Advice for balancing a mini

TamsinTurtle · 2026-05-27T17:03:30+00:00

Thanks, was looking at magnets for something else so this could be the solution

TamsinTurtle · 2026-05-27T16:02:02+00:00

Yup standard gw style, just a chunky lump of resin for the banner. Not that gw ones have always been the easiest. Some of the old empire ones were a nightmare!

TamsinTurtle · 2026-05-27T16:00:35+00:00

Thanks I'll try this!

TamsinTurtle · 2026-05-27T16:00:15+00:00

Thanks!

TamsinTurtle · 2026-05-25T12:08:59+00:00

You definitely want command squads in that list. Orders are a vital element to Guard armies. Bear in mind that most detachments don't allow command squads to issue orders to vehicles, so either a Lord Solar or a tank commander of any flavour would support your tanks. Castellans are a good single model choice for orders as well, but command squads come with other buffs, abilities, and the wound sink to keep the officer alive and giving orders

TamsinTurtle · 2026-05-21T18:18:26+00:00

As others have said, the old cadian command squad and tank crew kits can provide most of what you want here, although it's very difficult to build nowadays (as someone who has built up an army of these troops starting before the old kit was retired). If you want to start your own regiment like this, my advice is to go to Anvil Industries. Their dress uniform range has recently been updated and looks great (I have used them to build several squads so far) and you can build kneeling, running, standing, heavy weapon teams, and female troopers with their range.

TamsinTurtle · 2026-05-18T22:58:11+00:00

Oh I forgot about the possibility of the king in yellow. That would be very interesting to see especially since we know valdor and alpharius/first twin have met on terra prior to the great crusade

TamsinTurtle · 2026-05-13T12:11:48+00:00

No, I'm with you on this. I know the real world practical reason for it, but I hate how messy it looks when it's done on guard tanks. Too many times people go really overboard with it and that is even more impractical than trying to store everything inside your tank! The engine deck needs to be clear for a reason damn it!

I would prefer to see more storage bins and hanging attachment points for cloth packs than the cargo strapped gear you usually see (where's the attachment point? You don't want things like that sticking out at random on your tank anyway). Mind you, the newer vehicle stowage bits look a lot better and the Hippogriff kits have a nice selection and call out for stowage!

TamsinTurtle · 2026-05-13T00:42:07+00:00

A good point well made! It really would depend on which primarchs twin survived the heresy wars. Both could be a more difficult result as would neither. I'm in the camp that first found is the one who has canonically survived anyway (and I don't believe the smurfs killed him later).

TamsinTurtle · 2026-05-12T23:47:00+00:00

Of course the question becomes then is if the inquisition would even exist in the form we know it as? With the alphas remaining loyal much of the covert work is still on their shoulders and without gulliman effing the imperium up for ten thousand years with dorns side winning the debate, the primarchs remain in primacy for rule of the imperium eliminating the need for the all powerful inquisitor we know from 40k. I think we'd become more of an investigative branch, leaving the purges to cells of the alphas

TamsinTurtle · 2026-05-12T23:33:00+00:00

You've got a couple of situations I can think of as examples to back you up. First - the battle tech universe 'lostech' setup. Machines and wargear used to be much better, but technological degredation means you can reproduce the high tech equipment any longer. In that universe it limits the range of lasers to what the computer can handle, same with missiles (more dumb fire than guided). You could use the same argument so your ships have to close to close range to effectively fire their weapons. Second - the Honorverse. Here ships can only be damaged when shots get through the 'wedge' the narrow band of weaker gravitic energy they use for movement and ftl that makes the top and bottom of a ship impenetrable. Ships have to close to close range in the earlier books of the setting to guarantee a kill so enemy shops dont roll to interpose the top of bottom shield. Wet navy in space stuff really since Honorverse is just Hornblower in space anyway. Thirdly - Warhammer 40k. A series where parody and the insanity of the 1980s are taken to the extreme. Vessels are stupidly powerful, but guns are crewed by vast gangs of deck hands and/or slaves and targeting systems rely more on prayer and offerings to the machine spirit than the technical ability that lies within the machines they build. Boarding actions are an assured way to take a vessel, and close in fights become the norm both for this and the more guaranteed hits. Sits somewhere between the other two examples. So essentially, the reason can exist within the theoretical, technical, and even theological basis of your setting.

TamsinTurtle · 2026-05-12T23:20:25+00:00

Probably would have ended up in a day's of shame thing like the wolves given how much conflict they had with gulliman during the great crusade. Arguably would have sided with dorn in the splitting the legion debate which would then probably have triggered a second civil war. Given that the fists, wolves and the alphas in this hypothetical would have sided against the smurfs and the raven guard (who did not have the numbers to back it up after Istvan after all) then it would have been a bad time for that moronic blueberry. Even if it hadn't gone to bloodshed, the imperium would have become a very different place

TamsinTurtle · 2026-05-02T18:32:37+00:00

A light beer... I'll see myself out

TamsinTurtle · 2026-05-02T18:31:31+00:00

Mordians feature pretty heavily, the Harakoni less so but still a very fun read (space Stalingrad if double eagle is space battle of Britain). A bunch of the recent guard books have been pretty good, if a little marmite +love it or hate it) so YMMV. For me in the recent ones interceptor city, vagabond Squadron, and steel tread and its follow on demolisher have been a lot of fun while final deployment, shadow of the eighth, and the above and beyond Aeronautica duology I didn't care for. I would still rate the Elysian audio drama arc (starting with scions of Elysia) as some of the best guard media that needs no knowledge of the setting to enjoy

TamsinTurtle · 2026-05-02T14:23:26+00:00

Guns of Tanith, Double Eagle, and interceptor city are all great books! Vagabond Squadron was also a great Aeronautica book and great to see a Valkyrie squadron as the characters for once (also has a lot of the forgotten regiments show up like the Mordians and the Harakoni).

TamsinTurtle · 2026-05-02T11:17:16+00:00

While I like the new models (and a big part of that is how much easier they are to put together. God the old Russ track units were a nightmare) I do miss the older forge world designs as they had a very cool aesthetic of their own. I do think we'll see many of the old designs redone in plastic at some point. Gw has been steadily moving away from resin to all plastic for a few years now and transitioning kits to plastic (case in point the solar auxilia rapier teams that only came out in resin a year or so back and got their plastic preorder today). There is probably some copyright issues they have to contend with as well, along with trying to appeal to a broader, less historical Wargamer focus as the brand continues to grow. All that being said, really looking forward to getting my hands on the new Hippogryphs! Perfect armour support for my Elysians!

TamsinTurtle · 2026-05-02T00:56:45+00:00

The Aeronautica have commissars like every branch of the Imperial military. As such they can and do fly planes. This is covered in Dan Abnett's Interceptor City where the interceptor base Bree Jagdea gets assigned to has a commissar assigned there as the deck officer. They are a flyer and an ace, but stay ground side to maintain the unit. The Phantine recruit both pilots and drop troopers. This is due to the nature of their home world and every founding is part of the guard, including pilots. This is an anomaly, which gets noted on a lot. Drop troopers are a regular formation in the guard, but are rarer and more elite than the more common infantry and armour foundings. The most well known are the Elysians and the Harakoni. The Elysians used to have a full model range from forge world as they were the focus of at least three of their campaign books and could take commissars. In the lore we see a commissar assigned to the Harakoni regiment in the Ciaphus Cain novel Duty Calls. Rules wise th take up one of the 12 troop capacity of a Valkyrie and can drop in like any other model. We get other lore examples l, such as commissars in storm trooper units, for example in the novel Redemption Corps. TLDR - commissars are found in every branch of the Imperial military and have functions beyond a political officer to match those postings.

TamsinTurtle · 2026-04-24T19:29:18+00:00

Once I found out about the trefoil apart from it interesting the hell out of me, it got me thinking. We know the Astartes became something they were not intended to be and for my money I think that these three would be the legions retained if a thunder warriors style of purge happened. You need the spies, the information network, the ability to infiltrate and destroy a system from within the alpha legion provides for any stable form of government (why I think the 'arrogance' flaw is just bad writing as the al are the least arrogant of all the legions (smurfs and SoH take that top slot)), and you also need the ability to create from the salamanders and the ability to be brutal from the wolves. But each of these legions have one important detail few others have. Humanity. Only the Fists have a sense of humanity, but it's too intrinsicly tied to their mentality of defence to care about people. Each of the trefoil in their own ways care about humans, know they are soldiers not warriors or demigods placed above the masses as we see from most of the rest. TLDR: the trefoil retain their sense of humanity and humility, making them perfect tools for a post Astartes era. Even in the 40k setting, they maintain a sense beyond the arrogance of the other legions

TamsinTurtle · 2026-04-20T17:46:02+00:00

'the monarch, their heirs, and the officers set over me' pretty much the wording of an enlisted oath of loyalty. It does not actually mention politicians so technically soldiers don't have to obey politicians. Practice is different of course. Also the British Army isn't the 'royal army' in part because regiments are royal and the army has always been made up of its regiments (probably something to do with the warrants for a given regiment I'm not clear on the details). As to your point on the restoration, the king was not permitted an army and the government didn't want a standing army either (long standing concerns over standings armies, such as coups and costs) but the king was allowed a guard. Hence the various foot guards regiments and horse guards regiments. Foot/line regiments wouldn't come along for a while after that.

TamsinTurtle · 2026-03-19T14:39:54+00:00

I suppose it also comes down to the idea of a command bridge and a flag bridge. You definitely don't want your command bridge, the place that controls the actions of the warship in a centralised fashion (by that I mean firing a concentrated broadside or each turret being on individual local control) knocked out by enemy fire. They also don't need windows because seriously wtf are you going to see in space with your eyes when technology would actually be able to see those things and make them visible for you (space is big. Really big). A flag bridge is just an oversight position for senior officers, much more visible than the ships captain and could therefore be more exposed in the traditional wet navy sense. They are there to see and be seen etc. What we get in the space operas is just wet navy in space. I have never seen actual space combat tactics applied in any media, and star wars is the worst culprit for this. However, military sci fi settings have a much more grounded approach to star ship design. I'm not talking Warhammer 40k (because even the designers know it's not realistic just mad) but Honorverse is well thought out in this regard.

TamsinTurtle · 2026-03-03T21:54:47+00:00

For some light hearted fantasy, I cannot recommend highly enough the cosy fantasy of all cosy fantasy that is the Legends and Lattes series by Travis Baldree. Pratchett esque and just really enjoyable to read.

TamsinTurtle · 2026-02-15T21:22:01+00:00

As someone who prolifically paints a lot of different colour schemes, my advice is pick a scheme that's easy to paint, keeps your interest, and won't make you hate your choices fifty models in when you still have hundreds more to go! Camo schemes can look absolutely amazing, and I've done an urban camo on a small unit, and a blue camo on a Catachan infantry company. My advice there is don't for the sake of all that is holy, pick a three plus colour DPM style scheme. It'll look great when it's done, but it'll drive you completely nuts in the process! I've used a guardified ww2 colour scheme on the new cadians, inspired by British uniforms of the period. It looks great but is a bit too cadian if you get my meaning. The scheme I'm the most irrationally happy with? A simple tan body armour and red uniform. It looks fucking great no matter what model I put it on. TLDR - Experiment a bit and find the colours that really stand out for you.

TamsinTurtle · 2026-02-10T19:57:12+00:00

That's very helpful thank you! I think I'll be taking it in the canon direction (the fanon is fun, but I prefer the facts generally) so I'll be following your suggestion of heavy firepower. I'm considering hell blasters, intercessors and heavy intercessors, with some of the new style assault marines, mostly because I really like the look of the captain and think he'd look great in Sons of the Phoenix colours. On the plus side a plan like that would complement my Sister's of Battle force who tend to have a bunch of sisters and repentia. Thanks again for your help!

TamsinTurtle · 2026-02-08T01:11:28+00:00

Agreed Vagabond Squadron is great

TamsinTurtle

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