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Anyone else a bit annoyed at the size difference between the new Mk VI and the previous GW
heresy plastics?

I wanted to mix Mks of armor in squads, but it really looks off to me. Tried shaving a bit of length
off a new model, but it was tedious, and didn't really help much.

So it looks like the options are:
Suck up the scale difference, and mix or go with all Mk VI squads/armies.

At least for the IWs I'll go full corvus units, and say they are replacements for losses, I think.

You can put a blob of green stuff in the waist and/or neck joints to raise up the shorter marines a little if you can break them apart safely, or if you can rebase them either put them on tactical rocks or give them green stuff soles to raise them up a bit

 flakpanzer wrote:
Anyone else a bit annoyed at the size difference between the new Mk VI and the previous GW
heresy plastics?

I wanted to mix Mks of armor in squads, but it really looks off to me. Tried shaving a bit of length
off a new model, but it was tedious, and didn't really help much.

So it looks like the options are:
Suck up the scale difference, and mix or go with all Mk VI squads/armies.

As long as you don´t mix models from different marks in the same squad you will be fine.

 flakpanzer wrote:
Anyone else a bit annoyed at the size difference between the new Mk VI and the previous GW
heresy plastics?

I wanted to mix Mks of armor in squads, but it really looks off to me. Tried shaving a bit of length
off a new model, but it was tedious, and didn't really help much.

So it looks like the options are:
Suck up the scale difference, and mix or go with all Mk VI squads/armies.

Mark III can be rescaled to mark VI height fairly easily. A layer of greenstuff at the waist and a small one at the neck gets you most of the way there (the taller helmet and backpack help), you can also use a thicker layer of basing material or greenstuff under the feet to get them equal at the neck.

Mark IV though, basically you need new legs as you have to put an extreme amount of greenstuff in. I've solved the problem by 3d printing taller legs, but you could scavenge from more modern plastics and resculpt the knees I suppose - old school heresy style!

Another option is to buy tortuga bay bodies, e.g. their M4 armour, and use GW heads/arms.

Tortuga scale - he's the helmetless guy (not my models)

 flakpanzer wrote:
Anyone else a bit annoyed at the size difference between the new Mk VI and the previous GW
heresy plastics?

No because when I put the army on the table it's going to be unnoticeable.

So it looks like the options are:
Suck up the scale difference, and mix or go with all Mk VI squads/armies.

Suck it up and play the game. It's not going to be noticeable when you actually start playing, just like it wasn't noticeable when the GW MkIV's and III's were different to the FW versions.

I remember peole had the same hubub when true scale rubrics came out.
You never could tell the difference unless someone pointed it out.

Mark IV though, basically you need new legs as you have to put an extreme amount of greenstuff in. I've solved the problem by 3d printing taller legs, but you could scavenge from more modern plastics and resculpt the knees I suppose - old school heresy style!

Thanks for the awesome ideas!

Yeah, MkIII armor is only a hair shorter than MkIV, its close enough you won't really notice it from 3 ft away, but if you're particular about it then just a little bit of work will get them standing the same height as MkVI. MkIV will take more work to get it up to standard. I'm following suit on the 3d printed solution myself

I hope the community comes up with some "default" 3d print files that match NuFirstborn. Not just the core infantry but also jetbikes and such. Friggin pain the ass. I thought the point of Primaris was to do "truescale" Marines without invalidating the old line but then they go and do "truescale" firstborn too. Hey, maybe next year we see shorter Primaris, and by 2030 there's no meaningful distinction between the two lines anymore and we just merge the profiles and this whole Primaris debacle never happened.

The MkIV legs that arkhanist linked are a good pickup. I assume there won't be any concern about forthcoming jetbikes and other units, as they will be produced in the correct scale in plastic, etc.

 flakpanzer wrote:
Anyone else a bit annoyed at the size difference between the new Mk VI and the previous GW
heresy plastics?

I wanted to mix Mks of armor in squads, but it really looks off to me. Tried shaving a bit of length
off a new model, but it was tedious, and didn't really help much.

So it looks like the options are:
Suck up the scale difference, and mix or go with all Mk VI squads/armies.

More than height per se, it's an issue of proportions, and side by side it's quite noticeable.

I did a set of comparison pics between two models very similarly posed and equipped:






The legs are certainly longer, but the torso too. The arms are about the same, but the heads are noticeable smaller, so it adds up.

The broom on the head is also quite a bit more detailed.

This was also driving me insane. The scale/Primaris cock-up was a major reason behind why I left 40k so I went in search of solutions.

Initially I tried basing with a cork layer, but that only seemed to make the issue look worse akin to someone standing on a stool to look tall.

That said, making a ball of green stuff approximately the size of a ball bearing or paint mixer ball (I used the army painter ball as my model), and dividing it into four equal pieces, seemed to when placed between the legs and the torso gave enough rise to make the height difference at least at first glance seem very minor.

The height looks OK overall but I think it exaggerates the proportions even more. It’s almost like the Mk IV guy is wearing low-rider power armour. That said you won’t notice it once the gun is in place and there’s another nineteen of him standing next to him, from two feet away.

Also I just noticed how goofy the “ears” on the MkIV helm look compared to the beakie.

Yea looks like Mk4s are straight out of the picture unless that's the only plastic kit you're gonna use.

 lord_blackfang wrote:
Yea looks like Mk4s are straight out of the picture unless that's the only plastic kit you're gonna use.

I'm going to use MkIII and MkIV, and use the MkVI to begin my 40K army of Rogue Trader style Crimson Fists.

 maccrage wrote:

 lord_blackfang wrote:
Yea looks like Mk4s are straight out of the picture unless that's the only plastic kit you're gonna use.

I'm going to use MkIII and MkIV, and use the MkVI to begin my 40K army of Rogue Trader style Crimson Fists.

Reasonable in a vacuum, but I expect GW to release more plastic HH units and want to be forward compatible.

 maccrage wrote:

 lord_blackfang wrote:
Yea looks like Mk4s are straight out of the picture unless that's the only plastic kit you're gonna use.

I'm going to use MkIII and MkIV, and use the MkVI to begin my 40K army of Rogue Trader style Crimson Fists.

I was thinking of doing the same thing.

I haven't wanted to mix older style first-gen Marines with Primaris, but a 40k RT Throwback army using MK VIs
wouldn't look too bad with Primaris.

How well are these kits going to mix?
Anyone tried that yet?

I've seen some folks putting mkIII heads and shoulder pads on the new kits, at least, but that doesn't really mean anything.

Although, it does significantly change the look of the kit -- most of what our eyes are drawn to are those elements when they're on the table.

I will probably do something similar with mine for Iron Hands.

Not Online!!! wrote:
How well are these kits going to mix?
Anyone tried that yet?

Well, I've swapped the pads for Mk II-III ones, they're the same size:



Old heads are a bit bigger (wider, more than anything), but I don't know about arms.

Quasistellar wrote:I've seen some folks putting mkIII heads and shoulder pads on the new kits, at least, but that doesn't really mean anything.

Although, it does significantly change the look of the kit -- most of what our eyes are drawn to are those elements when they're on the table.

I will probably do something similar with mine for Iron Hands.

Well since i want to build a scouring era force of AL, mixing armor would fit well, scrounging afterall was a big deal.

Albertorius wrote:

Not Online!!! wrote:
How well are these kits going to mix?
Anyone tried that yet?

Well, I've swapped the pads for Mk II-III ones, they're the same size:

Spoiler:

Old heads are a bit bigger (wider, more than anything), but I don't know about arms.

well the pads and the arms were always the same size, mostly the legs seem to be the "issue" zone albeit i reckon trosos aswell. Good to know about the helmets.

many thanks for the help.

I've managed to put some old CSM arms on the new MkVI's with no issue (besides clipping the little bits on the body join). I'll be trying some new CSM arms as well.

Not Online!!! wrote:
How well are these kits going to mix?
Anyone tried that yet?

Based on my early experiments, the new MKVI torsos are pretty much compatible with the entire old Space Marine bits range. You can swap arms, heads, weapons, shoulderpads and so on. The backpack connection point has changed, so you'd need to carve out excess plastic from older backpacks if you wanted to use them, but even they can be retrofitted to the new torso.

You can also use the new MKVI plastic weapons on the old models, assuming you use the MKVI kit arms to go with them. Bits sellers should have spare MKVI arms in stock sooner or later. You could use the MKVI arms on many of the old models, except for maybe like MKIII, which have different looking arms than the rest; greenstuffing extra detail on the arms might help?

I'm not 100% sure yet if it's possible to transplant armour chestpieces from the old bits into the new torso. My first imoressions say the new chestpiece is slightly wider, but that might just be some optical anomaly, I have not measured the chestpiece width yet.

 tauist wrote:

Not Online!!! wrote:
How well are these kits going to mix?
Anyone tried that yet?

Based on my early experiments, the new MKVI torsos are pretty much compatible with the entire old Space Marine bits range. You can swap arms, heads, weapons, shoulderpads and so on. The backpack connection point has changed, so you'd need to carve out excess plastic from older backpacks if you wanted to use them, but even they can be retrofitted to the new torso.

You can also use the new MKVI plastic weapons on the old models, assuming you use the MKVI kit arms to go with them. Bits sellers should have spare MKVI arms in stock sooner or later. You could use the MKVI arms on many of the old models, except for maybe like MKIII, which have different looking arms than the rest; greenstuffing extra detail on the arms might help?

I'm not 100% sure yet if it's possible to transplant armour chestpieces from the old bits into the new torso. My first imoressions say the new chestpiece is slightly wider, but that might just be some optical anomaly, I have not measured the chestpiece width yet.

That meassureing would be very much appreciated, my personal inklination is, since they are in essence like the new CSM, that the chest is indeed a bit too small, granted since i need to fit scales somewhere on the model that wouldn't be an issue, but if the whole point was to get that sweet MK3 torso chest then that would be counter productive...

Not Online!!! wrote:

 tauist wrote:

Not Online!!! wrote:
How well are these kits going to mix?
Anyone tried that yet?

Based on my early experiments, the new MKVI torsos are pretty much compatible with the entire old Space Marine bits range. You can swap arms, heads, weapons, shoulderpads and so on. The backpack connection point has changed, so you'd need to carve out excess plastic from older backpacks if you wanted to use them, but even they can be retrofitted to the new torso.

You can also use the new MKVI plastic weapons on the old models, assuming you use the MKVI kit arms to go with them. Bits sellers should have spare MKVI arms in stock sooner or later. You could use the MKVI arms on many of the old models, except for maybe like MKIII, which have different looking arms than the rest; greenstuffing extra detail on the arms might help?

I'm not 100% sure yet if it's possible to transplant armour chestpieces from the old bits into the new torso. My first imoressions say the new chestpiece is slightly wider, but that might just be some optical anomaly, I have not measured the chestpiece width yet.

That meassureing would be very much appreciated, my personal inklination is, since they are in essence like the new CSM, that the chest is indeed a bit too small, granted since i need to fit scales somewhere on the model that wouldn't be an issue, but if the whole point was to get that sweet MK3 torso chest then that would be counter productive...

All right. I was planning on trying out a chestplate swap for (at least) one of my beakies, so I'll make that my next assembly task this weekend. Will report back.

Not Online!!! wrote:

 tauist wrote:

Not Online!!! wrote:
How well are these kits going to mix?
Anyone tried that yet?

Based on my early experiments, the new MKVI torsos are pretty much compatible with the entire old Space Marine bits range. You can swap arms, heads, weapons, shoulderpads and so on. The backpack connection point has changed, so you'd need to carve out excess plastic from older backpacks if you wanted to use them, but even they can be retrofitted to the new torso.

You can also use the new MKVI plastic weapons on the old models, assuming you use the MKVI kit arms to go with them. Bits sellers should have spare MKVI arms in stock sooner or later. You could use the MKVI arms on many of the old models, except for maybe like MKIII, which have different looking arms than the rest; greenstuffing extra detail on the arms might help?

I'm not 100% sure yet if it's possible to transplant armour chestpieces from the old bits into the new torso. My first imoressions say the new chestpiece is slightly wider, but that might just be some optical anomaly, I have not measured the chestpiece width yet.

That meassureing would be very much appreciated, my personal inklination is, since they are in essence like the new CSM, that the chest is indeed a bit too small, granted since i need to fit scales somewhere on the model that wouldn't be an issue, but if the whole point was to get that sweet MK3 torso chest then that would be counter productive...

Okay, I started planning a chestplate swap for a 2021 MKVI torso. Good news first, the chest width is actually in line with the old bits! Bad news next, the chestpiece will not fit flush against the new backside piece (which has a completely new edge silhouette than the old one!), even after moderate cutting, I cannot get a flush fit. However, with some skilled razor sawing and putty work, swapping out a chaestplate seems possible. Might end up being easier to actually assemble the MKVI torso first, and then to razorsaw the glued, completed torso assembly open from the top and belt buckle to get a better fitting opening for the old bit..?

Here's some quick picts illustrating the above (apologies, the picts are a lil blurry)