A Study in Scale: Deathwatch Artemis

The 54mm scale Deathwatch Space Marine towers over all of the other Space Marines models I currently own.

Earlier this year, we converted and painted a Dark Angel in the style of Lunax7070, based on parts Lunax7070 cast in resin for us. If you are familiar with his work, you would correctly predict that the Dark Angel we created was massive. We got a few comments on social media suggesting that the model was so large that they were likely similar in size to the famed Deathwatch Space Marine Artemis, released in 2001 for Games Workshop’s short-lived 54mm RPG. This got us to wonder, how do they compare to each other? Fortunately, I had an unassembled copy of the model that was gifted to me years back. It stayed unassembled due to the time-consuming frustration of metal models. This seemed like the ideal time to get the model out and assemble it!

The Unforgiven: painting Lunax7070 Space Marine conversion

Omniscient.

Last week we finished building a Space Marine based on a converted cast of one of Lunax7070's true-scale Space Marines. Having finished the model about a week before the second annual Smash Bash entries were due, we realized we had just enough time to paint the model for the competition! For such a short turn-around time, we decided the Dark Angel dry-brush scheme would be an ideal choice to get the model painted quickly. I am happy to say we finished the model just in time!

Building a Lunax7070 Space Marine: Dark Angel

And you scorch the land.

Over the last few months, we have been converting and building a true-scale Space Marine from a multipart resin cast from Lunax7070. After extensively modifying the basic components for the legs and body, we created a silicone mold, allowing us to cast the modified pieces multiple times. Having completed this first part, we wanted to actually build a Space Marine out of some of the cast pieces, as a proof of concept. Although the components had been modified to help with the assembly process, it still took quite a bit of effort to build a model, and I wanted to talk about the process here.

Mold making: Lunax7070 Space Marine

A completed mold and the mold release that ensured each half of the silicone molds separated when pouring the mold.

Earlier this month, I started converting the components of one of Lunax7070’s True-scale Space Marines. After adding ball-bearings to some of the components to help with posing, I decided the model would be a good candidate for creating a two part silicone mold. Years back, when I first attempted resin casting, I created a series of posts describing the process, from the initial attempt to some tips to make the process easier. It had been quite a while since I made any molds or did any casting, resulting in this attempt not going as smoothly as possible. In the end, however, I was able to create a mold that will serve my purposes!

Building a Lunax7070 Space Marine

A diorama of an Astral Claws Dreadnought and Space Marine created by the talented Lunax7070.

Despite our efforts to steer clear of building more Space Marine models, in favor of exploring more esoteric facets of the 40k setting, we often find ourselves still working on projects pertaining to them. Just last month we slightly converted one of Paul-Friedrich von Bargen’s MKV Space Marines! When we convert and paint Space Marines, we always try to use it as an opportunity to explore scale and anatomical form in some way, usually by creating True-scale Space Marines. Over the years we have done relatively simple conversions using Primaris Space Marines as a foundation, all the way up to sculpting the majority of one from an assembly of chopped up pieces. One of our favorite hobbyists, Lunax7070, has a similar style and has spent the last few years building an array of Primarch-scale Space Marines of many different Chapters, from Iron Hands to Luna Wolves. Recently, Lunax7070 surprised us with a stunning diorama of an Astral Claws’ Dreadnought alongside one of its power-armored brethren as a thank you for gifting him a few old Forge World books. Being able to see some of his creations first-hand is truly breath-taking; you can easily get lost considering what obscure pieces he spliced together or what weathering techniques he used to create such a remarkable slice of Warhammer 40,000. This reminded us that a while back, Lunax7070 sent us one of his early casts of his iconic MKII Crusade armor, which he has used to build most of his Iron Hands Space Marines. Inspired by the Astral Claw models, we decided it would be fun to finally build the resin cast he gave us!

Dragged into Turbolasers Episode 82: Chatting with Lunax7070 about True-scale Space Marines

A selection of Lunax7070's models in all of their glory.

In this episode we are joined by one of our favorite creators of true-scale Space Marines, Lunax7070. We talk at length about how he started on his journey of adjusting the scale of all of his miniatures, particularly his Space Marines. We discuss how his process has changed over the years and how the release of Primaris Space Marines affected it. We also probe into his thoughts on 3d printing, and how he hopes to continue to create vehicles to accompany his models. We also discuss his involvement in the Salvatore28 project Abzu.

A look back: Notable Hobbyists of 2019

Earlier this month, we looked back at all of the models that we worked on over the course of 2019. And while this is always fun to consider how we evolved as hobbyists over the year, our favorite thing to reflect on is the hobbyists that inspired us during the year. We say it each time, but the quality of work being produced by the community keeps getting better and better. The sheer volume of impressive hobbyists makes it impossible for us to acknowledge everyone, but we wanted to focus on a few that really stood out to us during 2019. We intentionally did not choose hobbyists that we have featured in previous years, so we would encourage you to look back on our selections from years past (2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014), as many of them are still actively producing incredible work!