New to the game; Questions

[Squark]

So, I picked up a fair bit of zone Mortalis terrain for kill team, but I kept coming back and looking at Necromunda. A few days ago I took the plunge and picked up a box of Orlock Gangers. I've been looking at articles and forums online, but I've got a couple of questions.

 

1) Obviously, I need the main rulebook. But I'm unsure what next. If I know which gang(s) I want, can I buy just the House Of X books, or do I still need Gangs of the Underhive?

 

2) Thermic Plasma Conduits are almost impossible to find now. Does anyone know if the promethium pipes from the new Battlezone Manufactorum kits can be used in a similar way? I do have a few leftover bits from an Alchemite stack that look like they could be used as connecting pieces.

 

3) I will probably want to pick up a secondary gang for teaching and to lend to friends. What gangs would work as a good foil/opposite to Orlock?

 

4) I have a lot of leftover Space Marine bits like boltguns, meltaguns, and plasma guns. Can those be used for kitbashes, or do they end up looking too bulky or too fancy?

[Ranulf]

1) Obviously, I need the main rulebook. But I'm unsure what next. If I know which gang(s) I want, can I buy just the House Of X books, or do I still need Gangs of the Underhive?

 

Just grab the rulebook and relevant House of X book, it'll have you covered. 

 

3) I will probably want to pick up a secondary gang for teaching and to lend to friends. What gangs would work as a good foil/opposite to Orlock?

 

It doesn't really matter, just pick one you like the look of. Escher are similar is some ways and beginner friendly, Goliath are Melee focused and Van Saar are all about the ranged game. 

 

Cawdor and Delaque are a bit more difficult to handle and lack House books at the moment.

 

 

4) I have a lot of leftover Space Marine bits like boltguns, meltaguns, and plasma guns. Can those be used for kitbashes, or do they end up looking too bulky or too fancy?

 

I'm a pedant and prefer Forgeworld weapons designed for the specific gangs, but I used a IG Grenade Launcher on my Orlocks and it didn't look out of place. Space Marine weapons might be a different story though.

 

-Ran

[Widowmaker82]

Since nobody has answered your question about the pipes (in two threads) I'll do my best to answer that for you.

 

If all you want is horizontal pipes at ground level then the new set of pipes should be just fine for you. They are the same thickness, and I'm fairly sure the full pipes are the same length and stand the same height as the thermic plasma conduits with their "feet" attached. The biggest difference is that the Thermic Plasma Conduits are separate from the "feet" so you can do a bit more with them, like using them vertically or suspending them between two walls above ground level.

 

I did recently manage to find the Thermic Plasma Conduits sprues were in stock with Warhammer Conquest back issues (issue 33 IIRC), but the issues go in and out of stock all the time; I only ordered them last week, but mine haven't arrived yet. You do see them on eBay fairly regularly too, but they are a little more expensive than they were sold for previously due to being OOP now. 

 

Other than that I agree with everything Ranulf has said. When it comes to a secondary gang it's probably best to just pick whichever one you like best. Cawdor and Delaque don't yet have their House of... books, but they are due later this year so it may not necessarily affect your choice. I have Orlocks as one of my own gangs, but Cawdor were my first love in this edition because of their look. All of the gangs have their own look and favoured play style; I say favoured play style because the reality is you can play any gang differently to what the internet groupthink suggests if you wanted to.

 

When it comes to left over SM weapons, they will look big on most gangs, except maybe Goliaths. More importantly, as Ranulf says, they will look a bit out of place as well if that is something you're bothered about. The FW kits are really nice, but they are pricey. Unlike the 1st edition of Necromunda, the weapons for each gang are quite uniquely designed. For example, Orlocks have the drum magazines on many of their weapons, Cawdor have their ramshackle weapons held together with straps and faith etc. The weapons are almost as important to the look of the gang as anything else.

 

I have added weapons from other kits myself, including a couple of SM weapons; but personally I had to convert them up so they fit the look of the gang. I made a boltgun for my Cawdor leader using a boltpistol from the MkIV SM kit, cutting it in half and extending it a little with greenstuff, adding straps made from greenstuff. For my Orlocks I converted a boltgun from an Assault Intercessor's heavy boltpistol; amonst other things I gave it a drum magazine cut from a spare Orlock combat shotgun.

 

How much you care about that sort of thing is up to you; about the only rule is that the weapon on the model should accurately represent what you have armed them with. If you want to stick SM boltguns on your models nobody is going to complain they don't know what your models are armed with!