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Horus Heresy: When Will We See The Blood Angels – And What Will The legion Include?

Posted by johnnya10 on 15/09/2017
Posted in: Thoughts and Comment. Tagged: . 3 Comments
forge world logo
We’ve been long been assured that the next Horus Heresy Big Black Book (or BBB for short) from Forge World will include the Blood Angels and Dark Angels amongst other things. We’ve known this for quite some time, but does anyone else feel like we’ve been waiting quite a long time for this book? And with no real gossip, rumours or leaks to keep us going? Maybe it’s just because I’m a collector and painter of the IXth Legion, but it feels like an age since the book’s confirmation. So what’s the hold up?
A Busy Schedule
forge world busy schedule
Forge Worlds like Mars, Metalica and Lucius are well known for their relentless output, but our own Forge World Nottingham has been pumping out rather a lot of hardware recently too. By all accounts, no one at GW HQ expected Blood Bowl to be as popular as it has been, and with FW leading the charge on that game, it’s understandable that the presses have been running red hot churning out Blitzers and Linemen of various races. Then there’s all the work going into Adeptus Titanicus which was underestimated by Forge World who are determined to get it all looking amazing. This game has been pushed back to next year, but then Necromunda is only just around the corner now. Add into this all of the Lord of the Rings work that’s going on, as well as continuing to support and release models from the last BBB for the Space Poodles, Golden Boys, Quiet Girls and Psychic Space Egyptians.
That’s not a bad churn for a “Sister company”. But has anyone else noticed a little bit of a general Heresy slow down of late? Black Library were churning out so many 30k novels that I could barely keep up, and yet they’ve gone relatively quiet of late. Yes, there are the ‘Tales of the Primarchs’ novels, and a few other bits and pieces, but few of the big, meaty novels that progress the story closer to Terra have been appearing of late. Forge World continue to give us a a few Heresy units too, but what with everything else, this has quietened a little as well. Are they building up to something big? Once this BBB drops, will we be heading to the Siege of Terra? Will we get a “Year of Heresy”?
But We’re Still Being Teased
Yep. We’ve known the next book will include the Blood Angels for a while now, and all those months ago when the Deredeo Dread was released, we got our first glimpse of Forge World’s colouring for the Blood Angels.
blood angels deredeo dreadnought form forge world
…or did we? Look at the above image compared to one of the latest Sicaran battle tank:
blood angels sicaran tank by forge world
The reds are completely different so does this mean things have had to be redone? Was that Deredeo paint scheme just a test? It’s all rather intriguing, especially when coupled with no new BA miniatures appearing at the Open Day. I was sure we’d see at least an early sculpt of something but nothing showed. But then we did have rather a lot of everything else to look at.
So, What Do We Want To See?
Ok, so taking Sanguinius out of the equation (because pretty much everyone wants to see what he looks like – and yes, I shall be purchasing), what do we want, or expect to see? I’ve picked out a couple of units/characters that I really want to see come out of this book, and be supported with miniatures from Forge World. Here goes:
Raldoron – One of my favourite characters from the books so far, and Sanguinius’ First Captain. I want to see Cataphractii armour, a few animal skins (sorry, Peta) and a stern face. He always strikes me as the most sober and least flamboyant of the IXth Legion so it will be good to have someone to counter all the fanciness that’s going on everywhere else.
sanguinary guard models
Sanguinary Guard – Ok, so there’s a GW kit for these guys, but that kit is starting to look a little tired these days and a Forge World interpretation would be darn fancy. I’d expect a few more white robes along with the classic gold armour. Oh, and some bigger, more dynamic wings on the jump packs too. Throw in Ezkailon for good measure as well.
Captain Amit – Who doesn’t want to see the Flesh Tearer himself rendered in resin? Nassir Amit would look great in his battered armour, and whether armed with a power sword or his twin chainfists (I know these came later, but come on – how cool would it look?!), he’s going to be a beast. Would love to set him up opposite Kharn and see who wins that fight.
captain amit
Unique Assault Troops – Loads of different weapons and some fun designs on the armour would make this a great unit to take. It’s the Blood Angels’ signature troop choice and having some cool load-out options (I’m thinking extra flamers with added flamers) and you can just shut up and take my money.
And So Now We Wait…
bored sanguinius
That’s all we have left to do. Wishlist and wait. I’m sure Dark Angels players are feeling the same way as I do at the moment; Eager, a little desperate for some gossip, and ready to get going on their legion specific . I can’t wait to pick up this book and plenty of forces to go along with my 30k Blood Angels army. I’d just love to hear a bit more about when this is going to happen so that I can plan my budget accordingly. The last book hit in Q1 (I think) of this year, so will we get in a second book this year with everything else FW have got going on? We shall wait and see. Onwards.

A New Xenos: Part 2 – It Came From Out There…

Posted by johnnya10 on 07/09/2017
Posted in: Thoughts and Comment. Tagged: . 4 Comments
space
In my last post, I looked at what GW has left in the tank when it comes to its own IP and things it could bring into the 41st Millennium. As it turns out, there’s not a huge amount to bring into the game, so are we approaching one of those rare times when Games Workshop starts inventing something completely new for the game? In this post, I want to look at the external influences that have informed 40k’s most alien of races, and look at the current and past Sci-Fi scene to see what would work in the Grimdark.
Previous Experiments
Some of the longer serving 40k Xenos races have a very obvious origin – Warhammer. The fantasy game loaned quite a lot to the Sci-Fi sensation when it was in its infancy, and most of that turned out great. Heck, between the comedic stylings of the punky Space Orks, and Jes Goodwin’s unique designs of the Eldar, we got something truly fantastic. But races that were fleshed out a little later came from other places entirely.
original tyranid illustration
The Tyranids are the obvious place to start. They were classic Sci-Fi movie monsters brought to life and their stylings certainly owed something to Giger and Scott’s work, Alien. The original Tyranid that appeared briefly and vaguely in Rogue Trader was more like a Dinosaur and so we’re lucky that the Xenomorph’s influence took hold. And while modern Nids have moved a little further away from this, the influence is still there, though it is now more of a ‘nod to’ than a true homage. This is a great example of GW taking something from Pop culture, combining it with their own ideas and providing us with a great Xenos army.
2nd Edition Tyranids
The Tau are another good example. You can’t look at a battlesuit without being reminded of Japanese Anime and Manga. Look at the head of Briarios from Appleseed and tell me that you don’t see a little of that in the helmet of say a XV86 Coldstar. But GW was a little quicker to evolve the idea with the Tau, and gave them space communism, loads of weird allies and the whole fish thing. Nevertheless, the influences of Japanese battlesuit
animation and aesthetics remain.
manga tau 40k
And this is what we’re looking for here. Where could the influences come from? Giger’s Aliens and Japan’s Gundams (amongst others) have fed fantastically into 40k, so where do we look next?
Winning Formulas 
What we’re really looking for are a combination of the following things:
  • A unique design aesthetic that works within 40k.
  • A great background that everyone can buy into.
  • Unique weapons and technologies.
  • Something that can be developed.
These are the key factors which link the Tyranids and the Tau, and their influences. Nothing else looks like Japanese animation or an HR Giger biomech, and this gives us the unique aesthetics. The background comes in the most part later on from the writers, but some of that can be absorbed as well. After all, Tyranids and Genestealers can infest space hulks, and Tau are technically made of sashimi. Both have completely unique weapon sets which again are taken in some part from their prime influencers. Tyranid’s have their venom cannons, Xenomorphs have their acid blood – both biological weapons created from the creature’s own bodily fluids. And I’m not even going to start listing the rail guns and missile pods on Japanese battlesuits.
These are our key ingredients, and now that we have them, we know what we’re looking for in terms of our inspiring figures from beyond 40k.
Potential Test Subjects
*Record Scratch*
You know what, I wrote about a thousand words for this section and ended up deleting the lot. I talked about Klingons, Predators, that monster from Stranger Things and some Fallout mutants, but I scrapped it all. I maintain that the above formula is the way to go when you’re bringing in something into the 40k setting, but I had an epiphany.
kroot tau warriors
The Kroot. Yes, I know they’re already in the game, and this article was supposed to be about things beyond the game and a new Xenos race, but the fact of the matter is that the Kroot could hold the real key to this issue of not having enough Xenos.
How did I miss them from the last post?! Maybe because they’re still relatively new to the game, or because they’ve been slowly phased down in the Tau lists. But still – how did I miss them? Let me explain.
kroot miniatures
Imagine that during the next Tau sphere of expansion, a rogue Kroot chief takes control of his species. An outsider who no-one thought could be leader, but the tribes vote him in. And he splits the Kroot from the Tau. Some would remain loyal to the Tau (no need to take them out of that codex) but this new leader breaks off a huge section of the Kroot and leads them on their own expansion. Their shaman come to the fore and develop a way of using the webway, or teleporting, or something that would allow them to move between star systems without ships, and they go on the hunt.
They have the look and hunting nature of Predator, they’re a fast horde army that is supplemented with monsters. They rely on natural magic and scavenged technology. Though they’re looking not for war, but for a slice of the galaxy for themselves, where they can live and hunt and be free. This nature stops them from being too Orky which is one of the dangers any new race could fall into.
forge world kroot monster
Forge World could revive their Kroot monsters which have long been missing from their ranges, and design more. The designers and fluff writers could pull more from tribal cultures, including but not limited to the Native Americans, south pacific tribes and aboriginal Australians (preferably without being too obvious and certainly not insulting – nothing too on the nose, they should draw from but not imitate as that can get very insulting very quickly ). They could represent a step backwards for the ever expanding Tau who have already suffered a schism with the Farsight enclave. All the roots for a great army are there already.
predator gif
And if you want to borrow from current Sci Fi, go for it. Maybe they can walk through other dimensions to reach other worlds, and encounter/enslave monsters like that creature in Stranger Things. Or they could purposely mutate Tau captives to make them suffer as the Kroot have, and turn them into things that resemble the mutant monsters in Fallout.
I don’t know. This isn’t where I saw this post heading. This conclusion has nothing to do with the title or the core theme, but I guess this is a case of ‘best laid plans, etc…’. But honestly, I see this as the best way that we can get a new Xenos army into the game. That or, I don’t know; Ewoks. There you go.
ewoks celebrating
On that unexpected note, I shall ask you to forgive me for leading you down this rabbit hole, and wish you happy painting and gaming. Onwards!

A New Xenos: Part 1 – It Came From Within…

Posted by johnnya10 on 05/09/2017
Posted in: Thoughts and Comment. Tagged: . 16 Comments
There’s been a fair bit of chatter recently regarding the possibility of Games Workshop adding some new alien races to 40k, and this has me intrigued. Where would one find a new Xenos race? What could inspire it? And how could it develop? In a series of two articles, I’m going to look at where this potential new threat to the Imperium could be drawn from, starting with the Xenos races that already inhabit the galaxy in the 41st Millennium. But first, let’s start with a technically-not-Xenos race who always have to be mentioned when one is talking about new factions for 40k…
Squats
old 40k squats illustration
There. I said it. Just to get it out of the way really. You can reset the counters, etc. But this is a fair point to make. While on the one had Games Workshop’s reaction to the Squats is typically to stick its fingers in its ears, close its eyes and shout “NEVER HAPPENED! NEVER HAPPENED! LALALA!” they do represent a genuine possibility. Some of you will be shaking your heads and saying that they are abhumans and not true Xenos, and while you’re technically correct, they still could have an alien feel to them, and represent something outside, or on the verges of the Imperium that is not affiliated to Chaos, so I’m giving them an *. Perhaps unworthy of the title of Xenos, these *Xenos would still be something very different to the Imperium, with unique designs, no Aquila, and some massive tanks too.
A high toughness/low movement army (apart from the bikes) with a techno-celtic Imperial allies feel to them. …yeah, it’s not going to happen. They really do belong in the game’s past and while it’s conceivably plausible that GW might release a single unit of dwarf-like abhumans, the idea of a Squat army ever coming back to the table belongs inside a Tyranid’s belly along with all the other squats. And, given their technically abhuman status, they might end up just being another Imperial army (even without the Aquila) and we have more than enough of those at the moment.
genestealer cult
And really, when we look at the past, this would be the only option. We now have the Genestealer cult back in the game and they were the only other contenders up until their release to make such a huge comeback. But Squats are just dwarves in space, and if you really want to play them, you can take some Khadra- Karard- Kokora- Steam Punk Airship Dwarves from fantasy and give them bolters and lasguns. That’s as close as you’d get I think. In terms of whole armies, this was your only option and it’s not an option. I shall eat my hat if they ever make a reappearance on an army-level scale.
Strange Bestiary
warhammer 40000 bestiary
But that doesn’t mean that all from the past is a no go. GW, in a post on one  even recently brought up the Ambull, a creature which only lives on a small smattering of planets and lives underground. Hmmm… not too promising if you ask me.
Then there are the Hrud. While early editions of the game painted them as rat-like (just say ‘Space Skaven’ – it’s easier), that used plasma tech and sniper rifles, they were eventually evolved into the strange, long-limbed, scale-covered creatures with black orb eyes that were more in line with classic alien-types from Science Fiction. I don’t see Skaven making the jump across from fantasy (despite the character at the bottom left of the above image), but these large aliens could be a winner. But is there an army in them? How could GW make them an interesting, in depth and varied army?
hrud
Or do they need to? Why not just a unit or a single model? They could ally with certain races and not others. This could be done with any amount of Xenos. I suggested a couple of years ago that we could have single unit races that served purely as ally options and I stand by the fact that this could work. Introduce an army’s worth of units that aren’t an army. Hrud, Ambulls, Dog Soldiers… perhaps there are even some Laer that survived Slaanesh somehow. And what if they’d be willing to fight for the Greater Good® with the Tau? Or enslave Orks? Or exist as a parasite to the Tyranids? All plausible, and all sensible. What’s more, if any unit or race proved particularly popular, GW could then work on the introduction of a full army later on. After all, there’s only one Vespid unit in the game…
vespids
While this sort of approach could happen, I’m sceptical that it ever would. GW like their army releases to be full armies, and these odds and ends wouldn’t really fit in with current practices, but while it’s unlikely, it’s still a lot more plausible than the Squats coming back.
Fantasy
When Rogue Trader launched way back when, GW instinctively looked to the Fantasy world to try and flesh out the 41st Millennium with Xenos species. So is there anything left? No, is the simple answer. The Undead are covered by Necrons, of course we know about all the Elves, Orks, etc, the Ogres are Ogryns, and the Dwarves got squatted. If one were being generous, one could even say that the Sigmarites and Primaris Marines share a little bit in common. This cupboard is looking particularly bare these days.
age of sigmar logo
So it looks like there’s not really much of anything to choose from when it comes to the bows and arrows brigades.
So What’s The Answer?
Well, indeed. What is the answer? This may be one of those rare occasions when GW looks truly beyond its walls for something new. It appears that there’s not much old and original IP left to plunder so, like the inventions of Tyranids and Tau, it may be time for the chaps in Nottingham to look beyond the 41st Millennium. But where would such inspiration come from? In my next article, I’ll look a bit more at the sorts of aliens we could, should and wouldn’t want to see in Warhammer 40,000. Until then; Onwards!
NB – Since originally penning this piece, I’ve noticed, both in White Dwarf and on the Warhammer Community website that Games Workshop have done something amazing themselves – mentioned Squats! This is either tongue-in-cheek, deliberate trolling, or could some plans be afoot? I’m not holding my breath, but it’s intriguing nonetheless…

New Necromunda – What’s In The Box

Posted by johnnya10 on 31/08/2017
Posted in: Thoughts and Comment, Uncategorized. Tagged: . 7 Comments
They’re here! The first images of the New Necromunda Box Set and gangs have appeared on the Warhammer Community site and they are looking good! Let’s disect this image a bit before we move on to looking at the gangs of House Escher and House Goliath.
Necromunda 2017 Box contents
Well, I’m glad I didn’t chuck my templates. 😉 Yep, the trusty markers are back in business, though I think I prefer the green ones that I’ve got to the rust orange ones here, but it’s good to see these fellas back after a brief absence. Tales of their demise were greatly exaggerated it seems. So does that mean the rules will be more closely linked to Old 40k than 8th edition? I can’t wait to find out.
And we have a board. This is interesting, and from what the article says, there are more than one way to play: Either using the board, or playing on your tabletop with multi-level terrain. This is sensible, as it makes Necromunda both a gateway/entry-level game (kids can buy it, play on the board included with unpainted minis) while those more hardcore of us can take the miniatures to the tabletop. Time to get building those crazy walkways and pumping stations folks!
There will be some useful looking bulkheads and doors in there too, which is a nice touch and great for any of us wanting to craft our own scenery. And do I spy some new Underhive-specific objective markers in there? Why, yes. I believe I do. Winning. On top of that, we have our two gangs, some dice, markers and various rules-related paraphernalia. This looks like an excellent set which I imagine will be priced around the £85-95 range. Pricey for pocket money, but not bad when hours of fun can be had.
So how does it compare to the old days?
old necromunda boxed game
I know exactly what you’re going to say. You’re going to put on your rose-tinted glasses, stare back into the warm depths of nostalgia and talk about how the Necromunda scenery from the first box set of the game was amazing, and I am going to totally agree with you. At the time, it was frankly groundbreaking. It transformed so many tabletops and became almost as iconic as the gangs themselves. But I challenge you to take a look at it now, compared to modern GW scenery, and even scenery made by other companies and tell me that it looks as good. The bulkheads have actually aged extremely well, but the cardboard, not so much. It was flimsy and wobbly and while it looked amazing to my young eyes way back when, I can acknowledge now that it wouldn’t quite be good enough. And yes, GW want us all to buy more scenery kits, but that’s hardly a shock. Just consider what you could do with all the terrain pieces now available to you…
Beyond that contentious point (I know some of you will still be spitting bile about not getting that kit again), it’s a general upgrade of everything. Everything’s a little more polished which is what one can expect these days, and the models are better too. Speaking of which…
house goliath gang 2017
house escher gang 2017 necromunda
How good do these gangs look?! The Goliath gang will be so much fun to paint. I’m thinking tattoos, bright mohawks and a lot of rusty, red armour for mine. And as for the Escher gang, I’m sure my regular readers know well my predilection towards 80s fashion and animal print so you can expect to see plenty of that from me. But as good as they look, this isn’t what’s got me most excited. This paragraph from the press release has made me very happy indeed:
“One of the best things about Necromunda is building a gang and equipping your gangers with wargear, and each kit is absolutely packed with options. There are weapons for any situation, from classics like the stub gun to more esoteric choices like the repurposed industrial equipment of House Goliath or the chem-weapons of the Eschers.”
Options!! In a box set!! Get those teeny-tiny magnets ready folks because everyone’s going to be swapping gear and weapons around here. Everything can be unique and of course if you’re rich in bits too, you can do so much more! Slaaneshy Escher gang? Why not. Mork-following Goliaths? As you please. Necron affiliated Van Saar? Hells Yes. Renegade Cawdor, Wig-wearing Delaques, mutated Orlocks… the possibilities are endless. This is fantastic news and I cannot wait to get going with these adaptations.
So what are your thoughts on the box? Happy with the way it’s looking? Got any ideas for your gangs? Excited by all of this? Not as much as I am. November can’t come soon enough. Onwards!
charlie kelly dancing gif

Pickle Rick in the 41st Millennium!

Posted by johnnya10 on 29/08/2017
Posted in: My Painting and Modelling. Tagged: . 7 Comments

Warhammer 40000 Pickle Rick miniature

We had a long weekend over here in the UK this week and I was watching a little of Rick & Morty season 3, and while watching arguably the best episode of the season so far, my brain had a really stupid idea. “Why don’t you try and sculpt Pickle Rick for Warhammer 40,000” and that’s how I lost my long weekend.

Now, I am no great sculptor of miniatures. The medium of Green Stuff is one that I find fiddly and frustrating at best, but I thought I’d give it a shot. Now, in order to do any sort of detail on this, I couldn’t make it too tiny. It’s not to scale. or, I guess maybe a Rick (perhaps from dimension L-211) landed on Catachan (where everything is bigger, tougher, stronger and scarier) and discovered Catachan Pickles. He used these to improve on Rick C-137’s original designs, along with the necessary parts from a Catachan rat that was to scale. But I digress…

The limbs are literally made of cut and shaped staples and even bits of cotton thread. His shoulder mounted Lascannon is made from parts of a Hunter Killer missile, while his Xacto/Screw weapon is made from one of the smaller pouches that come with Space Marine kits. There’s also a pouch full of batteries – the pouch is made of green stuff, while the batteries are actually the bolts from a Chaos Space marine Bolt Pistol.

40k pickle rick and morty

As he’s so tiny (I’ll show you some comparisons in a sec), I had to make his base a bit busy. There are some rocks, a spire thing, a skull, some barbed wire, and a glowing green rock because we all know how Rick loves glowing green rocks.

This is by far the fiddliest thing I’ve ever painted, but hopefully I got plenty of details in. I even managed to do the tiny rat brain at the back…

40k pickle rick rear

That brain is about the size of a pin head, which is slightly larger than the individual vertebrae that I somehow managed to do without swearing too much. I’d really like to get some better pictures but my camera/software is still out of action. When it functions again, I shall take some better snaps of him (and some other models) and share them here.

Now, how about those size comparisons…

pickle rick space marine

So, he’s about knee-high to a Primaris Space Marine. Or to put it another way…

pickle rick nurglings

 

…about the same size as an individual (and very dusty – I really need to dust my miniatures!) Nurgling. To be honest, I never want to work on anything this frail, fiddly or tiny again. Especially if it involves green stuff. I started work on a Rhino straight after this as I just wanted to work on something big and get my perspective back!

Now, as well as putting together this miniature, I didn’t want to leave it at that. What would be the point in having this miniature at my disposal, if I couldn’t use him? So I wrote some rules. Full disclosure – these are very silly (like, mega silly), though I hope in keeping with the character. They have not been play tested, and to be honest, I started with Roboute Guilliman and toned it down slightly. Because why not, right? So, if you want to torture yourself my making a tiny pickle man (or Solenya), then you are more than welcome to use these rules (provided your opponent is mad enough to agree to you using them). Here you are:

pickle rick warhammer 40000 rules data sheet

Like I said: Silly. He becomes a more accurate shot the more wounds he takes, he hates Necrons and they hate him, and he will pretty much fight for anyone who will take him. I like to think that the Inquisition regard him as an oddity worthy of study, while the Chaos Space Marines think he could be a daemon in the employ of some new dark God. The Ad Mech are in awe of skills with machinery, the Dark Eldar are in awe of his sadistic nature, and the Orks are in awe of his violent tendencies. I could genuinely see him fitting in with any of these forces.

So there you have it. That’s how I lost my long weekend and gained a ridiculous miniature with a ridiculous set of rules. It was fun at least. I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing this …no, there isn’t a better word than “Ridiculous” post, and normal service will resume shortly. Get Schwifty, y’all. Onwards.

giphy

 

Know Your Necromunda: Part 2 – More Inhabitants Of The Underhive

Posted by johnnya10 on 24/08/2017
Posted in: Thoughts and Comment. Tagged: . 8 Comments
ratskins escher white dwarf
In my last post, I covered the six main houses of Necromunda’s Underhive, but there are far more inhabitants than these illustrious gangs alone. The deeper you go, and the closer you get to the Sump, you’ll find all manner of monstrosities lurking in the darkness, while some other monsters are sent from on high to bring more light to our dingy lower levels. In this post, I’ll detail a few more inhabitants of Hive Primus’ lower levels…
Ratskins
john blanche ratskin
Ratskins are more of a tribe than a gang. These native inhabitants do not seek warfare or even contact with the violent gangs, and instead seek isolation within the depths of the Hive. They are peaceful and spiritual and have few qualms with anyone. However, just like in those movies where the guy who couldn’t take any more had to take one more thing, and that makes him pick up a gun, some Ratskins go Renegade (or become ‘Badskins’) and decide to take arms against (or sometimes for) the gangs. Light on their feet and light on guns (they don’t got no heavies) they use speed and aggression to win their fights. And if PETA thought 40k was lousy with animal fur, wait until the cop a load of these guys. More animal skins than you could shake a power sword at adorn their shoulders.
ratskins box
In a pretty blatant nod to Indian scouts (Ratskin scouts are solo characters that gangs can hire) and the whole Native American culture, these are the true natives of Necromunda who view the Hive as a God. If true, that God has some serious ≥#@€ing explaining to do. Still, I wonder how they got the skins of those rats…
pickle rick gif
Adeptus Arbites/Enforcers
adeptus arbites enforcer
100% definitely not Judge Dredd, these guys represent the sparse law enforcement available to Mega City 1 Hive Primus. These non-Judge-Dredd-looking guys occasionally have to dirty their boots by venturing down into the lower levels to serve some justice to unruly gangs, and when they do they bring the thunder. Shotguns, bolters, power mauls and even armoured personnel carriers are deployed by the law in these parts and they don’t even remotely resemble Judge Dredd. They’ve got better armour and more resources but they don’t know the hive as well as its more permanent citizens so they often find themselves being ambushed which is something that would never happen to Judge Dredd not like they look like him anyway. When these chaps show up, all the gangs take notice.
old school arbites
They did eventually get their own Necromunda miniatures (complete with a robo-dog) but they looked a bit naff, and so have a picture of the old 2nd Ed Judges Adeptus Arbites instead – they’re pretty much the same thing any way – they just look better. P.S. Not like this guy:
judge dredd gif
Redemptionists 
necromunda redemptionist
You know what’s a great idea? To go into a chemical filled cramped space under ground and set fire to everything. Well, that’s what these fellas are up to most of the time. Strongly related to House Cawdor (though Cawdor view this lot as uncommitted amateurs) they venture into the Underhive to bring the Emperor’s light to the unbelievers below. They hate mutants, they hate psykers and they generally hate anyone and everything that doesn’t follow their creed, and they do all this while being dressed in bathrobes with flame decals. One can see in them a resemblance to the members and victims of the Spanish inquisition as rendered by the likes of Francisco Goya, and this blogger would argue that they are some of the best looking miniatures to come from this iteration of Necromunda.
necromunda redemptionist miniatures
So, if you like setting fire to things and then clubbing them with a mace, these are the lads to get the job done. They’re also very handy at drumming up civil unrest throughout the hive so they’ve got that going for them too. Not the friendliest of folk though.

xmen pyro gif

Spyrers
john blanche spyrer
Wherever there are poor folk struggling, there are always some rich bastards playing a game, and Hive Primus is no different. One day, some loaded Patriarch obviously had a bright idea that went something like this; “We should send the boy into the Underhive to make him a man. We’ll spend loads of money on making an armoured suit and weapons from off-world xeno-tech and classified Ad Mech specs that even the Adeptus Astartes (and even Iron Man) would be jealous of, and throw him into the depths and see how long he survives. Should be a lark too”. And that’s how Spyrers became. From the nimble Jakara to the flying Yeld, and from the over-armoured Orrus to the assassin-like Malcadon, the Spyrers are rich kids that are sent into gang territory to survive as part of some sadistic character building exercise. Almost one-man-gangs themselves, they’re a pain to get rid of, and if a ganger does kill one, they may have to answer to the Patriarch or Matriarch of the family who has even better weaponry than the Spyrers.
necromunda spyrers
Spyrers have some of the coolest looking miniatures of the game and some very fun weapons. You don’t need many of them to take on a gang, though you do feel a little sorry for the hateful little brats when they do fall. But only a little.
tony stark gif
Hired Guns
necromunda bounty hunter
This is a bit of a catch all term really and some of the things here may not fall under the ‘hired guns’ section of the original rulebook, but they all serve that purpose. There are lots of loners who end up plying their trade or scratching a living in the Underhive. From rogue bounty hunters, to wondering wyrds who use their psychic powers to protect themselves, and from beastmasters who tame the nightmarish creatures that live in the dark, to pit slaves who have nothing left to lose. And then there are the scum. Tragic cases, fools, escaped convicts and psychopaths who will fight for any house willing to pay them. It’s hard to say how many of them dwell in the depths but there seems to be an endless supply of humanity’s dregs to fill the ranks of gangs who want them.
necromunda hired guns
These were always a great tool to use in more narrative driven games. Like a rogue beastmaster unleashing wave after wave of monsters, or a pyromaniac wyrd burning everything down so your gangs were constantly having to run around to avoid the flames. And the scum are a nice cheap option to have if you’re building a gang over time.
robot chicken boba fett gif
Scavvies
necromunda scavvies
It’s fitting that we end with the Scavvies as they represent the very bottom rung of the Underhive ladder. In fact, If you got off the ladder, and dug a hole fifty feet deep beneath it, that’s about the level that the Scavvies sit at. These are the folk who have for too long been in close proximity with the toxic waste and ooze of the hive’s Sump. All mutated and in constant pain, they are the nightmare of the Imperium, the Redemptionist cult and all the juves that didn’t finish their greens before being sent to bed. From the monstrous Scalies and their harpoon guns, to the rotting corpse-like gangers and cannibalistic Ghouls, each Scavvy is a twisted visage of humanity that would shatter even the most flattering mirror. They even have scavvy dogs – packs of mutated puppers that regard ganger flesh as highly as a pedigree pooch might regard Winalot.
necrumnda scavvies miniatures
If you like random mutations and bad horror movies, then this lot will do for you. They were loads of fun to paint as I recall and could probably be used to bolster your poxwalker ranks in 40k too. Now there’s a saving.
toxic avenger gif
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And that’s your lot. I could have added a few more, but this about sums up the majority of the Underhive. So if you’re not looking to play as a ‘noble’ House, there are other options available to you, and plenty of variety within those. Personally I’m looking forward to seeing the return of Spyrers the most. And if Forge World don’t release them, I dare say it would be fun to kit bash one together. But for now, I shall leave you to plan and scheme on what you’ll be taking as you venture into the deep, dark places of Necromunda. Onwards!

Varag Ghoul-Chewer

Posted by johnnya10 on 21/08/2017
Posted in: My Painting and Modelling. Tagged: . Leave a comment

varag ghoul-chewer blood bowl star player

Hello, Blood Bowl fans! And welcome to the post that shows off the first images of my very own Varag Ghoul-Chewer. This was the model that I was going to take to the Forge World Open Day but I didn’t have a chance to finish him. Well, I’m glad that I took my time and didn’t rush anything, because I’m particularly happy with how this massive orc turned out now that I’m finished with him. Let’s take a closer look at the latest addition to my Blood Bowl team.

So, I painted him in very much the same way that I’ve shown on this blog before – a process detailed in this tutorial. He’ll be playing for Da Mighty Redz when I get them all done (getting closer now), so it’s that same Mephiston Red armour and for his flesh, I used a blend of Waaagh! Flesh and Moot Green paints mixed pretty much 1:1 for the base. I probably did give this chap a few extra layers of highlight just because I want him to pop a little more, and I think it’s worked quite nicely, but it’s pretty much the same method apart from that.

ghoul-chewer rear view

Rather than assign a legend like Varag Ghoul-Chewer a squad number, I’ve gone with a crudely drawn star motif that I thought was fitting of a player with this guy’s reputation. Also, as all the other players in the squad have numbers and names based on Liverpool Football club players, I didn’t want to confuse that. What’s more, there’s a lot less rust on this guy – he’s a star player so I’d guess he can afford to keep his gear a little better than the team grunts.

One thing that I’m really happy with on this miniature is the weathering and effects. From the mud placed on the raised boot, to just the general wear and tear all over, he definitely looks like he’s been sprinting around a muddy pitch for more than a few minutes. I also cracked out the Blood For The Blood God technical paint to decorate Varag’s massive weapon. I don’t like overusing it, so it’s just a hint.

blood bowl orc star player

The squig gave me some issues, and it’s probably the weaker part of the model. The eyes didn’t come out quite as I’d liked, and there could be more highlighting on the flesh. But over all, I’m very happy with this miniature and I look forward to fielding him.

But I didn’t get the chance to field him in that painting competition, so it’s only right that I let him stand on his plinth at least once. Here he is in the glory he never really got:

varag ghoul-chewer on display plinth

And if you’re worried about him toppling over, I should tell you that there’s a 2p piece superglued to the underside of his base. It’s made him so much more stable. He was a bit wobbly on the desk top before that so he’d be very precarious on that plinth without the added weight, and the 2p piece is the perfect size and weight for these bases..

And now I need to get back to my painting desk – there’s a lot I still want to do this year and I’m aware of time running out. Not only do I need to get this Blood Bowl team done, but there’s a certain red painted legion that needs my attention too. I hope your painting efforts are going well. Onwards!