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I was wondering if someone could clear something up for me.
I have seen codex SM Apothecary / chaplain / techmarines etc in different colour schemes:

1 - With armor of the chapter colour but with a different coloured shoulder pad, i.e. white for apothercary, red for techmarine

2 - With armor colour corresponding to the unit i.e. white for apothercary, red for techmarine, but with a shoulder pad of the chapter colour and symbol

Is either option viable? and is there any meaning behind each option i.e. a particular scheme is used for units belonging to a specific company and the other for units belonging to chapter HQ?

Traditionally option 2 is correct, at least for the techmarine as stated on lexicanum:

Their armour is painted the rust red of the Adeptus Mechanicus, but their Chapter badge is retained and displayed on one of the shoulder guards, so as not to disrespect the armour's spirit.

And Apothecaries (also lexicanum):

The Apothecaries of most Chapters wear white power armor, with the left shoulder plate retaining the Chapter colors along with the Chapter symbol. The right shoulder armor displays the prime helix. Some less traditional Chapters use different schemes.

Chaplains however are more often entirely black IIRC (Lexicanum again):

Black is the colour associated with Chaplains, and most or all of their armour is painted in this colour.

You can paint them however you like.

If you want to stay consistent with the fluff, follow the above info.

The 1st 40K Compendium had various color schemes for Medics. Basically, any combination of Chapter color + White mixed as you like. Ultra might be blue with white shoulder pads, or 1/2 blue and 1/2 white.

If current fluff is to be believed, Chaplains have black armor, Techmarines have rust-red armor, Librarians have blue armor, and Apothecaries have white armor... and all four have their chapter colors on their left shoulderpad.

However, many chapters do this differently, especially if they don't follow the Codex Astartes closely.

The bottom line is, you can do whatever the hell you want.

yep everyone seems to have said the right stuff for you to follow, I can add one small thing, Librarians also usually have a yellow tabbard over the blue armour.

nerdfest09 wrote:yep everyone seems to have said the right stuff for you to follow, I can add one small thing, Librarians also usually have a yellow tabbard over the blue armour.

Uh.

Based on what?

I've noticed that GW seems to have no consistency on the subject.

Personally I paint them based on ranks: Adepts that drive my vehicles have a red shoulderpad and green armour... whereas full-fledged techmarines have red armour and a green shoulderpad.

My Lib and Apothecary wear their respective colour on their armour and have a shoulderpad for the chapter.

Likewise for my Chaplain (bar a bone-white shoulderpad).

Can't stand the "all librarians are blue" thing. Ugh, it's like the Ultramarines want to poison everything, not content with having an entirely blue army they want at least one similarly blue figure in every other marine army.

Howard A Treesong wrote:Can't stand the "all librarians are blue" thing. Ugh, it's like the Ultramarines want to poison everything, not content with having an entirely blue army they want at least one similarly blue figure in every other marine army.

...uh.

You realize that the Ultramarines are 1) not the only chapter with blue armor, 2) not the FIRST chapter pictured with blue armor (that'd be the Crimson Fists, on Rogue Trader promotional material IIRC), 3) not in any way associated with any Librarium that isn't their own?

And depending on who you ask, Librarians are not even necessarily Ultramarines Blue. I do mine, for example, in Enchanted Blue (which meshes better, in my opinion, with my homebrew chapter colors), and many people do theirs in Mordian Blue with Enchanted Blue highlights.

SaintHazard wrote:You realize that the Ultramarines are 1) not the only chapter with blue armor

I know.

2) not the FIRST chapter pictured with blue armor (that'd be the Crimson Fists, on Rogue Trader promotional material IIRC)

I know, I own a copy.

3) not in any way associated with any Librarium that isn't their own?

Yes.

It was a joke. I was poking at the ubiquitous nature of the Ultramarines in GW material and fact that if you don't like blue space marine armies the fluff tells us the the majority of Marine armies will still have at least one ugly blue marine.

Fair enough.

inkeyes wrote:I was wondering if someone could clear something up for me.
I have seen codex SM Apothecary / chaplain / techmarines etc in different colour schemes:

1 - With armor of the chapter colour but with a different coloured shoulder pad, i.e. white for apothecary, red for techmarine

2 - With armor colour corresponding to the unit i.e. white for apothecary, red for techmarine, but with a shoulder pad of the chapter colour and symbol

Is either option viable? and is there any meaning behind each option i.e. a particular scheme is used for units belonging to a specific company and the other for units belonging to chapter HQ?

Option 2 would be strictly following codex. Some chapters may do this.

Option 1 is a interpretation of codex, less adherent chapters may do this.

Those rejecting to fully comply to codex bestestsmurfs, do not / partially use these colors to mark dutys. ( SW, DA, BA ).

Since all of the 3 listed groups ( Apothecarion, Reclusiam, Arsenal ) aren't part of a company but temporarly joined to them,
you won't see different ranks denoted in different colors. Its possible to differ your marines, say 2 librarians, if you want to
mark them as epistolary/Codicer/Lexicanum. Remember, the codex is an old tome, traditions are nice and all but usually things change
in 10millenia. Maybe the freedom of a 'flexible' reading of the codex could keep the apothecary/chaplain/librarians/techmarines colors
fitting to the chapters general scheme?
In doubt, blame the pics in codex astartes.

Was in a white dwarf i've got i'll track down the number if you like when i get home, it showed the differing levels of Librarians and their badges of office, I believe it was an edition about scouts... I only remember this as it's one of the editions I have in my bathroom and i read it each time i'm sitting on the loo!


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Maybe yellow loin cloth would have been more accurate?

nerdfest09 wrote:Was in a white dwarf i've got i'll track down the number if you like when i get home, it showed the differing levels of Librarians and their badges of office, I believe it was an edition about scouts... I only remember this as it's one of the editions I have in my bathroom and i read it each time i'm sitting on the loo!


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Maybe yellow loin cloth would have been more accurate?

If by "yellow" you mean "Bleached Bone or other appropriate color for tan cloth," then yeah. They wear "yellow" tabards and loin cloths.

Nope I mean yellow...as in yellow, i will be back on Dakka tonight, remind me and i'll let you know what it says. but it definitely says something about them having yellow loin cloth tabbard thingy's it's an old WD so who knows if it's even relevant nowadays but it's just what i've always known to be correct....I may be wrong and if I am then i'll cop it, but i'm pretty sure it's there. :-)


Automatically Appended Next Post:
from lexicanum: Librarians wear golden yellow tabards which are edged with black patterns, the complexity of the pattern denoting the Librarian's rank.

@1hadhq

The DAs are pretty adherent to the Codex, their only major deviation is the Deathwing and Ravenwing.

Henners91 wrote:@1hadhq

The DAs are pretty adherent to the Codex, their only major deviation is the Deathwing and Ravenwing.

Pretty, yes. Completly, no.
So are deathwing apothecarys ( DW colors + white helmet ) and apothecarys in general ( either codex or company+white helmet )
divergent from codex scheme.

Chaplains seem to be black wherever they roam.
Librarians usually are blue, except SW and Mephi.
Techmarines seem to prefer red. Again, SW have to differ.....
Apothecarys range from "all white" to "only a few white bitz".

nerdfest09 wrote:Was in a white dwarf ..... I only remember this as it's one of the editions I have in my bathroom and i read it each time i'm sitting on the loo!

Seriously? I just play Tetris on my iPhone.....

Toilet tetris is soooo last year dude! get with the program it's WC WD all the way!

Henners91 wrote:@1hadhq

The DAs are pretty adherent to the Codex, their only major deviation is the Deathwing and Ravenwing.

which arn't deviations at all.

99% of all chapters have the First company which is comprised of all veterans and they cna run most-all in Terminators armor.

Codex Chapters also have a dedicated Assault company(10 squads of 10 assault marines) which can deploy on Bikes, in speeders, or with Jump Packs.

So what if I like it retro?

SaintHazard wrote:

nerdfest09 wrote:yep everyone seems to have said the right stuff for you to follow, I can add one small thing, Librarians also usually have a yellow tabbard over the blue armour.

Uh.

Based on what

...

If by "yellow" you mean "Bleached Bone or other appropriate color for tan cloth," then yeah. They wear "yellow" tabards and loin cloths.

I'm going to quote straight from 1st codex ultramarines:

Codex Ultramarines wrote:The Codex has strict guidelines for the uniform, behaviour and tactics of the Librarians. Irrespective of Chapter their armour is blue with yellow and gold decorative trim. Golden yellow tabards carry simple patterns in black. These patterns, along with the banners and shoulder pad designs, serve to identify the Librarian's rank.

Okay, so your source is an outdated codex that has had four subsequent codices (which trump anything and everything said in previous codices) released after it...

...while my source is models painted by the 'Eavy Metal team (and I challenge you to find a single one with a yellow tabard).

Excluding Space Wolves, because 1) they don't follow the normal color scheme anyways and 2) yellow is one of their chapter colors.

You asked 'based on what?' and I posted what it was based on.

Whether or not you want to accept it as cannon or not is of no interest to me.

C'mon saint now you're being picky! it's no different to people who play raven guard, there have been subsequent changes and methods for determining rank and squad but all is acceptable and none considered 'wrong' and no one is wrong here either, I was correct in my recollection of them having yellow tabbards with rank insignia in black on them, the original poster asked the question and I just answered it best i could, no harm done.

I'm not being picky, I'm saying, as of current sources for fluff, yellow tabards on Codex chapter Librarians are not fluffy.

And I'm right.

yes, but the norm was for them to have yellow tabbards, so now inkeyes knows that if he wants to follow the more traditional route he can have the yellow, or if he wishes to follow another style then he's free to do that as well, that's all i'm saying, I always remember them as yellow and to me that's the norm, to you obviously that isn't the case, it's like saying apothecaries aren't white because you haven't seen a white one for a while, i reiterate, neither of us are wrong and now inkeyes can make his mind up.

If he wants to base his army on outdated fluff, fine, that's his prerogative and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

As long as he knows that it's outdated, and not current.

I can't recall anywhere where they said it still wasn't the case though? but i don't like arguing so i'll just go and read that magazine again...

Then allow me to provide roughly four thousand words' worth:


This is a 2nd edition Librarian in Tactical Dreadnought Armor. Note the yellow lointabard.


This is a 5th edition Librarian in Tactical Dreadnought Armor. Note the distinct lack of a yellow lointabard.


These are 5th edition Librarians in Power Armor.

Yellow tabards are second edition fluff.

Standard tan cloth is fifth edition fluff.

Again, like I said, there is nothing wrong with using second edition fluff.

My point is only that it is exactly that: second edition fluff, and not fifth edition.