Warhammer 40k proxy tips

[Perducci]

Here's the thing, I really like 40k but don't feel like paying through the nose for tiny pieces of plastic and metal. I was hoping to make some pieces somehow that looked reasonably cool. I'm trying to get my little brother in to it so that I can have someone to play with. Scraps of paper would hold my attention because I like the tactical aspect, but I think that he's want to see something a little more. Anyone have any ideas I could use to make realistic looking pieces? I think I can make the tanks and larger stuff to look like it should, but the smaller pieces I'm not sure about. Any advice will be helpful. Thanks in advance.

[Scroofy]

You could always just buy some army men and some toy tanks and some small plastic bug type things and have yourself an Imperial guard vs. Tyranid battle.

[Fuzzy_Juan]

heh...the good 'ol bucket of army men is perfect for IG. They damn near look like guardmen, and have different colors and weapon loadouts for things you will need.

Squater with tripod is of course your heavy bolter, flamer is the flamer, minesweeper is your techpriest, com guys can be sgts or vox equipped models, they have sgt models...mortors for mortars...rocket launchers...the different positions of the army men can also differentiate riflemen from guard with grenade launchers and plasma. The tanks that come with army men can be found in different sized and colots as well and are approximately the same footprint as Leman Russ and other tanks. All in all, army men are a great substitute for guard to test out an army configuration without investing in the actual models...as long as you have someone to test on.

If you happen to have a bunch of heroscape miniatures around (say you have kids or whatnot) you can use those in place of minis since they are about the same scale and base size. The Sgt. from heroscape with the huge sword would make a good IG hero unit...oh, and the deathwalker 9000 is a great substitute for a dreadnaught.

Though...really...for das uber cheap...get a bunch of the bases and some index cards. Cut the index cards so that they fit in the slots and weight the base. The index card will have the unit type and stats on the card. That way, you get a good feel for the actual size of the bases (and that is what counts) and can make any army...just use some markers to color code the force for easy recognition. For vehicles, use cardstock and tape them together in the approximate dimensions of the assembled vehicle with the appropriate vehicle data displayed on the unit.

[Perducci]

I think what I could really use would be like a few black and white coloring book style pictures that I could use. That way he'd be able to personalize it and it would look ok. I'd just prop them up and there we go. I've tried to draw these on a computer and on paper, but I'm no artist.

[Fuzzy_Juan]

if you are going to go through that much trouble...just visit the games workshop website and printscreen on the close ups of the models you want, blow them up in paint, and print out however many you want onto paper. You can probably fit 10-20 guardsmen on a single 8 1/2 x 11 sheet...gluestick the pics to the cardstock in the bases so you have popup figures...

or, just use checkers, poker chips, or washers with paper lables, they are about the right size with cut out paper squares for vehicles.

templates can be made with paper as well...though you may want to get a transparency so you can see through it better. In a pinch, a tape measure with the correct dimensions or a couple of strings measured out can suffice.

[Narmoth]

Or, you could buy a "lot" of used warhammerfigures on ebay cheap and just repaint them (or even use them as they are) for much less than they cost new. all war engines can be made from scratch.

[Fuzzy_Juan]

e-bay is good for cheaper figures, though you are then limited to whatever happens to be on sale, every now and then you run across a great deal...you just have to keep a reserve and try and score when you can...

A month or so ago I saw a marine megaforce sold for around $80...now that was a deal...and yes, it was the megaforce box, not the basic...at least...they had the pictures and list for the megaforce...that is the other minor problem with e-bay...not too often, but every now and then you don't quite get what you thought...a bit rarer with decent e-bay sellers, but always a problem when buying at auction, real life or virtual.

When buying alot of stuff online, you can sometimes get great deals on stuff people are just ditching cause they stopped playing...those tend to be the best deals...or those rarer liquidation sales where a game store went under and someone is selling off stuff for real cheap just to turn a profit on the stuff they bought wholesale when the store was liquidated.

The only real 'problem' with buying assembled models online is that even with pics, you have to trust that they did a decent job putting them together, and unless you intend to repaint everything into the same color, paint schemes will be wildly different.

[Jacob_Gallagher]

There are other, cheaper miniatures games. Take a look at Confrontation, by the company Rackham. You only need 6-18 figs for an army, and the minis have a lot more detail than GW figs- painter's wet dream.

[Were-Sandwich]

Ssssh. The GW ninjas here you! THERE ARE NO OTHER MINIATURES COMPANIES, remember.

[Sereneprophet]

Yeah ive always thought about picking these up, not for gaming (since theres no groups around here id imagine, and they are expansive as hell (Curious as to why since theres many other miniatures that come prepainted and are much cheaper) But it would be fun to attempt to paint them and make like a...diorama or something.


Mainly for me though, i've been looking towards maybe picking up DnD Miniatures, cause the games are fairly easy to play, skirmish wise anywho, if I ever get into PnP, Ive got mini's to use, and most of all, I have prepainted DnD troops to make dioramas for, since I think that would be fun grabbing like a cork message board, then grabbing ground materials, and stuff to make buildings or ruins, some spraypaint or other paint, and build little environs.

Course I have little room for to many of those things, so I may just display the minis, but since I cannot currently be employed, I really dont do much besides excercise (which is getting better) and sit at home :P

[nathkry]

One of my friends just acquired a whole bunch of the slotted bases and printed out pictures of the specific minis that each base was, and taped them on. He also made a couple of cardboard chimeras, and called it a Grey Knights force.

[Perducci]

^ ^ ^
That's what I'm going for. Now to find the pictures. GW's site obviously...any other sites I could find those pics?

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No need now, I've got several 250 point armies made. That should be enough for someone new to the game.

[nathkry]

^ ^ ^
That's what I'm going for. Now to find the pictures. GW's site obviously...any other sites I could find those pics?

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No need now, I've got several 250 point armies made. That should be enough for someone new to the game.

I don't know of other sites, but I'll try to dig something up for you.

[Perducci]

My cardboard tanks are looking pretty decent. I made four and painted them all in about an 2 hours. $160 bucks worth of armor for nothing-I can live with it being unrealistic looking. My paper pieces are lacking a bit though.

I think my next project will be to make some clay pieces. Ovenbake style clay is way cheaper than GW's apparently rare plastic. I'm thinking that doing it in bits style just like the plasics will be the best approach. Any comments/ideas?

[Fuzzy_Juan]

now that sounds like an idea...use that style clay in a mold of the mini's if you can get some. I know several of the minis can be imprinted into a mold of some sort and then you can stamp one side and then the other of the clay and cut off the rest...that would be fairly easy and look damn convincing with some practice and some knife work...could possibly get many of the details too...

Man...making Tyranids in that style would be awesome...make molds of all the bits then mix and match lego style for some of the stranger creations...that could be awesome.

[Perducci]

I've got some Marines that I'm going to use when experimenting with this. If I get anything that looks even half decent, I'll put some pictures up for ya'll.

[noahbluel]

Heroscape figure make great proxies, most are the right size and they all come painted. To get the right looking ones however you'll want to buy them individually on ebay.

Just go to heroscape.com and look at the different figurines, there are some resembling warhammer dudes. Theres this one species of guys, the "marro", that look like light brown necrons, they even have the skullish faces and the bright green guns.

[Ricky S]

Now I know warhammer may seem expensive but it really isnt when you factor in how long the product lasts for. I have been playing for 10 years and still use the same models from 10 years ago. Over that time I have spent about $3000 on GW mini's. Thats $300 a year and $25 a month. When you are working that really isnt a lot of money.

Basically to make a decently sized army you need about $400, even less if you are buying off ebay. Even with a casual job you could get that much in 2-4 weeks.

Another thing to consider is that building and painting the mini's is a major aspect of the hobby. You are missing out on so much enjoyment by using proxxies. There is nothing better than rocking up to a tournament and pulling out your beautifully painted mini's.

[Arcanoi]

Don't necro, please. The last post in this thread was 2007. We have an active W40k thread here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=208838).

[The Glyphstone]

Great Modthulhu: Thread necromancy.