A Late-Night Angels of Death Purchase, Thanks to the Group Chat
We love it when a hobby purchase starts as a rules discussion, turns into market research panic, and ends with a completely different deal because someone in the group casually says, “I’ve got some lying around.” That was exactly the case this time with Angels of Death for Kill Team.
The whole thing started with end3r comparing Deathwatch and Angels of Death. The feeling was pretty relatable: Deathwatch can hit hard, but if the dice go bad, sometimes the whole plan just collapses and there’s not much you can do about it. Angels of Death, on the other hand, looked much more forgiving thanks to ploys and tools that help smooth out bad rolls.
So naturally, the thought appeared: maybe it’s time to get some AoD. And since they’re still Marines, painting them up as Salamanders sounded like a perfectly good plan too.
Right at the start, there was also a screenshot from the tier-list/chat context that kicked off the whole discussion:
Then came the usual reality check: trying to actually buy the team.
At one point, end3r found an eBay listing priced at 1300 PLN, which is the kind of number that makes us all suddenly much more interested in second-hand options, kitbashes, and “maybe I don’t need this after all” levels of self-reflection.
Thankfully, the story improved fast. Michał jumped in and said he had a painted Angels of Death team sitting around. Not magnetised, no spare bits, and they’d need stripping if someone wanted to redo them properly — but still, a very real and very sensible option.
Even better, these weren’t random old Marines. They had a bit of history: Michał said he painted them in November 2024, and they were the first miniatures he had painted since 2001. We genuinely love details like that. A hobby purchase with a backstory is always better than anonymous plastic from a listing.
Here’s the team Michał offered:
Of course, this happened at the exact moment when end3r had already panic-bought another assembled set on OLX. The logic was understandable: nothing on Battle Stock, nothing on the Northhammer Discord, Targowisko empty, and then suddenly one assembled set appears for 100 PLN. In that kind of situation, we all know the hobby brain says: buy first, think later.
That bought set looked like this:
Then came the crucial question: cancel the OLX order, or keep it?
Michał explained that stripping his painted team should be pretty manageable: primer + Contrast, so a soak in isopropyl alcohol for a few days and then a toothbrush under running water. Maybe not factory-fresh afterwards, but absolutely usable with a new prime coat.
That was enough to make the alternative very tempting. Instead of just getting bare assembled plastic from a random listing, end3r could get a team from a friend, with a bit of hobby history attached. And in the end, that won.
The final decision was delightfully simple: cancel the order and take Michał’s team instead. As end3r put it — it’d be a better story.
And honestly, we agree. These are the best hobby purchases: not the cleanest, not the newest, not the most efficient, but the ones that come with a conversation, a bit of indecision, and a nice little handover between friends.
There was also some follow-up chat about whether the starter had included any tokens or cards. The answer was basically: probably something, but nobody was fully sure where it ended up, and probably no cards. Which, again, feels extremely authentic to how these things go in real life.
A few extra notes from the conversation that we also found fun:
- end3r is still in the middle of building Squats, so the Marines won’t be hitting the table instantly.
- There was immediate follow-up interest in any other spare generic Space Marines from starter sets.
- The long-term plan still smells strongly of Salamanders.
- Apparently, if Angels of Death are climbing tier lists, there may soon be more people looking for them too.
So that’s one more team acquired the proper way: through overthinking, bad timing, lucky timing, and the group chat saving the day.
If this turns into stripped-and-repainted Salamanders later, we’ll definitely want a follow-up.