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So I've been watching a few Youtube Battle Reports.

They are a fun way to connect more widely with the game!

One thing I've noticed is many 'tubers tend to not model all the upgrades on their models. Things like vehicle upgrades not being modelled (to be fair, I can see how it could be tricky to make a dozer blade look decent on a chaos land raider).

Am I just too much of a stickler for letting this distract me (if only a little)?

Does anyone else prefer models to be as WYSIWYG as possible?

In a friendly game, it doesn't bother me too much, as I can always ask my opponent.

In a tournament setting - WYSIWYG. The only exception is stock equipment, for example, if a model comes standard with a boltgun and bolt pistol, I am perfectly fine with only one of the two weapons being modeled.

There aren't canonical/standard models for some upgrades, making something to represent it doesn't actually make sense in some cases since it'd be different for everyone and it'd be confusing anyway.

Have to give a pretty solid meh to that.

It's an expensive game, and at the same time one where it's good to shuffle your list up now and then. As long as the unit itself is clear, give them whatever equipment you like. Model all your Lychguard with the shields because they look cool and use them interchangeably as Scythe Lychguard. Model your Devastators with mixed weapons and run them differently from game to game. Not really going to bother me.

Just spell out the equipment at the start, maybe keep a record on paper or Battlescribe so you're provably not swapping it out mid battle.

Some things you have to have modeled, such as a special weapons and such. However, I really don't mind if you say "This plasma pistol is actually just a bolt pistol" or something like that.

Plus there are a lot of things that can't be modeled, like I have no clue how I'd model a power field for my librarian or digital weapons, etc.

It's harder to get un-modelable upgrades than it used to be. For a brief time in late third and fourth edition you could buy special rules, you could buy profile bonuses like an extra wound and you were be able to buy things buy frag and krak grenades. Now those things you get either standard or not at all, and it's a really good thing for game play.


I think the point of the rules is to represent models. If a rule doesn't rereaent something on or about your model, you don't need it.

I prefer WYSIWYG, mostly for aesthetic reasons, especially on my own guys, but understand "counts as". If a box of Chaos Terminators costs $50 and only comes with one combi melta, I'm not going to tell you to pay x $ for the remaining combi melta bits along with the effort to magnetize so the termies don't have to always be suicide melta strikers. Small things like plasma pistols don't really add much to the model, anyway. We all know that this hobby is expensive so there's no need to make it that much harder on everyone else for minor things.

I like to go WYSIWIG just as part of the fun of modelling. But I don't demand it from opponents.

However, certain things like weapons IMO should be modeled for ease of differentiation. For intance, a mela gun in a squad of marines should be modeled to differentiate it from a Bolter. I'd sorta disagree with changemod about the sword-n-board vs. warscythe. As an opponent, I'd appreciate the model to represent the wargear, to avoid confusion. Although this is not a showstopper for me. If someone tells me they dont want to pay for the extra bits/models because of tight $$ or something, I'm not gonna press the issue unless its really, reall confusing.

But standard stuf like grenades/bolt pistols for Marines, I'm ok if they aren't modeled because they're not an upgrade, and the lack of them is not confusing.

I also like to help my friends out with bits whenever I can. When I was starting 40k, I got a buttload of bits from my friends. And I've tried to follow this example with new players I encounter, or friends building new armies, who need or would like bits that I may happen to have laying around.