Building a True-scale Space Marine Redux

By the manner of their death we shall know them.

Space Marine anatomy is an odd thing, something that I think is often ignored due to it being behind armor. And while the plastic Space Marine models will always have a place in my heart, they have a lot of problems (leg attachment is ridiculous; they have essentially only a ribcage attached to their hips; arms are attached too high for them to attach to the scapula). The artwork of Kopinski and Dainton were some of the first examples I saw of someone eschewing these things to create something more believable. Having said this, that does not make their artwork perfect, with even the artists themselves shifting style and proportion between different pieces of artwork. The classic Crimson Fist marine Kopkinski drew is a good example, as in much of his later work (like the cover of the Uriel Ventris novel The Killing Ground) he increased the head size such that a humanoid figure could conceivably fit inside the armor. I tried my hand at creating a more anatomically reasonable Space Marine earlier this year in a collaborative progect with Mig’s from Iron Sleet, and was quite pleased with the result. No project is ever perfect, so when I started to consider creating a second Space Marine for FPOA’s Green Mechanicvm, I began thinking of what I would do differently. In this post I wanted to share some pictures of the current status of this Elder One, and talk a little about the challenges in its creation, something that I think is particularly relevant with the recent pictures of the upcoming plastic Roboute Guilliman (who is an anatomical mess).

Oldhammer: Rise of Rogue Trader

Confrontation on the red wastes!

Games Workshop has come a long way in the past 10 years in terms of miniature production, taking advantage of new technology to create more dynamic models that are easier to assemble and trim. You would have a hard time arguing that the older metal Keeper of Secrets holds up to the newer plastic one. Despite this, I often find myself looking back at many of the older models, from 2nd edition 40k and Rogue Trader, with special fondness. This is partially due to nostalgia from back when I started with the hobby, but also due to the wonky charm present in many of the earlier sculpts, sculpts that were not aided by computer design or even the internet for reference material. Recently, I have tried to incorperate some older models into some of my conversions, as a way to celebrate the venerable models, particularly with my my Pilgrym warband. You can imagine my excitement when I found a local shop that was selling a whole assortment of old Rogue Trader blisterpacks! It seemed to be an opportunity that I couldn’t pass up, and I purchased a whole bunch of them, ranging from Imperial Agents to Orks. I have long admired the work of exemplars in the “oldhammer” community like Don Hans (Realm of Citadel), Alex (Leadbaloony), Axiom (Magpie and Old Lead), and Warburton (Warhammer 40,000 2nd Edition), just to name a few. And having found all these Rogue Trader models I decided it would be fun to build two small warbands of the models, with the goal of playing some games of Rogue Trader in the future!

AoS28 meets Outgard: The Funeral Procession rules

In death there is life and in memory there is revelation. They gather confused to celebrate dagmál, to strengthen themself before the gods, to have the will to walk on. They cannot know what awaits.

If one wants to explore the darker edges of the Warhammer 40,000 setting, bereft of Space Marines and Knight titans, and instead populated with frail humans on the edge of sanity, along with shady Inquisitors, and ghoulish cults, then Inq28 is there for you, with many great communites with like-minded individuals (Such as the Ammobunker and the Inquisitorium. Until recently, If you wanted to bring this narrative- and conversion-focused theme to Age of Sigmar, however, there was no distinct community to welcome you. Excitingly, this is a thing of the past now, with Bruticus from Ex Profundis coining the term “AoS28” to describe the Inq28-style of hobbying being applied to the Nine realms of Age of Sigmar. In addition to penning some guidelines for getting involved in AoS28, the Grand Alliance forums started a thread for people to post ideas and models and a facebook group was also started. In a very short time, these places have been flooded with all manner of fantastic conversions and warband ideas. When first reading about AoS28, we could not help but think of the Outgard project held last year. While technically set in the 40k universe, the gritty stagnation of culture and lack of technology beyond that of the middle ages, fits quite well with Age of Sigmar. Possibly the most iconic warband that took part, and certainly our favorite (in no small part because its leader was already dead before the games started!), was Alexander Winberg’s Funeral Procession! As a first venture into exploring AoS28, we figured we would try our hands at adapting their rules to Age of Sigmar, and talk a little about our thoughts about warband design.

Dragged into Turbolasers Episode 17: Roboute Guilliman and questions concerning Space Marine Anatomy

Loyalist Primarchs in 40k...

We begin this episode by talking about some of the new Tzeentch releases before shifting into discussing the third Triumvirate boxed set, including Roboute Guilliman, Cypher, and Grand Master Voldus. We spend a lot of time pondering the egregious anatomical issues of the vast majority of current the Space Marine models, and how they were remedied by Simon Egan with his series of Primarch models. We finish out the episode talking about our current work to build a better proportioned true-scale Space Marine.