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This month the topic was: Space Marine. Our annual start of the competition. They come in many sizes and types. Loyal, traitor, colorful or camoflaged, clean or weathered, dead or alive. And not just GW’s take. Any future soldier that does the job across the galaxy from LV-426 to Klendathu. Check your gear and get ready to drop, it’s time to exterminate species!

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 or 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.

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Misclicking ork – Space Marine


Captain Brown - The Barricades


inmygravenimage - Mandalorian Covert


KidCthulhu – Squat


bong264 – Imperial Marines in Battle Dress


Daia T'Nara - Mentor Legion Stormtalon 'Calcus Insectum'


JoshInJapan - Up Through The Ranks


Mr Nobody – Iron Hand


theCrowe – Death Jester


Geifer - Imperial Fists Rhino


Nevelon – Captain and BGVs


Zambro – Gravis Captain


Dr.Botnik – Gorkanaut


Ezki – “From another world”


phoenix89 – Lieutenant Titus


Chris56 - Terminator


Jadenim - Plague Marines:


PouterHiro - Dante


Vejut - War peeg heavy support tank


Gulgog TufToof – Kommando


Pariah Press - Ultramarines Through the Years


Pursuit Of Happiness – Captain Uriel Ventris


Midget Gems - Knights Sanguine Honour Guard


Maharg – Assault Marine


CancelledApocalypse – Fire Dragons


ZergSmasher - Deathwing Terminators



As always, if you notice I’ve missed something, let me know. Poll will run for 5 days

Wow, a lot of good entries this month!

Lots of great work again this month. Are there more protest entries than usual?

Misclicking ork: This is an interesting take on the standard Space Marine model-- I don't think I've seen dragonfly wings used before. The armor would benefit from a little more detail work-- edge highlights at a minimum, and some additional colors here and there would bring the model together.

Captain Brown: You never fail to surprise^-- expected more Eldar from you this month. You put a lot of effort into highlights and weathering.

inmygravenimage: Good job making all the models' armor look work and lived in. These guys have seen some action!

KidCthulhu: Is this a vintage Squat or something more recent? You achieved a very vivid yellow, so kudos for that, and the smiley face is a delightful touch.

bong264: I love seeing your approach to these older, tinier models, both here and on your P&M blog. I would have like to see some more photos from different angles.

Daia T'Nara: I rarely paint vehicles, so it's nice to see one done up this well. The freehand Mentor Legion insignia and nose are a particularly well done.

me: For a guy who doesn't play 40K, I have a lot of Marines in my backlog. These guys, and their companions who I didn't enter this month, were a fun way to practice my version of Grimdark.

more comments soon.

 JoshInJapan wrote:
KidCthulhu: Is this a vintage Squat or something more recent? You achieved a very vivid yellow, so kudos for that, and the smiley face is a delightful touch.

Thank you! He is indeed a vintage Squat that's been embellished with a Tactical Marine scope, a Scout Marine sheathed sword, and a purity seal so I can tie him into my (future) Ordo Xenos Inquisitor's retinue.

 KidCthulhu wrote:

 JoshInJapan wrote:
KidCthulhu: Is this a vintage Squat or something more recent? You achieved a very vivid yellow, so kudos for that, and the smiley face is a delightful touch.

Thank you! He is indeed a vintage Squat that's been embellished with a Tactical Marine scope, a Scout Marine sheathed sword, and a purity seal so I can tie him into my (future) Ordo Xenos Inquisitor's retinue.

Cool. Those little details allow the model to cross eras-- he will fit nicely in with more modern models in a way that straight RT-era stuff often doesn't.

Mr Nobody: Nice. Iron Hands have a potentially very boring color scheme, so the spot details on the kneepads and the split colors on the shoulder pad are quite effective.

TheCrowe: I do like me some monochrome harlequins. Although now that I look closely, he's actually tri-colored. Kudos for the lozenge pattern, as well.

Geifer: You managed to put a lot of great detail into a teeny-tiny model. How long did it take?

Nevelon: Another awesome addition to the Boys in Blue. Your WIP posts really illustrate how painstaking it is to achieve that deep blue.

Zambro: Continuing from my comment to Nevelon, I like your take on UM blue. Not so dark, but very clean, especially your edge highlights. The cape is outstanding.

Dr. Botnik: This is one wild model. I can identify some of the bitz that went into making it, but the whole thing comes together really well. +1 for the orky camo, which doesn't actually hide the model at all!

Ezki: Pink! Not a traditional military color, but it work really well on this model. I really enjoy your highlighting on this model. Not quite pointillist, definitely not a smooth blend, but very effective, especially in the scale photo with the coin.

phoenix89: This is the third UM (so far) in the challenge, and once again we see a different approach. I appreciate the effort to pick out the battle damage- I can never seem to get that right.

Again, superlative work all around. I'll write more comments soonest!

 JoshInJapan wrote:
Geifer: You managed to put a lot of great detail into a teeny-tiny model. How long did it take?

Thank you. I can't be sure since I had a lot of real life stuff to deal with last month, but I think the icons took around an hour and a half over two or three painting sessions. That's less than half the time it takes to paint a model like this, so I'm okay with it. I'm not a fast painter.

Like much of the rest of the model I tried to compromise between speed and quality as the game requires a ton of models. I imagine most other Marine units won't take quite as much time because the unit marking on the top hatch is unique to Rhinos. Other units should be quicker to finish.

Lot`s of pretty cool entries this month - I found it hard to not give everyone a point.

But for me there where some that still stood out:

I really liked Ezki`s Space Marine Version - can`t immagine how I could ever paint something with so mutch detail, that is so small and still manage to give it it`s own character.

Then there is JoshinJapan`s entry, that I really liked because of the colorcombination that kind of speaks to me and your take on the Nonmetallicmetall approche to the armour.

And then there is Phoenix89`s Lieutenant Titus - which for me is not imprssing for one single feature, but the whole figure makes a well rounded impression on me - there is nothing that puts me off - everything is well balanced - the whole impression just fits - rocksolid work.


As for my "Space Marine": I think it was my 3rd space marine ever. I really had problems with the colors not staying on the red plastic allthough I used (I guess in the end 3 Layers of) grey primer. I think I should have washed and brushed the figure just like resin first.
But I really had fun freehanding the chesteagle and his pauldrons, eventhough you really can`t see anything now.
As to the Gorka/Morka-naut: I was just happy, that I could put it together in time, allthough it wasn`t even the topic. I wasn`t even shure, if Eddie Van Halen`s pattern would make any sense, but I just wanted to see it "in real life" on the model, not only in my head.
I am planning on adding details as soon as I have some time again - but first the April challenge!

Geifer wrote:

 JoshInJapan wrote:
Geifer: You managed to put a lot of great detail into a teeny-tiny model. How long did it take?

Thank you. I can't be sure since I had a lot of real life stuff to deal with last month, but I think the icons took around an hour and a half over two or three painting sessions. That's less than half the time it takes to paint a model like this, so I'm okay with it. I'm not a fast painter.

Like much of the rest of the model I tried to compromise between speed and quality as the game requires a ton of models. I imagine most other Marine units won't take quite as much time because the unit marking on the top hatch is unique to Rhinos. Other units should be quicker to finish.

Wow, that's a lot of time. Is it safe to assume you will be batch painting going forward?

Dr.Botnik wrote:Lot`s of pretty cool entries this month - I found it hard to not give everyone a point.


As for my "Space Marine": I think it was my 3rd space marine ever. I really had problems with the colors not staying on the red plastic allthough I used (I guess in the end 3 Layers of) grey primer. I think I should have washed and brushed the figure just like resin first.
But I really had fun freehanding the chesteagle and his pauldrons, eventhough you really can`t see anything now.
As to the Gorka/Morka-naut: I was just happy, that I could put it together in time, allthough it wasn`t even the topic. I wasn`t even shure, if Eddie Van Halen`s pattern would make any sense, but I just wanted to see it "in real life" on the model, not only in my head.
I am planning on adding details as soon as I have some time again - but first the April challenge!

I frequently end up giving out votes to everyone who entered- except myself, of course.

Frankenstrat is a really cool idea for Orky camo.

More comments!

Chris56: I love all the subtle detailing, like on the fingers and the assault cannon barrels. Were you planning to put something on the right shoulderpad? That much open space begs for and insignia or something.

Jadenim: Your rust effect is really well done, and the blue-white fly insignias is a nice little detail.

PouterHiro : I like the green laurel crown as a way to break up all the gold. I think the power generator things on the power axe would benefit from being a little more work, though.

Vejut: You put a lot of work into that little tiny model-- more than I probably would have. The battle damage is a nice touch.

Gulgog TufToof: That boy looks like he means business. I like the way you highlighted the blades.

Pariah Press: Classic blue and yellow! With red bolter casings! Some things never go out of style, am I right?

Pursuit Of Happiness: Lots of Ultramarines this month. I especially like your highlighting on the cape.

Midget Gems: Green power weapons really stand out against all that red and gold. It's a little weird seeing you enter something non-Orky.

Maharg: Your simple two-color paint scheme works really well on this simple model.

CancelledApocalypse: The subtle orange highlights on the helmets is really effective. Also, good job keeping the lighting on all those gems consistent.

Zergsmasher: You did great job shading all that bone, especially around the faces.

Great work, everyone! Onward and upward!

 JoshInJapan wrote:

Geifer wrote:

 JoshInJapan wrote:
Geifer: You managed to put a lot of great detail into a teeny-tiny model. How long did it take?

Thank you. I can't be sure since I had a lot of real life stuff to deal with last month, but I think the icons took around an hour and a half over two or three painting sessions. That's less than half the time it takes to paint a model like this, so I'm okay with it. I'm not a fast painter.

Like much of the rest of the model I tried to compromise between speed and quality as the game requires a ton of models. I imagine most other Marine units won't take quite as much time because the unit marking on the top hatch is unique to Rhinos. Other units should be quicker to finish.

Wow, that's a lot of time. Is it safe to assume you will be batch painting going forward?

Probably not. Batch painting doesn't really work for me. It's fine for putting on basecoats and preshading if it isn't too fancy, but I'm prone to forgetting mistakes that need fixing by the time I come back from a different model. Quality suffers too much for my taste.

 JoshInJapan wrote:

Misclicking ork: This is an interesting take on the standard Space Marine model-- I don't think I've seen dragonfly wings used before. The armor would benefit from a little more detail work-- edge highlights at a minimum, and some additional colors here and there would bring the model together.

Thanks for the feedback. I have a few more "weird marines" kinda like this. I got indomitus a while back but didn't really know what to do with the marines, but they eventually ended up kinda like this. I tried to edge highlight the armor but I didn't go bright enough, which I have a tendency to do. Where would you recommend adding more colors? I personally think the current colors are fine, but I'm open to your suggestions.

Also good job on identifying the exact bug toy I got the wings from. I didn't think dragonfly wings were that distinct.

Geifer wrote:

 JoshInJapan wrote:

Geifer wrote:

 JoshInJapan wrote:
Geifer: You managed to put a lot of great detail into a teeny-tiny model. How long did it take?

Thank you. I can't be sure since I had a lot of real life stuff to deal with last month, but I think the icons took around an hour and a half over two or three painting sessions. That's less than half the time it takes to paint a model like this, so I'm okay with it. I'm not a fast painter.

Like much of the rest of the model I tried to compromise between speed and quality as the game requires a ton of models. I imagine most other Marine units won't take quite as much time because the unit marking on the top hatch is unique to Rhinos. Other units should be quicker to finish.

Wow, that's a lot of time. Is it safe to assume you will be batch painting going forward?

Probably not. Batch painting doesn't really work for me. It's fine for putting on basecoats and preshading if it isn't too fancy, but I'm prone to forgetting mistakes that need fixing by the time I come back from a different model. Quality suffers too much for my taste.

Painting a whole army one model at a time? That's insane.

Misclicking ork wrote:

 JoshInJapan wrote:

Misclicking ork: This is an interesting take on the standard Space Marine model-- I don't think I've seen dragonfly wings used before. The armor would benefit from a little more detail work-- edge highlights at a minimum, and some additional colors here and there would bring the model together.

Thanks for the feedback. I have a few more "weird marines" kinda like this. I got indomitus a while back but didn't really know what to do with the marines, but they eventually ended up kinda like this. I tried to edge highlight the armor but I didn't go bright enough, which I have a tendency to do. Where would you recommend adding more colors? I personally think the current colors are fine, but I'm open to your suggestions.

Also good job on identifying the exact bug toy I got the wings from. I didn't think dragonfly wings were that distinct.

Your color choices are good, I think, but maybe you could have the green cover more of the model, and reserve the black for the deepest shadows? Then if you push the highlights a little more, you could really sell the idea of reflective dragonfly carpace.

 JoshInJapan wrote:

Geifer wrote:

 JoshInJapan wrote:

Geifer wrote:

 JoshInJapan wrote:
Geifer: You managed to put a lot of great detail into a teeny-tiny model. How long did it take?

Thank you. I can't be sure since I had a lot of real life stuff to deal with last month, but I think the icons took around an hour and a half over two or three painting sessions. That's less than half the time it takes to paint a model like this, so I'm okay with it. I'm not a fast painter.

Like much of the rest of the model I tried to compromise between speed and quality as the game requires a ton of models. I imagine most other Marine units won't take quite as much time because the unit marking on the top hatch is unique to Rhinos. Other units should be quicker to finish.

Wow, that's a lot of time. Is it safe to assume you will be batch painting going forward?

Probably not. Batch painting doesn't really work for me. It's fine for putting on basecoats and preshading if it isn't too fancy, but I'm prone to forgetting mistakes that need fixing by the time I come back from a different model. Quality suffers too much for my taste.

Painting a whole army one model at a time? That's insane.

Sanity is for the weak.

The closest I've come to finishing an army via batch painting were my Tomb Kings. But that's skeletons for you. And low standards back when my painting skill was less developed. I painted a Marine army each in 3rd, 4th and 5th edition one model at a time. My two painted Star Wars Legion armies were also painted a model at a time.

I had very little luck getting a full force painted in batches. If I'm okay with a lower standard, I'll still lose motivation if I don't see progress in the form of finished models every so often. After the Tomb Kings my most successful attempt was a Bolt Action Italian army. Fully painted except for the last two squads when I got thoroughly sick of painting the same thing over and over again. So much so that five years later those same squads are still unpainted.

While I'm not particularly fast, I am more productive in the long run painting things individually.

 JoshInJapan wrote:

Your color choices are good, I think, but maybe you could have the green cover more of the model, and reserve the black for the deepest shadows? Then if you push the highlights a little more, you could really sell the idea of reflective dragonfly carpace.

Green? I didn't use any green on the model. I will assume you mean the tealish blue on the armor. I definitely could have left less dark spots, but I have a tendency to overdo it, so I suppose I overcorrected.

Time for the results!

The protest seizes the bronze with 23 votes and CancelledApocalypse's Fire Dragons.



Retro-glory with KidCthulhu's Squat takes second with 27 votes.



And we follow JoshInJapan Up Through The Ranks, from scout to veteran to gold with 28 votes.








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Amazing work from everyone. The final votes were tight, with just one vote seperating 1st and 2nd, all the way down. Great work and a great month from everyone! New year is off to a roaring start.

Wow, that was some amazing competition this month! So many astounding entries.

I'm also pleasantly surprised to make it to the podium this month. Glad to do my part for the resistance. Thank you, everyone for voting and participating.

Wow! The protest votes took two of the podium spots! What happens when they win? Will that be the end of the traditional March Space Marines category?

I think it speaks highly of this competition and this community that even those of us in a 6-way tie for dead last still garnered 8 votes each.

Congratulations to the winners, and great stuff all around!

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

 Pariah Press wrote:
Wow! The protest votes took two of the podium spots! What happens when they win? Will that be the end of the traditional March Space Marines category?

Xenos and abhumans getting uppity calls for a good, old-fashioned purge. We'll be needing more Space Marines than ever.

Cheers everyone, another great month! Top stuff from all

 JoshInJapan wrote:
CancelledApocalypse: The subtle orange highlights on the helmets is really effective. Also, good job keeping the lighting on all those gems consistent.

Thanks Josh, I actually really enjoy doing gems, even if they're time consuming, so I take pride in the fact that people like the look of them.

The helmet and gun colours are actually black through Khorne red to Mephiston red. I'm used to pushing highlights much lighter than that, so it was an interesting process making it that subtle and gratifying that it worked. I had Hendarion's original models as a reference, though, so I knew it would look okay as long as I kept it consistent and didn't mess it up. I've got another eight to finish up in the same style, I just haven't worked up the mental fortitude to go back to them yet...

Loved your Howling Griffons, btw Love their scheme and yours were beautifully painted. The freehand griffons were particularly impressive!

Congratulations to CancelledApocalypse and KidCthulhu. It's an honor to share the podium with such great minis. And once again, great work all around. Let's all keep up the great work!

 CancelledApocalypse wrote:
Cheers everyone, another great month! Top stuff from all

 JoshInJapan wrote:
CancelledApocalypse: The subtle orange highlights on the helmets is really effective. Also, good job keeping the lighting on all those gems consistent.

Thanks Josh, I actually really enjoy doing gems, even if they're time consuming, so I take pride in the fact that people like the look of them.

The helmet and gun colours are actually black through Khorne red to Mephiston red. I'm used to pushing highlights much lighter than that, so it was an interesting process making it that subtle and gratifying that it worked. I had Hendarion's original models as a reference, though, so I knew it would look okay as long as I kept it consistent and didn't mess it up. I've got another eight to finish up in the same style, I just haven't worked up the mental fortitude to go back to them yet...

Loved your Howling Griffons, btw Love their scheme and yours were beautifully painted. The freehand griffons were particularly impressive!

Your black-to-red highlighting is extremely effective, and I'll have to find something to try that on myself.

I wish I could take credit for the chapter emblems, but they are transfers I got from Bolter and Chainsword and printed on transfer paper from Micromark.

Congrats to the winners

 JoshInJapan wrote:
Daia T'Nara: I rarely paint vehicles, so it's nice to see one done up this well. The freehand Mentor Legion insignia and nose are a particularly well done.

Thanks Aside from a deodorant bottle I bought last week, this is likely to be the only marine aircraft I ever paint, so it was a bit of a case of 'use it or lose it' for everything I could think of to throw at the model. Luckily my detail brush was in its cooperative phase - I'm a bit too lazy to treat my brushes with the kind of care that'll make them long-lasting, so I just get cheap 'fine detail' brushes from the local $2 shop's arts and crafts section. Their perfect tip lasts about five minutes, but after a week or two - when they're still perfectly good for journeyman detail work like edge highlighting - they'll wear into a phase where they can do thin lines pretty reliably, so that's my cue to get stuck into all the little freehand doodles I've been thinking about, until the brush frays out irretrievably and it's time to toss it and start a new one.

 JoshInJapan wrote:
Congratulations to CancelledApocalypse and KidCthulhu. It's an honor to share the podium with such great minis. And once again, great work all around. Let's all keep up the great work!

 CancelledApocalypse wrote:
Cheers everyone, another great month! Top stuff from all

 JoshInJapan wrote:
CancelledApocalypse: The subtle orange highlights on the helmets is really effective. Also, good job keeping the lighting on all those gems consistent.

Thanks Josh, I actually really enjoy doing gems, even if they're time consuming, so I take pride in the fact that people like the look of them.

The helmet and gun colours are actually black through Khorne red to Mephiston red. I'm used to pushing highlights much lighter than that, so it was an interesting process making it that subtle and gratifying that it worked. I had Hendarion's original models as a reference, though, so I knew it would look okay as long as I kept it consistent and didn't mess it up. I've got another eight to finish up in the same style, I just haven't worked up the mental fortitude to go back to them yet...

Loved your Howling Griffons, btw Love their scheme and yours were beautifully painted. The freehand griffons were particularly impressive!

Your black-to-red highlighting is extremely effective, and I'll have to find something to try that on myself.

I wish I could take credit for the chapter emblems, but they are transfers I got from Bolter and Chainsword and printed on transfer paper from Micromark.

Ah, oops! Well, they're very effective anyway and they look painted on, so you did a great job with them!

If you do try the black to red effect, there's an additional transition between the black and Khorne Red: a 50:50 mix of Khorne Red and Incubi Darkness.

Thank you to Nevelon for hosting and doing the extra heavy lifting, all the winners, everyone who finished painting something, Midget Gems who does the tables, and finally to my fellow revolutionaries viva-la-resistance! .

KidCthulhu wrote:I'm also pleasantly surprised to make it to the podium this month. Glad to do my part for the resistance.

Pariah Press wrote:Wow! The protest votes took two of the podium spots! What happens when they win? Will that be the end of the traditional March Space Marines category?

Do you hear the painters sing?
Singing the song of angry artists
It is the music of the painters
Who will not paint marines again!
When the tapping of your brush
Echoes the beating of the jars
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?

Cheers,

CB