Which current 40k Space Marine kits are excellent for 30k?

[Marshal Mittens]

Obviously the amount of MKVII and other things make many first born 40k kits not great, but what are some units you see as great fodder for conversions?

For me, I like sternguard and vanguard veterans, not for the units, bit for all the bits.

The new assault marines have a lot of bit options and some MKVI marines which are not much smaller. 

The command squad is old and shows its age, however its the only source for some bits in plastic, and it has some very good bits as well as stuff for making various HQ units which we don't otherwise have in plastic yet. 

 

Personally I love the new CSM and Chosen kits for more spikey factions, such as Sons of Horus, with minor conversions.

I also like the new (thunderstrike) sigmarines for their weapons such as spears and swords, with the two handed sword ones having amazing big swords which work great for space marines with minimal conversions. Some of them work for Artifacer Armor without crazy conversion skill required.  

 

Which older 40k kits do you think can work, for bits or entire models, in 30k?

Edited September 11, 2022 by Marshal Mittens

[Dont-Be-Haten]

This list is extremely extensive. And it only takes minor changes on some of them. Many of the marine variants come with Mark IV - VI variants.

Mars pattern rhino chasis and variants

Drop Pod

Bike Squadron 

Assault marines with Jump Packs

Scouts

Vanguard veterans (make good sergeants/retinue with Jump Packs)

Stern guard veterans (make good seekers)

All imperial fortifications

Hammerfall bunker

Apothecaries from command squad

All gen 1 librarian variants

Sanguinary priest

Terminator chaplain variants

Terminators

Chaplains

Land speeders (without typhoon ML)

Phobos pattern land raider

Blood angels tactical squad

All of the master ofs...

Master of command

Master executioner

Master of marches

Master of rites

Master of fleet

Basically all of the new chaos space marine stuff make good sons of Horus or Word Bearers. The new khorne berserkers will be a nice edition to a world eaters army...traitor or otherwise with a couple head swaps.

The new death guard work for siege based DG. All three Deamon Primarchs in 40k are usable at the siege, or post siege battles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Brother Kraskor]

I recently picked up an old Khorne Bezerker kit to provide some assault arms & weapons for Mk4 assault marines. Planning to use the legs for Palatine blades, using a mix of the torsos in the kit and some fw upgrades (removing any Khornate iconography ofc). Older Chaos kits are likely a good source of this stuff whilst they're still around as they're the right size.

[Noserenda]

Essentially any old hobbit marine kit except the centurions and razorbacks and all the Chaos kits, even if you dont lean that way :D  It really depends how good you are at modelling and kitbashing.

[Dont-Be-Haten]

8 minutes ago, Noserenda said:

Essentially any old hobbit marine kit except the centurions and razorbacks and all the Chaos kits, even if you dont lean that way :D  It really depends how good you are at modelling and kitbashing.

Technically you could just run razorback with HB as rhinos with a heavy bolter...

[MARK0SIAN]

It’s obviously legion specific but the sanguinary guard kit and the death company kit are an excellent source of bits for the BA legion. 
 

Several of the DA kits also work really well for the first legion with a bit of conversion. 

[Valkyrion]

Thousand Sons can be done almost entirely in plastic using the 40k range, even pre heresy if you avoid the more mutated bits, especially if you are going Pride or Court heavy to show off all the fancy trimmings. 
Their funky looking bolters could be used for seekers, their funky looking flamers could probably be used as aether blasters (I know that's plasma, but the weapons look different enough), tartaros terminators with power weapons and combi bolters. Use the plastic legs with the FW upgrade to make khenetai, use the left over bodies with some ebayed mkIV legs and you've got a veteran squad etc.

The OOP reserve captains make excellent consuls
Master of Rites - Chaplain or Delegatus if you don't use the servo skull, Master of Signals, maybe even a Herald if you do.
Master of Marches - Delegatus, passable Librarian if you make his scroll all magicky 
Master of Relics - Master of Signals, Siege Breaker, Master of Signals
 

[Corswain]

Totally agree on the Thousand Sons. Definitely on my list to do eventually with those kits.

[Dont-Be-Haten]

Really any of the chaos stuff for a siege inspired army. A lot of the marines had started getting the whispers and just went full blown chaos badness.

Mortartion, Magnus, Angron (when he releases) they all can be taken.

[Gamiel]

On 9/11/2022 at 12:51 PM, Marshal Mittens said:

Personally I love the new CSM and Chosen kits for more spikey factions, such as Sons of Horus, with minor conversions.

I would say that they are good for all Legions more or less as they are - personally would I change most of the helmets to SM helmets but we do know that at least some of the HH era marines had very artistically made helmets - and the somewhat rag-tag feel most of the CSM have would fit with the "war have been going on for a while, we have had to improvise" thing many in the HH is described to have.

 

 

White Dwarf #464 have an article about the Fallen, including how to make them, I would say that the discussion and examples given are good inspiration for kitbashing.

The Ravenwing Black Knights/Command Squad is a gold mine of alternative weapons and heads, and stuff that can be used for other things, either for DA or other Legions.

The Space Wolves Blood Claws/Grey Hunters box is a gold mine for heads, weapon and bling that say barbarian, can be used by any Legion force that you want to be a bit more wild (maybe your Iron Warrior have been stationed on a Feral World for a long time before being summoned back?) and much of their bling can be used to represent a more superstitious force. All the wolf stuff could also be used by Sons of Horus if you decide that they took pride in their old name and showed that by wearing their name on their sleeves, or maybe your Loyalist SoH that have gone back to their Lunar Wolves and want to show that they are truly wolves not Sons.

All the SM upgrade kits are good, even the primaris ones (you have to remove the hands from the arms still), either for their Legion or for alternative bit for other forces (or to show that your e.g. Loyalist NL have been hanging around the IF by giving them bling from the IF n BT upgrade kit). And the BT upgrade kit is good for relics, candles and similar that can be used for WB, Esoterists, or just any force that's supposed to be more religious. Also, if you plan that your force is the core of what will later be one of the successors that have a symbol similar to any of the ones that have an upgrade kit(e.g. the , Dark Brotherhood and Imperial Paladins whose symbol is a variant of the BT symbol in different colours) can you use parts/transfers from that kit for your force's/leader's personal heraldry. 

The Night Lords Conversion Pack and Night Lords Chaos Lord still exist and I would say can still work both for traitor and loyalist NL. 

Cypher can be used as praetor, either for the DA, or with a removal of his belt buckle: any other Legion, loyalist or traitor.

Most firstborn HQ can be used as praetors, either for their ancestor Legion or with some work anybody (but if you want to be "historically correct" look up which symbols existed during the HH and which are of later inventions, I e.g. don’t think that the DA begun using feathers in their symbology until sometime after the HH).

The Plague Marines can be used as, well, Plague Marines from any traitor force, maybe with some kitbashing/converting to show which Legion they belong to (unless you just show that with their colours). It's also a bit more work but Green Stuff Flu show that Plague Marines can with some knifework and converting be turned into cool uncorrupted models: #deatheagles hashtagg på Instagram 

 

Edited September 17, 2022 by Gamiel

[Hfran Morkai]

7 hours ago, Valkyrion said:

Master of Relics - Master of Signals, Siege Breaker, Master of Signals
 

 

I picked up one of these chaps the other day without knowing what he was as it was a cool model.

 

His backpack gubbinz look great. I think I'm settling on a Siege Breaker, going to use the Data Pad from the vehicle kit and give him a Thunder Hammer maglocked to his armour.

[Gamiel]

Not 40k but AoS, in the below video Pete the Wargamer show how to turn a AoS Chaos Warrior into a Dark Angle Fallen and I think what he is doing could be used to create Blackshields or Broken Legion members that have not been able to fully re-equip their armour and have to improvise

 

[MegaVolt87]

On 9/11/2022 at 9:31 PM, Dont-Be-Haten said:

This list is extremely extensive. And it only takes minor changes on some of them. Many of the marine variants come with Mark IV - VI variants.

Mars pattern rhino chasis and variants

Drop Pod

Bike Squadron 

Assault marines with Jump Packs

Scouts

Vanguard veterans (make good sergeants/retinue with Jump Packs)

Stern guard veterans (make good seekers)

All imperial fortifications

Hammerfall bunker

Apothecaries from command squad

All gen 1 librarian variants

Sanguinary priest

Terminator chaplain variants

Terminators

Chaplains

Land speeders (without typhoon ML)

Phobos pattern land raider

Blood angels tactical squad

All of the master ofs...

Master of command

Master executioner

Master of marches

Master of rites

Master of fleet

Basically all of the new chaos space marine stuff make good sons of Horus or Word Bearers. The new khorne berserkers will be a nice edition to a world eaters army...traitor or otherwise with a couple head swaps.

The new death guard work for siege based DG. All three Deamon Primarchs in 40k are usable at the siege, or post siege battles.

 

Add the following to the list-  40k rhino, vindicator and predator because those are Mars pattern were introduced at the tail end of the GC or during the HH depending on what lore source. The legion javelin speeder could be represented by the typhon, because the base loadout is HB and cyclone missiles, which is close enough to the typhon itself. (HB and typhoon missiles). 

[T0MMY]

On 9/11/2022 at 7:27 PM, Brother Kraskor said:

I recently picked up an old Khorne Bezerker kit to provide some assault arms & weapons for Mk4 assault marines. Planning to use the legs for Palatine blades, using a mix of the torsos in the kit and some fw upgrades (removing any Khornate iconography ofc). Older Chaos kits are likely a good source of this stuff whilst they're still around as they're the right size.

 

I used the old Khorne bezerker models to make a despoiler assault squad for my WE. The running legs and straps of ammo work relatively well for assault troops and you don't notics so much that they're a little shorter than the newer models... 

 

Hoping the new Bezerker kit is just as useful - especially for chainaxes!

[MegaVolt87]

The new 40k bezerkers will definitely be used if the converted CSM for HH era is anything to go by. 

[The Scorpion]

On 9/11/2022 at 1:31 PM, Dont-Be-Haten said:

This list is extremely extensive. And it only takes minor changes on some of them. Many of the marine variants come with Mark IV - VI variants.

Mars pattern rhino chasis and variants

Drop Pod

Bike Squadron 

Assault marines with Jump Packs

Scouts

Vanguard veterans (make good sergeants/retinue with Jump Packs)

Stern guard veterans (make good seekers)

All imperial fortifications

Hammerfall bunker

Apothecaries from command squad

All gen 1 librarian variants

Sanguinary priest

Terminator chaplain variants

Terminators

Chaplains

Land speeders (without typhoon ML)

Phobos pattern land raider

Blood angels tactical squad

All of the master ofs...

Master of command

Master executioner

Master of marches

Master of rites

Master of fleet

Basically all of the new chaos space marine stuff make good sons of Horus or Word Bearers. The new khorne berserkers will be a nice edition to a world eaters army...traitor or otherwise with a couple head swaps.

The new death guard work for siege based DG. All three Deamon Primarchs in 40k are usable at the siege, or post siege battles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The new CSM also make good Night Lords because of the hooks and flayed flesh

[corvus.calvariam]

On 11/9/2022 at 3:42 PM, MegaVolt87 said:

 

Add the following to the list-  40k rhino, vindicator and predator because those are Mars pattern were introduced at the tail end of the GC or during the HH depending on what lore source. The legion javelin speeder could be represented by the typhon, because the base loadout is HB and cyclone missiles, which is close enough to the typhon itself. (HB and typhoon missiles). 

 

Just a note, the plastic Mars pattern Land Speeder is a popular model, but it's actually not 30k accurate. Here's an excerpt from IA:2.

 

The Javelin is also bigger than the plastic Land Speeder, so that's something to keep in mind for proxys as well.

 

Edited November 13, 2022 by corvus.calvariam

[Noserenda]

Thats kinda loose canon what with that pattern of land speeder repeatedly appearing in Heresy era art over the years, technological developments or reclamation was always at its absolute height during the great crusade and its been a rare exception ever since, so really things that you cant use in 30k are the weird exceptions rather than the rule.

[MegaVolt87]

I disagree about the mars speeder from 40k, its been shown in HH artwork, so I would consider it cannon and official. 

[Dont-Be-Haten]

I run 40k land speeders, as I prefer it to the 30k variant.

[Paturabo]

On 9/11/2022 at 12:16 PM, MARK0SIAN said:

It’s obviously legion specific but the sanguinary guard kit and the death company kit are an excellent source of bits for the BA legion.

 

Also the Baal Predator, which was discovered during the Great Crusade.

Comes with a flamestorm cannon and is the easiest way to build a Blood Angels' Oops-All-Assault-Cannons predator.

[Petitioner's City]

On 11/13/2022 at 8:31 PM, MegaVolt87 said:

I disagree about the mars speeder from 40k, its been shown in HH artwork, so I would consider it cannon and official. 

 

"canon", not "cannon" :)

[Dont-Be-Haten]

On the 40k space marine heroes, there's a lot of potential there. Honestly I didn't even change several of the Mark VII pieces and they fit the army fine. I've taken such a liking to them that I have a mind to get a second set of them to more heavily convert into a veteran, command, or despoiler squad.

 

My current squad is a full 10 man unit that I play as seekers or bolter veterans.

[Mandragola]

Not space marine bits but the Necromunda Escher range is a good source of female arms holding weapons that are a nice fit on sisters of silence. There are needle pistols and really cool bows that I'm using as Vratine Nemesis Bolters in this kit.

 

 

And for jetbikes I plan (if they ever actually get released) to use Escher Cutters. It looks like they'll be four to a box, so you could do a squad of three and a Silent Fury HQ. The styling of the thing is even vaguely similar to the Acquisitor, though fitting a SoS on won't be easy. I'd probably just use a SoS torso and the Escher model's legs.

 

[sarabando]

On 11/13/2022 at 6:51 PM, corvus.calvariam said:

 

Just a note, the plastic Mars pattern Land Speeder is a popular model, but it's actually not 30k accurate. Here's an excerpt from IA:2.

 

The Javelin is also bigger than the plastic Land Speeder, so that's something to keep in mind for proxys as well.

 

you are correct on the size, the 40k speeder doesnt match the javalin however it does match the proteus, its also very similar design wise to the proteus just with an armoured front end.