A New Look! part 2
In the first part of this article, I showed you some emails and inspirations Max sent me relating to his idea of making a new look for an army.

He sent me a few more inspirational pieces, which I'll share below, then he articulated more details about his idea for giving an old army a new look and some various ways gamers might go about doing it.

And now it's time for some other inspirations. I hope you like them.

On this thread you can find a picture of crests made from greenstuff and at the bottom of this page you can also find a tutorial on how to make them.

This one is specially for you. It's an opened Battlesuit. You can even see the front panel laying on the floor next to the battlesuit. I think that there is also a Shas'vre inside of the battlesuit, but I'm not entirely sure.

What can I say about this one? It's a very specific conversion, but also inspiring. I mean, I think I need to go to the toilet ;-p

Previously I've sent you some pictures that show how a new look can be achieved by simple painting or conversion. Most of them didn't quite make a new look for the whole army, though. Some had only a new feel to it, and some just had a new look for weapons or equipment. Few, however, gave the new look for the whole army, or at least came close to it.

Some of these might qualify as "new look" equipment- This term is just like a new look army but referring only to equipment. Using one weapon or piece of equipment as an eguivalent of something else. For example, using scythes as thunderhammers for the Scythes of the Emperor. They definitely don't look like hammers anymore but they're still using the thunderhammer rules. Another such example is using swooping hawk wings as seraphim jumppacks like in the Cleansing Flames picture. This gives the Sisters a more angelic look, but it still uses the same rules as jumppacks. It's definitely giving a new look to that piece of equipment, but it doesn't change the army.

Other armies do a bit more and change the feel of the army, but still keep the army the same. Instead of new look armies, these would be something more like "New feel" Armies- Under this term I understand an army that gained only a new feel but remained otherwise the same. For example Eldar still being represented by eldar but with a totaly new feel to to them like the Egypt Farseer, Bugs still being bugs, like the Starship Troopers bugs, Space marines still being Space Marines (Victoria Lamb's Karate Kid Space Marines, Mastiff's Celtic Space Wolves and the Sons of Sparta) and Imperial guard still being Imperial guard. (Victoria Lamb's Drookian Fen Guard.) All those give some new feel to the existing army, yet don't change the army into something else. They are not even getting as close as the fishy tyranids. Now I'll try to explain what I mean by a new look and how it can be achieved (at least in my own opinion.)

New Look Army
I understand this term to mean a totally new look for the army (mainly the rules for an army). It's about creating an army around rules from some particular codex, but using models other than those that are usualy available for that codex. The best example for that idea are the Thousand Squats. They're not only creating a different army around a different codex, They're also creating a nonexistent army (well, at least nonexistent for some time.) Squats haven't existed in the 40k universe since 2nd edition. I've read that there was no one that was prepared to make them into a 3rd edition codex, and they didn't want to just slap something together without doing them justice. It's also been explained in the fluff that one of the Tyranid Hive Fleets ate their homeworld. In any case, no codex, no models. That makes it difficult to put together an army. But they can be represented as the Thousand Sons chapter of Chaos Marines very well. They are tough and slow, with their heavy, high-tech equipment and armor so it makes sense that the two can be compared.

The next example is the Fishy tyranid army mentioned in the first article. The creator of that Gaunt got pretty close to the idea of a new look army, but didn't go all the way. If he made them without a neck (fish don't have necks) using more green stuff to connect the head with the torso, then it would look even more like a fish, and fish aren't higher in the chain of evolution than bugs. They are tyranids, and they're using tyranid rules, yet it's hard to call them "bugs".

Another way to achieve a new look is to Make a human army around Tau rules. It's not as easy in 5th edition as it was in 4th edition. Tau have different statistics then humans. In 4th edition you could make them using the farsight enclave rules. That was reasonable because they had the same statistics as a standard human (orc fighter rule gave +1 WS and +1 I) and there couldn't be any Ethereals. Ethereals have some influence on tau but they don't have that influence on humans, so it would be strange to even have the possibility of using them. To create a human army around tau rules you should convert hands (from 4 to 5 fingers,) swap heads for more human-like ones, and model feet using epoxy sculpt. Alternately, you could use imperial guard infantry, swapping weapons and making additional armour to represent their 4+ armour save. (Carapace armor would also work.)

Using Eldar infantry as Space marines is another way of achieving a new look for an army. If you dont like the look of Space marines but you like their rules, and you dont like the rules of Eldar, but you like their look... It can be achieved by simply replacing shuriken catapults with bolters, swapping heads, and converting backpacks.

Another new look army could be the Hrud (mentioned briefly in a picture in the 3rd edition rulebook) possibly using some Skaven models and perhaps the Eldar rules (primarily Rangers/Pathfinders, check out that long gun!) This alien may 'exist' in the 40k universe, but there has never been any official rules, models or more information about them. Finally the last idea of the New Look Army. The idea of the Golem army mentioned in the first article. It's a totally new army. It never existed in the WH40k universe (unlike Squats or even Hrud), I would use Eldar as a basis for their models, and use Necron rules. The Gauss ability would be explained by a telekinetic ability to crush enemy armour with the enemy still inside.

Basically, a new look army is the long-term equivalent of a proxy army. You can build an army using the Space Marines codex and rules, but using Eldar models as the base. Everything would be quite similar in terms of rules. Shuriken catapults have the same strength as bolters. A few modifications here and there could make a Shuriken catapult a rapid fire weapon instead of assault. Adding an optical sight would make it more like the dire avenger shuriken catapult and that would explain its 24" range. Of course, you could also swap SC for Bolters and still use Eldar to represent your warriors. Generally the new look is achieved by using models that are not exactly those that they're representing, much like a proxy army.

However, due to the permanence of the models, you would be well advised to be sure that your models look like reasonable substitutes for the army. (A standard sized model doesn't make a good substitute for a Daemon Prince or Hive Tyrant, it's just too small.) In addition, you want to make sure that your models are easily distinguishable if you have different types to choose from or different equipment. As I mentioned in one of my replies to Max, a Space Marine player can get away with having Tactical SM, Devastators, Assault Marines without Jump Packs and Veteran squads, all of which are basically the same model. If you have a new look army such as the Eldar/Space Marine army, it is your responsibility to make clear exactly which units are what. If you just change the equipment slightly (which is what most of the above standard Space Marine models do) opposing players may have a hard time distinguishing them. Almost everyone knows what a melta gun looks like. Depending on how much you've changed the look, they may not immediately recognize the thing that you count as a melta. If you make it easy to differentiate between models, it will be much easier for an opponent to accept your new look army.

If you enjoyed this, email me and let me know

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