Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

So if you're facing a marine, on the right shoulder pad is the chapter marking and then the left is the squad marking right? How does it work for sergeants/captains? Right = Chapter marking and left = what? heraldry?

Usually the sergeants have had identical markings as the squad they lead. Some times they have had small differences too, such as a little skull in the middle of the squad marking or so.

Then again, you don't need to do them like that. I don't make any markings on any of my dudes (except squad colors - green, red, blue, and so on).

djphranq wrote:So if you're facing a marine, on the right shoulder pad is the chapter marking and then the left is the squad marking right? How does it work for sergeants/captains? Right = Chapter marking and left = what? heraldry?

A captain would have a squad type marking too. Troops get an arrow, captains are HQ units so get a skull. Often though captain models come with ornate shoulder pads on that shoulder like an eagle or another chapter mark or you could put on their own heraldry but you could do that for both pads too. But the standard symbol is a skull, as it is for company command squads too.
Sergeant as said is the same as his squad but he might have a small skull as well showing that he is the leader of the squad. The standard decal sheet that comes with space marines has an ultramarines icon with a small red skull in the centre of it which is for the sergeant.

I'm just curious on which side the sergeant's special marking goes on. Does it replace the squad marking or the chapter marking?

It depends slightly on what chapter you're playing as, because Dark Angels have squad markings on their knee; whereas Space Wolves markings change colour depending on what unit they are and all have their colour on the Great Company symbol as well... But if you're playing vanilla marines then it's all been said above!

cadbren wrote:

djphranq wrote:So if you're facing a marine, on the right shoulder pad is the chapter marking and then the left is the squad marking right? How does it work for sergeants/captains? Right = Chapter marking and left = what? heraldry?

A captain would have a squad type marking too. Troops get an arrow, captains are HQ units so get a skull. Often though captain models come with ornate shoulder pads on that shoulder like an eagle or another chapter mark or you could put on their own heraldry but you could do that for both pads too. But the standard symbol is a skull, as it is for company command squads too.
Sergeant as said is the same as his squad but he might have a small skull as well showing that he is the leader of the squad. The standard decal sheet that comes with space marines has an ultramarines icon with a small red skull in the centre of it which is for the sergeant.

Tactical Marines get an arrow, Assault Marines get an arrow cross and Devestator Marines get a stylised explosion.