Tuesday 20 February 2018

House Morlaque - the Big Guns


The Skallytong Boys of House Morlaque have been steadily increasing in strength - coming to the attention of Guilders and Enforcers alike! I'm now 4 weeks in to my gaming group's new Necromunda campaign, 'The Stern Contracts'. My Morlaques are mid-ranked when it comes to Reputation and earning a reputation for being sneaky (something to do with bald heads and goggles).


I haven't shown off the more interesting half of the gang yet - the guys with the big guns and impressive gear. First up are a couple of special weapons and a juve.

Juve Amos alongside Old Man Jed and Iddo, both with high-powered weaponry.

I know juves can't have chainswords, so for now he's armed with an exotic-looking fighting knife!


All three figures have been converted to a greater or lesser degrees. The ganger with a grenade launcher (gangers can get special weapons now!) is a pretty simple conversion from a Gorkamorka Digga boy armed with a blunderbuss. I trimmed off the barrel of the blunderbuss, and added a section cut from a pen for the drum magazine. Like all of his friends, he got a brand new beard, bones and some eyewear.


The plasma gunner was converted from the old Last Chancers character, Brains. I removed the lasgun and replaced it with a Forgeworld plasma gun. He too got a beard and some bones (including a natty ribcage shoulder pad).


The juve was based on an actual unmodified Hunter ganger. His left arm again comes from Forgeworld (the Chaos Renegades I think), while his right was donated from an Eldar Harlequin.

Also pictured, a future combat-based champion

Of course, every Necromunda gang needs an inspiring Leader and iconic heavy. Traeger Gravaman is the Leader of the Skallytong Boys. I built him with weapons that I like, rather than for pure efficiency, although with his boltgun, hand flamer and sword (he can't afford the chainsword yet), he's pretty versatile.


Silo Mervin totes the classic Necromundan heavy stubber. He's the only member of the Skallytong Boys large enough to carry the gun (ironically enough, he's picked up a long term injury and is actually only Strength 2 in the current campaign!).


Traeger is made from a host of different parts. The torso is from a Confrontation Bounty Hunter, with the hair removed from the skull icon on the chest armour. The head is from an old Empire Flagellant, and the bionic arm is from an old Necromunda Bounty Hunter.

There was a bit of chopping and changing before I settled on the final look for Traeger. Originally I had him carting around half a corpse on his back. But some sensible people suggested this looked a bit silly.


I'm also indebted to Asslessman who suggested a furry shoulder pad and a skull, even being good enough to draw me a fine concept sketch:


I ended up with a much better looking leader as a result I think.



Silo Mervin was based on Sergeant Harker - an Imperial Guard character who usually hefts around a heavy bolter. I replaced the heavy bolter with a heavy stubber (thanks Dean), removed the Mohican and added beard, bones and glasses (yet again).


I've got another three or so models I want to add to this group, but for now I think they're a pretty decent-looking gang. Hope you like them!


24 comments:

  1. This is probably one of my favourite gangs so far and that's something !
    It blends many influences and sources into one really coherent force.
    It's fun seeing that sketch I had almost forgotten !

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    1. Thanks JB! I've had a lot of fun putting them together. Just need to finish them off with the final couple.

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  2. Great looking group. I am sure they will be the scourge of the underhive!

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    1. Or very possibly utterly inept and incompetent ;)

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  3. I like them very much indeed.... although I'll be rooting for the Arbites.

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  4. Awesome gang mate, some great conversions in there along with some rarities, and I love the plum & bone colour scheme! Makes me think of rhubarb & custard (which is always a good thing to think about imo) :-)

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    1. Thanks Alex! The plum has become my new favourite colour, and I was a lot of fun trying to match the older figures stylistically.

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  5. Looking great! Something about that juve makes him my favorite, maybe because he seems like he is desperate for action/attention... as a juve should be!

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    1. Ha! You're right. Juves get all the crappy jobs just because they need to impress. He has got a 'look at me' stance.

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  6. The conversion work is magnificent. They are charming and unique. Really cool badasses for the Underhive!

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    1. Thanks Suber. Thinking up suitable source minis for the conversions was quite tricky, but I'm glad such badassery was worth it :)

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  7. You nailed it! This has to be one of the coolest, if not THE coolest, homegrown warband I've ever seen Axiom. Love the last chancers conversion & Traeger, sporting a skull on his shoulder is fucking amazing!

    You just elevated your hobby kudos to the next level. Well done mate :)

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    1. Thanks mate! Every aspiring gang leader needs something to stand out from the crowd - why not a skull on his shoulder?! :)

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    2. Forgot to ask you before, could you tell me your recipe/technique for doing the sunnies? Is it your own method or did you find it online? The effect is fantastic!

      Actually, just had a thought, are they done the same way as Sho3box? Looks similar :)

      Cheers mate.

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    3. It's pretty basic, partly in imitation of cheetor's approach. You'd be better off asking him! It's basically red across the lens, a mix of red/brown at the top, and a line of yellow along the bottom. Some white dots and a gloss varnish and that's it :)

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  8. Hands down the best custom gang that I've seen for the new incarnation of Necromunda, they seem to get better looking as a whole with each new member added.

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  9. Nice work on their 'Ray-Bans'. From a distance there is certainly an illusion of lens flare.

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    1. The glasses and goggles are a definite gang motif. I tend to add a pass of gloss varnish to the lenses for extra flare :)

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  10. Loving 'em! The group just keeps getting better and better!

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    1. Thanks! I'm just working out what I want to add next.

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  11. These tie together fantastically with those shades.

    Judging by the Heavy Stubber, you're using one of the Legacy Gang lists for these. Which one? Do you find you're one of the shootiest gangs in the campaign, or are there other legacy lists you're fighting against?

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    1. Cheers Curis :)

      I'm using Delaques - the Legacy Gangs are certainly more shooty than the other gangs, although they don't get any cool stuff. There's approx. 25% Goliath, 25% Escher and 50% combined Legacy gangs.

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