Roboute Guilliman Primarch of the Ultramarines, Master of the 500 Worlds of Ultramar Commission

"Space marines excel at warfare because they were designed to excel at everything. Each of you will become a leader, a ruler, the master of your world and when there is no more fighting to be done, you will bend your talents to order, governance and culture so that the imperium will stand eternal."

Attributed to Roboute Guilliman

Paints used: Vallejo, Reaper Master Series, Games Workshop Washes, Com Art Medea Airbrush

Airbrush: Iwata CR Plus High Line

Paint Brushes: Rosemary & Co. Raphael 8040, Broken Toad Brushes

I've wanted this model since I was twelve years old and it's finally here. And boy it's a beauty.

I wanted to hit a few notes with this paint job. Firstly I wanted the armour to be highly polished and pristine. Even in the midst of the Horus Heresy I imagine that the boys in blue still polished their armour. The second was painting the cloak somewhere between purple and red. Only the Roman Emperors wore purple robes whereas the army and the senate wore red. I wanted Robute's cloak to straddle this uncomfortable divide - is the Primarch a benevolent ruler, an avenging son, a tyrant, a traitor? Dan Abnett has done a wonderful job poking at these uncomfortable questions and I wanted to introduce a little of this into the paint job.

Thirdly I wanted the marble to have a more realistic effect. I developed the technique by using a mixture of airbrush and paint brush. It relies on multiple thin layers of white, bone and thin lines of brown ink.

They shall be pure of heart and strong of body, untainted by doubt and unsullied by self-aggrandisement. They will be bright stars on the firmament of battle, Angels of Death whose shining wings bring swift annihilation to the enemies of Man. So it shall be for a thousand times for a thousand years, unto the very end of eternity and the extinction of mortal flesh.

Preface to the Codex Astartes