Is there even a reason to avoid non-GW models/parts anymore?

[Evil Eye]

For the longest time I was quite hesitant to use non-GW components or minis in my armies, largely because I wanted my force to be useable in GW stores. But a few years ago realized, given that not only are independent stores, clubs etc a lot more commonplace for me, but GW stores basically don't have tables for playing games with anymore (outside of a single very small demo-table for teaching people 40K or AOS) there's actually zero point worrying about it, because even if you wanted to only play in a GW, you can't!

 

It has made me wonder if a lot of the fear of "oh I can't use that, it's not officially sanctioned" is entirely artificial. Unless you're going to Warhammer World as your main gaming location (which is not the case for most people) or you're regularly attending GW-sponsored tournaments as your only means of playing (see previous, also why) there's basically no good motivation to keep armies exclusively GW. I'm not even talking about printing, as much of a fan as I am of the magical manufacture machines; there's LOTS of suppliers of parts and models that can be used in 40k, both semi-large companies (such as Wargames Atlantic) and small garage operations (like Hydracast, who also does resin-cast minis if you don't have a printer) and really I don't think it's worth restricting your options solely for one possible gaming environment that basically doesn't exist anymore.

[TheTrans]

Never got the obsession with 'GW' only parts.

 

Welcome to the joys of hobby freedom! 

[Doobles57]

Tournaments. That's basically the only one I can think of. And even then I think only those directly affiliated with GW will enforce anything like that. 

 

Otherwise I agree. Go wild.

[Redcomet]

Unless you play in GW run tournaments or plan to enter Golden Demon, then no. Go wild with freedom

[sarabando]

with 3rd party parts having the vibe more than some modern GW sculpts no i have no problem any more.

[Marshal Rohr]

Only if you plan on playing in their stores or at Warhammer world or something. Other than that it’s a matter of taste and most of the time you can get away with 3d party conversion parts once painted. 

[Wormwoods]

If you're a fan of cutting and converting models GW still has some of the best plastics for it, but otherwise not really, do what you like. 

[Emurian]

As stated as long as you dont bring them to an official GW store, or a tournament hosted by them, then there is not a single reason to hold back.

Chances are very high that your local gaming store people rather choose The rule of cool over WYIWYG at all cost.

Example: If someone shows up with a SoB army, but the miniatures are from Raging Heroes. Be my guest, for me I value time investment in the hobby more then what exactly is on the table. I rather see a painted army of alternative miniatures then a spraycanned all GW official army.

I bought a ton of Grognards from Wargames atlantic, bought a handfull of Ad mech parts based on Pete the Wargamer video on youtube to build Vostroyan alternatives. I have 150 official Vostroyan models but his conversion is ideal to represent a Conscript squad. 

Alternative sources can also cost MORE then GW. My Vostroyan Heavy weapon squads use the guns from Victoria Miniatures. Instead of using the GW Leman Russ I bought multiple from Mortianshop. These models are more expensive then the GW ones but I simply prefer the look.

None of my mates care about them not being GW models. All they care about is having fun together. Take a look at the picture to see what I mean. Would you really make an issue out seeing this Tank / Heavy weapon squad / Rough riders? (I will point out the tank is 50% longer in lenght but has the same widt and height as a LR. Basically anything behind the sponsor point is extra compared to the OG GW leman russ.) A GW employee would kick me out if I bring this stuff, but I am pretty convinced that in any hobby store people would admire the different look of this army.



 

Edited July 7 by Emurian

[phandaal]

One of Us! One of Us! 

 

Welcome to the free people's Republic of Wargaming!

 

And yes, once you branch out and start adding non-GW sculpts to your army, you will open up a whole new world of possibilities. Your army can be whatever you want it to be. Great stuff!

 

Edit: check out my Votann army thread here if you want to see how I mixed GW and non-GW models (and stuff from other factions) to make something well outside of the current offerings from GW:

 

Not sure why it pulls up Dr Clock's army in the thumbnail but there you go. 

 

Also, any of the threads from @Brother Morgan are an awesome source for seeing what someone can do with "non-official" parts!

Edited July 7 by phandaal

[Orion]

Yeah, you 100% can do whatever. Mortian stuff looks great. Same with Victoria's.

 

I do really like going for GW parts for the majority though. In combination with styrene, you can do a lot. 
And it can really keep it seeming in universe. 

 

Dave Taylor's old stuff comes to mind, Imperial armour master class, as well as old white dwarfs in general. 

 

You can also see parallels in Lego Mocs, in the clever usage of parts within a set system. I find that interesting.

[Evil Eye]

2 hours ago, phandaal said:

Welcome to the free people's Republic of Wargaming!

Hell yeah! I've been part of the Republic for a few years now (hence the large amount of printing I do) but it's nice to see it becoming a more popular mindset.

 

@Emurian Those are some really nice models!

[darkhorse0607]

30 minutes ago, Orion said:

And it can really keep it seeming in universe. 

 

 

 

That's been the only reason why I haven't jumped on board. But now GW is making changes to things (MK3 armor for the Heresy for example), so they don't match the 30 years of artwork other than an outlier or two, so I'm less hung up on that aspect.

 

Especially if, going forward, it's just going to be an upgrade sprue per chapter/legion/guard regiment instead of having specific kits for chapter-specific marines (i.e. used to be a Blood Angels tactical squad kit that had a bunch of flavor, now it's rumored to be just an upgrade kit like the Dark Angels, or the old Deathwatch kit versus the new one, etc)

[roryokane]

I feel like for IG this is a no-brainer, especially with the demise of Forgeworld. I can't imagine anyone outside of a GW store or tournament caring very much for an army that looks cool and cohesive.
But as the Space Marine range becomes more uniform, that's going to be increasingly what people do - especially for chapters with a very distinct look (robes for dark angels, templar knights for BT, Viking & wolf stuff for SW etc etc).

[MARK0SIAN]

To be fair, even at Warhammer World they’re not overly stringent on non-gw bits for casual gaming. It’s not like they have staff wandering around the tables inspecting everyone’s models. I’ve played with some non-gw bits including some larger upgrade bits for knights which are easily identifiable (even at a distance) as being 3rd party and no one has said anything. 
 

I think so long as you’re not taking the mick and bringing an entire 3rd part army then you’re probably safe with a smattering of non-gw bits even there. 
 

At official events though I’d still stick to GW only.

[Cryptix]

Although I prefer the indie LGS near us (they've just got better terrain and a less competitive community, although prices are the same),  I've played games with my army at the local GW, and my army is a mix of GW, FW, Etsy 3d prints, and even some old converted Warmachine models!

A lone poxwalker facing down the Cicatrix-pattern Defiler known as the Goliath. 

 

In my experience it mainly just comes down to yeah, they're trying to advertise models GW actually sells to people, but as long as you keep it on the down low and it's not literally the entire army you're usually fine.

[Minsc]

@Emurian Looks like you're using Macharius Battle Tank as base for your Leman Russes?
Technically they're still GW-models, but you do risk GW-people being mad at you for proxxying. ;)
(Gorgeous tanks btw.)

 

[Razorblade]

Here are some Reasons why you might want to stick to GW only: 

-Visual Consistency: while this has gotten a lot better recently, a lot of 3rd Party designs still look "off" next to GW Minis.

-Quality: Again the Quality of 3rd Party products and also what one can achieve with a printer has been steadily improving but often times one can still tell. 

-Respect for your opponents: This one is completely dependent on the first two and your gaming environment. If you're usually not playing fully painted wysiwyg-anyways, or if the Models are great in quality this is a non-factor, and I think this also shouldn't be much of an issue in strictly competitive play, but if I'm at a fully-painted narrative event and I can spot the Printer-Army from three tables away that definitely dampens my enjoyment.

-Nostalgia/Habit/Challenge: I (and I think a lot of others) have built my converting skills trough the linit of GW-parts only, back when there was more incentive to do so. It has simply become habitual for me and I enjoy the challenge of getting the parts I need from other GW kits quite a bit. 

-If you stop buying GW products, GW can't know what games and factions your interested in. I don't think this is much of a factor but maybe something to keep in mind.

[Emurian]

7 hours ago, Minsc said:

@Emurian Looks like you're using Macharius Battle Tank as base for your Leman Russes?
Technically they're still GW-models, but you do risk GW-people being mad at you for proxxying. ;)
(Gorgeous tanks btw.)

No Like I stated these come from Mortianshop a small German company. So they are not GW models. This is their main battle tank.

 

People can be mad I don't care. Just don't play versus me and go play vs that 3D printed DKoK (let's be fair most DKoK armies are printed) 

Edited July 8 by Emurian

[Doghouse]

If it's indie store or friendly games then go for it, like you say no one plays in GW stores anymore for the most part.

 

There is far too much hang up in the hobby these days about everything being "official" and it is a massive drain on creativity given the options available. How you play your games is up to you and who you play with. I have never once in forty years seen anyone say "oh these guys I made are scouts" then later in the game say "nah they are Terminators bruv!" Outside of tournies you are not going to be playing random strangers every single week, if you go to a FLGS or local club you will get to know them well enough as it's often an established community.

 

We used to use green cloth draped over books for hills, up turned dessert pots for buildings and airfix model tanks while risking lead poisoning from handling our unpainted minis too much back in my day.

[Orion]

2 hours ago, Emurian said:

No Like I stated these come from Mortianshop a small German company. So they are not GW models. This is their main battle tank.

 

People can be mad I don't care. Just don't play versus me and go play vs that 3D printed DKoK (let's be fair most DKoK armies are printed) 

 

Mortian are cool because they use the Macharius styling but fit a niche being relatively Russ sized. 
 

As someone who really really likes the OG Krieg, the amount of printed DKK armies are disappointing. And so many of said prints go very offbrand. 

[roryokane]

4 hours ago, Doghouse said:

If it's indie store or friendly games then go for it, like you say no one plays in GW stores anymore for the most part.

 

There is far too much hang up in the hobby these days about everything being "official" and it is a massive drain on creativity given the options available. How you play your games is up to you and who you play with. I have never once in forty years seen anyone say "oh these guys I made are scouts" then later in the game say "nah they are Terminators bruv!" Outside of tournies you are not going to be playing random strangers every single week, if you go to a FLGS or local club you will get to know them well enough as it's often an established community.

 

We used to use green cloth draped over books for hills, up turned dessert pots for buildings and airfix model tanks while risking lead poisoning from handling our unpainted minis too much back in my day.

"You were luck to have a cloth!"

But the sentiment is correct.
 

 

7 hours ago, Razorblade said:

Here are some Reasons why you might want to stick to GW only: 

-Visual Consistency: while this has gotten a lot better recently, a lot of 3rd Party designs still look "off" next to GW Minis.

-Quality: Again the Quality of 3rd Party products and also what one can achieve with a printer has been steadily improving but often times one can still tell. 

-Respect for your opponents: This one is completely dependent on the first two and your gaming environment. If you're usually not playing fully painted wysiwyg-anyways, or if the Models are great in quality this is a non-factor, and I think this also shouldn't be much of an issue in strictly competitive play, but if I'm at a fully-painted narrative event and I can spot the Printer-Army from three tables away that definitely dampens my enjoyment.

-Nostalgia/Habit/Challenge: I (and I think a lot of others) have built my converting skills trough the linit of GW-parts only, back when there was more incentive to do so. It has simply become habitual for me and I enjoy the challenge of getting the parts I need from other GW kits quite a bit. 

-If you stop buying GW products, GW can't know what games and factions your interested in. I don't think this is much of a factor but maybe something to keep in mind.

I totally take your points here, but the last one is kinda moot for stuff they don't make any more!

[Deus_Ex_Machina]

@OP:

Choose models from companies which you prefer. Being imprisoned in the GW bubble is not a healthy state of mind. My Rust Buckets from New Mars now include bots from other manufacturers. Have a look:

 

https://ibb.co/album/KjSybp

[roryokane]

9 minutes ago, Deus_Ex_Machina said:

@OP:

Choose models from companies which you prefer. Being imprisoned in the GW bubble is not a healthy state of mind. My Rust Buckets from New Mars now include bots from other manufacturers. Have a look:

 

https://ibb.co/album/KjSybp

Are hey supposed to be necrons or admech?

[Timberley]

10 hours ago, Emurian said:

No Like I stated these come from Mortianshop a small German company. So they are not GW models. This is their main battle tank.

 

People can be mad I don't care. Just don't play versus me and go play vs that 3D printed DKoK (let's be fair most DKoK armies are printed) 

Thanks for introducing me to Mortianshop!  There are some amazing miniatures there, particularly the not-Elysians they've made.  I've got a few bits of non-GW stuff, but sorting the wheat from the chaff has proven to be daunting.  Knowing other Frater have used some manufacturers/designers and have pictures of the result make the process much easier.

[Deus_Ex_Machina]

4 hours ago, roryokane said:

Are hey supposed to be necrons or admech?

Two ways of using them:

 

1. Custom machine culture during Great Crusade era. 

2. Necrons for 2nd and 3rd 40K.