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I've heard that some people don't like to fight against an army using non-GW/non-FW bits and/or models. As some armies (such as the IG which has thousands of regiments from all sorts of worlds) call for imaginative use of third-party bits (or even models), is that correct? Would, say, beret heads by mad robot miniatures on Catachans cause some people to shun my IG army?

That's not something we can really answer. You would have to ask your opponents/tournament organizers if third party bits are okay.

But what is the general opinion on this? I know that most people here in Israel don't mind (hell, most tournaments here even allow unpainted models!), but I might be moving overseas in a few years and I want to be able to play with my IG army in the UK (where we'll possibly be headed - I'm a German citizen, my fiancee is a UK national) as well.


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Here are the heads btw:

Those are awesome! I'd love to face them!

I can only imagine it being an issue if the 3rd party bits drastically changed the size of the miniature, but I recall some restriction (back when GW got more involved in tournies) of requiring a certain percentage of the bits to be proper GW stuff.

If it's a certain percentage then it'll be OK - only the heads will be third-party.

Most opponents wont mind, I am betting most opponents would not even notice they were not GW heads unless you pointed it out.

If they have a good paintjob on them I think even less will care that they are not GW heads.

However, Some GW stores may have an issue with it, so ask the TO of any tournaments that you attend in GW stores.

No problem. Just ordered 25 of these heads!


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A third-party female Commissar I'd *LOVE* to have in my army:



from HERE.

golan2072 wrote:
No problem. Just ordered 25 of these heads!


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A third-party female Commissar I'd *LOVE* to have in my army:



from HERE.

I see your AVERAGE female commisar and raise you three Kurganova sisters:

C O O L ! ! !

Nobody I know fusses over 3rd party stuff. We're all hobbyists, not GW loyalists. Some tournaments put restrictions on that stuff, but it's dying off with GW's tournaments gone.

Also, way bigger props to the first female Commissar for looking like she might actually serve in a military.

Well, Khurasan know their job

Doesn't GW still maintain the ruling of 50% GW parts for their tournaments, like Games Day, etc?

 Enigwolf wrote:
Doesn't GW still maintain the ruling of 50% GW parts for their tournaments, like Games Day, etc?

Where they still run them, possibly. They're few and far between these days, though.

I don't think even a GW shop will mind a few bits, especially if they offer some sort of "cool hat" or the sort that GW models do not. full models are a different issue though.

Non GW events and stores shouldn't mind at all. Going to a GW store, however, you should take care that your models are at least 51% GW, just because they don't want you to be using their facilities to promote an alternative product (understandably). If you are just doing a head-swap, go crazy, but don't go purchasing entire models and expecting them to be ok with it.

I've seen third-party heads on forces in GW Throne of Skulls tournaments. They're ok with some parts, just not complete third-party models.

Throne of skulls specifically states in the rules NO third party bits. However I go to 2 or 3 of them a year and there is always a tone of none gw models. My own marine army is flooded with non gw parts and no one ever complains. The day they do I will forfit the game tell them to shove it and move on to the next game or if its gw then just stop going to their tournaments.

This isn't a rules question except if relating to Tournament rules in which case it should be in the Tournament section.

It seems more like a general discussion point, so I am putting it in 40K General Discussions.

I can't say I have ever seen anyone refuse a friendly game over non-gw bits. Nor have I seen any such army turned away at a tournament. Actually most tournaments that I have been to that are not directly affiliated with gw will usually let you slide with a few non gw models as long as they are cool models and painted decently.

God forbid, how could a real Ork player even play their speed freeks? I always live by the 50% rule and no one has said boo about my 3rd party bits. Of course they may not even know that they are 3rd party. Most of the time the best conversions are those that you cannot tell.

I think the issue with non-GW models is just that 3rd party stuff might be confusing, sometimes, regarding what special/heavy weapons a unit has and what vehicles are what. As long as you don't present any confusion to you opponent I'd think only a real jerk would complain about 3rd party models.

Ugh those Kurganova sisters are kind of meh. The one on the left especially with her "shake what your momma gave you" pose. Not that they're not good eye candy, but I wouldn't really like to see those in a IG army. The gunswords and all that just look kind of stupid, sorry.

On topic, my local GW manager doesn't allow 3rd party bitz, but that is due to company policy more than personal decree. He can't let them in because if he did then he has that awkward situation where he has to say "no, we don't sell those." and either look like a jerk for not telling you where they're from or lose his job due to promoting other businesses. I understand this, so I told him "thanks for the honesty, if you ever want to see my IG army, drop by one of the independent stores". Saves both of us trouble and there are no hard feelings whatsoever.

As for independent stores, that's up to them. The two in my area actively encourage it. I've heard of others though that are just as strict as official GW stores. Best thing to do would be to ask if it's something that's obviously 3rd party (those female commissars being a good example) But in the case of those heads, GW's catachan command set has a head that literally looks EXACTLY like that. Just don't say anything and nobody but a seasoned IG player would be able to tell that those are different heads. Heck, you might even be able to get away with saying you took them off the old plastic stormtroopers, who have the same heads as well. I would say your rank and file troops would be just fine.

But as always, we can't decide what your store says. You'd have to ask them yourself. I know that sucks since you won't know where you'll be until a few years from now, but we can't really help you there.

My small town store really doesn't give a damn how our models work. Since the weekly Warhammer nights we have there on Thursdays is nearly completely customer-organized, we don't give a crap what our models look like. For example;

I use modified Fire Warriors for my Imperial Guard stormtroopers.
My best friend uses third party severed heads to decorate his Tyranids.
The guy who organizes the weekly games and the campaigns has completely third party demon models for his Daemon army.
Hell, I remember using a brick for a Leeman Russ, once.

It really varies between locations. Games Workshop will probably turn you down, but some of the smaller stores really don't care.

EDIT: Oh, I didn't see the Kurganova sisters post until now ^.^
I have the one in the middle in my army as a Lord Commissar

Oh come on tell me that sight would not inspire you to keep on living so you could pay the regimental joy girls a visit.

It depends on the reason.

Third-party bits because it's something that looks cool and you want to do something new and different with your army, while still remaining within the general 40k aesthetic (IOW, not just dropping an Infinity army on the table and calling it IG)? Sure. I'll be happy to play against it.

Third-party bits because you've discovered those "cheap 40k" manufacturers and don't care if your stuff looks like garbage as long as it's cheaper than GW retail? I'm not impressed. I might play against it if there's no other opponent available, but you're far down my list of preferred people to play a game with.