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Man this sucks it is so badly designed. Really it comes with a power fist and no other option for the sergeant. That suck I don't need those extra +25 points! also mine is going to be a ten man squad so how is that going to work. I cant have to sergeants with power fists for on squad. Do I have to buy three packages of stern guard to replace the extra sergeant. WTF is this crap!

Incase you didn't know, and didn't look around before hand. Most people don't actually use the sternguard boxes to make their wysiwyg stern guard. They usually fashion them out of tac squads, and combi meltas that are made with a melta bit and a bolter, as well as the boxed magazine. If you have the money to do all sternguard boxes then go for it. But don't be afraid to mix in some of your other C:SM bits to get what you want.

http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?catId=cat440277a&prodId=prod1710018a

use those with some plastic guys,or some forgeworld legion armours perhaps.. they would stand out and look old...
the command squad box comes with the crux terminus pads in plastic I think.

It's not like he HAS to be a Sternguard VSGT...the model is always usable. And a commander box and a tac squad can make you a Sternguard squad.

Sternguard are just tactical marines with extra kit. If you want to be accurate, they should have a crux terminus somewhere. But this could just be painted on the shoulder. The command squad box has some nice looking sculpted ones.

If you want to field them heavy on the combi weapons, there are a number of options. Commander boxes, the upgrade kit, kit bashing, or 3rd party manufacturers.

If you just want bolters, it's a lot easier. Many chapters have upgrade sprues or special bits, this is a great place to use them. If you play Ultramarines, the tyrannic war vets is a good box to get some special looking guys for your squad.

DIY man, Crux shoulder pads from Ebay

Blood Angels Sternguard that I kitbashed from regular tac marines and death company

Just an example. You can do it easily without buying the sternguard box. If you want the models in the box, pick it up, if overall you aren't satisfied just make your own, as others have stated.

That blood angel with the wing on his shoulder is awesome

Like already mentioned, you can use a normal tac box and then just add stuff. The Terminatus Crux is a good way to differentiate your sternguard from normal marines, but just use what appeals to you and/or what is cheap to buy.

I equipped my sternguard marines with krak and frag grenades.
Along with combat knives, these are the most cheapest items you can get from a bitz shop.

You can build the combo weapons easily out of the mass of bolters you surely have and some meltas or plasmapistols.
Special Weapons can be a bit expansive if you buy them from a bitzshop but GW also sells a melta gun box.
Also there are a lot of conversion tutorials to help you.
I also added scopes but most bitzshops in my area don't have them in stock or they are way to expansive.

For their heads i used the SM biker helmets. The small antenna let them look more "tacticool".
My sergeant got a devestator sgt helmet and backpack (i sawed the signum off).

Most expansive and hardest to obtain is Mk 8 Power Armour.
Questionable if a collar is worth the effort and prize, but i added them nonetheless....

Lyell wrote:

Most expansive and hardest to obtain is Mk 8 Power Armour.
Questionable if a collar is worth the effort and prize, but i added them nonetheless....

Oh but those Mk. 8's look awesome, good on you for finding all you needed

most of my sternguard marines come out of my tactical units. The difference is I use CSM parts to enhance them. CSM arms are much bulkier and when painted stand out against the regular line marines. I've used all Mk8 chest armor on them for one squad, and all beaky marines for another squad. Other changes include the use of plasticard or de-chaosified CSM rimmed pauldrons for fancier armor. I've taken only some non-chaotic looking helmets from the CSM that look reasonably "veteran". Some of them came off the champion sprue. I know Mr. 3-eyed-1-horn is a great helmet to use in SM devastator squads, but it'd also be a decent veteran. The SM devastator helmet with the bionic eye is also a good veteran helmet.
Other ways of making the veterans stand out and more obvious is to make them the only ones in your army with purity seals (or with obviously more of them), or with different set of colors for their chapter insignia/pauldron rims (ie, to indicate they're first company veterans).

I often find the crux terminatus dohickeys are useless. In this case you can shave down the back so it's a thinner object, and shave down the insignia on the bolter, and place the crux icon onto it instead.

Still further ways of fancifying your veterans is to hunt down the CSM OR SM bolters from 3rd edition. They look darn good, and not even obviously CSM-looking, and the extra ornamentation makes them stand out from the regular bolters....

essentially, what you chose to do is up to you, but there's a lot that can be done to make them fancy.

If I were to use Sternguard, I'd probably just smash some Grey Knight heads and weapons onto some normal Tac Marines, add Blood Angels shoulder pads, and tada! STERNGUARD!

For my planned sternguard, I'm just using normal armor and spiffing them up a bit. Capes, special heads and shoulder pads, etc.

Also, Anvil Industry makes amazing combi-weapons, with addable magnets for swapping each version of the weapon out. You should check them out if you end up making your own, since they can be "normal" bolters with the grenade launcher attachment.

 forrestfire wrote:

Also, Anvil Industry makes amazing combi-weapons, with addable magnets for swapping each version of the weapon out. You should check them out.

^This! they are really very good - you can also get some great conversion parts from Anvil to make the squad extra unique.

And as Poda mentioned CSM parts can be easily altered to make excellent ornate armour.

The same can be said for CSM bolters etc...

If you can get a hold of the acessories sprue for the current GK PA or Terminator squad that will give you some excellent veteran bling as well.

 BrotherOfBone wrote:
If I were to use Sternguard, I'd probably just smash some Grey Knight heads and weapons onto some normal Tac Marines, add Blood Angels shoulder pads, and tada! STERNGUARD!

the grey knights kit isn't actually a half-bad idea. On that same token, the sanguine marines or whatever ya-ma-whos-its have wrist-mounted weapons too no? or at least the hand-weapons that can be used to represent combi-weapons. I forgot about those...