There are new Primaris Marines on the block, but don’t forget about these little guys either. Come see the eight marks of Power Armor!
Games Workshop put out these infopics on the current Power Armor marines recently probably just to keep the Power Armor wearers from getting jealous of the newer bigger marines.
Power armor is fully sealed, isolating the wearer from the outside environment and protecting him from gas weapons and harsh atmospheres. It also commonly includes numerous auxiliary systems such as communicators and auto-senses. The backpack contains the main power plant, environmental system and additional stabilizers. Whilst power armor is most commonly associated with the Adeptus Astartes, the Sisters of Battle and many Inquisitors also use powered armor of one sort or another.
Typically however these armors may not contain the same strength-enhancing properties or life-support functions of Space Marine power armor, nor do they provide the same amount of protection. All armor may further be augmented by various artifacts, relics and enhancements such as pauldrons and greaves. Power armour has been in use since before the Age of the Imperium, from the techno-barbarians of Earth to the original Space Marines created by the Emperor. Over the history of the Imperium, power armor has developed into many different forms. Need, circumstances and recovery of new materials and technology has shaped the armor’s evolution.
At the end of the Great Crusade the Space Marines found their armor wearing out. While some Legions chose to continue local production and maintenance, the Adeptus Mechanicus of Mars started to design a new variant for centralized issue, which was to be designated the Mark IV or Imperial Maximus suit. At the Mark IV stage of the power armor development, Space Marine armor began to take on an appearance recognizable as contemporary power armor, the main change being the abandonment of the separate abutting plates in favor of larger inflexible armor casings incorporating flexible joints. This marginally reduced mobility but was far easier to produce and maintain.
Technical secrets recovered on newly conquered worlds allowed Mars to develop the more efficient armor, improving the quality of protection and reducing the suit’s weight at the same time. Improved armoring of the power cables allowed the main arm and chest supply to be safely relocated to the exterior of the armor, while the use of new material reduced the size and number of cables.
The helmet was a completely new design, the basic shape inspired by the sweeping front of the Mark III. In Mark IV and later versions the helmet is no longer fixed, but moves with the wearer’s head. This represented the constructors increasing experience with neural connector gear and the new materials which flooded into the Martian workshops as the Crusade progressed. Mark IV armor was envisioned at the time to be the ultimate and final type of Space Marine armor, able to offer the best protection in a variety of conditions. Many of the Space Marine Legions were entirely or partially re-equipped with it, although the order of which Legions received the armor would shortly prove to be of significance. As a result of its widespread production and use prior to and during the Horus Heresy, Mark IV suits are the most common of the pre-Heresy armor Marks still in service during the 41st Millennium. Notably, a few Chapters, such as the Red Scorpions and Iron Hands, are still capable of producing new Mark IV suits in the 41st millennium
(Via our good friends at Lexicanum)
Which is your favorite? Let us know in the comments below!
About the Author: Rob Baer
Rob Baer
Job Title: Managing Editor
Founded Spikey Bits in 2009
Socials: Rob Baer on Facebook and @catdaddymbg on X
About Rob Baer: Founder, Publisher, & Managing Editor of Spikey Bits, the leading tabletop gaming news website focused on the hobby side of wargaming and miniatures.
Rob also co-founded and currently hosts the Long War Podcast, which has over 350 episodes and focuses on tabletop miniatures gaming, specializing in Warhammer 40k. and spent six years writing for Bell of Lost Souls.
Every year, along with his co-hosts, he helps host the Long War 40k Doubles Tournament at Adepticon and the Long War 40k Doubles at Las Vegas Open, which attracts over 350 players from around the world.
Rob has won many Warhammer 40k Tournaments over the years, including multiple first-place finishes in Warhammer 40k Grand Tournaments over the years and even winning 1st place at the Adepticon 40k Team Tournament.
With over 30 years of experience in retail and distribution, Rob knows all the products and exactly which ones are the best. As a member of GAMA (Game Manufacturers Association), he advocates for gaming stores and manufacturers in these difficult times, always looking for the next big thing to feature for the miniatures hobby, helping everyone to provide the value consumers want.
While he’s played every edition of Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy (since 5th Edition) and has been hobbying on miniatures since the 1980s, Titans of all sizes will always be his favorite! It’s even rumored that his hobby vault rivals the Solemnance Galleries, containing rulebooks filled with lore from editions long past, ancient packs of black-bordered Magic Cards, and models made of both pewter and resin.
