An Army Showcase series: Tenebris Custodia
by JT Steiger – 7/18/2021
Painting and building your army is a core part of the Warhammer hobby. In this army showcase series we’ll be looking at exceptional armies in the community. We’ll dive into these artists’ inspiration, theme and lore – Aesthetics go a long way y’all – Pretty toys are the best toys! This week we’ll be taking a look at JT’s Marines!
THEN
Full disclosure, I’m a Chaos player at heart. I’ve been in the hobby for more than a decade, Chaos, Daemons and the entities of the warp have always drawn my attention. My legion of Daemons may or may not make an appearance on Frontline one of these days… I have been hobbying most of my life, painting, modeling and the like – In my younger years I was inspired to be an artist by my older brother who is an exceptional artist and painter himself. That’s where the Space Marines come in! Myself, like most of us, have always been drawn to Space Marines. They are the guardians of humanity, one of the most powerful forces in the galaxy, a nigh unstoppable legion of superhumans – It’s hard to argue with that, right? Enough said, we all know these guys are rad. – So it didn’t take much to draw away my focus from Chaos. Though I do from time to time sneak in some heretical aesthetics into the chapter… Look closely!
NOW
The past few years I have been participating in the ITC but not competitively. This past year I became inspired by exceptional artists and community members here in the great NW to participate in a bigger way in the Warhammer 40,000 community. That’s where Marines hit the table for us. Myself and my Team put our heads together and started working on a collective project – A massive legion of black-clad armoured marines, these marines being our home chapter, Tenebris Custodia which roughly translates to “Dark Guard”. Going full Gothic on this one. So then this massive project began. We already have 10,000pts of the force painted, with more amassing all the time! It’s been a tremendous project, our number one goal to be an inspiration to other artists in the community – The ITC run by FLG has been the best thing that has happened to the Warhammer community, the players and artists that participate in the community are an inspiration. Great things are happening all the time. Don’t hesitate to join the league!
FUTURITY
With 9th edition on the roll, a new codex every few months and meta shifting quicker than the tides, there is always opportunities for new armies to arise in our studio. We have been flirting with Adeptus Sororitas, (ie. Sisters of Battle) which could be an awesome project as their range is one of the best from Games Workshop. As it stands, Custodia will remain the focus and the legion will continue to grow.
Above is one of our conversions, Chapter Master Orhmendhal – On this model we used the standard colors, black and silver highlights and edge work but went much heavier on the off white/bone color for the gilding on his armour. Being the big bad of the chapter, it seemed reasonable he would be especially fancy. At this point I think I have quite forgotten how many kits we used to make this guy, so if you’re reading along, be sure to let us know if you can spot all the different kits!