These 3D Warhammer 40k faction icons were handmade by hobbyist Sam Creary, using the stash of spare Warhammer 40k model bits in her bits box. Creary has been sharing work-in-progress and finished pictures of the ‘Icon Boxes’ on her Twitter timeline as she creates them.
Creary is a prolific converter, saying “I have difficulty following instructions”. Having amassed a sizable box of unused parts for dozens of Warhammer 40k factions and Age of Sigmar armies, she made a new year’s resolution to actually use them up, “rather than just hoarding them like a dragon”. She says the Icon Boxes “make great use of the spares without having to worry about them being complete figures”.
She made the first Icon Box, an Imperial Eagle made from firstborn Space Marine bits, “to see if I could”. She was inspired by Victorian pressed flower art, and had a box frame that she hadn’t yet found a use for: “I was waiting for inspiration to strike…”
After the Imperial Eagle she created a Sisters of Battle Icon Box, using parts donated by a friend. Another friend suggested she create the Tyranid logo, just in time for the launch of Warhammer 40k 10th edition and the Leviathan launch box set. The latest, a Dark Angels icon, is a gift for a work friend.
According to Creary we can “probably expect to see Adeptus Custodes, Space Wolves, and hopefully some Age of Sigmar factions in the future.” You can find more of her work on her Instagram and Twitter where she uses the handle Greenstuffnglue.
The boxes don’t take Creary too long to make: “Each one takes about an hour or so of planning, and then another hour of fitting the pieces in place, then painting & finishing varies depending on detail but is usually another couple of hours. So probably around 4-5 hours overall”.
“I’m currently trying to work out if I could do them on request, but it would depend on having the pieces available and such so then it gets expensive… The hard part is balancing what I think I might use for kitbashes elsewhere!”
This explains why there isn’t yet an Icon Box for Creary’s favorite faction, the Eldar – she’s keeping those bits in her private reserve.
This is a fantastic way to use up the contents of a bits box, and a far more dignified end for old Firstborn bits than sending them to the recycling bin in a Warhammer store.
If you enjoy converting and painting miniatures, make sure you check out the Starter Set community painting challenge running until July 9 on Twitter. How far will you get with just five paints?
Source: Wargamer
