My first real introduction to the Warhammer 40k universe was with the Dawn of War series of real-time strategy games by Relic Entertainment. From that moment I really enjoyed the 40k universe, and the variety of races that populated it. I enjoyed their representation in Dawn of War so much I couldn't resist getting some of the W40k minatures.

In particular I really got attached to the Orks, a brutish civilisation (if you can even call it that) that loves nothing but to fight and wage war against others or even one another. Their technology is poor, but their numbers and will to fight is great.

Being a scale military model builder for the past couple of years, I was no stranger to assembling minature models. The Games Workshop models are probably considerably easier to assemble because they don't have to worry about historic details so they have an easy time designing models that fit together with only a few pieces.

Here's my Ork army in its current stage:

So far I've purchased the Ork Battleforce (a Ork-themed box set that contains a nice starting set of minatures) as well as a Deff Dread, Warboss and Tankbusta squad. I've yet to really sit down and work out the point value but I'm guessing its approaching the standard 500 points that seem to be commonly used in the battles down in my local Games Workshop store.

I've base-coated most of my force (with the uncoated minatures being newer acquistions I haven't gotten around to base-coating yet). I took my time to find a nice shade of green I wanted for my Ork's skin, and since I found that perfect combination I started painting. I've also coated most of the main metal objects the Ork Boyz are carrying (helmets and weapons) in a brown tin colour with a metallic grey colour going over the top soon. This should hopefully achieve a nice rustic look on their equipment as I don't see them really taking good care of it during its lifetime.

So far I've really enjoyed collecting these minatures, and I've only played one game with the girlfriend so far (I got her some Chaos Space Marines as she loves them, she mopped the floor with my Orks ). I'm planning on taking myself and the girlfriend to one of Game Workshop's beginner days to pick up some more advanced painting techniques as well as learning how to play the game properly.

My next minature purchase I've got my eyes on is the Assault on Black Reach boxed set. It comes with a nice collection of Space Marine and Ork minatures, including some exclusive minatures exclusive to that set. It even has a nice getting started guide (which I sorely need in regards to learning how to play), as well as some of the basic items that help in regards to the game such as dice, rulers and markers. The guy in the store said it was $400 AUD value for only $90 AUD, so I thought it was a pretty good deal and pre-ordered the set. Can't wait!