40k Question Re: Customized figures

[Darth Fanboy]

So a while back I completed the plastic Chaos Terminator Lord, and had enough leftover bits that I felt obbligated to find a good use for them. I ended up getting my hands on two sets of Space Marine LEgs and the Torso parts necessary to provide bodies for the remaining Terminator Lord bits.

Whether or not they are legal for actual gameplay is a side note, I'm more curious as to whether or not these two figures I have created would be considered Terminators or Terminator Lords, or if that was something up to my own discretion. It's the first time i've ever combined leftover pieces from warhammer models to make anything.

[Vendetta]

Probably best to go with whatever the majority of the model consists of. If you're using body and legs from an ordinary termy, then it's probably best to make that the troop type, and it can just be a termy with some extra flashy bitz.

[Teleros]

To put it simply, does it look like a space marine with terminator arms, or a terminator with space marine legs? If the former, I'd say it's a particularly ornate suit of power / artificer armour; if the latter, then a terminator suit that's undergone hasty repairs to get it ready for combat.
As for legality, generally as long as your opponent agrees it's fine for tabletop games, although tournaments will be a little different obviously.

[Darth Fanboy]

Oh I totally fucked up part of my OP and Vendetta still answered perfectly. The legs and torso are in fact from a Space Marine Terminator and not a regular space marine. I was going to consider them regular Terminators and that actually helps me out because I have more options now for whatever squad I wanted to put together.

As for legality, generally as long as your opponent agrees it's fine for tabletop games, although tournaments will be a little different obviously.

Not obvious to me, as I am a total noob to this game who got started because the painting is extremely therapeutic. That and my desire to bring down the minions of the False Emperor of course.

[Raxmei]

Converted miniatures are a major part of the hobby. As long as they at least resemble what they're supposed to be you should have no trouble whatsoever using them in a game. I have a buddy whose IG army has Warhammer Fantasy miniatures with lasguns and I have rough riders made from Tomb King skeleton cavalry, for instance.

In your case it depends on how you use the model. You could use it as your Chaos Lord or throw it in a unit of terminators, possibly as terminator champions. So long as the wargear all matches, it's clear what it's supposed to be, and the model is roughly in scale and made mostly of warhammer parts there's no problem. And that's for tournament play.

[andrewgpaul]

As long as they at least resemble what they're supposed to be

And sometimes, not even then. When they did away with Squats (space dwarves on harleys), one recommendation for people wanting to use the models was to count them as Orks. I've seen pics of an Imperial Guard army whose tanks were all scratchbuilt hovertanks counted as Leman Russ tanks, and of course, just because you're using Codex: Blood Angels as your army list doesn't mean you need to paint them red.

[Acidburns]

From what I've heard, using "count-as" is encouraged in the new Space Marine codex. For example, creating your own special character's background and using one of the existing special character's rules. In most tournaments you get bonus points for having conversions.

I used some very old GW wraithguard (from Spacehulk or Roguetrader, they had guns on their heads) as spiritseers in my Iyanden army. I also had some Tyrant Guard made from 75% Tyranid epic titan bits and 25% lictor parts because I really didn't like the official models.

[Brother-Captain Gaius]

The only problem with that is that the new Marine codex should die in a fire.

A napalm fire.

[Ryan Thunder]

The only problem with that is that the new Marine codex should die in a fire.

A napalm fire.

Hah. It's bad enough that it inspired me to make suitably wanky codices for all the other armies to make up for it. XD

The Tau got seeker missile batteries and racks that can be fired without markerlights (they're less accurate and need LOS when you do that, however), replacements for burst cannons that are actually worth not being defensive weapons, rail rifles in Fire Warrior teams, larger complements of drones for units with drone controllers, special ammunition for the pulse carbine's auxiliary grenade launcher (replacing the automatic pinning test capability), heavier weapon options for Crisis suits at the cost of mobility, among other things.

I'm still working on the Imperial Guard, but they're gonna have shitload of artillery-type units with ridiculous firepower, as well as a good chunk of their Imperial Armour stuff.

[Ted C]

Whether or not they are legal for actual gameplay is a side note, I'm more curious as to whether or not these two figures I have created would be considered Terminators or Terminator Lords, or if that was something up to my own discretion. It's the first time i've ever combined leftover pieces from warhammer models to make anything.

You can use your custom model to represent either a Terminator or Terminator Lord; it doesn't really matter. You just want to make sure that your opponent is clear about what every model in play represents.

[open_sketchbook]

I wouldn't play Warhammer if I could customize my figures. My Space Marine army has half-track Razorbacks with frontally mounted turrets, and my Imperial Guard army has turretless, steam-powered Leman Russes, giant clockwork men for Orgryns, rockets for mortars, mechanical horses for Rough Riders, and giant diving suits with drills as Grey Knights. I've played against an Ork army that had a looted Carnifex and Bikers riding Ravagers. Have fun with it; just remember to let your opponent know what's what.

[Pulp Hero]

I wouldn't play Warhammer if I could customize my figures. My Space Marine army has half-track Razorbacks with frontally mounted turrets, and my Imperial Guard army has turretless, steam-powered Leman Russes, giant clockwork men for Orgryns, rockets for mortars, mechanical horses for Rough Riders, and giant diving suits with drills as Grey Knights. I've played against an Ork army that had a looted Carnifex and Bikers riding Ravagers. Have fun with it; just remember to let your opponent know what's what.

Diving Suits? Pics and description of materials, please!

[open_sketchbook]

My camera is on the fritz, but basically, it's a Tau Stealth Suit and oodles of green stuff. The end result looks a little like a Big Daddy from Bioshock.

[Ryan Thunder]

I've played against an Ork army that had a looted Carnifex

Do you realize how totally fucking illegal that is?

That's even stupider than a looted Falcon...

[open_sketchbook]

It counted as a dreadnought, which was totally awesome.

The rules for looted vehicles changed with the new codex, so you can pretty much loot anything now; they just all count as the same vehicle.

[Brother-Captain Gaius]

Like sketchbook said, the new looted rules, while much more limited than the old ones, are much broader and ambiguous enough that you can represent almost anything with them. Rather than saying "you use the stats from another Codex with these modifications for the ork crew:", it just gives a basic template with a few options for generic Orkification which can represent damn near any vehicle or vehicle-like model you can think of. My looted Russ therefor has about the same stats as a looted Carnifex would.

[Pulp Hero]

A looted Carnifex with an Ork riding on the back and bolted on armor plating would be fucking awesome.

[SylasGaunt]

Found this in my Misc. Images folder so no idea who did the conversion: