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It's come to my attention that on Dakka and in the wargaming community, there's lots of people who don't like Catachans. They call them stupid Rambos, crapachans, and other names. I just want to ask why? In my opinion, Rambo is awesome in the movies, as was Schwarzenegger, and all the other 80's action heroes that inspired Catachans. Yes, they are a rip-off but can't it be excused for something as awesome as jungle Rambos that get 5+ and 4+ saves because of their flak or carapace abs? Please just list reasons Catachans are hated or are awesome and not just "they're stupid".

I strongly dislike their plastic models. I'm fine with everything else about them.

Rambo and Arnold are awesome because they were both badass, one-man armies.

80 of them just isn't as heroic, or hardcore. Sure, if Catachans had SM statlines, it'd be like "Oh man, they're THAT hardcore without power armour, CATACHAAAAN FO LIFE YO." But as is, they're just ripped guardsmen that look out of place in a warzone.

 TheCaptain wrote:
Sure, if Catachans had SM statlines, it'd be like "Oh man, they're THAT hardcore without power armour, CATACHAAAAN FO LIFE YO."

Doesn't Straken still have a power armor save? lol

The problem is the new plastic ones are hideous.

The old metal ones look pretty good though.

I wish they still had something to make them unique. Otherwise they're no different than your average scrubs, which makes no sense, because these guys are masters of ambush, sneak attacks, and jungle warfare. Maybe if they bring the doctrine thing back or something people can play some proper Catachans someday.

In the meantime, I'm using some UAMC marines from Defiance games to make some catachans who arent taller than spess mehreens

I like the suggestions. Yeah catachans should have their own codex like they used to, but with better stats. They look good in jungle but do look out of place anywhere else, I know what you mean. As for the plastics, I agree, they should be a little more proportionate and detailed.
I get what TheCaptain is saying about the one man army thing.

I'd like them to get their own codex again, but not as horribly nerfed as the last one was.

Didn't know Catachans were taller than space marines. By the way Mr.Moustaffa, I play friendly games all the time with the old catachan dex. Not tourney legal? I know, but if I took em' there they'd lose anyway!


Automatically Appended Next Post:
I don't think GW has a big enough Catachan fanbase for them to make a new dex though.

People hate the models, and to a lesser degree the concept of everyone being rambo.

I've never met someone who didn't like marbo. He's this crazy rambo copy that has crazy stats and does crazy things, like blow himself up. That alone is pretty cool. But when you have a whole army of them, it really loses it's uniqueness.

Most importantly though, stuff like this

By the way, can someone tell me what exactly makes the plastic catachans hideous?

I have no problem with their fluff. An army of Rambos, raised on a world where everything is trying to kill them and plunged into battlefields even worse, is badass. But the miniatures are stupid. And they need rules.

To necroshea, I love that model! One of the classics that got me interested in 40k!


Automatically Appended Next Post:
I know catachans need rules. I know the minis are stupid, but can someone please tell me why the minis are crap?

 Squidmanlolz wrote:

 TheCaptain wrote:
Sure, if Catachans had SM statlines, it'd be like "Oh man, they're THAT hardcore without power armour, CATACHAAAAN FO LIFE YO."

Doesn't Straken still have a power armor save? lol

Which is why Straken is awesome.

Honestly, if GW moved Straken, Marbo, Harker, and threw a couple other new special characters into a new dex with Catachans in it, gave them an upper to their strength, toughness, dropped their save to, well, no save, gave em a stealth upgrade, removed artillery, gave them a new sentinel variant or something, then it'd be pretty playable as a dex. I'm sure there are people who would switch over (or at least ally) just for Marbo.

Their fluff is cool, but they just look so dumb.

If you live on a death world like Catachan, you've going to look like:


Not like:

"What do you mean I'm not sneaky enough? My shirt is camo!"

I love Catachans. Their fluff is fun, the concept is solid enough for 40k, and an army of solid machismo from Planet Rambo is too fun to pass up. However, their standard infantry squad is a lousy, lousy kit. The pieces don't often fit together very well, the proportions are ludicrous, most of the faces are awful, the actual detail isn't so hot, and the options in the kit are limited. However, their heavy weapons team is solid, and I love the Catachan command squad kit. If the infantry kit got redone to a similar standard, I'd be very happy.

ToTheCaptain: It probably would be a good idea to cover up more, especially with all the stinging, biting insects and plants that can kill you in a second. To Brother SRM: I agree exactly with what you said.

 Brother SRM wrote:
I love Catachans. Their fluff is fun, the concept is solid enough for 40k, and an army of solid machismo from Planet Rambo is too fun to pass up. However, their standard infantry squad is a lousy, lousy kit. The pieces don't often fit together very well, the proportions are ludicrous, most of the faces are awful, the actual detail isn't so hot, and the options in the kit are limited. However, their heavy weapons team is solid, and I love the Catachan command squad kit. If the infantry kit got redone to a similar standard, I'd be very happy.

]
Wierd, I thought the heavy weapon sprue was even more hideous than the infantry squad kit. I think both the HWS and the infantry squad kit should be redone to be in line the command squad kit. Get both the other kits in line with the command kit, and they'd look awesome. I'm probably going to buy a couple more of the catachan command kits just because of all the awesome bitz that come in it. Probably my favorite IG kit I've ever bought, and it was the very first one I ever got.

My dream catachan profile- (unrealistic)

Catachan Infantryman- 30pts
Special Rules- Infiltrate, Move Through Cover, Stealth

WS BS S T W I A Ld Sv
4 4 4 4 2 4 2 8 6+*

*successful saves must be rerolled

Catachan would probably count as having camo cloaks automatically, in the fluff they have the ability to literally disappear to both friends and enemies whilst in the jungle

As you can note, most people's problem is with the minis. Their arms are supposed to be big, but not ork enormous. In order to pack on the muscles, they had to make the arms 50% longer with enormous hands. They just look way out of proportion. Also, I've been told that the kit itself is pretty bad, in that the pieces don't all fit together very easily.

That said, I've seen a lot of very good kitbashed catachan before. Probably the best was someone who used the entire catachan kit, except used cadian arms with the shoulderpads shaved off and then painted their uniform in camo. That way it fixed the dumb/difficult to attach arm problem, and also addressed the captain's chief complaint, as they really were mostly head to toe in camoflage.

As for the fluff, I don't think most people hate on catachan for that reason. Yeah, they're a little over the top, but that's not very much to complain about. I don't think I've ever met someone who straight up LOATHED the catachan fluff before.

 Color Sgt. Kell wrote:
By the way, can someone tell me what exactly makes the plastic catachans hideous?

Horrendously overmuscled gorilla arms for me.

Catachans have decent fluff, I suppose, but I don't like the fact that they're running around in undershirts and headbands. They're supposed to come from a planet where everything from the trees to their breakfasts is trying to kill them, isn't running around unarmored kind of contrary to the principle of not being killed?

I suppose it'd be better if more people decided to go with the Rambo references and actually paint them in camouflage body paint, but nobody does.

 Color Sgt. Kell wrote:
My dream catachan profile- (unrealistic)

Catachan Infantryman- 30pts
Special Rules- Infiltrate, Move Through Cover, Stealth

WS BS S T W I A Ld Sv
4 4 4 4 2 4 2 8 6+*

*successful saves must be rerolled

I don't see them being exceptional marksmen. Surviving in a death jungle would have more to do with a quick knife and quick reflexes. This is more along what I would see them as


Catachan Infantryman- 15 pts
Special Rules- Infiltrate, Move Through Cover, Death World Survivalist, Poisoned Blades (5+)

Death World Survivalist - Hailing from a home that constantly tries to kill them, catachan soldiers learn not only to expect danger from enemy combatants, but also from the environment itself. This model automatically passes all dangerous terrain tests.

Wargear
Compact lasgun (12", Assault 2, Pistol)
Close Combat Weapon
Camo Cloaks

WS - 4
BS - 3
S - 3
T - 4
W - 1
I - 4
A - 2
Ld - 7
Sv - -

 snooggums wrote:

 Color Sgt. Kell wrote:
By the way, can someone tell me what exactly makes the plastic catachans hideous?

Horrendously overmuscled gorilla arms for me.

Pretty much that. Other than that, they're passable, and the command squad and heavy weapon models are much better. But the regular squaddies' arms are just ridiculous. Not just huge, but the muscles are too over-done. They're like giant hams instead of muscly arms.

 TheCaptain wrote:

 Squidmanlolz wrote:

 TheCaptain wrote:
Sure, if Catachans had SM statlines, it'd be like "Oh man, they're THAT hardcore without power armour, CATACHAAAAN FO LIFE YO."

Doesn't Straken still have a power armor save? lol

Which is why Straken is awesome.

Honestly, if GW moved Straken, Marbo, Harker, and threw a couple other new special characters into a new dex with Catachans in it, gave them an upper to their strength, toughness, dropped their save to, well, no save, gave em a stealth upgrade, removed artillery, gave them a new sentinel variant or something, then it'd be pretty playable as a dex. I'm sure there are people who would switch over (or at least ally) just for Marbo.

Their fluff is cool, but they just look so dumb.

If you live on a death world like Catachan, you've going to look like:


Not like:

"What do you mean I'm not sneaky enough? My shirt is camo!"

Someone else just mentioned that there isn't a big enough fan base for Catachans for GW to make them a codex, but I could possibly work on it if I could find someone who's interested. I started group of people to work on player written codexes for armies that don't exist in the table top. You can send me a message if you want to work on it.

AnomanderRake wrote:They're supposed to come from a planet where everything from the trees to their breakfasts is trying to kill them, isn't running around unarmored kind of contrary to the principle of not being killed?

Yes, but it doesn't actually bother me that much. I mean, most things in a real jungle are prey to something else. If camoflage were the only thing that was important, we wouldn't have jungles full of...



I mean, friggin everything in a real, dangerous jungle environment is as brightly colored and as loud as it possibly can be. Clearly going un-noticed isn't the prime requirement for survival in a jungle.

Furthermore, survival isn't the only name of the game. For example, peacocks have large plumage as a result of the Handicap Principle. In the case of catachans, it's not a matter of who can survive the best with the best gear, it's a matter of who can survive the best with the worst gear.

Also, it serves to prove the point that Catachans can fight off their environment rather than hide from it

 Color Sgt. Kell wrote:
My dream catachan profile- (unrealistic)

Catachan Infantryman- 30pts
Special Rules- Infiltrate, Move Through Cover, Stealth

WS BS S T W I A Ld Sv
4 4 4 4 2 4 2 8 6+*

*successful saves must be rerolled

ಠ_ಠ

They're are humans, strong human, but human nonetheless.

 AnomanderRake wrote:
I suppose it'd be better if more people decided to go with the Rambo references and actually paint them in camouflage body paint, but nobody does.

Hmm...how about this? Granted I didn't get the camo body paint...I'm actually thinking of caking on some mud!

I think it's difficult for Catachans to work while remaining at a human statline.

To be fair the plastic catachans are some of the oldest unchanged basic troops still in production, and are desperatly in need of a update.

I have bought and modified my fair share of these minis, and hate the headbands and nid beater shirts...but meh it is a old design..look at the orcs that GW made at that time too...



so ..yeah hate the minis, dont mind the fluff..would be nice to see them gets some nice FW stuff, boonies and slouch caps with rolled up sleeves would be much more welcome, then the roid freeks