Salamander Markings

[Castle Wolfenstein]

I usually play space wolves but have some leftover unassembled intercessors and reivers so I have decided to make a Salamander kill team. Since I'm just making a kill team I wont be buying the SM codex or the supplement and therefore don't have any guidance on Salamander heraldry. I'm just wondering how Salamanders indicate their Sergeants and Veterans? Is it helmet stripes/colors like other codex chapters or something different? I have googled this a bit but have found conflicting information. Any help would be appreciated.

[Medicinal Carrots]

It's inconsistent. I recall reading about gold helmets, white skulls on helmets, flames on helmets, black kneepads, and even no visible markings, only infra-red ones. Personally, I paint my sergeants the same scheme as their squad, but add some extra honors markings. Flames on the legs or helmet, a black or yellow knee with a hammer or anvil symbol, scales, etc.

 

I also differentiate my squads with with the different flame icons on the right pauldron instead of the standard role and squad number, so I think my scheme's a bit on the weird side.

[Brother Tyler]

Unless the codex supplement provides current guidance (I don't have it, so I don't know), you're left with whatever methods appeal to you. Aside from the codex supplement, the most in-depth information we've ever had for the Salamanders in terms of livery was in the Imperial Armour Badab War books (the images shown for 5th edition at the Lexicanum page). Those books were never prescriptive, however, and didn't provide the exact information that you've asked for.

[Castle Wolfenstein]

I checked out the 5th edition armor pics on lexicanum. Gold helmets...yuck. After 2 years of painting space wolves I have grown tired of ostentatious bling. Guess I am going to do my own thing and see how it turns out. Maybe black helmets for vets.

 

The thought of freehanding flame designs makes me break out in hives though so I am definitely going to have to find some decals or something.

 

Thanks.

[sal of manders]

current space marine codex depicts as follows:

 

 

battle brother and veterans are both green helm (veteran further denoted by veteran's crux on right pauldron)

sergeant and captain are both green helm with gold skull marking (captain further denoted by right pauldron)

veteran sergeant is green helm with gold skull marking, and flame motif (in a laurel pattern)

lieuntenant is green helm with white stripe and gold skull marking. 

 

 

that said, my own salamanders use black helms instead of the skull marking. 

also the Salamanders supplement further notes that ritual scarring of the face is a veterans only thing. 

 

 

EDIT: Also flame designs aren't that bad as long as you're not trying to be uniform with them.  Sallies tend to put their personal touch to their armours and equipment since each maintains their own stuff, so it makes sense for the embellishments to not be 100-percent consistent from one marine to another.

Edited July 16, 2020 by sal of manders