Some General Advice for the new guys out there...

[Torquemada Coteaz]

This might be in the wrong forum, I don't know, but here goes my little general guide bit on starting wargaming hobby:

Sportsmanship:

Games Workshop games are meant to be fun, they are meant to be not only games, but a hobby, and they are meant to run smoothely.
However this does NOT in any way mean the rules are precise and rigid. COMPLETELY to the contrary. GW rules are open for interpretation, and there are many
combinations of rules out there that may cause un-forseen special cases. In such cases, always lean torwards your opponent. This will not only be a display of good
sportsmanship, but also will let the game run smoothely and let you keep your friends. Don't lawyer the rules, such acts are not sportsmanlike and are generally frowned
upon by the good gamers. In tournament situations, if your opponent lawyers, call a staffer as referee, or side with your opponent and reprimand him after the game and
give'im the ol' "It's just a game"shpiel.
Remember, always be kind and sportsmanlike, because it's all about having fun and making friends.

Painting/Modelling:

With the aforementioned GW games being a HOBBY, it's also important to have your models painted before you game. Remember that GW requires gaming in stores and their
tournies to be armies that are WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get, meaning it has all its equipment on model as army lists, no more no less). You should DEFINITELY
paint your army before you game. Sure it's ok to proxy a few units to test out battle-effectiveness before you pluck down the dough for new models, but it's really bad to
game with non-painted non-based grey colored models, and no fun for you or the opponent. Also remember the important rule that if its larger than a guardsman and has a
lot of metal, pin it! you dont want it falling apart during gaming!
Having trouble with painting or converting? Don't know how to use a pin vice? our 40kTerra articles, experienced gamers and also your local GW or RT staffers can help you!
Don't be shy to ask!

Greenstuff:
A 2 part epoxy, It's a blue and yellow stripped putty that when you mix together produces a green (thus greenstuff) putty that solidifies after a while, used as a gap filler and
to sculpt details on models. (used with a sculpting tool, which is a knife on one end and little presser on the other)
Model Flash:
this is the excess film,block or thin line of extra plastic/pewter on a model from the moulding process, simply use a knife or cutter to trip it off slightly away from the model,
then use your files to file it down.
SuperGlue VS Plastic Glue VS PVA
Superglue is what you will be generally using for putting together your models. Superglue is a fast-dry bond that you should never get on anything other than your models. as
with any glue do not put excess glue one, If you do wait for it to dry then file it out. Superglue should never be used as a gap filler! use greenstuff for that!
Plastic glue is basically a chemical compound that melts the plastic of 2 pieces and solidifies them together to make a joint. Personally I don't use it because its much less
forgiving than superglue and if dripped on parts of plastic models that part can warp.
PVA is your average white glue. It is used generally for basing/flocking, and putting together foam for terrain. It does NOT glue models well.
When gluing remember that large or long joints should be pinned, and gaps filled with greenstuff.
Brushes
When using brushes:
never:
-get paint on more than front half of the bristles
-put brushes bristles-down in a jar/cup
-stirr water or paint with the bristles
-get glue on the bristles
-wash with hot water
-forget to wash and wipe, leaving the paint on the brush
-lick the brush (just cause its disgusting)
chosing burshes:
detail/fine detail - exactly what it sounds like: for painting those little things on your model
Standard - your normal brush, good for just about anything
Drybrush - used for drybrushing. duh.
Tank - paints large surfaces, can use for terrain though I prefer a wall-painting flatbrush for tables
modelling:
TestFitting:
basically, before you put together ANY model, you want to see if the pieces go together, or you need to trim down/add greenstuff.what you want to do is use small amounts
of blue-tac to stick the pieces on and see if they're compatible and if you can get the pose you want. If achieved then set about to carefully gluing.
Large Models:
For your larger models with heavily converted parts and laden with extra bits, you should DEFINITELY paint the parts separately before gluing. (remember to test-fit) This
allows you to paint all the hard to reach areas that you would have trouble painting if the model was already glued together.
Magnets:
Rare earth magnets are definitely an asset to modellers. generaelly you want round, flat disks of magnets. These allow you to have all the upgrade options of a model which
remain able to be separated, allowing for many combinations of addons.
Converting:
This is the practise of making your own special model from parts of others as well as plasticcard, foamcore, greenstuff and modelling supplies. As you are swapping limbs
and whatnot, remember a few important rules:
- lord of the rings range and anything outside GW range are NOT allowed for painting competitions with warhammer/40k related ranges
- keep in mind the relative sizes and compatability of pieces. many a time models are failed because of "over/undersized hat/arm/leg/tentacle syndrome"
- remember that when using greenstuff as a gap filler, do NOT leave a huge blob of it outside the gap, either scrape it off, model it into surrounding textures, or file it off after
drying
- when gap filling a big gap, fill the gap first, let it dry, then add mroe greenstuff to sculpt details
Tournaments and Events:
- All armies used must be WYSIWYG - what you see is waht you get (every option, weapon, upgrade, etc must be modelled on)
- all armies must be painted and based
- all armies must be legal as to the newest edition of rulebook and relevant codecies.
- remember that sportsmanship is important!!! always be kind, and aim to have fun!

Cheating and Rulebending:
you should never cheat, that's obvious. However, any amount of rule-twisting or new rules (house rules, CA, forgeworld IA, etc) MUST be agreed to by your gaming opponent,
and should never be used in a tournament (unless otherwise stated in tournie rules)

Ultimate Rules:
1) FUN!
2) It's as much a hobby as a game
3) The rule of Die:
when in any rules dispute or similar
roll a D6
1/2/3 I'm right, 4/5/6 you are.
4) GW Staffers, Codexes, Rulesbook, and all GW/FW/BL publications are AWESOME resources for ideas!

Enjoy!

*will update whenever I remember anything useful for starting up wargaming, feel free to pm me to add something, just specify the article title in the pm
First Update/Edit: 10/28/2006