The metal 2003 Arbite sculpts are easily my favourite from the Necromunda range, and playing the role of space cops cleaning up the gang war wasteland of the underhive speaks to me for some reason.
Also, the Arbite Enforcer rules use absolutely zero army points or equivalent whatsoever. Not a single one. Such a glorious triumph warms my heart far far too much for me to pass up.
Unfortunately, my dreams of playing space cops in Necromunda died screaming in 2012 when GW stopped selling the Necromunda range and never brought it back.
But then a short while ago my main Warhammer regular was bitten by the 40k skirmish bug - mostly for Gorkamorka, since they're a big fan of all things greenskin, but quickly branching out into Necromunda since that one is an easier sell for those of us who don't have a pile of Orks on the shelf ready to go. Now this person is also becoming an avid 3-D printer, and since they had some spare resin fuel lying around that needed using up, the other day they decided to print out some high-fidelity scans of the 2003 Necromunda Arbite range and give them to me as a present so they'd be sure of having a regular Necromunda opponent to throw down with.
And that changed things.
Since the same sculpts can be repurposed for 40k uses too they have now rocketed to the top of my painting backlog, and initial conversion work is slated to begin imminently - one of the reasons why I took up the offer (besides convenience and free models) was that being resin copies of the original metals means that I can cut them up to my heart's content without ever hurting any precious irreplaceable GW metal models. And I had plans for a more personalised unit of Arbite Enforcers alongside some lovingly faithful restorations of the 'Evy Metal models.
Now, the actual composition of the unit is very straightforward, not least because Arbite Enforcers have very few choices at the construction stage - though few are necessary. The squad assigned to Hive Primus Precinct 99 will be as follows:
- A Sergeant with a Plasma Pistol and Power Maul. While I have scaled back my previous plans for plasma weapons, I still would like at least one and such a mighty and rare weapon is a fitting badge of office for the precinct commander. And I also feel I want him geared towards close quarters combat, as a support for...
- 2 Enforcers with Suppression Shields and Power Mauls. This uses up the two Suppression Shield sprues I have to work with, and lets me put one in each Patrol Team, ensuring that there is always a close assault element available for guarding and storming perps under the cover of...
- 4 Enforcers with Combat Shotguns. These will be the bread and butter fighting core of the squad, with flexible ranged firepower. Experience in some recent test games have shown that the extra range of the bolter is often unnecessary on the very dense terrain typical of Necromunda, and if they do need to drop a perp at range then they can always load an Executioner Shell. They will also be covered by...
- 1 Enforcer with a Grenade Launcher. This was originally going to be a plasma gun, but recent test games have demonstrated the sheer usefulness of grenades, and the grenade launcher is far easier to procure and maintain at any rate. This weapon specialist will be one half of the fire support team alongside...
- 1 Enforcer with a Heavy Stubber. A solid heavy weapon specialist that means both Patrol Teams will be able to get some decent fire support. Finally, thre's...
- 1 Enforcer Handler and Cyber-Mastif. We'll get to them later.
Now, the real challenge is matching up the characters to the profiles.
There are 10 that are needed, and 10 can be just about pulled from the source material that this project is going to be a love letter to - the legendary office-com Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Some are easy enough:
- Precinct Sergeant Ramus J. Holt, the tough no-nonsense unit commander and a hardened veteran of the Underhive.
- Jakob Peralta, the hotshot star of the precinct who loves putting away bad guys and is a perfect fit for the lead of the shotgun tactical element.
- Rosa Diaz and Adrian Pimento, the fearsome assault element at their best swinging power mauls into perps' heads.
- Terrance Jeffords, the hulking kindly heavy weapons gunner - which is the only one with access to the full Muscle Skill Tree, essential for any space Terry.
- Hitchcock and Scully, two hapless mostly blank slates that can be molded to fit the inevitable twists and rigours of Necromunda, a couple of generic shotgun carriers who will be acting as the nearest Juve equivalents here.
For those familiar with the source material this project is working from, that still leaves a few loose ends.
- Amy Santiago, the ambitious and meticulous rising star of the precinct. One the one hand she's a prime candidate for the Cyber Mastif handler, because the handler is the only one (besides the Sergeant) with access to Techno skills and Amy in the show is one of the more technically minded characters, and because of the sheer irony of it (Amy of course being deathly allergic to dogs in the show). On the other hand, she's also a natural fit for the fourth and final shotgun fighter, as a counterpart and foil to Peralta.
- Charles Boyle, the dependable-if-awkward hard worker. On the one hand he's also a good fit for the fourth and final shotgun carrier, side-by-side with lifelong best friend Peralta. On the other hand, he's exactly the kind of solid dependable trustworthy sort that one might want manning a grenade launcher in a supporting role.
- Regina Linetti, the human form of the
emoji. In the show Gina is a civilian administrator rather than an actual trained police officer, so her equivalent here will need to be in a more indirect supporting role, leaving either the grenade launcher position or the Cyber Mastif handler. This does also raise the question of what to do with that Cyber Mastif handler's equipment. On the one hand giving them a power maul will give a fairly even blend of close combat officers and shooting focused officers, but on the other hand all of the main character candidates for the role lend themselves more thematically to a ranged loadout.
I would of course also like to procure melta bombs and photon flash flares for everyone, but doing that will require matching wits with this unit's real nemesis, the most unholy and loathsome daemon to be spawned from the darkest depths of the warp, Courthouse Commandant Madelina Wuntch, who is exempt from the taint of heresy only because all of the dark powers are repulsed and horrified at her sheer vileness.
Anyway, this concludes my thinking aloud about Necromunda plans, which I leave here for the interest of anyone who also enjoys a good bit of Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
