Check out the newest page on the site, Wade's Dark Paladin Space Marines page. It has teh history of the Chapter, the color scheme and what each color represents, plus a whole lot more! Check it out now!
This is my little Space Marine army. It's about 2800 pts. and has a Command Squad of 
10 (Techmarine, Apothecary, Standard Bearer, Captain and 6 Marines), 2 Devestator squads (2 Heavy Bolters, 2 Missile Launchers, 2 Plasma Cannons, a Marine with a Power Fist and 2 Sergeants with Chain Swords), an Elite Marine squad I call the "Blood Paladins", a Terminator squad (which includes a Force Commander, Chaplain and Regular Terminator), a Bike Squad (with an Attack Bike armed with a Heavy Bolter), an Eversor Assassin, a Land Speeder, 2 regular Marine squads, 
5 Scouts (with 2 Snipers and a Heavy Bolter) and finally another Elite squad that I call the "Emperor's Chosen". That is my army. Hopefully once I get some time I can photograph me with my army and get them up here.
Tactics
These are the tactics that I use in my Warhammer 40K games. You can feel free to use these in your games, but I can't guarantee that they will work for everyone.
Anyways, Space Marines are basically your average army. They have excellent armor and can be used for defense and offense. I like to do a bit of both. I lure my enemy onto one side of the board. Then I use my Fast Attack vehicles to move in behind and toast his tanks' weak back armor. I also use my Devestators for this purpose too. But I try to get off about 3 rounds with these, because by then your opponent has begun to take notice to them. My Terminators move up the middle, while the Scouts and Elites move up one of the sides, preferably the opposite side that your enemy's men are on. If my opponent likes to leave his men back a bit, I enjoy making him pay with my Missile Launchers and Sniper Rifles. This usually means that your attacking squad gets a little more attention than you'd like, but then you can sneak you other men in behind his. Many people I have talked to like to let their Space Marines roam free across the board and hope that they score some major damage points. But when you think about it, just roaming into the battlefield with no plan is kinda like suicide. You MUST have a plan when you play this game.
Anyways, another tactic I like is the straight-on, full-out attack! Using a combination of Fast Attack units and my Devestators, I can wreak untold havoc upon the enemy lines! By sending the Fast Attack squad up one side of the board, I can distract the enemy long enough to get my other squads up the other side of the board, leaving my Devestators in the middle of the table. They may seem out in the open, but they are usually out of range of the enemies weapons. While the enemy is preoccupied with the other squads, I use the Devestators with hopefully some deadly effect. While they put holes in the enemy's offense, the rest of your army puts holes in the holes left on the field. Not the most effective approach, but the enemy will be expecting a well thought-out plan, now won't they?
The Codex gives you some great tips and ideas. Expand on them and make them suit your army's needs. Always remember the Planetary Bombardment rule that Space Marines get, and remember about the Drop Pods that you can use before the game begins.
A Little Background Info
My Space Marine army started with just one (1) guy. Yes! One! Anyways, it was a regular Marine, one of the old metal ones. I painted that about 50 different times, trying to find a paint scheme that I really liked. Finally I found one: Midnight Blue with red kneepads and silver boots and Power Pack exhaust pipes. I went out and bought a 10 squad pack of the new plastic ones. I painted them in the same way. Every model in my army has at least a half hour's work put into it. I have had many people tell me that my army is very well painted. You can see how well they're painted once I get some scanned pics up here. Another thing is my army layout. I paint different types of squads different colors. For instance, I painted my Blood Paladins Scab Red with silver boots and blue kneepads. Then I added the blades from an old Chaos Space Marine Biker onto the Captain's Standard pole. Then I painted it with some Scab Red to give the appearance of blood. It is a very cool looking model. I also try to make each model in my army look unique. I look at everything from facial features to equipment. Every Scout in my army has camoflague painted on their faces. They are also painted green so they can blend in with their surroundings. Because of this, if I am playing in a jungle setting and it is a heavily forested table, I can hide them in a bush and my opponent may forget about them and then I can attack when I need to. It also provides them with cover.
I am fortunate to have a hobby store that sells Warhammer 40K items near me. If not, I would never have started playing this game. I have only been to one (1) real Games Workshop in my life, and that was in Mississauga, Ont., which is three (3) hours away from me. But, if you are fortunate enough to have a GW near you, use it ofter and well. They have friendly and fanatical staff that will help you out with any problems. At my hobby store, there is a small but devoted band of players who play Warhammer and 40K. They meet once a week to play. If you live in or near Owen Sound, Ont., I suggest you check out the Family Hobby Center downtown. They only charge $8 to sign up and it's for the costs for operating and for extra gaming tables.
Now, I will be adding my army's points lists and other stuff here soon. It will include full Army Lists, Points Values and Weapons. Everything you will need to start a Space Marine army. Let's hope that it's not a copyright infringment...Back To 40K
Some Space Marine warriors and troop types:
