Are those church bells ringing? Nah, it’s just the cathedral on the shoulders of the Warhammer 40,000-scale Imperator Titan that husband-and-wife duo Josiah and Kim Reid created over a seven-year span.
While Josiah started the project, they finished it together – building a lot more than just a war machine in the process.
The end result is truly awe-inspiring.
Of course, we had to learn more about how this ambitious project came about. At more than nine feet tall, Atlas, as the Titan is affectionately known, is massive on a level that’s hard to comprehend.
It’s mainly built with foam-board and industrial hot glue, held up by a PVC pipe skeleton, and it can be broken down into 21 pieces for transport.
“I scavenged some parts destined for the trash at an electrical job where I used to work,” says Josiah. A few of the weapon mounts and joints are articulated, allowing Atlas to be posed in different ways.
Josiah handled the majority of the build process, and Kim arrived at the project later – making some fantastic contributions of her own. “I added more detail with green stuff, foam-strip edging, and came up with the design of the Imperial Eagle detail on the back, and the cathedral itself,” she explains.
She also painted Atlas using a combination of spray paints and good old-fashioned brushwork. Nothing was airbrushed, which is especially impressive when you get close enough to see the gradient effects, scrolls, and stained-glass windows.
As the largest of all Imperial Titans, the Imperator is legendary among fans of god-machines. An official model has only been produced once, in the late 90s, for the Epic-scale Titan Legions game.
Ever since then, the sheer improbability of a 100+-metre high* walking cathedral has captured the imagination of generations of gamers and artists.
Over the years, the impressive Titan appeared on several Horus Heresy covers, including The Burden of Loyalty and The Binary Succession – and recently, Mortis, the fifth book in the Siege of Terra series, featured one too.
The Forge World Mars Pattern Warlord Titan stands almost two feet tall, making Atlas nearly five times its size. There’s no word on tabletop stats, special abilities, or points yet, but we’re certain it could bring a hefty level of destruction to the game.
“Atlas grew with our relationship, and it really became a team-building exercise in the end,” they say. We can’t wait to see what’s next for this recently married Warhammer power couple.
Feeling inspired? We can hardly blame you. While you can’t buy an Imperator Titan of your own, especially at full Warhammer 40,000 scale, Adeptus Titanicus features plenty of smaller stompy robot action to satisfy your craving for city-block-levelling firepower.
And failing that, you could always whet your appetite for destruction with our competition to win a Warlord Titan.
* The exact height of an Imperator Titan remains a matter of some dispute.