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Are allot of the 9th edition Space Marine models basically the same, with different wargear and heads? Bodies are basically the same.

Do people create their own looking Space Marine units utilizing bits?
Find any Space Marine body then finding bits to glue on a head along with the correct wargear, to meet a certain unit requirement.
Is this allowed?

Do some GW space marine units expect a person to do this?

For the most part, it’s OK.

Obviously, the farther you go from normal, the more issues there are. And if you are playing in a tournament, check with the TO. But if the bas it the right size, and it looks mostly like what it’s supposed to, it should be fine.

I recently build some autobolt rifle intercessors out of the running assault intercessor bodies. And took spare bits from the eliminator box and phobos armored bodies to make 3 extra snipers.

Whooch wrote:
Are allot of the 9th edition Space Marine models basically the same, with different wargear and heads? Bodies are basically the same.

Do people create their own looking Space Marine units utilizing bits?
Find any Space Marine body then finding bits to glue on a head along with the correct wargear, to meet a certain unit requirement.
Is this allowed?

Yes, it's allowed.

Whooch wrote:
Do some GW space marine units expect a person to do this?

Probably some combo of wargear/weapons on character models.

Yep, definitely. Keep in mind some marineunits have unique heads or backpacks like Reivers and Devastators but most are simple wargear swaps

the_scotsman wrote:
Yep, definitely. Keep in mind some marineunits have unique heads or backpacks like Reivers and Devastators but most are simple wargear swaps

Tbf I've never seen anyobe care what heads are on Devastators, especially since the older kits just had the same heads as the Tacticals. People just want to know if the Heavy weapons are proxied.

 Insectum7 wrote:

the_scotsman wrote:
Yep, definitely. Keep in mind some marineunits have unique heads or backpacks like Reivers and Devastators but most are simple wargear swaps

Tbf I've never seen anyobe care what heads are on Devastators, especially since the older kits just had the same heads as the Tacticals. People just want to know if the Heavy weapons are proxied.

Sorry, I listed Reivers as a unit with particular heads and Devs with particular packs. That was confusing.

the_scotsman wrote:

 Insectum7 wrote:

the_scotsman wrote:
Yep, definitely. Keep in mind some marineunits have unique heads or backpacks like Reivers and Devastators but most are simple wargear swaps

Tbf I've never seen anyobe care what heads are on Devastators, especially since the older kits just had the same heads as the Tacticals. People just want to know if the Heavy weapons are proxied.

Sorry, I listed Reivers as a unit with particular heads and Devs with particular packs. That was confusing.

Eh? Those packs aren't uniquly Devastator they just pair with the weapon. I think the other unique detail would be the castle-legs, but even then no one cares.

Space marine unit identities are pretty much just the gun (and sometimes melee weapon(s)).

Phobos units are kind of an exception, but I can think of plenty of people that wouldn't know or care if they were body swapped into other units, especially since they have the exact same statline. I suspect the average person who doesn't use Incursors/Infiltrators can't tell the two units apart even with the right guns.

Gravis and Terminator armor matters a bit, but their arms don't match normal marine armor, so they'd look pretty terrible if you tried to mix those up.

Heavy weapons are, as Insectum7 says, paired with specific backpacks. Beyond not looking weird (disconnected wires or ammo feeds), it doesn't matter.

Whooch wrote:
...Do some GW space marine units expect a person to do this?

Very rarely. Primaris units don't expect you to mix parts between kits except for a few sergeant loadouts, the Devastator/Tactical Marine kits may swap models if you want larger than 5-man Devastator squads or different heavy weapons in your Tactical Squad, Company Veterans/Deathwatch Veterans have options that aren't in their respective kits, and old-Marine characters may have loadouts that aren't available on the model.

You can absolutely go through 40k never swapping parts between Marine kits; if you want to swap parts between kits as long as the chassis is correct (ex. a power-armoured oldmarine infantry unit is still a power-armoured oldmarine infantry unit) and the weapons are correct feel free to go mad.

A white scar successor player, has an army with 3 full intercessor squads armed with auto boltguns. All of them are based around the running body of assault intercessors and auto bolt guns from the regular intercessors.
He has a 5 man squad of running assault plasma gun hellblasters too

His characters one bikes are all build from outridder bikers. His jump pack librarian and chapter master are intercessor with, what looks to me as inceptor jump packs
His eliminators are build from reavers, with hellblaster bold heads and recast snipe rifles.

And his inceptor squads with plasma are build around the ETB inceptors with gattling plasma guns made out of heavy hellblaster gun parts.

Army looks unique, but there is no problem with recognising what unit is what. The running marines really fit the theme of his army.

Yeah, it's super easy to do.

However I have had some strange anomalies with certain kits. The most prominent one is getting the multipart kit Reivers arms with bolt carbines to fit the ETB Reivers torso.

Occasionally, some helmets need some small conversion work such as slightly cutting down to fit certain bodies as well but for the most part, it is super easy to do.

Whooch wrote:
Are allot of the 9th edition Space Marine models basically the same, with different wargear and heads? Bodies are basically the same.

Do people create their own looking Space Marine units utilizing bits?
Find any Space Marine body then finding bits to glue on a head along with the correct wargear, to meet a certain unit requirement.
Is this allowed?

Do some GW space marine units expect a person to do this?

Welcome to the world of the Bits-box! Clip those spare bits, sort them in an appropriate container and have fun!