will use the Nob from the stormboyz above to represent the Black Major.  No doubt I will inevitably get around to doing the other toys from the range.