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 Veteran Sergeant wrote:

 Exergy wrote:

 Veteran Sergeant wrote:
Yeah, my biggest problem with the Heresy marks is that they all have way too much exposed cabling.

What's the point of advanced armor plating if you put the gubbins that make it function outside the armor?

what if it makes servicing and maintaining the armor simpler. When you have a whole legion in constant war taking a dozen planets each month perhaps after providing primary protection the next most important thing is servicing and repairing it.

Not really a good explanation. There's no reason the cabling couldn't be underneath the plating with easily removed paneling to expose it. After all, the suits are modular, and would have to be put on (and taken off) in parts.

There's no benefit to ease of maintenance if the method ofeasing maintenance is to put the most easily damaged parts in a place that subjects them to more damage, lol.

The reality is the technology of power armor is conceptually advanced, and executionally outdated. The older marks of armor look like how somebody would have designed power armor if they didn't have the technology to actually build power armor.

It's just more "GW artists don't really know what they're doing and just drawing cool looking stuff" like bolters with misaligned ejection ports or belt feeds.

MK III Iron Armor has exposed cables?

The back right? Iron armor was known for having very strong armor in the front and was not easy to wear.

 PhillyT wrote:
The back right? Iron armor was known for having very strong armor in the front and was not easy to wear.

No, the back is armored with regular MK II Crusader plates. There's exposed cables on the backpack, but you can install a new one.

Also, looking at MK IV, there's no exposed cables either.

Wyz, the whole front of the armor is exposed cables! The article in issue 129 of WD claims that the cables were moved to the outside of the armor due to recovered technology that encased them in those sheaths.

So maybe what we think of as exposed cabling is actually just the sheathing that was added at the end of the heresy. The claim is the conquests of the crusade allowed for new technologies to be discovered.

 PhillyT wrote:
Wyz, the whole front of the armor is exposed cables! The article in issue 129 of WD claims that the cables were moved to the outside of the armor due to recovered technology that encased them in those sheaths.

So maybe what we think of as exposed cabling is actually just the sheathing that was added at the end of the heresy. The claim is the conquests of the crusade allowed for new technologies to be discovered.

Those aren't critical cables to any of its function. There's models of MK IV like those worn by the Death Guard with no cables on the front at all. It appears to just be some kind of seal.

The White Dwarf description of the MKIV armor specifically states that the cables were moved to the outside of the armor, which is what you see in the official and typical MKIV armor sold by Forgeworld and available in kits.

Where are you getting your information that they are nonessential?

 PhillyT wrote:
The White Dwarf description of the MKIV armor specifically states that the cables were moved to the outside of the armor, which is what you see in the official and typical MKIV armor sold by Forgeworld and available in kits.

Where are you getting your information that they are nonessential?

Because for some reason on the Assault models, they're completely gone and yet they're replaced by some new cables which connect to another point.





Although the image I was thinking of the Death Guard was due to him having an MK III chest, which looks close to MK IV.

I always assumed the cables on that last picture were supposed to be quick-release straps for an assault pack or heavy backpack.

 Furyou Miko wrote:
I always assumed the cables on that last picture were supposed to be quick-release straps for an assault pack or heavy backpack.

Same here, they appear identical to the quick release of a jump pack.

First picture though has similar straps under the armor for some reason, which would be stupid for a quick-release system to be sure.

 Melissia wrote:
First picture though has similar straps under the armor for some reason, which would be stupid for a quick-release system to be sure.

They're smaller cables however. Not to mention the additional plate on the chest is too tight for that small button thing on the front of the normal chest.

Yeah, I was mostly commenting on how they probably aren't quick-release straps.

Probably coolent pipes is my guess.

They are not quick release anything.

Rick Priestly, in the WD article specifically tracking changes in power armor says that the cables on the outside of the MKIV armor are power cables and they were moved to the outside thanks to improvements in power armor design as the crusade reached its final stages. I assume it is an advancement because the sheath around them is durable enough to make moving them outside a reasonable design change.

Regarding the Mk IV - Both images are showing cables. On the Tactical variant (The torso image), the cables are clearly routed over the chest to a central hub/transformer/gubbins, however the Assault variant (The same as the MK II 'Crusade' and Mk III 'Iron' difference) is up-armoured. Hence, additional armour has been placed over the top of the exposed cabling. So, the bits you can see peeking around the midriff, are the same cables going to the centre of the chest in image one. Presumably, the reason there is two cables on the assault variant, and only one on the Tactical torso, is simply an artistic means of demonstrating the additional armouring required more power and it was spread over a parallel supply (i.e. two cables supplying power to a component is better than just one as the power is not halved).

EDIT: Just on the subject of 'quick release straps', bear in mind that much of the Space Marines power armour has linked-in senses. Targeting reticules, occular implants and auditory implants are all linked to the power armour by means of the Black carapace. I gather the two straps coming over the shoulder are in fact release straps, but even in the event they aren't, I don't suppose it's too far fetched to suggest that the Space Marine simply has to give a neural command, voice command or even 'blink click' his HUD to release said pack.