Few Warhammer 40k building projects are as massive as UK-based Daniel McGirr’s Golden Throne. Wargamer first covered this colossal reproduction of the Emperor’s throne room in October last year, and we caught up with its maker to find out how the build has grown in the past eight months.
McGirr has been working on the custom Warhammer 40k battlefield since October 2022, which measures an impressive 5’7” (170cm) in length by 4’11” (150cm) in width. “Pretty much all my hobby time is dedicated to building… this golden monstrosity”, McGirr says, adding that his “smaller projects” involving various Warhammer 40k factions “just sit in their box covered in a light layer of dust”.
The most obvious change is that the diorama is now “mostly undercoated in gold”, as befits the Imperial throne-room. Construction-wise, the top portion of the pyramid is now “essentially complete”. McGirr spent plenty of time on this part of the project “adding in little ornamental details and pieces of machinery”. He’s had the help of a “project co-pilot”, Daniel Andrews, who has been “tying in all the details with plasticard pipes and joints”.
Co-pilot Andrews has been invaluable with “certain aspects of the build”. McGirr took two shots at making the main stairs before enlisting Dan’s help. “We still have to make some side walls for it as, at the moment, it is just kind of balancing in the middle”, he says, “But for the time being it’s a step in the right direction”.
McGirr’s favorite part of the build is “the Golden Throne itself”. He says he “spent a lot of time kit bashing it using various different kits and all the skulls and purity seals I could get my hands on”. He has the daunting task of creating a version of the Emperor of Mankind to sit in the throne, and says he’s “still chewing up ideas for how I will approach that”.
Though this is already one of the most impressive 40k art projects we’ve ever seen, there’s still plenty of work to do. McGirr plans to tackle “the second staircase leading up to the throne as well as finishing off the bottom one” next. The cabling and machinery for the bottom layer, “as well as an arched facade that’s going to cover it” are also on the to-do list.
He’s hoping to have it finished by mid 2025, but cautions that “the painting stage is going to be a huge determining factor”. “I am a very slow painter”, he says. You can find more of McGirr’s work on Instagram @Imperium_Nihilus, while Andrews is on @paintingrealm.
Frankly, we’re eager to see this in use as a battlefield. Imagine Horus Heresy-era Space Marines fighting at the Siege of Terra over this terrain, or Adeptus Custodes blood games staged during the millennia after.
If you’re a fan of truly massive Warhammer conversions, make sure you check out the colossal Imperator Titan we were lucky enough to see in person at Warhammer Fest 2023. You should also check out our original article on McGirr’s golden throne to learn more about the origins of this project.
Source: Wargamer
