Collecting a themed army
In Games workshop model games there is always an enthusing and interesting background that riles people into the spirit of gaming, some people dislike these stories and simply prefer the mechanics of the game (where I suppose you could just see it as advanced chess) but for some it is the best part of the hobby. Epic stories that you control. However you may be finding if you are one of these people that it is difficult to create an army that has the same effect as the tales in books and in this article I hope to help these people create such tales.
The three point easy way to
create a themed army is, in my opinion; History, colour scheme and modelling;
though these are far from the only ways to do so I will be focusing on these
areas as these are the most viable options to a gamer.
History
All themed armies need a background; they need a place of origin, leaders and a cause, now this may seem a daunting task but there are many places from where to find this information. One way is to look in Games workshop background supplements as these often a variety of information to help you on your thought, but there is many other places: Look at famous books and films for inspiration, where the annals of the black library may be of significant use to you here; and there is always my own personal favourite, History books. History books I believe are the best at providing background as it makes the situation or the more likely to occur, large armies are more likely to have been formed for a specific purpose in the Fantasy worlds of games workshop if once upon time they actually had been formed, although this may on paper seem to exclude Warhammer 40K from the equation it does in no way. The more modern history is more likely to help there but there is also references in the 40k background of institutions further back, the most obvious being the inquisition. There are a few things that I feel do need to be remembered when making the background to an army however.
1. Bare in mind the other areas that you will need to address when making this army, i.e. painting and modelling, because if you aim to high or link to closely to a background it may be too difficult for you to make into an army that is fun and easy to use.
2. Keep stories minimal, it will take to long to create an army all entailing army background and more than likely people will not want to hear your 50 paged story of where your battlefield leader was schooled. It is best to leave the most of the story to develop in battle as this makes the entire process more exciting
3. Make sure it is possible to link the story into the background of the game you are playing, its fine to say you general is Rommel the world war two general but it will mean and achieve nothing in battle and to your opponents, but perhaps your leader could be the desert rat leader of the talarn
The most difficult parts to master in my opinion is the modelling side of the hobby when creating a themed army as people are then naturally inclined to try and achieve great conversions of epic proportions to achieve, but there is also the question of limiting your model use. I think again is important to keep things simple, conversions are best achieve only if you are absolutely sure of yourself and your ability to achieve the desired result. Conversions should only be used as a last resort to turn your army into a certain theme, as it is better if your opponent is absolutely certain of what theme your army is just by looking at the models in your force. This leads onto another thing to consider, the models you use, the strength of your force and its ability at game play should ultimately be subservient to the background of your army and that really big shiny cannon must be ignored if your armies meant to be based on combat expertise or is light for travel. Also you should try and keep in mind what you can afford and an army full of metal models is above most peoples budgets and you will have to stick to plastics, ultimately for a good theme you are looking at spending a little more than usual on conversion equipment and cool models however make sure you can afford it before you commit yourself. But ultimately, all though this section seems to be on the whole negative, conversions and exciting model selection can be the most rewarding part of a game, just remember to limit yourself to what you can do.
Colour scheme
Colour schemes are the most
striking and obvious part of an army and if done correctly can really set the
mood for a model collection, however as with modelling you must be able to know
your limits. A paint scheme that involves painting cracking stone with lava
glowing through over the majority of your models will be time consuming and
exceedingly difficult. Also if your colour scheme is relatively normal,
encompassing a wide spectrum of colours and not to far away from the usual
scheme demonstrated in the relevant army book it may not be that exciting. Good
colour schemes in my opinion are simple and stark with a limited colour pallet,
bold difference in colours help the models to catch the eye but also make the
models more obviously of a certain colour scheme, even it is a small area of a
model that is involved in the scheme it is obvious. Limited colour pallets are
also necessary so that the main scheme is not overpowered however make sure you
have a little bit of contrasting colour so that the model has a decent depth to
it, such as red trim on a mainly blue model, but not to much.
The main ideas that need to be remembered, in conclusion, is: simplicity, knowing your boundaries and eccentricities. I hope this has helped with the creation of your own forces. Good luck
Connor Barker