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Just curious what models people are using for space marine company vets? The regular finecast vets don't seem to come with special weapons? Is it worth using sternguard models as regular vets?

Time of madness

I play Dark Angels, and we have a dedicated Company Veterans kit, albeit with only 1 of each kind of special weapon and no combi-weapons at all. It's still a cool kit, though.

1. Put shoulder pad with a crux terminus on a power armor marine
2. Give him any gear you want
3. Pay the points

Profit!

I have two magnetized vets that were part of my command squad from previous edition where they were the command squad. They were built from whatever my bits box yielded at time of creation. If I were to do it over again, I’d probably buy another sternguard kit and just grab all the specials I needed from there and my spares.

Command squad. White veteran hemlets with a terminator honors shoulder pad. Lots of bling. At least for Ultras...

I use Dark Angel Veteran models. Robes are cool.

But then I also field my Veterans on bikes, and I just chuck the crux shoulder pads on to distinguish them.

Mine are denoted by gold helmets, and I went with proper markings on the shoulders (skull on the right, representing first company, chapter emblem on the left per codex astartes protocol) but I made sure that the right knee pad remained blank, as they are not assigned to any specific squad like the rest of the battle company.

They are suitably blinged out with equipment though, nothing ostentatious like a first company veteran or member of the Sanguinary Guard.

Here's the squad:

Sergeant:



Veteran 1:


Veteran 2:


I post these to show that you can use basic marine parts with some extra equipment and paint jobs to pass muster for a Company Veteran. I've gotta paint up two more of them eventually to flesh the squad out to five models strong. Hopefully I can get around to that shortly, fingers crossed.

Take it easy.

-Red__Thirst-

My guys are Templars, so everyone is pretty blinged out with seals and scrolls and insignia. I use grey knight legs and tabard bits to make them fancier than the average marine, with a few bits worked in gold and silver. Everyone having special weapons does help mark them out too.

Mk4 and Mk7 armor models with a bit more detail. Moulded shoulder pads from the Upgrade spruce for instance. And since they're Ultramarines, the white helmets are in stark contrast to other models in the Company. They're supposed to be a cut above, not members of a different Company after all. They should look mostly similar to the others in the army.

Is "company veterans" now a thing for non-Dark Angels?

IMO, all you need to distinguish your veteran marines from your regulars is something to make them stand out. It could be the Sternguard kit, if you want to really bling them up, or as little as a fancy shoulder pad rim chest eagle, a marking on a knee, etc. In my Astral Claws army, all my marines in mk4 or mk6 helmets got a blue helmet stripe; veterans and terminators got a stripe with white edging.

Look here:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wT_dsoa_R8s/TSuJd1F2w4I/AAAAAAAAAhY/362tScrfS3Y/s1600/rainbow+warriors.png
(bottom right); I used the sergeant stripe pattern because it's easier to paint than the banded veteran stripe.

For my marines its MK3 armor for Sternguard and MK4 for everything else. My Honor Guard have those roman looking leather straps coming off their belt while using MK3 arms (which have that extra trim detail on the arms which stands out when painted brass colored). Generally my marines have minimalist amounts of "flash" so they don't have a ton of purity seals, crests, trinkets, etc because it doesn't fit my army's motif. My squad leaders all have the roman looking plume which makes it easy to pick out which model is the unit leader.

Also as an Ork player at heart its mind blowing that people pay so much more for character models or fancy sternguard kits when you can easily make those models out of all the wonderful bits from standard kits. (A kit or two of the more fancy sets is nice for parts variety but i wouldn't buy 6 sternguard boxes for 30 sternguard).

You can see how I've built mine in this post. I've since added a couple of storm shields using after-market parts and home-made scabbarded powersword on the sergeant bike.

When I paint them, they'll have more gold than most silver-and-blue Astral Claws.

 AndrewGPaul wrote:
Is "company veterans" now a thing for non-Dark Angels?

IMO, all you need to distinguish your veteran marines from your regulars is something to make them stand out. It could be the Sternguard kit, if you want to really bling them up, or as little as a fancy shoulder pad rim chest eagle, a marking on a knee, etc. In my Astral Claws army, all my marines in mk4 or mk6 helmets got a blue helmet stripe; veterans and terminators got a stripe with white edging.

Look here:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wT_dsoa_R8s/TSuJd1F2w4I/AAAAAAAAAhY/362tScrfS3Y/s1600/rainbow+warriors.png
(bottom right); I used the sergeant stripe pattern because it's easier to paint than the banded veteran stripe.

Since they gutted the command squad and made the Ancient, Company Champion and Apothecary into individual characters, the Command Squad now is just "Company Veterans".

 AndrewGPaul wrote:
Is "company veterans" now a thing for non-Dark Angels?

Yes - it's the guys who used to be in the Command Squad who weren't the banner/apothecary/company champ. It's a bit odd that we used to have Veterans, then got Sternguard/Vanguard, and now we have all three.

IMO they can be pretty plain if you want them to be, all they need is something to denote them as veterans and traditionally all that was needed for this was either a Crux Terminatus (actual or stylized and painted on) or a different colored helmet.

Mine are just standard marines with the Crux shoulder and the studded shoulder.

Deathwatch with standard pauldrons could work well.

I haven't put them together yet, but in my blood angels army I'm gonna use a forgeworld breacher squad for company vets with storm shields and add jump packs.

A good way to mark out veterans is to paint on insignia to mark their achievements.

Old codexes and space marine painting guides had ideas for this.

There would be awards for marksmanship, vehicle kills, battle oaths taken and so on.

You could also consider saving all your non-standard armor pieces and building your veteran squad from that.

An alternative is to have a squad of unhelmeted marines as traditionally in 40k unhelmeted = heroic.

I generally use Sternguard for my generic vets, but outfitted with odd loadouts, while my Sternguard typically have their shiny boltguns or combi-weapons. For veteran bikers, I kitbash stuff from Ravenwing bikers, Deathwatch and Sternguard kits. For Dark Angels, though, use their standard Veteran kits. Blood Angels could use some of the shiny bits off the Blood Angels upgrade sprues.

I go big or go home on mine. I like to fancy them up a lot lol I generally play Iron Hands so I tend to use the FW MKIII armor kits for mine. It's what I do with my captains too. The add extra "wires and coils" or more mechanical limbs.

Then after that just put whatever weapons you want of them!

FW conversion kits and Sternguard legs

Sterngard kits is 100% way better for characters and super ornate vets.

but then i prefer my sternguard to be less flashy more practical.

Black Templar plastic add on sprue from 3rd/4th Edition gave me everything I needed for my Crimson Fists Veteran needs.

This is what I am currently working on. A vet with storm bolter and power axe.