Van Saar Gangers for Necromunda

We’re back with another in the bestselling (*) series Woehammer ‘How to Paint’ series, and we have a change for you. The scenery is done and there are battlefields to play over, so for the next few weeks we’ll be showing off some of the denizens of Necromunda and How to Paint them.

Necromunda

Necromunda is the game of gang-warfare in the brutal grim darkness of the 41st millennium – it’s also a campaign!

House Van Saar

Necromunda has a large number of gangs (or teams) to play with. Initially there were six but this has rapidly expanded and the latest release sees the Squats get a much needed update.

I have played Van Saar since the early 90s when I first played Necromunda but didn’t really know what I was doing. It was probably my first painted team but this is an update on the classic green – by using contrast paints.

Pictures

How do they play?

Van Saar shoot – at everything – and always hit (**). If there is one thing Van Saar love it is staying far, far away from the enemy and pinning them whilst they collect the loot.

These three additions break the mould a little bit with Artemis having a flamer for some up close and personal action – but with movement 4″, she has ‘Hip Shooting’ to allow a double movement and then shoot at a -1 to hit. A flamer is expensive, so this has been bought after my third game using some of the Van Saar discounts available.

The other two gangers (not yet in the gang, but waiting patiently to be bought) are a melta-gun combi weapon and a lasgun (nice and traditional). I’ve painted the lasgun as a hotshot weapon as my campaign has House Goliath and those pesky squats.

Paints Used

Starting with a Black undercoat and a simple Zenithal highlight with Grey Seer I wanted these to be simple. So the next step was an all over Militarum Green which forms the basis of most of the model and the weapon – perfect for getting them on the table quickly.

I picked out some details in Mephiston Red and Balthasar Gold on the body of the model and the weapons, and added a little shade where needed.

Finally the bases are very simple – black undercoat, Leadbelcher and Balthasar Gold and a wash (or 2) of Nuln Oil — all with an Abbadon Black rim.

Buying a Box?

These are available everywhere, so try your local FLGS first – or ask them to order in for you. If you don’t have a local FLGS then Woehammer has an affiliate link with Element Games which gives us a small kickback to buy more toys. The gang kit is a standard RRP of £31.50, but this can often be picked up at a discount

It has loads of weapon options – although the flamer is from the Van Saar weapon sprue, which definitely adds to the cost. There are too few pistols, although this wasn’t a problem for these 3 models and there is good variety with 5 body poses across the 10 models.

The only problems with Van Saar models are the ‘tails’ from their heads which always snap off… and that their weapons are on the sprue in 2 pieces with a very small connection — what were they thinking?

— Declan and Eeyore

(*) – I’m sure we’ll get double digit views – just don’t compare it to our ‘top three’ articles!
(**) – Well on a 2+, which is criminally good in Necromunda