I've always liked the idea of Space Marines as they were presented in the fluff from WH40K 2nd Ed on; giant genetically altered monk warriors, towering over regular men, each one an army on its own. I've toyed with the idea of realscale marines for years and in fact I built a squad some years ago:
I of course couldn't use the regular rules for them, but that 'movie marines' silliness that appeared by... 5th ed? Quite cinematic and fun.
Anyway, I'm digressing before even started. Though the new Primaris marines stuff is perfect for realscale projects, I found I had been amassing bits for years in order to build a realscale force... So it would be rude to get rid of those!
So here it is my first experiment in this new project.
I took Marneus Calgar legs as a starting point:
I changed the approach I took with the Crimson Fists years ago and I used a terminator torso:
I have dismantled my Raptors army ('regular' space marines; I noticed years ago that I had too many marines. When you get to realise that, it means you have a problem
). I'm keeping my Ultramarines Rogue Trader army and this new realscale force, so I won't be needing anything else. Liberating feeling.
To the point. I used bits from that army, as said...
And then I had to pick a Chapter. I thought of keeping the Raptors, but on a second thought I opted for starting a new army. Space Sharks (or Carcharodons, how you the young ones call them these days) got my eye. I didn't want red or bright blue marines, grey seemed a fin option. Besides, the new fluff gives them a Maori inspired aesthetics, so it was decided:
You can read
Whetū on the greave, Maori for 'Star'. The front shield bears a
Koru, a symbol of new beginnings and regeneration.
Ururoa is Maori for 'white shark', the Carcharodon carcharias, so it was the perfect word.
I painted a
Moana sign on the cape, a symbol of sea. I thought it appropiate for a sea oriented culture (I didn't sing Disney's 'Moana' songs while painting it!
)
These patterns are spear heads and shark teeth, traditional Maori warrior symbols:
Finally, a size comparison shot:
You can find it all
on the blog.
I have some crazy ideas for expanding the force. Still have to see if they are even viable... I guess I'll only discover it when I try!