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Hi Warhammer fans !

For several months now I have been wondering which Imperial Guard regiment would suit the best my introduction to the 40k universe. Unfortunately it appears that few choices are open to me : Cadians, Catachans or Death Korps of Krieg.

I think it might be a good thing to wait for the release of the 9th edition Astra Militarum Codex. I can't believe Games Workshop will only maintain the production of these three regiments since one of the charms of the Imperial Guard comes from the variety of its troops. Could I be wrong ?

Still, I like both Cadians and DoK, but is it possible that Games Workshop will also take them off the market and replace them by new regiments ? I'm not totally familiar with the lore but Cadia has been destroyed and besides, I have beed told that some units of the DoK, like their grenadiers are not produced anymore. Could the future of these two regiments be the same as all the others as Games Workshop could be preparing whole new lines of models for the Astra Militarum ?

Well, it would be a pleasure to hear you all on this topic. It's a bit disappointing to find so few hints from Games Workshop about their plans for the Astra Militarum.

Hi,

Welcome to Dakka

First ask yourself if you plan to plan competitively or casually, if casually then you are open to 3rd party conversion and whole regiments. The continuation of the Catachan line are strong as the last 3/4 new models made for IG are of Catachan, the other a female Commissar.

I collect most official IG regiments(except Mordian) with some 3rd party conversions.


3rd party sites(US, AUS, STL, EU, characters) compatible with existing GW IG:
http://madrobotminiatures.com/
https://victoriaminiatures.com/
https://reptilianoverlords.com/
https://maxminishop.com/
https://artelw.com/

turn Taurox from ugly as F to gorgeous:
https://www.ebay.com/str/Blood-and-Skulls-Industry?_trksid=p2047675.l2563

IG are showing their age; it might be good to wait, but it's GW so since it's not marines we never know how much they'll revise a line. I would be shocked if they got rid of catachans or cadians; death korps is definitely possible since they've been cutting back on resins or otherwise discouraging their use.

Most likely issues are either a model overhaul that makes your old models not quite fit, or a rules overhaul that makes it so smart choices now aren't smart choices in 6 months, but that's always a risk with GW since they're always adjusting what's the favorable way to play. The former is complete guesswork; for the latter I suggest playing a reasonably well-rounded list, because IMHO power gaming a poorly balanced game is not worth the effort.

Hard sell on buying GW Guard models. They don't get much love beyond a character model or two that are really hard to get atm.

Thanks for your advises guys ! The more I look at it, the more I'm interested in the aesthetic of the Armageddon Steel Legion. It's sad that we can only buy the basic squads online. I would still need to find their heavy support and command units somewhere, or maybe use the the models from the Death Korps of Krieg regiment. The DKoK also catch my eye, but I wonder if they are there to stay...

Well, maybe the best solution is to be patient and wait for the probable new kits of the 9th edition.

If I were you I would take a look at alternative model companies, just to see whats out there before committing. Wargames Atlantic, for example, are excellent value, and Mortian look great quality. You can always make up your own regiment too, then it never goes out of date...

Yea, if you want variety and better prices, Ebay and or third party. Check Wargames Atlantic as they are slowly building up a real nice selection. You also have Reptillian Overlords, Victoria Lamb, Anvil, Mad Robot, a whole bunch.

Welcome abroad Octoglute.

Regarding the regiment, you should ask yourself if you don't mind the outdated sculpts and repetitive poses of GW plastic regiments.
If so, you can pick the Cadians. And well, if the only thing that bothers you are the caricature grumpy faces, and the massively oversized helmets, that is not a problem.
There are myriad of alternative resin parts available from a lot of small manufacturers. Just change the heads and here is your special touch regiment.

For Catachans, they are so out of proportions, that they are a bad joke. One of the oldest plastic kits still in production.

There is another unmentioned regiment, the Armageddon Steel Legion, which is quite good. They are still in metal, however the only box for sale is the basic squad with a missile launcher, a grenade launcher, and only one of the previously available sergeants. They are very neat though. Great sculpts, quite realistic, nothing is oversized. They depict very well the grim darkness that normal humans are facing in the far future that is W40k. They have nothing more than a basic helmet and a regular flak jacket as protection. They are armed with a very modest weapon, that depicts well the weakness of the laser rifle in the game. A respirator for facing a harsh environment and the basic field equipment of an infantryman complete the picture. Great squad accompanied by a great background. Easy to paint.

My two cents.

Note that the wargames atlantic stuff is itself plastic, and that's a huge bonus over anything resin in any way.

Octoglute wrote:
Thanks for your advises guys ! The more I look at it, the more I'm interested in the aesthetic of the Armageddon Steel Legion. It's sad that we can only buy the basic squads online. I would still need to find their heavy support and command units somewhere, or maybe use the the models from the Death Korps of Krieg regiment. The DKoK also catch my eye, but I wonder if they are there to stay...

Well, maybe the best solution is to be patient and wait for the probable new kits of the 9th edition.

here is the model poses of official GW SL models:


If you're ok with 3rd party:
https://madrobotminiatures.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=9_19&products_id=197

Just realized that Octoglute had already spotted the Steel Legion models. My posts feels out of place.

Nice army Big Mac !


In order to complete the basic Steel Legion squad, some comparable, pewter metal models can be found from a small manufacturer in England, Pig Iron productions.
Look at their range of "Kolony Militia" :
https://www.pig-iron-productions.com/product-category/kolony/kolony-militia/
Most notably alternative special and heavy weapons, and HQ.

Thank you for the information everyone ! I really appreciate it.

I have made up my mind. I will start an Armageddon Steel Legion despite the low support the regiment gets from GW at the moment. I really like the style of their basic squad, so I'm thinking about buying a first batch of them, maybe 3 squads, each of them supported/transported by a chimera. Eventually, I could invest in tanks, artillery, support and HQ. I will try to find the classic regiment's heavy weapon teams and their command squad. If it's impossible, I will build them myself, either with DKoK/cadians parts or from another miniatures producer. And who knows, maybe GW will introduce news kits for the Steel Legion with the 9th edition.

I have a concern though, it's that the GW's basic squads are made of metal, and I have no experience in working with this material. Is there a specific glue I could use to prevent the future dismemberment of the minis ? From painting videos I have seen, it seems that I can use Citadel's primers and paints without issue, right ?

Thanks again and have a good day or night !

Congratulations for your not so usual choice !
Well, working with these pewter miniatures is pretty straightforward.
Apart from the sergeant and missile launcher, in 2 parts, needing a dab of superglue, other models are single block.
You only need a fine file to eliminate the little moulding line that runs across the model.
No major work, but you will need to do this in order for your model to look neat.
Then spray a coat of GW (or other brand) primer, a generous coat for better solidity.
After painting, a generous coat (again) of spray varnish is needed, to protect the paint work and limit chipping at the edges.

Here is the complete range :
http://www.collecting-citadel-miniatures.com/wiki/index.php/Steel_Legion

Most noteworthy, there was a heavy bolter, a laser cannon, and a plasma gunner, all sadly discontinued.
They can be spotted on ebay...
You can opt for alternative brands for these options. As plasma guns, especially in high demand on used market, can be quite pricey !
If you search for used models, don't forget that they are metal minis. If the spotted miniatures are badly painted, bare in mind that the paint can be stripped very easily by brushing it out in acetone.


The squad from GW is quite a good deal, barely more expensive than the Cadian plastic, but with a heavy weapon included.

For metals, definitely superglue is the best.

For painting, give a couple of light coats of a primer and let it dry thoroughly between coats. GW or any other miniature painting primer is fine, but the hardware store primers seem not to be great.
Give it a bit of a rub after it's dried if in doubt - the primer shouldnt come off.

With regards to miniatures and continuing or dropping lines - bear in mind that any official GW or Forge World models will always be accepted as the appropriate thing. What that means is, if you built an Imperial Guard (sorry, astra militarum) army using Forge World's Death Korps of Kreig, they will always be valid as Imperial Guard, whether you call them DKoK, Catachan, Cadian or Steel Legion.

I take good notes of your suggestions Ravajaxe and Possumcraft !

I searched online for used minis of the heavy weapons teams and the officers. I didn't have good results and it seems, with the ad I posted on facebook in a trading group for my area, that there is not much more to be found.

I wish GW wouldn't just tease me with the basic squad and would sell all the units ahaha ! I don't get their marketing strategy. Maybe I'm impatient and they are preparing the release of new plastic kits.

I have a spare sprue of these guys, if you want to PM me your address i'll send them to you and you can try out colour schemes:

Thank you very much for the offer PaddyMick, it's very nice of you, but I have seen these models and I find their style a bit too "high tech" for my project. I'm found of the older types of rebreathers or gas masks.

But again, I wasn't expecting such generosity. Shipping me a sprue from afar, that's so kind !

I may end up making my own regiment like you said, mixing several origins. I'm thinking about the DKoK for the support units.




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I will look further into the models of other producers than GW. Victoria Miniatures has some pretty interesting kits for instance.

Cool no worries. I'm starting to sound like a wargames atlantic fanboy now but... look out for the new cannon fodder range coming this year - there is a rumour they will have some alternate gas-mask heads, which would be good for diy dkok (and there will be plenty of people buying them and not using all the parts).

Good luck with it, and let us know how you get on with a P&M blog maybe.

Any of the atlantic wargames guys can be dkok quickly by putting a sprue from the 1918 historical imperial german army (they also sell that in 28mm, not-heroic) beside the deathfields and using its supply of 24 identially laid out ww1 style gas masks (they included as alternate heads for the troops).

So you could also just buy one of those, and give the sargents and officer types in the dkok the nicer, cannon fodder gas masks, but the remaining troops all get to look WW1 dkok ish. I actually built some up as stormtroopers with the masks on, literally the day that GW announced the stormtroopers were banned from real play.

Squats.

Wargames Atlantic sure offers interesting options you guys are right ! I will keep an eye on their miniatures. The combinaisons are great.