Joe Posted August 15, 2018 Share Posted August 15, 2018 The subject of power armour use during the Great Crusade/Horus Heresy has always fascinated me; the technological advancements made due to the influx of new technologies, the stop-gap measures implemented whenever a problem arose and so on. I love that some legions fielded sub-patterns that were distinct to them and them alone, such as the Achean pattern employed by the Thousand Sons, the Sarum by the World Eaters, the Praetor by the Ultramarines and so on. With that in mind, it got me thinking; given the scale of the setting and the nature in which armour was produced during the period, it isn't unreasonable that the legions (and their respective sub-divisions) would receive largely unknown or untested armour marks from grateful forge worlds and loyal vassals, and that's discounting any armour they may produce of their own accord. All that aside, I had a few questions and thoughts. How and when did Mark VII come into service during the Heresy? As far as I can understand, it didn't really hit deployment until the Siege of Terra amongst the Imperial Fists, Blood Angels and the White Scars, and even then it was fairly limited. Given Mark III is simply Mark II with additional plating on it, should it not be considered a stop-gap armour in the same vein as the disjointed collection of pieces that made up Mark V? Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/349624-power-armour-and-the-age-of-darkness/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshal Rohr Posted August 15, 2018 Share Posted August 15, 2018 The subject of power armour use during the Great Crusade/Horus Heresy has always fascinated me; the technological advancements made due to the influx of new technologies, the stop-gap measures implemented whenever a problem arose and so on. I love that some legions fielded sub-patterns that were distinct to them and them alone, such as the Achean pattern employed by the Thousand Sons, the Sarum by the World Eaters, the Praetor by the Ultramarines and so on. With that in mind, it got me thinking; given the scale of the setting and the nature in which armour was produced during the period, it isn't unreasonable that the legions (and their respective sub-divisions) would receive largely unknown or untested armour marks from grateful forge worlds and loyal vassals, and that's discounting any armour they may produce of their own accord. All that aside, I had a few questions and thoughts. How and when did Mark VII come into service during the Heresy? As far as I can understand, it didn't really hit deployment until the Siege of Terra amongst the Imperial Fists, Blood Angels and the White Scars, and even then it was fairly limited. Given Mark III is simply Mark II with additional plating on it, should it not be considered a stop-gap armour in the same vein as the disjointed collection of pieces that made up Mark V? Mark III armor is its own Mark in the way the M16A4 and the M16A1 are both M16's but different enough to be distinct. That might be a bad analogy, but the way I conceptualize it is that Mark 2 and 3 are essentially the same armor, but one is up armored and one is not. Calling them Mark II and III would've happened after Mark 4 was developed, and then on and on. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/349624-power-armour-and-the-age-of-darkness/#findComment-5145814 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshal Loss Posted August 15, 2018 Share Posted August 15, 2018 Lore might change slightly with regards to Mark VII, but historically speaking it was first used on Terra during the Siege, although it had already been in development prior to the battle and the designs had been taken to Terra after Mars fell. Mark III was designed to excel in specific environments, and cannot be considered a stop-gap or accidental creation like Mark V. It's essentially just a specialised Mark II suit. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/349624-power-armour-and-the-age-of-darkness/#findComment-5145816 Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluntblade Posted August 15, 2018 Share Posted August 15, 2018 VII might well have been developed for the Siege, given that everyone knew they were in for a long, grinding battle in which armour would be damaged frequently and often need bits replacing. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/349624-power-armour-and-the-age-of-darkness/#findComment-5145825 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord_Caerolion Posted August 16, 2018 Share Posted August 16, 2018 VII might well have been developed for the Siege, given that everyone knew they were in for a long, grinding battle in which armour would be damaged frequently and often need bits replacing. Wasn't that basically what the MkV was designed in response to a need for, though? Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/349624-power-armour-and-the-age-of-darkness/#findComment-5146070 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elzender Posted August 16, 2018 Share Posted August 16, 2018 VII might well have been developed for the Siege, given that everyone knew they were in for a long, grinding battle in which armour would be damaged frequently and often need bits replacing. Wasn't that basically what the MkV was designed in response to a need for, though? MkV is a complicated issue, as some sources consider MkV to be the amalgamation of all armours created from mixing other marks, from just putting together pieces of different marks to producing armours with the resources available, probably trying to create MkIV plates without the necessary resources, and then uparmouring them with molecular bonding studs holding more ceramite plates. MkVII armour seems to be more of a conscious, planned design, to create an armour as advanced as possible, but reducing the resources requirement of Mark IV, and correcting the shortcomings of previous armour marks where possible. Whether it was produced as a direct result of the Heresy or it was the next step to accomodate the growth rate of some legions, we may never know. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/349624-power-armour-and-the-age-of-darkness/#findComment-5146132 Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluntblade Posted August 16, 2018 Share Posted August 16, 2018 What he said Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/349624-power-armour-and-the-age-of-darkness/#findComment-5146397 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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