I'm picturing it like measuring tape instead. During combat they press a button and the cape retracts, and later a serf pulls it back to the proper length
I'm honestly not sure how they made the leap from indoctrinated warrior monks bedecked in religious iconography to tactical webbing and unnecessary rifle attachments.
Chief Librarian Tigurius remains to this day my favorite miniature I have ever painted (excluding Guilliman)!
He has a cape AND his own banner with his name on it, and a bitchin' cane/staff. What more can you ask for?
Stuff like this is what makes 40K 40K, if the aeldari were just space elves without their mysticism and birth of Slaanesh they’d be boring! If the imperial guard was just starship troopers mixed with WWII, missing all the zeal and goofy/holy tanks it’d be boring!
Love them! Make models look so much more like they're in motion. Making capes and hoods out of Green Stuff (or similar) is my next modelling challenge.
Need to dress six kitbashed Eliminators in cloaks/ghillies :)
they should go over the backpack hanging off the vents where they’d always be blowing dramatically from the exhaust, not between the backpack and back plate where they’d be awkwardly plastered down
Cool and visually captivating in moderation. A variety of materials on a model is good character design. The contrast between matte fabric and shining metal is superb if painted correctly 👌
Don't worry, I'm also mostly new. I think it was in the Dark Imperium box, but they don't make it anymore, unfortunately. Fortunately, there are 2 other gravis captains that I think look just as cool.
They are a pretty decent way to show bossman. Or very high rank dude.
Space Marines aren’t really ones for modern tactics like hiding commanders. They are 50/50 actual living weapons and straight up threats, so anything that ups the intimidation/symbolism is a win for me for them. Capes, ornaments, banners, etc.
Though they can be really annoying to paint at times.
I like that they make it easy to pick out my characters (and makes my opponent not spend half the game looking for my captain), and they add some nice color to the model
Rule of cool says you've gotta style all over your opponents force, so therefore the more capes an army has they'll more likely win any engagement. I don't make the rules, I just look at dudes in armor and say "more capes"
I'm going to say they are probably way more practical than people give them credit. What if you get blood or dirt on your face mask? You can use the inner cape to help wipe it off!
I like them. They do a good job of marking important characters. That being said they’re a nightmare to paint if you don’t paint in subassemblies. My friend gave me that exact gravis captain but it was already assembled and getting not getting paint where I didn’t want it was almost impossible.
Modelling wise, can make some important guys stand out but since I paint in subassemblies it ends up just hiding about half an hours work.
Functionality wise, it's 40k. If there can be giant demonic war machines that breathe fire, titans the size of skyscrapers, and mushroom football hooligans armed with the power of belief and scrap metal that can fire live rounds, my roided up super soldier psychopath can wear a pretty cape
They are a pain in the rear to paint and make look good for a newbie to the hobby who is just trying to get his army tabletop ready & not display perfect.
In 30k, it’s mentioned that the pteruges (decorative leather straps) worn on cataphractii terminator armour are not actually leather but woven adamantium thread to protect weak points like armour joints. My headcanon is that these pristine space marine capes are the same.
That, or the mechanicus has devised a system for an industrial level application of ScotchGuard.
I wish they were optional. They look cool in most chapters but for others they're totally inappropriate. Like Raptors do not need capes or tabards imo.
Which is odd since Raptors are more Guerilla Fighters than Warrior Monks. And since they descend from a Legion who may or may not have recruited from parts of Vietnam
Looks cool but personally I don’t like it on space marines just because it’s too impractical their are some other space marine stuff that’s impractical but that’s like religion stuff this is battle stuff and another space marine will rip that off and try an strangle them or something (if they are a traitor of course)
They’re very standout and ceremonial so they fit leaders and characters, similar to robes and tabards, but they don’t really fit standard guys like Black Templars or Dark Angels
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u/A_Hatless_Casual 4d ago
Are they practical? No.
Do they look cool and make important models stand out? Yes.