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Allright, I'll start this off by saying that I have too many armies. I get bored with armies quite regularly, so I now own (ranked by how much I play/own of each) IG/BA/SM/CSM/Tau/Ork armies. This is starting to take up quite a lot of room. I don't want to start up an entire new army, or expand any other than IG/BA/Orks, but I would love to make my space marines into one chapter that can play as all SM codexes, as that should probably be enough to stop me from continously buying new armies.

As I already own a large force of blood angels, and I like the red look/painting red, I would like to make this chapter red. I also like the BA figures, so I don't want to shave off too many blood drops etc.

Now, my question is: How can I make a force that will look far enough from BA's to be acceptable as several other chapters too?

My initial idea would be to go for a heavy greek theme. The BA's are already greek-ish, with stylished armour, death masks etc. The jump to a normal SM army is not too big either, as most of them are close to roman (which again is close to greek). Getting the force to fit as a SW army is a bigger jump. My initial idea would be to add on a lion theme instead of a wolf theme. So thunderwolf cavalry would ride huge lions f.ex, and some marines would have lion-pelts etc. For dark angels, the angel theme is already there, and as it is painted now, it's already kind of a "fallen angel" theme, (all angel wings are painted black, armour is dark red etc - think astorath) so I don't think that is too far of a push, but we will have to see when they get a new codex. Same for the BT's, hard to say what direction they will head in with an eventual new codex, but they will probably be about close combat and crusading. Not sure how to incorporate this, close combat is already in, and you have the "repenting" feel with Death company bits, with parchment, ropes, chains etc, so at the moment it seems good enough for me.

So initial ideas:
- Spartan helmets - crest should be colour-coded like BA helmets.
- BA stylished armour - red
- Some lion pelts
- Spartan storm shields
- Maybe some spartan spears

I am a bit worried that there may be too many themes mixed in here: Spartan + lion + angels + blood + DC bits, and that it may still look too blood angel-ish

So I'm looking for input from the gaming community. Would you object to playing against such an army if it was f.ex. using space wolf rules? I'm mainly thinking about in tournaments, as my friends would probably not object to me just playing BA's as everything (but that doesn't feel right). I'm also very open to other ideas on how this can be pulled off without looking like you're just jumping on the bandwagon (I have played both BA and IG since their 3rd ed codexes )

Do you play Space Marines? If so, you look like a bandwagoner.

Sorry, it can't be avoided.

Want to look like you're not a bandwagoner? Start an Eldar army.

Well, I don't care about the space marine haters, space marines are cool, and I have enough of the lesser races to make up for my space marines . What I am wondering, is if normal gamers would take offense to somebody using one marine army as most/all marine armies, and how it can be pulled off.

I know I would take offense if someone just used their Blood Angels as all space marine armies without any effort to make them fit, but I would not take issue with a space marine army that had made a good effort to represent several different chapters.

I'll add some pictures to better illustrate my idea:


- Marines would look something like this, but painted red, and with blood angel figures used as base


- Thunderwolf cavalry would feature something like this, but of course with a marine on top

Good idea? To busy?

Are you asking from a rules standpoint, or a fluff standpoint?

Not sure I understand your question. More a social conventions question maybe?

Would you take offense if my red, spartan, lion marines (name pending) played as blood angels when you meet me in one tournament, as normal space marines the next and then as space wolves in the next tournament you meet me in?

That's the point. "Take offense" can mean two different things. I'll just go ahead and answer both meanings.

Is it within the rules? Yes.

Is it in keeping with 40k fluff? No. Do I care? No.

That help?

Would the army be cool?? Yes

Would you look like a bandwagoner?? Yes

Would I care?? No

I think you should do it, its more trouble than most people go to when using multiple codecii.

I wouldn't mind what marines you played them as, so long as they were WYSIWYG. Or even as close to WYSIWYG as possible. You're going above and beyond what I'd expect.

Then again, I'm a marine player and hoping to do the same myself. I wouldn't do it for competitiveness though, I don't do tournies. I'm just thinking down the road I may enjoy the fluff of playing a DA or BT army.

I'd personally just choose to ignore the opinion of anyone crying "Bandwagoner".

Personally i would not care as long as you have the codex for the SM chapter you are playing as.

I agree, as long as it's wysiwyg for whichever codex you're using that game you should be good. I can't believe that every SW founded chapter has managed to find a planet that has giant wolves as a native species. Or that every BA founded chapter has to have red on its armor. There are IIRC a thousand chapters out there in the official GW universe surely there's room for your chapter(s) in there somewhere.

To be honest it sounds like a great idea especially if you pull it off.

Here is a pic of a spartan space marine

Bandwagoner! Actually I think your idea especially in the images is a pretty awesome concept I've wondered about myself. My friend's army has kind of a medieval feel to it with certain bits from 40k fantasy he just added to vanilla SM for fluff while the weapons, units etc in his army all stay true to the vanilla SM codex. It really makes things look a lot more awesome and unique.

I'd say not too put too much in at once and just put little bits of each codex in, leaving more to the imagination.

That is one awesome Spartan!!

To the OP - I had the same issue. I didnt even try to come up with my own paint scheme to fix it though. I have a huge Ultras army.

What I did was paint the key leaders from other armies as Ultramarines. I justify it just as its explained in the Codex - My Ultras army has characters with similar abilities. Its allowed me to continue to stay focused on smurfs but adds TONS of list flexibility.

SaintHazard wrote:Want to look like you're not a bandwagoner? Start an Eldar army.

Better yet - a Dark Eldar army. They haven't had a new Codex since... oh...


...


Start a Tau army. They're horrible. Then, when they get a new Codex in the next 6-18 months, you'll have been there before everyone jumped on the blue-skinned bandwagon.

I thought about doing this too. My idea was to call my chapter The Blood Hunters, and use an Icon like a wolf head with blood dripping from its mouth (the is a similar icon in the space wolf codex).

I figured that army could easily pass for SW or BA. Codex SM should be fine too... I dunno so much about DA, they've never been high on my 'to play' list. But I guess you could always say they are 'hunting' for the 'blood' or the fallen. BT might take a bit more creativity...

I have a friend that is actually working on a SM color scheme that could do just that and function for all the usual marine chapters without too much of a stretch.

Without showing a picture his standard marine was painted in Codex Grey which fits the pre-heresy/13th Company Space Wolf color scheme. It then had a white Templar Cross on the shoulder pads to work for the Black Templars, but the pads themselves were painted in red to signify a Blood Angels successor chapter. For his elite and veteran units, he used the Dark Angel marines with the robes painted in that Vanila-Bleach Bone color to give the army somewhat of a Dark Angel feel to it. (They actually look pretty sweet when they're all painted up.)

That's pretty much it, but they could pretty easily be used for just about any codex that he sees fit to use them as.

How to make a chapter that can pass as BA/SW/SM/BT/DA without looking like a bandwagoner?

A: Impossible

Sorry, the only way you can avoid looking like a bandwagoner is to play the worst, most out-of-date army you can find. Only then can you escape the wrath of the angry wargamers.

razcalking wrote:Sorry, the only way you can avoid looking like a bandwagoner is to play the worst, most out-of-date army you can find. Only then can you escape the wrath of the angry wargamers.

That was awesome.

Indeed. Middle-Child Syndrome is ruining this hobby.

Models are expensive. Use your marines how ever you see fit and don't worry about it