Collecting a 40k army

BDA 2015-04-02, 12:32

While I am doing this for 40k I think it can apply to most systems

The first thing you have to do when you want to collect 40k or any system is find the army you think looks cool and strikes a note with you. The rules are not all that important because they will change over time and in the case of 40k all armies have their day and with around 20 + codex/supplements that day is sometimes short lol.

Once you found an army you like the look of do some research, this might be looking it up online to find some of the fluff or borrowing a codex, (they are pricey so only get one if you know you are going for it.) also ask around the local club. I know at the Bognor Club we got most factions covered in one way or another so ask around, see what people who collect them say as well as those who fight against them.

Next up you want to get a small force, starter army boxes is one way (but it is pricy in the case of 40K so feel free to just get the minimum required to play.)
In the case of a marine army this can be a tactical squad (split into two 5 man squads) and a HQ.

Once you got them built try out a few games and then expand from there but this can deepened on your local opponents, there is no reason getting a AA unit if no one has aircraft at the local club…….. unless of course you just like the miniature.

If you are just starting out then can I recommend that you don’t go crazy getting stuff and instead paint what you got before getting more, trust me it will help in the long run.
It is well worth being disciplined in this regard and if you can find a few hours here and there to paint while you watch a bit of TV you will find you get though things in short order and can be very rewarding.

It is hard to resist getting a second army and it is often a bit repetitive just playing one force. in the case of 40k you can use allies and this can really help. Look at the allies chart and see who you can team up with as a battle brother, the imperium are a good faction here with lots of options.
This way you can start using a new army tagged onto an existing one rather than having just small games or waiting till you have enough to try a bigger game.
It can also pug a few weakness your main force has, do your guard keep getting beaten up in combat? take some marines as allies and that should change the tune.

One thing I will have to say is don’t get distracted, there are always nice new shiny miniatures being released and if you try and collect them all you will have very little money and more important no real usable force, not to mention more than you can paint in a life time.
Set yourself some rules and only expand beyond your current list when you have exceeded those rules.
I knew one chap who will only collect armies with Dark as part of the name, he started off with Dark angels, moved on to Dark Eldar and then Dark elf’s.
For me I collect all things Eldar and high-tech factions so Tau and Marines have been added over the last 20 years, when imperial knights came out I could not resist adding them to my imperial faction as they plugged gaps my marines could not deal with.

Anyway I hope this rambling has helped and if anyone has any questions about collecting or suggestions and corrections please post them here.