On "True Scale" Primaris Marines

Ok, I've complained enough lets dive in.

So how different in size are the Primaris marines.  Well, in order to 3d model bits I've done a lot of random measurements on marines over the years. I do this with a drafting caliper and micrometer.  Generally I round these to usable measurements in my modeling software.  I'm nerdy enough to have done this on all the marks of armor and types of armor from various generations of 40k miniatures.  But here I'll isolate my measurements to the most common marine armor (in my collection at least) Mk 6.

So here are my measurements from Mk 6.  These are from newer 40k models, specifically the blood angels release from 7th edition.  Older models are mostly the same with a bit thinner upper legs and arms.

Traditional Space Marine

Head = W 8.5mm x D 8mm x H 7mm (head only) 9.1mm (with neck)

Torso = W 12mm (shoulders) W 9mm (waist) x D 10mm (chest) D 11.5 (with pack mount) x H 10mm (waist to neck) - collar 3mm

Legs  = Thigh W 4.5mm x D 5mm x H 8mm (hip to knee)

-  Lower W 6mm x D 7mm x H 8mm (knee to ankle) [mk 6 legs]

-  Foot W 5mm x D 9.5mm x H 4mm

Arms = Upper W 4.5mm x D 4.5mm x H 7.5mm (Shoulder to elbow)

-  Lower W 4mm x D 4mm x H 5mm (elbow to wrist)

-  hand W 3.5mm x T 2mm x L 3.5mm (from wrist)

-  Fingers L 3.5mm W 1mm

Backpack = W 18mm x D 6.5mm to 4mm x H 15mm

Shoulder Pad = W 10mm x D 6mm x H 8mm thickness 2mm border 1mm

Powerfist = W 9mm x T 5.5mm x L 9mm

        -  Fingers L 7mm W 1.8mm

Bolter = W 3.5mm x L 18mm x H 11mm

Plasmagun = W 4mm x L 22mm x H 8mm

Meltagun = W 3.5mm x L 24mm x H 8mm

Bolt Pistol =  W 3.5mm x L 12mm x H 8.5mm

Sword = W 4.5mm x D 1.5mm x L 31mm hilt W 6.5mm D 2.5mm L 10mm

Axe =  W 12mm x D 3mm x L 28mm pole W 2.5mm L 17mm

Hammer =  W 18mm x D 3mm x L 32mm pole W 2.5mm L 24mm

Spear = W 7mm x D 4mm x L 51mm pole W 2.5mm L 30mm

Note: limb measurements are done from Joint center to joint center

So here is my measurements for the new primaris marines. These are from the Dark Imperium set, when GW releases stand alone kits there might be some variations.  Wherever possible I compared multiple figures to get the measurements averaged.  Some items not in the kit are estimated based on general size comparisons of existing parts but I'll talk about that later.

Primaris Space Marine (MK 10 Default armor mostly)

Head = W 8mm x L 8mm x H 7.2mm (head only) 8.5mm (with neck)

Torso = W 11mm (shoulders) W 9mm (waist) x D 13mm (chest) D 14.5mm (with pack mount) x H 12mm (waist to neck) - collar 2mm

Gravis W 13mm (shoulders) W 18mm (waist) x D 22mm (chest) D 18mm (with pack mount) x H 13mm (waist to neck) - collar 3mm

Legs  = Thigh W 6mm x D 6.5mm x H 9mm (hip to knee)

-  Lower Leg W 7.2mm x D 7.2mm x H 9mm (knee to ankle) [mk 10 legs]

-  Foot W 5.3mm x D 11mm x H 5mm

Gravis W 7mm x D 7mm

Arms = Upper W 4.5mm x D 4.5mm x H 7.5mm (Shoulder to elbow)

-  Lower W 4.5mm x D 4.5mm x H 5.5mm (elbow to wrist)

-  hand W 3.8mm x D 2mm x L 3.5mm (from wrist)

-  Fingers L 4.5mm W 1.2 mm

Gravis W 5.5mm x D 5.5mm

Backpack = W 19mm x D 7mm to 4mm x H 16mm

Shoulder Pad = W 11mm x D 6.5mm x H 8.5mm thickness 2.2mm border 1mm

Gravis Shoulder W 11.5mm x D 6.5mm x H 8mm thickness 2.5mm Chevron 2mm border 1.5mm

Powerfist = W 9mm x T 6mm x L 9mm

        -  Fingers L 7mm W 1.8mm

Bolt Rifle = W 3.5mm x L 23mm x H 11mm [extended 3.5mm @ front]

Plasmagun = W 4mm x L 31mm x H 14mm

Meltagun = W ~3.5mm x L ~28mm x H ~11mm

Bolt Pistol =  W 3.5mm x L 12.5mm x H 8mm

Sword = W 4.5mm x D 1.5mm x L 38mm hilt W 6.5mm D 2.5mm L 12mm

Axe =  W ~14mm x D ~3mm x L ~32mm pole W 2.5mm L ~20mm

Hammer =  W ~21mm x D ~4mm x L ~36mm pole W 2.5mm L ~28mm

Spear = W ~8mm x D ~4mm x L ~60mm pole W 2.5mm L ~38mm

Note: limb measurements are done from Joint center to joint center

Thoughts

So generally the Primaris limb parts are scaled on average by 122% this varies from 112% to 133%. Usually this works out as 133% to the length while 112% to the width.  But this really isn't applied uniformly.  The scaling is really done to make the marine feel bigger without it being scaled to much.  If the marine was uniformly scaled you'd end up with it feeling the same unless it was sitting next to a classic marine.

The torsos are roughly the same, just taller and ever so slightly thicker.  The chest and back are bulked out a tiny bit. Cut the belt off of a classic torso and add a spacer to add height. Then a thin layer of plasticard between the halves could easily make a classic torso thicker to fit Primaris if you wanted.

Arms are roughly the same length so you won't get a lot of problem using the old arms. If you have to change them a tiny bit of length is added to the lower arm. You can do this by adding a spacer to the wrist or maybe just extending the upper arm below the shoulder pad seat.

There are minor tweaks to the shoulder pad size.  This strikes me as odd, the shoulders, particularly on Gravis armor and Inceptor squads, are a bit flatter than classic models but otherwise unchanged.  What I could make out and measure, in spite of the way these crap marines are molded, is that the seat for the shoulder pads look roughly the same. If anything they might be slightly smaller than old marine arms by a few nanometers. We'll see more when GW makes proper Primaris rather than crap marines.  

Legs are trickier.  Pretty much every part is longer.  Adding spacers to the thighs is easy enough on most older legs.  The lower legs tends to be more problematic with the knee pads and decorative elements like eagles and such. The feet are also taller which is interesting. You actually see more of the foot than with old marines. I'd probably cut off the foot and add a plasticard plate on top.  This is mostly in keeping with how true scaling is normally done. Though if i was trying to convert something into primaris marines my goal would be to preserve the lower leg armor so I'd avoid the traditional lower leg spacer.  Instead I'd focus on adding to  the feet and a longer spacer in the thighs.

The new bolters are effectively the same as the old but stretched out by 133%.  you could easily add a 3.5mm spacer right before the barrel.  The plasmagun, sorry hellblaster?, its much longer and has a lot more detail but mostly just seems like the back of a melta gun bolted to a plasmagun. Bolt pistols are identically sized but new sculpts which is cool. Swords are slightly longer but the difference won't be really noticeable. I've estimated a bunch of other weapon sizes.  Mostly they've all grown 30% larger in length and width but their heft and hilts are the same.

Over all modifying primaris is going to be harder because they have a lot of greeblies added by default. They all have holsters, pouches, and crap added on. This is a bit of a disservice to the otherwise good armor design.  Though I will admit they do look more like active military with those addons.

I don't care for the Inceptor armor's added power cables on the legs and arms. It seems out of keeping with the otherwise cleaner design of the new armors.  I'll likely just remove them, because they are stupid.  Please, no one try and justify them to me. The armor the Inceptors are in is significantly bulkier than the normal Mk 10.  there is plenty of room to put the stupid cables between the 2 plates of the normal Mk 10 and the added armor.