How tall is a Space Marine?

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**with an iron fist**

In the last edition, we posted about Azhag the Slaughterer (of my Wallet?). Today we're going to talk about the scale of 40k.

Today we're asking "how tall is a space marine?"

Some people say 6 feet. Others say 8 feet. Still others say 10 feet.

Having seen the "real life size" space marine statue at a battle bunker, it appears to be around 8 feet.

Anyone?

**Shadowbrand**

7feet i think. I'm 100% positive about the megalung and 2 heart's part though for space marine's

**acreedon**

7 feet. i think terminators in armour about 8-9 feet

**Mad Doc Grotsnik**

7' in his stocking feet, around 8' in his armour.

Armour makes the difference. Either way, they're bigger than I am at 6'3"

**acreedon**

yes that is what it is!

**BrookM**

I can dig up the picture of Jes posing in front of a true scale Marine drawing in the morning.

**Redbeard**

28mm? Or are we in the background section?

I actually got to talk to Jes about the background part of it at Adepticon a couple years ago. It turns out that he wanted to draw the full-scale marine, and got someone else to stand on a ladder with a motorcycle helmet on, and traced around them.

So, they put a ruler next to it, and the top is marked at 8', which led to people thinking that they were 8' tall, but what many people fail to notice is that the feet of this drawing were a foot of the ground, so they're actually 7' tall.

But, then Jes went on to explain that each novel writer just has to go and make them bigger, because they want the hero of their book to be big, even for a marine, so they pad it a little more, and you get them at 7'6", and then the next writer wants his hero to be even bigger than the last hero, and so on and so on...

But the official height of a Space Marine is 7' tall, which is plenty big enough - it's like Shaq, and then put him in power armour.

**statu**

Is it just me or does 7' seem kinda short. Obviously by today's standard height it would be huge, but in however many years it is till 40k is set, wouldn't everyone be atleast 7'. People in the time of the Tudors, about four to six hundred years ago, were about 4/5' tall

**The New Romance**

statu wrote:Is it just me or does 7' seem kinda short. Obviously by today's standard height it would be huge, but in however many years it is till 40k is set, wouldn't everyone be atleast 7'. People in the time of the Tudors, about four to six hundred years ago, were about 4/5' tall

I'm quite sure there is a certain physical limit on how big a human can grow without health problems. It is possible that everybody's size converges towards this limit, but I'm pretty sure that humans won't get much taller than seven to eight feet.

**Mad Doc Grotsnik**

Depends on diet mainly. We understand what's good and bad food wise, hence people are generally getting taller in the developed world. What the natural cap will be, I dunno!

But in 40k, I would wager a good diet is the least of most citizens concerns as they eke out their existence, thus 7' is still pretty tall.

**BrookM**

Looking at the picture of Jes with the Marine I can clearly see that a Marine is 7' 1"

**Alpharius**

Did you post the picture?

(Browsing while at work, a lot of pictures get blocked...)

**BrookM**

**LtCobalt**

I had always heard 2 meters, but that seems too short unless their suits add quite a bit of height.

**Kid_Kyoto**

BIGGER THAN BIG!
STRONGER THAN STRONG!
ALWAYS THERE TO HELP RIGHT,
AGAINST WRONG!

**with an iron fist**

Kid_Kyoto wrote:BIGGER THAN BIG!
STRONGER THAN STRONG!
ALWAYS THERE TO HELP RIGHT,
AGAINST WRONG!

GIIIIGANNNNTOOORRRRRR

GIIIIGGAANNNTTTOOOORRRR

GIIIIGGGGGGAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNTTTTOOORRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So 8' in armor or 2.4384 meters? I figured that's how tall the "real life model" at the Battle Bunker was. Be sure to check out my next thread:
"The Mystery of the Squats! or How Big is a ThunderHawk Really?"

**Redbeard**

with an iron fist wrote:
So 8' in armor or 2.4384 meters?

No, 7' in armour. Look at the picture. Look closely. See how the head is at 8' but the ground is at 1'

8 - 1 = 7.

**BrookM**

There was a background guy over at GW who did all the brainy stuff like finding out how much a marine might weigh. Can't remember his name.

**with an iron fist**

Redbeard wrote:
with an iron fist wrote:
So 8' in armor or 2.4384 meters?

No, 7' in armour. Look at the picture. Look closely. See how the head is at 8' but the ground is at 1'

8 - 1 = 7.

Wasn't looking at the picture.

**Alpharius**

Kyoto's Marine hatred is infamous, and known galaxy-wide.

He must remain in hiding because of it, I think...

But the Inquisition is patient...

**Cheese Elemental**

Alpharius wrote:Kyoto's Marine hatred is infamous, and known galaxy-wide.

He must remain in hiding because of it, I think...

But the Inquisition is patient...

I thought he was hiding from GW after writing a homoerotic Space Marine short.

**Exarch_Nektel**

I read somewhere that they were 3 meters - 8 to 10 feet. A primarch is around 12 feet.

**Lord-Loss**

Exarch_Nektel wrote:I read somewhere that they were 3 meters - 8 to 10 feet. A primarch is around 12 feet.

I think it depends with the Primarchs, Magnus and Mortarion were the tallest possibly 15-16 feet. The others might be from 11-14 feet.

**Alpharius**

Cheese Elemental wrote:
Alpharius wrote:Kyoto's Marine hatred is infamous, and known galaxy-wide.

He must remain in hiding because of it, I think...

But the Inquisition is patient...

I thought he was hiding from GW after writing a homoerotic Space Marine short.

I suppose that would explain his hatred of Space Marines, which does border on the maniacal...

**ZeinEizoku**

I will just be uttering the random echos of what has been said here already but I feel like acting like a canyon today lol

I feel that it would be safe to say that a space marine in Armor can range from Seven Feet tall to about 8 Feet tall, just because, the human-genome would react differently to the Gene seed. I stand 5' 7" and my friend stands 6' 1". To say that all space marines will be 7' tall is ludicrous at best because they are still Humans that have been elected from the planet of their inhabitance. For the heroic figures of a Chapter to be taller is understandable.

IMO, I would like to think of a Chapter like the Space wolves to have Space Marines to stand a good 7' 8" in their Armor just because of the background and story of them having Viking like Technophobic Tendencies. Then in a legion like the Raven Guard or the Alpha Legion, I could understand them having a more Regular or even smaller sizing maybe 6' 11 because of the Legion tactics of fast striking or espionage.

I do not mean to offend with what I say and I will probably cause some steam but this is what I feel.

**Redbeard**

I dunno about that. Modern militaries have size restrictions because of equipment sizes. Pilots, for example, have to be within a fairly small height range, so that they fit in the cockpit.

With the Imperium's view that equipment is more valuable than people, I wouldn't be at all surprised if plus-size marines were rejected at some point during the training because they won't fit the standard armour.

**ZeinEizoku**

Redbeard wrote:I dunno about that. Modern militaries have size restrictions because of equipment sizes. Pilots, for example, have to be within a fairly small height range, so that they fit in the cockpit.

With the Imperium's view that equipment is more valuable than people, I wouldn't be at all surprised if plus-size marines were rejected at some point during the training because they won't fit the standard armour.

that is a good point, it slipped my mind about the Ritualist Worship about the armour. However, and this is where I get cheap lol, even though the space marine would have been rejected, he would still have been taller than 7' haha.

In all seriousness though, What about Terminator Armour. If they where taller than average couldn't they just move them up to the Tactical Dreadnought Armour? I mean if they have proven themselves in combat and what have you, and under the rare circumstance that the space marine continued to grow for a set period after he should have ceased?

that is just a random thought though. I actually, after thinking about what you said, makes perfect sense. I mean they think the machines are alive in the WH40K universe. Space Marine chapters are more Occult than a Army in my eyes, and if they would physically out grow the armour then I believe you're right. They would be terminated, no pun intended, and start with someone new I guess.

**Redbeard**

Yes, I can see it now. How do you select which Marines get to be Terminators? Is it due to experience? Capability? Prowess? Nope, it's just if you're tall...

**ZeinEizoku**

LMAO

wow blew my seriousness right out of the water =D

**person person**

I was wondering how tall other Mk's of Power armour are, but looking in the codex, they look about the same.

I wonder how big bolters are then?