White Scars colour scheme

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**JetPilot**

I'm going to paint some of my Astartes as White Scars and I would like to be as much accurate to the lore as I can. So I have some issues which I wasn't able to resolve with codexes and other sources.
First is colour of the trim on their shoulder pads, depending of source I found it white or red. What's the meaning of this difference in WS army?
What colour sheme Scars use on their Stormseers (Librarians) and Chaplains?
And, finally, as I understood well, they are using dreadnoughts, but in very limited number?

**Galef**

JetPilot wrote:
And, finally, as I understood well, they are using dreadnoughts, but in very limited number?

Not sure about the rest of your question, but this is mostly true. They do use Dreads and probably have as many as any other Codex-compliant Chapter, but as WS have a tactical focus on speed, their Dreads don't show up very often in the fluff

-

**JetPilot**

I've read somewhere (codex propably) that beeing "imprisoned" in dreadnought, for WS is against their philosophy and tribal tradition.

**Anfauglir**

JetPilot wrote:
First is colour of the trim on their shoulder pads, depending of source I found it white or red. What's the meaning of this difference in WS army?
What colour sheme Scars use on their Stormseers (Librarians) and Chaplains?
And, finally, as I understood well, they are using dreadnoughts, but in very limited number?

White Scars are a Codex Chapter, so as far as I'm aware I think they follow the Codex in terms of heraldry. So shoulder pad trim is based on company; white = 1st company veterans, red = 3rd company, etc. Again, following codex, Librarians would have blue armour and Chaplains black armour (Techpriest red, Apothecary white, etc). Finally then tend to favour fast-attack tactics/options, but, again, as a codex chapter I'm sure they also have a few/use Dreads, too. Look on these as general guidelines rather than actual rules... they're still Your Guys at the end of day, so you can be as creative and flexible as you like, really.

**JetPilot**

They are quite close to Codex but they some difference in colours. For example company marking is tribal painting on sergeant's right leg, red helmets are for veterans etc. So I want to gather all official info before I'll start improvising.
If I won't find anything better white trim will be for tacticals and heavy support and red for fast units.

**BrianDavion**

Anfauglir wrote:
JetPilot wrote:
First is colour of the trim on their shoulder pads, depending of source I found it white or red. What's the meaning of this difference in WS army?
What colour sheme Scars use on their Stormseers (Librarians) and Chaplains?
And, finally, as I understood well, they are using dreadnoughts, but in very limited number?

White Scars are a Codex Chapter, so as far as I'm aware I think they follow the Codex in terms of heraldry. So shoulder pad trim is based on company; white = 1st company veterans, red = 3rd company, etc. Again, following codex, Librarians would have blue armour and Chaplains black armour (Techpriest red, Apothecary white, etc). Finally then tend to favour fast-attack tactics/options, but, again, as a codex chapter I'm sure they also have a few/use Dreads, too. Look on these as general guidelines rather than actual rules... they're still Your Guys at the end of day, so you can be as creative and flexible as you like, really.

actually shoudlerpad trim isn't dependant on company, they use a red marking on the armor as seen here

the shoudler pad trim being white or red may just be a personal preferance thing go with what you like

**Anfauglir**

Well, I did say "as far as I'm aware I think..." I'm not that savvy on White Scars lore, to be honest. But yes, a quick look on the 40K wiki and I stand corrected;

warhammer40k.wikia.com wrote:
The White Scars' Power Armour is predominantly white, with red trim. This has only varied slightly since the Pre-Heresy days of the Vth Legion. Apothecaries of the White Scars have their entire armour painted red save for the backpack, right shoulder and the helmet which are all white and have a red vertical stripe painted down the centre of the helmet. The White Scars base their Chapter iconography on the imagery used by the tribes from which they are recruited. This usually takes the form of jagged lightning bolt designs painted onto their armour and helmets, echoing ritual scarification applied to the flesh beneath. In addition, the White Scars display their company and squad markings on their knees or greaves as opposed to showing them on their shoulder guards. The red-coloured squad specialty symbol (Tactical, Assault, Devastator, or Veteran) is indicated on the right shoulder guard while the Chapter iconography is painted on the left shoulder guard. Squad markings are displayed on the left knee plate. Sergeants also bear the company markings upon their armour's right greave. White Scars Bikers' helmets usually display Chogorian tribal markings.

Spoiler:

I couldn't find anything about the colours for their chaplains, librarians or techpriests, but they might be different too based on their apothecary. Anyone else know?

**sempthegreat**

BrianDavion wrote:
Anfauglir wrote:
JetPilot wrote:
First is colour of the trim on their shoulder pads, depending of source I found it white or red. What's the meaning of this difference in WS army?
What colour sheme Scars use on their Stormseers (Librarians) and Chaplains?
And, finally, as I understood well, they are using dreadnoughts, but in very limited number?

White Scars are a Codex Chapter, so as far as I'm aware I think they follow the Codex in terms of heraldry. So shoulder pad trim is based on company; white = 1st company veterans, red = 3rd company, etc. Again, following codex, Librarians would have blue armour and Chaplains black armour (Techpriest red, Apothecary white, etc). Finally then tend to favour fast-attack tactics/options, but, again, as a codex chapter I'm sure they also have a few/use Dreads, too. Look on these as general guidelines rather than actual rules... they're still Your Guys at the end of day, so you can be as creative and flexible as you like, really.

actually shoudlerpad trim isn't dependant on company, they use a red marking on the armor as seen here

the shoudler pad trim being white or red may just be a personal preferance thing go with what you like

Why did GW paint them all white, without the red trim, in the 7th and 8th ED codex then?

**BrianDavion**

personal preferance?

**Corennus**

Base coat of Ceramite White, layer coat of White Scar (!!)

Base coat of whateve red you like for the shoulder trim and jagged scars. then highlight of Blood Red.

Auric gold for chestplate toned down with Imperial Primer?

**Bobug**

Corennus wrote:
Base coat of Ceramite White, layer coat of White Scar (!!)

Base coat of whateve red you like for the shoulder trim and jagged scars. then highlight of Blood Red.

Auric gold for chestplate toned down with Imperial Primer?

For the white on mine I use ulthuan grey, shade with a wash made of fenrisian grey thinned down, then reblock with ulthuan grey. Then highlight morrow white from p3. Ceramite white is a shocking paint and if you use an absolute white for a base colour then shades and highlights dont look as good imo.

On topic. Its pretty much all been covered I think. Scars are vert tribal and individual fluffwise compared to most other chapters. (Think mongols)

The dreadnaught fluff I think could go either way but supposedly they try to avoid it as its an affront to the warrior spirit to imprison it withina shell.

But at the end of the day theyre your dudes. Build and paint them how YOU want.

**Nevelon**

Here is one example of a librarian:

Lower left.

**foostick**

What book is that from?

**tneva82**

Might be by looks of it old white dwarf index astartes series so presumably one that is about librarians.

**Crimson Devil**

It's from the Index Astartes articles from White Dwarf back in 3rd edition.

The White Scars have been in a state of flux since 3rd edition.

3rd - Red trim, prior to IA articles they had Dreads. Post IA they didn't. Organizationally they are not a codex chapter.

4th - Mostly ignored

5th - Codex chapter all the way. They have Dreads again because the WD staff wanted to use the marines from the starter kit in a battle report.

6th - They start to get a little codex divergent again using their own unit identification. Mostly a codex chapter.

7th - Formations return some of the 3rd edition flavor, but still largely a codex chapter.

8th - Codex Chapter

**Nevelon**

As others have said, the old circa 3rd edition Index Astartes article on librarians. Snapped the pic a while ago, so I forget if it’s from the Chapter Approved book or the WD.

**AndrewGPaul**

Note that the Dark Angels librarian next to the White Scar is also in that same scheme - full Chapter colours except for the right arm, and the Raven Guard terminator above is similar. Based on that, and the Ultramarine Techmarine in CHapter blue, I'd say that any amount of the "specialist colour", from a single shoulder all the way up to the entire armour, is generally OK.

Shoulder pad trims depicting company is one Codex-approved way of showing the company a Marine is in. The Blood Angels' use of shoulder pad symbols (which is what the Space Wolves do too, come to think of it

) and the Dark Angels using symbols on the knees is just as valid. Some chapters use the colour of the chest eagle.

**Gashrog**

They basically follow the Blood Angels lead: Back at the dawn of time - RT rulebook - every chapter had a secondary colour which was used for a stripe on the marines helmet, Blood Angels had black, White Scars had red. When Mk7 armour came along GW ditched the helmet stripe and shifted the secondary colour to the shoulder rim with a yellow/gold chest eagle, then late 3rd/early 4th edition they decided to have the rims match the pad and shifted the secondary colour to the chest eagle instead.