WTF ?

For better mobility, I'd wager. It's hard to bend over and shit if you have armor covering your entire torso. Most modern body armor is constructed this way.

>>54502841
Their combat doctrine involves a lot of trenches and fortifications. Why both putting armor on a section of the body that is always behind cover?

>>54502841
>but an armor that is not covering the softest area in the whole body has no point
It's covering the vital organs in the chest like most modern armors, and as stated before the armor is only useful for human targets, anything else it's basically paper.

It's a breastplate, not a torso plate.

File: marines.jpg (90KB, 1280x720px) Image search: [Google]

90KB, 1280x720px

Point taken, but any modern combat body armor I have ever seen covers at least the guts down to the belly button.

Because the Mechanicus lost the STC for flak armour covering the whole torso?

>>54503030

>>54503030
Depends on the kind. Some bulletproof vest only covers up to the stomach.

>>54502841
They've got guts of steel and balls of brass, those don't need protecting

>>54503063

This makes perfect sense.

Gut armor is lost technology from the dark age of man.

>>54503123
well non-heretical types

I don't make the rules about how Mars works

>>54502841
I think the more important question is- why the shoulder pauldrons?

They look clunky and dont seem to cover anything important. Do tyranids prefer to eat human shoulders?

Because pauldrons size is the standard manhood measurement system according to GW

File: 1393535878044.jpg (63KB, 800x427px) Image search: [Google]

63KB, 800x427px

>>54503162
Shoulders are exposed to shrapnel when standing and gunfire when prone. With helmet and chestplate the shoulders are the most exposed part of the upper body.

BTW why doesn't the ribcage enclose the torso completely? Oh. right.

File: 1499691566040.jpg (118KB, 812x812px) Image search: [Google]

118KB, 812x812px

>>54503162
>40k
>questioning shoulder pads
friend do you know what series this, every imperial citizen needs shoulder [protection

>>54502841
Kevlar is often woven into the fabric of the fatigues themselves. That's why Catachans, Tallarn, Mordians, etc. don't wear similar vest. Neither did Cadians before their plastics. Usually any torso plate was considered carapace armour.

>>54503321
Catachans have sometimes had a worse save. Some guardsmen have more armour than others, going to full body carapace. 40k just isn't flexible enough to represent the inbetweens. Guardsmen should be everywhere from no save to 4+-

>>54503321
so they are basically all wearing soft armour, technically?

>>54503439
>Catachans have sometimes had a worse save.

That was mostly their own codex (and Jungle Fighter doctrine). Rest of the time they had the same 5+. Vostroyans had 4+ save when they were introduced in 4e (through Carapace doctrine), but then dropped to 5+ later, unless you played them as Vets.

In 2e codex IG had 6+/5+ save (6+ normally, 5+ against blasts and templates) and officers had (access to) 4+. Plenty of the officer models had a breastplate on them to represent this, where as basic troopers at tops had a helmet and shoulder pads.

I wouldn't mind if Cadians or "stock" IG went back to a basic fatigues and a lasgun, differentiated between regiments by equipment like lasgun model, style of helmet and shoulder pads, etc. It's make it way easier for GW to make upgrade packs for such kits with a sprue of heads, guns and pads, plus some decorative bits as well.

1. The cloth covering the stomach is armor, it just doesn't have the reinforcing plate over it like the chest does

2. What makes you think Cadian armor is the imperial guard standard? That's the kit of one planet and its colonies, nothing more.

File: Malcador's_Chosen.jpg (271KB, 550x468px) Image search: [Google]

271KB, 550x468px

>use Cadians in 30k
>cause assburgerism

RIP AND TEAR guardsman's guts.

>>54503614

Did the Imperial Guards equipment / armour change that much to their 40k counterparts?

>>54503259

Well it does for space marines.

>>54504440
Marine ribs turn into plates that overlap, they don't fuse together.

>>54502841
Budget cuts.

The munitorium must equip billions of guard. The savings from reducing the amount of armor by 1/5, saves untold trillions of thrones in production, shipping, and maintenance.