#10 : Orks

The Xenos Threat

On to some of the more interesting races of Warhammer 40k....

Orks

Spread across nearly every planet in the universe, the Ork race outnumbers any other race. However, due to their war-like nature, they are split into numerous warbands, and would surely conquer the universe should they ever choose to unite.

Although the initial history of Orks is unknown, it is believed that they were engineered by an ultra-intelligent race for the purpose of universal domination. They possess an innate knowledge of mechanics and engineering on an instinctive level. This allows groups of feral orks, who have spawned in a new area or planet, to form a tribe capable of constructing weapons and war-machines. Their anatomy and physiology is a combination of animal and fungus. As an Ork grows, it released spores into the ground, which grow into Orks or Gretchins after some years. A planet that is infested with Orks will be so forever, and spores can travel across galaxies on a traveler's shoe. 

Orks, unlike most other races, grow their entire lives. An ork tribe is lead by the largest of the group, who changes periodically. Being an extremely aggressive race, Orks fight among themselves until a worthy leader emerges to initiate a Waaaaagh!, a massive unification of ork tribes for a single purpose. The orks will continue their Waaaagh! until a significant number of the orks have died or there are no enemies left to fight. Additional info on the Orks can be found here: Ork - Lexicanum

Orks are a cool race. A general ork army has a lot of units, so be sure that you like painting before you chose them. They have only a few color schemes, but they look great when you do them correctly. You could also try creating your own color scheme, like the one shown above, but it is a little harder then with some other races, like Chaos Space Marines or Imperial Guard.

Overview: Orks are a good race for both intermediate and advanced painters. They are ok for newbies, but be patient as the first few might not look so great.