Ok my first post is up.

Just so you know... yes neophytes are put to work in the forges. In fact this is their primary way of training them before they are deemed good enough for battle training. At least according to the internet...

I also took some poetic license with the means of creating Astartes armor, as on the tabletop Salamanders ignore -1 ap weapons on their armor in addition to the new armor of contempt rules which reduces -2 ap to -1 (which salamanders then ignore... PRETTY SPICY!!). Salamanders may now in fact be one of the strongest marines on the tabletop.

FYI Salamanders also reroll 1 wound dice per squad, per turn. Which is meant to reflect how much better the craftsmanship of their wargear is, as pretty much every salamander repairs their own gear, which allows the chapter artisans to focus on crafting other gear.