Why no love for Corvus?

[Wargamer]

It seems to me, both in GW and Forgeworld, the iconic Mk VI "Corvus" plate gets the short end of the stick.

 

Corvus Plate, in case anyone isn't aware, was the original Power Armour designed for 40K. Waaaaay back in 1st Edition all power armour was Mk VI (albeit a much smaller and more basic design to what we have now). Then late 1st / early 2nd Mk VII became the norm and Mk VI faded away, with only the helmet surviving.

 

Over the years, Corvus has made a bit of a comeback; each Edition has added more Corvus themed parts to the standard range, with the modern tactical squads now having enough parts to make at least one full Corvus Marine, even adding the proper Mk VI chest plate and fully smooth right shoulder. Forgeworld released "Legion Mk VI armour" shortly after starting to produce Horus Heresy models, but these are very expensive and their range compared to other armour types is very limited. Only the Raven Guard really expanded on the range, and even then the expansion is very Legion-specific.

 

By contrast, Mk III and Mk IV are now sold in full-squad plastic kits on GW's shelves, and upgrade kits for these ranges are widely available on Forgeworld; most of the specialist Legion kits and units are built around Mk II, III or IV armour as a baseline.

 

So I have to ask, why doesn't GW give Corvus the love it deserves? Why haven't we seen Corvus box sets? Why doesn't Forgeworld produce more variations on Corvus plate?

 

Is it really because there's just no demand for it compared to Mk III and IV? Or is there something else behind it?

[Joe]

Because there hasn't been a Heresy-era box set that features the Raven Guard. If there ever is one.

 

We'll see a whole box set of Mark II and V before we see VI.

[reckoning]

Because its ugly...

[Quixus]

Heresy! MK II is the ugly one ;)

 

While I prefer the MK IV, the beaky helmets and one piece greaves do look cool.

 

I think it is a combination of what Henricus Institoris said and the fact that at the time when the other marks where made by forgeworld there weren't many MK II-V bits in any of the plastic kits but "plenty" of MK VI bits, so they probably decided hat new stuff would sell better.

[MoK]

I love MKVI. I've almost got enough to make a full companies worth of guys in Corvus (Gonna be Raptors). I got about ten FW guys from eBay. The rest I have pieced together from scavenging from other people's box sets and from buying from bits stores and again from eBay.

I doubt unless there is a Raven Guard box we will ever get Corvus Armour love.

[Quixus]

Wow 100 beaky marines. Make it an 8th company. BTW does the MK have special jump packs?

[Bryan Blaire]

I'd prefer if all of the kits mirrored the written fluff and all suits for 40K were actually mixed pieces, with only enough pieces to make a couple of full Mk7 suits, one Mk6 suit, and then everything else being parts within a squad. If you go and look at the standard Codex Company in the Codex Space Marines, you won't find many (if any) full suits of any Mk, even the almost full Mk7 suits will usually have one or two pauldrons that are not Mk7. The way GW wrote everything, they have given Mk6 exactly how much love it deserves.

 

Now, if there was a Ravenguard plastic kit/upgrade, I would hope that they would include additional Mk6 parts.

 

Now, I totally understand people that for theme or nostalgia's sake want to make only Mk6 suits in their armies, but aside from a few specific cases, it isn't really represented in current fluff and the current kits reflect that pretty well.

[Tyberos the Red Wake]

The helmets are pretty popular. I also like the shoulders but they're just Mk V shoulders. Not a fan of the chest and hate the legs.

[Felix Antipodes]

I'm also hanging in there for HH box sets which provide us with the missing armour marks, but I'm not sure we will ever get them now as I'm not sure what they would cover in the storyline to fit the marks. Love the beakie style though and would jump on them if a box did appear.

[DuskRaider]

FW has given Mk. VI as much love as the can chronologically. Remember, in the HH series we're not too far into the Heresy, with Isstvan V having ended perhaps 6 months - 1 year in the timeline. At this point, Mk. VI was still prototype armour, and had just been released from Mars... although they do picture both Raven Guard and Alpha Legion wearing examples at Isstvan V itself for some odd reason. But at this point they have 2 generic kits with the Mk. VI and Legion Mk. VI, Alpha Legion Headhunters have Mk. VI armour in their kit as well as their Legion upgrade kit, the Mors Deythan AND Dark Fury Squads are also featured in Mk. VI and the Raven Guard Legion upgrade kit is exclusively Mk. VI. They also have a Command Squad kit, so that's actually a decent amount of kits. We may see more in the future as the Heresy continues, but they may be Legion-only kits.

 

Edit: Oh, and arguably you could say Armillus Dynat is wearing artificed Mk. VI armour. As is the Shadow Captain Korvydae model. 

Edited July 24, 2017 by DuskRaider

[Claws and Effect]

The Raven Guard having MkVI at Istvaan V isn't odd. They were the Legion assigned to test it, and it was modified according to what they reported.

 

Why do you think it's called "Corvus" armor?

[Irbis]

Because there hasn't been a Heresy-era box set that features the Raven Guard. If there ever is one.

 

We'll see a whole box set of Mark II and V before we see VI.

 

How are you so sure? V is comically ugly (not to mention being specifically developed as patchwork suit designed to cheaply replace damaged armour bits, so seeing full suits of it en masse would be weird), II is very close to III from Prospero, my bet would absolutely be in VI being next pick for HH III box...

 

I'd prefer if all of the kits mirrored the written fluff and all suits for 40K were actually mixed pieces, with only enough pieces to make a couple of full Mk7 suits, one Mk6 suit, and then everything else being parts within a squad. If you go and look at the standard Codex Company in the Codex Space Marines, you won't find many (if any) full suits of any Mk, even the almost full Mk7 suits will usually have one or two pauldrons that are not Mk7. The way GW wrote everything, they have given Mk6 exactly how much love it deserves.

 

Now, if there was a Ravenguard plastic kit/upgrade, I would hope that they would include additional Mk6 parts.

 

Now, I totally understand people that for theme or nostalgia's sake want to make only Mk6 suits in their armies, but aside from a few specific cases, it isn't really represented in current fluff and the current kits reflect that pretty well.

 

Written fluff? Some ancient one? It isn't really true even if you look at plastic Tactical kit, it being able to produce multiple brand new, complete suits, but if you look at artwork, or Forge World books, a completely different picture emerges - not only a lot of chapters carefully repair their old marks with original parts, seeing these are cherished relics, but a lot of chapters actually do produce IV or VI mark armour themselves, and have whole companies full of pristine suits (see Minotaurs or Red Scorpions for one). Hell, fluff in description of Mk III and IV Tactical boxes for 40K on GW site plainly states a lot chapters easily still field lots of these without problems...

[Bryan Blaire]

Look at the image of the Ultramarines 2nd Company in the Codex - there are almost no "whole suits" of any armor Mk. And yes, it may be older fluff, but I don't go by anything FW writes, they are as bad or worse than GW for writing almost anything to justify new models (like any good model company should). ;)

[DuskRaider]

The Raven Guard having MkVI at Istvaan V isn't odd. They were the Legion assigned to test it, and it was modified according to what they reported.

 

Why do you think it's called "Corvus" armor?

Actually yes, it is odd considering previously the fluff we had on distribution of Mk. VI Corvus was Post-Isstvan and obtained by the Imperial Fists during the Martian Civil War.

[m0nolith]

Why?

Fluff.

Only the raven guard and alpha legion had it in large numbers, and some in the IF had it too, but that's about it.

Also...they exist in plastic already....

[m0nolith]

The Raven Guard having MkVI at Istvaan V isn't odd. They were the Legion assigned to test it, and it was modified according to what they reported.

Why do you think it's called "Corvus" armor?

Because it has a beak :p

TY Gav Thorpe for pointing that out in universe :D

Edited July 25, 2017 by m0nolith

[Claws and Effect]

Guys...

 

Perturabo suggested the Raven Guard test it, and it was ordered by the Emperor.

 

How would a barely living husk give such an order, and why would he do so at the suggestion of a traitor?

 

The Raven Guard having MkVI is perfectly appropriate. Anyone else having it would have been odd.

 

Alpha Legion having it IS odd. I can't explain that one. But it's Alpha Legion, who can?

[DuskRaider]

Well like I said, I believe in the novel "Mechanicum", which takes place during the Martian Civil War, it has the Imperial Fists taking the Mk. VI armour from Mars, which until this point has not been used. I guess this has been retconned, seeing as it appears on Isstvan V according to FW. But in any case, Corvus army has plenty of support. 

[Claws and Effect]

It wasn't being actively distributed. It was being tested in the final prototype stage.

 

There's no fluff discrepancy here. The Heresy sprung up so quickly that the Legion that was assigned to test the prototype armor was still wearing it at Istvaan V.

 

No one else had it because, as you said, the bulk of the new suits were on Mars.

 

How the Alpha Legion ended up with suits of it is anyone's guess.

[Dagoth Ur]

Well like I said, I believe in the novel "Mechanicum", which takes place during the Martian Civil War, it has the Imperial Fists taking the Mk. VI armour from Mars, which until this point has not been used. I guess this has been retconned, seeing as it appears on Isstvan V according to FW. But in any case, Corvus army has plenty of support.

Correct me if I am mistaken, but the cache of mark VI armour that the fists manage to retrieve from Mars is the very same cache the Raven Guard receives from the Imperial Fists in Deliverance Lost.

[MoK]

Wow 100 beaky marines. Make it an 8th company. BTW does the MK have special jump packs?

 

I use MKIV jump packs. To be exact I use the Bloodangels sanguinary Guard packs, with out the wings.

[FuriousFerret]

I love everything about the MK VI except the helmet .... I mix and match and make mongrel suits on the II-VII continuum but with MK VII helmets exclusively, for that unified look. Edited July 25, 2017 by FuriousFerret

[MoK]

I started wargaming with Rogue Trader. I have always loved Beakies. I really like MKII/III/IV and VI, not a fan of later MKs. I do really like the Knightly style helmet of the company champions.

[Cpt_Reaper]

I'd love a whole company of Mk V. Corvus armour on the other hand rates lower than Mk I armour.

[Sugarlessllama]

I'm a fan of the Corvus armor. :D