Grymn for Necromunda

I recently downloaded the rules for Necromunda free from the Games Workshop site and have decided that it would be fun to build a gang for the rule-set.

I have gone for an Enforcer gang and it will consist of:

Patrol Team One:
1xSgt - Power Maul, Bolt Pistol
1xHandler - Power Maul, Bolt Pistol
1xCyber Mastiff - Teeth, Grrrrr
1xEnforcer - Grenade Launcher, Bolt Pistol
2xEnforcer - Power Maul, Suppression Shield

Patrol Team Two:
4xEnforcer - Bolt Gun, Bolt Pistol
1xEnforcer - Heavy Stubber, Bolt Pistol

The idea is that Patrol Team One acts as the lighter part of the gang, patrolling the streets and travelling in the Ronin APC (Only fluff wise...the vehicle won't be used in game) and Patrol Team Two is the emergency response side of things; flying into the street in an anti-grav vehicle and deploying to support the other team when things get rough.

I have all of the miniatures and vehicles I need and have done the basic conversion work on everything. I just need to crack out the Green-Stuff and sculpt all the details on now.

They will end up looking similar to my old Judges:

The new Enforcers will be painted slightly differently and the second patrol will have full face helmets to represent their heavier assault role. I will be putting them all on the standard type of slotta bases and not on the round edged bases that are in the pic above.

Stay tuned for updates.

Learning the game.

There are times that I think to myself..."Why?"

"Why do I let these little tiny ideas build up momentum so quickly?"

...

Salute opened my eyes to a small idea and that idea was 'Grymn in Necromunda'.

I have looked over at the Games Workshop site and have discovered that you can get the rules for free, as a PDF so I downloaded the rules and have started reading them.

I have got as far as printing off a gang roster sheet and am in the process of deciding which of the gangs most suit the Grymn. I think that the best two options are House Van-Saar and the Security Patrol (Enforcers...Judge Grymn???).

I am unable to decide which way to go at the moment but will be pawing over the rules until I can come up with a suitable gang...in both roster and miniature form.

Watch this space because it is likely to be a bit of a departure for me.

Just to add a bit of a footnote here, if you have any ideas or links to share, feel free to leave comments :) because I am a 'green-horn' when it comes to Necromunda.

Post Salute musings.

Each year, I try my hardest to get to London so that I can attend the Salute Games convention. Salute is usually at the Excel Centre in the heart of the Docklands and is large enough for a host of traders to sell their wares, enough gaming-tables to fill a football pitch and a large group of people dressed in various costumes to wander around entertaining the thousands of visitors.

This year, I was helping out at the Hasslefree Miniatures stand and witnessed, first hand, just how busy these sort of shows can be. To say that I was kept very active all day was an understatement!

During the day, my main focus was selling the wares...but I kept a keen ear out for anyone showing interest in the Grymn range and I was surprised at how many people were buying them to start up a gang in Necromunda. There were many other people buying them to build armies and small skirmish forces too but the one thing that really got me thinking was how easy it would be to build up a gang for Necromunda.

A Necromunda gang normally has a range of members from hardened leaders through standard gangers and heavies (with special or heavy weapons) to juves (new recruits and younger members). The Grymn range of miniatures can cater for all of these options and still provide a wide enough range of weapons to make things interesting.

I haven't ever played the game or built a gang but it is all filling for the sandwich!

Maybe have:

Kjaran as the leader (Boltgun?)
Horgan as a heavy (Auto-cannon?)
Some light infantry as standard gangers (Auto-guns?)
Some close combat troops as juves (maybe swap one of the pistols for a knife/sword/axe?)
For a bit of flavour, you could add a few snipers or other specialists and if you were feeling particularly adventurous...maybe even an Ogryn?

To add further variety, there is a range of alternative weaponry and equipment that can be used to further customise your gang.

Well...that is Necromunda dealt with...and you can always use the rules for humans to field them. Maybe have them as House Van-Saar (due to their tech level).

On to other things...

...I heard tell that Kev White has got a bunch of Powered Armour clad Grymn sat on his sculpting bench as we speak. When I got a few minutes to chat with him, he mentioned that he was working on them and that they were progressing...so that could mean that there will be a bit of Powered Armour action turning up soon...lets hope! Add to that the jet-bikes (single and two seater) that are nearing completion and we could have a few really hard hitting units to field on the Grymn battlefields of the future.

So...the Tunnel Fighters are nearing completion. I have finished all the basic troops and am in the process of completing the small medical unit that has sat on my table for ages (just the bases to paint). I have one complete mech, five that are base-coated, one that is built and ready for paint and four that are still on the sprues. Once the mechs are done, I will be taking a step back from the project and will turn my focus onto my urban army.

...Speaking of the urban army, I have (in addition to the two platoons of infantry) now gathered together enough heavy infantry to have a small platoon of troops. It will have:

Command Section: 1xCommander, 1xComms and 2xHeavy Infantry
Support Section: 1xLeader, 1xHeavy Infantry and 2xRail-Gun
Section1: 2 Fireteams with: 1xLeader, 2xHeavy Infantry and 1xHeavy Pulse-Gun
Section2: 2 Fireteams with: 1xLeader, 2xHeavy Infantry and 1xHeavy Pulse-Gun

All of the heavy infantry will be armed with Pulse-Guns and as you can see, there is one section less than the standard infantry platoons due to the elite nature of the heavy infantry. That may change once I get further with the project but I have to bear in mind that there will need to be transport for the troops...and so far it is 5 vehicles for each standard platoon...and vehicle numbers soon mount up!!!

The Urban Army takes shape.

I have been sorting out, making a few purchases, thinking about transport and generally knocking the urban army into shape.

I have decided to have each platoon arranged in sections of eight troops that can be split into two, four-man fire-teams. The command section will join the support section so that together they make up eight troops.

With the release of more LMG gunners and specialists with single-shot missile launchers, I have changed the special weapons that were originally in the army for more realistic ones (by that, I mean more in line with the idea of the British Army organisation that I am using).

So...

Each platoon will have:

Command Section: 1xCommander, 1xComms and 2xLight Infantry - Slingshot IFV.
Support Section: 1xLeader, 1xRocket Launcher, 2xLMG - Slingshot IFV.
Section1: 2 Fireteams with: 1xLeader, 1xRocket Launcher, 1xLight Infantry, 1xLMG - Glaive APC.
Section2: 2 Fireteams with: 1xLeader, 1xRocket Launcher, 1xLight Infantry, 1xLMG - Glaive APC.
Section3: 2 Fireteams with: 1xLeader, 1xRocket Launcher, 1xLight Infantry, 1xLMG - Glaive APC.

I thought that the command/support sections would be better equipped with their own smaller transports. The better speed and manoeuvrability of the wheeled vehicles would mean they could take a more active scouting role, with the support section being able to re-position quickly and the command section to be able to move quickly to add their commanding presence where it is needed most.

Each of the platoons consist of 32 troops and 5 armoured vehicles and is effectively, an army in it's own right. With that in mind, I am planning to build the army one platoon at a time; finishing all of the troops and vehicles for each platoon, before moving on to the next one. That gives me a set goal, time to decide on further platoons and also the time to personalise each platoon to make it a bit individual.

The overall plan is to build a mechanised company with some additional support.

The company will be:

1x Command HQ platoon/unit
3x Mechanised infantry platoon
1x Airborne support platoon
1x Heavy Infantry platoon
Various armoured support.
Possibly - 1x Support platoon (mostly having troops with heavy weapons)

I am still in the planning/buying the troops and vehicles stage at the moment while I continue working on the Tunnel Fighters. That means that I can concentrate on finishing of the previous army before diverting my focus onto the new one.

The future is Grymn...

Thoughts of home and new directions...

I know it has been quiet on here for a while but being a serviceman places a few extra demands on a person's time...especially when you are away on detachment in Kenya!

Kenya is obviously hot, dusty and has a rather unreliable powergrid...so power-cuts happen quite frequently. For that reason, I don't tend to bring hobby stuff out here with me...I would only end up ruining what I tried to create.

Add to that the variable shifts and the detachment lifestyle and obligations and you end up with the hobby getting pretty much forgotten.

...HOWEVER...

I have now been out here for over a month and the end is in sight. In a couple of weeks I will be returning home and with that thought in mind, I have begun to plan what is in store for my Grymn horde.

The first thing I must really do is to finish off the two squads of Tunnel Fighters and the medics that have lain dormant for so long.

Next, I must try to finish all of the mechs that accompany them.

I have quite a few of the Clankers in my cupboard, ready to be converted and painted but I think I will hold off for a while with those because I reckon I'll need to do something a little different to 'ignite the muse'...

...so I have been thinking a lot about my boxes of light infantry...my Urban Army.

As I have mentioned in an earlier post, Hasslefree Miniatures have recently shown off a host of new Grymn. They include snipers, LMG gunners, light infantry with single shot rocket launchers and new heavy infantry.

With the new options in mind, I am now able to re-sort my current platoon plans to include the more sensible special weapons available to me. Once I return home and get my hands on the Urban Army boxes, I will be able to better judge what new specialists will be required but I have come to the conclusion that once I have finished reorganising the troops, I should have enough for a company (just over a hundred troops).

Organisation will be (and always has been) based around the British Army, with four man fireteams at the core of platoons...

...but I'll go into all that in another post.

When it is just too dangerous...

...don't send in the troops...send in the robotic clones (Beetle-Bots):


Grymn are too important to waste in actions that require the 'long haul' so they have come up with a cunning solution to the problem. Their technicians and scientists have perfected a way of copying a soldier's thought patterns and imprinting them on to a manufactured neural net. This neural net can then be placed into the skull of a robot and that will give the robot the personality and ability of the donor Grymn.

The good thing about the system is that it can be done in a few minutes, the Grymn is completely unharmed in the process and, unlike a clone, the robot is battlefield ready in as long as it takes for the new programming to get used to the robot body. Add to that the robot taking on board the training and experience of an existing soldier and you have a great way of putting fully battle-ready troops on the battlefield without running the risk of losing lots of lives...

Cpl Jenssen slowly lowered his head into the headrest of the special chair. Once he was comfortable the nurse tightened the restraining strap over his forehead and asked if he was ready.

Cpl Jenssen said that he was and the seat slowly lowered to a roughly horizontal position. Once it was there, a robotic arm raised a laptop sized scanner and adjusted it so that it was about three inches from Jensses's face. There was a click and about ten seconds of a barely audible hum before the arm withdrew the scanner and the seat began to raise to the normal position.

"All done!" said the nurse.
"Was that it?" Jenssen replied.
"Yep. Robot Jenssen will be waiting outside to meet you".

Jenssen left the small room and walked into a small collection area. Standing on a big yellow spot in the corner, was a blue/grey coloured robot who looked at Jenssen as soon as he entered. Jenssen stopped and looked back at the robot.

"Now that is just weird!" they both said together.

..."This will take a little getting used to" they both thought...

There are a few things to think about though...

What happens if the donor Grymn dies?...
Once the battle is over, will the robot-clones be 'de-programmed'?...
Does sending in robot-clones lead to Grymn getting lazy?...
Do the Grymn donors meet the robot-clones or are they kept separate?...
What if the robot-clones decide not to go and fight?...
What if the robot-clones decide to take over?...

Can you imagine going to war with a bunch of robot clones...say ten...all programmed with your brain patterns? Can you imagine the arguments?

So many things to think about...not even treading the paths of the moral implications of it...but that is the beauty of Science Fiction.

Gratuitous Army Pix

Seeing as I have been working on these all year, I thought it was time to show off a bit of progress...so here is the Tunnel Fighter army so far...

Command Squad

Infantry Squad (Dark Purple)

Infantry Squad (Brown)

Infantry Squad (Orange)

Infantry Squad (Pink)

Infantry Squad (Purple)

Infantry Squad (Yellow)

Close Combat Squad (Red)

Close Combat Squad (Green)

Close Combat Squad (Blue)

Close Combat Squad (Dark Green)

Medic Unit

K9 Unit

Drone Unit

Clanker Unit (Blue)

Clanker Unit (Red)

There is still a lot more to come...I have plans to add a mech to each unit...a bit like this one:


The mech above is the only one completely finished but I have 5 more that have been base-coated, 1 that is built ready to start painting and 4 more that are still on the sprue.

Also each unit will get an APC to transport it. Once that is done, I'll be adding specialist units ...so 2011 should be quite an interesting year.

Just as an aside, I will keep updating this post with completed units as they happen.