Armour Type and Bolter Combos

[Leif Bearclaw]

Over the last little while I've been scheming over what FW HH shiny I want to buy. While the big choices like 'which Leion' are done, I keep changing my mind about details, specifically what armour marks and bolters I want.

 

So I thought I'd ask here to give me some more food for thought. What armours and bolters do you guys favour? Do you keep 1 mark of each across the same force or squad?  If you vary the armour through a squad do you keep the same type of bolter? Is there really that much difference between MkII and MkIII?

[Grizwald23]

Defiently mk4 and Tigrus Bolters are my favorites. I also really like the Phobos bolters but they have a high chance of receiving miscasts like over 60% for the ones. I have received while you can call for replacements it's still a pain because it takes a week to get my order then you have to wait up to another month to get the replacements. I also like mk2 and 3 as far as armor and to be honest it depends on what army I am doing on which armor I would chose. As far as easiest armor to clean mold lines off of mk2 is the hardest to clean up because it is very easy to lose details followed by mk3 mk4 is defiently the easiest to get rid of mold lines.

[grand_master85]

Mk III Iron Armour with Phobos Bolters is my favourite combo :-)

[Anvilarium]

My personal preference is MkII / MkIII with Anvil Industry Widowmaker Carbines.

 

Chop off the stock and add a stick or curved mag and they look great, plus they are cheaper than FW Bolters and you can get additional bolt-on accessories such as scopes and grenade launchers.

[Komrk]

I like Umbra Ferrox with Mk VI

[Reyner]

You got any pictures to show what those carbines look like Urza?

 

At the minute all my Mk3 marines are using phobos bolters. I like the look of them but Mk4 and Tigrus looks pretty awesome, I have some Seeker bolters aswell which look pretty cool on Mk4.

[Atia]

For my Death Guard i prefere MKIII breastplates with MKIII and MKIV legs. My Ultramarines have MK II - VIII, and my Sons of Horus will get MK IV and MK V with sub-patterns and MK VI for Seekers, my ALpha Legion will get mostly IV and VI.

[Emperor's Furor]

My favourite armour no matter what legion is mk II with phobos, it's just for me the definitive set of the crusade and heresy period, the Mk IV and onwards feel a bit more 40k like.

[Anvilarium]

You got any pictures to show what those carbines look like Urza?

 

At the minute all my Mk3 marines are using phobos bolters. I like the look of them but Mk4 and Tigrus looks pretty awesome, I have some Seeker bolters aswell which look pretty cool on Mk4.

 

Sure, here you go!

 

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n64/UrzaTRi/photo2_zpsa08ba3a1.jpg

[Inquisitor Kravin]

Onscreen the MKII and MKIII look very similar but I was surprised to find that in reality there is a significant "bulk" difference. The MKIII really lives up to the idea of an uparmoured pre-Terminator assault suit.

 

I think the questions about mixing depend on who, when and where your marines are supposed to be. If they are Crusade era or Imperial Fists in the Sol system with access to the resources seized from Mars by Sigismund then I think all consistent armour marks and weapons in a squad or even a company is appropriate. At the opposite extreme a Shattered Legions force or Calth veterans force would likely consist of a smorgasbord of armour marks and weaponry.

Go with whatever you like.

[Relict]

Regarding armor marks, you can mix and match within reason. For example, my World Eaters have Marks II, IV, and V. In my mind, Crusade armor is reserved for heavy support squads and veteran tactical squads - Crusade armor being obsolete by the outbreak of the Horus Heresy, it makes sense that only the oldest veterans and second-line units would still have them. Almost all of my line infantry units are clad in Maximus armor. Heresy armor is reserved for my assault units since I envision their role entailing high attrition rates, necessitating hasty field repairs and salvage. 

 

On top of that, certain armor marks are affiliated with specific Legions. For example, Corvus armor is prevalent within the Raven Guard and Alpha Legion, for different reasons (the Raven Guard received the bulk of the new armor following their successful field trial of said armor, while the Alpha Legion swiped the design and manufactured the new armor themselves). Iron armor is common with the IV, VII, and XIV Legions, given their leaning toward durability above all else. 

 

Regarding bolter patterns, I would say that Phobos pattern goes with Crusade and Iron armor. Tigrus pattern being synonymous with Maximus armor. Personally, I treat the various bolter patterns as I would real-life firearms. To me, Phobo pattern is a rifle, Tigrus pattern is a carbine, and Umbra pattern something of a specialized variant. 

 

To add: remember that the Traitors salvaged a lot of war materiel from the fields of Isstvan V. With that in mind, you can totally justify a Sons of Horus units clad in Corvus armor they had torn from dead Raven Guard. 

[Reyner]

That does look very cool Urza, thanks for that.

[Emperor's Furor]

I thought the crusade armour was still in use and that only those favoured by Horus had received a lot of the mk IV armour by the outbreak of the heresy leaving a lot of the loyalist marines still in the previous mks.

[Grotsmasha]

For me I'm a massive fan of mkIII, and intend on keeping my entire Dark Angel force in it. However I'm building my assault-type units as Space Wolves and I've been throwing all different armour marks together as I feel the mis-matched and personalized look matches the Vlka Fenryka  more than the regimented style of the 1st.

 

Cheers,

Jono

[Marshal Rohr]

Only Mark 3 has that feel of a suit if powered armor. :D

[GrandMagnus]

MK III for the win. Im a big fan all around for MK II / III / IV, those being my favorite marks, but nothing beats the MK III, marine truly look like tanks wearing that. As for bolter, I like either of them although phobos looks better for MK II / III and tigrus is more for MK IV in my opinion.

[Barabbas Sogalon]

I prefer the Phobos because I think it got that "old and reliable standard weapon" look, so I'll only use Tigrus and Umbra for those with a more specialized purpose. When it comes to armour, most of my infantry have mk II while the assault troops and breachers will get mk III. Mk IV is reserved Destroyers and some officers and veterans. 

[Leif Bearclaw]

Defiently mk4 and Tigrus Bolters are my favorites. I also really like the Phobos bolters but they have a high chance of receiving miscasts like over 60% for the ones. I have received while you can call for replacements it's still a pain because it takes a week to get my order then you have to wait up to another month to get the replacements. I also like mk2 and 3 as far as armor and to be honest it depends on what army I am doing on which armor I would chose. As far as easiest armor to clean mold lines off of mk2 is the hardest to clean up because it is very easy to lose details followed by mk3 mk4 is defiently the easiest to get rid of mold lines.

Oh I'm not too worried about miscasts. I live in Nottingham and warhammer world's only a 10 minute walk from where I work, so I can badger them in person for replacements .

I'm getting the impression that relatively few people mix across the old/new divide. It seems like the majority go with Phobos for MkII/III and Tigrus for MkIV.

Am I imagining the idea that the Tigrus is a different calibre than older marks? Because if so mixing boltguns, that would require different ammo, does kinda trigger my 'logisitcal nightmare' sense.

[Emperor's Furor]

Phobos bolters were hand crafted on mars, Tigrus rolled off a production line.

[Relict]

IIRC Tigrus bolters are also of a smaller caliber than Phobos bolters. Some Legionaries are noted to specifically favor the older weapons due to this fact.

[Hyaenidae]

Mix and match, man. Go crazy. Do't restrict yourself with a simple mark.

It's all good. :)

[Cornelias]

Mix and match, man. Go crazy. Do't restrict yourself with a simple mark.

It's all good.

Nice, i'd imagine iron warriors not being to fussed about looks, practicality over fashion :)

[Theis]

My World Eaters have Mk II, Mk III, Mk IV, and MK V currently. I plan to add some Mk VI sometime down the road, in limited quantities to represent some salvaged armor. The Mk II is primarily on assault marines, as is the MK V. Between them, they make up about half my total assault marine compliment. The other half is Mk IV. The ground troops are Mk III and Mk IV, with a few Mk II suits scattered around. The Mk III is almost entirely confined to heavy support units.  About 70% of the total force is in Mk IV.

 

Essentially, I wanted to stay accurate, but still incorporate all the various armor marks, simply because they're all nice kits, and you can justify a token presence of each in any force. World Eaters having predominantly Mk IV makes sense. So, over half my figs are Mk IV. 

 

If I were to Death Guard or Iron Warriors, Mk III might be the predominant variant, but I'd still approach the total force the same way. Some of each, simply because I want all of the kits, even if some of them are in small numbers.

 

I bought one of each of the various marks of command squad, simply because they're cool kits, and if an "odd" mark of armor is present, it makes sense for it to be on a veteran, and more ornate than normal. Effectively, it's a fluff explanation / justification for my own whims on constructing the army, but it works.

[Piano_Sam]

Regarding armor marks, you can mix and match within reason. For example, my World Eaters have Marks II, IV, and V. In my mind, Crusade armor is reserved for heavy support squads and veteran tactical squads - Crusade armor being obsolete by the outbreak of the Horus Heresy, it makes sense that only the oldest veterans and second-line units would still have them. Almost all of my line infantry units are clad in Maximus armor. Heresy armor is reserved for my assault units since I envision their role entailing high attrition rates, necessitating hasty field repairs and salvage.

 

On top of that, certain armor marks are affiliated with specific Legions. For example, Corvus armor is prevalent within the Raven Guard and Alpha Legion, for different reasons (the Raven Guard received the bulk of the new armor following their successful field trial of said armor, while the Alpha Legion swiped the design and manufactured the new armor themselves). Iron armor is common with the IV, VII, and XIV Legions, given their leaning toward durability above all else.

 

Regarding bolter patterns, I would say that Phobos pattern goes with Crusade and Iron armor. Tigrus pattern being synonymous with Maximus armor. Personally, I treat the various bolter patterns as I would real-life firearms. To me, Phobo pattern is a rifle, Tigrus pattern is a carbine, and Umbra pattern something of a specialized variant.

 

To add: remember that the Traitors salvaged a lot of war materiel from the fields of Isstvan V. With that in mind, you can totally justify a Sons of Horus units clad in Corvus armor they had torn from dead Raven Guard.

If you want to stay strictly 'fluffy,' then I don't know that you can really justify Sons of Horus in Corvus pattern armor, unless you say that they picked it up WAY after Istvaan V. According to Deliverance Lost (which, while some might disagree, I liked), Dorn delivered the Corvus pattern to Corax after the battle to help make up his loss. Granted, it went on to say that he 'beta-tested' the armor, and I suppose it's possible that there were some units armed as such, but I feel like they were few and far between.

[DuskRaider]

I prefer to use mainly Mk. II & Mk. III with my Death Guard, with a sprinkle of Mk. IV to add a bit more variety, but as far as weapons such as Bolters go, I'm indiscriminate. I've got Astartes of all Armor Mk. using every different Bolter pattern, as it helps give variety to the massed blobs of Tactical Marines and I see the XIVth viewing their firearms as merely a tool and thus do not prefer any of the other nor do they have their own personal ranged weapon (the gun is the tool, the soldier is the weapon). Now close combat weapons are a different kettle of fish, and even then it's mainly just HQs and Champions that have custom swords or whatnot.