Games Workshop revealed some incredible new Warhammer 40k miniatures on Monday, updated versions of four classic Space Wolves kits which replace miniatures that have been in service for years. Former Citadel sculptor Juan Diaz has revealed that the new, hammer-throwing version of Arjac Rockfist is based on his original prototype version of the miniature, which was deemed too risky to cast with the technology available at the time.
Diaz worked at Games Workshop from 1997 to 2013 and produced some incredible designs for Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy Battles. He’s best known for his distinctive daemonettes of Slaanesh (the ones with actual nipples), but worked across a variety of Warhammer 40k factions – including the Space Wolves.
Arjac Rockfist was a new character for the 2009 Space Wolves‘ fifth edition Codex who was originally represented with a resin model, and Lexicanum lists the original Rockfist as a 2009 release. Diaz says in an Instagram post that he created his prototype for the model “almost 14 years ago, if I remember correctly”, which would put the model among the Space Wolves’ 2012 releases. We’ve not been able to verify the timeline from internet sources.
Diaz’ prototype pose for Arjac had him “throwing the hammer”, but the studio team “came to the conclusion that it was a little risky to do it that way” given that he would the model cast in resin. Resin is a brittle material, and it was probably the right choice.
Diaz recalls that “Darren Latham suggested the pose” that was used in the final version of the model, which “would later become one of my favorite Space Wolves miniatures”.
The new version of Arjac takes advantage of hard plastic’s great combination of strength and low weight, and can be built throwing his hammer, Thor-style. “Thank you Citadel design team for rescuing my original pose!”, Diaz says.
We owe a shout out to the excellent Warhammer historian and YouTuber Jordan Sorcery who spotted Diaz’ post and circulated it on Bluesky, which is how we found it. Sorcery actually interviewed Diaz about his sculpting career earlier this year, and you can watch the video right here:
The new Arjac model will be available when the Space Wolves’ Warhammer 40k Codex releases on its own. We’d give it two to three months: the World Eaters Codex and Death Guard Codex are currently on pre-order, Codex Thousand Sons is next on the line up, and the Space Wolves Codex will be available bundled with an army set before it gets a standalone release.
Do you have an original Arjac that you’re proud of? Have you made a converted a hammer-throwing miniature, or maybe built Thor for Marvel Crisis Protocol? We’d love to see your work in the Wargamer Discord server.
Source: Wargamer
