Nothing puts you in awe of the might and stature of a Space Marine quite like a beautifully-realised costume. We recently became across the work of Jeremy Chang, known as UPWDesign on Instagram, and just had to get a few words from him about his incredible Ultramarines armour.
Jeremy: It’s summer 2006, I’m in middle school, and I’ve been playing Warhammer 40,000 at my local Games Workshop store for a year or two. One weekend, a giant Blood Angel statue appears outside the store, and I must have stood there for an hour taking it in from every possible angle.
Ever since that day, I knew I wanted my own Space Marine statue.
Over the years, I drifted away from playing, started going to conventions, and got into cosplay. I typically build foam and fibreglass armour, and in 2015 I saw someone in a Blood Angels costume – that was when I realised that Space Marine cosplay was possible.
My love for Warhammer 40,000 rekindled when I heard Roboute Guilliman was back, at which point I read the entire Gathering Storm series* in one sitting. Even then, I didn’t actually decide to finally build a Space Marine.
I casually mentioned to a cosplay friend that I should do a Space Marine costume, and he said “I’ll believe it when I see it”, which definitely meant the gauntlet had been thrown down! I spent the next week painting a reference model and reading up on Space Marine builds.
I then spent a 14-hour flight to Japan doing a bunch of 3D modelling and template creation, to the point that I felt I was ready to start building. When I got home, I made a set of purity seals (a small piece to get the ball rolling)… and neglected the build for six months.
With a convention approaching, I finally had a deadline to start motivating me, and I got to work. The rest of the build happened in the time between November and February, finished with one day to spare, and was pretty straightforward, since HD EVA foam is super light but decently rigid.
The centrepieces of the suit are the cooling fan and shoulder rotation bearings, which allow for full rotation of the arm rather than hanging the pauldron off a top hinge (like a bell). The fan is from a bilge pump, which makes the suit perfectly fine to wear in most weather, but a bit chilly in the cold.
Meanwhile, making this suit seven feet tall meant a lot of space needed to be filled with detail. I drew inspiration from over 50 pieces of Warhammer 40,000 art, incorporating neat little details like panel lines, access ports, and other small greeblies to get the final look I was hoping for.
I’ve spent a lot of weekends on miniature wargaming, painting hundreds of Space Marines and Guardsmen, and I wouldn't know much about making costumes if I hadn't. Now I finally have a Space Marine statue of my own, and I’ll continue to work on it – turning in my power sword and plasma pistol for a classic chainsword and bolt pistol as a start.
Thanks Jeremy! If the prospect of building your own Astartes power armour gets your second heart pumping, take a closer look at its inner workings than ever before in the stunning Armouring of a Space Marine video.
There’s also plenty of inspiration to be had from the trove of artwork found inside Codex: Space Marines – and our own round-up of armour styles – so draw up your designs and show us the awesome costumes you’ve made over at our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter pages.**
* You can check this lore-packed trilogy out for yourself over on the Warhammer Vault.
** Space Marines aren’t the only snazzy dressers of the far future – check out these amazing cosplays of the capricious Aeldari and a lord of the Adeptus Mechanicus!