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Hey guys Im making a space marine chapter called thunder wolves and I want my commander to be something really unique and I was wondering if anyone could give me some advise on how to do it? Im open to all suggestions but Im not a very good sculptor so I wont be using greenstuff on it, any help would really be appreciated guys

Well it depends on what you want the look of. If you want to go with the wolf theme there are some great models out there that you could take and put a guy on and give him a thunder hammer about to swing. Or if you want the more shooty captain make/get a combi weapon. Your best idea without modeling is to kitbash like there is no tomorrow.

So really what I am trying to say is
1) pick theme of captain
2) pick weapons of captain
3) get pieces that satisfy the first two
4) kitbash until you have something that looks cool
5) glue or magnitize as you see fit
6) paint in your chosen scheme
7)....
8) profit??

Here is my kitbash captain for hopefully some inspiration. All of him is a kitbash with a bit of modeling on the robes and a bit of cutting and greenstuff on the legs.


Hope this helps, -Fire-

twin thunder hammers, riding a wolf and proxie the wolf as a bike! But that would mean that the wolf would have bolters for eyes.....

If you don't want a wolf with bolters for eyes then I don't even know what to say to you,

Im making a space marine chapter called thunder wolves and I want my commander to be something really unique and I was wondering if anyone could give me some advise

If you want it to be unique, don't use the words "thunder" or "wolves" in your custom chapter would be my advise.

 FirePainter wrote:
Well it depends on what you want the look of. If you want to go with the wolf theme there are some great models out there that you could take and put a guy on and give him a thunder hammer about to swing. Or if you want the more shooty captain make/get a combi weapon. Your best idea without modeling is to kitbash like there is no tomorrow.

I wasnt really going for the wolf theme... I just liked the name haha. I might have to change the name thinking about it now... and I was thinking more of a shooty captain and I think I will use a champions body the helmet in the commander set (Im not a fan of painting skin I struggle to make it look good) and probably the commander legs. As for the weapons Im still looking at different bitz trying to decide.


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 A Kvlt Ghost wrote:
If you don't want a wolf with bolters for eyes then I don't even know what to say to you,

A wolf with bolters for eyes actually doesnt sound like my cup of tea hahaha

To be the harsh person here.

What you want and what you gave us to work with, aren't going to happen. You can't really develop a truly unique miniature by simply kit bashing, that said you can still have very nice looking models through simply kit bashing.

Best suggestion is to simply get the kits you are looking at using, or the kits that you have and then using some blu-tac, tac together some different loadouts and different positions and see what you like, and what you think looks good.

With all the plastic kits out there it's not that hard to get something unique looking. You don't need to be work with metal. Just look around, find bits that look cool, and slap them together.

Don't be afraid to look outside your range of minis. Check out the other chapters, or even other armies. You might find heads, weapons, or bits that call out to you there.

Kitbash between the Space Marine Commander frame, Tactical Marine kit, Assault Marines (maybe) and possibly the Chaos Space Marine kit as well. You could use the torso from the Commander frame, legs from the Assault marines and a cool head from the Chaos Space Marine Aspiring Champion kit (it sounds weird but a lot of the parts I think look amazing on an Imperial marine, especially the power fist - it's much cooler than the Space Marine one!). The rest you could just throw together and have some new models.

 ExNoctemNacimur wrote:
Kitbash between the Space Marine Commander frame, Tactical Marine kit, Assault Marines (maybe) and possibly the Chaos Space Marine kit as well. You could use the torso from the Commander frame, legs from the Assault marines and a cool head from the Chaos Space Marine Aspiring Champion kit (it sounds weird but a lot of the parts I think look amazing on an Imperial marine, especially the power fist - it's much cooler than the Space Marine one!). The rest you could just throw together and have some new models.

I think I will use the commander torso and either a space marine commander helmet or I think I found a a nice warhammer fantasy high elf head that I would like to try to work in. I cant find any aspiring champion parts that I like though.

With the High Elf head I think you'll find your solution. Good luck!

Winter wrote:
To be the harsh person here.

What you want and what you gave us to work with, aren't going to happen. You can't really develop a truly unique miniature by simply kit bashing, that said you can still have very nice looking models through simply kit bashing.

Best suggestion is to simply get the kits you are looking at using, or the kits that you have and then using some blu-tac, tac together some different loadouts and different positions and see what you like, and what you think looks good.

Yeah I realised that so Im just going to get a few space marines and practice making cloaks similar to fire painters and just get my sculpting skills up better


By the way does anyone have any idea's I could use as my chapter name.. Didnt realise thunder wolves was already in use :(


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Is there other alternatives to greenstuff? Its preetttyy pricey with GW lol

Chapter names eh? You'd really need to think long and hard about the theme of your chapter, are they a codex chapter? Do they prefer a particular style of fighting that would suit one type of name over another? An example is the one you've dropped, no good using wolves if you don't plan on modelling with their totems and stuff or using the codex to represent that style. Also, I'd say stay away from anything that suggests flight (Raven/Eagle) if you want to be shooty rather than jump packy, if you catch my drift.

In the end I went with the Imperial Fists because I couldn't bring myself to do a custom chapter, too much hassle when you consider the wealth of fluff available for so many marines forces already! Plus the Imperial Fists are my favourites so it was a natural choice....

As for custom captains, its not always about bashing everything. Think simple with a bit of a twist and make sure they stand a little higher than you regular marines and you'll be happy with what you come up with.

Heres a pic of my Chapter Master...

http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/402755-Imperial%20Fists%20Chapter%20Master%20Vladimir%20Pugh.html?m=2

 Thunder wolf wrote:


By the way does anyone have any idea's I could use as my chapter name.. Didnt realise thunder wolves was already in use :(

It's not. However if you wish to make your chapter some kind of unique I suggest not blatantly stepping on the Space Wolve's toes by using one of their unit names, which is probably what Deathshead420 was getting at...

 geordie09 wrote:
Chapter names eh? You'd really need to think long and hard about the theme of your chapter, are they a codex chapter? Do they prefer a particular style of fighting that would suit one type of name over another? An example is the one you've dropped, no good using wolves if you don't plan on modelling with their totems and stuff or using the codex to represent that style. Also, I'd say stay away from anything that suggests flight (Raven/Eagle) if you want to be shooty rather than jump packy, if you catch my drift.

In the end I went with the Imperial Fists because I couldn't bring myself to do a custom chapter, too much hassle when you consider the wealth of fluff available for so many marines forces already! Plus the Imperial Fists are my favourites so it was a natural choice....

As for custom captains, its not always about bashing everything. Think simple with a bit of a twist and make sure they stand a little higher than you regular marines and you'll be happy with what you come up with.

Heres a pic of my Chapter Master...

http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/402755-Imperial%20Fists%20Chapter%20Master%20Vladimir%20Pugh.html?m=2

Yeah I kinda just jumped in with the first name that sounded good going to work on a better name though, my chapter is just going to be a codex style chapter that has a good balance of shooty and assault troops and Im going to keep my chapter master pretty simple, going to sculpt a cloak and hood and have one foot on a ork on the floor with his bolt pistol pointing at it and his power sword raised in the air.


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 Grimtuff wrote:

 Thunder wolf wrote:


By the way does anyone have any idea's I could use as my chapter name.. Didnt realise thunder wolves was already in use :(

It's not. However if you wish to make your chapter some kind of unique I suggest not blatantly stepping on the Space Wolve's toes by using one of their unit names, which is probably what Deathshead420 was getting at...

I know I had forgotten that the wolves are called thunder wolfs. I didnt have any intentions on stepping on the space wolves toes as you put it.

Yeah, think of a cohesive Chapter Name, Playstyle, and Color Scheme (pick 2 colors, Primary/Secondary I recommend). Think about how all of this would look, feel and play on the tabletop. Also consider your Chapter Logo. In the end, you'll find what fits you.

I like the advice above to consider playstyle with the units you're planning towards your list. If you're running 3 land raiders or Vindicators, your name could be more stalwart and stout, like "Red Rhinos," other names for different names could be the "Stone Gauntlets," "Purple Pandas" or "Fire Smiths" (these guys might like flamers). Yes, some names are silly, but you get the drift.

BTW if anyone paints and names their SM army the "Purple Pandas," you'd be my hero.

 evildrspock wrote:
Yeah, think of a cohesive Chapter Name, Playstyle, and Color Scheme (pick 2 colors, Primary/Secondary I recommend). Think about how all of this would look, feel and play on the tabletop. Also consider your Chapter Logo. In the end, you'll find what fits you.

I like the advice above to consider playstyle with the units you're planning towards your list. If you're running 3 land raiders or Vindicators, your name could be more stalwart and stout, like "Red Rhinos," other names for different names could be the "Stone Gauntlets," "Purple Pandas" or "Fire Smiths" (these guys might like flamers). Yes, some names are silly, but you get the drift.

BTW if anyone paints and names their SM army the "Purple Pandas," you'd be my hero.

I have my colour scheme, Im going to go with the purple and white that is set as my display picture haha! So I could call my Space marines Purple Pandas I was thinking amethyst knights though

With purple as the main colour you could play on the royal theme of the colour, something along the lines of The Fallen Kings, Blades of the Monarch etc...

Obviously you can do colour like your Amethyst Knights

Or name of a shade:

Byzantium Knights, Imperial knights etc (byzantium and imperial are apparently shades of purple).

If you then do select a name with a "purpose" at the end it gives you scope for modelling your captain. I.e. go with kings and you can have crown, scepter, gemmed appearances. Knights can have shield or sword iconography, blades would be... well yeah that ones obvious.

 Melcavuk wrote:
With purple as the main colour you could play on the royal theme of the colour, something along the lines of The Fallen Kings, Blades of the Monarch etc...

Obviously you can do colour like your Amethyst Knights

Or name of a shade:

Byzantium Knights, Imperial knights etc (byzantium and imperial are apparently shades of purple).

If you then do select a name with a "purpose" at the end it gives you scope for modelling your captain. I.e. go with kings and you can have crown, scepter, gemmed appearances. Knights can have shield or sword iconography, blades would be... well yeah that ones obvious.

Hmm thats an interesting concept but I dont think it really appeals to me because I'm aiming to have my army cloaked and hooded if I can pull it off but I think I am going to use the idea of a royal theme in the future

So, use Dark Angels bits then. I really like the "Fallen Kings," that could be a cool chapter name. "Amethyst Knights," "Amethyst Kings," etc. I have always thought if I did another Space Marine chapter (mine is Imperial Fists, too), I would play the Hawk Lords, as the Purple/Gold mixture and affinity for Thunderhawk Gunships seemed pretty awesome to me :-).

It'd cost a small fortune to robe my marines using dark angels bits and I havent much money at the moment. I like hawk lords they look great when they are well painted

I'm all for armies that are striking on the battlefield, hence why I chose the Imperial Fists. Hawk Lords also fit this category, with the bold contrasting colors. I approve of your Purple Pandas.

Haha thank you I agree a colourful striking army is great to paint and to play with and I cant wait to get started with my space marines

It shouldn't be too hard to create a unique looking Captain, I've always liked this Captain from page 109 in the Space Marine Codex, pretty unique looking to me and not too hard to pull off either.

Look I think you might have gone about this "Arse about face".

The best thing to do is come up with a Concept for your force, a Name, the way they fight (Close Range, Long Range, Close Combat, Mechanised, Armour heavy, Flyers, Fast attack, Siege fighters, Jump Infantry). Out this would fall out maybe some fluff, and this would translate to making a custom Character or Captain.

This is how I made my Chapter Master for the Bear Claws. An easy head swap, the old Dark Angels Chapter Master and some Greenstuff over his cloak so make it look like a Bear pelt, but none of it would have happened if I hadn't had a concept in mind first.






It looks crappy now, but hey we all start somewhere.


The problem is, Thunderwolves makes you sound like Space Wolves. It's like calling your Chapter Deathwing, it will make life confusing for everyone.

If you want it, go for it, but don't complain when everyone say's "So they are just Space Wolves ?" and you say "No" and they say "What that makes no sense".

A little minor sculpting and reposing goes a long way. Start with something plastic/finecast (or get a good razorsaw for those metals), pin it where you want it, then fill in the gaps; conversely if you don't want to pose, truescale it. Adding a cape/fur and snazzy shoulders is all you need after that. If you can freehand well, throw a sweet banner on his back too.

This actually reminds me I never took finished pictures of this model...

I've pretty much decided what Im going with~
Blood Angels Sanguinary Guard Head
Company champion body front with a caped commander back
Company champion shoulder pads
Terminator legs
I just need some advise on weapons now.. ideally I'd like him to have a decent close combat and ranged weapon but Im unsure.. I was thinking a power sword/ thunder hammer and a storm bolter??



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 delkins42 wrote:
A little minor sculpting and reposing goes a long way. Start with something plastic/finecast (or get a good razorsaw for those metals), pin it where you want it, then fill in the gaps; conversely if you don't want to pose, truescale it. Adding a cape/fur and snazzy shoulders is all you need after that. If you can freehand well, throw a sweet banner on his back too.

This actually reminds me I never took finished pictures of this model...

I'm pretty good freehand so I'll be giving him a good banner and Im working on a good pose now
Your captain is great by the way!

 delkins42 wrote:
A little minor sculpting and reposing goes a long way. Start with something plastic/finecast (or get a good razorsaw for those metals), pin it where you want it, then fill in the gaps; conversely if you don't want to pose, truescale it. Adding a cape/fur and snazzy shoulders is all you need after that. If you can freehand well, throw a sweet banner on his back too.

This actually reminds me I never took finished pictures of this model...

Holy gak, that's awesome! What bits did you use?

Your captain should have a defined role, in my opinion. On foot, Artificer Armor is a must to keep him alive. Beyond that, It's a tossup between Relic Blades, Power Swords, Power Axes, or A thunderhammer. I generally like Taking advantage of a Captains Initiative and high number of attacks, so I chose a combat specialist with both a Power Sword AND a Power Axe (as you can replace the Bolter or chainsword with the following ... per the codex rules). I generally think the Stormbolter is unnecessary as I'm not concerned about 2 extra shooting attacks with the captain - I want more CC attacks, or I want something to make him deadly, or more survivable. Hence, a Combi Weapon, or a Plasma Pistol, or a Storm Shield, all fill these roles nicely. It's up to you and what role you see him fulfiling in your army. Most of his effective shooting is short ranged.

I like to run my captain with a Tactical Squad or Terminators in a Land Raider, or with a combat-squad in a Rhino/Razorback, to get him quickly into the fight. Drop Pods might not be bad either, though it could be suicide with a regular Captain.

Combi-Weapons are very good on Captains, but actually when it comes to CC, Space Marine Captains are pretty average their 4+ inv, okay WS and okay Init can make them easy prey to CC orientated Characters or assault units.

2 Ways to beef up a Captain,

1. Get him a Bike.
2. Get him a Command Squad with Apocathary for FNP.

I've lost count of the number of times my Captain has fallen flat on his face, he is not really a CC monster.

However there are SM Special Characters that are CC monsters, Lysander and Mephiston come to mind.

TH/SS is always a good combo, but costs you your init same with power axe's, Relic Blades can be good but cost you an attack and points.

I quite like Pedro Kantor, his WS and PF makes a mess of MC's, IC's and Vehicles, his Stormbolter is also ferocious.