Armour Colour - No references in current codex

[GAZ_AV_NZ]

Page 14 of the current codex briefly says the colour of the Death wing as bonewhite and Dark Angels as green.

 

That's it, no where in the codex can I find reference to the original armor colour of black and the reasons for it changing from black to green.

Its a big deal to change your armor colour.    The Deathwing thing is also a bit mixed up and confused.  Originally 30 terminators did it - then its referenced at the whole lot.   That story just doesn't do it for me.

 

Not very helpful really the current codex.   I think the author just didn't want to go there. Bit slack.

 

I've done a massive black undercoat on over 200+ Pre heresy models and vehicles and I'm at a loss at how to paint them pre heresy 30k and also bring them over to be a fluffy colour for 40k games.  The current codex should have briefly had some info.

 

I was looking at a darker green in places with touches of lighter green with a considerable amount of black left.

Ill do a zenthial airbrush on them to achive this effect.

Ill keep the pre heresy logo of the DA sword and wings

it looks different to the current one

and was thinking of it being red or white - most likely white

 

Love to hear people thoughts and comments.

Might give me some direction.   The one thing about the DA I don't like is the colour changes.

 

Also Big thanks to the dark fortress and there banners and info on the site.

I'm making quite a few new ones in illustrator using there templates and custom decals from some of there symbols.

Cheers

 

[Disruptor_fe404]

The Consecrators are still black. Other than that though, pre- and post-Heresy Dark Angels will definitely be black and green respectively. I'm really not sure how you intended to do both a pre- and post-Heresy force with the same models (for Dark Angels anyway).

 

As mentioned, the Consecrators are still black, and I believe they're real big on ancient (legion) equipment, so you could paint them and keep the pre-Heresy markings on their equipment?

[Bryan Blaire]

The armor color change may be explained in the Horus Heresy BL series, but I'm not expecting too much. Most likely, it's simply to indicate the divide between the First Legion Dark Angels that was divided by treachery and the Dark Angels Chapter. The Calibanite DA were already using a forest green shoulder heraldry to indicate their origins during the Heresy, so the dark forest green armor likely indicates an allegiance of sorts.

 

As far as the bone white Terminators, the story is pretty much as you have written. We have been told no more.

 

It's not likely that the Codex author didn't want to go there, simply that there really isn't a there to go to right now, and GW has always been reluctant to print too much on the black to green armor change, for whatever reason.

 

One thing to realize about the DA is that they did change, and as you said, the color change is a big deal and indicates the shift in identity. Trying to make a force bridge that is basically denying that core shift in the Unforgiven. 30K Dark Angels Legion is not the Dark Angels Chapter of 40K. Everything changed for them, their panoply, markings and heraldry, and likely even their rites and traditions took on a different tone and hidden meanings. There was no Broken Sword for the Deathwing (if that organization even existed prior to the Lutherite Treachery) in 30K or the depiction of the Lion as fallen on the ground beside the lightning struck tower.

[cypherthefallenangel]

According to HH fluff, the terran dark angels and the knights of the order(pre-legion calabanite angels) both wore black armor. The white robes are a carry over from the knights of the order when they were absorbed into the 1st legion. Calibanite DA (eventually ”the fallen”) had there right paldron painted green in honor of Knightly orders of calaban. All the terran and new recruits wore all black (from88'-99' pre-fallen fluff) then GW decided to make us green in honor of lost calaban.(2k-present, post-fallen fluff ). Reference the HH novels ”decent of angels” and ”fallen angels” for some good 30k fluff.

I started playing back in the Rogue Trader days when DA was black and though I like the newer fluff. I refuse to change to green. But im a stubborn bastard. Soo... :)

[Dirrain]

The 30k to 40k black to green change is pretty much as cypher and Bryan says - they changed their colours and identity and got all secretive and 'unforgiven' due to the betrayal of Luther and in honor of the destruction of Caliban.

 

I might be able to help with why the DW is bone white. There is a short story by William King and Bryan Ansel (written all the way back in 1990) about a squad of terminators cleansing a recruiting world for the Dark Angels all by themselves. The world was based on the native american culture, hence the naming of Veteran Captain Ezekiel as "Cloud Runner".  The Deathwing itself is a variation on the myths of the Thunderbird.

 

So they discovered the genestealer infestation and decided it would be blasphemy to let this go unchallenged. The terminators painted their armor bone white as a homage to their native culture - they were going on the rite of the Deathwing, fully expecting to die for their homeworld. 

 

The squad (with a librarian) managed to cleanse the world, including a brood lord. At the end of it, only a few terminators still lived, and they decided to go lead their people to restore the world as a recruiting planet for the Chapter. 

 

It's no small feat for a single terminator squad to cleanse an entire world of genestealers. Added to the fact that the planet saved was an important recruiting world for the chapter, it's reasonable to assume that the rest of the company painted their armor bone white and called themselves the Deathwing in homage of this incredible feat.

 

That was the original fluff some 23 years ago. The most recent codex however, states that the "Tale of Two Heads Talking" (Two Heads Talking was one of the surviving terminators) is one of the first few stories told to recruits - a symbolic myth where a band of heroes returns to their homeworld, war-weary and happy to see their home again, when betrayal robs them of that joy and they have to cleanse the planet instead.

 

Sound familiar? Remarkably like the betrayal of Caliban. The 6th ed codex describes the tale as one of the many told to recruits to mentally prepare them for the truth - all have some variation of heroes coming back only to face betrayal. 

 

In the end, the Dark Angels chapter are famous for their secrecy. Who knows what is actually true? This is the part of 40K that got me into it proper. You decide whether the tale of Deathwing is true or not. It's your chapter mate. If you can't explain away the black armor of your marines or don't want to, come up with a successor chapter! Or say yours was a company that got lost in the warp right after the betrayal and got spit out 10,000 years later - Hence the archaic armor and the black color scheme.

 

Hope this long post didn't put you to sleep and that it helped! Cheers!

[Aegnor]

 

All the terran and new recruits wore all black (from88'-99' pre-fallen fluff) then GW decided to make us green in honor of lost calaban.(2k-present, post-fallen fluff ).

The change happened earlier than 1999. I started playing in 1994 and DA were green then - the DAs on the cover of the Dark Millenium box set were green in 1994. The Fallen featured in the 2nd edition Angels of Death codex, which came out in 1996, and I don't think that was the first time the Fallen had been mentioned, but stand to be corrected.

[cypherthefallenangel]

 

 

All the terran and new recruits wore all black (from88'-99' pre-fallen fluff) then GW decided to make us green in honor of lost calaban.(2k-present, post-fallen fluff ).

The change happened earlier than 1999. I started playing in 1994 and DA were green then - the DAs on the cover of the Dark Millenium box set were green in 1994. The Fallen featured in the 2nd edition Angels of Death codex, which came out in 1996, and I don't think that was the first time the Fallen had been mentioned, but stand to be corrected.

Well it was along time ago(24yrs.) that I started playing them. Things can get a little hazy. my dates may be a little off. my bad. Lots of ale between then and now. :) I know they were black in the RT (1st. Ed). It was one of the reasons I started playing DA. I didn't think tge change happened til ”angels of death codex. I loved 2nd ed and thought they were still black then. If im wrong, thanks for setting me straight brother.

[shabbadoo]

Paint all armor black, and use these decals on the model's RIGHT shoulder pad, for EVERY marine, just as Terminators do.   That is just the basics.   Look to any Forgeworld Horus Heresy book featuring the Dark Angels for more info (whenever that will come out).

[GAZ_AV_NZ]

Thanks for the feedback :)

Ive been playing 40k since it came out.

Ive owned 3 DA armies in that time.

The last being an Angels of Redemption Army.

That was my first fully painted army and i sold it as my fiance at the time didnt like gaming and she needed money.

I sold it all after finally assembling a beautifully painted army.

Found out two weeks later she was seeing someone else behind my back.

Lesson learned.

Never give up your hobby for someone else.

 

I have the money now to purchase my legion.

My new current fiance is very supportive.

Ive bought heaps but ive found myself caught out in the dark angels fluff.

Forge world is in no rush to release DA Models and info.

Current codex has a big gap in history as discussed.

Ive been watching peoples armies being posted with most being 40k armies.

And Im thinking what the hell colour do i paint these guys. As mentioned Consecrators but they are supposed to wear corvex pattern armour.

Corvex pattern was designed by the raven guard and the DA would have received little of them given the history of production and distribution at the time.

They are designed for stealth more so.

The consecrators are supposed to mostly wear them. Its broken fluff lol

Any one buying pre heresy armour i recommend you read up on the armour types. There are some good wikis. I have four corvus pattern out of two hundred.

I wanted to do a concecrators army but the logos not appealing. Then noticed armour fluff issues. Ill pass.

At the end of the day 40ks about making an army with an army background we like and enjoy. Thats the fun of do it ya self fluff :)

Ill figure out a fluffy story for them and will tie it in.

My chapter is called Persecutors Of Darkness

Ill write up there fluff on here by the end of the week.

Thanks for the comments about the DAs changes.

Saw some things from a different perspective.

[GAZ_AV_NZ]

Thanks Shabb

Yep downloaded those.

Might change to white.

Ill see how it goes and will post my pics up.