WYSIWYG how far is too far?

[Boniface]

I know obviously you should aim to get a model as close as possible to what it's meant to have i.e. thunder hammer should be a hammer etc.

 

I'm really talking a bit nitty gritty.

Do my tacticals, for example, need to have a bolt pistol and grenades attached to the model?

 

Or is it more a case that only something they don't have as standard need to be displayed?

 

As a dark angel player.

Does my banner need to be the standard of devastation to be the standard of devastation?

 

Does my robed Sargent need to be non-robed if he's not a vet?

 

I plan at some point in the far future play a tournament and I don't want to be penalised for not sticking grenades to everyone.

[EPK]

I don't do tournament play, but I feel comfortable answering your questions - 

 

No, standard/repetitive gear that a model has by default like the bolt pistol and grenades of tactical marines do not need to be modeled. Special weapons (melta, plasma, power weapons, etc.) obviously need to be shown. I'm not 100% sure, but for tournament play, melta bombs may need to be on the character. 

 

The actual art displayed on your standard is a non-issue, however, one model needs to clearly represent said standard bearer.

 

Robes have nothing to do with anything when it comes to rules. There is no set way to model a Veteran sergeant when it comes to those, however you may find the robe/no robe a good method to mark them out on the field. That would of course be your preference.

[Upstartes]

When it comes to vets, the key is that your opponent should be able to easily tell by looking who is a vet and who isn't. If both your tacticals and your vets have a mix of robes & non-robes, then you need another way to visually distinguish the two. This could be as simple as a consistently identifying paint scheme on the vets, or an abundance of scrolls and purity seals, etc. If there's not a good visual way to distinguish the two, then it could get you into some trouble.

 

Meltabombs probably follow a similar logic (though I haven't encountered this in tournament play yet, so take what I say with a grain of salt). If all your sergeants have meltabombs, it may be sufficient to just say "all my sergeants have meltabombs," since the sarge's are easy to pick out visually and it's easy to remember. Similarly, if a particular type of squad has all models with meltabombs, then it might be ok to say, "all my assault marines have meltabombs." If, on the other hand, you have two similar squads and one has meltabombs and one doesn't, then you might need to model them. Likewise, if there are some guys in a squad who have them and some who don't, but otherwise they are the same, then you would probably need to model them.

[EPK]

I suppose Upstartes makes a good point, they should be marked out for your opponent's sake. Perhaps instead of coming up with different models for both (so you can use the same sarge model for Vet and non-Vet if you want) you could use some sort of removable marker? Would something as simple as a base with a DA icon on it or some such work?

[Boniface]

Thanks for the feedback. It's pretty much how I thought it was but I read something somewhere that made me doubt. I pretty much do all of the above anyway. Obvious weapons, magnets for changeability, different characters I.e. sergeants usually have robes and regular marines don't. (Partially fluff related).

[Giga]

You need represent the main gun(s). So, on a standard marine, a bolter is a must. If a marine is supposed to have a meltagun, then he should have the appropriate weapon in his hands. Extra wargear such as bolt pistol, grenades, close combat weapons on models who already have a pistol + a main gun, digital weapons, wolf tail necklaces, etc. don't need to be represented. For power weapons of any type, they should be clearly represented. Likewise, vehicles don't need to have stuff like extra armor, searchlights, smoke launchers, overcharged engines (BA), silvered armor (GK) etc. represented on them, however they should have appropriate guns.

 

As for specialized wargear, it should be represented but you don't have to make it ultra-specific. Any banner can represent a banner of devastation. In fact, GW would encourage you to paint up your own unique banner that suits your army.

 

As for bling (robes, non-stat banners, purity seals, spikes, trophys, fancy bases, etc.), you can put as many of these as you wish, as long as you aren't modeling for advantage. For example, you can't model your missile launcher dude standing on a 3" rock so he can have increased line of sight, or model your berserkers lying bellydown so you can keep them out of LOS easier.

 

 

Also lots of other stuff can be approximately represented. Any shield can serve as a storm shield. Any power sword easily doubles up as a force sword or a nemesis force sword. A chainaxe serves as a close combat weapon just the same as a combat blade or a chainsword do.

[dragonkingofthestarsII]

 A question Giga then.

 

you say you can't 'model for advantage' but how far can you go with that? or rather what counts as modeling for advantage?

 

Suppose instead of a vindicator, you put a lemen russ turret on a rhino and counted it as. You new tank has a demolisher, but it's turret mounted not hull mounted like the proper model, would that be too far?

 

or on the other end, what if you made a lemen russ vanquisher look like a Stug with a hull gun? the codex says it's gun is in the turret, not hull mounted and you tank now has a smaller profile thanks to you modifcation. What then?

[Dam13n]

Rule of cool would cover most friendly games. However the weapons arcs of fire must remain as for the standard model and ideally you should measure ranges/determine LoS from where the gun should be, not where you've put it.

 

As far as being targeted goes, the same rules apply, if it should have a turret (and therefore be taller) but you've modelled the weapon as hull mounted then the invisible turret where the gun should be should count for determining LoS.

 

I would suspect that comp play would see you disqualified for using a non-standard model, that could be seen as modelling for advantage. Either to gain a lower profile, so the vehicle can hide easier, of a higher profile in order to shoot over terrain.

 

Generally it's best to use standard weapon mounts as it causes less confusion and smooths game play.