Terminator Conversion Question

[TastyBagel]

Casual player here; still very new to 40k.

 

My girlfriend unexpectedly bought me a box of Tartaros Terminators. I'm running Alpha Legion, so they will fit in very nicely with just a touch of conversion work! However, I'm having a bit trouble settling on their loadout. Being Alpha Legion.. I don't particularly want them in combat, so I envision them teleporting down into the backlines of my opponent to contest objectives, or teleporting down in the midfield to provide some extra fire where I need it.

 

For ranged options, I'm likely just going with combi-bolters for all (unless someone has a very strong argument for a heavy weapon). 

 

What's got me stumped is the melee options. For those that are unfamiliar, the box comes with Power Fists for everyone... with add-on bits for lightning claws or chain fists. ...that seems silly. I'd be fine with a heavy hitting fist weapon or two, particularly for the champ, but for an entire squad, it just seems like a waste of points. 

I've got some chain axe bits I would love to use here, but hand swaps don't seem possible with the power fists on the arm. 

 

1) Any suggestions on suitable (left) arms to use to get a good handswap? I tend to do ok with bits shopping, but am just not seeing anything that looks feasible yet.

2) If I'm largely stuck with the kit as-is (as a casual player, I'm probably not in for a huge hobbying effort here), how would you run them? Combi Bolter + claw seemed like it would make a pretty dedicated anti-infantry loadout, and give the unit some focus.

 

How would you all suggest running / converting this box up?

[Ketzer]

Well, what do you struggle with, when playing against it?

When those mobs give you a hard time, give them Combi-Bolter and some Lightningclaws. The latter will make light/medium melees think twice before they charge you, after you shocked down and shot something into pieces.

Problems with tanks? Soften them up with some Melter and finish them off with Powerfists / Chainfists.

I can't speak for the heavy Flamer or the reaper autocannon. (though the autocannon does look cool to me). Since the they blessed us with the new bolter rules the heavy stuff isn't worth the points.

Sadly I can't give you any suggestions of how to convert them, without buying upgrade stuff from forgeworld - that is if you really want to play them as cheap as possible.

[Marshal Loss]

I know a lot of 30k players have had this problem; might be best to ask in a 30k forum or in 30k era Facebook groups where people use the plastic Tartaros more commonly.

[Scourged]

Sadly, there's not a great way to convert the left arms, short of going 3rd party and getting some 3D printed options. 

 

Now, if we just look at the kit as-is, and you want them dedicated to anti-infantry, your idea of combis and claws is the best bet. But something worth considering... if you ran the squad with all fists instead of all claws, that's only 1 additional point per model. So if it's between those two... I don't know, I think I'd lean towards fists. Just looking at the math against infantry, fists end up doing better, and you then have an anti-vehicle option with them as well. 

 

Based on how you want to use them and since they'll be AL, the flamer is not a good choice. Combi-plasmas is always a crowd favorite with Chaos Terminators, and it's not too hard to convert using plasma pistols. A Reaper Autocannon is worth thinking about, kinda. When you drop in, the -1 to hit penalty will be offset by having a better to-wound roll than the bolters, plus it will have the -1 AP. It's by no means a must-take, but if you brought it along for "rule of cool" it's not that bad. And if you're planning to stay stationary, even better. 

 

But a lot will depend on your playgroup. If you play with a group of folks who aren't a strict WYSIWYG crowd, you'll be fine. "All these fists are chain axes for this battle." Keep it consistent like that, and most people (usually) will have no problem at all. 

[TastyBagel]

Thanks all! Good food for thought. Scourged makes a good point on the actual points cost; I thought there was more of a difference. Oh well, I'll play around a bit more and see what I like. 

 

For posterity, I had spent some time searching, and the best I could find for conversions was:

 

-The blog Warpstone Flux with several posts on his hand swaps to get Power Axes. It did seem rather labor intensive; the armored gauntlet bit is at an odd angle protecting the hand, and he recommended pinning the hand at the end of it all to get a good fit.

-Swapping in Thousand Sons Occult Terminator arms, though they do have chaos markings which one would need to address. Apparently they do fit well though.

-Complete arm and pauldron swaps. The Tartaros pauldrons are more strap-like, over the shoulder. I haven't tested extensively, but had a spare bit from the termie chaos lord kit, and it swallowed every Tartaros shoulder; terrible fits. You'd need a good glob of greenstuff to bulk the shoulder out for a good fit. Fortunately, the torso/arm connection on the Tartoros is flat, so complete swaps should be really easy, for those inclined to do so.

 

Thanks again!

[MegaVolt87]

https://www.forgeworld.co.uk/en-AU/Legion-Tartaros-Terminator-Power-Axe-Set

 

How do you even get these to work, considering you don't seem to get the regular gun type arms to attach the axe hands to with the plastic tartaros kit? 

[Scourged]

https://www.forgeworld.co.uk/en-AU/Legion-Tartaros-Terminator-Power-Axe-Set

 

How do you even get these to work, considering you don't seem to get the regular gun type arms to attach the axe hands to with the plastic tartaros kit?

For the plastic kit? You don't, sadly. This upgrade kit was made for the original resin tartaros kit, well before the current (restrictive) plastic one. The amusing irony is that FW no longer sells that kit, last I checked.

[Gederas]

https://www.forgeworld.co.uk/en-AU/Legion-Tartaros-Terminator-Power-Axe-Set

 

How do you even get these to work, considering you don't seem to get the regular gun type arms to attach the axe hands to with the plastic tartaros kit?

For the plastic kit? You don't, sadly. This upgrade kit was made for the original resin tartaros kit, well before the current (restrictive) plastic one. The amusing irony is that FW no longer sells that kit, last I checked.

You'd have to use this kit instead:

 

As they're also in Tartaros Terminator armour, and the left hands are separate from the left arm.

[Void Knight]

A little bit out there but what if you cut off the fist part of the arm and then used green stuff to attach a chain ax to the stump? Or if you have some possessed or daemon bits you can do the same thing. I don't what theme you are going for with your Alpha Legion as I think this goes more towards a daemonic looking warband, which may not fit some Alpha Legion armies.

[Trevak Dal]

If you get the Kson scarab occult Terminator powerswords bits they are basically Tzeentched up Tantaros terminators.