One day back in 2010, I noticed the driver's side front tire on my car had a slow leak. Real pain in the butt. Long story, short... I took the car into Firestone to see if the gang there could fix it. While I'm hanging around in the shop for an hour or so, I notice several tow trucks rolling in.

A devious thought started to take shape in my warped orkish brain. My Big Mek had been needing a ride of a while...

... and I figured a big, nasty, battlewagon-sized tow trukk would fit the bill perfectly. Luckily for me, I keep paper and pencil with me at all times for when my mind goes on just such a bender. I knocked up a sketch while I was waiting for my tire to be fixed, and that was the beginning of Tork's Wrecka. Enjoy.
 

The thing is going to be roughly the size of a Land Raider, just like Da BIG Trukk.

It's going to have a huge engine, and the big-ass hook on the back of the trukk will count as a grabbin' klaw in normal games.

For Apocalypse, I'm thinking some custom rules will be in order. Something along the lines of an Orky 'recovery vehicle' to haul tanks and other vehicles (friendly or not, mobile or not) back to the Ork lines where they can be looted and used in the same game. Should be fun.

Like all my Ork vehicles, I started with the chassis, using the same large tires as on Da BIG Trukk.

When I was building the thing, I realized the tires were a bit too big to make it exactly like the design sketch.

I have some slightly smaller tires that would allow me to keep the space between the 1st and 2nd axles (the one with the driver's side door and the fuel tank), but since this thing is basically a massive tow truck, I figured the bigger the tires the better.

Here's a shot of the chassis from underneath. I've got the drive train all worked up as well as some parts of the engine and transmission that will be visible from underneath.

There's also the beginnings of some armor plating covering the front and underside of the engine and transmission. Even though it's going to have a massive ram plate / dozer plate attached to the front, you can never be too careful. :)

Here's a shot of the chassis next to Da BIG Trukk for a size comparison.

So far so good.

Here you can see the top of the wrecka coming together. I've got the engine pretty much all there as well as the beginnings of the front grill.

The driver / gunner compartment still needs some work and the bed is nothing but a framework at this point.

I think I'll start working on the actual tow rig assembly next.

Here's a close up of the engine.

Should have enough horsepower :)

Here's the beginning of the towing rig and winch assembly.

It still needs the chains, hydraulic lift pistons, and a whole ton of gubbinz, but the structure is pretty much there.

From the front.

More work done on the towing rig.

I went with dual chains and hooks for more stability on the towed vehicle, either that or just to make sure it can't get away, hehe.

I've also got the control box for the winch in place and a grot rigger to run it.

Tork inspecting his new ride. So far so good.

Here's a close up of the grot running the winch controls.

I made this thing from using bitz from the Imperial Guard Tank Accessory Sprue. The control box is the base of the antenna assembly turned upside down, and the levers are made from the handles off the pick and shovel bitz.

I love that sprue, you can use it for damn near anything

And the real test...

Stealin' a Landraider!!

You didn't need that didya? :)

I want to be able to stick some super-heavies on the tow hooks at some point, so I'll probably counterbalance the Wrecka by sticking some lead weights up front in the engine compartment.

I've done another round of detail work on this beast.

The dozer blade is attached, but it still needs some work.

The crew is pretty much there, but I still need to get an appropriate head on the gunner.

I've also got the rollcage over the front compartment in place, and the searchlight attached.

I mounted an additional big shoota to the driver's side fender, mostly for looks, but who knows... I may add more guns to this thing.

The bed of the Wrecka is filled with all kinds of junk. Tools, chains, extra gears, and a fuel tank make it easier for the mek's to make repairs.

I've got all the rivets on the towing rig, and I've attache4d a rear bumper as well.

Here's a shot of the bed from the other side.

And a shot from the side.

I've got the gunner hanging out the side door of the Wrecka, hanging on to the rollcage and firing his big shoota from the hip.

I tried having him seated in the cab, but he just couldn't get a clear shot around that massive engine :)

I mentioned putting a bit of weight in the front end to counterbalance any super-heavies I want to put on the hooks...

Well, I went down to my local model train supply shop and bought a bunch of 1/4 oz weights.

The tires are hollow, so I filled the ones on the front axle with weights. Between the front tires and the space in the engine cavity, I've got a good half pound of lead in the front of this thing !

Here's the Wrecka all finished up and ready for painting.

I've got the front dozer blade all 'teefed up' and good to go.

A shot from the other side...

... the rear...

... and the opposite side rear.

All dismantled into it's component pieces and ready for primer.

Up next... Painting!

And here she is, all painted up and ready for the tabletop.

I started out by priming the model black and then giving the whole thing a good drybrush of Boltgun Metal.

Once the base metallic color was down, I went through and painted the armor plates with Blood Red. I had to do several layers of Blood Red to get an even tone.

The 'danger stripes' on the towing rig were done by basecoating with Bubonic Brown, then a primary coat of Golden Yellow. Then I did the stripes in Chaos Black and finally washed the whole thing with Gryphonne Sepia to give it a dirty, worn look.

The scratches and dings were done by painting the scratched areas with a 2:1 mix of Scorched Earth and Chaos Black, and then going over it with Boltgun Metal and/or Mithril Silver.

By painting a darker color first on damaged areas, it helps to make the metallic colors 'pop' a bit more. It's kind of a "metal-showing-through-primer" effect.

After the battle damage phase, I went back and did some detail work, like the cracked searchlight and the "Tork's Towing" on the driver's side door.

Once that was done, I used a thinned wash of Bestial Brown and water to make the dirt and mud areas along the lower edges of the vehicle, particularly on the front dozer blade.

When doing a wash for 'dirtying up' a vehicle, I don't pay much attention to the water/paint ratio,I just eyeball it until it looks about right. Think 'dirty water' as opposed to 'thinned paint' for the right consistency.

Here's a detail shot of the driver's door...

... and a good shot of the whole crew...

... and a final detail shot of the 'gubbinz' in the bed of the Wrecka.

Well folks, that's all she wrote. Time to get some games in with this bad boy!