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Hello everyone, as I am starting to collect models for my planned Air Assault army I am still trying to decide between what regiment to run / build them as. At first I was dead set on creating an Elysian drop troops regiment, however the cost of such a venture is making me hesitate. That got me thinking about my first Imperial Guard army, the Armageddon Steel Legion and thinking about it why wouldn't they have a few Air Assault Regiments? When looking at their fluff:

-Massive Forgeworld, primarily for the development and construction of Chimeras, however they would also construct all sorts of weapons, vehicles and other armaments for the Imperium.

-Over 90% of their standing forces are made up of Mechanized Infantry leaving the remaining 10% to be made up of different kinds of Regiments. Based on the nature of their foe tactically it would make sense for them to have an Air Assault Regiment to rapidly respond to or columns out in the Ash Wastes.

-Everyone would be mounted in a Valkyrie living up to the Lord at the Steel Legion always ride into battle.

-Countless years of total war on their home planet have hardened them into veterans capable of learning and executing new and various forms of combat. Comparing them to the professional armies of Cadia.

Let me know what you guys think in regards to do you feel it would make sense for Steel Legion Air Assault regiment to exist?

Nope.

They don't produce Valkyries, that's their whole schtick about being the "Steel Legion"--they produce the stuff at home.

Airborne IG regiments are supposed to be really rare. The vast majority of worlds don't have them, and the only drop troop regiments we have seen come from worlds that specialise entirely in airborne infantry regiments (Elysia and Harakon).
Also, the Steel Legion troops totally do not fit the aesthetic of airborne infantry. They do not have any proper equipment and do not look like drop troops at all.
You could easily make up your own airborne IG regiments with alternate miniatures if you want to, but the Steel Legion just don't fit imo.

Armageddon Airborne units as described sound feasible and useful, but I agree that the gas masks and trenchcoats look doesn't fit with it very well.

I'd suggest using Cadian and Catachan units to make them.

Ironically, the Steel Legion models are wearing a uniform based on fallschirmjager tunics (not "trenchcoats"; they don't even reach the knees!).

The Steel Legion have been mostly portrayed as mechanised infantry regiments (and possibly armoured and artillery regiments; it's been a while since I leafed through IA1), but there's no real reason why they couldn't be airborne. Whether they have their own aircraft or are transported by a Navy unit is up to you; the latter is most common, but it's 40k, so there's always exceptions.

After all, there's examples of an Imperial Guard regiment flying Thunderbolt fighters and a Catachan airborne regiment (technically the planes are Navy, but they've been together that long that everyone's forgotten that).

 AndrewGPaul wrote:
Ironically, the Steel Legion models are wearing a uniform based on fallschirmjager tunics (not "trenchcoats"; they don't even reach the knees!).

The Steel Legion have been mostly portrayed as mechanised infantry regiments (and possibly armoured and artillery regiments; it's been a while since I leafed through IA1), but there's no real reason why they couldn't be airborne. Whether they have their own aircraft or are transported by a Navy unit is up to you; the latter is most common, but it's 40k, so there's always exceptions.

After all, there's examples of an Imperial Guard regiment flying Thunderbolt fighters and a Catachan airborne regiment (technically the planes are Navy, but they've been together that long that everyone's forgotten that).

Their coats go beyond their knees.
I also was not aware Fallschirmjäger wore gasmasks. The only similarity between ww2 Fallschirmjäger and the Steel Legion is the rounded helmet (which is not the same, just somewhat similar). I don't think wearing gasmasks and long coats is a very good idea when jumping out of an aircraft with a rocket pack.

Fallschirmjäger:

Steel Legion:


Of course, you could always find excuses to make it work, but the Steel Legion really does not fit an airborne aesthethic.

Guard drop troops don't use rocket packs, they use Grav Chutes (or Grav Gliders in the case of the Harakoni).

A rocket pack just sounds like a bad idea for a drop-trooper if you somehow get turned around the wrong way mid-insertion.

Also, the Steel Legion troops totally do not fit the aesthetic of airborne infantry.

Sure.

Except for the fact that their helmets, ammo belts and coats are clearly based on the Fallschirmjäger, the WW2 German Air Force's paratroopers.

So yeah. Totally don't fit the aesthetic of airborne troops in a retro-futuristic universe.