Cyborkz - Resistanz Iz Futile

Who wouldn't want to add a few Borg to there miniatures collection?

The trouble is though that if you do want to, there just aren't any good Borg miniatures readily available. In fact, I'm not sure there are any "out of the box" Borg available full-stop. Of course, I could be wrong but, I can't find them!

So, what's a modeler to do? Assimilate of course! ;0).

My first thoughts on going custom were that Cadian Shock Troops would make a pretty good starting point for any Borg model. I'd need new heads and probably a few servitor arms from other models but the end result should be pretty close.. Or so I thought.

Then I found this picture on-line:

Click to enlarge.

Whilst the Cadians would do a fine job representing labor and transport drones, the arms would need some serious modification for every other type. The Games Workshop servitor arms just weren't going to cut it.

Not particularly practical from a personal point of view as I have none of the parts in my bit box nor anything to mod them with, meaning that this idea could quickly turn into a cash sink.. But looking in my bits box did give me a brainwave.

I have 40 or so Marauders from Mantic. Orks, that straight out of the box have a very Borg look about them. At one point I was even going to convert several of these to Mech Boyz for 40k. So, these would seem to be the perfect low-cost option for the project at hand. After all, the Borg didn't just assimilate Terrans did they?

So, depending on how well this pans out, I may even produce an unofficial codex for them. Not that Games Workshop will ever let you bring them to their gaming table... You can always use the paint scheme and ideas though, bringing cybernetically  enhanced Orkish killing machines to a workshop gaming table near you.

Why Pay More?

When it comes to building an Ork force for Warhammer: 40,000 cost can quickly become a problem.

Outside of what you can currently pick up inside of a Black Reach starter box set, you are going to need grunts and lots of them. Boyz form the core of most Ork forces and given that a 10 man squad currently sets you back £18 and, you realistically need somewhere between 6 of these before you throw in all the bells and whistles (Nobz, Trukks etc) setting up a warband, even a basic one, can easily set you back hundreds. Ouch!

But what if you could pull off pretty much the same effect for a fraction of the price? Allow me to introduce you to Mantic.

Mantic are not a new name when it comes to miniature gaming in the UK but their Ork range has been a long time coming. It has to be said though, well worth the wait. Whilst the plastic could use a little work the overall product really does give you a lot of bang for your buck, working out at about a pound a model with a couple of vehicles thrown in for free in this box set.

All-in-all you can get 40 Slugga Boyz and 10 Mek Boyz with Kustom Mega-Blastas out of this box (or 50 Slugga Boyz if you prefer) and the trikes included could easily be considered to be Wartrakks, worth £16.50 each with Games Workshops current prices.

So that's £141 from Games Workshop or, £49.99 from Mantic

Now whilst i can never honestly see Games Workshop allowing you to use these models in any of their stores (no surprise really) for your friendly games and local gaming groups there shouldn't really be any problems. The idea of Orks is "Kustomization" after all.