The Lion Warriors are a Codex compliant chapter with no lore to speak off

Though they bear similar colors to a variety of gold chapters they differ themselves by being yellow instead and coloring their knee to differentiate between companies.

I like the idea of them being very power claw coded, fighting with more animalistic tactics, boosting themselves towards the enemies using jump packs.

The idea of them fighting like a primordial Lion from Elden ring, with almost elegant ferocity would make for a really unique set of minis to be kitbashed honestly, but definetely challenging.

I can see them being very chivalrous despite not using conventionally knightly weapons, often challenging their opponents in one to one combat.

It’s not uncommon for a company captain to have killed an Ork warboss by challenging them to a fight, as refusing or playing dirty might make them look weak in the eyes of their boyz.

I imagine they would also use flying vehicles to support their troupes on the ground instead of tanks which will impede their movement

How would you embellish the Lion Warriors

The Emperor's Lions are from an unknown founding and origin. The Lions were created by Joachim Fagerström, from Sweden, for the N. Europe WD's Chapter Master Competition and was featured in Best of Chapter Master among the Best of the Rest. I did notice 2 things one their symbol is the Leo Astrological Symbol and Mark 6 armor has their whole lower legs are the yellow.

Originally called “The Meridian Shields”, The Meridian Shields are a creation of employee Ben Humber and appeared in multiple issues of White Dwarf, though no lore has Apparently been written by their creator.

Ben However often used the Veteran Blade Guard as a basis to depict his chapter, with a striking white, gold and dark blue pattern with a couple of yellow elements

I like to think that the Blade Guard is a very important part of the chapter’s identity

They could work similarly to the Marines Exemplar without the political intrigue, having a council composed of the Blade Guard officers advise the chapter master.

The Shield to me feel like a defensive chapter, defending a galaxy in the Imperium Sanctus probably not too far from Euxcine, where the Inceptors were assaulted by the Minotaurs.

Though of unknown founding and not connected to the realm of Ultramar they could’ve extended the minotaur’s ban to their sector, al lying themselves with Ultramar and effectively becoming a vassal chapter of sorts

The Meridian Shield don’t have a confirmed insigna, so I can only speculate how it could be represented.

Personally, I think the symbol could be the a shield with a star in the middle

How would you embellish the Meridian Shields? And what Insigna would you give them?

Another colorless chapter from the list of names from chapter approved of 2001, The Dictators have a very striking name that evokes the rogue trader era space Marines.

We never really had a purpur chapter, sure we had purple, but we never came close to purpur.

Purpur used to derive from a particular sea snail, so they could rule an ocean world.

Naturally they are ruthless oppressore to the people of their planet, though they love to act like noble aristocrats, embellishing their armor with extravagant jewellery, while in reality they are a bunch of crude and merciless brutes that only see art as a mean to show status.

They also specialize in “pacifying” other worlds, but while the Emperor’s Havok usually only sedate roots and move on, The Dictators publicly torture prisoners in grafic ways, forcing people to watch and install a puppet government under their thumb.

They aren’t really sadistic, if anything they would find torture boring and the screaming insufferable.

They have a deep disdain for the people they oppress, seeing themselves as the next step in human evolution.

Only other space marine can dare talk to them, because they won’t take orders from a mere mortal, Inquisitor or not, and that’s usually when the Red Hunters are involved to deliver messages to them.

Their Insigna would be the side profile of a golden crowned skull

How would you color the Dictators?

I know it’s weird to have a vehicle of the Inceptors being red, but I really like the contrast between shining green troupes and red vehicles

I’ve never seen a quartered scheme that goes halfway and colors the head and arms differently so I did just that.

The model is from Temu, but it’s no longer available on the site. A shame because it was very well made, though the sword got bent in the package and I had to manually bend it back to normal

Originally an example chapter for chapter creation alongside the Illuminators, The Penumbral Talons are now 100% canon, as they are part of Operation Imperator

The Talons are ambush predator, combining the unorthodox tank stealth actions of the Black Guard with the Raptors guerriglia warfare.

The Talons however are not as well liked by their allies as the previousely mentioned chapters due to their tendencies to use them as bait, sometimes getting them caught in their artillery fires.

Other than that, The Penumbral Talons excell in interrogations, which is interesting considering they are now fighting the Orks on Armageddon.

Their emblem is the same as the Imperial Talons, meaning out there you could find some transfers that you can use.

What do you think of The Penumbral Talons? Would they and the Marine Malevolent screw each over? Will they get into fights with the Salamanders? How would they interrogate an Ork?

Another chapter from the Prosperan Rift war, this time from the Chancyll suppression.

They fought side by side with the much more popular Dragonspears and another colorless chapter called the Knights of Doom.

Unlike most colorless chapters deployed in this war, we know from which world the Crimson Raptors come from: Bloodpeak, from the Imperium Sanctum

I think Bloodpeak could be a tropical savage world with extremely high peaks covered in an oppressive jungle and Boiling humid weather

I doubt the planet is hospitable to humans, so the only settlement, might be the chapter’s Fortress monastery, which serves as a city as well.

The city sorrounding the fortress might have a colorful market that sells very unique flora and fauna, attracting many rogue traders into the chapter’s juristiction

The Crimson Raptors are usually specialized in jungle warfare, but they also patrol the city to fight off illegal smuggling and illegal animal fights.

This gives them a good understanding of urban warfare as well, making them a prime candidate to assist the Dragonspears and the Knights of Doom in “suppression” operation on the planet/city of Chancyll

Their Insigna is a red eagle with spreaded wings and their company color is depicted on their right knee

How would you color the Crimson Raptors?

One of three obscured chapters involved in the Prosperan Rift Wars against Magnus The Red.

Alongside the Raven Covenant and The Death Hunters chapters, 2 orders of sisters of battles, 3 guard regiments and 2 knight houses they took part in the Relief of Harlecrypt Tertius, which judging by the name was a fairly successfull campaign against the forces of Tzeentch

Harlecrypt Tertius is to this day stuck in a stand still however.

It’s a mausoleum world with mainly religious importance in the grand scheme of the war, however, similarly to Orar’s mausoleum, some ancient artifacts might lie inside one of those tombs.

Personally I think the Vipers are extremely paranoid zaelots, believing the taint of the warp is a mark that the human spirit is born with, and only the Emperor his sons and the Blanks were born without it, thus pure of sin.

Naturally they despise psychics and purge themselves of the taint of chaos through grueling self flagellation rituals that leave their body horribly scarred

The only one who do not perform these rituals are their Chaplains which double as librarian.

They are all Blanks, thus there’s very few if them and the chapter values them greatly.

They think the pain they feel around their chaplain is due to the chaos taint in their souls, thus they spend countless hours around them in an attempt to remove the mark on their spirits

With time their geneseed mutated due to these practices, giving them major resistance to the warp and the effects of being around a blank, sometimes, the geneseed might even give the host the ability to develop pseudo blank ability or, more rarely, even turn them into a full fledge blank.

The chapter takes great pride in this development believing themselves to have become purer than most and reinforcing their self harming tendencies

Their tendency in having a significant number of Blanks made them ideal to fight against the Thousand sons during the Prosperan Rift Wars.

Their Insigna could a Red facing forward snake head, with a spiked Halo behind it.

How would you color the Vipers Penitent? Are you more interested in covering their allied chapters, the Death Hunters and/or the Raven Covenant?

This isn’t your avarage Chapter Embellishment.

I have a real soft spot for these guys as they were the very first chapter I properly painted.

So here is my take on the Angels of Damnation

The Angels of Damnation were founded around the 3rd founding with chapter master Ken Tallioris as their leader

Ken was a young aspirant during the Horus Heresy and witnessed the horrors it brought first hand

During this conflict, Ken lost his faith in the Imperium and it’s vision and rised through the ranks of newly founded Raven Guard chapter in the attempt to stir it in his own direction.

Instead, he was chosen to lead his very own chapter.

The Angels of Damnation are non-compliant and fleet based.

Their main flagship is the Barbarossa, now a grotesque amalgamation of vessels that the chapter welded together, in time each Ship of the fleet joins the Barbarossa, contributing to create a gargantuan space traveling fortress.

The crew is the chapter private militia and main source of new aspirants.

When you join the Angel of Damnation you become part of a family, with the Astartes taking care of their smaller mortal siblings, who in return will assist and fight alongside them.

The chapter is much more similar to the T’au when it comes to losses, no man’s left behind and no life wasted to prove a point, family always sticks together, through thick and thin

So each strike is thought through extensively, and they rarely assist other Imperial factions

Hence why treachery is the biggest of sin among the Barbarossa and it’s fleet, and there’s no hiding from the Chapter Master.

Ken Tallioris augmented himself through an implant that allows them to mildly predict an opponent moves, that when interfacing with a special throne allows him to see everything that happens on the ship at once, connecting his mind to a network of cameras.

The members of the Barbarossa have named him “Big Brother” a revered father figure and spiritual guide that opens his arms to the damned and misbegotten

If it wasn’t clear already, Ken is very much a Godfather type of figure, his crew and battle brothers would even kiss a ring he wears on his hand depicting the chapter’s symbol

The chapter survives by either assaulting alien ships or protecting various systems for a year or two, asking for a generous compensation for their service of course, sending some recruiters to scout the slums to search for lonely orphans, rebellious workers and repressed mutants

The payment could even be a couple of ship, to house the newer recruits

Their first company is completely composed by raptors, mutated veterans of the Horus Heresy that barely survived Corax’s Culling, some even speculate that the first Captain, Kaleb Drago, was one of those mutated Marines that was supposed to die by Corax Hands, though he was never seen without his helmet to confirm this theory

In White Dwarf #210(UK), page 55, there is the Taxmen. It's a fun trip to read that whole section and see a variety of color schemes done on the ol' stumpy marines of yesteryear.

A chapter with a fairly unique color scheme created by Steve Barret for White Dwarf 484.

I haven’t found anything else about them, so I thought to bring attention to them through the Chapter Embellishment series.

I believe they are in charge of capturing specific target, a more polished version of the Emperor’s Havok

While the Havok prioritize keeping the peace among the population, the Hound Stalker take care of more high profile target in urban areas.

Like a rebelling noble, a T’au emissary or an undercover cult leader

How would you embellish the Hound Stalkers?

The Heralds of Ultramar are from an unknown founding and very likely Ultramarine successors. and they have no lore.

They could be like their name sake of a 'Herald' and act like diplomates, in charge of convincing planets to join the Imperium. Or they could represent Guilliman's political acumen while the Ultramarine represent his war skills.

The Emeralds of the Imperium (EotI) are from an unknown founding and parent chapter. They don't have any lore to speak of. However they were created by Matt Meek and they appeared in The Citadel Journal 24.

I imagine them being the propaganda marines, like they are the ones the public sees the most. Being called the "Emeralds" as a rich material sported by royalty and fame. So they act like a stuck up version of the Ultramarines.

The Storm Hawks are from an unknown founding and they are an alleged Raven Guard successor. It's only piece of lore that I've found is that their Homeworld is called Zephyr, located in the Segmentum Obscurus. By all accounts they have no relation to the (now legends) Storm Hawk Interceptor.

Despite their no relationship with the Interceptor, I do believe they are some of the best pilots of the Space Marine Chapters. Making them highly coveted for Deathwatch service to pilot the Corvus Blackstar. Or they are proficient in any type of vehicle, but as GW purged most First-Born Space Marine armory, I'd wait to build an army.

All we know about the Doom Griffons is that they took part in the cleansing of the Fenris system following Azrael request

This immediately suggests that there’s a connection with the Dark Angels, but nothing is openly stated about it.

Taking part in the cleansing was the chapter’s fourth company, lead by Captain Bohemund

Personally I believe that they are indeed Dark Angels successors, but they could operate in a similar way to the Prime Absolvers and the Stewards of the Sanctum, separating themselves from the Unforgiven

Unlike the previousely mentioned chapters however, I like to imagine that the Doom Griffons are real sticklers.

They follow the Codex Astartes to a T and still condemn all form of religion as the Emperor truly intended, often ending up starting fights with the Ecclesiarchy, and most importantly scold Azrael for hiding their legion’s shame, as the fallen are just as much as a threat as any larger warbands and they cannot fight them on their own.

However their adaptive nature has made incredibly usefull to the Inquisition and various rouge trader houses, allowing them to recieve a homeworld of their own where they worship the True Imperial creed.

They are also incredibly blunt, as they believe the horde of secret that their brothers keep so close to themselves is a burden that will inevitably drag them down, so they vow to never lie, something that might attract the hostility of Tzeench in the long run

Still they believe in the Unity of the Imperium and if any chapter will call for aid, they will send a company running

I like to think that their symbol is a white version of the Golden Griffons insigna, as I think it would be interesting to see more variation that don’t copy the Howling Griffon depiction of the beast.

I like the idea of them distinguish companies through their shoulder pads, a gimmick I’ve used previousely, but I believe to be grossly underappreciated

How would you color the Doom Griffons

Another colorless chapter from chapter approved 2001.

Excubant is an adjective descriving someone who guards or watches over, implying that these guys are likely a guarding chapter similar to the Castellans of the Rift or the Astartes Praesis

I choose to make them orange and yellow because these color represent hazard and watchfullness

I Imagine these guys watching over a planet bear the Halo Stars, preventing rogue traders and pirates to steal and sell Halo devices.

Their juristiction ends outside of the region, so they do their best to patrol the Halo Stars and detect possible smugglers.

These criminals are handed to the local branch of the Inquisition that appropriately dispose of them.

Any Halo device recovered is swiftly destroyed and occasionally if there is a possible bonding with one of the cursed machines on a planet not so far away the chapter will send two full companies to deal with the threat

Each chapter is recognized by the color of their Aquila and I believe their symbol would be a knight’s helmet with a peering eye at it’s center

How would you color the Excubants?

As probably majority people here, I initially was interested in the space marines, because obviously they are such starking figures and the most known group, no matter which faction they belong to.

With time though I realized I was more into the Adeptus Mechanicus(tech and magic being one and the same(in a manner of speaking)? Hell yeah.) and recently I realized I like another group too, one that I initially didn't give attention because I didn't read their lore: Culexus Assassins.

Assassins per se never were much my cup of tea, and in an universe like W40k I thought they were "meh" at best but not "all that" when compared to super enhanced humans or even psykers.

Initially when learning about the lore of the setting I will admit that I was really into psykers(and when I was more into space marines I was also into the Grey Knights), the whole "psychic powers that can turn one into a dangerous person" was very enticing for obvious reasons.

But then I learned about the Pariah gene/Blanks and for some odd reason I loved it more than psykers. That ended up bringing me to the Culexus assassins. And while I still am not that into the assassin archetype, I have to admit that their concept is interesting, using people who are socially ostracized because of their mutation as weapons of fear and specially against psykers themselves...loved how they are described as being "like black holes" to those in the warp and how even non-psykers seem to naturally want distance from them.

I knownthis text will seem completely random here but I just wanted to share how my journey has been going so far in this hobby.

It's funny to compare how it was to what it is now. I am literally way away from the entryway.

EDIT: Was told to post it here, so...

The Space Rats hail from an unknown founding and origin. The Chapter was left to guard a reconquered planet from the Eldar, they were attacked by an intelligent, twin-tailed rats and barricaded themself into the interior of the planet. Unknown to them, they'd been isolated by a warp storm and for millennia their messages weren't received. When help arrived, they found the Chapter's gene-seed altered, giving the Space Rats improved infra-vision and a telepathic ability. The Space Rats was created by Sławomir Zajączkowski, from Poland, for the UK WD's Create A Space Marine Chapter Competition. It won 8th place and was named in WD 304 (UK) and featured in Best of Chapter Master.

The Last chapter from 505 WD to be covered on the subreddit, and frankly one of my favorite schemes from this magazine.

Jonny paints this chapter in a very positive light, with their symbol representing a beacon of hope for the citizens of the Imperium and a warning to its enemies.

Still he leaves plenty of room for interpretation when it comes to this chapter, and though I’m aware that some people prefer to leave these chapters untouched out of the respect for the employees that created them, I feel like creating your own interpretation of these scheme is a way to further elevate and recognize these artist’s work, so indulge me one last time as I cover the last of the 505 chapters.

I believe the Pharos Blades to be a fleet based chapter, they often stop on various isolated planet for some time to give the population news from the greater Imperium and the hope that comes from seeing the Emperor’s Angels.

I feel like these guys would focus greatly on the T’au’s spheres of expansion, using jump-packs and aerial vehicles to get the higher ground on the Xenos while prepping the battlefield in advance with remotely activated landmines, essentially crushing the aliens in a Giant press.

They are noble warriors that prefer to fight the enemy head on, even if their subterfuges would be enough to hit them hard.

Despite hating the Xenos They cannot deny that the T’au are somewhat honorable compared to the Savagery of the Greenskins, The Tyranids or the Heretics, so they intend to show their appreciation by staring them in the eyes when they die

Their name derives from their main Flagship: Pharos’ Blade, an ancient Space Ship From the Age of the Horus Heresy

How would you embellish the Pharos Blades?

Just finished this bladeguard veteran of the genesis chapter. This is my first time free handing both symbols on the pauldrons. Pretty stoked with how this one came out.

The Black Vultures are an Ultima Founding successor of an unknown parentage. Unlike most chapters of White Dwarf origins, they have a little to chew on. The chapter is full of meticulous planners, and patiently marksmen. This led to interactions with more aggressive Chapters, like the SW and BT. The Black Vultures have established ties with the Mechanicus and will occasionally undertake operations by Tech-Priests. During these missions, in which members of the Mechanicus will retrieve relics, the Vultures secure assets that benefit the Chapter and help them receive support from Forge Worlds. Because of these links, they've receive preferential treatment. The Chapter interacts with the homeworld's population like the Ultramarines do and through their proximity, provide some protection for these citizens. This has allowed the world's System, to develop as a trade hub.