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Hello fellow Dakkaloids!

Here are some female space marines I sculpted recently. These were all sculpted by hand using polymer clay and epoxy putty (not digitally) and are 100% original sculpts from the armature up. These are actually resin master casts I had done by Zealot Miniatures. I made these to scale with Primaris/Stormcast and wanted to make miniatures that were practically attired and not 'overly (or even overtly) feminine' (whatever that means).

Anyway, hope you like them and I do enjoy feedback of the constructive kind. Happy to answer any questions about sculpting, too.

Cheers!

James

(A small disclaimer, if you will permit me: Yes, we all know the lore does not allow this. We are also aware that Sisters of Battle/Adeptas Sororitas are indeed a thing. These are female space marines done for fun. Because I, personally, just like the idea. Thanks for looking!)

Ah, so those are resin casts. That's why they look so professional. Very well done!

When do we see painted versions?

Looks good to me! Just say you're using Rouge Trader lore, when women could still be marines.

I’m not a very experienced sculptor but I am fairly good at art and stuff, but I noticed that the hair on the one model seems to lack a gravity and seems to be floating. Although I can be wrong great models though

I use 3d printed heads and standard marine bodies. I think armor is armor and changing to have a more sleek or feminine look is kinda silly. Though in fairness, this is a sci fi fantasy world so to each their own.

If you want female marines though I suggest shapeways for female heads and if you have a 3d printer you can pick up files on cults3d.

If you want to pay GW for product, all you can really get is Stormcast and standard marine bodies. Sorry,

Nice designs, not a fan of the heads, to eldar for me, do Victoria Miniatures heads fit, or Sisters of Battle heads?

Given the topic was was ready to be offended and/or unimpressed. You have done neither.

Great job. Regardless of subject matter, I really enjoy the look of these minis.

I like your sculpts overall, but these look too sleek as to be Marines IMHO. To me old eye, they look more like how SoB would look like if they went more into a Van Saar type aesthetic over the gothic look they got going on in the current lore.

KidCthulhu wrote:Ah, so those are resin casts. That's why they look so professional. Very well done!

When do we see painted versions?

Cheers Kid! I spend all my time sculpting and don't have the time to paint. Plus I'm colourblind (that old excuse) and haven't painted a miniature since 1994. lol

But here's what the original sculpt looked like when it was still on the armature:

SergentSilver wrote:Looks good to me! Just say you're using Rouge Trader lore, when women could still be marines.

Cheers Sarge! Ah yes, good old Rogue Trader. A lawless (loreless?) time. Sigh. Halcyon days!

samus-gaming wrote:I’m not a very experienced sculptor but I am fairly good at art and stuff, but I noticed that the hair on the one model seems to lack a gravity and seems to be floating. Although I can be wrong great models though

Thanks Samus! I appreciate your observation and feedback! I was trying to achieve a "Cor blimey, it's windy out today!" look, hence the fact that gravity appears to be having less of a say than usual.

Freya wrote:I use 3d printed heads and standard marine bodies. I think armor is armor and changing to have a more sleek or feminine look is kinda silly. Though in fairness, this is a sci fi fantasy world so to each their own.

If you want female marines though I suggest shapeways for female heads and if you have a 3d printer you can pick up files on cults3d.

If you want to pay GW for product, all you can really get is Stormcast and standard marine bodies. Sorry,

Hey, thanks Freya! Your approach is, of course, completely legitimate and I understand the argument that a biologically female space marine would probably look the same as a biologically male space marine when the armour is on. My personal goal on this project was to try to achieve some kind of balance between practicality (sensible armour, no boob plate or high heels) and something that looks vaguely 'feminine'. So, what I have tried to convey at this tiny scale is the basic 'shape' of a female based upon the skeleton - smaller skull, rib cage etc. But I've tried to do it in a way that is not overt and, I hope, in relatively good taste. It was fun trying!

But yes - each to their own! I totally agree.

Jehan-reznor wrote:Nice designs, not a fan of the heads, to eldar for me, do Victoria Miniatures heads fit, or Sisters of Battle heads?

Cheers! That's fine and fair enough. These heads are actually a bit bigger than, for example, Escher heads (the only female GW heads I currently have to hand). When you put an Escher head on the body, the head looks a little too small. My heads are still smaller than a male space marine's noggin, as it should be to retain the difference in skull size. I suppose you could put Sisters or Victoria mini heads on them, but I haven't tried since I don't own any.

bbb wrote:Given the topic was was ready to be offended and/or unimpressed. You have done neither.

Great job. Regardless of subject matter, I really enjoy the look of these minis.

Thanks very much! I was always conscious whilst sculpting these that it was, shall we say, a 'sensitive' subject. My primary objective was simply to avoid high heels and boob plate.

tauist wrote:I like your sculpts overall, but these look too sleek as to be Marines IMHO. To me old eye, they look more like how SoB would look like if they went more into a Van Saar type aesthetic over the gothic look they got going on in the current lore.

Hey, thanks tauist! I totally hear you - valid points. Whilst I understand that, 'realistically', a female space marine would almost certainly have the same armour, this was merely my personal preference on style. I wanted to sculpt miniatures that looked viably biologically female, without being too obvious about it. But yeah, IF GW ever made them, I imagine it might be a simple head swap job.

Hi,
You mentioned that you were colour blind, have you heard of Chroma glasses? They can correct vision problems in most cases. Have a look at the videos on Youtube.

Hope this helps

Slipstream

Awesome stuff!

Did I see they're going to be cast for sale or it entirely a personal project?

What if next month's Dakka painting challenge is Brass Monkey's Femmarines? I'd buy a couple for it

I don't dislike them other than, as stated above, I feel the heads step on the Dark Eldar toes so to say. A change to more beefy faces might help to give the superhuman on steroids look, though that will probably mess up the look you want to give them.

M.

Slipstream wrote:Hi,
You mentioned that you were colour blind, have you heard of Chroma glasses? They can correct vision problems in most cases. Have a look at the videos on Youtube.

Hope this helps

Slipstream

Hey Slipstream! Thanks for that. I had heard of them but have never actually looked into them properly. Perhaps I should.

Thanks!

Kid_Kyoto wrote:Awesome stuff!

Did I see they're going to be cast for sale or it entirely a personal project?

Thanks Kid! Yep, they are currently being cast in thermoplastic by Zealot Miniatures using their shiny new Siocast machines. The injection moulded plastic miniatures are amazing - almost as good as GW plastic and virtually as good as resin for detail. I'm very excited to see them when they are done next month (June)!

KidCthulhu wrote:What if next month's Dakka painting challenge is Brass Monkey's Femmarines? I'd buy a couple for it

Haha, sounds awesome. I'm only a message away if you want in

Miguelsan wrote:I don't dislike them other than, as stated above, I feel the heads step on the Dark Eldar toes so to say. A change to more beefy faces might help to give the superhuman on steroids look, though that will probably mess up the look you want to give them.

M.

Hi Miguelsan! Thanks, appreciate your feedback. I will be sculpting more heads (and bodies, weapons, vehicles...) and plan on having a go at something a bit more 'beefy' for the faces, although it is VERY difficult to achieve a beefy and still obviously 'female' head at this scale (the head is only 5mm tall, after all). The female skull is smaller than a male skull, plus the jaw is also smaller. I will try, though!

Here's a scale shot, for those who may interested:

I would say the only wrong note is the backpack nozzles. By sticking out prominently rather than curve they distract away from the foreground. I would definatively stick some different backpack on that didn't distract away from the head and shoulders.

I, for one, like the nozzles on the backpacks. Reminds me of the old metal scout backpacks that I actually like.

If you ever get into 3d printing, female heads are super easy to get. Check this link out if you want. I can print and send these to anyone I want so if you like them and want some let me know.

https://www.myminifactory.com/object/3d-print-kickstarter-females-heads-all-in-203308

Honestly though, I think the primaris bodies are extremely non-binary and they work REALLY well with female heads on them. I have a few in my gallery so maybe take a peek and see what you think?




Personally I kinda have been aiming for the Valkyrie style for my space wolves look and I'm curious what your thoughts are and if you have any kind of advice from your own perspective. It's rare I meet another person who wants female marines so the input is extremely valuable to me.

The_Real_Chris wrote:I would say the only wrong note is the backpack nozzles. By sticking out prominently rather than curve they distract away from the foreground. I would definitively stick some different backpack on that didn't distract away from the head and shoulders.

Thanks Chris, I'm happy if there is only one wrong note! I do see where you are coming from. I suppose design-wise, the round nozzles on a GW space marine backpack are less of a distraction behind round shoulder pads. I get if my pointy nozzles are a bit distracting!

KidCthulhu wrote:I, for one, like the nozzles on the backpacks. Reminds me of the old metal scout backpacks that I actually like.

Cheers Kid! Out of a sample of two, 50% like the pointy nozzles, 50% prefer something else. It's all good!

Freya wrote:If you ever get into 3d printing, female heads are super easy to get. Check this link out if you want. I can print and send these to anyone I want so if you like them and want some let me know.

https://www.myminifactory.com/object/3d-print-kickstarter-females-heads-all-in-203308

Honestly though, I think the primaris bodies are extremely non-binary and they work REALLY well with female heads on them. I have a few in my gallery so maybe take a peek and see what you think?




Personally I kinda have been aiming for the Valkyrie style for my space wolves look and I'm curious what your thoughts are and if you have any kind of advice from your own perspective. It's rare I meet another person who wants female marines so the input is extremely valuable to me.

Hey Freya, thanks very much for the very kind offer! I'm a sculptor and like to sculpt everything myself, but occasionally I buy a nice head (male or female) for reference purposes. Also, your Space Wolves look great!

A lot of people do like the idea of Primaris bodies but with a simple head swap, which of course is absolutely cool and works a charm. I don't know if you were aware, but 28 magazine (I'm lead designer) ran a female space marine challenge last year that was a huge success and resulted in an incredible range of different styles. You can see the results at www.28-mag.com. You can also download our magazine for free.

I love Space Wolves and have always been interested in Norse mythology, especially Valkyries. A natural combination for female space marines from Fenris! The beauty of this hobby is that you can have head cannon where something does not exist within the 'official' lore. Many will argue that a female space marine would not look much different from a male one, after the horrific process involved in creating them. Also that the armour would be the same (why should it be different?), so with helmet on, all marines - regardless of gender - would be identical.

Personally (and it is personal preference at the end of the day), I wanted to achieve miniatures that looked 'feminine', but also still powerful and very practically armed and armoured. I took inspiration from the female Stormcast models and tried to combine elements of those with space marine armour. Like I say, all personal taste really. I wanted to make something that I thought looked cool.

Happy to chat anytime about female space marines, either on here or private messages! And, if you're on Instagram and haven't already done so, please search for #femalespacemarines and #28magchallenge. You may find there are more of us out there than you thought.

Here's another scale shot, next to some Primaris armour this time.

Awesome sculpting!

However although I do understand the design decision behind the thinner armor, I don't think it really work for the "space marine"
The girls look like a variant of sisters of battle than a female space marine. For the space marine feel, you kinda need that bulk and heft man.

 Mothsniper wrote:
Awesome sculpting!

However although I do understand the design decision behind the thinner armor, I don't think it really work for the "space marine"
The girls look like a variant of sisters of battle than a female space marine. For the space marine feel, you kinda need that bulk and heft man.

Thanks Mothsniper! I hear you, a totally valid opinion. I fully appreciate the argument that female space marines would look just like male space marines when in power armour. My approach was purely a personal one.

Cheers!

Those are some good looking sculps! Very nice work.

 Insectum7 wrote:
Those are some good looking sculps! Very nice work.

Thanks very much, Insectum!

Hey folks! In case anyone is interested, I am taking pre-orders for the second batch of female space warriors.

Five miniatures, multiple posing options. The set (see photos above) consists of:

- 5 bodies
- 10 heads (5 helmeted)
- 10 arms
- 5 backpacks
- Various weapons (including a plasma gun)

Zealot miniatures are doing production casting right now, so they should be ready fairly soon.

Taking pre-orders now - GBP23 plus shipping (bases not included). Drop me a message anytime.

Cheers!

Interesting topic. Purely as an exercise, I tried to come up with a convincing female Marine. I reasoned that she would need to be as powerfully built as a male Marine, rather then being slender and smaller. I thought the armour should allow for the bust, partly to sell that fact that it's a woman, but without making too much of it - the approach taken with the Stormcast seemed suitable. This is what I came up with. It's a Stormcast female head, and looks a bit less evil in real life.

These look great, OP. I really like that you've gone for a distinct aesthetic which is still obviously space marine.

I really like a lot of your sculpts, Brassmonkey, and these definitely fit the brief. Female space marines are a peculiarly contentious issue, but I think these are tastefully and nicely done; walking that fine line between character and over exaggeration. Nice work.

The comparison picture you posted next to a Stormcast miniature highlights the conceit well – though it also made me think that the lower legs were what stopped the figure immediately reading as 'Space Marine' for me. While I don't think that you need to make any changes to what's a great set of figures, if you are looking to expand the range, I'd love to see some of the distinctive flared greaves make an appearance; perhaps for a specific not-Devastators group? I'd also be interested to see how you'd tackle some helms; I think those would be a nice canvas for you to explore how the differences in male and female facial proportions might be reflected.

Snord wrote:Interesting topic. Purely as an exercise, I tried to come up with a convincing female Marine. I reasoned that she would need to be as powerfully built as a male Marine, rather then being slender and smaller. I thought the armour should allow for the bust, partly to sell that fact that it's a woman, but without making too much of it - the approach taken with the Stormcast seemed suitable. This is what I came up with. It's a Stormcast female head, and looks a bit less evil in real life.

Nothing wrong with that reasoning. Speaking for myself, my primary aim was to create something that was functional but with some 'typically feminine proportions' (different skeleton, smaller skull, ribcage etc. - although I am aware that women, just like men, come in all shapes and sizes), whilst avoiding 'boobplate', high heels and overly sexy poses. This is why I thought that female space marines would be, on average, a bit shorter and slimmer than their male counterparts. Much like the biggest female body builders are still smaller than the biggest male body builders.

But I believe there are various, tasteful ways to approach this subject, and in my opinion yours is one of them.

Hivefleet Oblivion wrote:These look great, OP. I really like that you've gone for a distinct aesthetic which is still obviously space marine.

Thanks very much! I basically tried to achieved a look that was essentially 'powerful female athlete in powered armour'.

Apologist wrote:I really like a lot of your sculpts, Brassmonkey, and these definitely fit the brief. Female space marines are a peculiarly contentious issue, but I think these are tastefully and nicely done; walking that fine line between character and over exaggeration. Nice work.

The comparison picture you posted next to a Stormcast miniature highlights the conceit well – though it also made me think that the lower legs were what stopped the figure immediately reading as 'Space Marine' for me. While I don't think that you need to make any changes to what's a great set of figures, if you are looking to expand the range, I'd love to see some of the distinctive flared greaves make an appearance; perhaps for a specific not-Devastators group? I'd also be interested to see how you'd tackle some helms; I think those would be a nice canvas for you to explore how the differences in male and female facial proportions might be reflected.

Cheers! I have considered the flared trouser armour, and maybe I will do a different version in future...

These are great! I had my doubts about the slender proportions, but next to a primaris marine i think they do really hold up and make sense. One small note is that I would reduce the size of the hands; that is a key element of GW’s design language when it comes to sculpting women, and i think it’s something that does a lot of work to communicate a subtly more delicate frame.

Would love to see your take on terminator armour!

shmvo wrote:
These are great! I had my doubts about the slender proportions, but next to a primaris marine i think they do really hold up and make sense. One small note is that I would reduce the size of the hands; that is a key element of GW’s design language when it comes to sculpting women, and i think it’s something that does a lot of work to communicate a subtly more delicate frame.

Would love to see your take on terminator armour!

Cheers! Appreciate your feedback re the hands - not a bad shout at all. Always looking for subtle ways to improve, so when I get the chance to do another iteration I will take that on board! And yeah, I would love to do a termie some time...