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Time to vote your your favorite Space Marine. This month our topic was space marines. Tall, short, spiky or otherwise, any flavor of post human super soldier would fit the bill. Alive or dead as base decoration. Pretty much any space-based warrior will work, does not have to be a Games Workshop Space Marine (tm). I’d say the sky is the limit, but we are way past that out into the stars.

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.


Dante_Macabre – Chaplain


Leopold Helveine - Gubgreeb'r and his never-stolen vehicle; Zatra Ahrmz


Captain Brown - Dark Reaper Exarch


youwashock – Crimson Fist


Gulgog TufToof - Kommandos


Geifer - Tomboy, Terra Nova Marine Corps


JoshInJapan – Oldhammer Marines


Daia T'Nara - Furies Chapter, Captain Octavia:


Inmygravenimage - Storm Lions


KidCthulhu – RT Marine


Tallandra - Terminator Librarian


theCrowe - Harlequins


Mr Nobody - Chaos space marines


Perkustin – Apothecary


ZergSmasher – Deathwing


Vejut - Epic Predators


Maharg - Terminators


CancelledApocalypse - Raven Guard Infiltrator


Pariah Press - Human Renegades


Midget Gems - Knights Sanguine Assault Marines


warriorneedsfood - Angels of Redemption


ShadowsAndDust - Khorne Berzerkers



Nevelon - Ultramarine Destroyers


Jadenim - -Ultramarines 2nd company


Poll will run for 5 days. If I missed anyone or something needs to be fixed, let me know.

Gave out a total of 23 votes as there was too much good stuff to choose from! Well done, everyone!

Top picks have to be JoshInJapan (superb old school paint jobs on super old school models!), Perkustin (beautiful shading on that white, the wrist mounted screen is great!), and Mr Nobody (great models, great colour choices, super green glow, love it!).

But it was so difficult to pick those three out of the rest, fantastic work everyone, you're doing this comp proud!

This is the third time I've participated in the Space-Marine-themed Challenge, but the first in which I've entered a GW Space Marine model. Looking through all these truly excellent entries, I can understand the appeal-- they consist mostly of tubes and hemispheres, so they cake highlights really well. Lots of surfaces offer opportunities for freehand detailing, while there are also enough bits and pieces to add the all-important splash of color. I'm not likely to start playing 40K again, but I may add some of the Marines I have lying around into the rotation.

Dante_Macabre: I do love me some classic models. I'm not sure that the red around the eyes makes them look glowy, but combined with the shape of the helmet, it makes it looks like he took some poor dude's skull to wear into battle!

Leopold Helveine: What a wild kitbash! The pose really gives in a sense of movement (it must have been very difficult to photograph). The Ork's crazy eyes (visibly in the third photo) delight me!

Captain Brown: Back when I played Eldar, I would always bring a squad of Dark Reapers because they were proven Marine killers. I love you classic color scheme, and the Reaper launcher is integrated perfectly into the hand-- you can't even tell that it's a conversion.

youwashock: About fifteen years ago, I got the itch to paint a Marine army. I was torn between Crimson Fists and Howling Griffons. I went with the latter, but I still like the former. I love your take on the power sword-- the little stars are a great little detail.

Gulgog TufToof: These guys look like they're ready to go toe-to-toe with some Marine Boyz! I wish there were more photos from different angles so I see more of the work you did.

Geifer: Your choice of drab, business-like colors really stand out against all the other models this month. I wish I could paint camo as well as you do here.

me: These models date to the earliest days of Rogue Trader, back when anyone could have powered armor if you were willing to pay the points. I tried to capture the wild, anything goes attitude of that era. I think I mostly succeeded.

Daia T'Nara: It's weird seeing you enter something that isn't weird and disturbing. I love the vivid deep red and the tiny head. The freehand shoulder art is a great touch as well.

Inmygravenimage: You have integrated the AoS and the 40K parts perfectly. The gold NMM turned out very well, and I like the mail skirt as well.

KidCthulhu: It's pretty rare for me to not recognize an Oldhammer model-- I'd seen the helmeted version of this guy, but not this one. Your color choices really sell this guy as a renegade/independent operator.

Tallandra: This guy is really bringing the bling! Am I correct in thinking that you used a quite limited palette? I'm mostly seeing blue, red, off-white and a couple of metallics, but with enough variation to make your paint job seem even more complex. Well done!

theCrowe: I take my hat off to anyone who uses browns as the base colors on Harlequins. The diamond patterns are very effective.

Mr Nobody: Your purple is at once muted and striking, especially against the black and off-white. The green flame on the standard is a nice touch. I wish there were more photos from some different angles, though.

Perkustin: Your highlighting, especially on the leg armor, is superlative. I wish you had photographed the model from a couple of different angles, though.

ZergSmasher: Your use of red-and-purple instead of the standard DA green really makes the models feel unique.

Vejut: You put a lot of work into detailing these tiny little tanks. Does the one on the left have a flame pattern?

Maharg: Your hazard stripes really pop against the simple metal armor. I am in awe of how clean your freehand is. Also, the little points of light on the chainaxe are a great little detail.

CancelledApocalypse: You really nailed that black armor-- I can never seem to get it right when I try it.

Pariah Press: You really nailed these guys-- much better, in my opinion, than my take on the same artwork. The blue and white diamonds and tiger stripe camo both look great.

Midget Gems: I love your deep, deep shadows on the red armor, especially against the charcoal-grey robes.

warriorneedsfood: The pale green and white makes for a striking color combination. I wish there are few more photos, maybe of individual models, so we could see all the work you put in.

ShadowsAndDust: Classic red-and-brass! You really captured the essence of these models.

Nevelon: As I commented on your P&M blog, it's something of a shock to see you paint marines that aren't all blue. You have achieved a much nicer black than I can normally pull off.

Jadenim: I like your vivid blue, especially against the warm red-brown of the bases. The leader's face turned out well. I don't recognize the model, though-- where is it from?

Once again, this is a great selection of models. Great job, everyone!

 JoshInJapan wrote:
Geifer: Your choice of drab, business-like colors really stand out against all the other models this month. I wish I could paint camo as well as you do here.

Thanks.

The lizard pattern should be dead easy to copy. It's just a base of Deathworld Forest (medium olive) with a zenithal fade of Nurgling Green (light olive) with horizontal stripes of Castellan Green (dark olive) that got an extra Deathworld Forest highlight and partially overlapping stripes of watered down Doombull Brown (medium leathery brown). The trick is to paint both stripes fairly thin and keep the light olive a little broader to give it more presence.

My impression of the Leibermuster on the pants, on the other hand... That's a lot of little puffy red brown spots that partially overlap with little puffy olive spots that are then broken up with differently shaped black smudges. And then you have to get some shading and highlighting done on four different colors... Let's just say I'm glad the model is painted now.

I voted for these:

Midgetgems: Personally not very fond of the warcraftlike big shoulders on robed peeps but holy heck is this an awesomely based and saddled bunch (those big backpacks are a cherry on the pie) The moss on the bases is an eyecatcher and the colorpalet doesn't distract. The burnt orange yellow gunholster is a strong spot color well suited.

CancelledApocalypse: Never seen such popping black, super clean job and suave contrast with the snowy bases (did you use soda salt for that? I used to, mixing it with a bit of white paint.. looks quite similar.)

perkushtin: White is so flippin hard to pull off but this looks golden demon level to me. Pretty much everything is expertly shaded, beautiful base too.

Youwashock: The banner is beautiful, and you've really rocked the shadowy wash on the marine and his gun. Awesome touch to the freehanding that sword too.

(and myself because I think my kitbash was ace, normally don't vote for myself but I'm honest about it.)
p.s. Thanks Josh! And yes it was hell to photograph it (with a huge actual camera -_- , no smartphone here)

Many great entries, made it hard to make a choice.
Here's what I went for:
youwashock : Great paintjob, cool effects on the blade, a beautiful banner and some nice weathering effects all over.

Inmygravenimage: Great conversions while still very much keeping the theme. Beautifully painted too, both the overall bright scheme and the camo are pretty difficult to do well imo.

Perkustin: A bit of a shame that the picture is so dark, but the is a phenomenal Apothecary. Both the overall effect and the many small details are extremely well done.

CancelledApocalypse: Having painted some Ravenwing stuff recently I can only congratulate you on getting the black done so well. Works really well with the snowy base too, and the snow on the boots is a nice touch too.

 JoshInJapan wrote:

Tallandra: This guy is really bringing the bling! Am I correct in thinking that you used a quite limited palette? I'm mostly seeing blue, red, off-white and a couple of metallics, but with enough variation to make your paint job seem even more complex. Well done!

I did try to limit myself a bit with this one, yes. I often tend to use more (too many?) different colours for all the details, especially on characters, so I tried to tone it down a little.
I'm pretty happy overall, and it still fits well with the rest of the army.

Another month, another set of votes cast for great painting, another lack of entry by me. XD

Geifer wrote:

 JoshInJapan wrote:
Geifer: Your choice of drab, business-like colors really stand out against all the other models this month. I wish I could paint camo as well as you do here.

Thanks.

The lizard pattern should be dead easy to copy. It's just a base of Deathworld Forest (medium olive) with a zenithal fade of Nurgling Green (light olive) with horizontal stripes of Castellan Green (dark olive) that got an extra Deathworld Forest highlight and partially overlapping stripes of watered down Doombull Brown (medium leathery brown). The trick is to paint both stripes fairly thin and keep the light olive a little broader to give it more presence.

My impression of the Leibermuster on the pants, on the other hand... That's a lot of little puffy red brown spots that partially overlap with little puffy olive spots that are then broken up with differently shaped black smudges. And then you have to get some shading and highlighting done on four different colors... Let's just say I'm glad the model is painted now.

That sounds like a lot of work. I guess I just need to practice.

Leopold Helveine wrote:
p.s. Thanks Josh! And yes it was hell to photograph it (with a huge actual camera -_- , no smartphone here)

I'd love to see the model in person, or failing that, in a 3D animation.

Tallandra wrote:

 JoshInJapan wrote:

Tallandra: This guy is really bringing the bling! Am I correct in thinking that you used a quite limited palette? I'm mostly seeing blue, red, off-white and a couple of metallics, but with enough variation to make your paint job seem even more complex. Well done!

I did try to limit myself a bit with this one, yes. I often tend to use more (too many?) different colours for all the details, especially on characters, so I tried to tone it down a little.
I'm pretty happy overall, and it still fits well with the rest of the army.

Your use similar colors with different tonal variations is quite effective.

Thanks JoshinJapan; it’s a mixture of FW MkV legs and backpack with a plastic MkIII torso and arms from the command squad (I think).

Part of my ongoing insane project to recreate the Second company from the old codex artwork:
https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/warhammer40k/images/e/ea/UM_2nd_Co._Guardians_of_the_Temple.png/revision/latest?cb=20130921061056

Always cool to see someone make a Marine company like that. I got up to around half the Ultramarines second company back in 5th ed to put leftover starter box models to use. Fun project. Hope you don't run out of steam halfway through like I did.

 JoshInJapan wrote:
CancelledApocalypse: You really nailed that black armor-- I can never seem to get it right when I try it.

Thanks Josh! Love your RT marines, they look awesome! The black isn't all that complicated - just three progressively tighter highlights (dark reaper, mechanicus standard grey and administratum grey) followed by some selective dots of pure white and a glaze of one part black templar to two parts lahmian medium. It's time consuming to do, but not too complicated to make look good if you put the highlights in the right places.

 Leopold Helveine wrote:
CancelledApocalypse: Never seen such popping black, super clean job and suave contrast with the snowy bases (did you use soda salt for that? I used to, mixing it with a bit of white paint.. looks quite similar.)

Thanks! And no, it's just Valhallan Blizzard, bit of a cop out, maybe, but it's just easy to use and looks good, so why not? I want to try some more interesting effects with it, like brushing superglue over it once it's dry. I think that would give it a nice watery/slush effect. Might try that on some character models.

 Tallandra wrote:
CancelledApocalypse: Having painted some Ravenwing stuff recently I can only congratulate you on getting the black done so well. Works really well with the snowy base too, and the snow on the boots is a nice touch too.

Thanks so much! Yeah, I really like the black against white aesthetic of Raven Guard in the snow... The Raven Guard truly can sneak anywhere!

Got to get the rest of that kill team finished, now.

 JoshInJapan wrote:
Daia T'Nara: It's weird seeing you enter something that isn't weird and disturbing. I love the vivid deep red and the tiny head. The freehand shoulder art is a great touch as well.

Thanks! I was unsure of the head when I first held the pieces together - ended up having to carve a little plastic out of the front of the torso's neck socket so it'd fit further forward. Fun fact about the shoulder art - it's based on one of the gals from Boris Vallejo's 'Furies', and back in 2005 or 2006 or something the GW store was having a 'show off your custom chapter' thing, and I did a one-shot modified marine for that, with another of the Vallejo furies on the shoulder, so that's kind of my tradition for 'I only have to paint this once'. The actual chapter logo - the one I had to paint on every shoulder back in the day - was a much more simplified rendition of just a kneeling figure with wings.



Not sure what to do next time I paint a marine in, I guess, 2035 or whenever, the third of Vallejo's gals doesn't have such a distinct pose.

Since I was dragging stuff off the old shelves, I thought I'd do the full history line-up, just for fun:



Kind of ignore the Terminator, that's one of baby's first paint jobs from 1989 - he's supposed to be a Blood Angel anyway (I don't know what's up with the copper, I think I just had some copper paint and wanted to put it on something). The 2nd ed tactical is one of the first 'proper' Furies, although obviously 3rd is where I hit my stride, such as it is (and also started converting - they don't all have shuriken catapults, that's just her, but I loved customising those old multipart tacticals with all their little add-on bits). The black shoulder's for a sergeant, the black greaves are for veterans, and the ones with helmets (which is most of them, since I could only afford to buy so many packs of Escher juves) still had black helmets too. Ditched that for the 2005 one-off, along with trying bone trim for the shoulders, and a brown base for the wings - plus a Guardian backpack as an add-on to the marine one, and a custom shoulder made from parts of bike armour - but as you can see I brought the black shoulder trim back in the present, and put black back on the faceplate of the helmet (honestly I just liked how the red was looking too much to cover the whole thing up with black - likewise didn't want to black out any of the armour, even though the original Octavian had black greaves), kept the red eyes from the 2005 one instead of the earlier blue, but went with a blue wash to shade the wings (they're meant to be stone, but for this one I'm thinking polished marble).

Anyway now we're done strolling down memory lane, the entries - many votes were given:

Dante_Macabre: I love how you've handled the paint, the layout of colours is straightforward (and classic) but it's got so much detail in the shading, puts me in mind of John Blanche art.
Leopold Helveine: Great rendition of orky mayhem, I love the grungy backyard-mechanic feel of the metal paintjob.
Captain Brown: A classic - the colours a great, vibrant befitting the era the sculpt is from but also subdued enough for the Dark Reaper look.
youwashock: I love the shine on the blue, the look of the banner, and that's a great rendition of the classic power sword lightning effect.
Gulgog TufToof: Great camo pattern, really livens the Kommandos up without making them too colourful.
Geifer: Lovely work on the camouflage, and the skin tone.
JoshInJapan: Great paintwork on the old boys, classic.
Daia T'Nara: Do not start painting Furies again, we can't afford to be building two armies at once.
Inmygravenimage: Lovely bold colour scheme, and the ornate decorations, particularly on the chapter master, are great.
KidCthulhu: Love the splashes of bold yellow, they really make the mini vibrant while leaving the rest of the armour to be suitably weathered.
Tallandra: Great colours overall but I particularly love the paintwork on the books and the scroll on the back.
theCrowe: Very different take on Harlequin colours, but it really works (also I love those minis, they were some of the first I ever owned).
Mr Nobody: Very striking paint job, it somehow really conveys the bulk of the armour.
Perkustin: Great shading all over, the white on the armour is very impressive.
ZergSmasher: Lovely work on the armour, plenty of contrast to pick out the details without taking away how clean the colour is.
Vejut: Great highlighting on the green, and I love how each of the tanks has its own variations.
Maharg: That armour looks amazingly solid, great work on the bare metal.
CancelledApocalypse: Lovely highlighting on the black, doesn't lighten him up too much but all the detail is there.
Pariah Press: They look wonderful, they really capture the anarchic feel of Rogue Trader.
Midget Gems: Great deep shading on the red shoulders and jump packs, and highlighting on the robes.
warriorneedsfood: I've always had a fondness for the two-tone marine colour schemes, good shading on both halves.
ShadowsAndDust: Great work on these, they really look ferocious.
Nevelon: Lovely black metal, and the gold on the shoulder trim is particularly impressive.
Jadenim: Great vibrant blue armour.

 JoshInJapan wrote:

I'd love to see the model in person, or failing that, in a 3D animation.

If you're ever in Heerenveen (the iceskating city in upper netherlands) You're free to visit.
I could try to film it on a rotating platform but don't know where to upload film clips..

 Daia T'Nara wrote:
CancelledApocalypse: Lovely highlighting on the black, doesn't lighten him up too much but all the detail is there.

Thanks Daia, that was exactly the issue I was trying to avoid. I've done black before that's come out really sludgy, indistinct and disappointing, pretty happy with this attempt, though!

Awesome work, everybody!

What a way to start off a new year. 7 people packed into 3 spots on the podium.

In a 2-way tie for third, we have at 20 votes each:

Pariah Press - Human Renegades. New plastics is the classic style, right out of the RT rulebook.












Midget Gems - Knights Sanguine Assault Marines. Robed warriors on the hunt!




Followed by a three-way tie for second, 23 votes each.

Dante_Macabre – Chaplain. Tending to the faith of the chapter with zeal and an amazing paint job.







youwashock – Crimson Fist. Great conversion work melding the old and new, leading the way. Nice work from the new folks at the club. We all started somewhere, let them know they are doing great.





And a shot with the other Marines the club has painted. Sadly, the group is already losing interest. Have to see if it picks up again after spring break.



CancelledApocalypse - Raven Guard Infiltrator. Great clean black armor, For a master of stealth, quite outstanding.




And last but defiantly not least, a pair sharing first with 27 votes:

Perkustin – Apothecary. This medic is ready to tend to the wounded in style! Amazing work.




JoshInJapan – Oldhammer Marines. Legends from way back in the lead, classic minis from a more civilized time.














Congrats to all the winners and to everyone who participated. Amazing start to a new round, and looking forward to another amazing year painting alongside all of you!

Congratulations to the winners and good job getting something painted, everyone.

Apologies if this sounds unduly critical, Nevelon, but I liked it when the winners were not hidden under spoiler tags. Any particular reason why you went that way?

Wooo! My first podium finish! It may be a crowded podium but IT STILL COUNTS!

Congratulations to the other winners!

 Geifer wrote:
Congratulations to the winners and good job getting something painted, everyone.

Apologies if this sounds unduly critical, Nevelon, but I liked it when the winners were not hidden under spoiler tags. Any particular reason why you went that way?

No actual reason besides I was putting together quickly before my brother and his boys came over to play games. So I didn’t clip the spoiler tags after copy/pasting from the top of the thread. I’ll go back and edit it when I have a sec. Edit: And done


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Pariah Press wrote:
Wooo! My first podium finish! It may be a crowded podium but IT STILL COUNTS!

Congratulations to the other winners!

Both of my podium spots were shared. Lots of great painters, not a lot of space.

Well done, everyone! Nice to be able to share podium spots with so many talented painters!

Wowee! #Joshinjapan-was-robbed haha. Thanks everyone for the kind words.

Very inspiring to keep going! Now on to Doomsday and the road to 100!

Huzzah! Congrats, everyone!

 Perkustin wrote:
Wowee! #Joshinjapan-was-robbed haha.

I don't think so. Everyone on the podium deserves to be there-- in fact, I honestly thought there would be even more!

 Nevelon wrote:

 Geifer wrote:
Congratulations to the winners and good job getting something painted, everyone.

Apologies if this sounds unduly critical, Nevelon, but I liked it when the winners were not hidden under spoiler tags. Any particular reason why you went that way?

No actual reason besides I was putting together quickly before my brother and his boys came over to play games. So I didn’t clip the spoiler tags after copy/pasting from the top of the thread. I’ll go back and edit it when I have a sec. Edit: And done

Order has been restored! Huzzah!

wow nice result

Sadly I was away over the vote so didn't get to put comments out for everyone but did cast my votes at the start.

I think the packed podium shows there where a lot of similar quality entries, I had a hard time choosing so ended up voting for quite a few

Thank you very much for the comments JoshInJapan, Leopold Helveine, Daia T'Nara, and well done to everyone on the podium, a good start to the year