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A few years ago I was considering getting into 40K, tried Vassal and then I didn't end up playing for various reasons. Now though, I think I might give it a try maybe? I have some questions first.

What main rulebook would I need? I don't own an Ipad or anything, I'd need a physical copy.

I kind of like the look of the Necrons. I don't know anything about them. What is their play style? Are they strong? Weak?

How difficult is painting miniatures? Is it required to paint your guys to play? What kind of glue do I need, would Locktite work?

First off I much prefer a real game to playing on vassal.

The main rulebook you need can be found here: https://www.games-workshop.com/en-US/Warhammer-40000-rulebook-eng-2017
You would also need the Xenos 1 index if you are planning on playing necrons: https://www.games-workshop.com/en-US/Index-xenos-vol-1-eng-2017
You would also want to get the necron codex when it comes out, probably later this year.

Necrons are pretty tough and can reanimate dead models in their squads as long as at least one is still alive. The basic troops are slower than average but their guns can do quite a bit of damage when they get close. They don't have psykers which can leave you a bit defenceless to magic as you can't deny enemy spells. Beyond that I am not too sure about necrons as we don't have anyone who plays them in our group and 8th came out quite recently so I haven't heard much about them yet. They seem to be doing average though according to this poll of dakkanauts.
https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/730601.page

You can find more information about their units at 1d4chan. https://1d4chan.org/wiki/Warhammer_40,000/Tactics/Necrons(8E)

Painting isn't really required to play, I have seen many armies that are just grey plastic in my time but everyone prefers playing painted models. Necrons are one of the easiest armies to paint to a tabletop standard, you can just spray them with a grey metallic paint (eg leadbelcher) and then use a wash like nuln oil on them. Just make sure you haven't put the green rods in their guns before you spray them. I normally use whatever superglue (cyanoacrylate) I have for my models.

 roflmajog wrote:
First off I much prefer a real game to playing on vassal.

The main rulebook you need can be found here: https://www.games-workshop.com/en-US/Warhammer-40000-rulebook-eng-2017
You would also need the Xenos 1 index if you are planning on playing necrons: https://www.games-workshop.com/en-US/Index-xenos-vol-1-eng-2017
You would also want to get the necron codex when it comes out, probably later this year.

Necrons are pretty tough and can reanimate dead models in their squads as long as at least one is still alive. The basic troops are slower than average but their guns can do quite a bit of damage when they get close. They don't have psykers which can leave you a bit defenceless to magic as you can't deny enemy spells. Beyond that I am not too sure about necrons as we don't have anyone who plays them in our group and 8th came out quite recently so I haven't heard much about them yet. They seem to be doing average though according to this poll of dakkanauts.
https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/730601.page

You can find more information about their units at 1d4chan. https://1d4chan.org/wiki/Warhammer_40,000/Tactics/Necrons(8E)

Painting isn't really required to play, I have seen many armies that are just grey plastic in my time but everyone prefers playing painted models. Necrons are one of the easiest armies to paint to a tabletop standard, you can just spray them with a grey metallic paint (eg leadbelcher) and then use a wash like nuln oil on them. Just make sure you haven't put the green rods in their guns before you spray them. I normally use whatever superglue (cyanoacrylate) I have for my models.

This guy's got it. The only thing to add is to buy yourself nice brushes.

Also, the core rules are free:
http://www.warhammerdigital.com/Downloads/Product/PDF/rules/Warhammer-40k-Battle-Primer-English.pdf

Stores might also have free physical copies of this.

The big rulebook has advanced rules, background information and more missions. You don't absolutely necessarily need it to play, but it adds a lot of variety.
And like the previous poster said, the Necron rules can be found in Index Xenos 1.

And there is no rule that you have to paint your models... but for the love of Emperor, please do! Necrons are super easy to paint, spray them with metallic paint, apply black ink, and your're 95% done.

 roflmajog wrote:

They don't have psykers which can leave you a bit defenceless to magic as you can't deny enemy spells.

Why do people keep saying this?
Canoptek Spyders...
They are the psychic defence of the Necron army.
"Gloom Prism"

Necrons are cool, but if you want to know more about the armies the lexicanum has some lore. For some reason the Tau Empire is missing on that page. Little nerds anyways. Google them if you care. For me picking an army I needed both the fluff and the models to be in harmony. So I needed to like both things, but some people like one or the other. Although usually people love their factions models your going to spend a ton of time building and painting them after all.

http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Codex_Army_Lists

 DeffDred wrote:

 roflmajog wrote:

They don't have psykers which can leave you a bit defenceless to magic as you can't deny enemy spells.

Why do people keep saying this?
Canoptek Spyders...
They are the psychic defence of the Necron army.
"Gloom Prism"

Like I said in my post I don't know anyone who plays necrons so I am just repeating what I have seen other people say.

I would suggest going to the local store and meeting some of the local players and asking around to see if they can teach you to play, talk you through some of the armies, or at the very least watch some games. Most players won't mind if you ask questions or watch them play as long as you are polite and considerate about it.

That being said, some things to be aware of:

Most players are very opinionated about what is good, what is fair, what is over or under powered, and most of them are wrong 90% of the time. Take everything you hear with a grain of salt, as most players are invested very heavily in their army and way of playing, so just keep an open mind and be positive while you gather info and gage the scene. Having fun people to play against is like half the fun of 40k, after all.

Necrons are an interesting army. I wouldn't call them boring, bad, or one dimensional, but they do tend to have a very singular focus when it comes to each unit. Most of their units have a bunch of the same weapon, making them good against a specific target, so it's important to focus the right units against the right targets, and make sure you have answers to most targets. This isn't a bad thing, and is actually something all armies have to do in their own way.

They are also very durable, and typically a slow army. They also benefit from their special characters quite a bit, and mostly favor shooting over assault. They have good, durable vehicles as well.

If you like the sound of this, then you will like necrons. I'd suggest trying to watch other people play necrons (either in person, or online battle reports) perhaps play another players army to try it out, vassel some games with them, or just take the plunge and start buying stuff.

Painting is simple and not hard to do at an "okay" level. One coat of the color you want each part to be and then applying a wash to the model is an easy way to make your models look decent. I find that the GW plastic glue works best on the plastic models as it melts the preices together and holds better than super glue does. I would also using small magnets (home Depot has 1/16 by 1/8 inch ones i like) to magnetize weapons to vehicles or models if there is more weapon option for that unit, as you can then try it both ways. Necrons may not have many of these choices, but it's still something to keep in mind. Even though I'm not great at it, i find painting to be an almost medatative activity, and can be an quite enjoyable way to spend some time.

From a lore perspective the best thing I like about new-crons is Trollzyn as he is known. Or pokemon master Trazyn for his uncanny ability to be in the right place at the right time to collect all sorts of weird things and people. One of the more interesting characters in all of 40k.

That's it though. Other than that they are a bunch of squabbling nobles and trying to rebuild their Empire but mostly just stab each other in the back game of thrones style.

I personally liked when they were a single monolithic entity controlled by uncaring star gods that wanted to wipe out all life, but hey to each their own. Now they are best buds with space marines and all sorts of people and even have trading and stuff it's weird. They also don't want to wipe out all life they want to leave their metal bodies which are super badass and cool and go back to lame old squishy meat sacks.

Some people say new crons have more "personality" and that is true, but I loved them for their distinct lack of it before. So to each their own.

From a pure visual style I liked the older style terminator Necrons, but the Egyptian theme is pretty cool (but not as cool). They used to be my second fav faction until new-crons now they are down at 4th. They took another hit with the Deathwatch rpg lol.

Oh hey, so many replies. Thank you everyone very much who replied to me! It's a lot to take in. I went on youtube and watched a couple of battle reports from the Necrons and they seemed interesting. I really like their flyers, they look like the Cylon raiders from the new Battlestar Galactica.

I think I'll give 40K a try finally!

40K is a decent Wargame. It's rules are extremely complex though and it's rather pricey.

Sheperd wrote:
40K is a decent Wargame. It's rules are extremely complex though and it's rather pricey.

The rules are simple now in 8th edition it is not a cheep hobby unless you get someone's army as they quit the game

It's rules are extremely complex though and it's rather pricey.

Complex? No, I'd say convoluted at times, but never complex. It's actually a very easy game to learn. Especially now that they've removed a lot of "realism" from the game and essentially made AoS in space. Some of the changes to 8th have been very good, and others have been bad. As usual, GW doesn't know how to meet somewhere in the middle and the pendulum has swung too much in the opposite direction.

Pricey? I guess it depends on how much you are willing to spend on a hobby, personally I don't find it overly pricey, perhaps some models.

It's only complicated if you make it complicated. It's no different, in complexity or price, as any other hobby.

Ill add that for plastic models as opposed to resin cast or metal you should use poly cement. It melts the plastic welding it together giving a stronger bond but also give you a much longer time to make adjustments than super glue.

Super glue for metal or resin models.

PVA aka wood glue for basing.

I wouldn't say that Warhammer is pricey, so much as it's an investment. Getting into Warhammer will set you back about as much as getting a new computer.

While almost all armies can have a "basic" paintjob of just a basecoat, 2 colours and a wash, necron's are the absolute easiest of them all.

Spray them Black and drybrush them whatever metalic colour you want and you're sorted.

 AEIOUMadden wrote:
Ill add that for plastic models as opposed to resin cast or metal you should use poly cement. It melts the plastic welding it together giving a stronger bond but also give you a much longer time to make adjustments than super glue.

Super glue for metal or resin models.

PVA aka wood glue for basing.

This is my recommendation, too. I always use Testor's Plastic Cement as it permanently melds the plastic models together as AEIOUMadden said. The plastic cement won't work at all for resin, so I use Krazy Glue gel and it works really well.

alienux wrote:

 AEIOUMadden wrote:
Ill add that for plastic models as opposed to resin cast or metal you should use poly cement. It melts the plastic welding it together giving a stronger bond but also give you a much longer time to make adjustments than super glue.

Super glue for metal or resin models.

PVA aka wood glue for basing.

This is my recommendation, too. I always use Testor's Plastic Cement as it permanently melds the plastic models together as AEIOUMadden said. The plastic cement won't work at all for resin, so I use Krazy Glue gel and it works really well.

It depends on your preference, really. I use super glue so when I mess it up, or need to adjust weapons for a new edition, a little pressure in the right spot lets me fix things easy. The only models that I ever break [during play/in transit] are the metal ones, they really don't like to stay together.

 DeffDred wrote:

 roflmajog wrote:

They don't have psykers which can leave you a bit defenceless to magic as you can't deny enemy spells.

Why do people keep saying this?
Canoptek Spyders...
They are the psychic defence of the Necron army.
"Gloom Prism"

The gloom prism isn't just their anti-psycher defense. It's the best anti-psycher defense in the entire game because it doesn't have a range.

And Necrons absolutely have "spells". Their casters are called C'tan. They're hideously expensive, obnoxiously powerful, and their spells cannot be countered by enemy casters.

alienux wrote:

 AEIOUMadden wrote:
Ill add that for plastic models as opposed to resin cast or metal you should use poly cement. It melts the plastic welding it together giving a stronger bond but also give you a much longer time to make adjustments than super glue.

Super glue for metal or resin models.

PVA aka wood glue for basing.

This is my recommendation, too. I always use Testor's Plastic Cement as it permanently melds the plastic models together as AEIOUMadden said. The plastic cement won't work at all for resin, so I use Krazy Glue gel and it works really well.

I think I'll just use locktite. I don't want to melt the plastic, I'm sure I'll be terrible at assembling kits. I need to be able to adjust.

 SneakyTheDragon wrote:

alienux wrote:

 AEIOUMadden wrote:
Ill add that for plastic models as opposed to resin cast or metal you should use poly cement. It melts the plastic welding it together giving a stronger bond but also give you a much longer time to make adjustments than super glue.

Super glue for metal or resin models.

PVA aka wood glue for basing.

This is my recommendation, too. I always use Testor's Plastic Cement as it permanently melds the plastic models together as AEIOUMadden said. The plastic cement won't work at all for resin, so I use Krazy Glue gel and it works really well.

I think I'll just use locktite. I don't want to melt the plastic, I'm sure I'll be terrible at assembling kits. I need to be able to adjust.

Actually, super glue or locktite or whatever (all the same, really) works very well to bond most anything, IFF you prepare the surfaces to be bonded well and properly before applying the cement.
First order of business is to rough up both surfaces, with a knife scoring them and carving out gouges for the glue to sink into and harden like little barbed teeth of grippiness. When you put cement on the surfaces, and then press together, the cement will seep deeply into the crack and this will cause the glue to set up more quickly, also, so you don't have to sit there all night holding the things together.
This system works well even with heavy metal on metal joins, and with notoriously difficult plastic to metal joins.
Also, plastic to plastic is strong enough to give plastic cement a run for its money.
Anyways, I have been gluing metal models since 2nd edition with this system, and it works without fail.

 jeff white wrote:

 SneakyTheDragon wrote:

alienux wrote:

 AEIOUMadden wrote:
Ill add that for plastic models as opposed to resin cast or metal you should use poly cement. It melts the plastic welding it together giving a stronger bond but also give you a much longer time to make adjustments than super glue.

Super glue for metal or resin models.

PVA aka wood glue for basing.

This is my recommendation, too. I always use Testor's Plastic Cement as it permanently melds the plastic models together as AEIOUMadden said. The plastic cement won't work at all for resin, so I use Krazy Glue gel and it works really well.

I think I'll just use locktite. I don't want to melt the plastic, I'm sure I'll be terrible at assembling kits. I need to be able to adjust.

Actually, super glue or locktite or whatever (all the same, really) works very well to bond most anything, IFF you prepare the surfaces to be bonded well and properly before applying the cement.
First order of business is to rough up both surfaces, with a knife scoring them and carving out gouges for the glue to sink into and harden like little barbed teeth of grippiness. When you put cement on the surfaces, and then press together, the cement will seep deeply into the crack and this will cause the glue to set up more quickly, also, so you don't have to sit there all night holding the things together.
This system works well even with heavy metal on metal joins, and with notoriously difficult plastic to metal joins.
Also, plastic to plastic is strong enough to give plastic cement a run for its money.
Anyways, I have been gluing metal models since 2nd edition with this system, and it works without fail.

Awesome, thank you for the tip!

I sent you a private message.

 jeff white wrote:

 SneakyTheDragon wrote:

alienux wrote:

 AEIOUMadden wrote:
Ill add that for plastic models as opposed to resin cast or metal you should use poly cement. It melts the plastic welding it together giving a stronger bond but also give you a much longer time to make adjustments than super glue.

Super glue for metal or resin models.

PVA aka wood glue for basing.

This is my recommendation, too. I always use Testor's Plastic Cement as it permanently melds the plastic models together as AEIOUMadden said. The plastic cement won't work at all for resin, so I use Krazy Glue gel and it works really well.

I think I'll just use locktite. I don't want to melt the plastic, I'm sure I'll be terrible at assembling kits. I need to be able to adjust.

Actually, super glue or locktite or whatever (all the same, really) works very well to bond most anything, IFF you prepare the surfaces to be bonded well and properly before applying the cement.
First order of business is to rough up both surfaces, with a knife scoring them and carving out gouges for the glue to sink into and harden like little barbed teeth of grippiness. When you put cement on the surfaces, and then press together, the cement will seep deeply into the crack and this will cause the glue to set up more quickly, also, so you don't have to sit there all night holding the things together.
This system works well even with heavy metal on metal joins, and with notoriously difficult plastic to metal joins.
Also, plastic to plastic is strong enough to give plastic cement a run for its money.
Anyways, I have been gluing metal models since 2nd edition with this system, and it works without fail.

At these minor scales it probably doesn't matter

but i could of sworn Super glue worked better when two mating surfaces was perfectly flat. while Epoxy works better when the two surfaces are roughed up.