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I recently succumbed and bought myself a squad of Mk III marines from the Burning of Prospero box and a half-squad of Mk IV marines from the BaC box off Ebay. It was my intention to paint them up as a full squad of 40k Salamanders using relic armour, but as I always try to incorporate HH Salamander markings, I could potentially use them for 30k as well. The theory was that they would be sort of the 2nd Company's senior squad and as such would be equipped with some of the Chapter's finer relics as they would be the tip of the spear.

However, my question is this: How likely would it be for a First Founding Chapter to possess enough relic suits to outfit not only this squad in relic armour, but presumably also the other 4 Battle Companies' senior squads, alongside a good portion of the 1st Company? All told, that could number anywhere between 60 to 100 relic suits (Mk II to Mk V) throughout the Chapter. As it stands, I'm a bit unsure as to whether to paint them up as 40k Salamanders (Albeit with ambiguous markings), for fear that it'll look too out of place in a 40k army.

old armor marks are actually pretty common. no need to have a special story justifying it IMHO

If anyone would have them it would probably be the Salamanders. Salamanders are known for their vaults full of artifacts and tools kept in some of the best condition of any of the chapters. They are also constantly hunting down Vulkans old works. So... yeah. Go for it.

Regarding older armour patterns in general: "Even in the 41st Millenium some intact suits from this near mythical age survive in active service as war-relics of the Space Marines. Countless others have been produced or reacquired since, and different Chapters often have entirely different ranges of panoply they can call upon to armour their forces." ~ Imperial Armour volume 10

The example Fire Hawks demi-squad in Imperial Armour 9 comprised a full MkV, a hybrid MkV/VII and three MkIII suits, and that was a reserve company squad from a Chapter not even created until M36. The Salamanders can definitely get away with it.

In 'Salamander' they recover A BOATLOAD of a Heresy era armor, so it's reasonable to think that by the current date they had begun using it.

 Warpig1815 wrote:
I recently succumbed and bought myself a squad of Mk III marines from the Burning of Prospero box and a half-squad of Mk IV marines from the BaC box off Ebay. It was my intention to paint them up as a full squad of 40k Salamanders using relic armour, but as I always try to incorporate HH Salamander markings, I could potentially use them for 30k as well. The theory was that they would be sort of the 2nd Company's senior squad and as such would be equipped with some of the Chapter's finer relics as they would be the tip of the spear.

However, my question is this: How likely would it be for a First Founding Chapter to possess enough relic suits to outfit not only this squad in relic armour, but presumably also the other 4 Battle Companies' senior squads, alongside a good portion of the 1st Company? All told, that could number anywhere between 60 to 100 relic suits (Mk II to Mk V) throughout the Chapter. As it stands, I'm a bit unsure as to whether to paint them up as 40k Salamanders (Albeit with ambiguous markings), for fear that it'll look too out of place in a 40k army.

Keep in mind there is relic armor and then there is relic armor. Sometimes relic armor just denotes age. Sometimes is represents superior protection and craftsmanship. I would advise against trying to make up a reason for why a chapter might have so much armor of superior quality.

Another thing to keep in mind is that most CSM wear what you would consider Relic armor. Obviously it isnt ideal or too likely for loyalists to loot traitor equipment, but depending on the traitors and the conditions it could happen.

It's a big galaxy, there still could be some forge worlds making something that looks like Mk III or IV armor brand new.

Well that set's my mind at ease. Thank's for the good points people - I'm more comfortable with the idea of a full 'relic' squad now. Cheers!

Lance845 wrote:If anyone would have them it would probably be the Salamanders. Salamanders are known for their vaults full of artifacts and tools kept in some of the best condition of any of the chapters. They are also constantly hunting down Vulkans old works. So... yeah. Go for it.

Yeah, that's what I figured as well. Being a chapter noted for it's technological prowess, I reckoned it wouldn't be too uncommon for GC/HH era suits turning up in larger numbers. Similarly, I reckoned they'd have larger stockpiles as the Legion wasn't split up like other Legions following the HH, owing to the fact that they had too few marines to constitue a 2nd Chapter. Having said that, the newer novels and FW books would seem to dispute this, giving them a strength of roughly 8000 after the Isstvan V Massacre.

Jimsolo wrote:In 'Salamander' they recover A BOATLOAD of a Heresy era armor, so it's reasonable to think that by the current date they had begun using it.

Yeah, the 'Prophecy' armour was my first thought, but unfortunately all those suits were destroyed during the events of Nocturne :(