Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

So I know I’ve read in tournaments you can’t have third party pieces on your minis, is it generally the same for games in stores? I’m building out an iron hands and a word bearer army and I find the upgrades to customize into either pretty lacking with actual gw products.

The iron hands primaries upgrade lacks enough “iron” limbs. And I’d like to add the secondary shoulder as a mechanicus symbol and finding shoulders with that as bits is pretty hard given how few units are made with them.

I’d also like to add books, scrolls parchment etc to the word bearers which you can get from sigmar but sellers but it’s pricey, plus no actual word bearer shoulder pads with the post heresy demon on the book.

It’s totally up to individual tournaments and stores. There are no universal rules on proxies and conversions, except GW stores generally do not allow stuff like that. Tournaments will usually spell out what is acceptable in their rules, and you can ask at any store you plan on playing. Every one may be different. But third party bits and other companies minis will be a no go in a GW store.

I don't know of any non-GW-proprietary tournament that will actually ban bits, as long as most of the model is GW.

GW stores used to not care either - I think they had a 80% rule or something like that, i.e. minis need to be 80% GW product but the other 20% can be third-party bits - but recently GW seems to be cracking down more. But honestly, unless you go around waving it in their faces, they probably aren't going to care. You could always just say you made them yourself if anybody asks.

Conversion is a massive part of the hobby, even if GW recently seems to wish it wasn't, so I really doubt you are going to see anyone kicked out of events because they had some cool head swaps.

The odds of someone sighting an off-brand shoulder pad or mechanical leg are very low.

If someone ever asks, don't say they are bits. Say they are conversions.

I've heard that it can heavily depend on the GW store as well - no idea if that's accurate or not, but there are tales of GW staff booting people for minor conversions and there are tales of GW staff allowing full armies that are almost entirely third-party bits without much more than a "don't talk too loud about where you got your stuff". If you're concerned, your best bet would probably be to ask the staff directly.

I wouldn't ask staff at a GW store, they'll be bound to tell you you can't even if they wouldn't have cared if you followed a "don't ask, don't tell" policy, and then all you've done is flag yourself. If anyone ever actually challenges you on it just innocently say "they came from my bits box, I'm not sure exactly what kit they're from" or even better "I converted them using some green stuff, I can't remember what the original bits were" and leave it at that, not even GW's most zealous enforcers are going to call you a liar and kick you out of the store. It's the sort of thing they can only enforce if you admit it yourself, assuming these really are bits and not whole third-party models.

Lol I've used half an army's worth of non GW miniatures in a gw store for my bretonnian army. I've seen 100% 3rd party armies as well.No SANE GW manager is going to go out of their way to find your 3rd part bits / models and kick you out. That's just bad business, as they get 20% commission.

The GW store angle can also, form what I've seen, vary depending on country. I think the UK store managers are more often grown from the crop of gamers themselves whilst some overseas managers are sometimes more trained staff than they are hobbyists first. This can lead to some countries interpreting corporate rules more strictly than others.


So there can be some variety, but I would always expect that a GW store or sponsored event (there are not many of them) would be stricter than a 3rd party store or hobby club.



I'll also note that both rule-of-cool and quality come into this. If you turn up with your Plastic Green Box O Soldiers as proxies or really bad converted parts and such you are more likely to get refused than if you roll up with a really cool converted army and such. So there can be some bias in terms of the quality of what is done.

GW's specific stores, and any event run by GW at say Warhammer world or something, isnt going to allow 3rd party bits. Itd be like taking your dodge to a Ford dealership to get worked on, just doesnt make sense.

Independent stores, at least across the USA, dont usually care, same for events. There was a long time where GW didnt support events whatsoever, while 3rd party bitsmakers did, lots of grogs remember that. I know Ive never met a store that cared. Only tikes Ive heard of a store caring is is if the player's models are lazy, unpainted, and you cant tell what its supposed to be.

If in doubt, check with a TO for a tournament before you go. Ive brought entire guard armies where there wasnt a single GW guardsman and had no issues because they were painted, they were easily recognizable as what they were supposed to be, and they looked decent. Had I shown up with unpainted, poorly done conversions that I only did to save money, that may not have been allowed for obvious reasons.

 MrMoustaffa wrote:
Itd be like taking your dodge to a Ford dealership.

I read this as "Doge" and thought "why would you take a meme to a Ford dealership?".

As for OP, I've pretty much only ever played in GW stores and it was only very recently I started going elsewhere. Our group mostly used GW products but small generally unnoticeable bits like backpacks, trinkets, or to a degree shoulder pads were OK. My Battlewagon made out of a Japanese MBT, not a chance. It was too easily noticeable as a non-GW model. As long as you don't draw too much attention to yourself or your models it should be fine.

This is the main reason to avoid GW stores to play at.

I would say the main reason is getting your models touched by grubby kids and random tourists. It's why my group avoided ours during the summer. That and you can only play GW games which is perfectly fine but I do love me a bit of WW2 now and again.

Thanks for the replies everyone. I think I’ve found some acceptable book bits in aos to start my conversion. Still haven’t decided on shoulders. Anyone know of any pens/quill holding models? I can’t find bits from the scrivener, blue demon scribes, or the tallyman which are the only models I know of who are writing.

 MrMoustaffa wrote:
GW's specific stores, and any event run by GW at say Warhammer world or something, isnt going to allow 3rd party bits. Itd be like taking your dodge to a Ford dealership to get worked on, just doesnt make sense.

Not entirely true. It depends from store to store.
I've been to multiple official GW tournaments with converted, counts-as and minis with 3rd party bits. This particular store manager has always been kind and never objected to anything. He knows that most of the stuff we are playing with is still stuff he sells and he prefers not to turn people away.

 Aenar wrote:

 MrMoustaffa wrote:
GW's specific stores, and any event run by GW at say Warhammer world or something, isnt going to allow 3rd party bits. Itd be like taking your dodge to a Ford dealership to get worked on, just doesnt make sense.

Not entirely true. It depends from store to store.
I've been to multiple official GW tournaments with converted, counts-as and minis with 3rd party bits. This particular store manager has always been kind and never objected to anything. He knows that most of the stuff we are playing with is still stuff he sells and he prefers not to turn people away.

Yeah, but thats a manager turning a blind eye to policy and an exception to the rule. Maybe thats a regional thing? I know in the US, and definitely the UK, GW stores are not friendly to 3rd party bits at all.

 MrMoustaffa wrote:

 Aenar wrote:

 MrMoustaffa wrote:
GW's specific stores, and any event run by GW at say Warhammer world or something, isnt going to allow 3rd party bits. Itd be like taking your dodge to a Ford dealership to get worked on, just doesnt make sense.

Not entirely true. It depends from store to store.
I've been to multiple official GW tournaments with converted, counts-as and minis with 3rd party bits. This particular store manager has always been kind and never objected to anything. He knows that most of the stuff we are playing with is still stuff he sells and he prefers not to turn people away.

Yeah, but thats a manager turning a blind eye to policy and an exception to the rule. Maybe thats a regional thing? I know in the US, and definitely the UK, GW stores are not friendly to 3rd party bits at all.

From everything in this thread, it seems that GW official policy is that anything non-GW is not allowed, however policing of the policy is left to each store and thus results may vary. In some places you will get GW paladin managers who follow the rules to the letter, and elsewhere you will find ones who follow their own code of what is acceptable. It likely is influenced heavily by the local community of each store as well. If your community is heavily into customization and utilizes a lot of third party parts and models, then the store will likely turn a blind eye to it because they can't afford to alienate their community, though this is not guaranteed.

In the US GW stores are probably the worst places to try and game - not because of model policy - the space just isn't there. I haven't put models down in their store in like 8+ years.

 Daedalus81 wrote:
In the US GW stores are probably the worst places to try and game - not because of model policy - the space just isn't there. I haven't put models down in their store in like 8+ years.

That's pretty true in my experience, though the last physical store near me closed roughly 10 years ago now, give or take a couple years. Another recently opened up nearby about 2 years ago I guess. The new one is a bit bigger than the old, but it just fits 2 or 3 tables in with about 3' clearance on each side iirc. Only been there twice, and the second time it was just the front desk and a table covered in product for in-store shopping thanks to covid.

I think with GW managers its not just the model itself, but your attitude as a person and how often you turn up and such. Regulars who are generally good socially and play games and such and don't beat on about 3rd party firms and such likely get away with more than if you randomly turn up with a whole Raging Hero's army one weekend for your first time etc...