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So do your Sergeants wear helmets?

I personally think that they should so as to not shown their rank, like the modern day army during combat.

I'm just not a fan of helmetless Marines in combat. Also, I suck at painting skin.

That makes sense. Many of my SW don't wear helmets but I'm incorporating them back in. However, armies in 40k, just as in WHFB have a sort of Medievil feel to them, what with banners and such. The typical army doesn't seem too concerned with being able to pick out the commanders.

Even with helmets, many paint them differently, and for example, IG armor commanders often have differently painted tanks, often standing out quite well.

So, I'm kind of on the fence. I could go either way with it.

I also do not like models neglecting their helmets.

 Badger_Bhoy wrote:
That makes sense. Many of my SW don't wear helmets but I'm incorporating them back in. However, armies in 40k, just as in WHFB have a sort of Medievil feel to them, what with banners and such. The typical army doesn't seem too concerned with being able to pick out the commanders.

Even with helmets, many paint them differently, and for example, IG armor commanders often have differently painted tanks, often standing out quite well.

So, I'm kind of on the fence. I could go either way with it.

Fair enough. I haven't had much dealings with IG yet, so interesting about the command tank.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

talljosh85 wrote:
I'm just not a fan of helmetless Marines in combat. Also, I suck at painting skin.

I know the feeling well.

crap... i messed up my vote


I actually go with helmetless sgts. I pretend the bald ones are Bruce Willis.

Everyone in my army wears his fething helmet. Nobody bearheaded around here.

I've got three bareheaded models in my army; one's an AOBR sergeant I just couldn't be arsed to convert, one is my Chapter Standard holder in my Honour Guard, and the third is Gabriel Fething Angelos, who doesn't need no stinking helmet.

All in all, I go helmets for everyone, I just didn't have enough bits when I started my army to helmet everyone, and haven't gone back to change them.

Depends for me. It also on their wargear. I can see guys set up with primarily short ranged/close combat not wearing helmets, but teams focused on longer ranged combat wearing helmets. Firing a pistol and fighting in close quarters, you probably have better situational awareness of immediate surroundings when you aren't wearing your helmet. Also, it depends on the head, sometimes the model will look sick without it, sometimes it won't.

For my current project, since I'm following the 2nd Company UM layout exactly as its seen, some have them, some do not. My preference doesn't matter, since I'm replicating something.

In general mines don't, if I could paint skin and faces better, I would definetly have more faces out there.

Mine always wear a helmet... But it is still marked accordingly. Usually its white, but I'm thinking of getting some of the forgeworld ones with the plumes.

If I've learned anything from the movie Talivsota, it's that cool people don't wear helmets.

 Ailaros wrote:
If I've learned anything from the movie Talivsota, it's that cool people don't wear helmets.

This.

All my models except those that don't have the option, wear helmets. It's both cool and tactical.

I hate painting flesh
A marine without helmet is flamer / lasgun bait
a marine without helmet foregoes all the tacticals advantages going with it (sarge without radio, seriously ?)

The only helmetless marine I assembled is a DA terminator (played as Belial) with the hooded head with respirator, where you barely see any skin. But only because this one looks really cool and menacing

There is probably 5 or 6 helmets among my entire space wolves army, heroes don't wear helmets!

Also I liked in the Ragnar books, they would take off their helmets because they interfered with their wolf senses.

No one goes to war without his helmet under my watch!

All my models wear a helmet, including some pretty painstaking conversions to make it happen. my Sergeants wear red helmets, as per the Codex Astartes, with Veteran Sergeants having the old school red helmet with white stripe. Good example is my DP.

Painting faces is more fun for me than painting helmets - though i have still included helmets on the model's leg/bike fender etc when possible - more painting for me = win.

Thinking of the Sergeant model as a "real" person I find it highly illogical that he doesn't wear a helmet.

Thinking of the Sergeant model as a game marker I find that the helmetless head allows my opponent to quickly identify the presence of a Sergeant, and his armament.
This helps my opponent to easily and quickly make decisions concerning Challenges, angles of attack, Precision Shots etc.

My Sergeants have no helmets simply in order to ease the flow of the game.

Yes.
In my Space Marine army everybody must wear them, except DV Sergeants, nothing that I can do there.

Some pretty good comments for figures without helmets

There is no "Some do, some don't" option in the poll.

I run a mix. Mostly helmet-less sarges/HQs though. The bare heads set them apart better then a helmet stripe. Kids these days don't understand the information conveyed with unit markings. Or just can't see them from across the table like you can a bare head. <shrug>

The ecclesiarchy prohibits my sisters from wearing helmets. It's deemed heretic. Also, the emperor protects.

No Helmets. I like my Space-Fantasy-Knights precisely because they are NOT subject stupid realism. If that were my schtick, I'd play Flames of War instead.

No Helmet make you 'arder. No Helmet and a scar makes you near-invincible.

Helmets all the way, all the time. It's not that I don't like marine faces, but painting eyes for me is the metaphorical equivalent of spending 30 years doing your job just right, getting everything perfect, organsing your pension scheme and healthcare benefits...then on the last day before retiring, kicking your boss in the nuts.
Eyes ruin everything. It's the last bit to do and all of a sudden my model looks dumb.

PredaKhaine wrote:
Helmets all the way, all the time. It's not that I don't like marine faces, but painting eyes for me is the metaphorical equivalent of spending 30 years doing your job just right, getting everything perfect, organsing your pension scheme and healthcare benefits...then on the last day before retiring, kicking your boss in the nuts.
Eyes ruin everything. It's the last bit to do and all of a sudden my model looks dumb.

I laughed so far at your explanation

Best tip I got for painting faces was to do the eyes first, I still thank that person every time I paint.

At least that way you don't ruin a good paintjob right at the end but at the start

I play Sisters, so sadly most of my models end up being bareheaded because only three of the eight different bolter-Sister sculpts actually wear helmets.

That said, many of my Sisters Superior do wear helmets, since half the SS models have them! so mostly its the rank and file who lack helms.

 captain bloody fists wrote:
So do your Sergeants wear helmets?

I personally think that they should so as to not shown their rank, like the modern day army during combat.

My Sergeants often wear helmets specifically to show their rank. They even have back banners for the convenience of the enemy snipers! I have detailed helmet based rank system so I like to give the sergeants (and corporals) helmets for that reason. It is nice to get to paint few different coloured helmets. Not all my marines have helmets though. Many of my assault marines (sergeant included) forgo their helmets, as it gives them more fierce look.