Space Marines, the genetically engineered supersoldiers from Warhammer 40,000, are significantly larger than “normal” humans. Accordingly, they naturally use completely oversized equipment. How big their guns really are has now been illustrated by a fan… but perhaps a bit exaggerated.
Through the many representations in video games and artworks, one can quickly forget how much larger the Astartes actually are compared to us humans. On average, Space Marines are 2.50 meters tall – many of the Primarchs, the first sons of the Emperor, are even a good bit taller.
Space Marines are genetically enhanced soldiers, literal superhumans with supernatural powers. They have additional organs and use equipment that is simply not made for humans. For one fan, however, that was no obstacle. He wanted a lifelike bolter and simply built one himself. You can admire his result on Reddit:
What kind of weapon is this? Bolters are perhaps the most famous weapon from Warhammer 40,000. The futuristic guns fire explosive projectiles, essentially small grenades, with armor-piercing effects. If you want to know more: Here’s how bolters work and what variations exist.
On Reddit, the user Bazcardz has now built an Astartes bolter, or a boltgun, in “1:1 scale” from foam, as he writes himself. For comparison, he provides several references:
- A Pepsi can is about half as tall and three times as narrow as the magazine.
- When standing, the barrel clearly towers over a kitchen counter.
- The entire weapon is bigger and wider than the torso of an adult man.
For the detail lovers among you: The boltgun is painted in the colors of the Ultramarines and carries some purity seals that the user also made. But: How realistic is this size actually?
You could just drop it on someone
How does the weapon hold up? In the over 240 comments, most users doubt that a bolter would actually have such an absurd size. A Primarch could perhaps carry the weapon – a “normal” Space Marine less so.
Sure, Astartes are big, but not THAT big. However, there are also comments with pictures showing official artworks (on Reddit) and there the size of the weapon actually seems more accurate.
And we also did a bit of research. Space Marine 2, one of the newer shooters for Warhammer 40,000, portrays Space Marines extremely faithfully, something that Games Workshop paid great attention to. You can see a comparative image of Titus, a Primaris Marine, with an officer from Cadia here:
Titus Bolter may not be quite that big compared to Bazcardz’s, but it’s very close.
Either way, the work is pretty cool and impressively shows the scale of Warhammer 40,000: “Jesus, you could just drop it on someone and that would kill them.” (OdysseusTheBroken on Reddit)
In general, one doesn’t have to be too strict when it comes to sizes. Games Workshop itself has trouble getting scales right, and after all, the bolter is painted. The most important thing is that the barrel is drilled out! (A common meme, because an open barrel looks better and more realistic on the miniatures, but is often forgotten).
By the way: There are also bolters in human size
, used by high-ranking officers of the Astra Militarum, the Inquisition, and especially the warrior-priestesses of the Adepta Sororitas. However, most Astartes equipment is not suitable for humans.
So the size of the bolter may not be all that far from “reality”. At least one of the most famous Space Marines, the Traitor Horus Lupercal, has quite a substantial size, as one user has impressively shown. In her project, even a single leg of the Primarch is larger than she is: “Yes, this is his actual size” – Fan builds a statue of the greatest traitor from Warhammer 40,000, community wonders how it fits into the house
