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 General Kroll wrote:

And excuse me for asking, but what's the difference between counts as and proxy.

These terms get tossed about quite a bit, but to get specific, a "Proxy" is any miniature used in place of the official miniature produced.

Proxy is further divided into:

-"Alternate Models". Models specifically converted or designed to very closely resemble the subject matter in size, race, armament, etc. An example of IG Alternate Models would be Shockforce Troopers or VIctoria minis troopers.

-"Counts as". Models that are different in size or race or armament to the original. An example for IG counts-as could be ww2 troopers, squats, SW Rebels, etc. If properly converted and representing the subject matter accurately a counts-as figure could be advanced to an "Alternate model" with weapon swaps, etc.

Counts-as is a pretty wide term and it;s acceptability in a game is generally dependent upon things such as what was listed earlier.

Are the heights the same or nearly the same?
Are the bases the same or nearly the same?
Are the weapons WYSIWYG or at LEAST universally the same on all models ?
Is each model type distinct?

Note that this mostly applies to sci-fi fantasy games with their own miniatures lines. Historical games don't really have "Alternate models" because you can use any model that represents the subject matter. They do have Proxy models though as many times a given gamer will have to use his historical figures to represent a slightly different unit, era, theater, nationality, etc. The acceptability of such is usually based on how similar they are to the actual troops at a given battle.