Mark 3 armour has always been my favourite. The chunky, overlapping panels studded with rivets really bring some of that grimdarkness toWarhammer 40,000– regular Space Marines wearing Mark 8 or 9 are just too clean for me. There’s a knightly vibe to it, like these Marines have cobbled together their version of plate armour in the 31st millennium and are still storming across planets in it 10,000 years later.
It probably helps that I’m a big Iron Hands fan, too. The tenth legion was the perfect accompaniment to myMechanicusforces as far back as I can remember – the Mechanicum didn’t even have a Codex at this point, so I ran them as Guard – and they look resplendent in that bulky, old school armour. Iron Armour for Iron Hands, it’s a natural fit.
However, the new plastic kit of Mark 3 Space Marines just doesn’t have that magic. Available to pre-order as part of the new MKIII Tactical Squad, there’s something just not quite right about the new kit.
The armour plates are problematic, for starters. What was chunky and exaggerated is now sleek and smoother. The rivets are less pronounced and the plates less cobbled-together. Sure, they look more like the elite fighting force the Angels of Death should be, but they’ve lost a lot of character.
This is even more pronounced the higher up the body you go. The new Mark 3 shoulder pads are even more egregious than the bodies, the latter are at least upscaled to better fit alongside the Primaris forces that Games Workshop is pushing us to play with. The rims are thinner, looking more akin to Mark 7 armour than the classic Mark 3.
The thick additional pauldron plates are skinnier too, making these 30k warriors look like Diet Marines. If I pick up any of the new plastics for my Iron Hands, I’ll be grabbing some old-style shoulder pads to kit them out with. However, the shoulders are beautiful compared to the heads.
I don’t even know where to begin with the new helmets. They look squashed and flat, and design-wise seem to fit somewhere between Mark 1 and Mark 2. There’s very little resemblance to the Mark 3 of old, which were a huge part in the iconic look of the old armour. The heavy-duty grill that looked like it could swing up to reveal your Space Marines’ mouths looked like something donned by a knight of the round table or futuristic Bretonnian, and now it has no personality at all.
I suspect Death Guard players will be happy with the new heads, as they look straight out of the Chaos range. The devotees of Nurgle will likely be interested in swapping parts with those of us painting up other legions, although that’s little relief in the grand scheme of things.
Mark 3 armour used to ooze personality. Unfortunately the updated plastics have removed all of that in lieu of bringing the range in line with modern design standards. Mark 3 is supposed to be bulky and unwieldy, built to survive suicidal boarding actions and come out unscathed. Games Workshop has reduced the armour to something far more generic, pouring any charm into the helmet instead. A helmet which looks almost comedic in style, and far removed from the heavy-duty visor of old. I’m not going to scream clickbait that Games Workshop has RUINED Mark 3 armour or anything, because this is a salvageable kit with a little work, but it’s safe to say that it missed the mark. Get it?
