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Hey folks, so I was wondering if anyone has ever had a marine force and then later changed chapters?

I have a pretty extensive Ultramarine collection currently but was thinking of changing over to dark angels. I don't think I'd be able to strip and repaint everything, I did that before. I striped and repainted 80 marines for practice, which paid off for sure but never again. So I figure I would go with new kits but it seems ludicrous to have 2 very similar armies and I don't think there's anyone in the area that would be willing to buy such an extensive collection, not to mention I wouldn't even know how to price it.

Cards on the table I'm not 100% sold on the idea but I really like the variety of colors, green, black, and bone. I haven't delved too deep into DA lore or rules either for that matter. Don't get me wrong I love my UM but it's not the first time I thought about swapping chapters.

So again, do you think it's worth it?

My first marines were painted as BA. That’s the transfers that came in my first RTB01 box.

Another lot were painted in custom colors to represent mercs in out RT campaign.

Then I painted up a squad as Ultras, just in case we wanted a 3rd faction on the table.

I like painting the blue.

At this point 2nd edition came out, and there started to be a difference in chapters. I continued to expand my Ultras. Last thing the BA got was a priest in late 2nd, early 3rd. (forget exactly when)

Fast forward a bit. OK, forward a bit more...

My BA last hit the table -maybe- in 3rd. Probably 2nd. At some point in 7th I decide I’m going to strip them down and paint them blue. At that point I still had illusions of playing 30k. Mk VI beakies are compliant for the heresy era. It also frees up some retro sculps to add to my Ultras, and actually see the table.

So yes, I have changed chapters.

You can always just paint up a squad of DA to use in your UM army, as allies. Maybe they were out investigating something and the UM responded to their call?

I've not repainted models from one Chapter to another (barring a unit of Terminators I had as UM, then as Deathwatch, and then back to UM when I wanted to fill out my 1st Company), but I have started second armies for non-UM colour schemes, my current being a homebrew.

I wouldn't repaint my own Ultras, but that's because they're one of my favourite Chapters, if only on an aesthetic level.

I'm on my 4th marine collection, having sold the prior 3. Always played them as Ultramarines or successors though, and only changed the paint scheme. This current batch has been going for about a decade now, and will be my LAST marine collection/scheme.

I've painted another 3 schemes for $$ as well, so technically this is my 7th.

Personally I'd always recommend going custom, finding a scheme that you like, with heraldry that you like, and then pick your rules depending on what style you want to play. I just happen to like basic, vanilla Space Marines, so UM has always worked for me aside from a couple editions when custom chapter traits made things interesting.

Just paint your army in a custom scheme and call it whatever you want. Blue Angels, Blue Wolves, Blue Scars, etc. It's what everyone does for every single other faction in the game. As long as it isn't obviously close to one of the main schemes nobody will care and tournaments will let you do it.

I would build a Ravenwing and a Deathwing detachment and field them with your Ultras. This way you get the pieces of DA which are unique to DA without having to do all of the basic stuff that can be taken in any Marine Army all over again.

Pick one- Deathwing or Ravenwing and play it as a Crusade army when 9th drops. Once it grows to a size you're happy with, start on the other DA detachment as a new Crusade.

The two DA detachments combine, but when they find themselves out numbered, they call in the Ultras for field support.

That's what I'd do, but then I'm a campaign play nerd.

The different company color schemes really sold me on dark angels, and the new indomitus box could only have more DA flavor if everyone was using plasma. Their are robes, bikes, terminator equivalents, and something that seems suspiciously like an interrogator chaplain. In the end, it's about what you'll assemble and play, so paint whatever you think looks cool, and let the rules work themselves out.

PenitentJake wrote:
I would build a Ravenwing and a Deathwing detachment and field them with your Ultras. This way you get the pieces of DA which are unique to DA without having to do all of the basic stuff that can be taken in any Marine Army all over again.

Pick one- Deathwing or Ravenwing and play it as a Crusade army when 9th drops. Once it grows to a size you're happy with, start on the other DA detachment as a new Crusade.

The two DA detachments combine, but when they find themselves out numbered, they call in the Ultras for field support.

That's what I'd do, but then I'm a campaign play nerd.

This, too, is a good suggestion. Make a small side army of DA that reinforce your Ultras, and slowly grow that up with organic campaign play and natural progression.

I have a ton of small armies that are little more than the leader, some troops, and an additional unit or two to reinforce the theme/have a solid base. In time, I may expand the armies I grow attached to, naturally adding more units to them to fulfil what kind of army I want them to become. My homebrew Marines started off as a nice demi-company base, and I've gradually grown them up systematically to make three full companies now.

Well, SM wise I currently have;
Space Wolves - this is my original 2e army & remains largely unchanged to this day. The most notable change was adding 1 squad of GH for 8e - but I bought vintage ones to match
Dark Angels (3rd Co.) - I picked the bulk of this force up from a friend in early 3rd when he was leaving the game. To this day there's no DW/RW in it.
Ultramarines (9th co) - Yes the Devs, all 100 of them + dreads/vehicles/command. Built late 3rd/early 4th as my part of a group project at the local shop.
Mentor Legion - Built in 5th ed. This is my catchall Co. for one off things & misc SM stuff I acquire.
Doom Eagles - built in 6th ed. I've just always liked their silver & red/orange scheme. And I like jump packs. So one day I just built an Assault Marine force - that is NOT BA rules-wise.
1st Co. - Over the years spare Terminator figures built up in my collection. So I gathered them together & made 1st co.
All Dreadnaughts - I like dreds. I've always had plenty of them. And FW has been kind enough to make all kinds of dreds/dred stuff. 8th just let me play them all as an army....
And soon? The contents of the Indominatas box. I've always said that when there were enough Primaris models I liked I'd build a force. Well, in a few weeks they will.

Each plays differently & is way different o paint. So yeah, I'd say it was worth it for me having multiple SM armies.

Lots of other good suggestions. All I would add is that if the paint is not too thick, consider just re-spraying with primer and re-painting. Lots of lads at the FLGS have done that. TBH, sometimes I couldn't even tell they'd done a complete re-spray and repaint even after examining the models closely. On others, I could.

 fraser1191 wrote:
Hey folks, so I was wondering if anyone has ever had a marine force and then later changed chapters?

I have a pretty extensive Ultramarine collection currently but was thinking of changing over to dark angels. I don't think I'd be able to strip and repaint everything, I did that before. I striped and repainted 80 marines for practice, which paid off for sure but never again. So I figure I would go with new kits but it seems ludicrous to have 2 very similar armies and I don't think there's anyone in the area that would be willing to buy such an extensive collection, not to mention I wouldn't even know how to price it.

Cards on the table I'm not 100% sold on the idea but I really like the variety of colors, green, black, and bone. I haven't delved too deep into DA lore or rules either for that matter. Don't get me wrong I love my UM but it's not the first time I thought about swapping chapters.

So again, do you think it's worth it?

Dark Angels are not the answer. They are the question. And the answer is Yes.

How well painted are they?

My original 2nd Ed + UMs are painted *really badly*. They are unshaded, un blended and just basically bad. They are also non Codex, ironic for UMs I know. They have yellow trim on their helmets because I thought it looked cool.

Ive got Calgar, a Captain, a squad of Termies, a squad of Tactical, a squad of Heavies, a squad of Assault, a squad of Scouts, two Land Speeders, a handful of bikes, a Predator and a Predator Annihilator and a Land Raider Crusader. I've got various other units that have been inducted into the force, like a squad of Space Crusade Marines and the like to get the numbers up to being able to field a small ish army.

One unifying feature is how badly they are painted. I literally have one Termie and one Assault Sergeant I am proud of. The rest are kak. I will have no issue stripping, fixing up and updating them.

However I feel differently about my equally badly painted Necromunda guys.

If you have a decent Tabletop quality then I'd throw in with the "start a new army" guys. If you feel like you could vastly improve them then I'd say give it a shot. One squad at a time maybe?

Many playersl are pretty dedicated to their army choice, in this case what SM chapter you play, based on combat doctrine or other lore based things they identify with.

changing because of a new edition or new rulebook often gets you branded a bandwagon jumper. i have been a salamanders player since 5th even though i started with dark angels in 3rd. i just have 2 different armies. when salamanders got the master crafted re-rolls in 8th i took alot of flak because i play them. my drive for playing them is based on their lore. i even have had games where i offered not to use the free-rolls because it isn't why i play the chapter.

There are only really two questions you need to answer:
1. Do you have the money to purchase a new army (over the time you need to paint them)?
2. Do you have the space to store both armies?

If you can answer yes to both questions, start your 2nd Marine army. It can be Dark Angels or a custom Chapter that allows you to play as multiple different marine armies.

If you answer no to either question, you need to decide which army you want more.

Just paint what you want and run them as any Chapter you feel like so long as you meet typical wargear requirements.

just paint them as Blood Ravens and say they are researching whatever chapter tactics tomes they ' discovered ' as needed

There is a very sensible and logical argument that you are best off painting your own custom scheme, and playing it by whatever rules suit you.

You may however have a particular affection for the lore of a certain chapter/legion, and it can be very rewarding to have them painted appropriately, and stick with them regardless of the meta. YMMV

So I guess I ought to address the custom chapter thing. I'm waaay too uncreative to come up with my one scheme and lore. Plus I've always loved deathwing knights and the preview for the Blade guard had me frothing at the mouth it is an absolutely amazing look!

I have the funds, space, etc, but the problem is time. I suppose I could be more conservative with my purchases. For example I have a GK army but it's mostly Terminators so it ends up being a small fun list while also being cheap. GK aren't really a chapter swap since all their kits are unique to them and I play them less than my UM

This is by no means meta/rule chasing. Are DA top tier or something? I just really like the variation in companies. I think I might just be tired of painting blue lol

I think I might buy Lazarus, not sure if I'll make him or a generic master right now. All I know is that I fawned over him more than I did the new tigurius model, he's still cool though

Sounds like you need to slow build your Dark Angels army. As long as you are playing in non-competitive environments, you should even be able to proxy your UM as DA until you had time to properly build and paint your DA.

The hobby is about fun afterall. Have fun paining your DA. You may even find yourself more motivated to paint once you stop painting blue.

 fraser1191 wrote:

I have the funds, space, etc, but the problem is time.

You know what'll help with the time? Dark Angels Green contrast paint.
I just painted up a test model using that the other day while considering color schemes for my coming Indomitis box. Very nice. And that was with basic effort. If I decide to go DA green actual effort will be applied.

ccs wrote:

 fraser1191 wrote:

I have the funds, space, etc, but the problem is time.

You know what'll help with the time? Dark Angels Green contrast paint.
I just painted up a test model using that the other day while considering color schemes for my coming Indomitis box. Very nice. And that was with basic effort. If I decide to go DA green actual effort will be applied.

Hell he would be happy if they had something like DUST does with their premium line-stupid expensive but completely assembled and pro painted.