30K Tactical Gear

[Chronotonic]

then it comes down the legion itself...

 

Is it a legion like the Night Lords or World Eaters...then knives axes and swords 

 

where Ultramarines and Iron Warriors would have ammo pouches and grenades...

[sniperhavens]

I always thought that with all that technology it would make sense that they have built in mag holders, spring loaded to produce a new mag when needed. I envision a thigh ''pocket'' built into the armor that could hold 6 mags and would just push a new mag up when one was taken the way a mag pushes bullets. This also stops the issue of snagging or losing a mag while low crawling, combat rolling which I like to think they actually do. Same with the Grenades, something built into the chest or side abdomen that dispenses grenades. As far as slings go, mag locking stops the need when youre not carrying your weapon but when youre fighting a quick release attached to the fighting arm would be helpful. As far as the Bolter itself goes. the sights should be inbuilt and your aim point sent to a HUD in the helmet lenses, with the computer making all the adjustments based on distance, speed of the target, heat and humidity whatnot. So that the marine simply points and clicks. Foregrips will always exist with any weapon that kicks as it allows the users strength to limit that kick.

[Marshal Rohr]

I always thought that with all that technology it would make sense that they have built in mag holders, spring loaded to produce a new mag when needed. I envision a thigh ''pocket'' built into the armor that could hold 6 mags and would just push a new mag up when one was taken the way a mag pushes bullets. This also stops the issue of snagging or losing a mag while low crawling, combat rolling which I like to think they actually do. Same with the Grenades, something built into the chest or side abdomen that dispenses grenades. As far as slings go, mag locking stops the need when youre not carrying your weapon but when youre fighting a quick release attached to the fighting arm would be helpful. As far as the Bolter itself goes. the sights should be inbuilt and your aim point sent to a HUD in the helmet lenses, with the computer making all the adjustments based on distance, speed of the target, heat and humidity whatnot. So that the marine simply points and clicks. Foregrips will always exist with any weapon that kicks as it allows the users strength to limit that kick.

 

 

Good points. My concern was that the Mark III looks like it wouldn't have the capability to store the mags, since it is 1st Gen power armor. Mark IV maybe. I've been doing some sketching to see what looks plausible and what is just ridiculous. 

 

Do you think a marine fore grip would be something like we use now, or an alternative?

[Hyaenidae]

Personally, I'd make it like the foregrip of a Thompson. That'd be pretty cool.

[TheForgottenAngel]

Let Gucci Gear and Gearwhores stay in the 21st century. Maglocks and chainsaw bayonets for me all the way baby! Keep it low drag and limited equipment on my power armor any day! Gucci Gear and Gearwhores are usually POGs anyways.

[Hyaenidae]

Well, there's a level where some gear is tasteful on Legionaries. They are Transhumans, expected to fight for extended lengths without resupply or support, at times.

 

And then, there's Bob.

http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/photos/uncategorized/2008/03/06/geardo.jpg

[Veteran Sergeant]

I usually fill out the waists of mine, as much as I have room for and so it still seems logical and practical. Pouches, grenades, holsters and such are all there. Most things though are scaled too large to actually look good there, so I just skip them.

I actually trim about a mm or so off the bottom of the large pouches for exactly that reason. Of course, all of my guys are about 2.5mm taller than a regular Marine model, so the size of the pouches is offset somewhat. Everything with GW's heroic scale is too big. So much so that even upscaling the figures doesn't even fix it, lol.

[TheForgottenAngel]

Definitely a level of guilded armor, painted on trophies/heraldry etc. Eye pieces, chain bayonets and grenades etc but if you see a legionaire covered in pouches everywhere, every sight known to man on his bolter and 5 bionic eyes, he's probably in Rear-Det

[Iron Father Ferrum]

http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h96/DTRI/Personal%20Stuff/Accessories_zpsa6262453.jpg

[Kol Saresk]

 

http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h96/DTRI/Personal%20Stuff/Accessories_zpsa6262453.jpg

But at least you'll shoot straight. :D

[Excessus]

Not sure about that Kol, it'd be hard keeping that thing straight and still while trying to aim...

[DuskRaider]

I've been thinking about adding slings to my Veterans as well. That reminded me of these:

http://victoriaminiatures.highwire.com/product/water-canteen-x5-1-1

 

Not sure if they'll fit on Astartes, but I'm willing to give it a try. Mainly because Marines with outstretched arms holding a Botler tend to look like a knuckle dragging ape. As far as other gear, I'll occasionally slap on some grenades or pouches, perhaps the occasional pistol or trophy, but there's a fine line between detailed and gaudy IMO.

[Hyaenidae]

Looks like Victoria minis are getting some cash from me, at least. These Trench Guns are awesome:

http://product-images.highwire.com/2561291/shotguns-resin1.jpg

[DuskRaider]

Their trench weapons are pretty cool, too. I'm thinking about attaching them to some belts.

[Reinholt]

My thoughts, as I've been sketching ideas out lately:

First Concept: Generic Gear (ammo, grenades, extra weapons, etc.)

1 - I agree with the concept that heraldry should be kept unencumbered. I make sure not to obscure chestplates or the shoulder pad with the legion insignia.

2 - This should vary not just on a legion by legion basis, but also on a unit by unit basis. I view my tactical marines as the "middle" ground. They are likely short-term / single engagement deployments with enough supplies to last for two. Something like seekers or recon units are going to be decked out for long operations in the field without resupply. Something like terminators that drop/teleport/transport in and out probably carry the bare minimum required to smash face.

3 - Related, to me, is how you deploy. If you are playing infilitration heavy Raven Guard or Alpha Legion, you will need to carry lots of supplies. If you are playing heavily mechanized White Scars, Emperor's Children, or Iron Hands, you might play the "they keep their spare gear on the bike / in the rhino" game.

4 - To that end, I have a sort of two factor analysis that I do for my guys:

How much should the unit, based on its role, carry?

What are the preferences of the chapter?

So Alpha Legion scouts should be positively loaded with excess gear (also, in dark colors / camo, beyond the usual legion), while World Eaters terminators are probably naked other than armor and as many chainaxes/weapons as they can carry.

Second concept: Bling and Gear Mix

After settling on how much each unit should have, I take the next step of deciding what they should have. A good example is my sketch for legion tactical squads, which I technically equip with bolter, bolt pistol, and close combat weapon. As a rule of thumb, I want every marine to have a bolter (iconic), and at least 1/3rd to have CC weapons, 1/3rd to have bolt pistols, and the remainder to have both, so that anyone casually looking at the unit will get the visual impression of all the weapons. I've been using a mix of sheathed gladiuses, holstered bolt pistols, bolt pistol in hand, and chainblade/bayonet attachments to the bolter to accomplish this.

Similarly, being a tactical squad, at least some of the guys are toting the small extra pouches from tactial squads, grenades of several varieties, and a few extra bits and bobs from things like imperial guard or other model lines to give some diversity. In short, I want them to look prepared for anything without being over-prepared. I agree with the folks who focus on mounting things on the hips / back / legs and away from the chest for them, also.

On the topic of technical details, it varies by chapter. I err towards functional for the more "logistic" groups (UM, Alpha Legion, etc), more impractical but gothic-awesome for the knightly ones (DA, Black Templars), and more just thematic for the highly specialized ones (Space Wolves, Thousand Sons).

On the topic of legion/chapter-specific stuff: that varies, a lot, by theme. I would envision SW with tons of wolfy bling, but my current marines are pretty gear-focused, sleek other than that, and more "professional" looking with some embellishments, if you will. I've found two approaches work well for me:

1 - Overwhelming force (everything has something to tie it in with the theme).

2 - Rare but notable embellishments in key situations (sergeants, 1-2 guys in a squad of 10).

The middle ground of "some" just has never felt right to me, but again, YMMV.

So using this method, I'll look at two armies I've done work on:

1 - Iron Hands: heavy mechanical bling dispersed liberally (overwhelming force), with extra gear being much lighter (I didn't use scouts or any recon elements, and it was all mechanized). This lead to almost all of the accents reinforcing the mechanistic nature of the army.

2 - Raptors: virtually no chapter-specific bling other than some bird motif work done on some of the sergeants and characters. However, they were loaded for bear with gear, with every single marine having at least pouches and grenades, if not more. This was an infiltration / long-deployment force, and I also did a bunch of weathering to make them look like they had been in the field and expected to continue to be there for a long time.

I know that's all kind of a random hobby shotgun blast of a post, but hopefully that's useful to someone.