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Time to kick off the first voting of the 2022/23 League rotation! As is traditional, the March theme was once again Space Marines, though as ever that expands to basically cover anything that evokes GW's classics: chunky armour, ship-borne combatants and suchlike alongside the Astartes themselves.


As always, you're free to hand out as many votes as you like, and for any entry you feel deserves recognition, based on anything from technical proficiency ro model choice, a neat conversion or a cool take on the theme, or anything else! You're also very welcome to leave some feedback here for the entrants, and many of the images click through to the Dakka gallery if you'd like to give out a vote or two there as well.


The entrants:



vejut: Andromedan Ranger


lifeafter: Imperial Fists Assault Intercessor


Mothsniper: Mouse Marines


JoshinJapan: Martians


Geifer: Imperial Fist Marine


theCrowe: Iron Warrior Amputee



KidCthulhu: Eldar Guardian


Captain Brown: Dire Avengers


ZergSmasher: Sergeant Castus


TooFast: Black Templars Apothecary


Aelyn: Warpsmith


Flinty: Mass Effect crew


youwashock: Emperor's Champion


Nevelon: Ultramarine Assault Intercessors


Maharg: Deathwing Terminator


viterbi: Terminator


Tallandra: Primaris Infiltrators


Peterhausenn: Death Guard Terminators


monkeytroll :The Outer Systems Marine Corps LRE 'Flying Without Feathers'


MobileSuitRandom: Kyria Draxus


DJJazzyJeff: Librarian and Apprentice


Turaxa: Ultramarines Sergeant


Pariah Press: Brother Artemis


DV8: Hulkbuster


Jadenim: Aliens APC


Midget Gems: Knights Sanguine Veterans


TheLastTemplar: Black Templar Reivers

Voted. Some nice paint schemes!

I gotta say, there are some impressive Adeptus Astartes in here and I actually voted for them even though I hate what Mahreenz have become

Well done, everyone!

DV8 Hulkbuster is absolutely incredible

Another month of great entries is upon us! Rather than tell who I voted for, I though I'd return to form and comment on everyone. Here goes:

vejut: I love the colors on this model; very striking. The freehand on the base is pretty decent too.

lifeafter: I've gotta respect anyone who can paint good-looking Imperial Fists, as yellow is a tricky color to make look good. Excellent work!

Mothsniper: I love the Mouse Marines! The cheese wedge back banner is a great touch!

JoshInJapan: Those Martians turned out great! I especially like the color choices and the highlights are well executed.

Geifer: Nice old-school Imperial Fist! Interesting to see a different shade of yellow being used (unless that's just the lighting?).

theCrowe: Very interesting idea to replace the guys' legs with weapons, and it turned out good. The stripes are quite well done also.

KidCthulhu: Ah, one of those perfidious Xenos intruding in this parade of the Emperor's Finest. At first I thought this was a Dire Avenger because of that head crest, but then I realized it was a regular Guardian. The darker color should have been a dead giveaway, eh?

Captain Brown: More Xenos filth! At least it's good-looking Xenos filth. Seriously, these are really well done, particularly the blue armor.

ZergSmasher: I'm pretty happy with my own entry; my freehand is coming along, although I still have much to learn. I really do enjoy painting Blood Ravens, as their scheme is pretty cool-looking (and makes a nice change from my beloved Dark Angels).

TooFast: I love the new Black Templars stuff, and you really did a good job putting some of their special bits on the Primaris Apothecary. The paintjob does it justice pretty well, too.

Aelyn: This Warpsmith loved goooooold! I like how even though the vast majority of this model is painted metallic, there's enough differences in color that it doesn't look too monochrome. Well done!

Flinty: You did a pretty good job bringing some of the Mass Effect characters to life. I'm not super familiar with the games (although they are on my "want to play" list), but the models at least look pretty good.

youwashock: The highlighting on this model is incredible, and the sword blade looks amazing as well!

Nevelon: As per usual, some more very clean Ultrasmurfs from you this time around. The face on the sarge really turned out great, and the red shoulder trim really pops against the blue.

Maharg: As a Dark Angels player myself, I gotta love some Deathwing! Interesting color choice, making all the iconography white; it certainly gives an interesting look and goes better with the bone-colored armor better than I would have expected.

Viterbi: This model is really good looking; I only wish we had some closer shots to really enjoy all that detail! The model definitely deserves it.

Tallandra: Very interesting color scheme! The freehand on the shoulders is quite good, and I especially like the glowing eye lenses.

Peterhausenn: Emerald-green cloaks on white armor is a pretty striking look, and very different from the usual Death Guard color palette. Like with Viterbi above, I only wish we had some closer shots to really see the details on these guys.

monkeytroll: Cool-looking spaceship; the panel detail on the hull looks really good. I also like the starry base.

MobileSuitRandom: The gold armor looks good enough, but the cloak looks really impressive. Fantastic blending on it!

DJJazzyJeff: I like the color choices; a shade or two would really go a long way to making the models pop.

Turaxa: The blue armor looks nice and crisp, and the spot colors do a good job of breaking it up. The back banner is especially well done!

Pariah Press: Artemis went and got himself demoted, eh? At least he still looks good! Nice highlights on the black armor. (@Paradigm, you might want to check, but I think one of the pics of this model is not showing up)

DV8: As always, your painting makes me think I should just eat my brushes. That Hulkbuster looks amazing!

Jadenim: I've always loved the APC design from Aliens, and your paintjob did it justice. Is this a 3d-printed model?

Midget Gems: I love the color scheme on these guys; the tabards on them really pop against the red armor.

TheLastTemplar: Very solid work; yet another example of well-executed freehand.

It feels good to be starting another year of awesome painting challenges. I just hope this time around I can actually finish more of them! Shout out as always to Paradigm for taking time out of his very busy life schedule to organize this thing; we all appreciate you! See you all in the April challenge!

Voted @lifeafter.

 ZergSmasher wrote:
Geifer: Nice old-school Imperial Fist! Interesting to see a different shade of yellow being used (unless that's just the lighting?).

Well, I think of my photography skills as lacking and I don't have a good photography setup, so there's always the disclaimer that my pictures are not necessarily 100% representative of the models. In this case I think the yellow in the picture is just a little lighter and washed out than on the model. It's a fairly light yellow for how I would usually paint Imperial Fists, though. I used the opportunity to see if I like that better than my previous attempt. For ease of comparison I'm posting them both in spoilers below.

They're both painted with a layer of Contrast yellow. On the darker one it was applied fairly heavily and left as the final layer. On the lighter one, it was diluted and got a bit of glazing with Yriel Yellow for the finished armor color.

I had a month to think about it and I can't really get over the challenge Marine missing that touch of orange that I like in my yellows. In retrospect I should have gone with a different yellow, to be honest.

Voted for lots of folk!
DV8 crushed it as usual

ZergSmasher thank you for the nostalgic flashbacks! And good job on the freehand, those raven symbols are not easy to do.

@Zergsmasher, thanks, it’s the GF9 model that goes with the “Another Glorious Day in the Corps!” board game (despite having no actual in game function as far as I can see; I just couldn’t resist having the model!)

It’s also a game-winning hunk of resin (as in, put it in a sock and beat your opponent into submission!)

You picked up a vote from me, mainly for the excellent posing of the Necrons, gives it a really dynamic feel.

I voted for a number of others too, my favourites were Lifeafter and Toofast for the paint jobs and Josh-in-Japan for the memories! Ack ack ak ack!

Another great set of entries this month, with lots of variation within the theme.

vejut: I always love your bold color choices. The spot highlights on the rifle are particularly lovely.

lifeafter: Your weathering and lighting gradients really sell the battle-worn effect on the model.

Mothsniper: What a fun set of models! You did a great job with the yellow armor, the cheese-themed heraldry is inspired, and the bases make each model look like its own mini-diorama.

me: I based these guys on a (very, very old) video tutorial on painting Mars Attacks! models, with the addition of NMM for the armor. I'm fairly happy with how they turned out, but have learned some lessons for when/if I get around to the next set.

Geifer: Imperial Fists have been popular this round. I like your bright yellow with just enough grime to make the armor seem like someone's fighting suit rather than an action figure.

theCrowe: If you hadn't shared the photos with the Chainfoot and Bolterfoot, I would have assumed this was a standard IW model. The hazard stripes look fantastic-- each stripe is the same width! Witchcraft!-- and the little Roman numeral is a great spot detail.

KidCthulhu: Bonus points for nostalgia-- I love this series of models so much that they appeared as DA exarchs back when I played 40K. I love your dark, dark color choices.

Captain Brown: Another stand-out set of models. I remain amazed at just how clean you can get your whites to turn out.

More comments as soon as I can sit down to write them. Great work, everyone!

 Jadenim wrote:
You picked up a vote from me, mainly for the excellent posing of the Necrons, gives it a really dynamic feel.

Thanks, but I didn't pose those Necrons myself. That model comes with that scenic base. I wish I was that good! I may have cost myself a few votes in the closing days of the poll with that admission, but I can't take credit for the design of the model and base, only the paintjob.

ZergSmasher wrote:
JoshInJapan: Those Martians turned out great! I especially like the color choices and the highlights are well executed.

Thanks! For restic models, these were really easy to paint.

Jadenim wrote:... and Josh-in-Japan for the memories! Ack ack ak ack!

I will likely never play the game, but my love for this line of models knows no bounds.

More comments:

Zergsmasher: I love your choice of red for the armor, and the freehand shoulder pad is superb!

TooFast: All the spot color, especially the white on the shoulder and knee pads, will really help the model stand out against the staid black and white of a BT army.

Aelyn: The blue plasma coils stand out nicely against all the warm colors. I like the subtle glow around the eyes, as well.

Flinty: I'm not familiar with Mass Effect, so I can't speak to the accuracy of your work. I like your urban camo on the 'bot-- I've never been able to get that right.

youwashock: Nothing wrong with Grimdark Frazetta! Both the powersword and the tome are nice spot details against the black armor.

Nevelon: I remain impressed by your patience in painting UM. The results are great, and truly consistent across every model of your that I've seen.

Maharg: Your off-white is really smooth, and somehow you managed to get black or near-black shadows to not seem overly stark. Nice work, that.

viterbi: The jade green is a great choice for this model, and the deep red on the shouldpad offers contrast without seeming garsish or Christmasy.

Thanks ZergSmasher and JoshInJapan!

One more round of comments for all!

Tallandra: That's an interesting color combination. The freehand markings on the shoulder pads are a nice little detail.

Peterhausenn: A nice, classic color combination, and of the rust marks add some visual interest. The real star of the models, though, is the glowing green globs of snot on the bases.

monkeytroll: One doesn't often see models at this scale in these challenges. All the little spot colors are a nice touch.

MobileSuitRandom: The rainbow dragon is nifty, and bonus points for non-caucarsian skin tones.

DJJazzyJeff: Is the apprentice missing a weapon? Nice work using non-caucasian skin colors.

Turaxa: You're painting has improved a lot over these last few challenges. The freehand banner shows a lot of attention to detail.

Pariah Press: That's an Inquisitor model, right? The face looks good, and I like the subtle highlighting on the gold.

DV8: You mentioned that you didn't enjoy working on this model, right? It doesn't show. I like the rough/patchy highlights, especially on the red.

Jadenim: That's one deadly hunk of resin, there. Kudos for keeping the weathering subtle-- I rarely work with vehicles, and I would have gone all in and made an ugly mess out of the model.

Midget Gems: I love your choice of warm, deep red for the armor.

TheLastTemplar: Giving every model unique insignias and symbols really adds to the individuality of each model. The red and black checks are particularly nice.

As always, everyone here deserves praise for pushing yourselves. I look forward to seeing you all right here again next month!

Thanks for the comments ZergSmasher and JochInJapan!

One of these days I may do more close-up-shots, but don't count on it

Thanks for all the comments and support, everyone! This army has been a dream of mine since I joined the hobby. In fact, it's one of the first schemes I tried way back when I was a newbie. Maybe this is my redemption of that original caked on yellow!

Here's a link to a 30 second tutorial I put together for this paint scheme:

Some great stuff again this month. My votes go to:

DV8: Amazing piece. I can't really pick out certain aspects, this is just great in every way.
Viterbi: Pretty cool colour scheme on this. Clean painting with some nice details as well.
youwashock: Superb paintjob, especially the sword impresses me. Not sure how well the slave girl fits with the Champion, but it makes for a cool scene.
lifeafter: These guys look like they've been in the trenches for a long time already. I really like the gritty and worn down look.

And thanks for the comments. Seeing some areas that could have used another touch up in the close ups (as always), but overall I'm very happy with how these Infiltrators turned out.

My three votes in order of posting:

Mothsniper - Mouse Marines
I honestly don't even know what's happening here, but I'm all in. The cheese banner and the tiny pad for the feet attached to the larger pad for the legs is what got me.

JoshinJapan - Martians
Ackackack! This entry tickles my nostalgia bone and I love it!

Maharg - Deathwing Terminator
Very clean! I may or may not be in the Horus Heresy mental space right now (stupid hobby group) and this brings back a lot of memories of past campaigns and armies. If I wasn't dead set on Blood Angles already, the Dank Angles would be next up.

Mothsniper wrote:
DV8 crushed it as usual

Cheers! This makes a great centerpiece for my MCP collection and I'd bring it in almost all my rosters just because.

ZergSmasher wrote:
DV8: As always, your painting makes me think I should just eat my brushes. That Hulkbuster looks amazing!

Thank you! Although I'm not sure how delicious that would end up being; I mean texturally, I know it'd be annoying AF. We have 3 cats and a dog that all shed like crazy so I already ingest a lot of hair...

Toofast wrote:DV8 Hulkbuster is absolutely incredible

Thank you!

JoshInJapan wrote:
DV8: You mentioned that you didn't enjoy working on this model, right? It doesn't show. I like the rough/patchy highlights, especially on the red.

I actually really enjoyed this one; it was a little daunting to start, (I may or may not have procrastinated for a couple weeks before I put paint to model), but once I got going, it just came together over the course of a week. I probably could have spent another couple of days perfecting the blends, but quite honestly, I really enjoyed the more painterly style that emerged and decided to roll with it.

Tallandra wrote:
DV8: Amazing piece. I can't really pick out certain aspects, this is just great in every way

Thank you very much! My favorite is the chest and ab plates, along with the head.

Well like the failed revolutions of 1848, our attempt to overthrow the Space Marine month of March has come up short.

But some of the top vote garnering figures were not regular Space Marines of 40k at least, so we can take a little solace in that.

Big thank you to Paradigm for running the challenge, Midget Gems for keeping the tables, the winners for their excellent work, everyone who participated and fought against the piles of the unpainted, and to my comrades who submitted something other than Space Marines...we do have a catchy song we can sing next March.

Do you hear the miniaturists sing?
Singing the song of angry painters?
It is the music of the people
Who will not paint marines again!
When the beating of your heart
Echoes the beating of the drums
There is art about to start
When tomorrow comes!

Will you join in our crusade?
Who will be strong and stand with me?
Beyond those Space Marines
Are there other models you long to see?

Do you hear the miniaturists sing?
Singing the song of angry painters?
It is the music of the people
Who will not paint marines again!
When the beating of your heart
Echoes the beating of the drums
There is art about to start
When tomorrow comes!

Then join in the fight
That will give you the right to be free!

Will you paint all that you can
So that our banner may advance?
Some will finish and some will not (dam)
Will you stand up and take your chance?
Marine helmets on the ground
Will cover the bases all around!

Do you hear the miniaturists sing?
Singing the song of angry painters?
It is the music of the people
Who will not paint marines again!
When the beating of your heart
Echoes the beating of the drums
There is art about to start
When tomorrow comes!

 JoshInJapan wrote:
Pariah Press: That's an Inquisitor model, right? The face looks good, and I like the subtle highlighting on the gold.

It's a regular 40K model, converted to look a lot like an Inquisitor model! Seeing as I fooled ya', I'm calling it a success!

Thanks as always for taking the time to comment on each entry, and thanks to ZergSmasher as well!

 Pariah Press wrote:

 JoshInJapan wrote:
Pariah Press: That's an Inquisitor model, right? The face looks good, and I like the subtle highlighting on the gold.

It's a regular 40K model, converted to look a lot like an Inquisitor model! Seeing as I fooled ya', I'm calling it a success!

Really? It sure looks like the real thing.

Thanks Tallandra for the vote If the shot was closer I'm not sure it would still look so cleanly painted But Contrast over metals is a lifesaver for the lazy painters like me.

Time for the scores! We've got an eclectic bunch on the podium this month, which is certainly unusual for the Marines round... perhaps those sinister revolutionaries are getting too powerful...

In third place, JoshinJapan with some Martian marines:









Taking second, DV8;s Hulkbuster, the big stompy armour to end all big stompy armours:



And finally, taking the win we have Lifeafter with a wonderfully weathered Imperial Fist Intercessor:














Thanks for playing, folks, see you all next month!

Congrats to the winners!

Congratulations to the winners.

Well done, everybody! Congrats and laurels to the winners.

Good job, everyone, on getting something finished. Congratulations to both DV8 and Lifeafter- it's an honor to stand on the podium in such illustrious company.

Hi All, wow, thanks for all the votes and support! It means a lot to me to see you all enjoying these dirty boys!

I think there were a ton of great entries and I remain amazed by the creativity and talent of this group. I love the red nmm on DV8's entry and it's inspiring to me to take the plunge into nmm next.

JoshinJapan, your Martians are so fricking cool and well painted.

Thanks all, hopefully I'll be able to participate again in a month or two!

Fantastic work. Deserved win for the Astartes representative with some stiff opposition on both sides of the podium. Congrats to you all. Thanks to paradigm for all your work and. cheers to everyone who painted and voted.

Congrats to lifeafter and joshinjapan, and to everyone that entered. Some very cool entries!