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So I just got done with my 1500 point army, and I went in to buy some more foam to pack it in and I heard that they're going to be escalating to 1850 soon. As such, I've got to once again find the shortest route to a higher points value without sacrificing too much on effectiveness. As such, one of the things I'm thinking of adding is guardsman Marbo.
So I run a semi-arid-themed army, and so my first idea was to make him a guy that burrows in the sand and then pops up from his trapdoor position like the fedaykin in the ~2002 sci-fi version of Dune. The problem, though, is that this seems overdone, and I want some thing different.
My first thought was to have a Foleran Espionage Corps. I'd work the model up with a trench coat and a fedora, and have him holding onto a briefcase (his demo charge). You know, a more realistic version of these guys:
But the problem is matching the fluff to the rules. The rules say that he just appears out of nowhere. This means that he was there the entire time, and just nobody noticed him before he chucked a demo charge. One way would be to make him hidden (say, under a trap door, or using a cloak of invisibility), but the more loltastic way would be to make it so that he was there the whole time, but nobody thought that he could have been a spy.
For example. I model a guy in shorts and a hawaiian shirt with a backpack, and pointing with one arm and holding one of his shoes up to his ear (as a secret radio), antenna sticking out of the toe and all. The fluff would be something like this:
"The Tau commander turned. His eye twitched. It was only too apparent to him now - the man behind him wasn't, in fact, the cadre's barrista, he was A SPY!"
Or as a generic civilian:
"The traitorous captain turned around, eye twitching. The man behind him wasn't in fact, the company accountant, he was A SPY!"
Or as a dude with a sombrero and a pair of maraccas (the demo charge):
"The warboss turned and grunted. The man behind him was not, in fact, part of the mariachi band, he was A SPY!"
Anyways, I've had lots of these ideas scroll through my head, but there's something that's always gnawing at me. These wouldn't look like models that belong in the 40k universe. I'd want SOMETHING that would imply that they're agents of the imerium.
So I'd like to hear your ideas about how to do a counts-as Marbo - not as another Rambo knock-off, but still someone who clearly looks like they should be a part of the imperial guard, except that they can appear unnoticed anywhere on the board.
The problem with every other conversion I've seen is that every other conversion is sticking with the theme OMG-I-AM-SO-BADASS-I-CAN'T-BELIEVE-HOW-BADASS-I-AM!!!!!!
It's been done. I'm looking for something different.
No, there are some that are non-catachan and pretty "spy" looking, or at the least like a special ops trooper or something.. either way, he's fun and charecterful
whenever they discribe spys in B.L books there always wearing body gloves. so how about useing the body of the old vindicare with a weapon and head swop ?
CURNOW wrote:whenever they discribe spys in B.L books there always wearing body gloves. so how about useing the body of the old vindicare with a weapon and head swop ?
See, that fits into the badass super-killer motif which I'm trying to avoid...
Camkhieri: "And another very cool thing, my phones predictive text actually gave me chicken as an option after typing robot, how cool is that."'
Meercat: "All eyes turned to the horizon and beheld, in lonely and menacing grandeur, the silhouette of a single Grot robot chicken; a portent of evil days to come."
From 'The Plucking of Gindoo Phlem'
CommissarKhaine wrote:Make a regular model, but paint him like statue
"Strange, I don't remember a statue here.." KABOOM
Now THIS is a good idea!
Paint him with grey clothing and put grey facepaint on him, but still have like the lips, ears and eyes look normal.
Actually, it sort of reminds me of the Ork kommandoz. I could have it be a regular imperial guardsman except he's holding onto a shrub or a cardboard cutout of a rock.
CommissarKhaine wrote:Alternatively, make him look horribly wounded, lying somewhere; claim it's make-up effects
"Oh, oh, I'm wounded! JK GG! BOOM!"
CrashUSAR wrote:I second the notion for a TF:2 Spy.
Ah, see, I was originally assuming a 1940's spy with a trenchcoat, like a gestapo agent. I hadn't thought of doing a 1970's spy with blue, pin striped business suit.
"Hey, wait! That's not Eurotrash, that's a spy!"
bellbottoms a must. The hard part would make him look imperial.
---
Oh man, I just relised I missed an obvious one: ninja. Not a super-cool high tech killing machine based on a vindicare model, but more like tallarn model except painted black. I wonder if that would be just a little too cheesy though.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2010/05/14 22:50:27
He wouldn't look Imperial, he's the spy.
He goes unnoticed among the enemy wreaking havoc and mayhem as he chooses.
Just make sure that if you do model him as a TF:2 spy, when you first announce his prescence to your opponent, that you say (in a pseudo-French accent) "Gentlemen..."
S_P
Fafnir wrote:What part of "giant armoured ork suppository" do you not understand?
Balance wrote:Nothing wrong with feathers. Now, the whole chicken, that's kinky.
Yeah, I suppose the problem that I'm having is making the distinction between a commando, a spy, and a saboteur.
I'm basically ruling commando out, due to how much he would probably look like rambo when he's done. I guess the question should be if he should be more of a spy (hunched over and looking through binoculars with a radio, or pretending to be a birdwatcher) or if it should be more of a saboteur (dude with a detonator in his hand and either a beret with an aquilla on it or more like the business suit idea with a pistol with a purity seal on it).
I suppose another matrix is if he should look like he's infiltrating from without or if he's just making his presence known from within, and if it's vital that his identity be kept a secret at all times, or if he flaunts his secret identity knowing he will get away with it, like James Bond.
---
or what if it's not an implant at all? What if the saboteur is always just a member of the local resistance movement who is put to use by the liberating army?
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or what about a pizza delivery guy? The guy delivers the "pizza" and then quick runs away and detonates it.
Marbo: "Anybody here order a pizza?"
CSM: "PIZZA FOR THE PIZZA GOD!!!"
CSM Sarge: "Shut up Kazar the Destroyer, I'll take care of this."
Marbo: "I got a pizza here, hot and fresh, with extra sausage."
CSM "SAUSAGE FOR THE SAUSAGE GOD!!!"
CSM Sarge: *facepalm* "Look, I'll just take that here."
Nobody could resist a fresh pizza, even in the middle of battle. The best part is the conversion is basically just a normal guardsman holding a pizza box.
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2010/05/15 00:26:17
Give him experimental hi-tech electronic camouflage, (secretly developed on Mars after the Imperium captured a Tau Stealth suit). Modelwise, he's next to a small wall (or other background) and his hi-tech suit has changed colours to match the background - from the right angle, he's almost invisible. I've seen a few Tau stealth suits painted this way and it can look great.
Ailaros wrote:or what about a pizza delivery guy? The guy delivers the "pizza" and then quick runs away and detonates it.
Marbo: "Anybody here order a pizza?"
CSM: "PIZZA FOR THE PIZZA GOD!!!"
CSM Sarge: "Shut up Kazar the Destroyer, I'll take care of this."
Marbo: "I got a pizza here, hot and fresh, with extra sausage."
CSM "SAUSAGE FOR THE SAUSAGE GOD!!!"
CSM Sarge: *facepalm* "Look, I'll just take that here."
Nobody could resist a fresh pizza, even in the middle of battle. The best part is the conversion is basically just a normal guardsman holding a pizza box.
I have never heard of a better idea in my entire life.
Do this. It will be awesome.
I have 2000 points of , called the Crimson Leaves.
I will soon be starting WoC, devoted to I have 500 points of , in blueberry and ice cream (light grey and light blue) flavour. From the fictional world Darkheim.
DarkHound wrote:Stop it you. Core has changed. It's no longer about nations, ideologies or ethnicity. It's an endless series of proxy battles, fought by mercenaries and machines. Core, and its consumption of life, has become a well-oiled machine. Core has changed. ID tagged soldiers carry ID tagged weapons, use ID tagged gear. Nanomachines inside their bodies enhance and regulate their abilities. Genetic control. Information control. Emotion control. Battlefield control. Everything is monitored, and kept under control. Core has changed. The age of deterrence has become the age of control. All in the name of averting catastrophe from weapons of mass destruction. And he who controls the battlefield, controls history. Core has changed. When the battlefield is under total control, war... becomes routine.
Lol. "The chaos lord turned and twitched. "Nigel the BBC reporter" was not actually working for the BBC... he was A SPY!"
Man.... Those last chancers; they were an impulse buy at the time, but they've been priceless in terms of their ability to become a character, or any other unit, with a little bit of clipping and greenstuff.
but back OT I've always enjoyed the use of one of my opponents models as a callidus assassin (because that's what the're supposed to look like right?); but I feel like Marbo is supposed to do as Rambo, IE look like a small legged, HGH pumped, italian american, who somehow manages to know exactly what his opponent is going to do next, and hence be able to work around their precautions and "appear out of nowhere" (rather than trick them into thinking he is someone else).
In reference to Rambo IV, I think you should convert a 'boatman' model; make sure he has a bow and is punching a small burmese man's head off.
Or you couold base him on the guy from Metal gear Solid or Syphon Filter. They're spies, they're saboteurs, they're not totally pumped on steroids, and are actually quite cool looking. You coould look into a hight tech helm and a black bodyglove or something like that.
There are no stupid questions, just stupid people.
http://dawulffden.blogspot.com/
Da Wulff Den
hey champ not sure it will help but I've seen guys who just used to direct model, boring i know. I made mine in the EXACT pose he is in the codex but I plan on making another for gaks and giggles. Have a catachan model, crouched down, holding a leaf in front of his face. He was hiding haha
Just putting it out there. hope to see the actual model when its done.
, called the Crimson Leaves.
, in blueberry and ice cream (light grey and light blue) flavour. From the fictional world Darkheim.
Kreig - 2850 pts
Skaven - 3450 pts
