"Classic Games Workshop Schematics by "H"" Topic

Just posted an article on my blog about Nicholas Coleman the gent responsible for all of the cool GW assembly diagrams back in the classic era.

link

I remember this graphic made me wonder why they needed stabilizing jets on non-jump troops. Do marines just have a really hard time standing up? Too much drinking?

I've always seen it as a necessity to make them able to jump at all, even distances that a normal human could usually jump. And when we started playing 40K we just assumed that all Marines had jump packs. Made the games very interesting at first.

GW sending a take down notice in 3…2….1

We loved these schematics. Man, that Rogue Trader book was mind-blowing at the time.

Perhaps stabilizing jets kept them on their feet even after getting hit by bolter rounds and the like.

The first mistake is thinking that Rick P or anyone at GW actually sat down and thought about how this stuff really works. If it looked cool and kinda made some sense was all that mattered. And I'm okay with that!

stabilizing jets are for operations in zero gravity, hence "space" marine.

(that's my story anyway)

There was a time when all Space Marines were jump capable due to their backpacks.

Then GW changed that and put out Assault Space Marines.

There was also a time when they had Grav Stablizers as well.

So that the individuals who had the Heavy Weapons could move and shoot.

But then GW changed that as well.

I think that in the last 15 years there is very little that GW has changed for the better.

Though many things that they have changed for the worst.

Rogue Trader book is STILL mind-blowing…

The first mistake is thinking that Rick P or anyone at GW actually sat down and thought about how this stuff really works. If it looked cool and kinda made some sense was all that mattered. And I'm okay with that!

Yeah, that reminds me. During the Chapterhouse V. GW court case, they actually brought in the original space marine sculptor Bob Naismith and he said that the backpacks were inspired by the kit packs. The way the upper portion was designed, including the exhaust ports/jump jets/whatever they were then or are now were modeled after bedrolls. It's a shame it required a court case to get such an interesting interview out of a sculptor though.

And when we started playing 40K we just assumed that all Marines had jump packs. Made the games very interesting at first.

Me too. I ALWAYS "bought" them for my marines. Then they made flight packs similar to the current jump packs, but much less bulky- typical GW tech regression!

BTW, I have never been able to figure out how a person was supposed to fit inside the above illustrated MkVI armor.

There's an illustration in the original Rogue Trader book of space marines coming out of the sky sporting HUGE jet packs along the lines of ones GW later made available. I was never really clear if the basic marine packs were supposed to allow flight or not… maybe just big leaps, from rooftop to rooftop or over rubble?

From my readings (take) on this the backpack/jetpack was a all in-one item similar to a rebreather for divers it kept the Marines' air clean and the 'jets' were as stated a weak jumppack as well. A sort of all in one device, I like what Bob Naismith had to say about it though, as of course without it they would just looked unclothed I
IMHO. (he original "womble" Space Marines were just 'cool' compared to the megabbricks of today and it shows in the EE failings as we speak. BTW I think Rick Preistlys is doing new scifi stuff shows great promise through Warlord Games( using the Bolt Action rules as a core), time to bager them for some oldschool goodness ( and I can dust off my old Space Marines and go kick *ss;-) here's hoping. Cheers

From my readings (take) on this the backpack/jetpack was a all in-one item similar to a rebreather for divers it kept the Marines' air clean and the 'jets' were as stated a weak jumppack as well. A sort of all in one device, I like what Bob Naismith had to say about it though, as of course without it they would just looked unclothed I
IMHO. (he original "womble" Space Marines were just 'cool' compared to the megabbricks of today and it shows in the EE failings as we speak. BTW I think Rick Preistly is doing new scifi stuff shows great promise through Warlord Games( using the Bolt Action rules as a core), time to bager them for some oldschool goodness ( and I can dust off my old Space Marines and go kick *ss;-) here's hoping. Cheers

As I recall – the original schematic diagram for Space Marine armour actually had a built-in… well… vibrator!

The artists, sculptors and writers all thought about and discussed this sort of thing – often in the backroom of Ye Olde Salutation Inn over a pint or two – it was a bikers pub in those days – it all gentrified now worse luck. Many sculptors like to work out stuff like this in their heads – they like the details to 'make sense'- in the RT days we all worked together on this stuff at the same time – well mostly!

I though I enjoyed reading the statement from Bob N – who – let us not forget – did actually invent the look of Space Marines. He also took part in all the original gaming sessions and made quite a bit of the scenery in Rogue Trader – a real creative talent is our Bob.

Mithmee, as far as I can remember, 40k never had grav stabilizers that worked in that way. You must be thinking of Suspensors, which offset the movement penalty of carrying heavy weapons. Even they didn't allow "slow" or later "move or fire" weaponry to be fired after moving.
The Eldar heavy weapons platforms were among the first to allow "slow" weapons to be fired on the move, and that has never changed in any following edition.

Back in the old days, my friends and I played a game utilizing the fullest win at all costs power of the space marines army list found in the Compendium, and equipped all squads with both jump packs and Rad grenades. There was actually a limitation in the original list which required all squads to be uniformly equipped – upgrades were applied to all tactical squads, or they were applied to none, for example.

Needless to say, the game was no fun for the unlucky opponent – first edition Tyranids, who could neither catch the jump marines nor survive passing through the wall of Rad grenades we placed in front of all his broods.

It is interesting that this does move and shoot

But you can't do it with a Heavy Bolter in 40K.

Yes Nids didn't have much shooting but back when the Compendium came out Overwatch was still in the game.

So there were ways to killing those Jumping Space Marines.

Also just by putting a unit onto overwatch many opponents would not consider Jumping or moving towards that unit.

Because they were afraid that they would get shot.

It was the player who was afraid of getting shot that usually carried the day back then.

Then GW did away with Overwatch and what they brought back in 6th Edition is a pale joke to the old Overwatch.

They got rid of Overwatch for exactly that reason. Because players became paralyzed and were afraid to move units lest they be lit up.

While I regret the loss of an overwatch-like mechanic for "realism" purposes, losing it certainly sped the game up.

Cheers,

w.

stabilizing jets are for operations in zero gravity, hence "space" marine.

(that's my story anyway)

That's what I've always assumed as well, the guy doing the labeling clearly had zero-G in mind hence the feet being tagged "magnetic soles"

There was a time when all Space Marines were jump capable due to their backpacks.

Then GW changed that and put out Assault Space Marines.

Untrue, the RT rulebook gave marines Flight Packs on a "Special Missions Only" basis the same as Phase Field Generators. The RT rulebook also featured no pictures of a marine without the standard pack except for these marines which are wearing what can only be flight packs:
link

There are I believe two pictures by one artist in later books showing regular packs being used as jump/flight packs, but there's also a picture of marine holding a missile launcher backwards..