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Hi guys, just started collecting warhammer 40k again. Used to collect and play when I was a child at my local games workshop store in Thurrock.

I bought some orks and space marines to paint, and play small games with my son's.

It seems alot has changed since I last played or maybe I just wasn't that clued up on the rules as much as I thought I was.

I have a couple of queries to ask and if this is not relevant in this section of the thread I do apologise, but here they are:

1. I want to create my own paint scheme for the space marines and orks but to follow the rules and codex for that army. Is that allowed?

2. I bought the 7th edition rulebook to learn and play can I still use this for games with my son's or would you advise I got the 8th edition instead.

Thanks for your help guys hopefully I'll be posting alot more in the near future.

1) Yes - just let your opponent know which rules you are using.

2) 7th edition isn't compatible with the new indices/codices and the ruleset for 8th is more streamlined, so I'd recommend the upgrade.

Welcome back to the hobby!!

1) Paint schemes NEVER influence game rules. Yes there are "official" schemes, but they are only guidelines and marketing. You can paint your models in rainbow colours if you so desire.
All you need to do is make sure that you're clear which army you are playing as to your opponent.

Furthermore if you are mixing marine/ork chapters together you need to be able to tell different groups apart from each other on the table top*

2) I would strongly suggest getting the 8th edition rules. GW has made massive strides in balance with 8th edition far and above previous editions. They are also rolling out codex pretty fast for them as well; i the past it took years; now they are aiming to have all codex out by the first few months of next year. Blood Angles and Death Angels are both out later this year - I'm unsure as to the status of other marine groups; though I'm sure if you ask others can fill in what has and hasn't got a codex as yet.

Note nothing stops you playing 7th edition at home; though I would expect most clubs/groups have moved onto 8th edition now and GW stores will all be running 8th edition. So whilst it a bit more cost it might be easier to just leap into 8th edition.

*You can do this with a little mark on the models or an easy way is to paint a colour on the raised lip of the base they stand on.
A neat idea is if you build your models in squads and then give each squad of each type a different ring colour. Eg if you have three units of tactical marines you'd paint the bases of each of them a different shade. That way on the tabletop you can not only use difference squads from different chapters; but also use it to help tell which squad is which at a glance at the tabletop even if they are all the same chapter

Thanks for the replies guys. Yeah that's what conserned me about making my own chapter. There's squads of different marine chapters I'd like in my army but didn't know where I stood including them. Thanks for clearing that up. I shall invest in the 8th edition rulebook too.

Staggsy666 wrote:
Thanks for the replies guys. Yeah that's what conserned me about making my own chapter. There's squads of different marine chapters I'd like in my army but didn't know where I stood including them. Thanks for clearing that up. I shall invest in the 8th edition rulebook too.

Whilst that's perfectly fine to do, there will be some limits on what you can do with characters in a mixed army. A lot of chapter specific characters rules only affect units from their own chapter, sometimes even on specific types of units. The way GW has set out the chapter tactics requires a detachment to all have the same chapter to benefit from their special trait.

You could definitely still do something like run a Blood Angels Death Company detachment with a Chaplain and a Dark Angels Deathwing detachment full of Knights though, it just requires a little more planning and the understanding that a guy from one army list might not grant re-rolls to guys from another if you deploy them next to each other. Possibly not an issue with some characters if it's just keyword Astartes or Imperium but I know with my mixed Aeldari forces I'm looking at having to consider my synergies when putting together a list and considering where things will be on the table.

Also: welcome back!

Oh OK, I get what you mean. That's good to know. I'll just make sure I do my research before a purchase. Thanks for the knowledge.

Hey, I took a 14 year break so it wont be too hard to jump back in!.....good luck

Glad to have veterans coming back, not "new blood" but blood still the same.

I quit in 1993 and 8th brought me back, in my local group 3 of us had a similar hiatus from the game.

I'm having more fun now than I did when I played back in the day.

That's good to hear. The 8th edition is definitely a purchase I'm going to have to make. Can't wait to get back into the hobby. Got a load of paints I found at my mum's. Won't use them for miniatures but perfect for scenery and terrain.

Welcome!