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Naming Your Models

5.4K views 38 replies 29 participants last post by  piemaster  
#1 ·
Hey all,

I have always been a firm believer in naming (non-special) models, just because I think it's rather fun. I plan on naming my entire army of Blood Angels as soon as they are all painted presentably.

How do you all feel about naming your models?
Any of you go so far as to name everyone in your army? (if so, why? some examples would be neat too)
Do you only give out names as merit ?(for instance, if a dude survives the whole game while the rest of his squad dies, or some other such heroic deed)
Do you think naming your models is retarded? Why?
Any funny stories concerning your named models?

Also, I hate my laptop's touch mousepad thing
 
#2 ·
im also a firm believer in naming and when i get round to it, i will name the whole of my army
the only names ive given out are: Lucien for my marshal, Demitri Dorn for my chaplain and Ivan for a guy with a chainsword and bolt pistol who has been very heroic and has survived most of my games (he is covered in purity seals)
i also hate laptop touch thingys
 
#3 ·
Hey all,

I have always been a firm believer in naming (non-special) models, just because I think it's rather fun. I plan on naming my entire army of Blood Angels as soon as they are all painted presentably.

How do you all feel about naming your models?
its awesome it means you can track all the awesome stuff that model has done
(i write stories about my armies so it helps)

Any of you go so far as to name everyone in your army?
i don't have my whole army but i have the names, yes

Do you only give out names as merit ?
no i draw symbols that are medals

Do you think naming your models is retarded? Why?
no,as stated above

Any funny stories concerning your named models?
i had a guy called larik short ,his legs ended up being crushed by my ipod speakers , so hew is actually short now
 
#4 ·
Named absolutely everyone- even the vehicle crews (and their vehicles) had names. Usually I'd take a name and use the latinised version of it, in the case of special models (sgts, apothecary, champion etc) I'd name them after a friend...which was a bit of bugger when it came to naming one of after my housemate Jason being as that is already the latin spelling and it doesnt sound very Space Marine :biggrin:
 
#5 ·
Being a tyranid player, I just give them nicknames.

My Carnifex is tardy, because he rolls high when he templates and rolls low when he assaults. And my buddies and me all have that one unit that is a gigantic, slow, children. My CSM friend has his Defiler, for instance

My Blord is the Shredder, give you one guess why. That's right! I DO love TMNT.

And finally, my tyrant and two guard have the names, "Larry, Moe and Curly"
 
#8 ·
I''ve a few named models.

Emperor's Champion Auzias Del'auz the foremost. Chaplain Mahlthas in his Teminator Armour, Chaplain Domdrid in a normal get-up. Honoured Brother Elzsicks was blessed with Dreadnought Armour, Brother Initiate Vaande has a master-crafted bolt pistol (Represented by having one of the niftier scout pistols w/ scope and silencer, also it being painted an ornate gold) for steadfast determination and extraordinary valor. Brother Archibald has a bionic arm, as the original was taken clean off by on ork nob his first game.

There are more, too. I like having some fluff in my battles, and me and my girl, when our Templar and Tyra-bugs collide we like to roleplay out the action scenes, like a game of D&D.
 
#11 · (Edited)
How do you all feel about naming your models?
It adds a lot of character to your army, and it makes you become that much more connected to your models. Battles can become very personal and very emotional if you become attached to your units.

Any of you go so far as to name everyone in your army? (if so, why? some examples would be neat too)
Thats an awkward task with Necrons, but I do name particular units and my Lords.
WISHMASTER- My primary lord. I've published a bit of my own fluff on him on here.
REVENANT- My secondary lord.
THE UNDYING- My Immortals.
CHOSEN- My Pariahs.
GATEKEEPER- My Tomb Spyder.
THE SHADOW BRIGADE- My Warriors (All of them)
THE UNDYIELDING (Unyielding Despair, Unyielding Terror, Unyielding Anguish)- Monoliths
Still coming up with names for my Wraiths and Flayed Ones.


Do you only give out names as merit ?(for instance, if a dude survives the whole game while the rest of his squad dies, or some other such heroic deed)
Originally only my primary Lord had a name, but as my mind built up my army's fluff, more and more got names to go with the fluff.

Do you think naming your models is retarded? Why?
Of course not. It helps flesh out your army and helps you connect with the game on a more than dice-deep level.

Any funny stories concerning your named models?
Everyone has a story or two, so I'll spill one. Once, I DSed The Unyielding Despair into my friend's Tau Army and warped in Wishmaster. He blew up the broadside, and the two proceeded to wipe out almost the entire army, until a group of Firewarriors somehow beat him in CC. Then he blew up Despair, and though I beat him, theres no denying how messed up it was.


me and my girl, when our Templar and Tyra-bugs collide we like to roleplay out the action scenes, like a game of D&D.
Kinky. I like it. :p

Roleplaying is also much more prone to happen with lots of named, fluffy models. Added bonus, if you ask me.
 
#9 ·
I've named a few of my sergeants and my cannoness, and my inquisitress.
And one standard Inquisitorial stormtrooper, aka Sister novicae. Her name is Sasha. The reason being that she kept doing heroic stuff, so I gave her a name and some purity seals. :)
 
#12 ·
How do you all feel about naming your models?
depends
Characters for 40k, fantasy yes, also 54mm Inquisitor characters, mordheim bands and necromunda gangs members yes, and BFG ships yes

anything else no, not even SGT's or unit leaders, too many to remember and too pointless (naming 100 guardsmen would be hard and a waste since they'll be on board for only seconds)
 
#13 ·
I name my tanks and other heavier vehicles. Stuff like "Dominatus Imperator" for tank 211, "Proditor Nex" for tank 212, "Venator Hostilis" for tank 213, etc.

I tried naming my CCS officer, but he either died too often or did nothing noteworthy all game, so I eventually forgot it. I note which of my models do what on the battlefield. I keep track of my tanks' vehicle or MC kills and paint lines on their turret chassis'. Infantry models that perform exceptionally well (though this is pure chance) such as a lowly Guardsman melting a Rhino and killing three Marines in a Death or Glory! get "pimped". Extra details, stuff on the base that reminds me of what they did to deserve it, etc.

I don't like naming infantry models, though. Even my "count-as" Marbo is just called "Marbo". :p
 
#14 ·
Personally, i don't name my models just because there are too many in my army (IG). i completely agree with what stella said. but my friend, who has tyranids, loves it! one time he charged up the board straight at me with like 40 sumthing guants, and i just sat back and mowed them down, seriously just shredding them up. but anyways, when all his friends died, one little guant survived, and charged into my squad, killing 4 and surviving for the whole battle while the other guants came back with their special rule. the squad cudnt shoot or get outa there, since they cudnt finish the last guant, and wen the others came back, they got swarmed and ripped apart. ya so my friend named the hero guant "Larry". and i think there was another that had a similiar story, named "Bob" or sumthing. so yes, i do agree it's fun/cool to name models wen they do heroic things, but i wudent just name everything.
 
#15 ·
i enjoy naming my models yes.....
for instance.....
i bought a chaos battle force, and my friend wa helping me build the possessed.
so we started talking about how close combat weapons can be anything including rocks
so he models one of my possessed with a rock(with a scope) in his hand, needless to say his name is rocky.
um....my lady named my chaos lord with a blissgiver lalavitala
i have a deamon prince made from a fantasy minotaur and a lictor. his name is freak the mighty.
my greater deamon of khorne's nam is big red

and finally, i have a night lord with lightning claws riding a tyranid warrior(juggernaut)
the models name's are maggie and the ferocious beast
 
#17 ·
I name the heroic models, and models I have converted. My Dreads, but now I might name my vehicles too. My favorite model is Brother Kael, I converted him from a skull champ helm, so he has a skull for a head, (looks really good) And he carries the IoK. He also has a mutated arm for a PF. He's always done well, and at the end of most of my games, even if I lose, he still holds his Icon high in defiance of the enemy. as far as rank and file, no point. As far as a funny story my defiler is named the laughing skull, and it dropped a battle cannon template dead on a squad of broadside battle suits, the guy rolled all ones for his saves, they all insta-died. It was GREAT.
 
#18 ·
I love to name my models, I haven't named them all, but I have "Brudda Badmek" my custom Big Mek" I also name all my vehicles, because if I'm spending 3 weeks working on them, I'm damned if they aren't going to have names.

Thus "Da Mulcha" and "Da Tanksmasha" were born. I also have a few nobs and guys named, Like "Dreadnob Nobby" (a nob built with chaos lord pieces, looks a right badass he does)

If you don't wanna name your guys I see no problem with it, but I am going to name mine and you can live with me saying "Dreadnob Nobby makes his armor save"
 
#21 ·
I name my Dreads, Baneblades, GKT's, Justicars, Inquisitors and a few random IG Vehicles like the Commissar's Vanquisher.....anything else would be a pain in the arse.

I do follow the proper markings/numbering designations for all my IG Vehicles though....32 of them so far.
 
#22 ·
I myself have given only one name, to my Chaos Lord, Asmodeus. However, two particularly cool looking Skull Champions in my army have theme songs - Die MF Die by Dope and Feeling Good by Muse.
 
#23 ·
I have named my Chapter master Maskus and one captain I named Pistonius.

otherwise I just designate squads as a whole. (such as 'squad Emperors Thunder fire their lascannon at your Nobby).
 
#25 ·
I'll go a step further. I'm a writer, and the guys I play with are like me in that we like to have narrative campaigns around our armies. As soon as one campaign ends, we agree on an ending and a story is written to reflect the aftermath. Naming characters is thus essential to a good story.

Currently, my Nurgle faction (The Carrion Lords) is led by a Chaos Lord entombed in a dreadnought. His name is Morbaine. Then we have his personal sorceror Yuman, Nurgle's champion Feranoth, and a host of names for generals past. Some are fondly remembered for kicking gratuitous xeno tail, such as Imperial Guard Colonel Andrick Caspian, others are notorious for losing repeatedly, i.e. Farseer Issuru.

Without the names, they'd just be old models.
 
#26 ·
I like your style, Sigmatus, and we often do something similar. As I said my army is very fluffy and there has been published text on it. We draw up stories for battle reports (I'll direct you to here).

My Lord, Wishmaster, is a Gold Level Lord, who is the entombed spirit of Warrior-Poet Gahat-Siil. He's a personal tool of the Deceiver, and his job is to look for and collect Pariahs hidden amongst mankind. His name is derived from the fact that the Pariahs he has brought in consider themselves "saved". They wished their entire lives for a place to call home, with others like them. The Culexus Temple was too foreboding in that regard, but amidst the Necron, of all places, they have found their kin; He is the master of their wishes.
 
#27 ·
I have to say, that's actually the most involved Necron Lord fluff I've seen. My buddy plays 'crons as his off-army, and while we build a story around our battles, he plays his necrons as having no personality. Most do that I've found. It's interesting that you play yours off as a sort of prophet. Very cool.
 
#28 ·
Nice fluff guys, I've always wanted to do a sort of story driven campaign. Never had anyone to do it with though.

I'm basing the names of my blood angels on old Romanian names because of the vampire-type influence (Vlad the Impaler anyone?)
 
#30 ·
I'm naming my squads & vehicles- and i've also been working on some titles for the squads, with a little backstory explaining said title. Similar to what they've done for the UM 2nd company in the codex.

I chose 3rd company for my sallies, but annoyingly the recent book is based on 3rd company...and i don't want to repaint all my '3's, so instead i've stolen the captain name and i'm ignoring anything else in the book :p

So far i Have:

Captain N'keln - Salamanders 3rd company, Captain of the Ashbringers.

Ashbringer Command Squad:
Company champion Va'kir
Brother Ra'kaa (standard bearer - he refuses to take a gun as he needs both hands free to protect the standard)
Brother Defari
Vet. Sergeant Phife
Apothecary Ru'tarn

Chaplain A'kava - Trained alongside Xavier, and often employed to lead reconnaisance missions for the promethean cult. Attached to the third company since 861.M41.

Tactical Squad A'kil - "Kesare's heralds"
"Assigned to aid the forgefather for a continued period of 90 years, Sergeant A'kil's Squad was present at the discovery of Kesare's Mantle, the fourth missing relic of Vulcan"

Tactical Squad Zaakir - "Eye of prometheus"
"Regularly sanctioned by the promethean cult to aid in aggressive scouting missions, usually lead by one of the Salamander's many chaplains. Due to this the squad is highly zealous, decorating their armor with intricate flame patterns"

Assault Squad C'hali - "The flamewalkers"
"To overcome the naturally slow reactions of his new recruits, Sergeant C'hali utilises the lava fields of nocturne during jump pack excercises. Those caught out by the spewing lava eruptions are quick to learn the necessity of speed. The children of nocturne will often come to watch these training excercises, and observe the marines 'walking on fire'."

Devastator Squad Ta'lib - "The hellbenders"
"Sergeant Ta'lib's relentless rain of fire has been known to drive an enemy to surrender before a single man has fallen. Some say that when Ta'lib orders his men to fire, the following sound is more terrifying than the warp itself"

Brother Incus - "The ironsoul"
"A highly skilled blacksmith in life, many feared Brother Incus would become unstable in the dreadnought armor, lacking the dexterity to craft and repair his own weapons. Contrary to this, the techmarines have experienced a peculiarly strong connection whilst working on Incus' wargear, and often find themselves overcome by flashes of inspiration and enlightenment"

That's all i have so far, if you managed to read it all hope you enjoyed it.

"5000 orks stand between us and our wounded. By daybreak the xenos will fall, and we shall bring their ashes to our brothers on the soles of our boots"
- Sergeant A'kil, Salamanders 3rd company
 
#36 ·
I'm naming my squads & vehicles- and i've also been working on some titles for the squads, with a little backstory explaining said title. Similar to what they've done for the UM 2nd company in the codex.

I chose 3rd company for my sallies, but annoyingly the recent book is based on 3rd company...and i don't want to repaint all my '3's, so instead i've stolen the captain name and i'm ignoring anything else in the book :p

So far i Have:
Oi! I'm doing third as well, but I dont like whats happening in the book, so mines set about 300 years before the book, I have Sgt Kotan Kodai. :victory:. I just name squads, but I went a bit over the top. EVERYTHING has reference to fire/lava/magma.
 
#32 ·
At the moment I only have names for my leaders. All the grunts will eventually get named but I just do not see the fellas that get smoked every game being the same guy in the next. Ah well. But it is fun to find random names. I still have my Necromunda and Gorka-Morka gangs around and all of them have their own names. Larger armies that would require a phone book to get original names for masses of troops.
Signing off.
Corporal :scare:
 
#33 ·
i sometimes name hqs. im going to work on a tau shas'o for apoc that i will call ragna, while his sward is called blood edge (blazblue). im working on a name for my admech hqs. with my daemons. i call what ever model that is doing good, Blut vergieĂźer (if its vergieĂźener or something else please tell me).