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Simple question, I know they are set up to open the doors when you drop them down but I find than odd, it gives them an incredibly large foot print and since you measure from any point of the model that can see for things like shooting it seems to increase their range a bit. I personally keep mine closed when I use it but had a conversion with another at the FLGS and they were under the impression you had to open it for some reason.

So, do you normally keep yours open or closed when you use a drop pod?

Open. Measure from the gun barrel. Seems fair, whatever the rules say.

The Designers Commentary says

Q: When a model does not have a base, as is the case with many vehicles, what exactly is the ‘hull’ of the model?

A: The hull of these models refers to the main body of the model. It does not include things such as turrets, sponsons, aerials, banners, spikes etc.
If there is still doubt, we recommend both players agree about what constitutes the hull of such models before the battle begins.

I would read that as saying the drop pod doors are one of those things to ignore, since it already excludes sponsons and turrets which are likely to include weapons.

So that would mean you measure from the main hull base, basically where the door hinges are, so open or closed, the measuring point will be the same.

We keep the doors closed for ease of usage but we ignore them to measure los.

This will always be an issue that you MUST discuss with your opponent before every game.
There are several quirks with either keeping them closed (now blocks LoS) or opening them (extends range)

You and your opponent are going to have to decided how you want to treat it as there really is not hard rule that says you have to do either.

I remember a HUGE debate about this very topic after the 7th ed. FAQs. The only real consensus was that there was no consensus. As Galef said, this is something I would recommend discussing with your opponent before the game starts.

For what people pay for drop pods, I'd let them do it any way they wanted to so long as they warned me before the game.

I don't care if you model them open or closed, but I think the rule is fairly clear about where you measure to.

Antennae, sponsons, turrets, and wings don't count as part of a model for measurement, just the hull.


My group also uses what we call the "if it fits, it sits" rule instead of the "wobbly model" rule, so in light of that I'd go with doors closed, otherwise you'll have a bit of a time finding drop zones.

I usually open my doors if they can go down just because it looks nice. But measuring is always done from the hull of the model, and we count LOS as though the doors were open.

Thanks guys, thats pretty much what we decided as well. I was just wondering what the general consensus was.

Open, because I glued them badly and those damned doors don't close correctly

Measurings are taken from the hull, never from the doors.

How about...

The doors are closed when it lands. Before troops are disembarked the doors must open.

Open doors do not count as the "main hull" and cannot be used to shoot from or to. Open doors can be moved upon and turns can end on them. Open doors do not count for the 1" movement restrictions or fight phase rules.

Closed doors count as the "main hull" and are targets (for shooting and fighting) and block LOS.

Doors can be opened or closed during of a movement phase, but only once.