Tuesday 6 March 2018

Necromunda: House Escher Gangers 01

As I continue to showcase my old and new Necromunda figures, in these next two posts I'm going to focus on my favourite Underhive gang - House Escher. In this post I'm reviewing my original Escher gang - Catherine's Cut-throats. Without further ado, here they are in their entirety. Because this was my favourite gang, all of the figures were named but not all of them were used. That said, 18 of these 24 figures were used in my mid-1990's campaign. This gang just grew and grew. 😃
At the far left is a ganger called Angela Santiago, who is armed with an Autopistol, a Power Sword and a Knife. This was one of the two leader figures provided but I much preferred the other one so this figure became a standard ganger.
Next to her is actual gang leader, Catherine "Cut-throat" Kurtz. She was an incredibly successful leader, who in her first seven gang fights won every one! That impressive achievement went unequalled in my campaign. She is armed with a Plasma Gun, a Las Pistol, a Power Sword and a Knife. Check out her rainbow coloured hair, which I love! This gang is so colourful!
To her left is Corisande Gothique, another ganger and the gang's medic. She is armed with a Las Rifle, a Shotgun, a Power Sword and a Knife. I should mention that she was not an official Escher figure, but an old Citadel Rogue Trader figure whom I drafted in. I added the Power Sword to her from my spare parts box. To me, she just looked like she should be an Escher ganger.
Next in line are the gang's three heavies. Third from the right is Sabrina Wilde, who is armed with a Heavy Plasma Gun, an Autopistol, a Short Sword and a Knife. She was hard as nails and a stone cold killer!
To her left is Dee Dee Deathbringer, who is armed with an Autocannon, an Autopistol, a Short Sword and a Knife. This gang was unusual in that had two heavies on its roster.
The heavy at the far left is Nadia Mendoza, armed with a Las Cannon, a Las Pistol and a Knife. She was not used in my gang. She is another non-official Escher figure. Originally, she was an Imperial Guards-woman. Yes, in those days Citadel did make female Imperial Guardsmen. Why they don't now still baffles me. This figure was not converted in any way, merely given an Escher style paint job. I like her a lot.
Next up are the first six of twelve official metal Escher gangers. I don't know why, but back then Citadel produced more metal gangers for House Escher than any other gang... not that I was complaining! These six gangers specialised in ranged combat. At the far left is Venecia Secura, who is armed with a Shotgun, Autopistol and Knife. She was not used in my gang.
Standing next to her is Annabelle Armalite, who is armed with an Auto Rifle, a Silenced Autopistol and a Knife.
Third from the left is Juliette Delacroix, who is armed with a Las Rifle, a Las Pistol, a Short Sword and a Knife.
The ganger with the mint green hair is "Shotgun Shelagh" O'Shaunessy who is obviously armed with a Shotgun, as well as a Short Sword and a Knife.
Orange-haired ganger, Zoe Sussido, is armed with an Auto Rifle, a Las Pistol and a Knife.
At the far right is Melissa Nightingale, the gang's best sharpshooter, who is armed with a Las Rifle with Telescopic Sight, a Las Pistol and a Knife. Whenever I was setting up my gang I'd always try to place her on the highest point possible.
This next batch of gangers all excelled at melee combat. At the far left is Kirsten McCoy, who is armed with an Autopistol, Frag and Krak Grenades, a Sword and a Knife. I'm not sure, but I think she was the only Necromunda figure who was sculpted holding a Grenade.
Next to Kirsten is Fiona DeVille, who is armed with a Las Pistol, a Flail and a Knife. The Flail is a most unusual weapon in the Underhive.
Third from the left is Siobhan Sawyer who is armed with an Autopistol, a Chainsword and a Short Sword.
Third from the right is Pomayla Jatarri, who is armed with a Plasma Pistol, a Club and a Knife.
To her right is Gabrielle Swiftsword, who is naturally armed with a Power Sword, an Autopistol and a Knife. She was the gang's best close combat fighter. Only Catherine, the gang's leader, earned more experience than her.
Finally, is Jade Maskarra, a new recruit to the gang. She is armed with a Las Pistol, two swords and a Knife.
Finally, we come to the juves. At the far left is Becky Buck, who became a highly skilled ganger and infiltrator. She is armed with an Autopistol with Silencer, a Pick and a Knife. Her colour scheme was loosely based on the comic book heroine, Tank Girl, whom I thought she resembled.
Next in line is Hoso Purdey (oh, so pretty, geddit?) who is armed with an Autopistol, a Club and a Knife. She was not used in my gang.
Neither was the next juve in line, Salma Cruz, who is armed with an Autopistol, an Axe and a Knife. Note that I added her glasses.
This next juve, Carryanne Fairchild, is not a Citadel figure. I can't remember who originally sculpted her but she was heavily converted by me. I added her shoulder pad, twin MAC10 Machine Pistols (which I classed as Autopistols), her ammo pouch, her tiger print loin cloth and her boots. Given that amount of work on her, she was used in my gang but was added much later in the campaign, so she never advanced beyond juve status.
Second from the right is Kayrin Rasavi, who is armed with an Autopistol and a Knife. She was not used in my campaign.
Nor was the final figure in my collection, Rula Villaseca, which is a shame. I love this sculpt. The way she is clearly struggling to hold that massive Plasma Pistol is just so cute. She is also armed with a Knife.
When I played with my Badland Bastards Goliath gang, I never cared whether I won or not. I just wanted to have fun with them. But with Catherine's Cut-throats, this was my favourite gang and I so wanted to succeed with them the most. These were my babes. I put my heart and soul into painting them to the very best of my abilities. Luckily, I did extremely well with them They finished top of my league when my old campaign drew to a close. When I started out with this gang, one of the first things I did was to hire a bounty hunter to aid them in their first few games. Her name was Amazonia Gothique, elder sister of Corisande. The experience and high stats she provided made a big difference in those early games and I was surprised so few other players didn't follow suit. I'll show you Amazonia in a latter post. She left after five games, by which time my gang had earned plenty of experience. Such was the reputation of Catherine's Cut-throats that late on in the campaign, they were awarded Watchmen status, a high honour indeed.
Obviously my views about these figures are biased but honestly, they were some of the finest sculpted Citadel figures for Necromunda. The fact that they are the only all-female gang in the game immediately drew me to them. I had such a blast playing with them in my campaign and coming top was simply the cherry on the cake. Do I prefer these old figures to the new plastic Eschers? Yes, I do. The new plastics are gorgeous and have so much conversion potential but they look more muscular to these ladies. These old figures are pure gold, in my opinion

42 comments:

  1. Why am I not surprised that this was your favourite house? an all female gang what could ever have appealed to you here? Wonderful colourful paintwork on these Bryan, they were obviously a labour of love. I remember one of my main opponents from way back when had this gang, though I can't remember how successful he was with them, I'm surprised they ever got anything done, they must have spent all of their time doing their hair!!

    I do remember that rogue trader fig though, she's one I very nearly bought on numerous occasions, but sadly never did.

    Cheers Roger.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Many thanks, Roger. Your assessment is spot on and yes, they were a labour of love to paint and to use. I can only agree with your comment about their hair! :-)

      Citadel made some really lovely Rogue Trader figures and I managed to buy most of them.

      Delete
    2. Bryan has always been supportive of emancipated strong and independent female role models!!!

      Delete
    3. This is so true, Phil! Well said!

      Delete
  2. very nice....... not as good as Orlocks or an tough as Pit slaves but nice all the same.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cheers, Clint. Well, when the Orlocks faced this gang, they were soundly beaten and ran off with their tails between their legs. Ho, ho, ho! Oh, how I laughed! Beaten by a bunch of girlies! :-)

      Delete
    2. I have been beaten by Escher before, no shame in it. But I came back stronger and won the campaign in the end. So I got the last laugh. At least then. Your campaigns may be very different.

      Delete
    3. Good for you, Clint. You must have been a better player than my mate who played the Orlocks. He did not fare well with them. Poor tactics, poor dice rolls? Who can say?

      Delete
  3. Very colourful and ready for battle.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Phil. They are certainly my most colourful gang.

      Delete
  4. Glorious...digging those vibrant paintjobs. Plus you have the original Mad Donna. ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, mate. Yes, I do have the original Mad Donna, but she isn't in this post. Have no fear though. I will be showcasing her soon.

      Delete
  5. Nice looking gang Bryan, a great trip down memory lane for these metal minis that were very popular at the time

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Dave. Those were good times back then.

      Delete
  6. Hi Bryan I started reading this and Roger with his 1st sentence summed it up perfectly :-)

    Surprisingly I have three of these figures, all juves although one you show with the plasma pistol mine has a whopping big revolver.

    It's good to wander down memory lane:-D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi John. After I read your comment, I had a closer look at the juve with the plasma pistol and I'm now certain she's a conversion with the plasma pistol replacing her slug pistol. I don't know why I didn't spot that earlier.

      Delete
  7. Fantastic looking gang. The old Rogue Trader range still has some gems that stand up to todays standard of figures.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Many thanks, Simon. I totally agree with you about the old Rogue Trader range. They did have some gems.

      Delete
  8. Outstanding Bryan, and I can easily see why these are your favourites :-)
    I recognize Corisande Gothique from artwork somewhere, and remember always keeping an eye open for the mini, but never found one - definitely a sculpt with character you could build a campaign around!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you kindly, Greg. Corisande is a great figure and was such an obvious candidate to become an Escher. Just wait until you see her older sister, Amazonia! ;-)

      Delete
  9. I loved the gang but never got them. Great job on them, they remind me of the far future version of “The Lizzies” from The Warriors...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cheers, Andy, and thanks for reminding me of "The Warriors" - a great film.

      Delete
  10. Hey Vampifan!

    LOVELY girls!

    I've just seen your post on LAF, thank you very much for the dedicatory!

    Cheers! :O)




    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi there, Eduardo. Lovely to hear from you. I know you like the Eschers as much as I do, hence my dedication.

      All the best, my amigo!

      Delete
    2. What's not to like?! They are indeed the best Necromunda figures IMHO, and your paint job only adds to that, nice work! :O)

      Very inspiring to do a "Streets of Fire" remake using Necromunda, OMG! :O)

      Delete
    3. Thank you kindly, Edu. Oh, man, did you know that "Streets of Fire" is one of my all time favourite films? I just watched it again a couple of weeks ago. Yes, a "Necromunda" style remake would be so cool!

      Delete
    4. I didn't know about you also being a STREETS OF FIRE fan, but it really makes sense, because you're a gentleman of fine taste after all! :O)

      A RPG adventure based on the movie with lots of miniature action - resembling classical 80s street fighting video games - would be amazing... hummmmnnn... :O)

      Delete
    5. BTW: it is said that the movie was the inspiration of the classic 1986 video game "Final Fight" - with lots of colorful street gangs and a damsel to be rescued in a crime-ridden retro-futuristic city - so everything makes sense! :O)

      Delete
    6. Sorry, I meant 1989 video game! :O)

      Delete
    7. Edu, I fell in love with "Streets of Fire" the first time I saw. It is one of the few films that I also bought the CD soundtrack for. The opening and closing numbers are sublime!

      Not being familiar with video games, I'm afraid I never heard of "Final Fight" but I do like the concept of it. If ever such an RPG as you described was released I'd want it asap. You have given me much food for thought, good buddy! :-)

      Delete
    8. There's a tabletop RPG based on 80s "bad movies", called "STRAIGHT TO VHS": https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9Qiq_vhT3DoX3psTXVBUkdvdEE/view

      :O)

      Delete
    9. Edu, I'm amazed at your depth of knowledge! I'd never heard of this RPG before but I'm very grateful to you for pointing it out to me. I have downloaded it and I'll be spending some time reading through it. Many thanks, mate!

      Delete
    10. You're ALWAYS welcome, pardner!

      I remember my old modern horror RPG campaing (with house rules and those great WW ROADKILL minis) was set in the 80s with lots of tropes from those awesome times!

      And I've just found this picture of a very inspiring use of the new Escher miniatures that, being plastic, are easily convertible into bikers for raiding the Ash Wastes of Necromunda:

      http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2013/3/25/477049_md-Ash%20Waste%20Bikers.jpg

      :O)

      Delete
    11. That's a great picture. Anything that reminds me of the "Mad Max" franchise makes me happy! Also, thanks for mentioning the old West Wind Roadkill figures - what a great range that was/still is.

      Delete
    12. About WW ROADKILL: you know, I have doubles of those 4 "Village People" bikers just to make motorcycle-riding versions of them! My first idea was - like you - to cannibalize 4 bikes from the human biker gang (that unfortunately don't have on foot models), but I've recently bought some UCC Harleys in 1:45 scale that are just PERFECT for them! Planning for using them as "veteran" versions of the 80s biker vampire hunters of the original story! BTW: in our original story, the long=haired biker was Ozzy Osbourne, and the one with the moustache and cap was... the only and one Freddie Mercury! Nobody ever recognized them in the game, because 1986 was full of big guys with that same moustache and short hair! :O)

      Vampifan, I think our hobby's motto is: "So many plans, so little time!" :O)

      Delete
    13. "So many plans, so little time!" This is SO true! There are just so many games I want to play, so many models I want to make and so many figures I need to paint. It never ends!

      I love your story about your "Roadkill" campaign. I'd have loved to have taken part in that. It sounds like a whole load of fun! Ozzy and Freddie - what's not to like? :-)

      Delete
  11. Salutations ^^

    I didn't know your blog before and I came in searching for Escher tips ^^

    What a very good post indeed about Escher minis : I always wanted to get them when I was young but never could it... And now I've bought the new Escher minis ^^

    I really like your blog... So I decide to subscribe to it and put it on my personnal blogroll in my Temple :

    https://letempledemorikun.blogspot.fr/

    Please, feel free to visit as you want ^^

    Serviteur,

    Morikun

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Welcome, Morikun.
      It is nice to make contact with another Escher fan. I'll be showcasing the new Escher gangers in my next post.

      I checked out your blog and whilst I don't speak French I could still admire your painted minis. You have considerable talent.

      All the best.

      Delete
  12. That's a great gang Bryan. The Escher gang have some of the best figures in the Necomunda range (imo). They give you license to go bold with a colour scheme and you took that license to great effect. Love the paint scheme.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Many thanks, Tim. I totally agree with you about them being the best figures in Necromunda and about going bold with their colour schemes. I'm glad you like my colour scheme.

      Delete
  13. Not sure how I came so late to such a colourfully-painted party, Bryan, but what a cracking post. you must have dabbed a paint-brush into every single one of your paint pots at least once in order to accomplishing the Escher kaleidoscope you've presented here :-)

    Disconcertingly, considering all the different shades/colours, the one which particularly caught my eye was the third lady in on your final photo, who from behind appears to resemble an incredibly well-armed Donna Troy (New Teen Titans) - in my mind at least :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Better late than never, Simon. Thank you so much for your kind words. There most certainly was a lot of work involved in getting this gang fully painted and it was an absolute labour of love.

      I am not at all familiar with the New Teen Titans and I had certainly never heard of Donna Troy but a quick search on Google showed me just how right you were to spot that particular similarity. Good comic knowledge, mate!

      Delete