Captain Brown's 8th Necromunda Imperial Guard 'The Spiders' 700+ Photos to Date

[Captain Brown]

So there comes a time when you look at your army and it starts to look a little tired…the dice have not been kind (literally as they have chipped the paint off some figures)…despite your opponents attempts to be careful they have knocked your troops off of hills and ruined buildings…your careful packing has been disrupted by curious customs agents, airport security, your wife/girlfriend/boyfriend/child. Or perhaps your favourite pet has decided that your figure make far better projectiles than the miniature mouse bought for that purpose. When that time comes, you are faced with several choices, retire the army or sell it on ebay and start another, go into a new army, or revive the old and make it seem new.

The time has come for this last option for my Imperial Guard Necromunda Regiment, this is the army I field the most, they are plastic Cadians and fairly rugged and durable (whereas I find my Forgeworld Elysians are fragile and my Steel Legion are more restrictive in their options).

How many of you remember this?


The box art of the first Imperial Guard plastics. No longer available from Games Workshop, but the first affordable troops provided for an army I started to play with the release of White Dwarf 109.

Here is a slightly more complete image of the picture scanned from the magazine.


The images from White Dwarf and any quotes from the background of that magazine or other publication remain the property of Games Workshop, as do any others used in this log.

This got me started and soon I had a painted army of over 100 of these little guys...that was three boxes and quite a few lead Guardsmen thrown in for Special Weapons, Command figures, etc.

That army went to Sweden I think...before ebay actually and another replaced it (several armies actually). When the new Cadians first came out I got the army box and started painting up a new Necromunda Regiment based on the original artwork.

Some of you will remember my old avatar and some photos of bits of the army from Portent.





More images:
Command HQ
Command Section One
Command Section Two
Infantry Squad One
Infantry Squad Two
Infantry Squad Three
Infantry Squad Four
Infantry Squad Five
Support Squad One
Ogryn Squad

So this painting log is my repairing/repainting, adding/replacing and general improvement of my army. Some of you will remember my army from old posts, some of you have fought against the army. The paint scheme is based upon the original plastic Imperial Guard from Rogue Trader, the infamous zebra/tiger stripe pattern on Codex Grey. Now I have not followed everything completely the same, the armour has changed and I did not like the look of metallic helmets on the Cadians nor have I gone for the multi-coloured squad markings or helmet markings. But the majority of the armour is the same, it is not the best camouflage pattern, as painting the stripes on accurately would be time consuming to the extreme…and we are talking about painting Imperial Guardsmen…which means painting a lot of them.

As you can see I already had a base of 75+ painted figures, which is a pretty good start, but a little low when you think about Imperial Guard, I was regularly using older metal Cadian figures and tanks to augment my troops.

Image limit reached, more to follow.

The long painting war continues...

CB

Update as of 8 Mar 12 - since we have increased the image limit since this thread was started...



Update as of 27 Jun 12



Update as of 31 Aug 12

[Captain Brown]

IMPERIAL GUARD REGIMENT (based on material from WD 109, Imperial Guard Codex 2nd Edition, Imperial Guard Codex 3rd Edition, Imperial Guard Codex 4th Edition, Codex Catachan, Codex Armageddon, Imperial Armour III, IV, V and VI)

The main operational unit of the Imperial Guard is the Regiment. Precise numbers vary, but most Imperial Guard Regiments are raised with a strength numbering some 2,000-6,000 men. Each regiment is raised from a single home world, and the Imperial Guard trooper regards himself as belonging first and foremost to the Regiment rather than the Army to which it is assigned at its raising. This is a completely understandable consequence of the raising, after all the men of his regiment speak the same language; share the same traditions, etc. In all likelihood these comrades will be the last people from his home world an Imperial line trooper will ever see.

Regiments are identified by the name of their home world, and a number - for example, the 8th Necromunda Regiment is the eighth Regiment of the Imperial Guard to have been raised from the world of Necromunda during a particular raising. The Regiment inherits all the battle honours of its illustrious predecessors, even though none of her soldiers would have been present at them. This helps foster a feeling of superiority and esprit-de-corps as the Regiment trains in the bellies of the enormous transports on the way to the battle zone where it will serve. Officers are appointed at this time, their skill, training and experience dependent entirely upon the world that the regiment was raised from.

A Regiment is commanded by a Colonel (Senior Officer - rank may vary depending on Planet of origin) and often Regiments take on the personality of their commander. This personality is often reflected in unit nicknames, and Regiments take particular pride in being recognized in this manner. Regiments also take with them the culture and history of their home world and the battle honours of each previous regiment raised with the same number.

Military aficionados may have noted the lack of Battalions within the Imperial Guard organization. In the 20th century Battalions have often been used to differentiate operational combat units from their recruiting counterparts. In the 19th century the 2nd Battalions of British Infantry Regiments remained in England recruiting while the 1st Battalions fought overseas. The Imperial Guard does not recruit additional troops for the Regiment after it is raised, as they are sent to a war zone or planet far from their home world and any replacements. This is mainly due to the incredible cost of trying to ferry replacements from a home world. While White Shield units may be raised on a Garrison World like Cadia or conscripts might be pressed into service on a planet like Armageddon, there are generally no replacements for the loses incurred by Regiments as the attrition of time and combat thin their ranks.

So for my army I have selected the 8th Necromunda Regiment, the Spiders, pulled from the original Guard list of White Dwarf 109. The Necromunda 8th are a famous Imperial Guard regiment from the Necromunda hive world. They are called the "Spiders" based on the fact that the regiment's soldiers are drawn from Necromunda's Spider Clan. The Spider Clan is a powerful Necromundan gang legitimized as part of the Planetary Defence Force. The Spider Clan is the dominant gang of the lower levels of Hive Palantine. For centuries they have received arms from the Governor of the hive in exchange for keeping the criminal activities of the other gangs under control.

When the Spiders enter the ranks of the Guard, they are organized into platoons formed by a whole gang; officers are prominent individuals within Spider Clan, respected and feared by the gangers. The Imperium's general practice of recruiting hive world gangers in the Guard has always proven highly effective, as the soldiers are already experienced in combat and weaponry.

Famous 8th Regiment Actions

Battle of Deucalion

The most famous battle honors won by the 8th were earned by their participation in the Battle of Deucalion. The First Army of Warmaster Solon was forced to retreat from the planet Deucalion and he had to order the evacuation of its troops. The entire army consisted of at least thirty regiments in three huge divisions. Troop ships were landing to evacuate the army. While troops embarked into the ships, the enemy managed to pass through the defenses of Solon, putting the landing field within range of its mobile artillery, so that when the last of the transport crafts landed, the bombs started to fall. Then, the first troop-laden transport craft suffered damage from enemy anti-aircraft weapons, the ship crashing to the ground, crushed an entire regiment under it.

The landing field was in complete chaos. In a matter of minutes, nearly half of the ships were destroyed and the Guard was suffering catastrophic casualties. Something had to be done to save the army and it was Colonel Raevan Mortz of the Necromunda 8th that placed his regiment into history thanks to the decisions taken on that day.

Seeing that Warmaster Solon and his own troops still had to be evacuated, Colonel Mortz ordered the 8th to move against the enemy. Renouncing any hope of escape, the Spiders charged through the smoke and dust fogged fields, disappearing from view. Soon the intensity of the bombing declined and remaining transports could land in relative safety. The last transport to leave Deucalion was that of Solon's. Although waiting until the last moment Solon had no choice but to order the launch of the last transport and abandon the Spiders.

COMPANIES

Regiments are divided into companies, which can vary widely in their size and composition. The company is the major tactical unit of the Imperial Guard. The heart of a company is composed of a varying number of platoons and various specialist units and machines are attached to the company as need, availability and individual preference dictate - vehicles, support weapons, ally contingents and the like.

Companies are commanded by Captains (Junior Officer or Senior Officer- rank may vary depending on Planet of origin) and are often smaller versions of the Regiment in their manner and personality. When a battle plan is divulged down to the Regiment’s Colonel, he (or his staff) will assign specific objectives to the Company Commanders.

The Companies of the Necromunda 8th are formed from platoons with their Captains being members of the Spider Clan ruling families.

PLATOONS

The Codex Exercitus gives the standard configuration of an Imperial Guard Platoon as a Command Section and from two to six squads. A Command Section consists of a Junior Officer (normally either a Captain or a Lieutenant, again dependent on the Planet of Origin), and a small number of specialist troops such as (but not limited too) Medics, specialist and heavy weapons troopers, and perhaps an attached Sanctioned Psyker, in addition to rank-and-file Guardsmen. In addition any Heavy Weapons Squads will be under the direction of this Junior Officer, used to provide fire support for the line infantry whose job it is to take and hold ground.

As mentioned in the background for the Necromunda Regiment, whole gangs are brought in with the Gang Leader filling the Junior Officer billet. Often having access to better equipment and gear I will reflect this with wargear selections.

INFANTRY SQUADS

A line infantry squad consists of one Sergeant and nine Guardsmen, and is almost always attached to a Command Section. (Many worlds have subordinate ranks under the Sergeant – Corporal being a common title; however for the purposes of our discussion and their authority in combat, Sergeant is the lowest rank we will look at in depth). The Sergeant leads his or her squad and is often called upon to make the final decisions as to the position of individual troopers to carry out the objectives given by his or her superior. Often these are the longest serving troopers from the Planetary Defence Force and often have acquired additional equipment and experience as compared to their charges.

So for the Necromunda Regiment, many of the platoons have been recruited directly from the hive gangs, with the low level gang boss moving into the roll of Sergeant. Often they have extra training and have the ability to acquire additional equipment so in the army they will be represented by Veteran Sergeants with wargear.

So first off we start with the requirement for every Guard Army, the Command HQ, in this case my Company Commander and his bodyguard. I have given them a skull as the Regimental Motif on the right shoulder pad for the Battle of Deucalion and for the left it is a skull with the eagle wings on each side. I am thinking of doing the same for the Squads, just having company number or letter surrounded by eagle wings.






Now I have used one of my old Lieutenant conversions to fill in as an Orderly or Staff Officer (selecting the veteran Guardsmen option to equip him). I also cut off the antenna from the Master Vox Caster (as they keep bending and were difficult to get into a carrying case)...I actually never bothered with Vox Casters preferring the Veteran Sergeants to keep my squads in the firing line(that may change depending on the next Guard Codex).

I have decided against using the 3 digit number system for my squads, as the troopers tend to get mixed together, I paint the bottom of their bases different colours to keep them straight when two squads get intermingled on the battlefield...I tend to avoid this as it means a Railgun Sub-munition is headed my way.

I have been asked in the past to explain why my Regimental Banner has the Cadian Gate on it (that yellow triangle thing). I responded that the inquirer obviously had too much time on their hands and they had mistaken the Cadian Gate for the Spires of Necromunda. When they asked about Cadia being written on it, I said it was a battle honour like the small ones you cannot read on each side. I guess really I am too lazy to file off the script...has anyone else been asked these silly questions?

The long painting war continues...

CB

[Captain Brown]

One of the next things I wanted to clean up was my Veteran Sergeants...as the first ones I made with Storm Bolters were a bit clunky. At the time I think I was playing Full Spectrum Warrior a bit too much and they were also all equipped with Vox Casters for appearances sake...it also counter-balanced the huge firearms they were carrying. However the added gear made them a little chunky as well.



So I built the prototype to replace them:


The Storm Bolter is built from parts of an Ork Shoota and part of an Imperial Tank Sprue Storm Bolter.

So here are the four Veteran Sergeants suffering from a rather drastic head/arm swap...


I hav found the Veteran Sergeants, while expensive, worth it for the extra Leadership...the fact I can give them Storm Bolters and actually do some wounds to enemy infantry has been a bonus.

More to follow, the long painting war continues...

CB

[swifty2]

yay new log, since I alreadylove your elysians I cant wait to see how these turn out. The mini's you've already painted look stunning and I cant wait to see what new stuff you do, although re-painting does still always make me a sad panda.

[Captain Brown]

Well you will get to see both here. Some more Veteran Sergeants getting put together.






The caps are made from Green Stuff (actually a cheaper putty, but everyone understands Green Stuff), the arms with straps are made from extra flamer arms and the Storm Bolters as mentioned are a combination of Ork Shoota and Tank Sprue Storm Bolters.

Image limit reached, more to follow.

The long painting war continues...

CB

[Cassarus]

A really good looking army you got there, and some nice fluff! I always liked that old camouflage so I'm looking forward to more updates!

Cheers

[Captain Brown]

Here is the Command Section for the 1st Platoon. Since the Lieutenant had a Plasma Pistol and so did two troopers I added a Medipack to keep my fragile Plasma armed troops in the game.

Now so far I have only the Company number/letter on the left shoulder pad, but I think I want to add eagle wings to each side. What do people think?





The banner needed the most work, probably due to size and the magnetic attraction it seemed to have on errant dice. What a flag with the platoon command section you ask? It has no effect on the game, and I included it only for artistic reasons, it does tie in with the original Guard Army List where each platoon had it's own banner.

Image limit reached, more to follow.

The long painting war continues...

CB

[Lord Cook]

Great colour scheme, well executed.

[Captain Brown]

Now you saw the fate of the poor Veteran Sergeants who lost their heads...and arms...well one cannot waste partially assembled and painted figures when one builds a Guard army. All those bodies with Vox Casters on the back and while I never used Vox Casters due to the Veteran Sergeants I figured it was time to change. I did get a little bored with so many Guardsmen looking the same, as there are only so many poses you can put the Cadian plastics in before they look funny/totally weird...like the poses your eight year old cousin does on the first figures he gets...you know the ones that have every single spare part glued on as well...



Yes, one of those models has a *gasp* Forgeworld arm, well I did need use it sometime. So I have to paint some arms and a few heads. Where possible I am trying to use the heads from the Tank Accessory Sprue with the microphone...I just don't really care for the Vox Caster heads.

And a couple of extra models lying around to bulk up the numbers.


Image limit reached more to follow.

The long painting war continues...

CB

[Dictator]

Looking great captain brown... but beyond this thread, any updates on your elysians?

[Captain Brown]

Looking great captain brown... but beyond this thread, any updates on your elysians?

Thanks, I'm going to keep the Elysian updates on their own thread, I have always kept my logs separate so that if someone is looking for a particular army or theme all the pictures/tutorials/plans are in one place, rather than try to have one giant uber-log of doom that is pages of confusion...I mean look at us, we are gamers and most of us have the attention span of a cat...which means we change what we want to paint with the drop of a hat.

Some updates here though, some painted Sergeants (after the arms and heads were attached to some new bodies).





I had a little trouble with the straps, since I cut them off earlier models to use the arm as a base for the new Storm Bolters, each of the straps broke at the same point, and while I did a pretty good job gluing them, due to the angle on the new weapons there was a kink here and there.

Since the Storm Bolter uses each side of the set from the Tank Accessory Sprue, the Skull and Laurel motif is on opposite sides for half the models, minor but noticeable difference. The hats also are slightly different depending on my sculpt, but after seeing that cloth caps quickly lose shape when out in the field I thought it was a little realistic. I am thinking of making some more cloth caps for regular troopers as well.

Image limit reached, more to follow.

The long painting war continues...

CB

[sartarius]

hey cap i loved your elysians and seeing this is awsome
i like the converted bolters indeed

[Captain Brown]

Thanks for the comment sartarius,

I have some more WIP and a few finished models to add.

I did start are a few more of the Veteran Sergeants (I will call them Mark II’s for lack of a better term); one does not have the arm strap because I was running out of flamer arms.


Finished one of the Vox Casters (made from what was left of a Mark I Sergeant after his arms had been removed) and another of the Mark II’s (he was an exact copy of the test model).




So far for a clean-up project I have done more new models than refurbishing old ones.

The long painting war continues...

CB

[Dictator]

Wow, those Vet Sgts are look awesme. I really dig the scheme too!! Looks like mine!

[Lord Cook]

What are you using for the ammo drums? Grenade launcher magazines?

[Catferret]

What are you using for the ammo drums? Grenade launcher magazines?

It appears to be one of the Ork Shootas with the barrel lopped off and replaced with the vehicle sprue Stormbolter barrel section.

[Cassarus]

No their from ork shootas!

[jdp]

Cap,

Very nice retro look for your Spiders. The vet sergeants are top shelf, your GS hats are perfect, I have wanted to do something similar with my sarges and think I'll bust some putty out tonight and have a swing at it. On the brim, did you use some sheet plastic or is it all putty?

[Fastus]

Nice miniatures,I like them specially the veteran sargents. How did you get the heads?¿?¿

[Captain Brown]

What are you using for the ammo drums? Grenade launcher magazines?

Catferret and Cassarus are correct, they are the Ork Shoota ammo drums...basically an Ork Shoota with the barrel removed and the end of the Tank Accessory Storm Bolter added to the end, I cut just past the rivets on the Shoota and just before the rivets on the Storm Bolter (which does require some fancy knife-work to keep the join smooth).

Cap,

Very nice retro look for your Spiders. The vet sergeants are top shelf, your GS hats are perfect, I have wanted to do something similar with my sarges and think I'll bust some putty out tonight and have a swing at it. On the brim, did you use some sheet plastic or is it all putty?

Thanks. I use putty for the brim/visor...I made a little mould buy taking a bit of round sprue and trimmed the end to make it look like the top of a cloth cap and jabbed it into a small square of putty. The brim/visor is just a little curved cut into the mould. I then add a release agent and push in another clump of Green Stuff, when I remove it I trim it down and file away under the visor to make it thin.

Nice miniatures,I like them specially the veteran sargents. How did you get the heads?¿?¿

They are Cadian Sergeant Heads with the tops cut off and replaced with my home made caps...one or two are Catachan Heads.

I should have a few more pictures up later today, but in the meantime here is another shot of a pair of sergeants (you have seen both individually before), notice that my caps are not perfectly uniform and this is because of how I make them, I do trim them down to make each one a little different.



And another one of the Vox Operators.


The long painting war continues...

CB