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As the title says:
The 5 standard Eldar weapons (Bright lance, Scatter laser, Shuricannon, EML & Star Cannon) are noticeably large than the Dark Eldar equivalents (Dark lance, Splinter cannon, Disintegrator, Haywire blaster, etc).

I get that this can be partly attributed to design differences, but why?
Especially since in the case of the Lances, they function exactly the same. Yet the CWE version is so much larger that it has to be mounted on a grav platform and the DE version can be carried by an infantry model.

Thoughts?

I think it is the same issue of why, up until recently, the Imperial Guard man portable autocannon did the same damage as the primary armament of the Predator destructor. GW is very selective on giving physically bigger versions of the same weapon increased damage.

The DE line is broadly much newer than the Eldar model line. Most Dark Eldar stuff is from 2010/2011, most Eldar stuff is much older, being 2E-4E in vintage. That explains some of it.

It is because of Eldar uses a secondary cooling loop for the yttrium beam splitter whereas Dark Eldar puts the phase adjusting circuit before the primary amplifier. Why else?

Simple age. Look at the shuriken pistol in the Dire Avenger kit next to one from the Harlequin kit. It's the same reason Imperial Guard infantry heavy weapons are a lot bigger than the same weapons on newer models.

Back in 3e (where most of the Eldar plastics date from) everything was a lot chunkier.

 Vaktathi wrote:
The DE line is broadly much newer than the Eldar model line. Most Dark Eldar stuff is from 2010/2011, most Eldar stuff is much older, being 2E-4E in vintage. That explains some of it.

pretty much this, the only 'new' CWE of late has been the new Jetbike and their scats and cannons are less chunky than previous version, of course the metal rotary cannon version of the scatter is best

The same reason why DKoK look pretty emaciated next to plastic Cadians. Size disparity between different sculptors.

If I remember rightly someone in GW made an none too flattering comment about the scale of the Cadian models. Something along the lines of not having a fething clue how to use a ruler, or some such.

It should be pointed out that Starcannons on the newer models like Wraithknights and the flyers are slightly different, and smaller, than they are on older models like War Walkers. As others have said, this is because of the varying age of the Craftoworlds model line.

The Infantry Dark Lance is also a little smaller than the one one the vehicles, but as for why they an actually carry them instead of use a platform? Well that should be obvious, the True Kin are always just better.

 Imateria wrote:
It should be pointed out that Starcannons on the newer models like Wraithknights and the flyers are slightly different, and smaller, than they are on older models like War Walkers. As others have said, this is because of the varying age of the Craftoworlds model line.

The Infantry Dark Lance is also a little smaller than the one one the vehicles, but as for why they an actually carry them instead of use a platform? Well that should be obvious, the True Kin are always just better.

Also you know the bipod thing stuck on underneath the infantry Dark Lance?

Fluffwise that's an antigravity generator that makes the gun easy enough to move around for infantrymen to handle it.

(Given the Corsairs hauling around shuriken cannons and missile launchers that same way I think it's fair to say that the Craftworld Eldar could have one-man heavy weapons if they wanted to.)

 Vaktathi wrote:
The DE line is broadly much newer than the Eldar model line. Most Dark Eldar stuff is from 2010/2011, most Eldar stuff is much older, being 2E-4E in vintage. That explains some of it.

Although all those weapons for Dark Eldar were man portable at the dawn of 3e with the first versions of Dark Eldar, too, from Scourges to Warriors, so that's not really it.

Since 2e, the Harlequin Death Jester, Dark Reaper Exarch and Maugan Ra prove that at least Shuriken Cannons are man-portable, I think that the main design reason is that Craftworld Eldar may just see themselves as above such menial tasks as lugging around bulky weapons, and let their technology do that for them.

Aesthetic reasons in design.....

This mainly came up as I was contemplating plastic Dark Reapers. Simply giving an EML to a Guardian with extra armour looks ridiculous, whereas using a DE Disintegrator is about the right size.
I then started thinking about how no Gaurdain actually carries a heavy weapon in the same way a Kabalite can. Fluffwise, the only reasoning I can come up with is that CWE warfare is more sit back a shoot with some forward elements, whereas DE strike fast and hard, usually on Raiders/Venoms.

Aesthetics, I think it also comes down to:
A) age of the model range as mentioned, but also
B) the CWE Heavies are almost always mounted on vehicles (with Guardians being the exception) and DE Heavies are mixed between vehicle mounted and infantry/jump infantry carried.

But yeah, probably also a "True kin do it better" situation.

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https://www.forgeworld.co.uk/en-US/Eldar-Corsair-Heavy-Weapons for a picture of a Guardian with a missile launcher. It's a little smaller than the ones on the vehicles, but it's also scaled to Guardians so it's still bigger than it probably should be.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Galef wrote:
...Simply giving an EML to a Guardian with extra armour looks ridiculous...

The other reason this is true is that a Reaper launcher is smaller than a full-on missile launcher.

At one point, Eldar just shouldered their weapons like everyone else.


Lower right.

Of course, at that time most heavies were equipped with suspensors.

Man, Eldar were fugly back in the day! I'm glad I didn't start playing them until 4th ed, which I think was shortly after many of the kits were updated to plastic.

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 Galef wrote:
Man, Eldar were fugly back in the day! I'm glad I didn't start playing them until 4th ed, which I think was shortly after many of the kits were updated to plastic.

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You say that, but I'm having traumatic flashbacks to the original plastic jetbikes right now.

 AnomanderRake wrote:

 Galef wrote:
Man, Eldar were fugly back in the day! I'm glad I didn't start playing them until 4th ed, which I think was shortly after many of the kits were updated to plastic.

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You say that, but I'm having traumatic flashbacks to the original plastic jetbikes right now.

The original plastic ones (on the hexagon bases) or the ones just prior to the current sculpt? Because I have a dozen of the later and they really aren't that bad after a head swap (I went with DE Scourge heads personally)


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Plastic? Try the old metal ones.

Also, worth pointing out that prior to 3rd edition, Eldar (and Orks, etc.) all used standard weapons more often than not. Heavy Plasma Guns, Lascannons, etc. Orks likewise used bolters, heavy bolters, etc.

It wasn't until 3rd edition that GW felt the need to start separating every race's weaponry to make them all identical and unique (and even going so far as to removing lasguns from Eldar units, etc.).

The original "Bright Lance" was a wargear card which was a man-portable Lascannon with a bit less range, etc. They just transferred the name over to the Eldar version of the Lascannon when everything changed.

All Eldar man-carried heavy weapons are of a similar bulk to the Dark Eldar ones - Dark Reapers' missile launchers, those two metal Eldar in the photo above (a missile launcher and a lascannon, BTW). It's just the vehicle-mounted ones that are bigger, which is the case for every faction. It just so happens that since 1993, the Craftworld Eldar haven't used any man-portable heavy weapons other than Reaper missile launchers and Death Jesters' shuriken cannon.

Oddly enough, the Warp Spider's weapon is, IIRC, a basic weapon - compare that thing to a lasgun, boltgun or even a shoota!

Ever since Commaragh was established the Craftworlders have been trying to compensate for their inferiority complex.