MC1 Citizens 06

In this post and the next one I'm going to take a look at some of my female sci-fi citizens to use as inhabitants of Mega City One. Rather unusually, all five have been given names by me.

At the far left is Maria Mercurial, the star of an old Shadowrun scenario. The figure was produced by Ral Partha and she has cybernetic arms and legs. The sculpting on her is exquisite and perfectly proportioned. In MC1 she would be a Star, a notable singer with a big following of fans.
Next in line is Tina Merrill, who is either a Blocker or a Citizen. She is a very old figure produced by Citadel Miniatures as part of their Spacefarers range which were created long before Warhammer 40,000 came into being.
In the centre of the group is Takazumi Tomokumi a 1/48th scale model who came with a plastic Manga hover vehicle. I forget who exactly produced her and the vehicle but it was a Japanese firm. Given that she is a driver I've decided to make her a professional Driver. She will undoubtedly be one of the racers in the Superslab Slam scenario that appears in the Judge Dredd and the Worlds of 2000 AD rulebook (see p.203 -207).

Fourth in line in Zoe Heriot whom fans of Doctor Who may recognise as one of the companions of the Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton). Her figures is produced by Black Tree Designs. I'll be using her as an Employee - a Personal Assistant to a corporate manager.
Last up is Kisten Galdot, a Blocker or Citizen. She was produced by West End Games as a rebel operative for their Star Wars range.

MC1 Citizens 05

Here are another five male citizens of Mega City One. From left to right the first and fourth figure were produced by Grenadier Miniatures as part of their  Traveller range. The second figure is from Citadel Miniatures Spacefarers range. The fifth figure is from Moonraker Miniature's Spacelords range. I have no idea who produced the third figure. As with the others he is a very old figure bought in the 1980's.
At the far left is an ambassador according to Grenadier Miniatures. I will use him as one of the Social Elite in Mega City One.
Next to him is another member of Mega City One's Social Elite. He is the only figure out of this batch that I have name. He is called Cyrano Curtiz.
Third in line is yet another Social Elite citizen. He is obviously dressed as an ancient Roman Senator. His mirror-shades look out of place but places him in a much later time period. The reason I bought him was to use him in my old The Ace of Spades Campaign using the GURPS rules. Many citizens of the Mercantile League dress up in ancient Roman costumes. Also, much of their architecture is inspired by the ancient Roman Empire. Given the wacky and weird costumes worn by many MC1 citizens, I figured he'd fit in well in this sprawling metropolis.

Second from the right is some kind of scientist. The best career option for him is the Boffin, who are skilled scientists and some of the most sought after citizens in the city.
Finally is a doctor. Sadly there is no career option for a doctor in Judge Dredd and the Worlds of 2000 AD, so I'll use the Medic career option from the N.E.W. rulebook for him. The beauty of the WOIN rulebooks is that they can all be used for cross overs.

MC1 Citizens 04

Continuing my look at my figures of Mega City One citizens here are six more males. These are a mixed bunch with the three to the left being the same figure from their 25mm scale Spacefarers sci-fi range (1980), the next two were produced by West End Games for their 25mm scale Star Wars range. Sadly I have no recollection of who made the figure at the far right. I do know that I bought him in the 1980's. Despite these all being 25mm scale figures they still fit in well with my 28mm to 32mm scale figures.

The figure at the far left was such a generic looking civilian that I bought three of them. Apart from their paint schemes, the first two are identical. The one at the far right is either a Blocker or a Citizen. Next to him is an Eldster as denoted by his pale grey hair. For the third one I added a can of a fizzy drink to his right hand.

Third from the left is the surly bartender, Cedo Partu from the Mos Eisley cantina on Tatooine from the film, Star Wars IV - A New Hope. He could be either a bartender or a barfly in Mega City One.
Next up is a rebel operative. I don't think he appeared in any of the films but he might have made a very brief appearance.
The unknown figure at the far right is just another generic sci-fi civilian.

MC1 Citizens 03

I still have lots more figures of Mega City One citizens to show you so without further ado, here is the next batch. These six figures were all produced by Citadel Miniatures in the 1980's. The three to the left were alternate Time Lords from their Doctor Who range. The next two are from their Judge Dredd range of figures and the final figure is a Rogue Trader psyker. Most of them have not been named.

First in line is a Social Elite civilian wearing the most extravagant clothing to show off his wealth and eccentricity.
Second from the left is an African-American Citizen. He walks with a limp hence his need to use a walking cane.
Next up is another eccentrically dressed Citizen. He is carrying a "boom box" in his right hand

Moving on is a Blocker. This figure was originally a perp holding a pistol but I clipped off his pistol to convert him into a Blocker. His T-Shirt features Belinda Plook, who was most notably arrested by Judge Dredd whilst performing at the Megavision Song Concert. Note that I have made figures of Belinda and her band which I'll show in a later post.
The only named character from this group is the second from the right. She is Melda Dreep, a Blocker, who lit the fuse to the Block Wars when someone from a rival block dropped an ice cream on her head. As a result, Block Mania spread throughout Mega City One resulting in a massive death toll. The Block Mania story was a prologue to the much longer The Apocalypse War story.
Finally is a Psyker citizen. Psykers are individuals with psionic powers but are not members of Justice Department. Justice Department tries to recruit as many psykers as possible into their Psi Division; however, many with appropriate talents are unable to be Judges. Some may be too old to enter the Academy of Law – although the age limit can be raised for those whose powers are revealed at a later date there is a limit to this. If powers are first spotted in a teenager or adult then they are considered far too old to become a Judge.

Necromunda Ambots

I recently bought two boxed sets of Ambots for Games Workshop's Necromunda game. These multi-part plastic kits are very detailed and look very impressive when built and painted. Ambots can be hired by any gang in Necromunda.

The Luther pattern Excavation Automata is a heavy construct built in imitation of the Ambull, a huge, roughly humanoid xenos creature common to hot, arid worlds. Thought to have evolved in the endless deserts of Luther McIntyre 9 in the Segmentum Solar, the Ambull is now common across the Imperium. Humanity, having attempted to domesticate the brutes to make use of their traits. Ambulls are natural tunnellers, their powerful limbs ending in diamond-hard claws that enable them to dig through soft rock at a surprising speed. Their eyes see into the infrared spectrum, making impeccable use of even the faintest levels of light and they are even able to detect heat signatures as a visual stimulus.

The greatest success in domesticating the Ambull lie in using the creatures as the organic component of a heavy mining construct. Specially crafted instrumentalities are fused with the brain and nervous system of the Ambull, in a process perfected by the Adeptus Mechanicus, to circumvent the most ancient laws proscribing the "machina malifica", the dreaded "machine that thinks". When the creature awakens in its new robotic shell, it retains the natural tunnelling instinct it had when it was flesh, whilst its aggression and hunting impulses are suppressed by cranial governors. Consequently, Luther pattern Excavation Automata, or Ambots, as they are commonly called in the underhive vernacular, are not uncommon on Necromunda, where they are utilised for slag mining and ash excavation. A common danger of using such constructs, however, is that there is always an underhive gang waiting for the opportunity to liberate  such a prized commodity and utilise it as a weapon against their rivals.
You get two Ambots in the box, which come in different poses with a selection of options like heads and underarm weapons. The red and blue Ambots were built as per their instructions. As were the yellow and green ones but on these two I clipped off their pincers. Also, I left off the big right arm shoulder pad from all of them. It didn't look right to me. Just one of these is a very tough fighter in Necromunda with high stats across the board. However, not surprisingly, they are expensive.
The boxed set of two 40mm tall Ambots cost £25.00 if you are stupid enough to buy them from Games Workshop (greedy bastards!). I bought mine for £19.88 per box from Wayland Games. Element Games sell them for £21.25.
Although I primarily bought them to use in Necromunda, I also plan on using them in The Robot Wars for my upcoming Judge Dredd campaign. I plan on using them as Heavy Metal Kids in the scenario, although technically speaking, they should be twice as tall. Size-wise they'd work better as Industrial Robots but the Heavy Metal Kids are such an integral part of the story that I have to include them. Sure, this is a compromise but better this way than not using them.

Assorted Dominatrices 01

I do like to mix things up on my blog and here's a post I'm sure no one will have been expecting! I'm taking a look at my collection of dominatrix figures from assorted companies. I do have a reason for showing these, which will be revealed below.

The figure at the far right was made by SLAP Miniatures but is no longer available from them as they have stopped making 28mm scale figures to concentrate on making 15mm scale figures. Bleurgh! 😠There is no question at all that she is a dominatrix with her black leather costume and whip. Someone is about to get a right thrashing from her.
Next up is Dominatrix Libby sculpted by Kevin White for Hasslefree Miniatures and available here - https://www.hfminis.co.uk/shop?product=dominatrix-libby~hfa048&category=modern-%26%0D%0Apost%252dapoc~%2Anew-moderns%2A
She is the reason for this post. As I am preparing for my new Judge Dredd campaign I realised I needed a figure of a Pleasure Robot, who had to look human. Dominatrix Libby was my number one choice and because she is going to be a robot I renamed her £1BBY. You'll be seeing more of her soon if you follow my WOIN blog. The question is - will she be a help or a hindrance to the Judges?

The next three figures are very old miniatures. The woman wearing the red robes was a wizard for a very early version of Warhammer made by Citadel Miniatures. I believe she was supposed to be based on glamour model Samantha Fox (who remembers her?) but if so, it's a poor likeness. She is the only one not to be armed with a whip: instead she has a dagger or short sword by her left side.
The manufacturer of the Dominatrix in the black Basque and holding a cat-of-nine-tails sadly eludes me. All I know is that I bought her in the mid to late 1980's. Her head appears to be too oversized for her body but otherwise she's not a bad sculpt.
Finally is a Dominatrix produced by Denizen Miniatures and still available from their webstore as FA49 Dungeon Mistress priced at £1.45. She is 25mm scale but I don't mind that as females are generally smaller than males and people do come in all shapes and sizes. The sculpting on her is exquisite.

Vampifan's Superheroes and Supervillains 09

Deathwish is a GURPS Supers scenario book that features a heavy metal band called Deathwish, who are all super-villains. I played this scenario with Vampirella, Wolverine and Gothique as the heroes. You can check out this old post to see who the three heroes are - http://vampifansworldoftheundead.blogspot.com/2016/07/vampifans-superheroes-and-supervillains_8.html
This was one of the best scenarios I ran when I was playing my GURPS Supers campaign in the 1990's with my gaming buddies, Dave (Wolverine) and Rob (Gothique). They were triumphant in the scenario but the final battle was a tough one as I considerably beefed up the stats of Deathwish to make them more of a challenge against three very powerful superheroes.

At the far left is Sorceress, aka Morwena the lead singer of Deathwish. Her real name is Amanda Carazone. She is the daughter of a wealthy politician from New England. She spent her childhood in the lap of luxury - anything she wanted, she got. Amanda was 21 years old, attending a small girls' college, when her father skipped the country with his secretary and every dollar the family owned. For the first time in her life, Amanda found herself penniless. Wandering the streets,stunned and confused, she was taken in by the Black Moon Society. The leader of this group recognised the magical potential that lay just below her conscious. She spent the next year learning to use her powers, but eventually left the society. She wanted her good life back.
She travelled to Los Angeles and took a singing job in the nightclub of a ritzy hotel - it afforded her the perfect opportunity to meet wealthy men who could be set up and taken for every penny they had. It was at this hotel that she met Necrovore who recognised a good voice when he heard one. Much to her surprise, she found herself attracted to him and the two began working as a team. On his advice she changed her name to Morwena.
They linked up with a crazy young man, Bobby Anderson (aka Demolition Man) and law student Harry Johnson (aka Psytron). Bobby played bass guitar and Harry played drums. Together they formed the nucleus of the heavy metal rockers known as Deathwish. They auditioned for a lead guitarist and accepted a teenager called Arvyn Runeweaver. That was three years ago. They burst onto the music scene with the sizzling Wish upon a Star album. This was followed by the controversial but phenomenally popular Wishcraft album, which was banned in many stores because of its cover. Disaster struck when Arvyn Runeweaver tragically died of spontaneous combustion. He was replaced by Eddie Traynor (aka Whirlwind) who proved to be a more talented guitarist.
The group released their third album, Wishing Hell earlier this year and are planning on recording a live double album, Blow out the Napalm and Make a Wish. Their fans, predominantly young (under 25) have a well earned reputation for causing violence and mayhem. The official Deathwish fan club has over 100,000 members known as "Death-heads" who are obsessed with the band's music. Deathwish themselves recently used their superpowers in the pursuit of crime, particularly museum robberies. For the past year they have successfully raided nearly a dozen museums throughout the USA, amassing a small fortune in artefacts and treasures.
Morwena has been described as "sex incarnate" by Rolling Rock magazine. It went on to add, "Watching her move is more erotic than most porno movies. She does not just sing to the crowd - she makes love to it with her voice. She wrenches emotion out of every syllable she croons."
Her figure is a Grenadier superhero who was not converted. She was a perfect match for Sorceress. For my GURPS campaign I increased her points value from 500 to 900. her superpowers include Control Weather, Insubstantiality, Magical Aptitude level:3, Shockwave level:10 and Surge level:5.

Next in line is Eddie Traynor the lead guitarist of Deathwish and a supervillain known as Whirlwind. He is a native Californian - he surfed, skated, grew his hair waist-length, bleached it blond and did everything a "typical" California boy should do. His consuming passion since he was seven years old has been his guitar. He practised for at least two hours every day, rain or shine, until he could make the instrument do anything he wanted. When puberty hit, Eddie found he had several other talents - flight, for instance, and the ability to control winds. At first he only used this power to provide good windsurfing weather - but when he found he could turn invisible the temptation to do some crimes became overwhelming. About this time Eddie got the chance to try out for Deathwish. Much to his surprise, but not to anyone who heard him play, he got the job. As far as Eddie is concerned, he has died and gone to heaven. Not only is he playing with one of the hottest bands in the world, but he is working with an accomplished group of meta-villains that can teach him the ropes on how to most effectively use his abilities.
His figure is also an old Grenadier superhero. I re-sculpted his hair and added his long ponytail out of Milliput. I increased his GURPS points value of 650 points to 750 points. His superpowers include Control Winds level:5, Damage Resistance +20, Flight, Invisibility (Switchable), Invisibility to Machines, Super Flight, Whirlwind level:16, Wind Blast level:10 and Wind Jet level:10. 

In the centre of the pictures is Harry Johnson aka Psytron. Harry knew he was cut out for a career in law and diplomacy from an early age. When he turned 13 he gained the ability to sense what others were thinking. He also had another passion in life - the drums. These two forces held him in a mental tug of war throughout his teenage years, resulting in an internal compromise when the time came to choose a good college. He could go to a good school, but it would be a good school near Los Angeles, the musical Mecca. So Harry ended up at U-Cal Berkeley, studying by day and drumming by night. He had never considered adding crime to his list of hobbies until he met Demolition Man. Something about Bobby's hedonistic passion for life rubbed off on Harry. He began using drugs and collaborating with Bobby on jobs. Finally they met up with Morwena and Frank, and a partnership was formed. Harry (who adopted the name H.I. Jynx at Frank's behest) had developed a serious cocaine problem at this point, and had also become convinced that he didn't have to fool with the existing political structure. With the help of his team-mates he could take over the world!
The figure of Psytron is yet another old Grenadier superhero. I added his Uzi sub-machine gun to him. He cost 500 points and his superpowers included Telepathy level:10 and Teleportation level:22

Next up is Frank Birmingham aka Necrovore, the band's keyboard player and only non-superpowered member. Frank had always been the best at anything he tried. He was smarter, stronger, faster and quicker than any of his friends at high school, and he excelled in sports in college, where he lettered in track, baseball and basketball. Instead of a career as a professional athlete, however, he was drawn to music. He loved the creativity involved in starting with a blank piece of paper and a melody in his head ending up with a song or sonata. Although he worked extensively with various symphonic groups, his true love was rock and roll. After graduation, Frank headed for the best recruiting spot in the world for musicians - Los Angeles. It was here that he met Amanda and convinced her that Morwena was a much more commercial name. The pair met Harry and Bobby shortly thereafter and the nucleus of Deathwish was formed. Frank is slightly uncomfortable as the only non-super in the group, but makes up for it by being the organiser and planner. He is still more interested in being in a good band than in committing crimes, but is willing to go along with it if it keeps everyone else happy.
The figure of Necrovore comes from the Citadel Golden Heroes range of superheroes. I added his Uzi from my spare parts box. Despite being a non-super, he still cost 500 points, which is very high for a "normal" GURPS character.

Finally, is Bobby Anderson, bass guitarist of Deathwish and supervillain known as Demolition Man. Bobby grew up on a farm in rural Kansas. He would have undoubtedly ended up working at the local cement plant, just like all his friends, except for a life-changing incident when he was 16. His mother got sick and he was sent to Los Angeles to stay with his aunt whilst his father cared for his mom. L.A. opened his eyes to a whole new world - he returned home six months later with an earring, a skateboard, a bass guitar and an attitude problem. Upon his 17th birthday he left home and wandered around for several weeks before stumbling across a commune called Avalon. It was run by the infamous Society for Creative Anarchy. Armed with a confused notion of what anarchy meant (he was expecting wild parties, uninhibited sex and no work) he joined. He began to notice some strange goings-on in the commune. Visitors, some obviously superhuman, were flying in and out, and there seemed to be a lot of action centred around the storage building in particular. One night he slipped the lock to the building and began exploring. A huge grin appeared on is face - he had found some sort of weapons locker. The walls were line with suits of armour ranging from medieval plate mail to high-tech battle armour. But one suit in particular caught his attention - it was silver and red and had a huge morning star attached to it. He tried it on and found that a small display inside had a menu explaining the suit's various powers. Demolition Man was born. He left that night and headed back to Los Angeles where he began playing with different bands and robbing banks. He met Psytron in a bar - the drummer was intrigued by someone whose mind he couldn't penetrate. The two of them became friends and then partners in crime before linking up with Sorceress and Necrovore to form Deathwish.
I couldn't find a suitable figure to use as Demolition Man and so I sculpted him myself. His morning star came from my spare parts box. He calls it Dorothy! I increased his points value from 750 to 800. His superpowers all come from his battlesuit which grants him Damage Resistance +30, Dark Vision, Enhanced Strength 120, Insubstantiality, Invisibility, Invisibility to Machines, Move through Earth and Penetrating Vision. The morning star could do a whopping 16 dice of damage!
I had wanted to highlight this group when I was doing my posts about my own superhero and supervillain figures but I couldn't find the figures. Then quite by accident last month, I found them in a box that I never thought they'd be in. It was a lucky find. I rebased them and photographed them so that I could type in this post.

Here are the portraits of Deathwish that I used for their GURPS character record sheets. The illustrations of them in the scenario book were very poorly drawn, so I drew the portraits of Sorceress, Whirlwind, Psytron and Necrovore based on the poses of the figures. The portrait of Demolition Man was taken from the cover of the scenario book and you can see it below.

Necromunda Bounty Hunters & Hired Guns 01

Here I present a selection of my bounty hunters and hired guns from the original Necromunda skirmish game. These 28mm scale figures were all produced by Citadel Miniatures for Games Workshop. Bounty hunters and hired guns could be hired by any gang. They usually had better stats than starting gangers but the downsides were they could not advance in experience and they had to be paid each time they took part in a gang fight.

These four heavily armed men are all bounty hunters. I'm afraid I don't have names for them as none of them were used in my original Necromunda campaign. The muscular chap at the far left is armed with a high-powered Las Rifle, a Chainsword and in holster and sheath, a Laspistol and a Shotgun respectively. Note that he has a cybernetic left arm.
The next bounty hunter has a Wild West vibe about him with his long duster and cowboy hat. However, his weapons are very high tech with a pair of Bolt Pistols (one with a scope sight), a Shotgun and a Sword. He has a bionic left eye. I really like this figure a lot. He looks so cool!

Second from the right, this green-haired bounty hunter is armed with a Shotgun and an Autopistol in a holster on his right hip. He has a cybernetic right arm and a bionic right eye, and he is wearing a respirator.
The bounty hunter at the far right is heavily laden with all sorts of gear on his back and is the only one out of this quartet not to have any cyberware. He is armed with a Bolt Gun, a Bolt Pistol with scope sight, a Shotgun, an assortment of Grenades and a Demolition Charge.

Next up are the hired guns. These are much less skilled than the bounty hunters but are also much cheaper to hire and make for good cannon fodder. The three to the left are unnamed scum. At the far left is a guy who clearly works out as he shows off his bulging muscles. He is armed with an Autopistol and a Plasma Pistol.
The elderly gent next to him is armed with a Knife and a Flamer Pistol in his hands and an Autopistol in a holster on his right hip.
The fat dude in the centre of this group is firing his Plasma Pistol in a two-handed grip. He also has a Knife in a sheath on his left side.

The other two are special characters - the famous Kal Jerico and his sidekick, Scabbs, both of whom appeared in numerous stories in prose and graphic novel format. Born the son of Necromunda's Planetary Governor Gerontius Helmawr and Heleana Jerico, Kal left the luxury of the spire for the life of a bounty hunter in the Underhive. As well as hunting those with bounties on their heads, Jerico often has a bounty on his own due to his unorthodox methods, leading as often as not to trouble finding him. He resolves these situations using his trademark debonair swashbuckling style, relying on quick wits and his good luck more than brute strength. Ambidextrous, Jerico wields two laser-sighted duelling Laspistols as his trademark and carries a trusty sabre. He also uses Photon Flash Flares and Frag Grenades to escape from unpleasant situations
His trusty and unpleasant companion, Scabbs, is a half-Ratskin, and he is armed with a Stubber Pistol. These were limited edition figures and as such are very rare. They were not part of the original range of figures but appeared much later.

One of my favourite characters and sculpts is "Mad Donna" Ulanti, the renegade noblewoman. She was once D'onne Ulanti, twelfth daughter of old Sylvanus, patriarch of the Noble House Ulanti up in the Spire. Sylvanus wanted to keep her pure for a convenient political marriage sometime, so he kept her locked up in a needle-thin tower on the outside of the spire. Some say Sylvanus used to slip in there to torment her, others say it was living amidst the unroofed skies that drove her crazy in the end. Whatever it was, her character defects only became apparent when she first met her husband-to-be and gouged his eyes out with a fork as they shared a banquet. As he lay screaming, the guards rushed in but didn't know who to shoot so sweet D'onne shot them both with the count's own pistol and then escaped the palace in all the confusion. She kept going down until she reached the hive bottom, and it was there that she was taken in by an Escher gang and her career as a gang fighter began with them. She soon got a reputation for craziness and she carved up a lot of people who got in her way. Eventually, she left the Eschers and drifted away. She is now available for hire for any gang except Goliaths, Redemptionists, Scavvies and Spyrers. She is armed with a Plasma Pistol, Laspistol and Chainsword. She has a bionic right eye, a replacement after she gouged out her own eye when a bartender called her "pretty!"

The last three figures are all bounty hunters. The woman standing next to "Mad Donna" is Amazonia Gothique, elder sister of Escher ganger, Corisande Gothique (see here ). She is armed with an Autogun Rifle and a Chainsword. This is a figure that I converted from a very old Citadel fantasy female Chaos Warrior who was armed with a Battleaxe and Shield. I cut off the tab on her left arm to fix the shield to and removed her Battleaxe and sculpted her an Autogun to replace it. The Chainsword was added from my spare parts box. When I ran my original Necromunda campaign, I recruited Amazonia to my Escher gang right at the start and she stayed with them for their first five gang fights and proved to be a real asset, as she helped them to victory after victory.
The two figures to the right went on sale round in the early 2000's, when GW redesigned a lot of the figures for the game, not very successfully, in my opinion. These two were amongst the few that I did buy then. The woman, second from the right is armed with a Bolt Pistol with scope-sight and a long Dagger. The woman at the far right wields a Combi-Bolter/Melta Gun and a pair of Laspistols in her holsters. She is wearing a respirator and is carrying the severed head of one of her victims. I do like this pair but they have never seen action with me. I may just use them when I start my new Necromunda campaign, in which case, they will get named.

Necromunda: Redemption Gangers 01

I'm still sticking with Necromunda for the time being and in this post I want to showcase my original Redemptionist gang who were known as the Triple K Gang. They finished eighth out of twelve when I ran my first campaign. Sadly, I can't put names to any of these figures as the player who ran them kept his gang roster sheet and I didn't get a copy.

At the far left is a Redemptor Priest, the leader of a Redemptionist gang. This particular Priest is armed with a Melta-Gun, an Autopistol and a Sword.
At the far left is another Redemptor Priest. He is armed with a Hand Flamer and a Sword. For the Redemptionists, the whole of creation is riven with vile corruption that can only be cleansed through blood, faith and fire.

In the centre of this group is a special character known only as the Arch Zealot. He is one of the most famous and feared of all Redemptor Priests in the Underhive. He is a mystic and a prophet of the Redemptionist cause, leading a solitary existence in the Underhive. He wanders constantly from place to place, preaching to Redemptionists and whipping them into a state of intolerant fury which almost invariably ends at the very least in a lynching, and more often than not in wholesale slaughter and genocide. His views are considered to be rather - erm - extreme, even by his fellow priests and some would say that he should be banished from the Redemption cause altogether. The Arch Zealot denounces all who voice such opinions as weak-willed traitors, and such is his following amongst the common mass of Redemptionists that those who argue against him either quickly recant or are lynched by an angry mob whipped up into a frenzy of blood lust by one of the Arch Zealot's rabble-rousing speeches. He is armed with a Flamer, a Stub Gun Pistol and a Sword.

The Redemptionist gang does not have any heavies. What they have instead are Zealots and Deacons. At the far left are two Zealots. Zealots are crazed individuals touched by the Emperor's fury. They are so filled with bile and anger that they are in an almost permanent state of rage. The most common Zealot weapon is the Eviscerator, a giant double-handed Chainsaw fitted with an Exterminator flame cartridge to slice and burn the unbelievers into charred lumps (for their own good, of course). The Zealot at the far left is armed with such a weapon.
His colleague is carrying a Massive Axe instead. Both of them are also armed with Stub Gun Pistols.

The Deacons attend to the secular affairs of a Crusade, silencing dissenters, controlling the crowds while the Priest preaches, protecting his person from defilers and so forth. Deacons are confirmed Brethren who are fanatically loyal to the Redemption and completely trustworthy in the Priesthood's eyes. Their faith is rewarded with a position of responsibility and the best weaponry. The Deacon second from the right is armed with a Grenade Launcher and an Autopistol.
The Deacon at the far right is armed with a Flamer and a Stub Gun Pistol.

The standard gangers of the Redemption are known as Brothers and the juves as Novices. Collectively, they are the Brethren, the great mass of supporters from the Underhive who have dedicated themselves to the path of righteousness.
At the far left is a novice armed with a pair of Autopistols and a Sword.
Next to him is a brother armed with a Shotgun modified with an under-slung Exterminator (a one-shot Flamer), a Stub Gun Pistol, Frag Grenades and a Flail.

The brother in the centre of this group is armed with a Hand Flamer and a Knife. This figure was a Cultist I converted from the Citadel Chainsaw Warrior range.
The brother second from the right is also a conversion. He is based on the brother at the far left in the two photos below. I swapped his Autogun Rifle for a Frag Grenade. He is also armed with an Autopistol and a Knife.
At the far left is a novice armed with an Autopistol, a Stub Gun Pistol and a Knife.

At the far left is a brother armed with an Autogun Rifle with Exterminator, and a Knife.
The next two brothers in line are each armed with a Shotgun, a Bolt Gun Pistol and a Knife.

Second from the right, this brother is armed with an Autogun Rifle with under-slung Exterminator, an Autopistol and a Knife.
Finally, at the far right is a brother armed with a Hand Flamer, an autopistol and a Knife.
The Redemptionists are one of the Outlander gangs and as such, are considered as Outlaws. The Redemption is a powerful force amongst the Houses that control Necromunda, with active or covert followers in all of them. House Cawdor has dedicated itself to the Redemptionist cause entirely and is effectively controlled by the Redemption. There the path of righteousness is at its purest with regular public witch hunts and mass burnings of heretics and mutants. The Brethren of Cawdor are so pure that they view even Redemptionists from other Houses as little better than sinners.
The Redemptionists are an interesting gang and I have mixed feelings about them. I like them better than the Cawdors but I dislike all religious fanatics. They are a gang I'd enjoy playing against but they're not a gang I'd want to play myself.

Necromunda: House Delaque Gangers 01

And so I come to the last of my reviews of the six main gangs who appeared in Games Workshop's sci-fi skirmish game, Necromunda and these are the House Delaque gangers. When I ran my first Necromunda campaign in the mid 1990's, House Delaque was the second most popular choice of gang behind House Van Saar. Three of my players chose Delaque gangs and they were called the Emperor's Sons, who finished third out of twelve, the Black Pebbles, who finished fifth and the Long Riders who finished last. Sadly, my players kept their gang roster sheets, so once again, I can't give names to the figures shown. Two of my players used my painted Delaque gang and one bought and painted his own Delaque gang. In this post, I'll be showing my own figures, who were all produced by Citadel Miniatures.

At the far left is Kellerman, the Emperor's Sons gang's leader. He is the only person from that gang whose name I can remember. Big Fub from House Goliath and Kellerman had quite a rivalry going on as they frequently traded insults and threats. Kellerman is armed with a Boltgun Rifle, a Slug Pistol, Frag Grenades and a Knife.
Next to him is an alternative leader figure, who led the Black Pebbles gang, and he was called Mario Van Pebbles after the actor, Mario Van Peebles. Mario is armed with a Plasma Pistol, an Axe, Frag Grenades and a Knife.

Next up are the three heavies. In the centre of the group of five, this heavy is armed with a Lascannon and a Las Pistol.
Second from the right, this heavy is armed with a Heavy Flamer and a Lasgun Rifle.
The heavy at the far right is armed with an Autocannon and a Shotgun.

Citadel produced eight different figures for the gangers but I have ten. The ganger at the far left is a juve whom I converted when he attained ganger status. He is armed with a Lasgun Rifle, a Las Pistol and a Knife. He is based on the third juve in line in the photo below. I cut off his right arm at the elbow, and remodelled it to hold his Lasgun. I also added his pouch that is slung over his shoulder.
Next to him is one of the Necromunda hired guns, who looked just like a Delaque. All I had to do to convert him, was to paint him in the same colour scheme as the rest of my Delaque gang. He is armed with a pair of Bolt Pistols and a Knife.

In the centre of this group, this ganger is armed with a Lasgun Rifle, a Las Pistol and a Knife.
Second from the right, this running ganger is armed with a Shotgun, an Autopistol and a Knife.
Finally, at the far right, this ganger is armed with a Lasgun Rifle, Las Pistol and a Knife.

Continuing with the gangers, the chap at the far left is armed with a Shotgun, a Las Pistol, Frag and Krak Grenades and a Knife.
Next in line, this ganger is another one armed with a Lasgun Rifle, Las Pistol and Knife.
The ganger in the centre of the group is armed with an Autogun Rifle and a Knife.

The ganger second from the right is firing a Lasgun Rifle, and he also has a Las Pistol and a Knife.
The ganger at the far right is firing an Autogun Rifle, and he also carries an Autopistol, Frag and Krak Grenades and a Knife.

I finish off with the five juve figures. At the far left, this juve is firing an Autopistol and a Slug Pistol.
To his left, this juve is armed with an Autopistol and a Knife.
The juve in the centre is armed with a Slug pistol and a Knife. This is the figure whom I converted into a ganger.

Second from the right, this juve is armed with a pair of Las Pistols.
Lastly, the juve at the far right is armed with an Autopistol and a Knife.
The Delaques are a good gang, in my opinion. They specialised in sneak attacks and proved to be worthy opponents in my campaign. I deliberately painted them with dark brown skin to add some ethnic diversity to my gangs as I didn't want all Caucasian gangs. Yet again, these are all very well sculpted and I really love their long coats. I am very curious to see how the new plastic versions will look.
Although I have now shown my own figures for the six main Houses, this is not the end of my reviews of my old Necromunda figures. Still to come are reviews of the lesser gangs like the Ratskins, the Redemptionists, the Scavvies and the Spyrers. Plus, there are the bounty hunters, hired guns, psykers and beasts to showcase. Add that lot to the new figures being produced by Games Workshop and Forge World and you can see that I have loads of Necromunda material to keep me busy for a long time.

Necromunda: House Van Saar Gangers 01

Way back in the mid 1990's when I ran my first Necromunda campaign, the gang that proved most popular with my players was House Van Saar. They were noted for their ranged attacks and access to archeotech gear. Four players chose Van Saar gangs and they were called the Assassins, the Desert Rats, the Cereal Killers and the Van Dams. They had mixed fortunes in my campaign. The Assassins were forced to retire, the Deserts Rats finished fourth out of 12, the Cereal Killers were seventh and the Van Dams were eleventh. My players kept their own gang roster sheets and figures, so in this post I'm going to show my own Van Saar figures but none of them were named and they were never used by me. These are all metal figures produced by Citadel Miniatures.

 At the left are the two gang leader figures. Both are armed with Las Pistols and chainswords. The chap at the far right also has a Melta-Gun and the figure next to him has a Plasma Pistol.

Next up are the gang's two heavies. The ganger second from the right is wielding a Plasma Cannon and a Las Pistol, whilst his colleague is armed with an Autocannon and a Las Pistol.

Moving on, we have the regular gangers. At the far left, this ganger is armed with a Bolter Rifle, a Las Pistol and a Knife.
Next to him, this ganger is armed with a Lasgun Rifle, a Las Pistol and a Knife.

Second from the right, this ganger is armed with a Shotgun, a Las Pistol and a Knife.
The white-haired ganger at the far right is armed with an Autogun Rifle and a Las Pistol with a Scope Sight.

The ganger at the far left of this group is armed with a Lasgun rifle and an Autopistol.
To his left, this ganger is armed with a Shotgun, a Las Pistol, Frag Grenades and a Knife.

The ganger who is second from the right is armed with an Autogun Rifle, a Las Pistol and a Knife.
The gang's sniper at the far right is armed with a Lasgun Rifle with Scope Sight, a Las Pistol, Frag Grenades and a Knife.

Finally, are the gang's six juves. The juve at the far left is armed with an Autopistol and a Club. The next two in line are armed with a Las Pistol and a Knife. These are both the same figure but I repositioned the arms of the one third from the left.

The juve third from the right sports a pair of Slug Pistols.
To his left, this juve holds a Slug Pistol and an Autopistol.
Finally, at the far right, this juve is armed with an Autopistol and a Knife.
As is usual with these original Necromunda figures, they are all extremely well sculpted. I can certainly see the appeal of this gang but their style of play didn't suit my own tactics. Despite there being four Van Saar gangs in my old campaign, I can't remember any outstanding moments with any them. They were rather bland. I honestly can't remember the names of any of their leaders. Sure, they were great at ranged combat and generally reliable but they all lacked personality.
Whilst I never got to use this gang myself in my Necromunda campaign, a couple of my players used them instead of going out and buying their own figures. This was quite common with my group! However, those of you who follow my WOIN blog, will recognise these figures as the mercenary company led by captain Erik Finn in my Raid on Sterling scenario.
I have just seen previews of the newest Van Saar gangers that are coming out soon for Necromunda: Underhive and I must admit, I am very impressed with them. What pleased me the most was the fact that they feature male and female gangers in the set. That's a first for a Necromunda gang! I'll definitely be buying them as soon as they are released... but not from Games Workshop! Why pay their prices when other companies offer them for 20% cheaper?

Necromunda: House Cawdor Gangers 01

In my last two posts I showcased my favourite Necromunda gang - House Escher. In this post I'm going to review my least favourite gang - House Cawdor. They fared very badly in my old campaign from the 1990's. They were used twice in my campaign. One of my old gaming buddies, Ken, used them at the start of the campaign and took such beating that he was forced to disband them and take a new gang. He then chose the Redemptionists, who were even more religiously fanatical than the Cawdors. Halfway through the campaign, when most of my players were taking second gangs to start with because their first choices had became so powerful, I decided to have a go with House Cawdor to see if I could do better than Ken. I lost nine out of my ten fights. Oh dear! Basically, I think that House Cawdor are crap! This is my House Cawdor gang that I'm showing and they were laughably called the Punishers. The Punished would have been a more appropriate name!

At the far left is Brother Coromell, a gang leader figure, who was used as an ordinary ganger because I much preferred the other gang leader figure. What was I thinking?! Coromell is armed with a Bolt Gun and a Power Sword.
Standing next to him is Father Paraden, the gang's first leader. He was such a disaster that another ganger challenged him for the leadership of the gang, and unsurprisingly, beat him. He would often get wounded and miss the next fight, which did not endear him to the other men in his gang. Paraden slunk off into the wastelands and was never heard of again. As shown, he is armed with a Bolt Gun, an Autopistol and a Chainsword.

Next up are three heavies. In the centre of this quintet of figures is Big Brother Dupaynil, who is armed with a Heavy Stubber, an Autopistol and a Knife. He was not used in my campaign. Note that all of my heavies were called Big Brother instead of Brother.
Second from the right is Big Brother Argray, who ended up being captured by House Escher. No rescue mission was made to recover him, so who knows what his fate was? It doesn't bear thinking about! He was armed with a Heavy Bolter, an Autopistol and a Knife.
At the far right is Big Brother Gerstan, who is armed with a Grenade Launcher, an Autopistol and a Knife. His Grenade Launcher could fire Frag, Krak or Hallucinogenic Grenades. He ended the campaign with a serious leg wound.

Moving on, we have the rank and file gangers. At the far left is Brother Quinada, who is armed with a Lasgun Rifle, an Autopistol and a Knife.
Next to him is Brother Sanborn, armed with an Autogun Rifle, an Autopistol and a Knife. He was not used in my campaign.
Nor too was the next ganger in line, Brother Garley, who was armed identically to Brother Sanborn.

Second from the right is Brother Ingrich, who is armed with a Lasgun Rifle, an Autopistol and a Knife. He was another figure who did not appear in my campaign.
At the far right is Brother Currald, who is armed with an Autogun Rifle, an Autopistol and a Knife. The sharp-eyed amongst you will recognise him as an old Grenadier Scavenger figure, who is now available from EM4 Miniatures as Scavenger with Assault Rifle. You have to admit, he does look just like a Cawdor ganger.

Continuing with the gangers, here we have Brother Dallish at the far left. He was armed with a Shotgun, an Autopistol and a Knife. Note the deliberate use of the past tense for describing his weapons. In a fight against a Van Saar gang, he was ambushed by an unseen monster and devoured! That was a most unusual way to die!
Second from the left is Brother Klepsin, who is armed with a Lasgun Rifle, an Autopistol and a Knife. He was not used in my campaign.

Second from the right is Brother Tollwin, who is armed with a Lasgun Rifle, an Autopistol and a Knife. He suffered a head wound and at the start of each fight he had to roll 1d6. On a roll of 1-3 he acted Stupid and on a 4-6 he would Frenzy.
Last in line is Father Follard, formerly known as Brother Follard. He was the ganger who challenged Paraden to the leadership contest. In the Punishers' eighth gang fight, Paraden was once again absent, recovering from a wound. Follard, as the most experienced ganger, took command against the House Orlock gang, Murder Inc. and achieved the Punishers' one and only victory of my campaign. He is shown armed with a Shotgun, an Autopistol and a Knife. When he became gang leader he bought a Chainsword as well as Frag and Krak Grenades to add to his personal arsenal.

Finally are the gang's juves. At the far left is Little Brother Varian (yes, the juves were called Little Brothers). He is armed with an Autopistol and a Knife.
Next to him, Little Brother Tailler is also armed with an Autopistol and a Knife. He was not used in my campaign.
At  second from the right is Little Brother Billis, who, once again is armed with an Autopistol and a Knife. He was not used either.
Last up, is Brother Paskutti, who managed to attain ganger status and thus dropped the "Little" from his title. He is armed with a Plasma Pistol and a Sword. Note that he is a converted figure. He was originally armed with a Slug Pistol, which I cut off and replaced once he became a ganger.
Despite my antipathy towards this gang, these are all nicely sculpted figures. As I said at the start, the two Cawdor gangs that took part in my campaign suffered an unbelievable amount of defeats. Ken's gang was so badly battered, with so many wounded gangers missing from action, that he sensibly disbanded it to begin afresh with a new gang. I thought I could do better. After all, my Escher and Goliath gangs finished in first and second place in my campaign, so I was a good player, but I just couldn't get a break with this gang. Not only did they lose nine of their ten fights but three of their five territories were taken from them by other gangs. That was just so pathetic! Clearly, my experience of this House has clouded my judgement of them. But quite frankly, I'd rather play any other gang than a House Cawdor gang. That said, I am curious to see how they fare in the new Necromunda rules. It's hard to imagine how much worse they could be!