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.

Necromunda Bounty Hunters & Hired Guns 02

Having showcased my old school Necromunda bounty hunters and hired guns last post, this time I want to show some of the figures for the newest version. These four are produced by Forge World and as such are shockingly expensive. If you thought Games Workshop's prices were bad, check out those of Forge World! 😲 These four figures cost me £38.00 in total - £20.00 for the three humans and a whopping £18.00 for the Beastman! Note that these are all resin cast miniatures, and as such, are highly detailed and exceptionally well sculpted. However, in no way do I think that justifies their high price tags.

Gor Half-Horn is a Beastman - a mutant of the strain Homo Sapiens Variatus - and as such is possessed of horribly animalistic features and an unpredictable and violent temperament. These characteristics serve to make Gor a figure of dread in the underhive, but equally they make him a target for every raving zealot he encounters. As a sanctioned bounty hunter, Gor is entitled, in theory at least, to go wherever he will in pursuit of of his targets; in reality, he has often found himself the quarry, though so far none have bested him. Because it is so rare for a Beastman to be sanctioned as a bounty hunter, Gor has become the subject of numerous legends throughout the underhive. Some say he was once a member of an Abhuman Auxilia attached to an Astra Militarum regiment and the sole survivor of a battle of apocalyptic proportions. Others whisper that he was once in the employ of an Inquisitor, whose service he fled for a life among the damned. Some have even claimed that he was not born an Abhuman at all, but a noble scion who developed hideous mutations in his adolescence and fled downhive lest he be put to death by his own kin.
Gor is armed with a Chainsword, Plasma Pistol and Shotgun. He came in seven parts, not including his base and despite his high price, I do think he is an awesome figure.

Yolanda Skorn is also a bounty hunter. There is little mercy for gangers who challenge their leaders and fail. Most end their end their days rotting in the bottom of the Sump. Sometimes, though, a rival is so impressive, simple execution seems like a waste. This was the case for Escher bounty hunter Yolanda Skorn. the leader of her former gang, the Bloodmaidens, looked into Skorn's crazed eyes, even as she grinned through sheets of blood from her freshly carved exile scars, and decided nothing so cruel and beautiful should be taken from the world.
Yolanda is armed with a Stub Gun, Stiletto Knife and Frag Grenades. She was the figure I most wanted from this set. Being a huge fan of the Eschers, I was drawn to her as soon as I saw her. Incidentally, Kal Jerico often ran with a sidekick called Yolanda, who was once an Escher ganger. Coincidence? I don't think so.

Moving on to the hive scum hired guns, we have Mad Dog Mono second from the right. He works the great Ash Gates of Port Mad Dog when he is not hiring out his services as a mercenary to gangs, Ash Wasters and outlaws alike. Born into the Longshore clans, he grew up on the edges of the Palatine Cluster, the great hives visible only as shadows against the toxic horizon, their spires taunting him with the promise of safety and wealth. Life for a Longshore clanner is usually short and brutal - if the poisonous winds don't get them, then a faulty cargo lifter, angry Ash Waster or wandering wasteland creature probably will. Mono's fate was changed, however, when a scavvy trader sold him a strange, one-eyed hood. It turned out to be an ancient strato-pilot helmet, and as Mono discovered, its oculus augur gave him a unique views of the world and amazing reactions as a result.
Mad Dog Mono is armed with a Stub Gun and a Grab Hook. He is probably my least favourite figure out of this set.

Not so long ago, Grub Targesson (aka Lumpy Nox) was an upstanding member of the Merchant Guilds in Hive Primus, then one day he woke up to find an odd lump growing out of his shoulder. as the cycles ground by, the lump grew and Grub found it harder and harder to hide his deformity. Then, one day, it spoke to him - which is when Grub fled to the underhive.
Grub is armed with a Shotgun, a Fighting Knife and Frag Grenades. I like him slightly more than Mono but nowhere near as much as Yolanda.

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 Scenery 02

I have to admit that I am not a big fan of Games Workshop 💩 and for most of this century I have avoided their products. But when they released a new version of Necromunda last year, I got quite excited. This was one of my favourite GW games of old and the fan boy in me wanted to revisit it. So, these past few months I have bought most of the products for this game, although not from Games Workshop. I still refuse to buy from them when companies like Element Games or Wayland Games sell their products much cheaper, generally 20% less than the RRP. Whilst I was browsing for scenery to use in Necromunda I discovered a boxed set that although was marketed for Warhammer 40,000 would work perfectly in Necromunda. That set was called Sector Imperialis Objectives. It contained 12 multi-part plastic objectives that I thought had loads of gaming potential - not just for Warhammer 40,000 or Necromunda but also the Judge Dredd Miniatures Game or just about any sci-fi game. Let's take a look at what you get with this set.

First up are three supply dump ammo crates. From left to right these contain mortar shells, artillery shells and ammo boxes.

Unlike the lids on the supply crates you get with the Necromunda scenery set, these are not designed to be open or closed. They must be glued in place. I'd have preferred if they could be removable but it's not that big a deal that they can't.

The two black "bombs" are listed as supply dumps. I admit that when I first saw them I thought they were big bombs. I suppose they could be either depending on what you want to use them as.

The other objective is a Lucius Pattern Escape Pod. The blackening on it came from when it entered the planet's atmosphere from space. The hatch covering the engine and the hatch covering the cockpit are separate. I glued the engine hatch in place but not the cockpit hatch. My photos show it fitted in place and separate. It is designed to hold one human or humanoid occupant.

Next up is an Orbital Vox Array, which is another way of saying it is a communications beacon and/or relay. In the centre is an Administratum Cogitator Shrine, which is Imperial gobbledegook for a computer station.

At the far right is an Exterminatus Device aka a bloody big bomb. Note that the countdown clock on it (an absolute must have!) reads 007 - a deliberate nod to James Bond. I love this objective. I can see it being used in so many games.

Moving on, we have the Field Medicarum and examination bed. I was going to say that the Field Medicarum is a robo-doc but it has a human brain that is clearly visible so, technically, it's an android. This is another of my favourite objective items.

Finally, is the Xenos Stasis Crypt. This comes with a clear plastic door, which I haven't glued in place. It's actually quite a tight fit. Inside the device are the skull and spine of a Tyranid Genestealer. This is another great model. Readers of my WOIN blog will probably recognise these last two objectives as they recently appeared in my current Alien Base scenario.
I plan on using these in my Necromunda campaign as either alternative gang relics or objectives in their own right. As I said above, I've already used some of them in my The Ace of Spades Campaign for WOIN and I'm sure they'll also appear in my Judge Dredd campaign. Surprisingly, for a Games Workshop product, this set is relatively cheap, costing just £20.00. However, if you want it, I'd advise buying it from Wayland Games, who currently have it in stock for just £16.00. That's what I did.

Necromunda Scenery 01

I have finished painting all of the scenery items that I got with the Necromunda starter boxed set. In this post, I'm showcasing the smaller items. The doors and barricades will appear in a later post. Without further ado, here they are.

You get four crates in the set and they have been very cleverly designed. They are double-sided with separate lids. On one side, two of the crates are loaded with guns, and another two are filled with ammo. The guns in the crates are identical, as are the two ammo crates. I painted the guns in different colours for some variety. I have placed a lid on top of one of the ammo crates to show what it looks like in situ.

The reverse side of the crates are blank, as shown by the crate at the far right. However, you do have the option of adding booby traps to them. From left to right are a Frag Grenade trap, a Melta Bomb trap and a Gas Bomb trap. The only way to find out what is in a crate is to open it. I like this element of uncertainty, although if you're using booby traps, you should know where you've placed them.

At the far left are a pair of door terminals, used for locking or unlocking doors. The set comes with four of these terminals. To show that a door is locked, they can be placed on both sides of a door or only one side, thus making it very secure. I have stuck my terminals onto 20mm diameter MDF bases.

The scenery item second from the right is a gang relic. A gang relic always belongs to one gang or the other; if the scenario has an attacker and a defender, the relic belongs to the defender. Add 2 to the Cool and Leadership checks for fighters while they are within 6" of a gang relic owned by their gang. I stuck my relic on a 20mm diameter slottabase.
Finally, at the far right is the beast's lair. Only one of these will ever appear in a scenario, and then only if it is part of the scenario. The beast can attack any fighter who starts or ends a move within 6" of it. The beast is very fearsome indeed. It attacks with Strength 6, AP -2, Damage 3 and has the Knockback trait, originating from its centre. Fighters can attack it but must subtract 2 from their to hit rolls. The beast has Toughness 4 and 3 Wounds. If its wounds are reduced to 0 it is removed from play.
Although designed for use with Necromunda, I see no reason why these items couldn't be used in other games.

Vampifans Views 104 - Monthly Musings 75

Doesn't time pass quickly when you're enjoying yourself? It hardly seems a month has passed by since my last Monthly Musings. As always, I start with a picture of Vampirella. This is the second of my pieces of artwork by Spanish artist, Manuel Sanjulian, whose paintings graced many a cover of the original Vampirella monthly magazines in the 1970's. I wonder if one of the two panthers behind Vampi aren't her friend and ally, Pantha, in her animal form?

As is usual these days, this has been another very busy month for me, hobby-wise. My enthusiasm for the new Necromunda sci-fi skirmish game is still very high. I recently finished painting the four new Forge World Bounty Hunters and Hive Scum, so I'll be showcasing them soon. I've ordered second boxed sets of the Escher and Goliath gangs as well as two sets of Orlock gangers. I want to expand the size of my gangs. These new plastic figures offer so much customisation. For the Eschers in particular, I wanted to make some more gangers to use the two weapons included in the boxed set that weren't used by the 10 figures I did make.

Forge World Escher Weapons set 2

Just as I was thinking about what to do with the other 8 gangers Forge World announced the release of not one but three blister packs of Escher weapons to arm your gangers with. Talk about overkill! There did seem to be a fair bit of duplication amongst the three sets so I only ordered one of them - set 2 if you're wondering which one (see picture to the right). I liked that set best of all because it offered alternative heads as well as weapons.
I still have lots more of my old Necromunda metal figures to show you and I will get round to it sooner rather than later. A couple of days ago I received my pack of 200 rare earth magnets from China, and so I will be able to magnetise my scratch-built Underhive scenery and get them all painted. I must admit, I'm not looking forward to painting 60 pieces of scenery, but it has to be done. I'm currently painting the barricades and doors that came with the new starter set box.

For my WOIN blog and The Ace of Spades Campaign, I have been digging out some of my old sci-fi figures and rebasing them on MDF bases. I can't wait to show them on my blog but at the same time, I don't want to interrupt what is going on in the Alien Base scenario for my The Ace of Spades Campaign. Playing and writing up this campaign is so much fun. If you are following this scenario, you can see the level of tension mounting as the crew delve deeper into the apparently abandoned alien base. There is a very palatable sense of growing dread.

However, what has been taking up most of my time this past month has been my Wild West project. I have made four new buildings, all made of MDF - a sheriff's office and jail, a land office, an undertaker's and a small double storey building under construction. My town is growing. The sheriff's office and jail were produced by TT Combat and the other three by 4Ground. I am also busy making lots of card furniture items for the interiors of my Wild West buildings. I am getting very close to posting my first Wild West batrep. I have also been painting lots more Wild and Weird West figures, which I plan on showing you very soon. I can tell you that my first batrep will feature the Two Hour Wargames rules, Six Gun Sound. There were two versions of this set of rules. The original set, subtitled Blaze of Glory, were highly detailed, which I certainly approved of. The more recent version was much more streamlined and was designed for fast play. What I have done is to take elements from both sets to come up with my own set of hybrid rules. I also designed my own character record sheets, similar to the ones I designed for All Things Zombie. So far, I have created stats for 48 Grunts and Stars, more than enough to get me started. Six Gun Sound will only feature traditional Wild West scenarios. The Weird West stuff will be covered by either Dracula's America, High Moon or Shadows of Brimstone. I like all three sets of rules. This project has been a long time coming and now, at last, it should come to fruition.

With today being Good Friday I wish you all a very happy Easter. 

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!