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With a space marine's equipment being somewhere between a medieval knight and a modern tank there is a wide breadth of technology to take inspiration from. So, I'm curious how everyone imagines the maintenance of astartes powered armor. Is it highly automated with self-repair programs and requires no additional help when assembling? Or maybe you like a more medieval setting with each space marine having a servitor or squire?

I personally like a more industrial style where space marines will have an entire pit crew to help with arming and repairs. This super soldier would come off the battlefield and be swarmed by serfs. Replacing parts and patching scars and recalibrating systems to get this astartes back on the field as quickly as possible.

It’ll likely vary Chapter to Chapter.

Space Wolves for instance often inherit suits of armour. I think it was the 2nd Ed Codex where if a recruit had a blood relation that made the grade, they’d inherit that Marine’s armour.

Most Space Marines will also embellish their own armour, and tend to do at least basic maintenance (oiling, lapping, polishing) themselves.

However, more involved repairs (replacing plates, servos, cables etc) is a job for the Tech-Marines. But even then, I suspect but can’t prove that say, Iron Hands do more types of maintenance than other Chapters, given their general proclivity toward technology.

Each Power Armor set is stored in a small alcove-like chamber, normally taken apart and the pieces neatly tucked away in various containers within the chamber. They are only taken out when the owner space marine checks on them once in a few days or so, depending on the space marine's dedication towards his wargear. If the armor needs maintenance then the space marine does as much as he can, or calls the armorers who bring the armor to the foundry for repairs and then deliver it back to its place ASAP.

When the space marine expects to be deployed he goes to the chamber and sets up the Power Armor on a frame in the chamber in a solemn ritual. NOBODY except another Anointed Warrior of the Emperor (guardsman, storm trooper, battle sister, another space marine initiate or neophyte, Titan Princeps, and their likes) can be present and even they can only participate in the preparation when specifically asked. Anyone else (including chapter serfs) can only trespass at a threat of death, tho Mechanicum personnel usually get some leeway for being around.

When deployment comes the space marine gets into his prepared Power Armor swiftly and without much ado. Trespassers are tolerated due to how quick and pragmatic the process is supposed to be, while other Anointed Warriors are welcome to help. The space marine just jumps into his armor, takes his weapon and gear from the rack, checks his equipment, then goes to his assembly area in as short time as possible. During mass deployments all the Warriors gear up together in enormous Halls of War, mixing into a single giant mass where every mind and heart is set to one single purpose: War. A guardsman bore-sights a space marine's boltgun and the space marine checks a storm trooper's carapace armor and battle sisters sing hymns of hatred and retribution for all to hear.

Pretty sure it varies.

IIRC, tech priests are usually responsible for patching up and replacing damaged armor sections. Obviously tech priests are normally responsible for maintaining the more exotic chapter wargear like conversion beamers as well. Salamanders seem to be expected to handle more of their own maintenance and repair as part of their philosophy of self-sufficiency. Basic maintenance like being able to dis/re-assemble and clean a bolter is handled by the wielder of that bolter.

In Mark of Faith, we see sisters of battle have dedicated serfs who handle maintenance and repairs of power armor, so it's not unreasonable to think some chapters have serfs for the same. There's also a bit in the Iron Warriors Omnibus where we see that a chaos marine has a slave tasked with cleaning the gore from his armor.

I vaguely recall one BL story or another talking about how the tech priest had run out of modern pauldrons for a specific type of armor, so they'd had to use one of the studded Heresy era pauldrons instead.

As for actually putting the armor on...
* Pit crew serfs seem likely. In Mark of Faith, two human serfs are just barely able to lift up a sororitas-sized pauldron and lock it in place.
* We've seen AL marines suit up mid-mission after sneaking their armor in separately from themselves. So apparently putting the armor on by yourself is a (slow) option.
* In one of the Ahriman novels, a Thousand Son just telekinetically assembles his armor around himself.
* There's also this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3DsHGDRQ5M

Generally, marines seem to prefer to keep their armor on for long periods of time. If your gauntlet or pauldron get shattered during a fight, you're probably just going to go without until the next time you return to base. Carrying around replacement armor doesn't seem to be a thing. Although I believe rhinos and thunderhawks are typically stocked with a bunch of spare weapons.

Regardless of Chapter, outsiders are a no-no.
Those tithed to the Chapter such as Serfs are discounted because in many cases they function as little more than a part of the Astartes collective wargear/possessions. It is a deeply spiritual moment for Astartes and is often accompanied by Oaths of Moment to their Battle Brothers or Chapter.

This is what I think of

Especially the bit with the cigar!

It would depend on the chapter's culture. Some might have the armor be maintained by a central armory, the marine turns in his armor after each mission and it is maintained by the Tech Marines and serfs/servitors of the chapter. Others might have it be a more personal affair, with a marine maintaining his own armor with the aid of personal serfs and a servitor, with a tech marine helping for the major problems. The latter seems more common in chapters that have a lot of tech skill, like the Salamanders.

As for physically putting it on and off, the Marine probably has help when doing so under normal conditions regardless of chapter. Though I would assume that every marine would be capable of taking it on and off by himself if necessary. Again, it might vary by chapter. Perhaps it is more akin to a pit crew on a race track for some, for others it is like a Knight and a trusted squire in a more personal ritual.

Real life Knights were all capable of putting their own armor on and off, but they used a squire when they had one available. If nothing else, it reduces the time it takes.

Something tells me that Salamanders both create & repair their own armour & weapons. Now there are "vintage" suits that would be entrusted to an astartes but since every son of Vulkan is an artificer, upkeep/modification/repair is an individual astartes basis level of knowledge.

Easier way to look at how the various chapters don the armour, would be to examine the legion/chapters culture. Do they give zero feths about "normies"? They probably wouldn't want to sully the God-Emperors divine retribution givers/protectors with their hands.
Do they care for them, then you probably get the Ultramarine in the video above.
Then you get those that even tho they like regular humans, belive that it is their duty to maintain by codex standards but internalized.

 Flinty wrote:
This is what I think of

Especially the bit with the cigar!

Spoiler:

Oh, definitely! But the Imperium is much too anachronistic for something so automated. Why use one machine when you can have ten surfs complete the same task in twice the time?

I'm sure some chapters have machines to do that stuff, again it would depend on their individual levels of technology.

How about something actually practical and realistic: the armour is designed for the user to put in on themselves. Maybe with some difficulty so SM prefer help of comrade if they need to do it in the field, but the option must be there. Gear that can't be disassembled/serviced in the field when there is a problem is utterly useless in normal warfare, never mind high intensity one SM do. You don't need 10 slaves and other gak doing it, though I suppose some dumber/backward chapters might do so anyway.

I hate the stupid gak about Salamanders crafting everything themselves. No, that's stupid nonsense. Embellishments, sure. Making armor plate? Fine. Doing muscles, sensors, etc, etc? Nope. That would either require the armour to be really primitive or the Salamanders really gak at fighting seeing they wasted all the time learning a whole other job (or other Chapters to be stupidly lazy seeing they never seem to use the time Salamanders did into anything productive). Yes, BA and WS have arts program but it's just a hobby and requires nowhere near the time and skill crafting a really expensive, personal war machine would make.

The maintenance? Done by professional human crews overseen by techmarine. No slaves, no serfs, none of that stupid gak. Slaves don't make good mechanics now, they won't make them in M41. At best, you will get sloppy, inadequate job, at worst, sabotage. Sure, some Chapters might be dumb enough to try it anyway but keeping wargear is really precise, delicate job you need best people on. Otherwise, all the years or even decades you put into training SM will come to waste first time something breaks or jams at bad moment. Period.

On a side note, I don't get how there are still any 'vintage' armours when stupid lore has apothecary saw it open to extract organs and stuff like melta and plasma vaporizes big chunks right off. I'd bet techmarines just have the plates scanned and every time a big part goes missing, they just 3D print outside replacement bits, swap whatever mechanisms were damaged and pretend nothing happened. Who knows, maybe that's why 'relic' armours seem to be better quality, because unlike worn down normal suits, they actually have brand new parts

 Irbis wrote:
Doing muscles, sensors, etc, etc? Nope. That would either require the armour to be really primitive or the Salamanders really gak at fighting seeing they wasted all the time learning a whole other job

You don't think a person who lives for literally hundreds of years can be both a proficient soldier AND know extremely technical stuff?

Being a capable warrior and a really smart/technically minded person are not mutually exclusive.

Plenty of normal humans are both of these things. Never mind a person who has a super human body and lives at least 4 times as long as a normal human, all while not needing to sleep as much.

I think it mainly depends on what armour are you talking about.

Scout armour

You could probly put on yourself, it would take a little time and you would need to get a brother to check your spine conections

Basic Power armour.
Again you could put this on yourself but it would take AGES, and checking the ports and pugs are clean conected would take the longest part of it. Getting a brother or tec priest to help you and then you help them would be best...

Terminator armour.
ok this is an Iorn man stile sevo' job, you can forget getting into or out of this in the field. mabie you can take off the faceplate for qucik swaps in the field but if you get magor damage or wounded. your going to get telaported out of there for pro help.

Other armour.
since the other types of marine armour are basicaly over armour they would probbly be step in step out..

Didn't they release a video half a year ago showing this?

LOL, if Jarms48 hadn’t linked that I would have. Anyways, the only thing I’ll add is that the video is portraying earning the armor for the first time. So normal donning shouldn’t be as elaborate or take place in that big of a chamber.

True, and it's a great video. But we also have artwork like this.



I was also reading the latest Iron Snakes book and it describes a marine donning armor alone. He merely presses the plate into place and then locking mechanisms shifted and locked the plate in place. So we have a number of sources with differing perspective on how laborious powered armor can be. None of this is surprising, 40k tech is deliberately inconsistent.

TreeStewges wrote:
LOL, if Jarms48 hadn’t linked that I would have. Anyways, the only thing I’ll add is that the video is portraying earning the armor for the first time. So normal donning shouldn’t be as elaborate or take place in that big of a chamber.

If you're quoting the description of that video, than you're mistaken, since that particular description is not from the original video. I don't know why Gamespot added that, but the original post from WC heavily implies that this rite is definitely a common occurence, and not a one time thing.