It’s been a while since I’ve put together a good old fashioned name generator for Necromunda (over three years to be precise) but as it’s the festive period, and because we’ve recently had the release of the Underhive Outcasts Gang and the associated rules for them, I thought I’d roll up my sleeves and have a go again. In fact, I had always meant to do this back then but I never got around to it, but now that you can take Outcast gangs, and Venator gangs for that matter, I think it’s about time I righted this wrong. So further below, using the same old system, we have a way for you to come up with a name for your new gang if you need a little help or inspiration.
Speaking of that, I had thought about using mother’s maiden names, the name of the street you live on, or some other method, but thought it would just look like a phishing scheme so I stuck to the tried and true first initial of your first name, first initial of your last name method. It’s worked well for us until now and if it ain’t broke…
What was really fun about this for me was thinking back to the above expansion that appeared in my youth, and also the Kal Jericho novels that I still recommend to people all the time – wonderful enjoyable reads (especially if you imagine Kal has the voice of Archer, Scabbs is Cyril, Yolanda is Lana… essentially it’s Archer does Necromunda and it’s one of my favourite things to do). You might see some nods to these products in the chart below…
Anyway, that’s all a lot of ado, so without further ado (given we’ve had so much ado already) here’s the name generator for you:
So given that my initials are “JA”, I could name my gang the “Junkyard Assassins”, but if, for some reason, that didn’t quite sit right, I could switch it round and go for “Ash Waste Jackals”. Both not only give me names to work with, but they also provide a little flavour I could tie-in to the makeup of my gang, how I paint them and how I base them.
Now, if you’re still looking for a name for your gang that is one of the more traditional Necromunda Houses, you can find some more name generators on this site:
Well, I guess that means that’s all. Huh. I could have sworn I’d written more of these… maybe I did and I never got a chance to post them up. I shall do some digging and see what I can put together!
If you do use this name generator or any of the others linked here, or any of the others that are found on this site, I’d love to hear about the results you got and any thoughts you had on them, so do stick a comment down below. And if I don’t post here again until after Xmas, have a happy, healthy, safe and fun winter break. Onwards!
What a weekend. Games Workshop not only sends Dungeon Bowl my way (and you can check out an unboxing post for Dungeon Bowl here) but they also sent me the new Necromunda releases to enjoy and review as well! And I have been waiting with baited breath for this release – it’s perfect for me, and so I’m here to tell you if it lives up to the hype. Let’s take a closer look at the Book of the Outcast, and the kits that accompany it.
Why Outcasts? Why Now?
Necromunda is, hands done, the best world-building game that Games Workshop produce. It is a game that lives most comfortably in campaigns and creativity, and though it’s a fun one-shot sort of game too, it really shines when you can build a world to live in and occupy for several games (or even several years) in a row. And we have been provided with all manor of legendary fighters and gangs already, from the houses of Goliath, Escher, Van Saar, et al, all the way through to having the ability to create swashbuckling bounty hunters that help to forge the legends of the Underhive.
But we’ve never just had basic dudes. Just folk. People who live here and have to put up with gangs of religious zealots, spooky spies, poison-perfecting femme fatales and all the other lunatics, punks and psychos that Hive Primus can produce. The average Joes and Jolenes who might eventually get completely sick of having to deal with all of this and one day pick up an old lasgun, a blunt knife or an autopistol and form their own gang. That’s what this release gives us – the basic blokes, hard-grafting girls, and other simple, decent folk of Hive City. And I love that.
The books itself is amazing. Absolutely jam-packed with lore that helps to flesh out the setting beyond the famed houses. I could point out hundreds of examples of this being done here in this book, but I really like these pages that define the differences between outcasts, outlanders and the rest:
That right there. That’s the good shit. That’s the sort of thing that makes this book magic. For gaming purposes, your gang might not change too much, but when it comes to defining how they are, how they act, the society the dwell within and even how they look, this is gold dust. When I first read that piece, I spent a good couple of hours debating what I’d go for if I was going into a campaign with a posse of loners, desperados and last chancers. And in this book, you have so many ideas to work with and get inspired by.
And when you start to create your gang, further choices have been incorporated into the rules for building a band of underworld outcasts. You get to choose their affiliation, and the choice you make will affect how your gang interacts with other gangs, resources and rules in a campaign and you have five options to choose from ranging from the unaffiliated ‘clanless’ who represent the untrustworthy elements of Hive City, to a criminal organisation who are, well, even more untrustworthy to be fair. But the heart of this mechanic, is for me, in the ability to be aligned with Clan Houses, Noble Houses or a mercantile guild. Why not have your house affiliated with House Delaque and make them shifty, ranged weapon specialists? Or make them brightly coloured Escher enthusiasts? Whoever you pick, you get access to their house weapon lists, and potentially alliances with them, so pick wisely.
That’s such a great way to further theme your gang, and as a hoarder of bits myself, it’s a great way to use up some weapons, heads, and other paraphernalia from the Bits Crate (upgraded from a box – I got a lot of bits, man). And what’s more, the get access to hangers on that you can add to your gang, adding yet more flavour. So if you want a criminal gang affiliated with House Orlock that hangs around with an underhive trader and a slopper, you got it! Or would you prefer some deviant outlanders that keep an eye on things in the Underhive for House Ty? You’ve got some great options in these pages.
There’s a lot more to this book too, with the Outlander campaign looking particularly juicy, and the Wyrd Powers very entertaining (if terrifying in some instances). There’s a whole mess of cool looking character profiles and personalities available too. There is so much in this book that I love, that it’s almost impossible to find any negatives!
…And yet, I do try and bring a little bit of balance to my reviews, so I do go looking for them. In truth, within these pages, there are no negatives that I’ve spotted, but what’s starting to concern me about Necromunda, is the amount of pages. I like that every gang gets its own book – that works great for me. But Necormunda is not 40k or AoS, and in this game, details and planning, especially on the part of the arbiter matter a lot more, and so said arbiter needs access to all of these books. If someone wanted me to play in a Necromunda campaign tomorrow, I would 100% say yes. If someone asked me to plan a Necromunda campaign, I would politely decline at the moment. There are so many books that you need now to run a campaign and for many that is a great deal of fun, but for me, it feels like too much. What I’d really like is an Arbiter’s Helper sort of book – a tome with all of the scenarios, trading posts, skills and a glossary of all the rules from all the books so far. If that sort of book comes out, I’d be prepping a big campaign tomorrow. As it is, I don’t have the patience to pour through that many pages.
So with that out of the way, I just want to reiterate that I love this book, it’s probably my favourite lore-building resource for the game so far, and I cannot wait to start thinking of more gang ideas based on these pages. Well done to the entire team who put it together.
The Kits
Then there are the kits and there is an awful lot to be happy about here. As mentioned, I am a huge fan of having these simpler fighters in the Underhive setting, so let’s start off with the Outcasts gang kit.
I really like the ingenuity here. What you get in the box is three small, identical frames with lots of mix and match parts. There are plenty of heads and weapons to help you create 12 fighters just from what’s in the box. They fit the setting masterfully, and yes, if you want to make some more Chaos Cultists, they’ll probably do a very good job there. If I’m being honest, I probably expected just a little more from this kit. I think of how Necromunda sprues are usually bursting with options and while you have plenty of choice here, it’s not quite on the same level. That being said, these are generic Underhivers – they do not need to have the same sort of frames that the Gang Houses get – this works absolutely fine. I’ve built a few already and here’s one that I had the chance to paint.
I kept the paint job quick and easy (there’s no need for this guy to look to fancy for me), and I know for sure that this lasgun-wielding dude will be providing back up for some of my more expensive Bounty Hunters one day in the near future. It was a very intuitive and simple build – each character is made up of 5-6 parts. Great if you just want to get some grunts glued together. So it’s not a super special kit, but it does the job it needs to do very well and you get enough options to keep things interesting.
Next up is the market. I knew there was a reason I’d been stashing all those guns that didn’t have hands on them! By far my favourite thing about this set are the weapons racks, but the whole kit is full of fun. The market stalls look excellent, and the crates and containers work really nicely. There is a minor scale-issue with the coins and mugs in that they’re a bit big for the minis, but if you made them the same exact scale as the minis, you’d not be able to see the coins and the mugs would be daftly tiny. I like to think of these as mugs and coins for Ogryns – makes tonnes more sense then, and they too look great.
If you are building your own physical slice of the Underhive, you 100% should get this kit just because of the variety it adds. Also, there are some super fun rules for using this scenery in the Book of the Outcast so it will certainly be a real pleasure to work with.
So there’s my in depth review of the Book of the Outcast, and the kits it comes with. A great little release for Necromunda this, and I’d say the book especially is a must have for anyone who loves to create the grittiest and grimiest of the Underhive. Another ‘well done’ to all involved. Until next time; Onwards!
“Murzon Kyro spent his youthful years lurking around the Imperial Fists Interests atop the Spyre and eavesdropping on every conversation he could. It is believed that from these noble warriors (or more likely their serfs) he first learnt of the Xenos warriors known as (according to Imperial classifications) Striking Scorpions. He became obsessed by the idea of them and would, years later, spend part of his family’s fortune obtaining weapons from the Van Saar, and toxins from House Escher, as well as developing his own body through clandestine methods to match the speed, armament and abilities of these warriors (or what he thought these warriors to be based on his approximations). This is what first brought him to my attention, but after the death of his brother, Arfiz, Kyro Murzon has descended into the Underhive looking for answers presumably, and as such, has slipped beyond the light of the Emperor’s Inquisitive gaze. He is now said to haunt the shadows of the crumbling depths, and is growing quite the reputation as a lethal entity.”
– Inquisitor Thor Henshu (Ordo Xenos)
Long ago, I attended a Horus Heresy and Necromunda weekender at which Andy Hoare did a Q&A and someone asked if we would ever see Xenos representation in Necromunda. Andy responded by saying, essentially that, Genestealers aside, no, they likely wouldn’t show up because this is a very Imperial setting. However, he went on, the idea that some Spyre brat has heard of the Aeldari, and wants to emulate them, is a viable one, though he wouldn’t have seen one so his efforts would be based on clandestine research and hearsay. All of that has been percolating in me for, I think, 5 years now (or is it 4 – 2020 ruined my sense of time-keeping) and this is finally the result of that – the Stalking Scorpion.
For a start, it’s great to be back working on Bounty Hunters again. I do love making them and it’s been a while. Secondly, it is amazingly satisfying and therapeutic to bring this idea to life after all this time. It has been scratching and gnawing at the back of my hobby brain for an age now, and it’s wonderful to finally exorcise it and make it a real thing.
It was such a fun premise to work with. What would a Spyre-brat who desperately wanted to look like, and fight like, an exotic alien do to make that a reality. For a start, he could afford Van Saar weapons and tech to enhance him. He might have done research into what a scorpion actually was, and found out about their venomous nature, so he would engage the Escher. He would have worked out, and dreadlocked his hair, and he would have found illegal information about how these aliens operated. Why a Striking Scorpion? Because they’re my favourite Eldar unit of all time.
So for this kit, I took the Eversor assassin and did some chopping and changing with a few Van Saar and Escher bits. I also had to make his locks and each one is a very thin strand of green stuff. I then used one of those weird spine things from the Van Saar and turned it into a tail because I thought Murzon would have seen those images of scorpions and presumed Striking Scorpions had tails. I used the Striking Scorpion colour palette and adapted it slightly for the grimy world of the Underhive and I ensured he’d have glowing red eyes because I just think that would look cool and the idea of gangers, hive scum and bounty hunters alike being terrified at the sight of those eyes in the dark was really fun.
There’s a shot of those dreadlocks for you. “Fiddly” doesn’t even begin to describe it. I also thought long and hard about how to emulate the Scorpion’s Bite, and that’s where the shoulder mounted needler comes in (which our bounty hunter here calls the “Scorpion’s Sting”). I like the idea that it follows his eyes and is slaved to the laspistol trigger. And the laspistol is there because I really didn’t think a Shurikan catapult would make sense in Hive Primus.
I’ve got a few more Necromunda Bounty Hunters in the pipeline so I’ll get round to them at some point. I think I’m now at 24 and I quite like the idea of at least hitting 30, but I’ll see how I go. I’m also now very much drawn to the idea of creating a Van Saar gang as their design (which initially I didn’t love) has really started to grow on me. We’ll see. Onwards!
Well, we’re used to getting the occasional snippet from GW when it comes to new releases, but we’ve had an avalanche of information come through from Nottingham in the last 24 hours (and who knows if we’ll be getting even more soon). This is all down to GW’s appearance at GAMA, the big board games trade show, and it’s damn sporting of the company to share the official vids and photos with us, rather than having us all squinting at leaked, grainy bits and pieces. So, while I may go into a bit more detail in the future on all of these things (or at least some of them), let’s take a quick look at the massive dump of new delights that has graced us this week.
Chaos Blood Bowl Team
It’s great to see something new coming out for Blood Bowl. It feels like it’s been a little while since everyone’s favourite fantastical football game got something new, but that’s not actually true. It’s just that we’ve seen so much of everything being released lately, our brains are no longer capable of grasping the basic concept of time.
This looks like a team for brutal players who like an elite group of monsters who are seriously capable of stomping down the opposition. I don’t think Doom Lords players will be worrying too much about the actual ball in their games. I’m even tempted to pick them up and create a new incarnation of the legendary Chaos All Stars.
I’m liking the mix of Chosen and Beastmen in here. I dare say there’ll be some different roles involved, but combined with a Minotaur (or some sort of terrifying Warrior/Daemon special character maybe?), they’re going to be hard to knock over.
Kill Team
This is one of my favourites. I’ve always liked the Kill Team format because it’s so quick and intimate. It really feels like GW have been listening to the fanbase here. Blood Bowl, Shadow War and Necromunda have all performed so amazingly over recent months, that it makes sense for the folks in Nottingham to revive the long-running 40K skirmish game now.
Kill team is so quick and easy to play. It’s yet another great gateway game to get new people into the main game and its bigger battles, but its also great for us veterans too. If you’ve had a long game, but you’re still in the mood for more dice rolling, but the store is closing soon, Kill Team provides a great opportunity to get your gaming fix in.
And with 8th Edition rules, I dare say it’ll be even faster and more flexible. It’s a great game for learning the fundamentals of your favourite squads, and getting some insight into familiar and unusual opponents alike. I can’t wait to pick up this update.
Van Saar
Now, you know I’ll be talking more about this in a later post. Don’t worry, the name generators are being planned as we speak, and when I get some more images and insight into their background, I’ll put a full post together.
In the meantime, I’m enjoying the professional and polished weapons, sombre expressions, and fantastically manga-sci-fi-inspired armour of those survival suits. I love the multi-eyed helmet, and whatever that heavy weapon is… well, this has got me very excited. Regardless, this represents an amazing update on possibly the ugliest gang from the last iteration of the game. Frankly, they now look like one of the fanciest in the new game. Excellent stuff!
And There’s More…
But I won’t cover any more of it in this post. If you want to read and see more about GW’s GAMA wares, and get the more official details, I’d suggest checking out the community website. You’ll find many fun things to ogle at. Add Forgebane to all of this, and we’ve got plenty to be excited about. I hope you are as giddy and gleeful as I am. And now that I’ve given you three posts in three days (possibly a record on H&H), I shall leave you to enjoy your toy soldiers in peace.
“The walls are barbed, and thicker than a heavy ore crawler. They stretch high into the toxin-choked haze, their peaks lost in the sickly clouds that spread across the world of Necromunda. Beyond them, the unspoken horrors of a madman’s folly slumber. But sleep within the ruins of Hive Secundus (as was) is fitful and tortured by visions; visions of a saviour.
Patrols of Ash Waste Enforcers circle in patterns at the base of the titanic walls. Many know that the Second Hive was lost, but few of them know the truth. Their ignorance is a flaw in their strain. For patterns are predictable, and even these mighty walls have cracks and hollows large enough for a man, or something more than a man to pass through.
And so on the darkest of nights, when the distant lights of Hive Primus are but a gentle hazy glow in the suffocating murk, they stir. The servants of The Four Armed Emperor slip silently through those cracks and hollows, and when the predictable patrols have passed, they move like hunters into the dark ocean of the ash wastes after dusk. Some are caught, but others pass through the nets, and they always head toward the lights…”
– Hiver, Jayzen Smiter (trying to scare his grandchildren)
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And so the Genestealer Cults have arrived in Necromunda and I have to say that they are very interesting. I’ve been pouring over the White Dwarf rules for this latest faction and I like them. Certainly enough to start work on a gang myself (already underway) because they are presenting something quite different.
They have a real glass cannon feel to them. Neophytes are as slow as Goliaths but have only the physicality of the Escher. But they are capable of bringing some very cool weapons to the fight. The mining laser is going to be a terrifying proposition for anyone to have to deal with, while things like the webber make everyone on the opposing team vulnerable to being taken out.
Add to that access to hand flamers and needle pistols with their toxin traits, and you’ve got some mean fire power. But given their choices in hand to hand combat, you should be scared of them there too. If they get their charges off, you’ll be facing mauls, picks, hammers, chainswords, boneswords, toxin claws… they’ve got a really impressive arsenal to choose from, but if you get the drop on them, they’re somewhat squidgy. Just an opinion based on initial readings – I’ll need to play some games with and against them first.
But enough of all this tactical nonsense. If you saw the woeful state of my humbled and hobbled Goliath gang right now, you wouldn’t listen to a damn thing I had to say on the subject of tactics. But you are often keen on my name generators, so here you go:
Same rules as before, but with a little bit of a format change-up to make things a little more varied and a little more culty. You take the first letter of your first name to generate the first part, then add ‘of the’, before using your surname to generate the second part. If you initials are DR, you could be leading the Deserving of the Rictus Maw. Or if your initials are ES, you could be taking charge of the Emissaries of the Silent Shadow.
The names hopefully mix in the arrogance that nearly all cults exude, and the promises that only the genestealer menace can offer. The above format also allows me to play around with a few more words and make things a little more descriptive too.
More on my painting projects soon (hopefully) and I do hope that you’re having plenty of fun with your games and your painting. Onwards!
I now have a few games of Necromunda under my belt, and I am very much enjoying it. I really like the activation system, and its the perfect length of game at the right level of intensity for me. I’ve played each game with Goliaths, and though I have lost as many games as I have won, I’ve had the chance to make some observations about my gang. A lot of this may not be new to you, but I want to emphasise these learnings in this – my top 5 list of things I’ve learned about playing with a Goliath gang.
Speed (Or The Lack Of It) Kills
When your raison d’être is to charge headlong into combat, swingin’ you spud jacker about (saucy), being hamstrung (almost literally) by 4” basic movement is a pain. It’s often only an inch less than most of your opponents, but that’s doubled over a double move action, and it does make getting into charge range a tad hazardous. That’s why the tactics card that gives you +2” of movement (and an extra attack) is an auto-include.
The Jagged Aggressors begin to advance into territory that a Brat Gang has claimed for themselves…
If you’re playing outside of Zone Mortalis, or your players enter any large open spaces on a ZM board, you really need to use cover to stay alive. And your first move for each fighter pretty much has to be a double move. You need to get up the table as fast as possible, but keep close to walls and behind cover if you can.
The Renderizer Is Amazing
Easily my favourite weapon so far. I’ve not had a game where it’s failed to cause at least one Out Of Action. A Champion, with the Bulging Biceps special rule is lethal with this thing. Add that +2” charge/+1 attack card that we mentioned earlier, and this guy can make it into the fray at a blistering speed, and everyone is pretty much terrified of him. That weapon rips people to shreds, and you often get that satisfying feeling of rolling all the injury dice in your set.
But, while he can make up this ground, it’s important to not leave him isolated. I’ve done this twice, and ended up losing him to withering fire and, in one instance, he then got coup-de-gras’ed by a measly Delaque Juve (he is now ‘humiliated’ in the campaign I’m in – a fitting punishment). The weapon is amazing, but maybe ensure it’s safe to strike out and use it, and that you use the buddy system too.
Click
I’ve already mentioned one great card, and in many games, you get two. If the choice is yours, take click. As soon as someone fires that weapon you’re scared of, throw this down and they’re out of ammo. Of course, they can reload, and there are cards that counter this, but it’s worth taking all the time. Don’t like the look of that heavy stubber? Click. Scared of that flamer? Click. When you’re a Goliath who wants to deal with a little less firepower when charging across the board, this card is a cracker.
The Jagged Aggressors creep into Escher territory, trying to use as much cover as possible…
Oh, The Krumper
I really want to like the Krumper. But it does suffer from needing two actions to use it, and coupled with its very short range, the trick is to get somewhere in cover and wait for your opponent to get too close – think of it as an ambush predator. Give the Champion carrying it Nerves of Steel, and you can stop him getting pinned (it’s so annoying when you get into a good spot and he gets pinned – it basically means you can’t fire his weapon), and give your leader the Overseer skill and you can double activate him, but that’s a lot of effort to spend in just getting that weapon to be viable.
The krumper in my gang also suffers from a Dice Gods curse – he has managed to get a few shots off, but every time the damned thing missed. I’m going to persevere with it – if only for the rule of cool – but I don’t see it being a star of the show unless someone is really stupid/unfortunate enough to get within 3” of that thing.
With their gang unable to weather the storm of Escher firepower, the Goliath forces make a courageous and dignified retreat…
You’re Not As Tough As You Think You Are
When I first started playing with them, I think I had a few things in my head that made me think that each one had the toughness of a Contemptor Dreadnought. Yes, T4 is a good bonus, and furnace plates are a nice thing to have, but they won’t save you if you’re stupid enough to let multiple guns draw a bead on you. Yes, you can weather more hits from lasguns and autoguns, but you’re not invulnerable to these by a long shot. I’ve lost more than a few fighters thinking “oh, he’ll be fine out there in the open with all those Eschers still to activate – what are they going to do with those puny laspistols, lol” – that’s something for me to work on right there.
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And those are my key takeaways (as the cool kids are saying these days) from my brief time as a Goliath gang player. I’ve got a couple of long campaigns ahead of me, so we shall see what more I learn, and if I can take these lessons on board and get a few more wins out them. Might even try and do you guys a battle report if I can remember to take photos. Onwards!
What’s this? A 4th finished miniature in five weeks? From me!? That’s right – I found some speed from somewhere, and that means that today I can introduce you to my interpretation of Gor Half-Horn who you may have noticed has taken some inspiration from another rather infamous Bounty Hunter.
When I picked up Gor from Forge World, I guess the words “Bounty Hunter” jumped into my head and pulled out an image of Boba Fett. So, I set about working out how I could conjure up the look of the Mandolorian Menace while working with a Beastman abhuman from the Underhive.
I thought about trying to make a helmet for him, but that idea died a death when I realised my greenstuff-sculpting skills really aren’t that good, and that he already has a rather cool head. So instead, I chose to use the colour palette from the Fett-man and apply it to Gor. That’s why my version has grey fur – to create the look of that jumpsuit. Beyond the grey, I realised that Boba Fett is actually quite colourful, with reds, yellows and of course greens appearing across his armour. At one stage I was worried that Gor was going to end up looking a bit too much like Robin Hood, or some of the older Marvel Doc Doom illustrations, but it turned out fine in the end. Colourful, but not out of place.
I also managed to sneak in a couple of adapted Mandolorian symbols, and while the camera might have a little trouble picking these out, they’re actually missing half a horn – clever, eh? Well, I thought so. Though trying to fit the illustration onto the chainsword blade was a bit tricky – the surface was just a tad too thin. Still, you can see in the below image that it turned out alright.
I also worked out a nice trick for painting yellow (which others may have worked out long ago) which is to use watered down Seraphim Sepia wash to darken Averland Sunset ever so slightly lower down on the armour plates. I’m going to remember to use that a bit more in future as it definitely helps to put a bit of depth into yellow which is of course a notoriously tricky colour to master.
I really like the plasma pistol on this model – it’s so nice to have this type of weapon not be dominated by the coil, and it’s such a unique design too. I went for a non-Fett colour here, using Dark Reaper as a base, and applying the little tally freehand (it’s hard to spot in these pictures) on the nearside was fiddly but rewarding. For the base, I used the same techniques as I’ve used on my Goliath gang, and it was was kind of nice for Forge World to include a skull on this one, rather than having to add my own.
There you have it then. My bounty hunter who resides in the 40K galaxy while looking like something from the Star Wars galaxy. Two of my favourite things combined.
And speaking of two of my favourite things combined, I’ll be heading up to Nottingham for the Horus Heresy and Necromunda Weekender from Saturday so if you’re heading along as well, keep an eye out for me – I shouldn’t be hard to miss. A full review of that event next week. I actually don’t know what’s next on the painting table for me, but I dare say we’ll all find out sooner rather than later. In the meantime, I hope your own painting and modelling efforts make you happy. Onwards!
This is just a very brief update from me today (more fun to come later in the week). Did you see the Warhammer Community site this weekend? Did you notice a certain pair of name generators turn up? And a couple of names, like my name and the name of this blog? Did ya!?
That’s right – Some lunatic in Nottingham actually thought it would be a good idea to get me to contribute to actual official pages (well, I may have begged them to let me do it but whatever). I wrote a piece for the Warhammer Community website (egotistical corporate sellout that I am) and it was a real thrill to see my name, and the name of this blog on an official GW website. I was tickled screamer pink.
It was lovely working with Nick over at the Community team, and hopefully that won’t be the last bit of work I do for that website – the responses have been quite pleasant so far (by and large). I hope, my loyal and adoring fans, you’re as happy seeing my name appear in this milieux as I am.
I still haven’t managed to truly appreciate it all yet, due to the fact that I spent all of Sunday (when the post went live) playing the non-GW affiliated Twilight Imperium from Fantasy Flight games. It’s 12 hours of fun and pain that I’m still recovering from. But, when my brain is working properly again (I need another 10 hours of sleep and a gallon of water), I shall go and properly read the article. Seriously though, I now thing of 2,000 point games of 40K as light and breezy!
Check out a new take on my Necromunda name generators that I did for GW, and have a splendid, fabulous, amazing and awesome week. Onwards!
It’s time to smash some stuff up with my Goliath gang leader completing the gang that I will take into my first Necromunda campaign. Bash ‘The Destroyer’ Bonebreaker is here to lead the Jagged Aggressors into the depths where his power hammer can cause maximum damage, if his combat shotgun doesn’t blast his enemies apart before he gets close enough. This hulking brute represents the end of my initial Goliath gang, as the six that are now done clock in at 995 credits with their added gubbins. What’s more, this allows me to create the warriors I need as campaigns go on, and take advantage of any weapons sprues that Forge World might be releasing in the future.
I went with the Power Hammer because it’s both fluffy and fantastic in a fight. It also looks brutal, and I decided to give it a weathered bronze look to set it apart from other weapons in the gang. And the respirator mask puts the leader out on his own as well. I had to chop and change the combat shotgun with the combi-plasma in order to get it onto the same mini as the hammer, but that was easy enough. And of course, as is now my signature with any leader, sergeant, boss, champion, etc, I added a lone skull to the base.
I like the idea of this guy striding, unbowed and uncaring into the heart of the fray, blasting his enemies apart with shredding buckshot, before swinging that monstrous hammer to crush and cripple any foe foolish enough to try and take him in close combat. It takes advantage of the Goliath’s fantastic strength and the leader’s attack stats. And I really can’t decide which part of this miniature is my favourite, in terms of my painting. I’m very happy with both weapons and how they look, so maybe I’ll pick those as my highlight, but there are other bits I’m equally pleased with.
It’s been a really fun project to work on, and I look forward to expanding the gang in the future with more weapons and maybe even some juves (rumour has it that Forge World are working on this kit), but for the time being, and until my campaigns kick on, that’s this project done!
And so there are the Jagged Aggressors! Looking pretty good (if I do say so myself) in their initial iteration. My camera has just about been able to cope with all the metallics going on which is alright, though they do of course look better in the flesh. I’ll be returning to them a few times in 2018 I dare say, but from this little project alone, the Necromunda miniatures get a huge thumbs up from me. A joy to paint.
Next up from me, well, I have a few smaller projects I want to work on (there’s some very exciting things coming), and then eventually, I’ll crack on with the Eschers. In other news, I’m off to the Heresy/Necromunda weekender in early February, so I’ll be picking up whatever’s new from there, and will of course be reporting from the event as well. Stay tuned for all of that, but in the meantime, I hope you have a great week of painting. Onwards!
Turning up the heat in the Underhive, my new Goliath champions, Fraggorn Wrenchshouter, and Zaktarg Fragmaker are now complete and ready for action. With the kit’s coolest weapons options – including the controversial krumper (is its range too much of a problem?), they’re now ready to join the rest of the gang. Let’s take a look at the two big boys of the Jagged Aggressors gang.
Fraggorn is a true monster, hefting the beast of a weapon that is the krumper, along with an oh-so-useful combat knife strapped to his back. He’s a great looking mini, with that teeny-tiny cigar hanging from his lips, and a very nonchalant stance, he looks like a real menace. He was a fun miniature to work on, and that weapon does look super cool, even if its very short range might prove problematic in a game that isn’t using a zone mortalis-style setting. But hey, sometimes the rule of cool beats all.
The cigar wasn’t too much of a problem – I know there are a lot of stories about people losing that piece, but if you clip it (gently) and assemble it straight away, it’s really not an issue. And it was fun to get the colours right on that – you can’t really see it on the photos here, but I think I nailed the burning end’s oranges and greys pretty well. The combat blade is from the Betrayal At Calth box, and it’s nice and oversized which is perfect for this Goliath. And like all the others, he’s of course dressed in those utilitarian greys and browns.
My favourite weapon in the whole Goliath kit has to be the Renderizer, and Zaktarg Fragmaker is wielding it with a grin. That axe would look amazing on a Chaos champion too, so I may save one to add into another army or onto a character at some point in the future. I really like the grinning face, and while you can’t quite spot it in these shots, I gave this champion silver teeth with a bloody red wash around them, just to make it extra menacing.
I gave him a couple of grenades – some more traditional frag grenades instead of the huge stick-bombs. They’re a cool bit, but I just couldn’t make them fit on this model in a way that looked good. I also added some snake chain to the base to represent some sort of power cable. I’m going to enjoy watching this chap pulverising his way across the battlefield.
And all of that leaves me with one more gang member to go before the Jagged Aggressors are ready for their first campaign. I’ve put the first few licks of paint onto my leader already, so stay tuned for him – he’ll be appearing on this blog soon. So with all of that done, I shall leave you to enjoy your own painting and modelling efforts. My your brushes never lose their points, and your paint pots never dry out. Onwards!
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