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[Detrevni|inverteD]

Hey hey, OG. I really hope this is the right forum for this, since it's a game, but well, if it isn't it'll be moved.
For a long time I've really been meaning to get into 40K, I love the lore and I'm an artist so I'm hoping to get into the community, moreso the detailing miniature side than the gaming side but it's quite a daunting task to get into the game. There's a Games Workshop some ways from here, so before I travel down there I was hoping to have in mind what to get for someone who's never painted miniatures or played 40K. I'm on a budget here so I'm just wondering if any of the 40K veterans here can help me out. I've heard there's the Blackreach set which has quite a few models in it, but is that all I should get? What are all the different armies like? I really like the aesthetic side of the Orks, but I don't know much about the gameplay side of what everyone does. I'm looking to get as many models as possible right now for as little price as possible, so any advice would really be helpful, though I'm not so much worried about paints and brushes and stuff, I have quite a bit of that, but still, anything will help me!
By the way, I'm in England so American stores are pretty much out of the question!

And I know there's a 40K thread in here somewhere, but this is more a thread for helping someone get into the meat of the game who's never ever played before in their life.

[warhammer651]

Spoiler: My summary of the armies (click to show/hide)

SPESS MEHRINES: small elite forces. can fit most roles

Orks: probably the most entertaining race. in my experience, they also tend to be the luckiest

Eldar: elves in space. think protoss

Dark eldar: dark elves in space. Very sadistic. Very mobile

Necrons: Robot Zombies. that can field gods. not a whole lot of selection though

Tau: the so-called "Nice" race. VERY SHOOTY. my personal favorites

poor bloody Imperial gaurd: Redshirt army armed with angry flashlights. And some of the best tanks in the game.

Sissies Sisters of Battle: Battle nuns. don't have much experience with them

Tyranids: ZERG RUSH! KEKEKEKEKEKEKEKE!

Chaos: Space marines but crazier. with demons. and spikes. Melee oriented in my experience.

As for price/models

I only have experience with tau and marines, but I think one basic squad for any army runs around 40$. If you're looking to assemble a force quickly, go Space marines. and Yeah, get assault on black reach. if nothing else you have enough models to play the mini campaign in the book with a friend.

Word to the wise: get your paints and stuff from a craft store or other hobby store. GW's are a bit overpriced.

[Detrevni|inverteD]

I have my own personal studio with a clamp that could be used for miniatures and an airbrushing set which I plan to use for undercoats and stuff. I have a rather extensive range of brushes but I feel a new set is in order for miniatures as they're all a bit battle weary, but I'll probably get the brushes from GW as all Hobby stores in the UK tend to be stupidly overpriced anyway, and I'd rather go for the official stuff. As for paint, I know where I can get some miniature paint without having to shell out for GW's stuff so that's no big deal.

Other than that it's all about learning up on the different armies and different ways to paint the models. I really do like the Orks, but I'd like to get peoples opinions on the whole shabam before I think about making my choice. I don't want to spend an upwards of £200 on an army and then realise I don't like the way they play!

[nenjin]

http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=41454.msg1490905#msg1490905

There's a whole lot of 40k up in that thread if you need more.

[warhammer651]

I would say get black reach so you can learn the rules, and start building a small force of marines. Play a few games with them, analyze how you play them, and decide if you want to stay with them or go with an army closer to how you play.

Orks are basically all rounders with more numbers than marines and theoretically worse shooting phases. In my experience they tend to be very accurate despite being a melée race. That said, they also have great Backstory and fluff. Easily one of my top three.

[Sowelu]

It sure would be nice if someone made one-color plastic, HeroQuest-style miniatures for people to screw around with before they decide if they really really want to get into the game.

[Detrevni|inverteD]

It sure would be nice if someone made one-color plastic, HeroQuest-style miniatures for people to screw around with before they decide if they really really want to get into the game.

Yeah that'd be nice. I've had alot of experience on canvas and digital art, but I've never painted a miniature in my life. It's not like I can tear up the miniature and start again from a stack of 500, messing up sounds like it can be expensive.
The funny thing is that GW seems to actually be cheaper in the UK than in the US. That's the first time I've ever experienced that.

Anyway, that other thread was really helpful but I think I'm going to go for the Orks. They appeal the most to me and I'm probably gonna pick up the blackreach box and the Ork codex, and perhaps the full rulebook while I'm at it. I know a few people who collect so it shouldn't be too hard trying to get a game going.

Any other advice? Anything special about the Orks I should know?

[Tilla]

It sure would be nice if someone made one-color plastic, HeroQuest-style miniatures for people to screw around with before they decide if they really really want to get into the game.

Yeah that'd be nice. I've had alot of experience on canvas and digital art, but I've never painted a miniature in my life. It's not like I can tear up the miniature and start again from a stack of 500, messing up sounds like it can be expensive.
The funny thing is that GW seems to actually be cheaper in the UK than in the US. That's the first time I've ever experienced that.

Anyway, that other thread was really helpful but I think I'm going to go for the Orks. They appeal the most to me and I'm probably gonna pick up the blackreach box and the Ork codex, and perhaps the full rulebook while I'm at it. I know a few people who collect so it shouldn't be too hard trying to get a game going.

Any other advice? Anything special about the Orks I should know?

Dey is da biggest an' da strongest

[Sir Pseudonymous]

Going off the GW website, one squad is about $25. Personally, I'd recommend playing over Vassal (see other 40k thread) until you come up with an army you like, and then buying the units to build it.

Spoiler: My summary of the armies (click to show/hide)

SPESS MEHRINES: small elite forces. can fit most roles

Orks: probably the most entertaining race. in my experience, they also tend to be the luckiest

Eldar: elves in space. think protoss

Dark eldar: dark elves in space. Very sadistic. Very mobile

Necrons: Robot Zombies. that can field gods. not a whole lot of selection though

Tau: the so-called "Nice" race. VERY SHOOTY. my personal favorites

poor bloody Imperial gaurd: Redshirt army armed with angry flashlights. And some of the best tanks in the game.

Sissies Sisters of Battle: Battle nuns. don't have much experience with them

Tyranids: ZERG RUSH! KEKEKEKEKEKEKEKE!

Chaos: Space marines but crazier. with demons. and spikes. Melee oriented in my experience.

Spoiler: Better summary of the armies (click to show/hide)

SPESS MEHRINES: a sledgehammer. Expensive, heavy infantry, with low firepower for their cost.

Orks: lots of extremely variable effects. Cheap medium infantry strongest in close combat.

Loldar: expensive, highly mobile units with high damage and shit for defense.

Deldar: Loldar, but even more so. Also horribly outdated and essentially unplayable.

Toasters: a bigger sledgehammer. even less variable than space mary-sues; expensive, high defense, high offense, every toaster army is more or less identical.

Tau: Shooty, with shit for vehicles.

Imperial Guard: Shootiest, with awesome vehicles.

Sisters of Battle: Moderately outdated, with some odd special rules. Otherwise a lot like less variable space marines. Can be accompanied by the Holy Ordos, which means you can field collegium assassinorum agents and daemonhosts. Can be paired with IG or space marines.

Daemonhunters: Grey Knights, which are more expensive, less variable space marines with a few unique rules. Also has inquisition units, and can also be paired with IG and normal space marines.

Tyranids: shitty cheap melee infantry, and expensive giant monsters. Used to be extremely customizable, now it's less so, but still more so than most armies. No experience with the current version.

Chaos Marines: Space marines but shittier.

Chaos Daemons: Hilarious, but hard to work with because every unit is extremely expensive, and there's a general lack of ranged and anti-tank options.

[Blargityblarg]

If you choose a power-armoured army, there's a great, if fairly uptight, board for you in the Bolter and Chainsword. They tend to be a bit fusty, but they're great for resources and help.

[Thendash]

Yeah that'd be nice. I've had alot of experience on canvas and digital art, but I've never painted a miniature in my life. It's not like I can tear up the miniature and start again from a stack of 500, messing up sounds like it can be expensive.

Not true, there are multiple tried and true ways to remove paint from both plastic and metal mini's. Some ways work better then others so I'd google it and do your research and then try it first on 1 of your least favourite mini's before you try it to all of them.
My advice for choosing an army is go with whatever you think looks the coolest, that way even if you find you don't enjoy playing as them then you can still keep them as more of a show piece or as a spare army for if a friend wants to play or something.

[janekk]

http://www.yesthetruthhurts.com/ good place for 40k advice. Consult before you shell out money for some battleforce army.

[Detrevni|inverteD]

Cheers for all the great advice guys, it's really helpful.

Another thing I wanted to ask is, does anyone have a good resource for painting techniques to learn? I know they sometimes list them in White Dwarf, but is that the only place?
I've checked Youtube but it seems the only videos there are not to the quality that I would like or are just a big advert for a website selling painting videos.

[Fikes]

My advice is to just say no. My brother was into WH40k when I was younger and gave me the better part of a Tyrnid army. They were awesome, especially if you ended up on a night mission.

I decided I wanted to keep playing and pick up some more minis for my army. Turned out that they were about 4 dollars per figure, and each figure had about 1/4th the plastic of a GI-Joe. Then I had to paint them (I am no good at this).

Beyond the cost, every game I have seen goes like this:
Setup up game, 15 mins
Player 1 first turn, 5 mins
Argue about the rules regarding player one's turn 15 mins
Player 2 first turn, 5 mins
Argue about the rules regarding player one's turn 15 mins
Turns continue in that fashion until one army is dead, usually between 4 and 6 turns.

That isn’t to say that the game is not fun, because it is. It is also really cool when someone has an epically painted army but as a general rule you end up playing with people who care way too much about it, spend way too much money on it, and know way too many obscure rules.

[Detrevni|inverteD]

Ah, I'll probably be playing against my friends, I know quite alot who collect and I'm pretty sure they won't be assholes about it, lol.
My biggest interest is painting and customizing the miniatures, I'm an artist by trade so any chance to be creative I enjoy, but I'm also looking to get into the game somewhat. No point in paying all that money if I'm not gonna use them for what they were meant for!

I realise it's an expensive hobby, but money really is no concern to me when it comes to these kind of things. If I enjoy painting and using the Blackreach set, then it'll be worth the money to get into the hobby if it means I can get enjoyment out of it and make new friends. Getting the Blackreach box, Ork codex and official rulebook (An annoying £35.) costs an overall of £107.50 ($165.76 approximately) and that's less than I pay for petrol to get to work for a month, but I can probably go without the rulebook and just borrow it off a friend so it's no big deal.