There has been some controversy in recent weeks in the local gaming scene regarding WYSIWYG in competitive tournaments and I believe there are some misconceptions that need to be cleared and the concept presented in a logical manner. What is WYSIWYG? Simply an acronym for "What You See Is What You Get" in the miniature gaming circles, is the representation of a model in a way that can be recognised easily the its weapon load out and the model for what it is. This is generally done to facilitate quicker game play and reduce the risk of misrepresentation in a hectic game that, in a tournament setting, already be bogged down with rules and time constraints.
So does every model have to be exactly the size as it is sold and the weapons exactly the ones provided in the box?
WYSIWYG, while it speaks of "seeing", does not mean that everything has to literally be from the box you purchase from Games Workshop. It allows significant deviation in the form of conversions and most tournaments that enforce WYSIWYG (take official ITC tournaments for example) make exceptions for themed units or armies. As long as the model is suitably modelled to the extent that a passerby can look at the model and immediately guess what it is and what it's meant to do. A good example of a non-original model that still fulfils the criteria would be these cool-looking Obliterators converted from Primaris Aggressors by a local tournament player and organiser.
*If it looks like an Obliterator and it feels like an Obliterator and it tastes lik.....nevermind
Some WYSIWYG-ing can be simple swaps or modifications to existing items available on hand. Take for example the following unit of chaos terminators:
Each box of 5 Blightlord Terminators only came with 1 legit combi-plasma and I wanted 7 in my unit of 10. Fortunately for me, I had space wolf plasma pistols lying around (pistols mind you) and after some chopping both them and combi-bolter parts up and some amounts of plastic glue, voila. Now those aren't plasma guns so they aren't the exact weapons but it will be hard to mistake them for anything but combi-plasma. If one wasn't playing in an official Games Workshop tournament, one could even source bits from the many 3rd party sites and casters that make similar looking models or weapons for conversion ideas. Some may even look nicer than the original models themselves (though not so for many of the kits GW has put out in the past 2 years).
But BenCH, doesn't Page 14 of the main rulebook say all ways of building your collection are equally valid??!!
Yes and that is true with the hobby as a whole. You can do whatever you want and use whatever models you see fit in a friendly game between two people who can agree on things beforehand. You can even use cardboard cutouts in a game on your dining table and no one will say anything otherwise. However, in the context of tournaments and competitive play, the onus always falls to the organisers and their preferred direction of the game/hobby. And as mentioned earlier in the article, the main aim for most WYSIWYG is to facilitate fast play and easily recognised models and weaponry in games with a time limit. In keeping with the spirit of the hobby, all conversions and modifications are highly encouraged and exceptions are always made for themed models or units. Want to make a gundam-themed T'au Commander Supreme Command Detachment with authentic gundam-looking models? Sure! Go right ahead! As long as the model represented in-game that has a shooting weapon looks like it really has a shooting weapon and not just claws and teeth. Well, unless you want to make a T'au army themed as a race of savage aliens with visceral bio-weaponry that assimilates all that it comes across then sure! But I believe the keys to be consistency and being reasonable and as long as it makes sense and is consistently applied across the board, most Tournament Organisers will be hard pressed to say no.
Oh man....but I'm so tired at the end of every day and only have 2 to 3 hours a week to model... How will I ever paint my models or make them WYSIWYG?
Do things at your own pace and understand that everyone has varying amounts of time to spend to hobby amidst commitments and happenings in their life. Some people may be able to finish an army in 3 week by putting aside other commitments for the moment and some may be able to finish up 2 decently painted armies within 4 months while working a full-time job but you don't have to. As mentioned above, most cases of WYSIWYG are only ever applicable to tournaments anyway. Have a game at your local store or at home and not worry about WYSIWYG. You don't have to keep up with the Joneses.
To put it more bluntly, thousands of people working full-time jobs and with commitments worldwide go to tournaments requiring WYSIWYG and with the influx of new players this edition of 40k, maybe it's good to start them off on a good footing with appropriate expectations for tournaments in this hobby. There have been a handful of newer players in our local community that have stayed away from tournaments because they were under the impression that full WYSIWYG was expected and I'm personally a bit ashamed that they spent all the time and effort to make their own armies WYSIWYG for their first tournament ever (or in a long time) only to find out that WYSIWYG has hardly ever been the case and our veterans don't bring WYSIWYG armies to tournaments. I personally feel that it sets a bad precedent at the end of the day for the growth of the hobby locally.
ANYWAY, now that we know that WYSIWYG isn't something that means you can only play with the models from the box or MUST have the exact weapons, here are some ways that can help you WYSIWYG your models for down the road!
Instamold
One of the best ways to replicate weapon parts or small bits quickly. Aids in basing and texturing too. Local site Here Be Geeks has a review on Instamold that you can take a look at in the following link: Instamold Review
Bitz Shops (or friends or bitz exchanges)
Various online bitz shops or sellers on ebay sell bits that you might be able to get at decent prices (might have to do some digging if you want the best deal of course). For T'au players, it's roughly US$6 to get 4 fusion blasters (assuming you aren't able to use those from any owned Stealth suits) or US$3 per cyclic ion blaster custom 3d-printed by Shapeways (not sure about the quality though). Of course this is not restricted to T'au alone as new Death Guard players may want to source Blight Launchers or Lascannons and Razorback turrets for Space Marine players. While some bitz might not be cheap, it definitely beats buying a whole box for just another weapon. It isn't a cheap hobby in the first place and US$6 for 4 fusion blasters is the fraction of the price for the US$50 you already spend getting the T'au Commander boxed set itself. Conversions!
One of the most fun parts of the hobby! Figuring out what one can use to represent a weapon or bit from one range of models and apply it to another can be both creatively rewarding as well as financially prudent. Some even like to build their weapons up from scratch (not me...I'm not that hardcore... =P). Remember that the most important thing about converting is "if it looks like it and it smells like it", it probably is it (unless going for counts-as of course).
At the end of the day, it's a hobby and we're all here to have fun. Do it any way you like it and play it however you like it. No one is telling you how to enjoy yourself as a gamer in Warhammer. Tournaments, in my experience, are and should be a different animal altogether and all tournaments have their own set of rules. Some may be inclusive and anything goes or some may be more tailored like say Warhammer World Events. Whichever they are is entirely up to the organisers and how they would like the game to evolve (they are the ones putting in the extra work of sourcing for venue, creating terrain, setting up and tearing down, etc, after all) and nobody wants someone not to be able to play just because of a lack of proper representation or because they can't bring a list they feel is competitive (you'd be surprised at how effective some combinations or strategies might be or are underrated!).
Tournaments ARE one of the prime ways to showcase this hobby and game that we love to the public and introduce more people to the great models that we've had the fortune to enjoy all these years. If we don't spend the time and effort to make and bring the best models (within our ability) that we can to a showcase, who will?
Have any opinions about the matter? Feel free to drop us an email or a message down below! In the meantime, keep painting and hobbying everyone!