Cheapest way to 30K

[Noserenda]

Id definitely have a resin printer for epic if nothing else if i didnt live in a tiny flat :D 

[LameBeard]

The issue with the resin/plastic question for me is less one of building strong lists and more that a lot of the iconic Heresy units (in my mind at least) are resin. When I think Heresy I think Scimitar jetbikes, Javelins, Sicarans, Spartans, Contemptors, Deredeos, Leviathans, Destroyers, etc...plus a lot of the Legion specific infantry.

 

Some of the plastic options are still effective though, and of course there is a plastic Contemptor, even if it's not the best sculpt.

Absolutely. I hope I didn't sound like I was moaning, because I am very happy for iconic heresy units to get a little buff. And I was also generalising, becasue some plastic choices are great, like veterans are amongst the best infantry, and the plastic kits are well suited.  Most of my heresy projects are about trying to find the sweet spot - start with plastic, maybe add a bit of resin, or some other kitbash/conversion, and see if you can hit that 'heresy look'. Of course this often involves so many trips to the bits shop I don't save money after all ...

 

Incidentally I did initially play pre-heresy World Eaters many years ago in the mid-late 00's. This was after the Heresy TCG and subsequent art book, and a small but dedicated community sprung up around converting and painting armies from 40k kits. Most was on the Great Crusade forum, if you know of that. There were groups of narrative events and the like, but this was before the Forge World books, dedicated rulesets so you had to use 'counts as' 40k rules. This is my blog from that time: http://eatersofworlds.blogspot.com/ ...

 

I do love Epic though, one of the main attractions is that you have stable rulesets that aren't going to be overwritten every few years, you can play with what you want etc. 

From the sounds of it this is one of the attractions of the current 30k Heresy ruleset, in that it has given people some stability. 

So I started getting interested in Heresy at the tail-end of this period - you were probably one of the people who inspired me. I started scraping together bits and then the Forgeworld m

Mark iv Red Scorpion upgrade came out, but not actual heresy kits yet, and I had enough parts for a squad or so (yes I am that slow a painter - these are the squads I am still working on). I've bookmarked that link to (re-)read.

 

On the stability of the ruleset I am a 100% a fan of that (because of how slow I am). This is why "Heresy 2.0" rumours are a double-edged sword for me. If existing stuff stayed in stock I would have several lifetimes of collecting, painting and gaming ahead of me without needing any new models or supplements, let alone a new ruleset, but if good plastic stuff comes along, I will buy it all, because I do find resin slows me down even more.

 

The other dumb thing I just did is decide to take the plunge into Adeptus Titanicus (the current version). Another drain of time and money away from 30k in 28mm!

 

[sarabando]

Thanks Lamebeard! Yes my main 30k hobby is with an Epic army

 

I have been looking at getting a very small volume force to paint but really just trying to help out a friend who is more interested. 

 

Ah yes I see what you mean about the Necromunda terrain price! Yes the key objective is keeping things cheap, I may have a go at building some generic 'ruins' which can be used between games (Fallout, 30k, Infinity etc.) and just sub in a few accessories for whichever game we are playing. 

 

Incidentally I did initially play pre-heresy World Eaters many years ago in the mid-late 00's. This was after the Heresy TCG and subsequent art book, and a small but dedicated community sprung up around converting and painting armies from 40k kits. Most was on the Great Crusade forum, if you know of that. There were groups of narrative events and the like, but this was before the Forge World books, dedicated rulesets so you had to use 'counts as' 40k rules. This is my blog from that time: http://eatersofworlds.blogspot.com/

Even though it was some of my favourite hobby memories eventually I just ran out of steam with it; the official FW minis came out (which took a lot of the fun out of having to scavenge and convert your own), and I can't remember which edition of 40k it was but it was where the giant tomix-toy fliers and other vehicles started to take presidence, dropping pie plates which wiped out a unit (that you had spent about 100hrs converting and painting) on a 2+. 

I think then you had Finecast come along, GW started going after fan sites in a spectacularly Chinese-government-style fashion, and the FW books (which were serious amounts of money) suddenly replaced all of the fan-made material that we had been getting by with just fine. I think that fractured that prototype community and for me at least knocked a lot of the fun out of it and I drifted away to other wargames. So, eventually the army got sold and you might see it about somewhere!

 

I do love Epic though, one of the main attractions is that you have stable rulesets that aren't going to be overwritten every few years, you can play with what you want etc. 

From the sounds of it this is one of the attractions of the current 30k Heresy ruleset, in that it has given people some stability. 

this era of kit bashing was the best, so many great armies sadly manly lost since the great photobucket purge.

[Cris R]

I know it's partially the point of the thread and has been alluded to, but I really do find planning things out in advance stops extraneous or irrelevant purchases! The fact you've narrowed down the legion helps massively, but making decisions based on what might be ideal long-term (or building towards in chunks) would be my advice for cutting down on things that aren't needed. It might also help to consider whether for instance investing in say an item for the in-game prowess and number of points it'll cost when fully equipped is worthwhile, against having to source more items to get to a similar points contribution (for a potentially higher price in the end).

 

When building armies more recently, planning in incremental chunks has always been really helpful personally - so the suggestions of Centurion/ZM are valuable if it gets you collectively playing faster, but perhaps less so if you're building a list tailored to that format that doesn't actually fit the Legion, or the long-term plan to play 30k. Knowing what you need and when - such as fulfilling the core roster, and then what becomes desirable (and in what order) definitely provides structure. I've tried to do that with my Sons of Horus - I can't say I've always succeeded, but trying to have a plan and a list is a great way to try to be keeping on target! 

 

I agree based on personal experience. I got into 30k through Zone Mortalis and bought 10 breachers for my Blood Angels ZM force to take advantage of the ZM Assault Force RoW. While it's great for ZM games, I don't really have a place for them in my two larger lists like I do for the rest of the units I initially purchased for ZM. That said, I really enjoy playing ZM and still think it's a great way to enter 30k, so it's not a loss for me in the long run. But if did it again, I would have opted for a ZM force with greater interoperability with regular 30k games even if the list wasn't 100 percent optimized for ZM games. So learn from my mistakes and follow what Chaeron said above.

Edited April 23, 2021 by Cris R

[LameBeard]

We need to talk about terminators! Surely they have a good place in both ZM and larger 30k games?

[Xenith]

Honestly, I would wait a few months and see if the rumours about plastic pan out....

 

Cadmus

 

If you want to get into the hobby, advice saying 'dont get into the hobby' isn't too helpful 

 

At any rate, the rumours of plastic have been around for nearly a decade and haven't panned out, I doubt we'd see anything in the next few months, especially as GW hasn't teased anything of the like.

 

If you want to get into thehobby, get into it now, and if plastic does come out, you can always continue in plastic later. 

 

In terms of getting in cheaply...HH is the more expensive, niche part of a already expensive niche hobby. 

 

If you want cheap, then make things from cardboard, or 3D print, but that can be almost as expensive depending on how you do it. If you want an infantry only army, which is probably the cheapest, get Mk7 tactical boxes and run one of the legions present on Terra, or set your army during the scouring (also an awesome time period) where everyone had access to Mk7. That said, there's only a few £ difference between Mk3/4 and mk7 tactical boxes, so you might as well do all old mark.

 

Really though, withthe above considered, a HH army won't cost much more than a 40k army, if you stick to plastic. Even resin accessory sets, wont break the bank. 10x Mk4 marines + 2x heavy weapons packs is about £58, while 2x 40K Devastator squads will set you back £65, for the same 10 dudes with heavy weapons. 

[Gorgoff]

We need to talk about terminators! Surely they have a good place in both ZM and larger 30k games?

One of the best units you can take in ZM are indeed terminators.

It's a very nice fact, that in HH units exist which are fit for ZM and fit for open battles. 

Terminators work in both worlds very well and are one of the most versatile units in the game.

You can use them for almost any purpose really and the different legion special rules have different impacts on how to use them.

WE have the ability to re-roll to wound rolles of 1, which is awesome for terminators with power fist for example.

BA have +1 to wound which makes power claws better etc.

[Pacific81]

@Xenith - thanks for the comment there. I think for now the chap only wants a few units. A couple of the current plastic mk4 or standard tactical boxes should suffice I think (esp with the 20% you can get from many retailers, it won't break the bank). 

 

So we might jump in and share the main HH rulebook. I've been reading online and there seems to be a fair bit of discussion around the rules being updated at some point, but hopefully they will be minor alterations (to the 7th-based rule system). If they are more substantial, and HH becomes 9th edition as some people seem to think, I have no interest in playing that game and so will be happy with the old rulebook. So it's a low risk and win-win as far as I'm concerned! 

 

 

 

Incidentally I did initially play pre-heresy World Eaters many years ago in the mid-late 00's. This was after the Heresy TCG and subsequent art book, and a small but dedicated community sprung up around converting and painting armies from 40k kits. Most was on the Great Crusade forum, if you know of that. There were groups of narrative events and the like, but this was before the Forge World books, dedicated rulesets so you had to use 'counts as' 40k rules. This is my blog from that time: http://eatersofworlds.blogspot.com/ ...

 

I do love Epic though, one of the main attractions is that you have stable rulesets that aren't going to be overwritten every few years, you can play with what you want etc. 

From the sounds of it this is one of the attractions of the current 30k Heresy ruleset, in that it has given people some stability. 

So I started getting interested in Heresy at the tail-end of this period - you were probably one of the people who inspired me. I started scraping together bits and then the Forgeworld m

Mark iv Red Scorpion upgrade came out, but not actual heresy kits yet, and I had enough parts for a squad or so (yes I am that slow a painter - these are the squads I am still working on). I've bookmarked that link to (re-)read.

 

On the stability of the ruleset I am a 100% a fan of that (because of how slow I am). This is why "Heresy 2.0" rumours are a double-edged sword for me. If existing stuff stayed in stock I would have several lifetimes of collecting, painting and gaming ahead of me without needing any new models or supplements, let alone a new ruleset, but if good plastic stuff comes along, I will buy it all, because I do find resin slows me down even more.

 

The other dumb thing I just did is decide to take the plunge into Adeptus Titanicus (the current version). Another drain of time and money away from 30k in 28mm!

 

Ah that's really great to hear! My modelling skills were super limited compared to what some of the guys were doing around that time (green-stuff sculpting, true scaling marines and stuff like that) but I did get my fingers bloody trying to drill holes for model railway rivets to make mk5 armour, so good if that did have some influence! 

It was really amazing how that sub-community grew from some really small beginnings. At one point we had Graham McNeil writing a short story for one of the early Great Crusade-era events (featuring one of the lost legions no less!  ) and the forum was run by Laurie Goulding who went on to work for Black Library, so there was a real feeling of being connected to something as it was forming. Nowadays we know all of the details and what colour Angron's shoelaces are, but it was really cool doing the modelling and painting side of things in what was a very big grey area at the time. 

 

That Red Scorpion Mk4 upgrade kit I think was probably responsible for kick-starting a lot of the Heresy range! I never know how far in advance this stuff is planned, but I wonder if sales of 500% vs. expected (because everyone was buying them for Pre-heresy!) made them realise there was a potential gold mine there and the room for new material that came from Alan Bligh and the others there. 

[LameBeard]

I read somewhere on this forum that the Badab war supplements were deliberate testing ground for the heresy series - just to see if people were interested in Marines vs Marines. So the mk iv grey scorpion kit may have been part of that?

[Gorgoff]

I read somewhere on this forum that the Badab war supplements were deliberate testing ground for the heresy series - just to see if people were interested in Marines vs Marines. So the mk iv grey scorpion kit may have been part of that?

Sure it was.

Alan Blight wrote that one too.

Even some of the rules where the same.

There was a little hobby project going on on instagram where people postet under #badabbrothers different chapters which took part in the conflict.

That was fun.

[Noserenda]

From memory it was the weirdly huge sales of the Mk4 armour set, (which massively predated Badab) plus the massively sold out Tempus fugitives events at Warhammer world which had all kinds of attention. 

There was some other stuff behind the scenes but honestly i only know half of one persons side of it.

[sarabando]

i remember pre FW kits when the "preheresy" armies were big people disucssing the logistics of buying the newly released black templars upgrade box for the ONE mk4 torso and helmet XD

[Doghouse]

If I remember rightly Will Hayes made the Mk IV and previewed them in his Death Guard army then they were released later as the Red Scorpions. At the time I remember everyone getting excited at the image but the main issue would still be that we didn't have the legs and arms.

 

I do remember someone making someone making some amazing Dark Angels in the way sarabando is describing, I remember one tending to a fallen (injured not chaos) brother that was pretty amazing.

 

I think the thing with Heresy armies is that it can be as cheap or expensive as you want it to be. You could easily use regular tacticals as a Siege of Terra themed army and it was something we used to see quite a bit back in the old days.

 

I'm currently putting together what I see to be a historically accurate (well credible might be a better word for it) truescale Alpha Legion army and at the moment it's costing me about £60 a squad.

 

Really it boils down to what you are willing to accept and how far you want to compromise.

[sarabando]

If I remember rightly Will Hayes made the Mk IV and previewed them in his Death Guard army then they were released later as the Red Scorpions. At the time I remember everyone getting excited at the image but the main issue would still be that we didn't have the legs and arms.

 

I do remember someone making someone making some amazing Dark Angels in the way sarabando is describing, I remember one tending to a fallen (injured not chaos) brother that was pretty amazing.

 

I think the thing with Heresy armies is that it can be as cheap or expensive as you want it to be. You could easily use regular tacticals as a Siege of Terra themed army and it was something we used to see quite a bit back in the old days.

 

I'm currently putting together what I see to be a historically accurate (well credible might be a better word for it) truescale Alpha Legion army and at the moment it's costing me about £60 a squad.

 

Really it boils down to what you are willing to accept and how far you want to compromise.

yeah im doing a late war fists army i could use every single mini in the old space marine start collecting box

[Pacific81]

i remember pre FW kits when the "preheresy" armies were big people disucssing the logistics of buying the newly released black templars upgrade box for the ONE mk4 torso and helmet XD

 

Haha yes think there was a lot of that. the Khorne berserker boxset too, as there were a couple of helms you could use in there for older armour marks if you removed the bunny ears. 

 

Think there was a fair amount of swapping and trading of bits, and the early days of the bits sites (bits n kits etc.) which you used to have to watch like a hawk and certain components would sell out in hours. 

 

There were also a couple of small garage caster (not recaster) sites that started making accessories too. Like the old massive turbofan jump packs and catephractii shoulder pads.

 

Actually one of the things that has shocked me looking now and many years later at bits is how much is now available, it's pretty amazing what a selection of stuff there is and a lot of it is quite affordable

Edited April 25, 2021 by Pacific81

[Hfran Morkai]

It's been a while since I've dealt with any FW infantry but from what I remember the old RS upgrade torsos were a nightmare to remove from their gates. I definitely lost blood a few times to them. Edited April 25, 2021 by Hfran Morkai

[techsoldaten]

 

 

- Look for Betrayal at Calth or Burning of Prospero boxed sets. Still a great value for what you get.

 

WRT 3D printing - not worth it. It's possible to find models, either you print them on an FDM printer and they're heavily layered or you print them on an SLA printer and they're brittle. Either way, cost savings is not worth the loss of quality.

 

1. only if you can find it around £150

 

2. resin printers for minis cost about as much as 2 and a half squads of marines from FW so your investment is made back very quickly. Especically when you can make exactly what youre after such as beakie marines, smooth shoulderpads, studded shoulders etc.

 

as for quality well it speaks for itself.

 

Like I said, my issue with SLA printers is material strength. Most UV sensitive resins are great for printing small, detailed models. 

 

The problem is when you drop them and the arms break off at the joint. Or when dice hit them and a bolter / chainsword comes flying off. Or when you're trimming a raft and a foot splinters. Or when you're trying to sand off a detail that doesn't belong and the surface get scorched. Or when you cure a model and a little bit of resin that didn't come off in the wash ruins some fine details.

 

My Anycubic Photon X prints about 10 models at once, takes about 3 hours. A bottle of resin costs about $60 it's good for at least 30 prints. I know where to find basic models for all my armies, and my 3D scanner can give me a precise geometry for anything I can't find online. I use 3D software professionally and know how to rig a model to create dynamic, unique poses.

 

That said, I'd have to really think about printing an entire army. Scans take time to clean up, models tend to have imperfections, and - most importantly - working with physical models is something I find pleasing. SLA prints are generally finished models, statues that aren't easy to modify. Having 60 mostly duplicate Marines in a 30k army doesn't have the same appeal, customizing each one using software is a lot of work.

 

To each their own, but let's acknowledge there are downsides that aren't trivial to address. I personally don't see this as the cheapest way to get a 30k army, I see it as the most work to get something you could just buy.

[Noserenda]

The Ravenwing sprue had a couple of good heads on it too ;) 

[infyrana]

I apologise that this response might go off topic, but there is an underlying cost related tone (time, resin, 3d printer, all the accessories needed and skills versus straight up buying what's already good enough!).

 

@techsoldaten  I can't disagree with most of what you've said - you hit many nails on the head, but I just wanted to add a little.

 

There are resins you can buy (like mono flex or harder resins like Blu by siraya tech) to use straight or mix in to achieve different resin qualities, much like you can with PLA printing in standard plastic or ABS plastic etc.  You're absolutely right about the standard resins cracking and taking chunks out of a model when you clip off the rafts if they've become integrated into the piece.  To be fair, the quality of my old 40k DG resin kits from FW had far more issues with the spikes constantly breaking off and the torso sections chipping off because of the sprue connection.  As for dropping models, most all of them break or damage at some point.

 

For reference to finding the models online or creating poses and having unique models (though I realise you likely know all this anyway) - might I suggest looking for the ones who come pieced out and not pre-posed.  There are some excellent downloads which have the models parted down into similar pieces as found on those you can buy (ie legs, torso, heads, arms, pads and weapon etc).  You can print out the different pieces for each part and piece them together in any way you choose just like with other purchased models.

 

I'm definitely not a 3D software professional, so I skip by those fantastic models which come pre-built and poseable in Blender.  Apart from not being skilled enough to do what I want, it's more challenging to setup supports and get a fully posed model to print right than doing it piece by piece.  Sure I use more resin, but it's easier for me and I can just pop any items I need to build whatever into a fresh .CTB File and print away.

 

As to your last statement, yeah, there are downsides to address absolutely.  It definitely isn't the cheapest way to get into a 30k army and requires a lot of work for anyone coming into it fresh.  But, there are those who are lucky enough to have access to it as an option, under the right circumstances it could be viable for some aspects of acquiring an army if your play group allows such models.  Though I absolutely realise that's likely a very tiny portion of people.

[Brofist]

Big zone mortalis advocate here. Smaller model count means you're more likely to paint and convert your guys. Plus it costs less. Best gateway into larger games IMO though it does play differently than big games. There's also tactical strike which is even smaller with an even lower barrier of entry, but its even further from regular 30k games.

 

For ZM terrain, grab some paper Necromunda badzone tiles.

[Pacific81]

Thanks @brofist - I already have the card tiles from Necromunda so that might be an even cheaper way!

I hadn't realised that it used its own ruleset but can see that is the case, that looks ideal.

 

40k bits sites will often have mkvi heads, torsos and legs from the various 40k kits which you can mix into the mkiv kit for a bit more Raven Guard flavour.

 

As Wrathofthelion said, a transfer sheet is more cost effective than the legion shoulder pads.

 

Radio free isstvan did a podcast episode for new players starting with a betrayal of calth box, whilst the box is no longer available, all of the kits can still be bought separately. There has been some slight rules changes since the episode was released, but it’s still mostly relevant.

 

https://soundcloud.com/theforgottenlegion30k/radio-free-isstvan-so-you-just-bought-a-calth-box

 

As Cadmus said, hopefully it won’t be long until we have a new plastic starter set.

 

Thanks for this, had a listen and it was definitely informative (anyone listening jump forward about an hour from the start as there is a lot of preamble).

 

One thing that made me laugh was the guy arguing repeatedly that 30k is not more expensive. That's one of those statements I think that is 'technically' correct in that I can buy a few boxsets of the 30k armour marks, convert my own bits etc. But it's completely ignoring the fact of human (miniature collector!) psychology how damn good some of the FW releases are, and that they are the signature miniature ranges for which you have the (very expensive!) books. How are you meant to resist them, and if you are isn't it missing the point a bit (and the good stuff?)

 

Thanks to advice in this thread I'm absolutely pointing my friend towards the cheaper options for his tactical/grunt choices, but we have acknowledged it might be a special occasion/birthday gift etc. will almost certainly splash out for a signature unit, fancy dreadnought or battle automata, or something similar that will act as a centrepiece for the army and identify it as belonging in the 30k universe. 

[techsoldaten]

I apologise that this response might go off topic, but there is an underlying cost related tone (time, resin, 3d printer, all the accessories needed and skills versus straight up buying what's already good enough!).

 

Pretty sure this is on-topic.

 

30k is expensive to get into, my SoH army set me back a few thousand dollars. Anyone who's not considering 3D printing is not looking at all the options.

 

It's just hard for me to call 3D printing "cheap." The costs are more than just a printer and resin, there's also a question of time and 'getting what you want.' That matters too.

 

 

There are resins you can buy (like mono flex or harder resins like Blu by siraya tech) to use straight or mix in to achieve different resin qualities, much like you can with PLA printing in standard plastic or ABS plastic etc.  You're absolutely right about the standard resins cracking and taking chunks out of a model when you clip off the rafts if they've become integrated into the piece.  To be fair, the quality of my old 40k DG resin kits from FW had far more issues with the spikes constantly breaking off and the torso sections chipping off because of the sprue connection.  As for dropping models, most all of them break or damage at some point.

 

When it comes to resin, there don't seem to be any silver bullets. Haven't tried Blu yet, but the additives I've used seem to be trading material strength for detail. 

 

Not that GW models are perfect, there just seems to be fewer downsides to using them.

 

 

For reference to finding the models online or creating poses and having unique models (though I realise you likely know all this anyway) - might I suggest looking for the ones who come pieced out and not pre-posed.  There are some excellent downloads which have the models parted down into similar pieces as found on those you can buy (ie legs, torso, heads, arms, pads and weapon etc).  You can print out the different pieces for each part and piece them together in any way you choose just like with other purchased models.

 

Don't get me started about the 'pieced out' models, I've had some bad experiences. Always seems like some tiny detail is a bit off, scaled improperly, posed at a funny angle, or is just specific to some other piece. But I'm a perfectionist. Slicing down a full model is usually simpler.

 

That does bring us to the point where 3D printing excels - parts for models you can't buy. GW doesn't let you order parts anymore, just finished models. This creates some situations that are better addressed with a 3D printer.

 

Like, I recently needed a Narthecium for an Apothecary. Costs $50 to buy the Command Squad box, which is a lot for one arm. Printing that made more sense, it's just one piece and took less than an hour to make. 

 

Specifically WRT 30k - I play Sons of Horus. Those were some of the first 30k sculpts, they're not perfect and FW hasn't done much with the line. There are a lot of models that could use improvement. If I was starting over again, I'd probably print the following myself:

 

- Shoulder Pads - the legion-specific ones leave a little to be desired. I'd rather have a raised Eye of Horus than the "angry triangle." Plus I have a lot of MkIII Marines, I'd do something custom for them. 

 

- Helmets - the MkIV helmets are a little hard to paint, and I don't like the ones with the head knot. I'd do my own and make them look a little more regal.

 

- Moritats and Praetors - everybody I know uses the official Forgeworld models, complete with the chest plates. Seeing that on a traitor army doesn't look right, I'd do my own and put the time in to give them a proper Eye on the chest.

 

- Spartans /  Sicarans (add ons) - these sculpts have a plain aesthetic. I'd dress them up with trophies and Legion iconography. At the very least - some plates with skulls, custom printed to fit exactly on the model.

 

- Leviathan (torso) - SoH have a highly customized Contemptor, but not a Leviathan. I would at least print Eye of Horus bits for the torso. Mine looks a little too plain, which is unfortunate for such a big model. 

 

- Basilisk / Medusa (add ons) - I would probably replace some of the plate armor around the guns with 3D printed versions that include cthonian rune etchings. Seems like something the crews would have done, I tried doing it with an xacto and didn't like how they came out.

[Cris R]

I think one option to make 3d printing feasible for more folks is "printing clubs" where a group of folks divide the costs of the raw materials and have one or two people with printers do custom work for the group. A buddy of mine got his last year and my friends and I are organizing a group with this setup. Obviously he can't do every request possible - especially larger models - but I think it'll be a good way to get more bits for my legion at cheaper prices.

 

But back to the original post, I think it's a viable option if the Ravenguard player wants to commit to a group over the long-term to support the growth of their army or chip in a few bucks for a quick project. It's just finding someone who's willing to do that, which is the barrier to entry.

[LameBeard]

So I think the conclusion of the above is the cheapest way to 30k is start with a force based around plastic, which will be footslogging infantry.

 

Someone starting might prefer a legion with rules or background that suits this kind of force, and whose rules are more easily available. I guess I would suggest:

Imperial Fists, Iron Warriors, Ultramarines, Word Bearers, Salamanders, maybe Death Guard (probably need Forgeworld decal sheet for that one).  But the legions are legions, so I think fluff-wise you can run any legion like this. For access to the rules, you still need to plan ahead.

 

I have the two red books (Army List and Legion Book).I got the epub version which is quite a bit cheaper at the moment, at least in the UK - via Warhammer digital.

The legions covered are Alpha Legion; Death Guard; Emperor's Children; Imperial Fists; Iron Hands; Iron Warriors; Night Lords; Raven Guard; Salamanders; Sons of Horus; Ultramarines; Word Bearers; and World Eaters.  There may be some that are not totally up-to-date, like the latest Night Lords rules. You could even live with just the army list and no legion rules to start with, but you'll soon be itching for them.

 

Also, a few Black Books are now available in softback which is cheaper. Most will have some legion rules, but it's not clear to me which have a full army list. Again, the older army lists may be missing some newer units and options. Frater here might fill these gaps. 

 

Final question. Does anyone think it's viable to run a mainly plastic Custodes force in 30k? Is the low model count a way to keep things cheaper? Or is the necessity of a Black Book and the call of resin going to hurt too much? Or will you just lose all your friends because everyone hates playing against Custodes?

[Gorgoff]

Yes, everbody hates Custodes. ;)

It is cheap to play them, though it was cheaper back when we had a starter box whith them in it.

One of the reasons why they are played by so many players is just that.

 

Post-nerf they are way friendlier to play against although it still is no fun to be honest. The legio player keeps running and gunning and the Talons of the Emperor player tries to catch them. I won each and every game against them so far, but only one of them was worth playing unfortunately.