The Impact of Allies in 6th Edition

The ramifications of the changes that 6th Edition has made to our hobby ripple across the interwebz. Cries of “it’s the devil”, “we love it”, and every other ping-pong reaction you can imagine are prevalent throughout the blogosphere, as well as your local store I’m sure. There’s one topic, among many, that’s hot right now, and I’d like to discuss it:

Allies

“But Tim, you’ve always said that you aren’t going to dive much into rules and tactics in this blog, right?”

Right, and I still won’t today. No, this is going to be about how Allies is a game-changer in how we can model and customize our toy soldiers!

Allies give us the opportunity to have some fun, and introduce some variety into the modeling and painting of our armies. Personally, I’m excited by the limitless prospects we have before us now, and can’t wait to dive into new projects! Before I do, though, let’s take a look at some steps we can take to insure that 2 very different armies can still look good together.

Basing Theme
Yes, this is the blatant answer, and most likely the easiest, but it is important. Keep your newly allied force based the same as the army you are complimenting, and they will naturally look like they should be fighting together. I can’t kick this dead horse enough, but basing theme matters!

Campaign Markings
Typically when two forces march off to war together, there are campaign- or theater-specific markings, patches, gear, etc., that the two forces will share as a sign of esprit-de-corps, and camaraderie. A Cadian ally may have this marking on a shoulder pad, where the Space Marine will have it on a knee pad. Either way, we’re taking some sort of symbology to tie the two forces together in a tasteful way that compliments them both, without impinging on their individual army’s color scheme. They don’t have to be painted the same overall, but this will be a great tie-in between the two forces.

Common Paint Scheme
Going one step beyond just Campaign Markings would be planning your allied force’s paint scheme around your existing main army you are wanting to compliment. My thoughts would be something along the lines of an allied Guard unit, modeled and painted as Nocturnean Guard, used as an ally to a Salamanders force. Wash-rinse-repeat your own theme and relationship here.

Physical Conversions
This I’m really looking forward to diving into. Want some beastmen-guard to compliment your Chaos Marines? How about some converted imperials, both mentally and physically, to compliment your Tau? SO many of GW’s kits work so well together, that kitbashing is a regular occurrence in our hobby, and I just see it ramping up form here.

With the changes 6th has made, and the fact that allies brings so much to the table, I’m reviving my old love for the Tau Empire and will be making them my next Army project. I’ll also be planning some Guard allies for them, and maybe even other races and abhumans mentioned in the new rule book!

How have your modeling and painting plans for your army, or even future projects, been changed by the inclusion of allies?

- Tim