1 hour ago, Khyros said:

So really the question comes down to is painting a mod. I will quote an older Tourney rules to answer that:

"Ship models may be painted as desired as long as the alterations are not offensive and do not adversely affect another player’s experience. The size and shape of a ship model cannot be modified in any way"

(From V2.2.1 https://images-cdn.fantasyflightgames.com/ffg_content/x-wing/support/faq/X-Wing-Tournament-Rules.pdf )

Paint is fine. MODIFYING size/shape not fine. Paint =/= modify.

This is a poor argument even ignoring you using an old rules document. Your own summation is just a very flawed statement. Paint is fine. Modifying size or shape is not fine. Painting is not changing the size or shape outside of a few mm of extra paint so there's no equivalency.

Painting is by definition a modification because to modify something is simply to change it. I could get condescending and start quoting the dictionary but really is there a need for that?

So if using a TIE/LN that's painted in /FO scheme isn't allowed, then what about when my entire list containing both a TIE/LN and TIE/FO are painted in camo? Or what about when I'm using an FFG Prototype A wing to represent Tycho and a standard Red one to represent a prototype? Those aren't even modified but the same concern can be made. Or how about if I'm flying Sabine's Masterpiece by Sabine in a standard TIE/LN, and then Rex in the official Sabine TIE? What if instead of the official one, it's one I painted myself? Unless your answer to all of these is "get a different model to represent the ship properly" your answer to all of them needs to be "it's legal."

4 minutes ago, Khyros said:

So if using a TIE/LN that's painted in /FO scheme isn't allowed, then what about when my entire list containing both a TIE/LN and TIE/FO are painted in camo?

If it causes people to get confused about what ship is what, then it can be an issue. If I were the TO and someone came up to me to complain about it, I'd tend to side with them. What you did has adversely affect another player’s experience...

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Or what about when I'm using an FFG Prototype A wing to represent Tycho and a standard Red one to represent a prototype?

Not even remotely the same thing, since they're both A-Wings.

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Unless your answer to all of these is "get a different model to represent the ship properly" your answer to all of them needs to be "it's legal."

No, because in most of those cases you have the same ships that happen to look differently, this is not even remotely the same thing has having two different kinds of ships that look the same. Being able to tell what type of ship it is, is not the same thing as being able to tell who the pilot in that ship is.

Basically if you paint your FOs to look like original Ties, it is on you to make clear that this is the case. The simplest way is by using number tags inserted into the base.

Taking a step back for a second here...

Does anyone really care? Has this ever really been a problem? Or are we just arguing for the fun of it?

43 minutes ago, Klutz said:

Taking a step back for a second here...

Does anyone really care? Has this ever really been a problem? Or are we just arguing for the fun of it?

Apparently it has been a problem for some or at least they've claimed on this very thread.

I've been told by many that even if they are all a flat grey you should have no trouble telling a TIE/ln from a TIE/fo and/or a TIE/sf because of some small difference between the models. If one has trouble distinguishing which model to shoot at just because they happen to have the same paint job I really wonder what happens when they are dealing with a bunch of different pilots who happen to be flying the same ships. Just imagine flying against the old Six Ace TIE Fighter swarm where everyone is flying the same ship but that may be it. The base tiles are all different so they shouldn't even need to use the identification number to keep them straight!

I still like the argument of, "If I have TIE/fos and TIE/lns all painted in a winter camo paint job (which would look pretty bad ass might I add) who's to say what's reasonably confusing there?" It would probably be an awesome looking squad, but if I'm Gottawin McDoucherson, can I complain to the TO that I couldn't tell his ships apart and it negatively affected my play experience so I can get a free W? When does the madness end? I wouldn't go so far as to say that painting fos to look like lns should be commonplace, but I feel like you have to draw the line somewhere to determine each players responsibility in a game and what each should expect from the other. I love seeing paint and mods, and quite frankly, since you MUST use the correct bases for the ships, I'm very hesitant to side with the non-modders on this one. I personally believe that if you think it'll be a problem, ask the person to label the ships with numbers and write down which numbers correspond to which ships prior to starting. I'd much rather go that route than be the guy who leaves a tournament because somebody can't handle lns and fos painted with the same (badass) paint scheme.

If you think the way your opponent has his squad identified, painted or modified might be a problem, talk to your opponent about it.

If you can't reach an agreement with your opponent, talk to a TO about it.

No matter what FFG meant by the things they put in the rules, the final interpretation and decision will come from the TO.

IMO, this is one of the more useless "rules" discussions this forum has seen... And god knows there are some useless threads that go on for pages and pages.