Loyalist legions MK power armor

[Griz]

I'm debating making an pre-heresy or heresy army and I was curious what the loyalist legions were using as MK power armor? Were each chapters issued the same kind, Blood Angels, Space Wolves, etc?

[Kierdale]

As I understand it Pre-Heresy marks 1-4 are fine for all legions, with 5 coming in as the Heresy begins (it being a collective designation for all stop-gap armour due to the Heresy's outbreak) and 6 first being used by the Raven Guard.

I'm not aware of any legion favouring any one particular mark of armour (aside from the Raven Guard and mk.6).

[Kizzdougs]

Kierdale has pretty much covered it. It really depends on when in the Crusade/Heresy timeline you imagine your marines.

 

As far as the individual Legions are concerned there aren't really any 'hard and fast' rules. If you wanted you could have a higher percentage of the 'newer' Mks in the more 'favoured' legions such as the Luna Wolves/Sons of Horus, Ultramarines, Blood Angles and Emperor's Children. The Alpha Legion IA says that when Alpharius joined his legion they were newly created and armed with the latest weapons and gear. The Iron Hands and Salamanders could be expected to exhibit new and self customised armour Mks. Less 'favoured' legions such as Word Bearers (Pre Monarchia), Night Lords, Death Guard, Iron Warriors and World Eaters could be modeled with older Mks.

 

This is all just personal opinion of course. There are numerous other factors that could have an impact on the distribution of newer Mks such as supply line problems.

[Raven Angel]

Marks 2-4 were used up to the outbreak of the HH MK1 was used only during the reunifacation wars on earth. When Mars fell to the traitors the Loyalists couldn't get parts for their MK4 armor so the MK 5 was developed as a stop gap. The fighting was so heavy that both Loyalist and Traitors scavenged parts off the battlefield leading to all sorts of mix and match suits and explaining how MK5 armor got into Traito hands. MK 6 entered service at the beginnign of the scouring after the siege of Terra and MK 7 armor at the end of the Scouring. Mk8 armor came some after that but never replaced the MK7 armor.

[Brother Captain Kezef]

Most of the MkIV was in traitor hands as that was just coming out when the heresy started and Horus had the admech on mars in his pocket

[Vodunius]

When Mars fell to the traitors the Loyalists couldn't get parts for their MK4 armor so the MK 5 was developed as a stop gap. The fighting was so heavy that both Loyalist and Traitors scavenged parts off the battlefield leading to all sorts of mix and match suits and explaining how MK5 armor got into Traito hands. MK 6 entered service at the beginnign of the scouring after the siege of Terra and MK 7 armor at the end of the Scouring. Mk8 armor came some after that but never replaced the MK7 armor.

 

Both the WD129 fluff article and the Horus Heresy CCG put Mk7 in use by the Siege - the former had Mk6 being effectively being a beta-test that was rushed into production in desperation as Horus forces closed in on the solar system, with Mk7 being the finished article that went into production on Luna shortly before the Siege began.

WD129 described Mk5 as being rushed into production almost immediately - the problems of Mk4 being a combination of spare part shipments not reaching loyalist forces as well as the armour being too advanced for techmarines to repair rather than because Mars had fallen - with the Isstvan V forces having been extensively re-equipped with it (Realms of Chaos stated it had taken 6 months for the Isstvan V expedition to assembled and equipped).