How Warhammer 40k’s Iconic Bolter Was Created - Loadout

The Boltgun, also commonly referred to as the Bolter, is most well known for being the primary armament of the Space Marines in Warhammer 40K. From its use in the iconic tabletop game to the virtual representations we see in games like Warhammer 40,000: Fire Warrior and Space Marine, the Boltgun has made an undeniable mark on pop culture. To find out what makes this brutal weapon stand out from the crowd, Dave travelled to Warhammer World in the UK to talk to the very people that created this 80s sci-fi icon.

[@IrregularDave]

Well this was a bloody amazing day at work.... Big thanks to all of the wonderful Games Workshop folk who helped make this happen! Now if you'll excuse me, I have some Sisters of Battle to paint...

[@theinquisitionsparrot6749]

Irregular Dave Noise Marines are better lol

[@brenbo_TM]

A son of sanguinius salutes your painting efforts

[@jameslyddall]

Irregular Dave can I as a new arrival to Warhammer 40k thank the following in this wondefful community that helped me understand the lore: Leutin09, oculus imperia, Arch Warhammer and Grim Dark Narrator who have wonderful content on their channels. In their each respective way I love listening to their videos on the universe of 40k. I wish this can come to netflix someday as a huge budget series.

[@essex3777]

The Blot gun is good all but I WANT THE LASGUN!!!!

[@williamtempelmann852]

@@jameslyddall well your in luck friend, gw lisenced a tv series called eisenhorn, also if you havent already, check out astates mini series, and, "if the emperor had a text to speech device" welcome to the world of warhammer!

[@scruffles3838]

"he just wanted something really brutal" This single phrase describes the entirety of 40k excellently

[@MollymaukT]

the gravely voice was the cherry on top

[@CrizzyEyes]

I think it was actually a little more well-thought out than that. Space Marines have to fight in the vacuum of space, or minimal atmosphere planets/satellites, where traditional firearms won't function due to lack of oxygen. Any planet without enough oxygen in its atmosphere would also pose a problem. A rocket-propelled bullet, however, will function in the vacuum of space or anywhere else.

[@davidearielrossolato978]

@@CrizzyEyes most guns work in space

[@armymedic8]

Crazy Eyes normal guns would work in space, overheating would be a problem though

[@elijahaitaok8624]

@@armymedic8 also oil vaporizing off the firearms too

[@kurtengel4652]

let me tell you of a love story between a rocket launcher and a machine gun

[@Dinitroflurbenzol]

so a GraMaWa is ists sister?

[@nerdwhosawtoomuch3511]

How GW got it's bolter design: "What did you draw there son?" *sees son's huge gun design* "It's beautiful."

[@ZannNewman]

It shoots bullets that explode and has skulls on!!!!

[@johnnyscifi]

It's...GRIM DARK!!!

[@TCRP117]

2. Thin. Coats.

[@markd1328]

Finally an answer that isnt breaking the immaterial

[@bellerophon5602]

All hail Detail Daddy Duncan

[@harbl99]

@@buster7797 Chad Nuln Oil shot.

[@flyingplatypus7272]

Obligatory thin your paints

[@WTFisTingispingis]

THIN YOUR PAINTS.

[@Foxman955]

'Painting can be a calming experience' , me looking at my necron canoptek wraiths, having to paint 24 arms....YEAHSOCALMING

[@IrregularDave]

Tbh painting 30 poxwalkers wasn't that chill either.

[@steweygrrr]

24 arms? Is that all? AAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH CULTIST BLOBS

[@clintlickr]

Foxman955 I’ve never heard a necron player complain about applying grey paint and null oil....

[@steweygrrr]

@@clintlickr to be fair, Necron armies usually contain more than 3 minis these days so I can see where such a player may class 20 as 'a lot'

[@internetzenmaster8952]

_Me looking at my huge Ork army, which still has a good 30% left to prime and paint._ You've got Necrons, you're fine. I've still got at least three mobs of 30 boys to finish... and that's before I get to all the new vehicles I picked up in the last year! _Also looking at my new Sisters of Battle Army and ALL THOSE THRONE-DAMNED TINY DETAILS on their models._ Gork I hope painting is calming, because those tiny details are terrifying to think about painting...

[@Sgt_Glory]

*Space Marine repairing his armour after a battle. *Techmarine walks in, looks him over slowly up and down. ... "THIN YOUR PAINTS, BROTHER."

[@samharradence5689]

2. Thin. Coats.

[@vtr0104]

*Duncan Likes that

[@harbl99]

Verily brother!

[@npc6817]

based be the emperor brother

[@vaiyt]

*screams in brightly colored blobs of horror*

[@heinzschmitt9661]

The Astartes fan-made videos are pretty good at showing how a Boltgun should be.

[@joescarborough8434]

They nailed the detonation sound and the crumping sound the torso makes as it gets hit by one of the mass reactives.

[@sankhyohalder97]

I was hoping they'd feature some clips from it in this video lol

[@dagonofthedepths]

He nailed the bolt round itself but that was definitely in the "fires to fast" side of things.

[@axelhopfinger533]

Except they forgot that any Boltgun can realistically only have about 5 rounds of ammo in its mag and Space Marines would be reloading more than anything else, whilst not carrying any visible ammo reserves anywhere.

[@heliveruscalion9124]

@@axelhopfinger533 it's 40k what do you expect

[@BaronAlden]

I love the bolt gun in Darktide. The gun chews through mobs of enemies insanely fast and is such a fun gun.

[@thepoweroftacos5311]

It's so good

[@NacnudPinky]

It’s a really good weapon to run for support of close range characters and combat and if it had a scope rather than iron sights it would be so much easier to use as a mid to long range elite killer. With the iron sights, it’s hard to decide when the sights are on your target. But that and it’s ammo hungry nature with low mag capacity are my only gripes about it. It’s brilliant otherwise

[@HellbirdIV]

Having recently played both Darktide and Necromunda: Hired Gun, I can say that both are pretty good with the power of the Bolter - but Darktide is the far better one no question. It is by far the best depiction of a Bolter in a video game to date, the weight, the THUNK of its firing and massive recoil, the way enemies hit by it are blasted to pieces - and indeed, the emphasis on single shots due to the limited ammo in a weapon of such massive calibre just further emphasizes how powerful it is while adding a sense of realism to its absurd design. I hope Space Marine 2 manages to make the Primaris Bolt Rifle feel even half as satisfying to use!

[@WTFisTingispingis]

It's the perfect representation of the boltgun and I love using it

[@Fatman311]

I think my favourite description came from the recently released Fury of Magnus novella. 'She saw the brass casing of a single bolter shell. Bending to pick it up, she sniffed the acrid propellant within. Projectiles designed to kill legionaries made a horrifying mess of a baseline human. The boltgun was a weapon designed by a psychopath.'

[@MajesticDemonLord]

As much as I love the Bolter, it always cracks me up that a 30 round magazine looks to contain in reality about 5-10 rounds (assuming a double stacked feed)

[@Ushio01]

The only fictional universe worse for weapon scale is Universal Century Gundam.

[@ralexcraft990]

@@Ushio01 I bring to you fallout 76's QUAD legendary.

[@窝帅那部乐特胡伯特斯]

_Where there is uncertainty, I shall bring light_ _Where there is doubt, I shall sow faith_ _Where there is shame, I shall point atonement_ _Where there is rage, I shall show its course_ _My word in the soul shall be as my bolter in the field_

[@brainfreezzzze6900]

" a spacemarine can be outnumbered but never outgunned" (the forgefiend with 3 sets of ectoplasma cannons ready to turn the entire squad into vapor)

[@darkangel31314]

I just love how the Boltgun sounded in the film "Ultramarines" - the sound of someone slamming a heavy metal door every time it fired... Music to my ears.

[@nemesis7884]

exploding bullets and chainswords thats warhammer 40k for you in a nutshell

[@mikewaterfield3599]

Heretic! You forgot the exterminatus.

[@bolrath6984]

Lord duncan and his sign, the coat of thin twins. Blessed be this video

[@spike.strat1318]

Could you imagine the reaction of the crew of say, the enterprise, were to see a squad of space marines striding onto the bridge... lots of pants would need cleaning.

[@LeadSkillets]

One of the things I've always loved about the bolter is how easily it can be made with our current technology. Replace 40k material names with real world equivalents and a bolt is simply a spin-stabilized solid-fuel rocket with high explosive charge and a DU penetrator. A carefully calibrated combination of a powder charge (gunpowder) and timed fuse for the rocket propellant can be used to get around the slow launch velocity (and inherent inaccuracy) of the gyrojet and overpressure issues of rockets.

[@MansMan42069]

Your profile pic is confusing and heretical

[@haxney]

Once I started thinking about ammo storage, the boot guns started seeming more comical to me. Compare the diameter of the barrel to the size of the magazine. How many rounds could you fit in there? Looks like 5-6, if double stacked. Then, to store enough spare magazines for any long engagement, Space Marines would need to be absolutely buried in spare magazines. They're in power armor, so we can ignore the weight, but the sheer volume of the rounds would be enormous. The storm bolters are even more comical. Yes, yes, I know, it's a fantasy setting, and one that I thoroughly enjoy.

[@Delveintohobby]

seeing Duncan on a Gamespot video makes me happy

[@haineko1101]

Amazing how that one pic of the Emperor by Genzoman from deviantArt got such traction that it's basically canonized now.

[@henrikandreason7261]

Darktides version is actually more brutal than space marines version. Both in sound and the visceral output of what happens when it hits. Granted that this video is 2 years old, but the truth nonetheless.

[@wolflordgio6320]

Think of It as a Assault Rifle That Shoots RedBull Sized Bullets Which explode on impact..... Its A RPG Assault Rifle But its So much more IT IS THE HOLY WEAPON OF THE GOD EMPERORS WRATH !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@IrregularDave]

YES SON OF RUSS

[@nateskywalker3571]

sick

[@anubis1416]

Okay russian badger

[@NightLexic]

The thing is with the bullets, they dont explode on impact or they shouldn't they are designed to pierce into the enemy and explode from within the impact point. Not on the surface.

[@GiRR007]

That's quite an exaggeration , a 75 cal round ;which is what bolters fire cannocicly; wouldn't be the size of a soda can, not even close.

[@casemeisterT900]

Umm... YOU 'UMMIES KEEPZ SAYING DA CHOPPA WRUNG!! WOTZ DIS BOLT GUN YA KEEPZ SAYIN WIF YA GOB!? YOU GITZ NEED A GOOD KRUMPIN WIF ME CHOPPA!

[@shawnosborne7102]

NO LOUDNER WHAT THEY UMMIES THINKING

[@sicarius6501]

Paint yer anger purple

[@casemeisterT900]

BURPLE... ME AINT NEVA SEEN NO BURPLE

[@imperialfistsmarine5064]

No.

[@MansMan42069]

How to insult a Flash Git and his Snazzgun

[@ScoutSgtZaku]

Ah yes the Bolter. I my own bolt pistol has slain numerous xenos, heretics and other threats to mankind. Feth, even eliminated a few traitorous guardsmen that forgot what they stood for when facing these enemies. As I tell my regiments troops “even when you have given everything, you can still give your life”! If your not willing to part with it then I shall take it from you”. **The Emperor Protects**

[@KillerOrca]

Okay now I HAVE to go to Warhammer World 5:27 Discussing commissars, shows Ciphias Cain, who is notable for NOT EVER HAVING USED A BOLT PISTOL...

[@IrregularDave]

Killer Orca I find it fascinating that in all the covers and imperial Picts, he’s shown as wielding a bolt pistol, almost like it’s used to play upon his heroic image, despite the fact he, as you rightly points out, never uses one in the books.

[@zepher_blackstoc2366]

"GET OFF MY SHIP, SPACEMARINE!"

[@shaneh1872]

Grimskull is best xenos

[@laurentderrien]

this hobby has gone so far in 25 years, we used to hide, not preach ! that's very cool, thanks for doing it

[@Jebu911]

I always thought that bolters had like maybe 6 bullets in its magazine. I mean the bullets look huge and the magazine is so damn small but all the games make it seem like there somehow is like 30 shots in it.

[@Gottaculat]

Fun observation: The rounds on that look to be on par with a 12ga 3 1/2" shotgun shell. For those who don't know, 12ga shotgun slugs are about .72 caliber (just a wee narrower than the .75 cal mentioned). Since the length of the cartridge/shell is so dang short don't expect it to have the power of a full size .75 caliber shell, which would be about 28x199mm like on the old American WWII naval anti-aircraft guns. A 3 1/2 inch shell's still gonna pack a whallop all right. If using brass shells, you could really get some amazing power out of that. 100yards and in, it'd be a helluva hard-hitter, especially running slugs with APHE capability. The biggest drawback, just like with real life shotguns, is ammo weight/bulk and the resulting capacity. Space Marines would need a steady supply chain of ammo. Then again, if their suits are just packed full of ammo, I guess that'd solve that, but also keep in mind ammo in mags takes up a lot more room than loose ammo. There'd be a lot of down time needed for them to reload their spent magazines, assuming they even held onto the magazines. Devastating gun, for sure, but a logistical nightmare if it were IRL. Fun observation 2: Given the mass of the bolt gun, no doubt if you, a average person fired it, you could do so safely; recoil would be high, but not unmanageable. You'd probably want a nice, thick shoulder pad, though. As for sustained fire, yeah, probably a bit much, though I'd wager a body-builder could handle it.

[@rotwang2000]

20-something guys back in 1980's UK had no clue as to how guns work, it was the rule of cool. They created a big boom gun that looked mean and deadly seemed to shoot some massive caliber ammo judging by the diameter of the muzzle on your average model. Also if it's truly a gyrojet weapon it would probably have extremely low recoil, more like shooting fireworks than conventional ammo. It's a weird weapon and best left as an imaginary weapon rather than break your head trying to make it work. Superman flies, Gandalf goes toe to toe with a walking kiln and JJ Abrams is still paid to make movies ... We'll never figure out how.

[@comlitbeta7532]

"Can be outnumbered but never outgunned" my flat 12 damage stormsurge canon assure me otherwise

[@HalikBun]

As someone who knew nothing about warhammer 40k and just got a hold of a bolter in Darktide (clearly meant to be the smaller, non-space marine version). I must say, it stands out compared to other weapons with how it feels. Very heavy, very chunky, and very destructive, but still somewhat balanced but how long it takes to load or even swap to it from your melee weapon.

[@SphinxCrusader]

I am really hoping for them to release a normal Bolter and give it to the ogryns!! That would be so cool, just imagine

[@DannyByWest]

8:32 i found it hilarious when the ad break cut right here, and started playing the chorus of “Call my maybe”!!

[@filanfyretracker]

See another thing to remember about the video game Space Marine that made it so much fun is the era it came out in. It came out at the peak of the "Cover Shooter", Games like Gears of War. Space Marine was the exact opposite and said "its okay to be Rambo". While tactics, cover and maneuver can be fun, Sometimes you just need a game that promotes getting up in someone's face with the biggest piece of portable artillery you can find and repaint the room in red.

[@TheGosslings]

The Bolter is the icon of Warhammer 40K. It ties together everything that the franchise has to offer and sends a very clear message: Even with this massive handheld cannon, your survival is by no means guaranteed. Excellent doc. Really enjoyed this and was fascinated by the backgrounds with the GW sets.

[@Hey_Revolver]

To all Warhammer fans out there, I highly recommend playing Space Hulk: Death Wing, (10:52) imagine Vermintide in Warhammer 40k universe, a flawed game that mods can easily fix. Too bad the devs never provided tool kits so no mods anywhere. It is a good game that could be a masterpiece with a little tweaking done by good modders. It's such a waste since the devs abandoned it. Maybe if they get sudden surge in sales, we could convince them to reupdate the game or better, provide tools for modders. It's dirt cheap on Steam almost every sale period, it is fun, flawed, but very atmospheric. I really hate for such a good game to remain just that, a good game.

[@Dlúith]

Here’s to hoping Darktide could provide that

[@eikixia]

great quality content. Never expected this look at the 40k universe from Gamespot. More please.

[@tommiatkins3443]

It's pretty incredible that there's a 15 min video on the history of the bolt gun, and nobody mentions it's actual origin in "Laserburn" written by Brian Ansel. Why? I remember it well.

[@simonhibbs887]

tommi atkins I came here to say the same thing. Laserburn was very different in theme from WH40K, but some elements like the bolt gun and religious fanatics in space came through strong.

[@tommiatkins3443]

@@simonhibbs887 the Sun gun. I loved the sun gun. It just killed anything with no roll needed!

[@8Maduce50]

"The greatest weapon on earth Is a marine and his rifle."-General Pershing

[@frogqueen]

4:50 arguably the Godwyn-De'az bolter is the more wide-spread one. There is approx one million Marines in the Imperium where there is millions, if not billions of Sisters.

[@depressivetangela2033]

While bolters are aesthetically pleasing, I still see 40k’s chainaxes and chainswords as being the most grandiose weaponry from that series

[@enomiellanidrac9137]

"Can penetrate the thickest enemy armor and detonate" AP5 in most of it's incarnations...

[@CthulhusDream]

3:23 Star Wars isn't set in the future. It literally says in the opening crawl "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...."

[@NFDave1992]

Ah but it is set in the future, just that from the perspective of the narrator it happened in the past. IIRC R2-D2 was supposed to be the narrator at the end but I can't quite find the source on that so a quick google search on your part might yield results.

[@Theigzorn]

well thats timedialation for you. ofc we get the story after its done when it is a "far far away" galaxy. even light needs thousends of years if not longer from one galaxy to another.

[@nicholasleon7819]

I really love space marine, but I don't know if I can say it's my favorite video game in the universe. None of the other ones absorbed me quite as much as Dawn of War II, which is also the game that I feel nailed the bolter best. It fired slowly, but not too slowly, and had that amazing reverberating boom.

[@earnestbrown6524]

8:58 Yes "Finding" wargear and relics.

[@luangomes2431]

*finding relics: shows blood ravens* Me: press X to doubt

[@badfoody]

How it was made: Seen the gun in Aliens? Yeah. Make it BULKIER

[@Gravja]

I was introduced to 40k by a friends brothers white dwarf magazine when I was in grade school.. 1992 ish I cant remember. Bought the 2nd edition table top box and the dark millennium box set too. Got decent at painting aswell. 30 years later co works chatting about warhammer and it ramped me up again.. Blew a paycheque on Greyknights and paints....... Worth it!

[@jasonoreilly2795]

Firewarrior has the best sounding and looking bolt gun effects. Boltguns are meant to be shell-less and fire warrior represents this visually and in sound. All other boltguns that have shells ejecting are heretic. Heavy Bolters are 1.0cal too

[@charlieschaefer3830]

Glad you were able to interview Duncan, we will all miss him

[@Maulyr]

Love that Jes, such a nice chap and very interesting to talk to. As for games, Fire Warrior & Space Marine nailed bolt weapons.

[@DeltaLeader035]

BY THE DARK GODS, this was great to watch seeing someone else recognize the awesomeness that is 40k.

[@LordDeathwing17]

The Bolter: For when you absolutely need something dead with the first shot.

[@stringstorm]

Simply put: The boltgun is a fully automatic armor piercing RPG.

[@armorking7258]

"Eat Bolt Gun"

[@charlesballiet7074]

I still think that Chaos Gate captured the atmosphere and aesthetic of the 40 universe more than any other game before or since

[@BekoPharm]

This. Was kinda confused when Chaos Gate wasn't even mentioned. Especially the heavy bolter still worn on the shoulder was so well done and satisfying. It also came with that awesome map editor :D

[@variousnumber891]

My Favourite thing to think about when it comes to the Bolter, is that not only is its impact enough to kill most humanoids (WAAAAAAAAAAGH not included), It then proceeds to Explode. Because of course it does. Hell, I like to think that if the Target is too squishy to slow the shell down then it'll just continue going, tearing through whatever it hit until it meets something it can't rip through. And of course, My personal Headcanon is that the Heavy Bolters used by Imperial Guard Weapons teams uses the same rounds as the Godwyn Pattern, whilst the Heavy Bolter used by Imperial Guard Tanks uses the same rounds as the Heavy Bolter the Space Marines cart around as "Man-Portable Weapons"

[@TheDanNation]

Would love to see this updated with DARKTIDE

[@zenwolf1293]

I hope Warhammer remains a constant in my life and something I can share with my sons, daughters, nieces, and nephews one day

[@scottbruckner4653]

IT'S A ROCKET PROPELLED CAN OF REDBULL LAUNCHER.

[@ShahbazBokhari]

I have been hearing whispers abound... the time of 40K is it hand. Adults are craving a sci fi movie franchise. Emperor willing the Eisenhorn show (if it hasn’t been cancelled already) will be the spark...

[@koreysmith4874]

the way the bolter works in the 'fire warrior' video game was kool. in 'dawn of war' and 'space marine' it just acts like a machine gun..i always felt fire warrior made more sense.

[@mrcatplaysgamz7209]

so it's a M1 Abrams tank that's able to be held (or Tiger tank, whatever floats your boat)

[@TheCasualMark]

“In blood I am born, in battle do I live, and in the light I rise!”

[@madmoody100]

Laserburn is a set of wargaming rules written by Bryan Ansell in 1980. Some elements of the Laserburn rules, such as power and dreadnought armour, bolt guns and jet cycles were carried forward and appear in Warhammer 40,000 by Games Workshop who Ansell worked for in the late 80s onwards. condensed from wikipeadia

[@jackodenthal2392]

He would have lost his mind with the bolter in Darktide

[@seansean3858]

The bolter was initially created for the game Laserburn (as well as many other items in 40K), a game by former Citadel Miniatures owner/GW CEO Brian Ansell. That game eventually metastasized into 40K (when 40K was originally conceived as an RPG game).

[@Nexum120]

This was a fantastic video! Still hoping for Space Marine 2!

[@stephanbertram723]

YOU GOT YOUR WISH

[@kriddius]

"Tread softly, and carry a big gun"

[@edenromanov]

40k views......Perfect 👌😏

[@DerDoctor69]

My Squad leader in the Bundeswehr introduced us to the Granat Maschinen Waffe, like this:“So, this is basically H&K saying what if we take a machine gun, but make it shoot 40mm grenades. Anyone know the Bolters from WH40k? Yeah this is it.“

[@spacedredd]

Well done post. I've played 40k on and off for about 30 years. S. Marines were always my favorite. Here in the US I put together a carbine reminiscent of a Bolter. I'd show a pic but I can't post here in the comments.

[@Selvanus]

4:39 “Machine gun” **INTERNAL SCREAMING**

[@EuroBaked]

Ye thanks for doing this now I can show this to my friends so I don't get a headache explaining the bolter

[@IrregularDave]

Harley The gaming brothers uchia even in death I still serve

[@ledpovenam]

I've never heard so much praise for the Fire Warrior in one video. Or maybe it's the absence of criticism that makes me think that way.

[@tunguskalumberjack9987]

Great video- earned my sub from this alone.

[@gleggett3817]

Waiting to see if Bryan Ansell's 'Laserburn' minatures rules get mentioned...

[@marcraygun6290]

I always felt they couldn't decide if it was semi or fully automatic

[@blaster23456]

It's likely both, depending on the pattern.

[@tapioperala3010]

They shall be my finest warriors, these men who give of themselves to me. Like clay I shall mould them and in the furnace of war forge them. They will be of iron will and steely muscle. In great armour shall I clad them and with the mightiest guns will they be armed. They will be untouched by plaque of disease, no sickness will blight them. They will have tactics, strategies and machines such that no foe can best them in battle. They are my bulwark against the Terror. They are the Defenders of Humanity. They are my Space Marines and they shall know no fear. - The Emperor of Mankind on the creation of space marines

[@krystiano8672]

The Emperor protects, but having a loaded bolter never hurt either

[@palpadur1112]

being a Dark Angel player myself, i prefer the Terminator's phased plasma rifle in the 40 watt range over the Bolter. i'm not against a combi-weapon of the two though, for variety kill purposes. but it would have to be made by the Farsight Enclaves, or any faction other than the Adeptus Mechanicus. (not accepted from Chaos but that goes without saying) i *looooathe* the AdMech *entirely.*

[@internetzenmaster8952]

As an Ork player, I have only two words of agreement to say: *_"ZOGGIN' COGBOYS!!! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!"_*

[@apache-0verkill]

So basically a rocket-proplled explosive "crossbow bolt" for Frankenstein-like superhuman space knights... WILD!

[@apache-0verkill]

Also like the writer said, medieval. Also, kinda reminds me of Judge Dredd and his Lawgiver handgun

[@TheBattleRabbit860]

Are there any cross-section images or blueprint style drawings of how the bolter works? Because the ejection port and barrel don't seem to line up, and of course in the grim dark of the far future, there could very likely be an advanced shell ejection mechanism that pushes the empty casings up and out somehow; I'm just really curious to see how it all works. EDIT: That doesn't apply to all models/variants of the bolter. Many do have the ejection port and barrel in line with one another. EDIT EDIT: Dawn of War and Dawn of War II are among my favorite games, and I still play DoW II to this day. Dawn of War, however, felt to me to be a lot like a reskin of Company of Heroes, which in no way is a bad thing.

[@crazyman09ful]

i give this video two thin-coats of approval for 40k.

[@davidupton73]

Can't believe bolt thrower didn't get a mention.

[@kaiserepsilon4011]

"The Jackal, a custom 13mm anti-freak combat pistol. It fires custom-made rounds, far more powerful than the 454 Casull rounds you're used to. 39 centimeters long, 16 kilograms in weight, Six rounds per magazine. The Jackal holds more power than any human should be expected to handle." *"And the rounds?"* "13mm explosive shells." *"Casings?"* "Pure Macedonian silver." *"And the tips, explosive, or mercury?"* "Mercury tips... and they're already blessed." *"...It's perfection, Walter."*

[@not-a-theist8251]

its completely insane that Bolters typically dont have a shoulder stock

[@CrashandTrash596]

Gaurdsman takes a drag on a loh stick: "This is what everyone's going on about? There's no where to put a bayonet on it..."

[@MrBurgerphone1014]

Holy crap they actually took inspiration from the gyro-jet.

[@quotenpunk279]

5:00 i finally realized that the Marine in the middle is just tony montana at the end of Scarface :D

[@amazingstormer6385]

Basically a self propelled can of red bull

[@GeneralJackRipper]

I think this is why 40K continues to truck along, with both good games and bad, but also good. Because the people that make it, care deeply about it. I shudder to think of the day 40K turns into nothing more than a device for printing money.

[@samus17]

The Bolter is NOT a machine-gun! Fire Warrior did it the most justice: it had a small magazine, but every shot was like a rocket; which is what it was intended to be.

[@madMARTYNmarsh1981]

The woman is completely wrong about the Boltgun. The Thunder Warriors used Boltguns although it was a different pattern to the Phobos pattern most commonly used by the Adeptus Astartes. The Imperium was not 'beset on all sides' when the Boltgun was conceived, not even when it's most well known pattern was designed by the Martian tech priests. It was a period of expansion, many of the enemies that the Imperium would later make were unknown at this point.

[@mathewchristy2006]

Good video!.. excellently presented 👍👍👍

[@TheTimeshadows]

Bryan Ansel's, Laserburn (the forerunner of the 40k universe), had the Bolter; 40k enthusiasts may want to check it out to see how the nacent IP diverged from the old game.

[@zephyrstrife4668]

To me, the sound of the Boltguns in the Ultramarines movie is exactly what I picture the gun should sound like. But you do bring up a good point, just how bad is a universe where a weapon that brutal is needed in order to make you Average? The lasgun of the imperial guard trumps any kind of gun we have today, it could easily blow off a person's limbs and kill any number of combatants in our world... and yet in their universe we call them piddly little flashlights. When you really think of how over-the-top Warhammer has to be, they're not wrong to say that it's practically impossible for anyone to go up against those factions.

[@stelonous]

I kind of wish they went into how the bolter was so horribly designed visually. In many versions it simply doesn't make sense as a firearm. The new Primaris version is actually the only one that actually looks like a firearm that works. I mean, the ejection port is actually in line with the barrel! I would have loved hearing about those weird design choices. This video wasn't created by an actual die-hard fan of the game.

[@cycadaacolyte6349]

Bolters are effectively automatic slug guns (12 gauge shells are 72 caliber vs the in universe 75). With the heavier variants being more akin to 20mm auto cannons.

[@spacecowboy2737]

I think its funny how the magazine keeps working its way back over time because they realized it looks ridiculous

[@erikpullenberg1747]

2 thin coats... just one... last... glorious time.