Friday 30 April 2021

Necromunda and Inspiration Lost

 Hi!

I recently spotted a cheap stack of Necromunda books on Ebay and managed to snag them for a really good price and when they arrived I found myself struck by just how inspiring the old GW stuff used to be!


I managed to get the Necromunda Rulebook, Sourcebook, Outlanders, Getting Started and the Painting and Modelling pamphlet.

Now I will be taking a more indepth look at the awesomeness of the rules and sourcebooks in the future but I found myself really drawn to the Painting and Modelling pamphlet that was included in the original boxed set.


It's literally an eight page booklet but it's full of awesome stuff that I can't help but feel GW is now missing. You get a simple guide to painting figures up to a decent but not unachievable standard. It also gives you a few examples of conversions:


I've got a few of the old Necromunda Goliath and Orlock plastics and for their time, they were pretty good, even if the Goliaths had arms like gorillas and I really miss the simplicity of plastic figures. You can paint up a force relatively quickly and easily but the new super detailed stuff seems to me to be just too much. I don't need a lowly grunt to have as much detail as the mightiest of heroes! 

There's also a section on the brilliant cardboard terrain and how to make it a bit sturdier:


I love the old cardboard terrain GW made back in the day. It allowed you to have a great table to fight over without spending an absolute fortune. Yes it may be not super realistic but I'd use it today in a heartbeat if I had it as it really gives the claustrophobic feel of Necromunda's underhive simply and easily. 

Finally, it even includes a bit on how to make some simple terrain of your own! Remember when GW actively encouraged you to have a bash at making terrain from household materials resulting in most of us having a box of assorted tat to delve into when we want to make stuff? 


It's simple and easy but fun to make and I'm hoping to have a bash at making it myself! Gone are the days when GW encouraged such creativity and inspiration as now its all about super expensive plastic scenery kits resulting in so many boards beginning to look the same. 

Remember the old pics from White Dwarf with utterly amazing handmade terrain like this:


I personally find this sort of thing more inspiring than looking at the new stuff. It's got so many small details that draw the eye and while it's stunningly made and painted, I do think I could aspire to making something similar with a bit of work!



Finally, there's the back cover with some lovely 'Eavy Metal gangers, Goblin Green bases included:


If you can find it, it's a really inspiring little pamphlet that one can find all manner of inspiration for their hobbying and I plan to use it as the basis for some industrial terrain for my Inquisitorial agents and possibly the odd gang or two to fight over.

I've got a load of supplies stashed in my bits box and a fair amount of small odds and ends already done but need a load more to really give the cluttered and ramshackle battlefield of the far future and plan on spending the month of May in a bit of a terrain making bash.

I've also been keeping my eye out on possible bits and found this at Lidl:


With a bit of work, it will be getting turned into a raised gantry and cost me £5.99 and I'm looking forward to getting to work on it!

Hopefully I'll have some more posts in the coming days with a load of terrain as well as some more indepth dives into the Necromunda books but until then, All the best!

15 comments:

  1. I regret the day I sold my Necromunda stuff/books so badly cos as you've detailed here, they were some really inspiring publications and just "fun" to boot.
    I want one of those bridges! Just a shame there's no Lidl supermarkets here in Norcal.

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    1. I happened across the Community Edition a while ago which includes all the FAQ stuff and streamlines it a bit so it is a ruleset thats readily available for free but I must admit I really wanted the fun of having the original rules!

      Perusing the books, there is just so much stuff that is inspiring, be it an illustration, photo or even a throwaway sentence that visually sets a scene!

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  2. You touched a nerve. The books and material from those times used to be wonderful, really inspiring. I don't know if it's me or if it's the new stuff, but it's been years since I don't get that vibe, that exciting sensation of 'discovery', of new possibilities unfolding each page I read. Maybe I'm getting old, maybe the new stuff is not so creative anymore and needs to 'show-show-show' everything, leaving little to imagination.
    Whatever it is, you got a nice purchase!

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    1. I suspect I'm turning into an old curmudgeon as the newer GW stuff is full of shiny shiny but I find the images overwhelm the text and the super awesome cool layouts make actually reading and digesting them virtually impossible!

      The plethora of great games from the 90's that GW made were so brim full of inspiration and I love the odd colour insert that one would find scattered throughout the books with some lovely figures and hand made terrain!

      Combined with enough flavour to set the scene but not fleshing stuff out too much allowed you to actually use your imagination and have some input into developing your own setting, characters and whatnot within the universe but now it seems that there's just so much detail that I'm left not caring to try it!

      Ha! What a grumble but there's something just fun about that period of GW that just seems to be missing now.

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  3. Ah yes, it's a very inspiring few pages! I've got one of them stashed away. I love the old-style terrain, with repurposed junk and household objects. I reckon you could make something really cool with that bridge. It's got a lot of potential.

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    1. I really need to get started on it but the world seems to have descended on bookshops this week and I've been utterly run off my feet!

      I'd say hopefully things will calm down a little but its been utterly brilliant so hobby time is taking a wee bit of a back seat for the moment!

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  4. Excellent stuff, I still have my Necromunda and some simple cereal cardboard shapes and bulkheads to make my own additions. It’s a great game too as you only needed to paint 10-12 minis and you were up and running!

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    1. It was a really good introduction to wargaming!

      I have really fond memories of playing it to death back in the 90s!

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  5. I actually had no idea there was Necromunda-dedicated painting guide 😳
    Must get back to browsing Evilbayagain...

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    1. It was included in the main game box back then.

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    2. It's only a small pamphlet but so full of inspiration and worth a peek if you can get it under a quid!

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  6. nothing more old Skool then converting old toys into warhammer etc terrain!!

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    1. Indeed! I've got some cheap Star Wars gubbins that I plan on converting at some point!

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  7. Still owning the Necromunda stuff myself, it great to read a little bit of fluff from time to time. :)

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    1. I'd forgotten how interesting it was!

      Theres loads of possibilities for bodging a really interesting campaign together using it!

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