Necromunda - Terrain

For sci-fi skirmish games like Necromunda and Infinity, you need a LOT of terrain. Otherwise, people will just hunker down their models in cover and blaze away at each other from across the table, with hits coming due to sheer luck. As someone described it, "Yahtzee with toy soldiers".

I have managed to add to the terrain to be used in the continuing Necromunda campaign.

I watched the Ghost in the Shell movie trailer. There are several vertical elements in The Major's New Port City skyline. Years ago I had painted up a KFC Col. Sanders piggy bank for a themed 40K mega game I ran at Campaign Outfitters ("The chicken shack at the end of the universe," or some such thing). I dug it out, fixed up some scratches and dings, and "Voilà", a tribute to an unnamed despot from Necromunda's ruling planetary elite. Any resemblance to certain Asian dictators is purely coincidental.



Anenoceti's Workshop had  Kickstarter last year, providing lots of different kinds of terrain elements. I picked up a tall, Blade Runner-esque video billboard. It's also a dice tower; the top comes off and one of the benches pulls out, with the dice falling through baffles on the inside. They offered several different optional ads. Unfortunately, this piece is not yet on their website for sale. It's basically ready to play; I only had to affix the ads, assemble the parts, and paint the benches, I think I and local Infinity gamer DerekY are the only guys in Western Canada with this kit.



They also made several different types of scatter terrain useful for roofs. A quick black primer, aluminum spray, and GW Nuln Oil washes provided three air conditioning units to break up the roof areas of some retail establishments.



Awhile ago I had got from Conscript Byron several MDF kits. The guard tower below is one of them. The roof comes off, allowing figures to be placed inside the structure.



Byron also made a few types of billboard that affix to 3mm MDF terrain. I found the Imperial recruiting poster online and printed it out.



A couple of years ago I picked up some holo ads from Micro Art Studio. These are beautiful pieces, with clear acrylic "holograms" with translucent printing on them. Fair warning: the kits themselves are bears to put together. You cannot add the acrylic after assembly and painting, because of the way the pieces fit together. Also, the pieces are a tight fit without paint. After painting with just a layer of spray paint, I had to use a claw hammer to drive some of the supporting pieces into the frame.






From Conscript Kevin I received a painted resin ruined building and several pieces of roadblock scatter terrain (tank traps, piles of tires). Below are some photos of the Necromunda table, in medias res. From pretty much any point on the table, a model can make a Run move and get behind cover.

Necromunda - House Delaque Gangers

It's been awhile since my last post. Good to be back in the saddle again!

I have enjoyed being Arbitrator (game master) for the ongoing Necromunda campaign we have been playing. I wanted to get another gang to go with my Spyrers, so I could always have a game with someone who doesn't have the figs, and to provide a different set of opponents for "bye" games in the campaign.

I liked the look of Dallas' gangers from House Delaque. So, I have started collecting a Delaque gang of my own.

In the photo montage immediately below are the first 6 models I painted. All but the flamethrower dude are old GW figs I got from an eBay seller in Serbia. The flamer guy is from Heresy Miniatures.



For the purposes of Necromunda gaming, the models are being used as (from L to R below), a Juve (probationary gang member) with an autopistol (i.e. machine pistol), a ganger with a lasgun, the gang's Leader with a shotgun, a Heavy (specialist) with a heavy stubber (think MMG), another Heavy with a flamer, and finally a second ganger with a lasgun.







I weathered the fuel and propellant tanks with various dings and rust stains.







After the first batch of 6 were done, I painted another Heavy (armed with a lascannon, he was the last figure from the fellow in Serbia), and another lasgun guy (from an eBay seller in Spain). In the 40K/Necromunda game background, laser weapons are very reliable. However, a lascannon is very expensive, and such an antitank weapon is likely overkill in an environment where just having a decent basic rifle is a big deal.





Painting:

I started with my usual zenithal highlighting, airbrushing Testors Acryl Flat White over a base coat of P3 Black Primer. I then used the Vallejo Face Painting acrylic set, followed up by artists' oils for their faces and hands. Citadel glazes and Vallejo Black and White set was used for clothing.











For the steel and brass bits, I used the Vallejo NMM set. I find that NMM for me is just as fast as painting with actual metallic colours (metal powders in a suspension), which I would highlight and shade anyways. The plastic 25mm bases are from the GW Sector Imperialis set. Lots of Vallejo Rust wash for the bases. The figures were sealed with Tamiya Semi-gloss spray.



Below is the palette of oil paints I used for painting the flesh tones of the lascannon guy and a long-primed tank crewman I had sitting around. Various Winsor and Newton, Schminke, and Sennelier professional artists' oils in tubes. Also there is a splash of Winsor and Newton Liquin medium, to aid paint flow; I sometimes also use some walnut oil.



Below, after painting the Delaque lascannon guy and the GW tanker, the palette now shows the colours I used to blend and glaze flesh tones.

Terrain Mini-Projects: Plast Craft Armory and MaxMini "God Box"

This weekend I didn't have a ton of free time for hobbying, but nevertheless was able to knock off a couple of small terrain items that had been hanging around primed/unassembled for a while.

 This little number is something I call the GOD BOX. It's a nifty resin item from MaxMini called the "Confession Machine" and isn't it just what the Inquisitor ordered???

 I gave it a simple paint job and weathered it a bit, job done. Should look nice on a Necromunda or 40K table.

I also built this - the "Armory" from Plast Craft Games, which I picked up from Maxx Collectibles at PrairieCon in the summer (!)

It was actually a neat model to assemble - all pre-cut and pre-coloured foam core. Extremely light weight and compact as it was all flat-packed, just like it came from IKEA. I figure it will make a nice addition to a Necromunda or similar post-Apocalyptic game as an objective building, or simply as scenery. Cheap enough at less than $20 CAD as well.  I think the translucent sign (included) is a very cool detail.

The model assembled fairly easily. I started off using white glue to assemble it, but quickly switched to superglue for the plastic-to-plastic joins. That worked much better. I cut a base from some plasticard I had laying around (essential, as the building isn't super-sturdy without it) and glued the model down. Last step in finishing was to paint out some of the more noticeable foamcore "joints" with Catachan Green and Death World Green, just to blend in the obvious white exposed foamcore bits at the corners that scream "I AM A FOAMCORE MODEL!!!"

As we're playing Necromunda this week, these models will get some immediate use. All in all, a fun and productive way to spend a couple hours on a Sunday afternoon. Especially while watching the DVR'd Habs game where they absolutely pasted the Colorado Avalanche 10-1!

Necromunda League - Eschers Join the Party

[Note: A big welcome to Byron to the Necromunda League! I set up the photo links below, but I won't be gaming or making blog posts for awhile due to health issues. I hand the pen over to Byron, to describe his games.] 

Scenario One: Byron (Eschers) vs. Dave (Spyre Hunters - administrator's gang)

Your gang has been tasked by a local miners' guild to eliminate a creature that’s been nesting in one of the newly-abandoned domes. The creature only leaves its lair during lights down and its lair is very well concealed, so it is imperative to kill it before darkness descends.

Well, better late than never I guess.  I kept wanting to get in on this league but could never get my girls to the top of my painting queue until now.  In this game, I did not have all of them fully painted, but they are now, and I posted about them here: Jail Birds.



I apologize up front for the short descriptions as the game took place a while ago already (October sometime I believe) but due to Dave's trip and then health issues we are just getting the pictures and write up done now.

The game started with most of us spread out.  Deployment is pick a point anywhere then pull a chit from the cup, whomever chit it is places a figure there.  Dave played cagey with most of his men hidden in far corners of the board.  Needing to engage and shoot early I deployed as centrally as I could every time I could.  I managed to get a bolt rifle up high in the middle of the table and a grenade launcher on a flank.

If I look worried, it's because I am.  I have to face Dave first game, and worse...
Spyrers!  The most broken gang there is!  Which is the main reason I used to play them!!!

I started moving in and setting up my angles of fire, but of course my first reserve had a mishap and Dave got to place her off in the corner to play by herself the whole game.

 Nothing much happened on my turn, as I just moved around.

Some good luck happened on Dave's turn one when the "Monster" showed up behind his Yeld.

Hmmm.... that's the evil monster we are all trying to stop and kill? 
I could think of some other ways to distract the "monster".

However, Dave started to open up and took out 2 models with his close combat monsters and downed another with shooting.



The issue with downing one with shooting was that the "monster" that was on the building just off camera to the left in the above picture, could now only see and charge the Yeld.




Off in the middle of the battlefield 2 of my girls were taken down and I was trying to escape to either side of the building away from 2 close combat beasts.

Back on the edge of the table, the Yeld tried to get away from the Monster but was charged again, and this time taken down.

 

With the Yeld down, but one wound put onto the Monster, Dave sent in another ganger to help take it out, however that didn't work either.

You can just see at the top of the picture below, the bases of 2 of my girls.  There were actually 4 there and they lined up in a firing line to shoot into combat.  Also the grenade launcher that you can see peeking around the corner in the picture above lined up a shot as well.  After all, if I hit Dave's figures it helps me, if I hit the Monster, it helps me.... How could I lose!



Well.... I almost did.  Everyone fired and missed everything or failed to hurt anything.  I was down to the last model to fire.  My lowly juve that is scolding her pet pig about the patience and practice required to hit a target and that piglet really must keep quiet as she aims.  The scolding must have worked, as her piglet kept quiet and her aim was true as she put the last wound on the monster and won my gang the game!

The game other than the final shot was a disaster.  Sure I got some hits and some wounds, but not enough to do anything serious to Dave's gang, and I had to pass several bottle tests to stick around.  The game was all Dave's the whole time, other than the lucky pig


***

Current League Standings:
Dallas (Delaques): (4 league games played) 37 pts
Barry (Orlocks): (4 league games played, 5 games total) 18 pts.
Mike (Spyre Hunters): (3 league games played, 4 games total) 16 pts
Byron (Eschers): (2 league games played) 14 pts.
Levon (Van Saar): (4 league games played) 8 pts.

Necromunda League - Scenarios 3 and 4

[Note: the contents of this post have been sitting in Draft form for several weeks. I won't be gaming or making blog posts for awhile due to health issues, but the Necromunda League's initial campaign of 4 narrative games will continue.] 


SCENARIO 3: SHOWDOWN AT FULL DARK
Celebrating victories at the local watering hole can often lead to even more battles...and it looks like you just found one!

The scenario starts with a Western-style shootout in the middle of the street. Rolling dice, each gang tires to hold the nerve the longest. When one side's nerves break, the gunfight erupts!

***

Barry (Orlocks) vs. Dallas (Delaques)

Barry and Dallas each rolled and got two gangers for the shootout. The Orlocks' nerve held, and Dallas' men went for their guns first. Actual order of firing was by Initiative + a die roll.









With both of the Orlocks Down, reinforcements arrived from opposite ends of the main street.



Though some of the Delaques ran out of ammo, they caused some more Orlock casualties, forcing Bottle Tests that Barry eventually failed.









Levon (Van Saars) vs. Dave (Spyre Hunters)

The Spyrers rolled two gangers, and the Van Saars rolled three. The Van Saars were cool as three very cool guys, so their nerve held.







The lone Spyrer Orrus got stuck into a series of close combats...



...which he kept winning, despite being outnumbered 3 to 1!





With the Van Saars taking so many casualties, they were also rolling Bottle Tests each turn.



As the Van Saar reinforcements gathered for a final charge en masse, their leader failed his Bottle Test, and the gang fled the field!



Note: the status markers are Chessex dice that I custom ordered. A little expensive, but we like them better than paper counters.


Mike (Spyrers)  vs. Barry (Orlocks)

Mike's Spyrers managed to win a shoot-out against Barry's Orlocks. The Spyrers' nerve broke first. However, no one could hit the side of a barn with shooting; all the casualties came after, in close combat!









Withe three men Down right away, it was only a matter of time before Barry's gangers fled the field!




***

SCENARIO 4: MIDNIGHT RITUAL
So there was a reason that mine was closed long ago. The Miners' Guild wants you to go back in and figure it out but they're not convinced your gang can do it alone. A little “unfriendly” competition never hurt anyone...too much.

Dallas (Delaques) vs. Dave (Spyre Hunters)

Dallas' Delaques squared off against my Administrator gang of Spyre Hunters. I started off having to fight a third-party Chaos Magus while the Delaques hung back. After my Malcadons cut the Magus down, I split my forces.













The Yeld and Orrus held off five Delaques, even after the Yeld went Down.



I was setting up a coordinated attack against the Delaque leader and his hired gun with my remaining forces, when Dallas' leader managed to put a bolt round into a Malcadon. My leader, the Jakara, then failed her Bottle Test!




Barry (Orlocks) vs. Levon (Van Saars)

Levon's Van Saar's managed to kill the marauding Chaos Magus, but Barry's Orlocks were able to gain good field position and forced bottle tests on the Van Saars, who eventually ran off the table.

Congrats to Barry in his first-ever victory in a Necromunda game!

























***

Current League Standings:
Dallas (Delaques): (4 league games played) 37 pts.
Mike (Spyre Hunters): (3 league games played) 16 pts
Barry (Orlocks): (4 league games played, 5 games total) 18 pts.
Levon (Van Saar): (4 league games played) 8 pts.