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Hi,

This is actually something i've thought about for a while now and I feel it's worth a discussion.

Why are all the humans in the 40k universe only represented by White Caucasians? Seriously, there are literately no black or Asian ethnicities represented in models, characters or fluff....Not in the Imperial Guard anyway....And i've never seen a black space marine lol

I am not sure why this is. Is it because it reflects the social inequality between black and white people in the Western world (less blacks as a percentage are middle-class) - where GW is dominant - or is it simply because the 40k universe was created by solely white middle/upper class kids who grew up in 1970's England? Or is this all to do with 'black culture'? Then what about Asians? To be fair, more Asians seem into the hobby than black people (probably to do with gaming being so popular in East Asian countries).

It's a game made by white English guys and it contains mostly white English guys. They don't really think about it. If it bothers you you can just paint some of your folks with different skin colors. Some of my Cadians are black or have tanner skin since it's a diverse universe, but all my Valhallans are white since they're heavily based on the WW2 Red Army. For the record, Salamanders Space Marines were black until the fluff changed them to be coal black with red eyes. Some say it's a retcon, some say that was the original intent of GW folks.

Why would it reflect anything? it is science fiction, as to models it is down to how people paint them mainly

I wouldnt say 40k nor GW are racist, to say they are because of the lack of ethnic diversity sounds to me like you are looking for something that isnt there.

Don’t you watch any sci-fi movies? The black guy always dies first

The nids probably got them all early on

It does seem a bit silly. The coal black Salamander thing is absurd; Ill paint a leftover Marine as a black guy Salamander. I have a few black guys as Neophytes/Scouts (the visor guy lookin like Geordie LaForge lulz). I tend to stick with helmets on my SMs but Ill probably make a black dude in my bike squad thanks to this thread =)

Invisible Jesus wrote:
Why are all the humans in the 40k universe only represented by White Caucasians? Seriously, there are literately no black or Asian ethnicities represented in models, characters or fluff....Not in the Imperial Guard anyway....And i've never seen a black space marine lol

This is because you are unfamiliar with 40k background and models.
SM Salamanders are black, White Scars are based on Mongols, Attilan Rough Riders are based on Huns obviously.
That said, in a setting with millions of colonized planets and Orks, Tau, Necrons, Eldar and Tyranids, human skin colour is less important, esp. as there have been 38k years of further mixing of human races, on earth and other planets. And as always, you can paint the models any skin colour you want.

MarkyMark wrote:
Why would it reflect anything? it is science fiction, as to models it is down to how people paint them mainly

I wouldnt say 40k nor GW are racist, to say they are because of the lack of ethnic diversity sounds to me like you are looking for something that isnt there.

I never said GW were racist nor did I mean to insinuate anything by this. Sorry if I gave that impression, but think you are the one who is looking for something that isn't there in this case...

One thing that may be a factor is simply color contrast. Most uniforms in 40k tend to be dark colors, so dark skin just won't have as much contrast. I tried painting darker skin before, and it the face detail was just lost in the dark gray uniforms. On the other hand, white/light skin stands out more, and it makes it easier to show the shading and detail on faces.

(Of course now I play DKoK, and who knows what's behind those gas masks.)

 Kroothawk wrote:

Invisible Jesus wrote:
Why are all the humans in the 40k universe only represented by White Caucasians? Seriously, there are literately no black or Asian ethnicities represented in models, characters or fluff....Not in the Imperial Guard anyway....And i've never seen a black space marine lol

This is because you are unfamiliar with 40k background and models.
SM Salamanders are black, White Scars are based on Mongols, Attilan Rough Riders are based on Huns obviously.
That said, in a setting with millions of colonized planets and Orks, Tau, Necrons, Eldar and Tyranids, human skin colour is less important, esp. as there have been 38k years of further mixing of human races, on earth and other planets. And as always, you can paint the models any skin colour you want.

I am unfamiliar with 40k background and models? Really? So far with the examples you have cited, that accounts for about about 1/99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999th of the Imperium. So they are really an absolute exception to the rule. So that really hasn't proved anything.

Think people are missing the point here: Whenever you see GW exhibitions you never see (or very very rarely) black human beings, be it Imperial Guard, SM or whatever.

You say that the ethnicities of humans have had 38k years to 'mix' even more over countless planets. So actually then you'd expect to see even more ethnic diversity.

Finally, yes I know I can paint my guardsmen black...Funnily enough I knew that already lol. It doesn't bother me nor am I accusing GW of racism (it's absurd to even suggest this), I am just asking why this is. It just seems odd.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 d3m01iti0n wrote:
It does seem a bit silly. The coal black Salamander thing is absurd; Ill paint a leftover Marine as a black guy Salamander. I have a few black guys as Neophytes/Scouts (the visor guy lookin like Geordie LaForge lulz). I tend to stick with helmets on my SMs but Ill probably make a black dude in my bike squad thanks to this thread =)

haha I know right?

I had to laugh at LeForge too.

Well, I am gonna paint more guardsmen black, just for some better realism I guess...

Tallarn = Near/Middle East
Attilan Rough Riders = Huns
White Scars = Mongolians


There's not many, but there are some.

You said that you are an IG player. Look at the Catachan battleforce box, it features a piece of artwork that has accompanied nearly every product the GW has somehow associated with Catachan... TWO black guys... I'll give you some time to recover assuming that I just blew your mind. Not only do different races exist, a good deal of them are in your own faction. Need I mention Attilans or Tallarn again?

Invisible Jesus wrote:
or is it simply because the 40k universe was created by solely white middle/upper class kids who grew up in 1970's England?

Seeing as GW created 40k and you make the above assumption I followed the trend and assumed you were aiming the lack of ethnic diversity at being GW's fault, as well as mentioning lack of ethnic characters in codex's written by GW.

When I first read some 40k stuff, I assumed the lack of diversity was purposeful. After all, the Imperium really resembled Nazi Germany. I assumed that the fact that everyone in power was an old white dude was to show how the future isn't any more brighter or tolerant than the past; in fact, intolerance has only gone worse. Even when humanity lies on the verge of extinction, people still stupidly prioritize race and gender. The Traitor Legions are breaking past Cadia, Hive Fleet Leviathan is eating up the eastern fringe and Orks are battering the Imperium from all sides, yet the Imperium still picks old white dudes to lead the defense rather than whoever is best for the job.

I accidentally brought this up and got yelled at a lot by people insisting the Imperium was tolerant.

Colonel Schafer's Last Chancers also includes an asian and a native american-ish Guardsman.

This subject comes up every now and again. Basically there's a lot of racial diversity in the background but there's not so much in the Studio armies.

 Squidmanlolz wrote:
You said that you are an IG player. Look at the Catachan battleforce box, it features a piece of artwork that has accompanied nearly every product the GW has somehow associated with Catachan... TWO black guys... I'll give you some time to recover assuming that I just blew your mind.

OMG. You are absolutely right. My mind is absolutely blown at the only 2 black guys ever to appear in the Catachan fluff ever hahahahha....

However, good points about Tallarn (Arabs) and Antillian Rough Riders. We can add Schafer's Last Chancers too. An Asian AND a Native American....Maybe I have indeed imagined the whole thing?


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 KamikazeCanuck wrote:
This subject comes up every now and again. Basically there's a lot of racial diversity in the background but there's not so much in the Studio armies.

To be honest, it's probably this simple. Less people in general in the West who are black, even less who got the education/networking required to work in the studios.

Its also a b**** to paint any other skin color other then white that doesn't look horrible.


Skin shades do exist in the fluff and BL novels. Obviously people from one planet will have different shades then others.

The thing is, skin color doesn't matter when there's xenos to kill. Mankind has moved on from being racist to being xenophobic, and thats a good thing. Stinking aliens, all over our galaxy, etc...

Humans are the superior race. if you're human, you're fine and in the club. The alien, the mutant, and the heretic are what's worthy of ire. Who cares about ol'smoky joe over there? he's a damn fine shot and I hope you are too cause the next wave of Nids is coming over the ridge.

Here a black skinned Space Marine:

Here a red skinned Space Marine:

Here a yello skinned Space Marine:

Here a brown skinned Space Marine:


Really, in a universe with Xenos, Chaos mutations, genetically modified superhumans and humans from a million worlds, who cares if ancestors 38k years ago came from Ghana?

My black templars are black... I thought it would be funny when i was ?15? Or whenever it was i got them. A really light brown for the base and a brown ink looks darn decent imo.

 Kroothawk wrote:

Spoiler:

Here a black skinned Space Marine:

Here a red skinned Space Marine:

Here a yello skinned Space Marine:

Here a brown skinned Space Marine:


Really, in a universe with Xenos, Chaos mutations, genetically modified superhumans and humans from a million worlds, who cares if ancestors 38k years ago came from Ghana?

I lol'd

Also, GW have traditionally never been that good at releasing a decent variation of proper 'real' flesh toned paints.

I remember the dark flesh paint I've got, which didn't seem to last too long for sale not actually being that good at all.

Dark Flesh is good, for painting Uruk-hai and dark cloth.

Salamanders are black (deep black) and i think the Catachans are too.

Catachan's are definitly not black.

*Inserts Catachan Heavy Flamer Pic here*

Don't worry boys, I'll change the paradigm someday!

shadowseerc wrote:Salamanders are black (deep black) and i think the Catachans are too.

I don't think Salamanders count as black people; they're mutants, whose skin color is just a gimmick that Games Workshop uses.

This is a black person.



This is a Salamander.

I wouldnt say mutants, I think they just adapted to their surroundings which would make them black.

Any way there are several black astartes in the fluff books in theblacklibrary.com


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As for asians I was under the impression they were the white scars.

 LoneLictor wrote:

shadowseerc wrote:Salamanders are black (deep black) and i think the Catachans are too.

I don't think Salamanders count as black people; they're mutants, whose skin color is just a gimmick that Games Workshop uses.

This is a black person.



This is a Salamander.

Oh ok thanks for the subtitles, i couldnt tell them apart . Seriously tho you can build your army however you want, its just that most people go for plain old vanilla humans. If you want choclate or strawberry or even rainbow sherbet then go for it!

Technically, the reason Salamanders are coal black is because their geneseed has a flaw that reacts to the radiation on their homeworld, causing their jet black skin.

The actual human population of Nocturne has light skin.

Sigh... this thread again?

Should I copy paste my previous comment from last week? The week before?

Perhaps I should just put a link to one of the countless threads on the exact same subject.

Maybe a Mod could just lock this before it becomes a stupid argument about race or something.

Better yet, maybe people should use the search function so we can stop seeing the same crap pop up every 7 to 14 days...