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So I'm being sold on this war-machine game and I'd like to try. But I have a ton of money invested in my 40k stuff. What are the thoughts on using 40k models to ease up the cost of buying warmachine stuff. I don't want to replace it all cause I do want to get some of the warmachine miniatures I really like, but it would be nice to replace some units with stuff I already own.

I have IG, SM, chaosSM, orcs and eldar

I like Khador and cygnar so far .

Thoughts advice criticisms rants etc etc ??

It really depends on your meta and opponents. Tournaments could be difficult, but apart from that, if you are just playing with mates, pop them on the right sized bases and go nuts

If you are playing at a store, it will probably be more of a problem

40k models have a greatly different style to WM models, so I don't know how far adjustments are going to work.

A few times to try out the game with some like minded friends? I doubt you'd have any problems.

But if you are talking about permanently replacing WMH models with 40k models? You will have allot of people that will flat out refuse to play you and tournament play is straight out the window.

I never do tournament stuff, so I'm good on that. And I realize that war casters are probably not gonna fly. But have you ever seen stuff like ig being used as wintersoldiers or cygnar rifleman?

 rayphoton wrote:
I never do tournament stuff, so I'm good on that. And I realize that war casters are probably not gonna fly. But have you ever seen stuff like ig being used as wintersoldiers or cygnar rifleman?

I've more seen dark elves and eldar used as Retribution. I've also seen a pretty nifty Necron to Cryx conversion, but they seem to be few and far between.

In terms of using them as counts as? So long as your opponent doesn't mind, you should be fine. Just make sure you find away to make the base sizes the same or equivalent to the Warmachine model you're trying to replace. That has a large impact.

so the bases are significantly different then?

Ill have to go through all the pictures and see what I can make translate over

Rules wise I know the unit stats come with each miniature via a card. I don't suppose those are freely available or do you have to purchase them?

 rayphoton wrote:
so the bases are significantly different then?

Ill have to go through all the pictures and see what I can make translate over

Rules wise I know the unit stats come with each miniature via a card. I don't suppose those are freely available or do you have to purchase them?

The base size difference will probably not look radically different to 40k player, but it is significant. Positioning, distances and exactly what space a model is taking up are all very important in Warmachine, to an extent that has no adequate analogue in 40k. Even in the most casual & friendly of games, using different sized bases would probably not fly with anyone.

As for base sizes, the only base size Warmachine really shares with 40k is the 40mm Terminator bases which are "Medium" in WM/H parlance.

You cannot freely get the cards and you must purchase them separately if you don't buy the model. They do sell large "Faction Deck" card collections that were orginally meant for the 1st->2nd edition transition, but would be suitable for someone doing a lot of proxying.

Assuming your group gives you the go-ahead on this, expect headaches. Model recognition is an important WM/H skill and until they adjust to learning your proxies, it will be a very stop-and-start inelegant game.

While not ideal, if your friends are on board with it, and you're not looking for event/tournament games, it could work just for having a bit of fun and learning the game.

Firstly, you'll need the cards. If you have an apple or android phone, you can get War Room, pp's digital card app. It gives you a selection of starter cards for free, and you can buy the complete cards of any faction for $6. It's a great card reference for price.

Next, models and base size. Yes, 40k bases don't quite match up, which is far from ideal, however if you just use the 25mm base for small bases, 40mm base for medium and the 60mm monster/dreadnought base for large bases, it'll be close enough to work. As you have space marines and IG, I'd recommend starting with Khador. Use a couple of dreadnoughts as your heavy jacks (if you can arm them appropriately), IG infantry as winterguard, and Terminators as Man-O-War models (heavy infantry).

A couple of dreads (one with a cannon/ml) and a commander (preferably female) with a long weapon (scythe or halberd) could easily fill in for a battlebox starter, and adding a unit of 5 terminators with shields as MOW shocktroopers would make it the equivilant of the two player battlebox.

Now, all that said you will run in to problems as you expand, or playing against people outside your friends. Warmachine models have to look pretty precise, as there are often other similar model/units with vastly different rules, that are only told apart by their details, so people like to be able to tell which unit is which at a glance. Base size also becomes a bigger factor in larger sized games, and half an inch here and there adds up. Really though, give the game a whirl with proxies for a while, and then decide if it's for you. By the time you've had a few games (battle box vs battlebox), you'll be in a better position to understand the pros and cons of using all proxies, and can decide how to proceed from there

Not quite what you are suggesting (I don't think), but I have run demo games with my 40k playing friends where I used 40k models to represent various Warmachine pieces. It's a great way to get people interested in the game.

When I switched I was thinking about the same thing. I played a couple early games to just kind of learn the rules and that kind of worked.

But bases size is off, the aesthetics is quite a bit different. And I frankly just prefer the PP sculpts in general to 40K ones.

In the end I pretty much gave up on it.

But there are some models from 40K and other ranges that would work, especially with some conversion. I have a couple reaper models as solos and such. My brother has a couple rackham models that work well. And I've seen people use some Malifuax stuff as well.

For base references, PP uses four sizes and only four sizes and a lot of the game is based around those and how they relate to one another:
Small: 30mm
Medium: 40mm
Large: 50mm
Huge: 120mm

They are all circular and usually have that beveled thing, but hte bevel itself isn't required. The main thing of import is the footprint.

And stuff.

I might just go ahead and buy the app for the cards. 6 dollars is a bargain compared to 50 or so for a codex.

I might also go ahead and but a bunch of warmachine bases and a host of magnets to let me swap....or...just use warmachine bases instead of gw ones and tell my 40k folks there extra fancy bases.

You all have any recommendations for where to get the right size bases for a good price?

Thanks for all the insight so far fellow dakker's

Welcome aboard rayphoton.

Many people have followed the path you are taking. Most proxied a few games with 40k minis to get a feel for things before buying a battlebox. Some have even tried to make rules for 40k armies in warmachine but no one has followed through on that completely. It can be difficult picking up a new game when you have so much invested in your main game but you are able to play both and split your hobby time and money as you need. You can start slow in warmachine and expand slowly as you become more familiar with the rules.

I am a veteran player who recently got the war room app for myself and I am inclined to agree with you on the price being better than a book. It is a better price than the physical cards too. Don't forget to consider the mercenary deck if you get into Cygnar or Khador. Merc. solos are very strong.

Malifaux and Warmachine use the same bases so you can easily get base sets in different counts for about the same price per base.

Just google 30mm bases.

I got a bag of 100 for about $10 at PAX Prime last year. But otherwise it tend to be $3-4 for 10-12 bases bases on places like amazon. 40 and 50mm bases start getting more expensive.

There was also someone at Adepticon a few years ago that was selling laser cut MDF board bases in various sizes, but I haven't been able to find them online. Those were cheap as he was literally selling them in Chinese take out containers.

Anyways, check around. But, IMO, play a few games before you start buying tons of bases. You want to make sure you like the game and you might decide that you just want to by the PP figs anyways if you want to play people other than your immediate friends.

 rayphoton wrote:
I might just go ahead and buy the app for the cards. 6 dollars is a bargain compared to 50 or so for a codex.

I might also go ahead and but a bunch of warmachine bases and a host of magnets to let me swap....or...just use warmachine bases instead of gw ones and tell my 40k folks there extra fancy bases.

You all have any recommendations for where to get the right size bases for a good price?

Thanks for all the insight so far fellow dakker's

The Warstore sells packs of spare Warmachine bases at the price of $3.99 for the various sizes. You get 12 small bases in a blister($3.99), 8 medium bases/blister, or 5 large bases in a blister. That's probably your best bet, unless you can find an online store that sells them cheaper.

For around $50, you can get the entire line of available cards on War Room. It's updated with FAQ info when it becomes available, has a rules reference built in and when you play games you can track the damage on your virtual cards. Also when you buy the "complete collection" on War Room you're grandfathered in to any future factions that are introduced into the game.

Regarding the use of 40K minis. If you're going to buy bases, you can simply proxy by using by putting your 40k minis on them with a tacky tape/wax so you can pull them off later. Warmachine checks line of sight by measuring from any part of one base to the target's base and has a "height volume" so a 30mm based model has a standard "Height" of 1.25" (I think). EVERYTHING is based on the base so if you have some available and no one minds, it's quite viable.

I've been a Press Ganger for coming up on 11 years for Privateer. So, admittedly I'm a bit biased about the game, but I enjoy it greatly. I also play 40K. The worst thing you can do is try to compare them. They use mini's, terrain and dice to play. Other than that, they play VERY differently and trying to get them to compare will only frustrate you.

If you have any questions about game play, factions or other things related to the game, feel free to PM me and I'll do what I can to help you out.

press ganger?

My conversion idea was to use some trenchcoated IG as winter soldiers and mod some chaos wariors to be iron pikman or close to that.

I suppose ill have to figure out which units are good.

oi was thinking' around 35pointswith Sorcha cause i have her miniature already

Humorously enough i use widow makers as SM sniper scouts.

Pressgangers are Privateers volunteer salesmen.

what a clever and somewhat insidious name....

 rayphoton wrote:
press ganger?

Approved PP volunteers that help to give demo games, organize tournaments, perform community cooridnation manage play tests of beta rules. A "Press Ganger" would be a member of the local gaming community who meets some prerequisites and sends in an application to privateer press. If approved they're given PG status, special forum access on the official PP forums. Once in a while they get product rewards from the company.

PPs community organizers are pretty good generally, and the press ganger program has been part of what's made them very successful, along with the rest of it's tournament/event support.

As for starting off, 35pts is a good level to aim for, but I still recommend starting small, at battlebox levels. The games aren't super balanced at that level (they even out at around 35pts+) but they're a great way to learn the basics about using your battlegroup and warcaster.

It's just for fun. What kind of friend would want to limit a new player's fun by telling you, "No, spend more money or you can't have fun!" Eventually you'll probably buy the models anyway.