Brother Tyler

Just to be sure, are you talking about this edition of the game (2016)? Or this edition of the game (2013)? (links take you to the Board Game Geek entries) Or some other edition?

Has there been any progress on this? I can start working on concepts based on the ideas that have been presented so far (if no one else is able to). I'm a bit busy in Real Life right now, however, so I may not get to it until next week.

Those are some great inputs. I've been thinking about options, too, and will provide more complete thoughts here when I have a little more time (including considering the suggestions by @apologist and @LameBeard).

Yes, we could allow for more advanced notice of themes. I'm not sure that it's so much a workload increase as it is determining themes with sufficient time (which really only matters when we try to align themes with product releases). Of course, some cases might not be an issue as allowing for more time from the time a product hits the street might allow more members to get models painted up.

I noticed that yesterday, too. And just like last time, it has resolved itself without intervention. Weird. I suspect that this is tied to whatever it is that has been slowing the site down lately, too. We are exploring our options for a new server and when we make that move (which will also involve the update to Invision 5.0), I'm hopeful that the problem will be resolved.

Yes, all of that is well known. However, based on the name of the other "Chapter," I have a suspicion that these Adeptus Astartes are not painted in the scheme that we would recognize as the canon Rainbow Warriors.

While a ratio of 17 males to 3 females would have seemed on the higher side of what I would normally expect, the reverse is definitely surprising. I recently met a family in which every member - husband, wife, 1 son, 2 daughters - enjoys the hobby (which I think is absolutely great). While it's mildly disappointing that the females in your friend's class simply enjoy the painting and not the gaming, that demonstrates how the different aspects of the hobby allow for people with diverse interests to focus on the aspect(s) that appeal to them without feeling a need to dive into the other aspects for which they have little/no interest. After all, the artistic aspects of the game are a huge draw for me (and, I suspect, most of the members of this community), so it shouldn't be surprising that anyone that enjoys similar artistic endeavors and who isn't put off by the appearance of the models might similarly be drawn to the hobby simply for the joy of painting finely-sculpted models. And if they enjoy fantasy/sci-fi, it would be easy to see the Warhammer hobby appealing to them. From a neckbeard perspective, the non-canon minis might be a bit troubling. From a fun/social aspect, however, the "Rainbow Warriors vs. the Strawberry Cupcake Chapter" is hilarious. I wonder if there would be any room to entice more members of the club into playing the game if your friend could figure out a way to build something around the models they've painted.

I did something a little different this month. The themed challenges have been a bust, and there weren't any new submissions this month, so I picked one from among the existing submissions. We've had several members whose banners have been featured two or more times, so I chose a banner submitted by someone whose banners haven't been selected prior to this. Congratulations to @Rusted Boltgun for his image: Since @Rusted Boltgun doesn't have a blog in the Blogs feature, clicking on the banner image will take you to a WIP blog.

It is perfectly acceptable to discuss DIYs in the various forums (e.g., Astra Military, Adeptus Astartes, Orks, Aeldari, etc.). After all, the participants in those forums have a collective understanding of the (sub)factions that can prove very helpful to DIY developers.

Both of the options presented above are valid. Another option is to create a blog (in the Blogs feature using the Imperium > Astra Militarum and Imperial Army category). You can then create outreach/update topics in both the + ASTRA MILITARUM + and + THE LIBER + forums for entries. These outreach/update topics would notify other members of progress/information about your homebrew, pulling them into the blog so they can see your content and provide comments (i.e., engage in discussion with you). If your homebrew includes assembled/painted models, you could also create outreach/update topics in the + WORKS IN PROGRESS + and + HALL OF HONOUR + forums.

Some further thoughts (because you have successfully distracted me from a very important Real World project )... Some other boardgames you might consider looking at include Dune: War for Arrakis, Risk 2210 A.D., StarCraft: The Board Game, Dust, Rex: Final Days of an Empire, and others (some of these might be difficult to acquire, but most of free rules online). There are tons of games that are similar to Axis & Allies in terms of the game play, so you might find something that works better for what you're trying to represent. Naturally, a lot will come down to your preferences, so Axis & Allies might be in your comfort zone. And another thing... I suspect that you've hit upon the Horus Heresy because the similarity in force types is similar to Axis & Allies (and many of the other games I've listed). The Horus Heresy works great when you're using the Legions Imperialis minis (which is a great idea). Another Astartes vs. Astartes event that you might consider (though you would need "modern" minis - 3D printing to the rescue) would be the Badab War. Anyhoo, I'll be watching this project with great interest (and I dont' want to hijack it, so please don't take my suggestions as anything other than sparking ideas for you to consider and decide upon).

What a coincidence. I was just researching Axis & Allies earlier this morning. Interestingly enough, I have long had a conceptual project for what I called "Risk 40K," which is along the same lines as what you've described, @Deus_Ex_Machina. My thinking/planning for this project began back in 2000 or so, but has had very little progress because of Hobby Butterfly Syndrome. More recently, as in over the last week or so, I've been thinking about how my idea might work as a reskin or adaptation of Shōgun/Samurai Swords/Ikusa/Ikusa: Samurai Swords, which I love (especially since a 40th edition version of that game is currently on Kickstarter). The original Axis & Allies and Shōgun were both released as part of Milton Bradley's Gamemaster series in the '80s (okay, an edition of Axis & Allies was actually released earlier in that decade by another publisher, but it was the Milton Bradley version that really became popular), along with Fortress America (for which Fantasy Flight Games released an update in 2012). I bought the Samurai Swords version in 1996 and I still have the original/second printing of Fortress America - both are carefully preserved in my garage. The reason I've brought those other games up is because they, too, might serve as the basis for your hypothesized reskin. In addition, it might be worthwhile to look at the various games in the Axis & Allies family to see if those might provide a good basis for your hypothesized reskin. The original Axis & Allies game looked at World War II as a whole whereas the successor games in the series looked at individual parts, giving a little more granularity and better representing individual battles. In addition, these might obviate the need to adapt the naval aspects of Axis & Allies (or the naval aspects might be adapted into spaceborne combat/movement). Another option, and probably a bit more obvious, is to look at the 2010 edition of the Horus Heresy boardgame, which focused on the Siege of Terra. Admittedly, there were some problems with that game in that extreme luck (good or bad) might end the game before things really start off (see some of the discussions at the linked site). More importantly, this game is out of production, though you can still find used copies through various sources. If I'm not mistaken, the rules for all of these games are freely available online. If you decide to move forward with this, I recommend either a blog (if you plan for it to be a largely individual effort) or club (if you plan for it to be a group effort). I think there is a lot of potential with this kind of project.

The Illuminati want to have a word with you.

Part of the most recent batch of images in this project... Wait, he's in regular Salamanders Chapter colors and not the (normal?) Legio colors! And why isn't he in Mk X Tacticus armour? What gives? All in due time. Suffice to say that we're trying to give you a little more flexibility. If all goes well, I'll be finished with this by the end of the week. I may delay kicking things off for ... reasons ... however.

Welcome to the Bolter & Chainsword community! What motivated you to finally join the site? Was it simply to engage with other hobby enthusiasts? Your take on the Emperor is sure to stir up discussion, especially from those who subscribe to the "official" interpretation that you describe. That might be an interesting topic to take up in the forum for the lore (either that of the Age of Darkness or the Age of the Imperium, depending upon where you prefer).