(Review) GW Trukk Kit how I love you...

...let me count the ways. :)

So, if anyone's taken the time to glance over my Ork blog it's fairly clear that like most Ork players... I like to Kustomize. I scratch built my Battle Wagons because I considered the official one too "weedy" and "grotlike" for my tastes (it's physical "presence" on the battlefield just wasn't up to snuff for this Warboss for the "carry 20 Boyz into battle" configuration... an inch or so of scaling in height and width prior to sending it to the printers would have made it just about perfect).

So, because I was so upset with the GW Battlewagon, I didn't give the regular "Trukk" kit a second thought. I figured if GW could screw up something so central to an Ork Waaagh as the Battle Wagon, the Trukk would have no hope. For the escalation league, I bought a Trukk kit. I figured... why not?

Pictures of my project here:
http://waaaghhound.blogspot.com/2010/02/painting-rust-on-trukk-and-skorcha.html
(only options used are Red Paint Job and Reinforced Ram)

Well... I've repented my prior opinion and just had to sing the praises.

1) The 6 Tires (or perhaps Tyres) are wonderful. So many tiny details are in each one that if GW would spin this out into its own sprue I'm certain they'd have Orky Mek buyers at (nearly) any price.
2) The basic vehicle frame, details and modeling of the suspension and drive system are amazing. It looks both Orkish and suits the well known Armor 10 rickety-ness of the Trukk at the same time. Minor details like a semi-truck trailer hitch socket as well as a tow hook/trailer hit hook really add to the look and feel.
3) The detailing on the engine and exhaust is top notch. Air intake, Toof bespeckled radiator, unbalanced cooling fan, nitro canisters, hoses, etc. are all minor details tucked away into this little bit. The fact that it sockets into the drivetrain so nicely shows the effort the original (3D?) artist took in the design.
4) The above go together like a dream. A few spots of glue and you're ready to go.

5) The detailing on everything else is about what I'd expect. It's top notch. The vehicle options included in the kit make it a great source for kustomization bits for down the road (wrecking ball, boarding planks, plates for extra armor, and the reinforced ram). And, like a "proppa" kit, it looks fine if you leave these options off.
6) The crew compartment has a hidden piece of hilarity. The driver's side and the gunner's cupola can be swapped. I guess US Orks drive on one side and UK Orks on the other. ;)
7) The Big Shoota cupola has rails and hooks so that if you don't wish to glue it down you don't have to (and it still sets in nicely). This is a huge bonus for actual play since you can now remove the cupola to represent weapon destroyed results. With careful application of glue, the gunner can even continue to rotate within the cupola ring like a turret.

8) With a Bullet… the biggest and best feature of this kit is… see points 1-4 above. This kit is probably the biggest boon to “kustom” vehicle Mek makers I’ve ever seen. The possibilities for building your own vehicle on top of the “canvas” (kanvas?) provided are nearly limitless.

However, this wouldn't be a 'proppa' review without a list of the stuff I didn't like.

1) The posing of the gunner's arms. It's very, very difficult to get the big shoota and the gunner's pose to come out looking anything like what the picture on the box suggests. If the pose matters to you, expect to have to do some cutting and greenstuff work. If you don't mind the gunner pose being one of the gunner hiding behind his own ammo drum, well then by all means just glue and go. :)
2) While the crew compartment can be swapped US/UK drivers side... only one side actually gives you enough room to glue the dashboard in easily. If the driver is on the left side, expect a tight fit and a few curse words if you don't assemble it in the correct order when you try to match the dashboard up with the “steering wheel” held by the driver.
3) For painting purposes, if a "competitive" (aka scoring) paint job is your goal - don't follow the printed directions. Assemble and paint separately: 1) frame/engine (don’t glue the tires on like the directions suggest), radiator, and right side exhaust (and reinforced ram if desired), 2) tires, 3) driver, dashboard, gunner cupola rails, and crew cabin, 4) gunner cupola (with wrecking ball if desired), 5) left side exhaust, 6) cargo area (with boarding planks if that’s your desire). Finish the 6 major parts, and then do final assembly after they’re all painted. Otherwise you will NOT be able to get a paintbrush everywhere you need it to go.

Anyway, I love this kit. If you're a Mek that loves to "kustomize" and haven't given the GW Trukk a try... I recommend biting the slugga one time and see if it doesn't spark your creative Squig juices in new and interesting ways.