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I'm shuffling my Dark Angels list around a bit and I feel like a small unit of Broadsides might make for good allies (IG is the other option, but I don't need any help there... I just don't really want to paint another 50 or so models right now.) The problem is I don't entirely care for the look of Tau models, and fluff-wise mixing Tau and DA leaves me unhappy. Counts-as is a nice solution to the problem, but I'm not entirely sure how to pull it off. I think some double-missile launcher Dreadnoughts would make quite reasonable alternate models for Broadsides as they're a similar size, type of unit, and armament. The problem is that if you see a Dreadnought sitting on the table surrounded by a bunch of Space Marines, you tend to assume that it's a Dreadnought rather than a Broadside... kinda hard to get around that.

I was hoping someone might have a clever idea of how to alter the models to make it fairly obvious that the models are *not* standard Dreadnoughts, without completely destroying the SM/DA aesthetic. Some sort of jump pack and an elaborate targeting system may be enough to get the point across, but I'm not sure where I would find the bits for a jump pack and I doubt I have the modeling chops required to scratch build one.

Maybe try and trim down the armour a bit? Make it look less like a vehicle and more like a piloted suit? Broadsides don't have jetpacks remember. So things like the heavy leg armour should go and try and find less slab-like arm armour?

My approach would be to model the counts-as-Broadsides as experimental prototypes based on dreads:
- most dread kits have separate bits for the leg armour, so leave those off entirely
- replace the arms completely - either going for a giant rifle look (like the current GW model pose) if you can find appropriate robot arms, plus shoulder mounted weapons, or an easier to model alternative would be the rail rifle on one arm and the other arm toting the shoulder weapon equivalents. If they represent prototype weapons, they can look quite unlike normal dread weapons - and that will also help avoid confusion with normal dreads
- replace the sarcophagus front with...hmm, lots of sensors, I guess
- if you also want accompanying drones, some of those cyborg flying cherubs would seem to fit the bill as a SM equivalent

doesn't the dark angels fluff say that they would never ever ally with xenos? I would use servo skulls.