Almost exactly one year ago, I won Silver in the Squad category at Golden Demon: Space Marines with some Black Templars, as teased in this post.



Well, I finally got around to getting some good photos of the gang (thanks to Max for that).

The squad is based on John Blanche’s incredible artwork for the starter box cover of the 3rd edition of Warhammer 40,000.

The Sword brother is based on this guy. I managed to stay true to the design for the most part, but decided to change the kneepad to something simpler, both because it fits in better with the clean finish of the paint job – and because I just couldn’t freehand that creepy demon face.

The only one in the squad carrying a bolter is based on this dude. He’s basically wearing MkIV armour, so that’s what I went with, with the fur loincloth borrowed from the Space Wolves kit. I decided to make him right-handed to save myself the trouble of sculpting new hands. The shoulder pads were the only real hassle here, as I had to glue each rivet on individually to match the artwork.

Far to the left but clearly visible amidst the chaos is this guy, wielding a flamer that looks a bit like the ones carried by the Sisters of Battle, and fitted with a canister attached to his backpack. It’s barely visible in the artwork, so I improvised a bit with the fitting. He also has a red outline on his shoulder pads markings, so that needed to be there. Again, I made him right-handed to give myself a break.

The heavy weapons specialist is based on this guy. He’s mostly hidden behind the epic dudes in the foreground, but his weapon is visible enough, as well as an impressive array of bionics and targeting equipment on his helmet. Like the other lefties, I mirrored the arms (but not the helmet, actually.)

The fifth and final member of the squad is probably my favorite. All that’s visible in the artwork is his pistol, his torso, and the left side of his bare head. I decided that his left arm is probably carrying a sword, and I made the right side of his face look horribly scarred and burned, the right eye replaced with a bionic one.

This is probably my favorite project to date, and something I’ve wanted to do for years. I’m really happy with how it turned out.

Winning a Silver demon is of course incredibly rewarding, and I was especially happy to see Sten win Gold for his outstanding Imperial Fists squad.

Check back for pictures of them very soon!

Hope you like it, questions and comments always welcome!

Martin