Ork Panzer Krenadiers  by Luis Nunez; updated by Patrick Eibel
In the original version of this Themed Army Idea, Number One Jungle Fanboy Luis Nunez was inspired by Forge World vehicles and his love of historical miniatures to create a mechanized Ork army.  With the new Ork Codex now available it is time to revisit Luis’ idea and bring it up to date.

Background
Out of the deserts of Gorkaria they came, a massive wave of armored war machines crewed by thousands of Orks. Led by a coalition of Big Meks, the Ork Panzer Krenadiers (OPK) swiftly crushed all the other Ork hordes on Gorkaria and soon left the planet to attack nearby worlds in the Ultima Segmentum. The OPK have fought the Eldar and the Tau, but their primary target seems to be Imperial worlds, particularly those with factories capable of churning out more tanks, flyers, and artillery pieces. 

Philosophy
Strike hard, strike fast, with an emphasis on speed and firepower. Orks want to dominate all the planets in the universe because they have nothing better to do as much as anything else. The theme behind the OPK is taken from Germany’s early panzer divisions from World War II, avoiding all Nazi references, which are in poor taste and are obviously offensive. 

HQ
The OPK are commanded by a Feeld Marshull (Warboss) that rules the army with an iron hand (or power klaw, as the case may be).  The army may also include Big Meks, whose ability to work together to keep all of the vehicles in working order (a very un-Orky trait) has brought much of their success. Weirdboys are rarely used, as the OPK do not trust them to be sufficiently “Orky.”

Elites
Nobz and Meganobz may be taken, and either a Trukk or Battlewagon must be included as a transport for each squad. The Warboss will probably ride with one of these units, since they max out at ten in a mob. Kommandos may also be taken, as any good tank force has scouts to find out what’s ahead. Tankbustas, Burnas and Lootas may be taken, but a Looted Wagon or Battlewagon must be take from the Heavy Support section for them to ride in. 

Troops
The OPK are the best-equipped Orks to be found; as such, heavy emphasis should be placed on selecting shooty weapons over close combat weapons. The first two Troop choices taken must be Boyz armed with shootas instead of choppas and sluggas; other weapons (rokkit launchas and big shootas) are used as appropriate. A unit of Nobz or Meganobz may be taken as a Troops choice as well (as per Warboss entry). All Troops selections should be mounted in Trukks, so they should not number more than twelve Boyz each.

Fast Attack
Stormboyz are the core of the OPK’s assault force. Units should be large, to withstand enemy fire. Buggies and Wartrakks support the other units, particularly with rokkit launchas to take out hard targets. Warbikes and Deffkoptas are not generally used, because the OPK prefer sturdier vehicles.

Heavy Support
This is the heart of the Ork Panzer Krenadiers. As many Heavy Support choices as possible should be taken. Vehicles such as Battlewagons and Looted Wagons form the bulk of the OPK Heavy Support units. However, Big Gunz batteries have been known to be used to blast entrenched opponents out of their boltholes so that the ground troops can get to them.

Modeling and Painting
This is the best part, where the OPK truly comes alive. With the German panzer divisions as my inspiration, I will explain some modeling ideas for the OPK. 

A great source for equipment for this army is 1/35 scale WWII German equipment.  These can be found at most hobby stores where model tanks are sold. For example: 

As many Orks as possible should be equipped with German WWII helmets to give the army that common look. For the truly talented, green stuff can be used to model field uniforms for the Orks. If possible, the Warboss and Nobz should be in uniform. If you can imagine an Ork in a Commissar’s uniform, you’re hitting the mark. 

The real heart of the army is the vehicles. The main source of the models will be 1/35 scale German military vehicles from WWII. Enclosed vehicles that are being used as an open-topped Ork equivalent should take the ‘ard case upgrade. Trukks can be represented by WWII troop trucks in the right scale. For large scale Apocalypse games, fighta bommas can be included by converting Junker dive bombers and /or Messerschmitts.

Looted Wagons with boomguns can be represented by the German Wespe (below) or other self propelled artillery pieces.

You can’t have a mechanized force without some infantry support. The vehicles for the Boyz can be halftracks like the one below.

Warbuggies and Wartrakks can be represented by the smaller German halftracks or recon vehicles (see below). The Germans had a myriad of armored cars and vehicles during WWII, so there are no limits to the conversion possibilities.

Many of the heavier German WWII tanks, like the Tiger or Panther, can be used to represent things like Looted Wagons or Battlewagons.

DO NOT put any Nazi regalia (such as the swastika or the “SS” lightning-bolt symbol) on your vehicles or troops. That’s not what this army is about! 

General Tactics
As one might expect, the OPK uses “blitzkrieg” tactics, combining aerial attacks with swift moving vehicles and lots of firepower. 
 

Related Pages
Other Ork Themed Army Ideas
 

Originally posted  October 2003. Used with permission. Revised June 2008
All images used from HobbyTron.com
 

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