I don't understand why in boxes for marines they give you the option for helmetless models. Or characters in finecast come helmetless. Where is the advantage in that? A tau pathfinder or some type of poison gas could easily kill Marneus Calgar, Or Kaldor Draigo to name a few. You lose protection, and respiratory systems when you dont have a helmet. So can someone please explain it to me. I just find it silly.
Because it looks good. That's it and allot of times they give you way more extra bits to model it with a helmet so it's your choice if you don't like it. Draigo in particular come with a helmet option. For actual game play it makes it much easier to differentiate key characters that is beneficial for both players.
rule of cool wins the day, plus table top wise, ot maes your leaders different and looking brave.
Fluff wise: first off poison gas does not bother space marine since with there super bodies and I forget wich organs neutrelize all but the worse of Nurgles flu's. And there various reason why character don't wear helmet, usaly boils down to either wanting to see there enemies death with there own eye's or give a sense of fearlesness to his troups
Because you're not actually bothering to really think about it. If you'll note, the models without helmets are the ones that tend to be characters, upgraded models, or otherwise individual from the rest of the squad, and lack of helmet helps the models stand out separate from the rank and file. Who's the sarge with the better leadership, potential special weapons? That guy, right there. You also seem to be thinking that just because the model is depicting a character without a helmet, that that's their permanent state, that if the battle were somehow to be acted out, that those models never ever wore a helmet at any point at all. You could go for a fancy helmet crest, paint scheme, or iconography to make a character stand out from the squad, but being bareheaded makes a model immediately identifiable as being different.
This is one of those weird things that people seem to obsess on, to the point that it's not infrequent to see people makes threads that models sans helmets should suffer some sort of game play penalty, like a worse armor save. It's like saying that a model posed to be leaping off a rock and swinging a choppa shouldn't be able to shoot, because look, he's in midair holding onto the weapon with both hands. At some point you have to remember that part of the role of the models is to look good on the table, and not to be illustrate every moment on the battlefield with excruciating fidelity.
40K is a science fantasy game where genetically modified supermen fight against an array of spaceified Lord of the Rings creatures, where technology is worshipped and where hitting someone with a pointy stick is seen as just as viable a battle tactic as shooting them with a battle tank or nuking them from orbit.
In that context, characters run around helmetless for much the same reason as everything else happens in this game - because visual aesthetics is more important to the game than real-world battle strategy.
insaniak wrote: 40K is a science fantasy game where genetically modified supermen fight against an array of spaceified Lord of the Rings creatures, where technology is worshipped and where hitting someone with a pointy stick is seen as just as viable a battle tactic as shooting them with a battle tank or nuking them from orbit.
In that context, characters run around helmetless for much the same reason as everything else happens in this game - because visual aesthetics is more important to the game than real-world battle strategy.
People have different ways of looking at the same thing.
The original poster looks at a helmetless Space Marine character, and sees the issue with not wearing a helmet on a battlefield from an in-universe practicality standpoint.
I look at a helmetless Space Marine character, and see a way to make the squad leader more easily recognized as such from a gaming standpoint.
Someone else looks at a helmetless Space Marine character, and sees a badass who's too brave to wear a helmet into battle from a rule of cool standpoint.
There are probably more ways to look at it, but the point is that they're all legitimate.
Some of my models are helmetless. One of my most recent creations is an Assault Marine Sergeant made with pieces from at least 4 different kits from different armies, and he's wearing a helmet because it looks awesome on him - and he's already very distinctive, to the point where he looks like he should be a Chapter Master or a Captain, or at the very least a Vanguard Veteran Sergeant, instead of a lowly Assault Marine Sergeant.
DeathReaper wrote: Helmetless Models look lame and no one should use them.
Really it is a disappoint when my opponents helmets are missing.
Not going to not get a game in because of it, but it just looks bad.
Using only models with helmets can be a way of hiding the fact that one is not confident about or good at painting faces. That's certainly why I did it on my first two armies.
But seriously, faces are an excellent place to display painting skill (especially in contrast to power armor, which is otherwise full of smooth, regular shapes) and can look really great.
DeathReaper wrote: Helmetless Models look lame and no one should use them.
Really it is a disappoint when my opponents helmets are missing.
Not going to not get a game in because of it, but it just looks bad.
Using only models with helmets can be a way of hiding the fact that one is not confident about or good at painting faces. That's certainly why I did it on my first two armies.
But seriously, faces are an excellent place to display painting skill (especially in contrast to power armor, which is otherwise full of smooth, regular shapes) and can look really great.
I'm pretty terrible at painting faces, but I'd be lying if I said that using helmets wherever possible hadn't occurred to me.
Personally, i find that helmetless marines kinda look dorky cause of their armor. On the other hand though, Imperial guard without helmets kinda makes sense, i mean, you're expected to die a horrible death if your facing shooty armies like tau or other marines. A clean shot to the temple will put you out of your misery. Also, helmets are heavy, in the midst of battle, the first thing you want to go for is the piece of toilet paper that protects your knogin from a bolter
Marines do get unhelmed a fair bit, half the novels out there like to have their protagonist's helm get trashed by enemy fire that they survive.
I have few unhelmed models, but I feel there's at least some mild justification for all of them.
Space Wolves have a pretty good reason, due to superior sense of smell.
Plague Marines don't care since face, armour, it's all the same to them where they get shot.
I figure some Librarians also find it easier to channel their powers without a helm in between their skull and psychic hood.
All that said, I find unhelmed Terminators amusing. That right there is why sometimes you lose them to lasguns.
It's a pet peeve of mine to have models without a helmet, it really bothers me. I am ok enough to accept it for some models. I have a librarian in terminator armour, I could carve out his head and replace it with a helmet, but it doesn't bother me enough to go through the inconvenience of carving the head out. Another example is I have Brother-Captain Stern, his model is supposed to be helmetless so I leave him that way.
I was really happy that they gave Draigo the option of helmet or not.
How are you supposed to know how angry your space marines are if you can't see them scowl?
As a counter point, I hate the TDA helmets. I think they look like a mix between stormtroopers and japanese puppets. All of my termie models rock faces because I refuse to model, paint, or field helmets.
I model dudes without helmets for the same reason I have all my tank commanders leaning out of their hatches waving swords and flags. I model my tanks with my commanders exposed for the same reason why my ork warbikers are popping wheelies. I model my ork warbikers popping wheelies for the same reason I like to model guardsmen smoking, relaxing, or other generally inappropriate activities in the middle of a battle.
Because it looks cool, and because if an opponent spergs out at the sight of them I know what kind of game I'm in for
Warlord's Bolt Action Rulebook does a great job of explaining why a person would have models doing activities that would be stupid/dangerous in an active battlefield. A tank commander would obviously duck down into his turret the moment gunfire erupted. Likewise, an infantry model that is reloading is obviously not stuck reloading forever. They're placeholders to represent a soldier on an imaginary battlefield. What that model is doing on it's base is not the only thing it's ever allowed to do, nor is it frozen in that position. It is for all intents and purposes no different than if I put a penny down to denote a soldier was there. The model just looks cooler.
TL;DR: If I want to model all my guardsmen with no helmets doing handstands while smoking cigars, wearing monocles, and shooting their lasguns with their feet, I'll do it, because like it or not, they're still guardsmen, and they're still WYSIWYG.
do note that a space marine is tough, especially the hero type guys, like librarians, captains and characters. ofcourse the chance of being killed is smaller when wearing a helmet, space marines can easily do without one - I bet that many marines can handle a shot in the face
furthermore, it gives character to your models, they aren't the numerous nameless soldiers but your personal heroes
We learn as a baby to recognize people by their faces. So seeing individual faces is what makes characters individual. A helmet with an extra white stripe is not equally impressive.
Depends a lot on the circumstance but majority is always 'looks cool', sometimes i use plain heads to tell the difference between 2 otherwise similar models with same wargear but some subtle differences.
Space marines do not require a helmet, however it would be stupid for them to not use one if there was one at their disposal.
ultimately its not a question you will ever get one right answer for, more likely a long flame war ultimately getting locked due to people's very personal opinions.
I like to model marines/guardsmen/whatever without helmets to give some variety to my troops. I like it when they don't all look the same. Gives them a bit more character. I do however also like to model the troops with a ton of gear. For example I have several marines who are not wearing a helmet but instead have it hanging from their belts or something. They have a helmet but for some reason they do not wear it at that exact moment. I like it when the models carry a lot of gear. I just run out of pouches all the time...
I find that having bare headed marines in my force (a lot of them) gives my army some character and lends me to paint the marines as individuals rather than 'I need 20 guys painted like this to kill x-y' it also teaches me patience as well as new techniques, i couldn't paint bare heads to save my life a while ago, but when i became confident in doing it i loved giving my models the personality! I even have just finished painting a Hammernator with a bare head that looks like me :-)
I don't buy the "helmets mean you can't paint!" statement. Unless you have no scouts, that is.
I think the helmets look far cooler than the lack thereof... same goes for my tanks having the commanders buttoned up inside. Looks better.
Obviously it's a matter of opinion, but it seems like many have this idea that those who like a more uniform look are doing so for some extrinsic reason that is worthy of derision.
I always model all of my marines with helmets on when I can help it.
According to the fluff, marines who don't have their helmets on are deprived of the assistance of the targeting and other information/warning systems that their power armor gives them, and have to fight harder/better to be just as good as the other dudes with helmets on. Apparently, sergeants tend to fight with helmets off to show their subordinates just how hard-ass they are and thus inspires them to fight harder.
But I don't buy it. Any senior commander/officer who sets a poor example in the proper usage of their equipment doesn't deserve to lead.
NEWater wrote: I always model all of my marines with helmets on when I can help it.
According to the fluff, marines who don't have their helmets on are deprived of the assistance of the targeting and other information/warning systems that their power armor gives them, and have to fight harder/better to be just as good as the other dudes with helmets on. Apparently, sergeants tend to fight with helmets off to show their subordinates just how hard-ass they are and thus inspires them to fight harder.
But I don't buy it. Any senior commander/officer who sets a poor example in the proper usage of their equipment doesn't deserve to lead.
Exactly my point. I also prefer the look of a more uniform army anyway.
It's a mixture of visual distinctiveness, a different/interesting surface to paint, demonstrating that you don't give a rat's ass about enemy snipers, and in some cases because some Space Marines have senses keen enough that the helmet actually inhibits them.
AnomanderRake wrote: It's a mixture of visual distinctiveness, a different/interesting surface to paint, demonstrating that you don't give a rat's ass about enemy snipers, and in some cases because some Space Marines have senses keen enough that the helmet actually inhibits them.
Space Marines because of their enhanced genetic makeup, are generally not as worried about Poisons, their bodies filter out just about anything toxic in the air... they have 2 hearts and many other redundant organs or mechanical organs (a lot of them spit acid because of an organ called "The Belcher's Gland")
Being shot in the head is quite a different story, but then again that's generally something Space Marines could give a hoot about "And They Shall Know No Fear".. sometimes it could be solely based on intimidation, if I saw a guy walking through a battlefield without his helmet on, and the 75 other guys behind him were wearing theirs... I might think "well... that guy is hardcore, I'm gonna stay away from him"
There are also enough bionics in the 40k universe to literally rebuild half of someone's head... infact I have seen quite a few models that half of the face is completely bionic...
Bottom line is, we are talking about a universe where men fly from one end of the galaxy to the other in 5 kilometer long battleships, to duel with swords.
My wolves are by and large helmet-less, they are a chapter of individuals and it adds so much more character to the model when you can see them instead of some anonymous helmet.
Its also well in theme with the army, they dont forsake helmets just for their senses but also because it shows their bravery in the face of the enemy, they want their foes to see death staring them in the eye.
I prefer the cold, faceless appearance of marines wearing their helmets, and was very pleased to see the Pedro Kantor model remembering to bring his skid lid to the party.
As other people have mentioned, it's actually pretty funny how often in 40k fiction space marines get shot in the head, bash their head against something or just sneeze too hard and lose their helmet. It just seems like every Black Library author is determined the "hang the lampshade" on the issue. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LampshadeHanging
prophet102 wrote: How do the wolves even fit their beards into helmets?
Using borrowed Jokaero technology, they build multi-dimensional pockets into their respirators.
For my own Space Wolves, the bare headed models all have helmets clipped to their belts, except for the guys with beards or hair that looks like it would be too large to fit. I figure those guys just don't bother with helmets at all. Maybe they just use a really tough hair wax...
well it come down to advantage. With the helmet on it vastly restricts you field of vision.
Ever put on a gas mask? its the same reason we dont out fit our troops now with full body face masks, yes they stop gas and chem attacks but you cant see for a damn. i could stand right next to some one with a gas mask on and they would never see me
Backspacehacker wrote: well it come down to advantage. With the helmet on it vastly restricts you field of vision.
Ever put on a gas mask? its the same reason we dont out fit our troops now with full body face masks, yes they stop gas and chem attacks but you cant see for a damn. i could stand right next to some one with a gas mask on and they would never see me
Except you'll be dead once you get hit with a deadly engineered virus and the person with the gas mask will have survived. Helmets may restrict your version in the 21st century but there are so many different optics and gadgets in Marine helmets that there's no reason to not wear one.
Backspacehacker wrote: well it come down to advantage. With the helmet on it vastly restricts you field of vision.
Not true when its a helmet with a full HUD and a bunch of sensors.
Still restricts FOV, you just have sensors that can cover the blind zones for you.
Honestly guys, it's just a model showing a particular pose that happens to be a nanosecond frozen in time.
Most models fight with their helmets on.
The helmet off thing to me is just for visual purposes so you can quickly pick out important models in an otherwise identical squad. In actual battle, they would be wearing a helmet unless it was damaged. I saw a Marine player in my neighbor hood decided to take any models that he made helmet-less and model the helmets on their sides. He even went as far as to drill damage holes on them to make it look like the helmet got blasted off (and he replicated facial injury on the model too, for the rule of cool. Space Marine with an impromptu eye-patch? Why not). It was honestly pretty awesome.
prophet102 wrote: I don't understand why in boxes for marines they give you the option for helmetless models. Or characters in finecast come helmetless. Where is the advantage in that? A tau pathfinder or some type of poison gas could easily kill Marneus Calgar, Or Kaldor Draigo to name a few. You lose protection, and respiratory systems when you dont have a helmet. So can someone please explain it to me. I just find it silly.
As has been said, the models are just an abstraction of all the poses that occur during a battle, a snapshot if you will. That being said, all of my IG have helmets do to being Steel Legion models, all of my CSM have helmets, but most of my Sisters do not. In fact, I am using only the non-helmeted Sisters as Battle Sisters Squads and the helmeted Sisters as Celestians, Dominions, etc. If SM without a helmet really bother you, you can do a few things. One, you could simply not use those heads or trade them to someone else that will/does for more helmets. Two, and I have done this with some of my SoB Sisters Superior, you can add a helmet to the model's base as scenery or on a belt. It looks really cool and they still *do* have their helmet, but just aren't wearing it right at that moment. I'm sure you can come up with other reasons and such, but the point is to have fun with it.
Helmets or no helmets, I'm just happy when I get to play a painted army. Plus l'm not so full of my own self importance that I feel the way I want my army to look is the way everyone else's army has to look.
This always makes me think of the bikini armor issue :p it's silliness depends on context and personnel opinion a great deal.
Maybe some marine chapters simply consider going into battle without a helmet is consider a huge honor and need to ask the superiors to do it, since they know full well it's probably not a good idea :p
But to add some funny ending to my post I once watch a game of inquisitor one guy had a marine that take his helmet off and taunt the last other left on the table still functioning.
A poor imperial guardsman left with 3 shots in his bolt pistal, the marine could have probably run up and kill him his turn.
The guardsman take his 3 shots and hit the marine in the head, killing him outright :0
I model characters without helmets in my Marines and Eldar because it's a classic way to empathize with a character. Once they have a face, they have a identity, rather than Soldier #31.
Worrying about is as important as worrying about why all the candles on Imperial vehicles (like the new DA landspeeders) can always stay lit in the face of all that wind.
AegisGrimm wrote: I Worrying about is as important as worrying about why all the candles on Imperial vehicles (like the new DA landspeeders) can always stay lit in the face of all that wind.
AegisGrimm wrote: I Worrying about is as important as worrying about why all the candles on Imperial vehicles (like the new DA landspeeders) can always stay lit in the face of all that wind.
propane, lots, and LOTS of propane
Model every Imperial vehicle that moves fast as having a trail of hot wax flying behind it.
In the fluff, marines literally can breathe water with their multi-lung. And all marines have the sense of honor. Seeing their leader without a helmet tells them that he has balls the normal marines wish they possessed, because they are not only fighting impaired, as they don't have the visuals and advanced targeting their helmet gives them, but because they have their faces exposed to the enemy and can see the carnage. It is also harder for the marine to be ready for battle as the chaplains need to do different rituals to give a marine without a helmet the same blessings as a helmeted one. If he lost the helmet in battle, he still has those blessings
Also, if someone could correct me due to not having a scout squad, I don't think scouts come with helmets at all.
And also, it can look cool on the table top, but none of my Marines will be helmet less due to my lack of face painting confidence. My sergeants will have a silver helmet to distinguish them and my captain and chapter master will be converted to have a helmet.
Tl:dr: It looks cool, marines without helmets have the balls to do so, and if you don't like it, convert your models.
In the fluff, marines literally can breathe water with their multi-lung. And all marines have the sense of honor. Seeing their leader without a helmet tells them that he has balls the normal marines wish they possessed, because they are not only fighting impaired, as they don't have the visuals and advanced targeting their helmet gives them, but because they have their faces exposed to the enemy and can see the carnage. It is also harder for the marine to be ready for battle as the chaplains need to do different rituals to give a marine without a helmet the same blessings as a helmeted one. If he lost the helmet in battle, he still has those blessings
Also, if someone could correct me due to not having a scout squad, I don't think scouts come with helmets at all.
And also, it can look cool on the table top, but none of my Marines will be helmet less due to my lack of face painting confidence. My sergeants will have a silver helmet to distinguish them and my captain and chapter master will be converted to have a helmet.
Tl:dr: It looks cool, marines without helmets have the balls to do so, and if you don't like it, convert your models.
SOLUTION! Iron Hands. Ironfather comes around and says "Take your helmet off, Brother Jerome" "But I'm not wearing a helmet, sir. This is my face. Techbrother Ambrosious carved the weak flesh away and grafted metal to my facial bones." "Very well then. Good marine, Brother Jerome."
In the fluff, marines literally can breathe water with their multi-lung. And all marines have the sense of honor. Seeing their leader without a helmet tells them that he has balls the normal marines wish they possessed, because they are not only fighting impaired, as they don't have the visuals and advanced targeting their helmet gives them, but because they have their faces exposed to the enemy and can see the carnage. It is also harder for the marine to be ready for battle as the chaplains need to do different rituals to give a marine without a helmet the same blessings as a helmeted one. If he lost the helmet in battle, he still has those blessings
Also, if someone could correct me due to not having a scout squad, I don't think scouts come with helmets at all.
And also, it can look cool on the table top, but none of my Marines will be helmet less due to my lack of face painting confidence. My sergeants will have a silver helmet to distinguish them and my captain and chapter master will be converted to have a helmet.
Tl:dr: It looks cool, marines without helmets have the balls to do so, and if you don't like it, convert your models.
SOLUTION! Iron Hands. Ironfather comes around and says "Take your helmet off, Brother Jerome" "But I'm not wearing a helmet, sir. This is my face. Techbrother Ambrosious carved the weak flesh away and grafted metal to my facial bones." "Very well then. Good marine, Brother Jerome."
I find helmetless guardsmen less of a problem than Marines and other heavily armoured troops;
simply put, a basic helmet Don't improve your odds of survival by a whole lot, and in fact, with simple steel style helmets like the Guard has, the additional weight and reduced cone of vision can actually increase your odds of dying due to not spotting a threat. By and large, it's better to have something between you and the shrapnel flying around the battlefield, but so to is it a good idea to keep an eye on things.
Thus, for special weapon troopers and sergeants for my IG army, lack of helmets don't really bother me, as it's a trend in actual modern warfare where a specialist trooper, particularly marksmen, will use lighter helmets, or none at all, to not impede their primary task of identifying and eliminating hostile targets.
Now, for TDA, a lack of helmet is slowed. This is a suit designed to momentarily transit through the warp, an alternate reality of coalesced hell, and proceed to wade through half an army or blow the bits out of the interiors of starships, titans and so on. These are troops with enormous experience, armoured in virtually indestructible armour, and even a single casualty is a loss keenly felt.
And they don't wear fething helmets. A guardsmen is primarily relying on cover and his wits to stay alive; his armour is more encumbrance than anything else in most cases, unless it's carapace. A Terminator is a walking tank with godawful mobility who proceeds to plow forwards shooting/smashing everything in his way; cover is an obstacle to be smashed aside, his protecting is entirely from his awesomely powerful armour; even the smallest weakness in that armour could spell his death, given the nature of the fights terminators often find themselves in.
That's kind of the key for me; a soldier more reliant on cover and observation in combat without a helmet doesn't really bother me, because that helmet isn't performing a critical battlefield function, whether they be a firewarrior, guardsmen, guardian (though none of them are helmetless) or so on, their survival depends on awareness, which a helmet can impede. A Marine, terminator, stormtrooper and so on rely moreso on their armour to survive battle, it's that armour in conjunction with equally advanced weapons and training which allows them to overcome the tall odds often stacked against them, and to invite a weakness is, to be blunt, suicidal.
Thus, all my marines have helmets (save for my chapter master; when you make a Gabriel Angelos look alike, one must abide the rule of cool), and my guardsmen are more varied.
MajorStoffer wrote: I find helmetless guardsmen less of a problem than Marines and other heavily armoured troops;
simply put, a basic helmet Don't improve your odds of survival by a whole lot, and in fact, with simple steel style helmets like the Guard has, the additional weight and reduced cone of vision can actually increase your odds of dying due to not spotting a threat. By and large, it's better to have something between you and the shrapnel flying around the battlefield, but so to is it a good idea to keep an eye on things.
Thus, for special weapon troopers and sergeants for my IG army, lack of helmets don't really bother me, as it's a trend in actual modern warfare where a specialist trooper, particularly marksmen, will use lighter helmets, or none at all, to not impede their primary task of identifying and eliminating hostile targets.
Now, for TDA, a lack of helmet is slowed. This is a suit designed to momentarily transit through the warp, an alternate reality of coalesced hell, and proceed to wade through half an army or blow the bits out of the interiors of starships, titans and so on. These are troops with enormous experience, armoured in virtually indestructible armour, and even a single casualty is a loss keenly felt.
And they don't wear fething helmets. A guardsmen is primarily relying on cover and his wits to stay alive; his armour is more encumbrance than anything else in most cases, unless it's carapace. A Terminator is a walking tank with godawful mobility who proceeds to plow forwards shooting/smashing everything in his way; cover is an obstacle to be smashed aside, his protecting is entirely from his awesomely powerful armour; even the smallest weakness in that armour could spell his death, given the nature of the fights terminators often find themselves in.
That's kind of the key for me; a soldier more reliant on cover and observation in combat without a helmet doesn't really bother me, because that helmet isn't performing a critical battlefield function, whether they be a firewarrior, guardsmen, guardian (though none of them are helmetless) or so on, their survival depends on awareness, which a helmet can impede. A Marine, terminator, stormtrooper and so on rely moreso on their armour to survive battle, it's that armour in conjunction with equally advanced weapons and training which allows them to overcome the tall odds often stacked against them, and to invite a weakness is, to be blunt, suicidal.
Thus, all my marines have helmets (save for my chapter master; when you make a Gabriel Angelos look alike, one must abide the rule of cool), and my guardsmen are more varied.
Exactly. Draigo Himself live in the warp. How would he survive helmetless?
prophet102 wrote: Exactly. Draigo Himself live in the warp. How would he survive helmetless?
I consider myself a man of science. That said, it's clear that Draigo has a beard in the warp. Want to survive in the warp? Grow a beard.
Just how space wolves can survive a bolter round to the face! genius!
Let's review some data.
-Leman Russ : May or may not have had a beard. Most sources indicate he was at least rocking a pretty smarmy five'o'clock shadow from the moment he set foot on Fenris. Current status? Assumedly alive, somewhere out there, being the galactic equivalent to Tommy Lee Jones.
-Roboute Guilleman : No sources have ever depicted him as having a beard. Current status? Just shy of dead in a stasis tube, apparently in danger of being nicked by a certain Necron. Galactic equivalent of Nicholas Cage.
-Lion El'johnson : Has pretty much always been shown as having pretty kickass hair (like Viggo the Carpathian from Ghostbusters 2), but decidedly clean shaven. Current status? Basically dead. Watchers in the Dark are pretty tight lipped on his status, but I'm doubting he's in capacity to put a cigar out on someones face if the need arose, ya know what I mean?
-Jaghatai Khan : Rode the 31st millenium equivalent of a Harley and rocked a massively awesome Fu'Manchu. Current Status? Playing "Hide the fist" with Eldar faces or something. Most likely knows both the location of Black Library AND who the Stig is (assuming he isn't already actually The Stig)
-Rogal Dorn: Mixed news. Some show him rocking the mustache, others show him going West Point shaven. Eitherway, he looked like a mix between Ray Finkle and Joseph Stalin. Current status? Dead. Get's a pass because no one is running around pretending he's alive, but just grounded or something.
-Sanguinus : Yeah, definitely no mustache/beard/goatee on this bloke. He's right there on the border between "Yeah, I have a single word for a name, so what?" and "Stripper". Current status? Dead.
-Ferrus Manus : The man had iron hands....was named Iron Hands....and lead a chapter called Iron hands. I won't give him any crap, but he did indeed lack facial hair. Current status? Dead.
-Vulkan : Not a lot of art on this guy. May in fact be Idris Elba....who has a facial hair. Current status? Making Eldar and Tau lock their doors at traffic lights. Probably works at a shipyard off some backwater forgeworld.
-Corax : Decidedly does not have facial hair. Nearly got beat up by a preacher. Is a walking Edgar Alan Poe poem. Current status? Who knows? Probably a redditor.
-Big E : Could have psykically grown facial hair, chose not to. Reveals himself to humanity as the Emperor of Mankind and doesn't bother to at least work in a nice beard or goatee. He IS from present day Turkey. Current status? Dead. Let's be honest, the throne room probably smells like Bengay and rotten meat at this point. The Golden Throne probably works fine, the AdMec IT techs are probably just tired of going near the damn thing because the stupid Ecclesiarchy says they can't just put a sheet over the corpse. Dead.
So as we see.....Facial hair is generally speaking, superior to not-facial hair.
prophet102 wrote: There was a test in survivability of current day marines that actually showed that bearded marines had a lower casualty rate
That could have something to do with how your survival odds skyrocket if you survive the first couple of weeks in a warzone. Two weeks is enough for me to grow a recognizable beard, although not an impressive one apart from turning a bit red.
prophet102 wrote: There was a test in survivability of current day marines that actually showed that bearded marines had a lower casualty rate
That could have something to do with how your survival odds skyrocket if you survive the first couple of weeks in a warzone. Two weeks is enough for me to grow a recognizable beard, although not an impressive one apart from turning a bit red.
True. A veteran who is used to the layout of the land and terrain is going to be much more efficient of a soldier then a recruit who just showed up the day of.
I found the easiest way to show that my slightly feral Blood Drinker marines had regressed somewhat to the state of vampirism was by having them helmetless. Its easier to drink someone's blood without a helmet.
And its easier to see that they are vampiric if you can see their big pointy teef
Sorry, but as someone who has been on a battlefield, I think its stupid. And read a novel, no SM I can think of willingly started fighting without a helmet. But they usually write it in that the leaders helmet conveniently got damaged so he takes it off.
all real bad es dont were helmets!
tho seriously id not want a bucket on my head fora whole battle my self some people just like being able to see more.
kb305 wrote: i also think it's stupid OP and i prefer the look of helmets anyway. luckily GW usually puts in lots of head options.
models in power armour/TDA w/o helmets should get -1 save or something, lol. it really is pretty dumb.
I wouldn't go that far, getting headshots in real life isn't as easy as vidya games make it out. Most soldiers are trained to aim for the chest. Maybe a +1 to any sniper rifle related rending rolls but that's it. Even then... ehhh.
As for helmetless models? It's unprofessional, it's unmilitary, it's nonpractical, it's stupid from every point of view. But man, does it make your characters look awesome.
kb305 wrote: i also think it's stupid OP and i prefer the look of helmets anyway. luckily GW usually puts in lots of head options.
models in power armour/TDA w/o helmets should get -1 save or something, lol. it really is pretty dumb.
I wouldn't go that far, getting headshots in real life isn't as easy as vidya games make it out. Most soldiers are trained to aim for the chest. Maybe a +1 to any sniper rifle related rending rolls but that's it. Even then... ehhh.
As for helmetless models? It's unprofessional, it's unmilitary, it's nonpractical, it's stupid from every point of view. But man, does it make your characters look awesome.
if youre talking about pistols and stuff, ya, it is pretty damn hard to get a head shot in real life with small arms.
this is 40k tho, there's rapid fire machine guns, rapid fire heavy weapons, balls of plasma flying everywhere and exploding, giant explosions throwing shrapmetal everywhere. i think you would want your fricken power armour helmet on lol. It's not like it's offering some small ammount of meaningless protection to your head either, it's fricken power armour.
DeathReaper wrote: Helmetless Models look lame and no one should use them.
Have you seen the crazy hair helmets the Eldar have to wear? The average DA squad is all going to die of broken necks if the pilot of a wave serpent uses vectored thrust in a emergency landing. They must all come from treeless craft worlds, else they would be bouncing off low limbs left and right. My newly built DA rock DE heads just to skip the main sail look of the avenger helmet.
ITT we apply logic to 40k and think realistically about it. Humor aside, there are many things that really don't make too much sense but exist to go with the "hero scale" and make the models look more awesome. The massive shoulder pads on marines comes to mind. I do know that some players model only helmets on marines and some even pursue the legendary "true scale" marines because they go for realism. In the end it is just an option in the kit and not required at all.
I suppose anyone who has had to wear a helmet for extended periods of time will understand perfectly why someone might want to take their helmet off at every opportunity. Space Marine helmets are pretty advanced, but I bet they still heavy, sweaty, and claustrophobic.
My fluff reason for why the sergeant often has his helmet off, is because he is in charge: so no one else in the squad can tell him to put his helmet on...
It was actually something that used to really bug me when I was younger. I used to hate guys without helmets, it just seemed so senseless, and I didn't think it was cool at all. My attitude has definitely changed now though. I think it gives the model more character and adds interest. I've done entire squads with only 1 or 2 helmets without really thinking about it. The models are only representations anyway. I don't believe Azrael goes around with his sword held up in the air the whole time, so why believe he doesn't put his helmet on?
why is this thread still going? 
es dont were helmets!
