Bartertown.com

I don't know if all of you have heard this, but supposedly all space marine vehicle crew is Adeptus Mechanicus.

My question is. Are they actually part of the chapter or are they assigned from the AdMech as pilots to the chapter.

Supposedly this is why on all the vehicles there is that Admech shoulder pad for the gunner.

Would the Admech gunner be painted the same as the rest of the chapter or would they have the Red Armor of the Admech, with maybe a shoulder pad colored the same as the chapter.

I have been coloring the gunners in red as my tanks are colored so the can be used for either my Lamenters, Space Wolves, or Imperial Fists. (Mix of grey and yellow)

I was wondering if any others were doing something similar, and if I was right in my interpretation of the fluff.

Most vehicle crew are attacked to the Chapter Armory, overseen by the Techmarines, and therefore have some AdMech training/relations. They are not initiated into the mysteries of the the AdMech the way Techmarines are, so they should be painted up as normal marines. possibly with the AdmEch shoulder pad.

This does not extend to Land Speeders or bikes, as those are crewed by straight marines, and I'm not 100% sure on the Rhino drivers, who may simply be regular Marines as well.

You probably have to check each entry from an Imperial Armour book. Each Entry used to have the number of crew for a vehicule (predators is 4 IIRC)
As far as i remember, vehicules crew are part of the Armoury of the Chapter. I'm not even sure they crew is really 100% Astartes. but they are distinct from the company in itself.

the AD Mech thing is a reliquae from RT where you needed a Techmarine for each vehicule you took in your army (explaining the 3D6 techmarines choice on the list). Bikes and Speeders are 'equipment' to the assault squads and not really part of the armoury of a chapter.

I would follow the old RT paint schemes by painting the right arm and shoulder in the AD Mech colours for drivers and crew of vehicules.

J