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From what I gather, everyone says black, and usually it seems to be inferred that they mean "black" as in "African descent". But my take on it has always been black as in ebony, or a dark grey color. The Salamanders books covers show a Space Marine with what seems to be grey skin.

So, have you all imagined the skin as African descent black or ebony black?

Ebony black.

well to be honest when I was told black skin and red eyes I thought coal black, i mean if you went down a coal mine with a smalle candle as ligth and then blew that candle out...yeah that black O_O

GentlemanGuy wrote:well to be honest when I was told black skin and red eyes I thought coal black, i mean if you went down a coal mine with a smalle candle as ligth and then blew that candle out...yeah that black O_O

Yeah, seems pretty close to ebony to me

i've always taken it as coal black, but none of my salamanders mini's have exposed skin so its never really come up for me

They used to be portrayed as having skin as black as you can get, literally painted Chaos Black

IIRC, it was initially jet black. In 3rd edition with codex Armageddon, it was retconned to dark brown, and not everyone, just the majority. In 5th edition, it's been changed back to jet black.

Codex Armageddon all the way.

Lexicanum says from dark skin to jet black.

Black as it get's seems to most interesting to me

Yeah the black to dark skinned is always fun to paint...

All the recent pictures they've had of salamanders seem to be jet black

Red and black like lava so red eyes and black skin. No mention of hair colour, maybe that can be anything.

They're based off of Fire Giants like how a few of the initial legions seemed to be based off of mythical creatures of some sort.



The African-American appearance was actually from an error back around the Armageddon codex if I remember correctly.

They are jet black skinned.

Its due to a Mutation of their Geneseed which reacts with the radiation on Nocturne. It causes their skin to turn such a dark color.

the actual human populace of Nocturne is White.

AustonT wrote:Codex Armageddon all the way.

You can paint them whatever colour you like but the new SM codex says jet black...

I play Salamanders, and I can testify that no matter what you do someone is going to accuse you of doing it wrong. The answer is that it has been both ways. At some times it is black as in jet-black, at others it has been African black. I go with the onyx black because I like it better (it makes the eyes stand out more) but that's just me. I have been accused of racism based on my paint scheme, however.

I've become rapidly ambivalent I know I shouldn't care but I still do. I like the appearance of the Armageddon, but I am very swayed by the fire giants. Not really jet black like the codex, still has red hair. Instead of looking ridiculous it has an artistic and mythological basis to work from instead of onyx sculpture with ruby eyes.

here's an Idea.

save yourself alot of grief and model all your dudes wearing their helmets.

Vulkan-- "Dammit Sergeant Lorenzo!" "Put your helmet on, this is a Warzone!"

Jimsolo wrote:I play Salamanders, and I can testify that no matter what you do someone is going to accuse you of doing it wrong. The answer is that it has been both ways. At some times it is black as in jet-black, at others it has been African black. I go with the onyx black because I like it better (it makes the eyes stand out more) but that's just me. I have been accused of racism based on my paint scheme, however.

You then say 'well maybe you should learn what racism actually is', seeing as you are following fluff there shouldn't be a problem.

I always thought a coal black maybe a little lighter

BluntmanDC wrote:

Jimsolo wrote:I play Salamanders, and I can testify that no matter what you do someone is going to accuse you of doing it wrong. The answer is that it has been both ways. At some times it is black as in jet-black, at others it has been African black. I go with the onyx black because I like it better (it makes the eyes stand out more) but that's just me. I have been accused of racism based on my paint scheme, however.

You then say 'well maybe you should learn what racism actually is', seeing as you are following fluff there shouldn't be a problem.

This came up rather recently with me, oddly enough in another Sallies thread...apparently racism is a more malleable term to some people.

friend of mine actually thought the salamanders were one of the bad guys in the WH40k universe due to the way they looked

Racism is like many other topics. To many for whom it is a sensitive issue, emotion gets in the way of logic. Admittedly, I find myself becoming defensive about racism even when it's not warranted.

Nevertheless, I maintain that my Chaos Black skinned Salamanders are not racist.

At first I didn't like the Salamanders as my first impression is that it was a rather ham-handed way of addressing the fact that nearly every representation of a Space Marine was that of a Caucasoid.

The more I learned about 40k, the more that image has changed right along with the fluff.

I agree with the poster that mentioned 'Fire Giants'. Born of fire and all that. The skin could be anything from say, ash grey in my mind to a jet black or obsidian, obvious color references to volcanos and vulcanism, solidified lava etc...

Anyone who has ever played D&D knows what jet black skin is meant to reference in a fantasy setting. Especially when you consider how popular the Drow were back in the day. This is something entirely different from our real world where this skin color simply doesn't exist.

My 2 cents

They've gone from dark grey to brown to jet black, they're described as "dark-skinned" so anything goes, really.

the way i saw fire giants they have bright orange hair and coal black skin but with the salamanders in the book they have differant coloured hair. last time i painted salamanders i found the orange hair works really well and a light grey hair for my sergeants and veterans

They are painted as literally black in the SM codex but I have painted them 'African' black as imo it looks better.

chaoslooksgood wrote:They are painted as literally black in the SM codex but I have painted them 'African' black as imo it looks better.

Yeah, actual black makes them look like
A-stereotypes (good thing most marines these days seem to wear respirators, so you don't see their giant red lips)
B- stone people
C- reptile people

I can think of various mammals with brown or grey skin, but black is something pretty strange.

You forgot Drow.

*!*

Drow Marines. Their Scouts are particularly good and they all get a bonus in nightfighting missions, but are only T3.