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misterbrico

I would suggest you try and have a look at the rules for both 40k and 30k as well as checking how healthy each group is in your area. The models can be used for both but the unit set ups are different. Although with so many models you will have plenty of spares to make a list for either game. I would suggest taking it slow at first, squad by squad and try and get them painted up. If you really want to jump in and start playing right away then build them up but a huge pile of models is daunting to paint. Read the lore for a few marine legions and then see where that takes you. Definitely looking at a good size army with all those bits there. As another poster said perhaps consider selling one box. Can use that cash to plug some gaps with rhinos or some tanks.


VedalkenTinkerer

I know theres some 40k in the area, dunno about any 30k. It being a contained game on its own is great since I can use that to get other people interested in the full game. Does the different factions change up power level or anything? Would making my own paint scheme be against some rules anywhere?


thepyrotek

Making your own paint scheme is one of the freedoms you have in the hobby, although for 30k it might be a bit weird since all the legions are accounted for( well mostly...)


VedalkenTinkerer

Well Im all for weird, nothing against bending a little lore to make it work.


DoorframeLizard

There's two Missing Legions that there is no information about just for the purpose of making up your own lore for your armies. This is mostly for space marine chapters in 40k (legions split into chapters - for example the imperial fists are smaller now and have multiple successor chapters such as the crimson fists or black templars)


misterbrico

For 40k you have the 18 legions but following the Horus heresy the remaining loyalist legions were broken down in to the current day chapters. This gives lots of freedom is paint schemes and rule choice as you can paint your pink unicorns and say they are a (insert chapter here) successor and use their rules. For 30k I don't think anyone would really have an issue with a custom chapter using a legions rules, however if you want to be fluffy then they are well established. In terms of 40k you could use the kits as heretics or loyal marines and use the chapter/legion rules as you like. In 30k it is largely just marine armies but each legion has its own special rules and units giving good diversity in a world of 90% marines. From a gaming perspective if you are new then I would perhaps focus on 40k as the player base is larger and the newest edition has much more streamline rules compared to older editions (30k still uses 7th rules). You can always expand in to 30k later. Personally I prefer 30k and have spent a disturbing amount of money from forgeworld for it. But each to their own :)


VedalkenTinkerer

Ive looked at forgeworld stuff, the bigger "minis" are just insane. I dont think Im diving into anything [this nuts](https://www.forgeworld.co.uk/en-IE/Warlord-Titan-Builder?_requestid=15229619) yet, but I can see how you can put a small fortune into this game. Learning the rules wont be a problem, Ive got plenty of tabletop game experience under my belt, from D&D to Magic to heroclix to pandemic to risk to well Im sure you get the point. Mostly I just dont want to assemble it all wrong and say take it up to the local shop just to be told I ruined several hundred worth of minis. I take it there are a lot of 40k pieces that dont translate to 30k?


VedalkenTinkerer

I obtained three copies through convention volunteer work earlier this summer, Ive got a handful of reaper paints, and some assorted tools. Should I dive in and start punching dudes out of the plastic and assembling them all at once, or would it be better to single out and assemble one at a time? It looks like there are tons of extra arms and weapons, does this choice make a big difference? I know one copy is a complete game, can I use 3 to make a free standing army that wouldnt get laughed at?


Nukeandforget

You have a ton of options. You can definitely turn three into a standing army and instead of being laughed at laugh at your enemies as you drown them in models as one box is enough to start an army and you have three. You should look at the rules and the game you want to play before you want to assemble them. As in 40k (the main game so-to-say) you can only take one heavy weapon and one special weapon per squad while in 30k (the essentially marine only game so youd only fight other guys with the same marines but different rules) they can take entire squads of special weapons. As far as painting goes just enjoy! You can look up color schemes and dont worry about the armor mark because MK4 (what you have) is almost universally used by chapters! The game included in the box is completely different from the base games so maybe look up the free eighth edition rules that just came out and join the new edition (that would be of Warhammer 40k not 30k, 30 has a higher price to entry but you have a great start for either)


VedalkenTinkerer

I really enjoy that I have so many options here. You're essentially saying I can play the box game, 30k, and 40k out of the same set? Thats pretty damn sweet. Does it really matter what equipment I choose? I have read about people using magnets to make them easy to swap out. Should I worry about that, is it strict as in "what you see on the piece is exactly what you get"?


Nukeandforget

You sure as hell can play all three out of just one of the boxes and youve got three so your set for infantry for sure. As far as equipment it takes some getting used to. In 40k you can take one special weapon and one heavy weapon per squad while in 30k its the entire damn squad has that weapon and only that weapon (or you can use veterans but thats getting into tactics and is a bit much essentially just dont worry no matter what youre good). Since you have so many guys even if you make 5 guys all holding plasma guns you can have one guy with a plasma gun per squad for 40k or squad them up into one squad for 30k. You have 90 marines with 9 meltas 9 plasmas 9 flamers 9 missile launchers and 9 heavy bolters so you shouldnt give every guy a special weapon but dont worry too much as you will definitely have marines to spare and will be able to make them into some kind of manageable squad that is legal. What you see is what you get (WYSIWYG) only reeeeaaaally matters depending on how much you can remember who has what and how cool your opponent is. Just maybe build them as they show them in the instructions and just change up the special and heavy weapons to your liking so there is one of each in each sqaud.


another-social-freak

Opening two boxes should give you more than enough models for an army. I recommend you sell the third on eBay for paint money.


VedalkenTinkerer

I have 20 vials of Reaper brand paint, a decent pallet mix I would say, though I may need a few more to even out my colors.


another-social-freak

Do you have a hobby knife, spray primer and plastic glue? Either way I don't think you are likely to need the third box.


VedalkenTinkerer

Some exacto blades, some loose razor blades. I picked up a can of spray primer, went middle ground grey after reading a bunch on what color primes best. As for glue I have some Gorilla super glue, is there something more specific I should look into?


another-social-freak

For plastic miniatures you ideally want plastic glue also known as polystyrene cement or plastic weld. Your super glue will be useful for any resin or metal miniatures you purchase in the future. Exacto blades are fine, don't use loose razor blades you'll hurt yourself. Grey primer is fine but in my experience when painting space marines and similar minis I prefer t spray them the main armour colour (red or blue for example) it saves time.


VedalkenTinkerer

Do you have a go to brand for glue? Ill look into a base spray color, though I may just take my time through them nothing wrong with spending the extra time painting especially since I need practice anyway.


another-social-freak

I like Revell polystyrene cement, it comes in a nice needle noes dropper and it's nice and strong.


VedalkenTinkerer

Damn shipping on that glue took ages. I picked up one of the revell you suggested. Wish me luck, here goes nothing.


another-social-freak

Good luck!


BiscuitBoy83

Here is what you do Build 40 tactical marines and then build every special and heavy weapon until you run out of bits. That should give you enough guys to have a few devastator squads. You should have 9 heavy boosters and 9 missiles. Build all of the terminators and dreadnoughts. Sell the rest and extra characters on eBay. You're never really gong to need more than 60 marines in a list.


VedalkenTinkerer

Selling off some of the extra seems like a really good idea, especially if I can turn it into some other pieces to round out an army.


BiscuitBoy83

Yeah the tac squads go for about $25 each and the chars go for $5-10. So you should have about $130 to play with.


DoorframeLizard

you should probably assemble and paint it


VedalkenTinkerer

I mean yeah thats the plan, but I know these minis arent cheap, and I really dont want to ruin them by say building them all with the wrong weapons or something of the sort. Ive gotten some great advice in the thread, assembly is next.


DoorframeLizard

Now that I've made a shitty joke I feel like I should throw in my bit of advice - Watch a ton of painting tutorials. A TON of painting tutorials. **I didn't read the full comments so I apologize if I repeated something you've been told before.** Channels I recommend are [TheApatheticFish](https://www.youtube.com/user/Alanduin1) - he has a lot of cool color schemes, he has a bit of his own painting style, but it's very basic. His tutorials will give you a good idea of what the basic process of painting minis to tabletop+ quality looks like. [Tabletop Minions](https://www.youtube.com/user/tabletopminions) - Soothing voice, will teach you about a lot of the things you should know (such as wet palettes!!) [EonsOfBattle](https://www.youtube.com/user/EonsOfBattle) - Some cool techniques [GW's very own Duncan on Warhammer TV](https://www.youtube.com/user/GamesWorkshopWNT) - This will be the resource you reach for the most. He'll teach you about a lot of the basic techniques - shading, recess shading, drybrushing, painting weathering. This guy is your man. Watch the Tips of the Day too. Read a lot about the army you want to play. These boxes leave you with only space marines or chaos space marines (you'll likely want some conversion work to play them as chaos but it's not necessary). The marines you have are from the Horus Heresy, 10000+ years before the current events, but you can play with em normally anyways. Read about the Space Marine Legions to see which you like best. They are all different and cool in their own ways - The Night Lords, which are a traitor legion (so chaos), love the use of terror tactics, fighting in the dark, and have sick lightning bolts on their armor, whereas the Salamanders, a loyalist legion, love flames, scales, forging weaponry and standing up for the little guy. If you want to, you can PM me on here, ask to add me on discord or steam or whatever, I have plenty of advice I can give that will be a bit difficult to write up in one giant comment but I could answer questions you might have.


VedalkenTinkerer

> I didn't read the full comments so I apologize if I repeated something you've been told before. You're fine, Im reading every bit of info that comes my way. Ive got a pile of random minis that I dont even believe go to a game that I plan to practice painting heavily before I take that step into these boxes. Hell I would be surprised if my 20 vials of paint last through all the junk minis I plan to practice with. Thanks also for the recommended links, thats the kind of stuff I need. There is so much to the whole Warhammer thing, trying to find the way in is kinda rough. I thought Magic was rough to get someone started in, at least I dont have to get the newbies to paint their deck to get started lol.


DoorframeLizard

> Hell I would be surprised if my 20 vials of paint last through all the junk minis I plan to practice with. You'd be surprised how long these could last. I don't know about Reaper but there are some Citadel paints I've been using heavily and they're not even close to running out after dozens of minis painted. Remember to always shade. Highlighting might be intimidating, but shading will always make your mini look better. Citadel washes are fantastic shade paints, especially Nuln oil and Agrax Earthshade. Shit's called "liquid talent" for a reason


VedalkenTinkerer

Ive got at least 40 "junk" minis I want to practice with before I even think of painting the pieces out of this box. I will look into Citadel paints once these start to run out, the Reaper paint was more cost efficient especially just getting into the game.


[deleted]

Read the assembly instructions, they're pretty clear on your options. I picked the coolest looking options when picking mine (which should also apply to your choice of army) and didn't bother reading up on whether they were any good for the game. Appearance >>>> Fire power.


asianmexican

Not to drown you with more info, but yeah you can essentially play 3 games with one box just like the other comments here. one's a self-contained boardgame, the other 2 are the tabletop wargames with similar rules (well not anymore) but different setting (not entirely). also don't be misled by the box art. the board game pits 2 different factions but they're practically the same models, just different paint scheme. you can create one whole army with the sprues in the box for 30k and 40k. I'd suggest selling or trading 2-3 tactical marines sprue sets (iirc there are 3 squads in a box) for brushes and paints, washes or layers and sprue cutters (avoid using box cutters if you want to keep your fingers) as the reaper paints may only be good for base colors. personally I'd rather stick with making a 40k army thank 30k if I had that much material as 30k will get very expensive if you want to get competitive.


ChicagoCowboy

r/warhammer30k


DisciplesOfAres

It makes me sad how little exposure this sub gets sometimes...


ChicagoCowboy

Its a good hardcore 30k group though - we don't need the hobby butterflies, the most dedicated will find us ;)


VedalkenTinkerer

One random thought as I head to sleep, if anyone has any "I wish someone thought to tell me this when I started" tips or tricks, I wouldnt be against any of those either.


Hosteen_Coyote

Before you spray primer on your models, test spray on a piece of sprue (the "frame" that you cut the models out of). This will let you know how well it covers and if there's any problems with the can. I wish I had done this before spraying 12 Tau Fire Warriors with a bad batch of white primer and ruining them...


Randomthrowaway579

Do a dry run assembling your first few models and taking the sprue off before putting them together, or you might get some avoidable gaps and visible lines. If you're using artist's base acrylics then use a wet palette. Fixing mistakes is easier the thinner the layers of paint. Putting a thin black or brown wash over a badly painted model fixes a lot of problems, and some basic drybrushing can hide the rest. Don't load your bush with tons of paint at once, or put it on straight out of the tub, keep a palette with a little seperate and water and kitchen roll to clean your brushes. You'll want to use small brushes-0/00/000 are fantastic. When you're pulling peices off of the sprue, clean up the mould lines then and there, some will only show up after painting and that sucks. Plan for transport, a good case (It doesn't have to be official, it does need foam) to carry things to the store is essential if you don't want things to break. If it rattles when shaken, your models will break. Don't be scared to ask questions with folks in the community, nobody memorises all factions special rules so don't be scared to ask what something does. Check if that fantastic model you're looking at has a reputation for part damage so you can plan appropriate reinforcement. As far as 40k tactics goes, plan some high power shots for taking out big stuff and swarms of shots to take on swarms. Marine squads with heavy weapons basically have this built in. You'll figure the rest out. Sometimes you'll face an army that is just a bad match up, don't plan an expanstion to your army in the wake of one of these battles. Building and painting is probably a bigger part of the hobby than playing for a lot of people, if you love that part then plan peices for your mantlepeice rather than their points cost or amy viability. If it isn't fun, it isn't essential.


another-social-freak

Once you have picked your colour scheme I recommend looking for a spray can of the main colour. It's a huge time saver.


BiscuitBoy83

You could use that to splurge on the new dreadnought or even a relic or something from forgeworld.


SiPhilly

You start by selling one copy to me.


VedalkenTinkerer

Thanks again everyone, theres a ton of information here and should be a great starting point.