u/Arch0n84

I've been into this hobby for 25 years but this is the first time I've ever painted an Ultramarine.

Is this good enough to join your club?

I posted a thread in r/spacemarines asking for advice on which Chapter I should start for 11th edition, and a number of people suggested the Ultramarines.

Honestly, they have pretty much everything I should want in a Chapter:

• great lore
• a solid paint scheme
• broad unit variety
• minimal need for kitbashing
• and an aesthetic where almost the entire range works straight out of the box.

The problem is that I’ve just never connected with them creatively and have actively avoided them for almost 25 years. When I was 10, Ultramarines were considered “the boring Chapter,” and somehow that idea got lodged permanently in my brain.

Meanwhile, I’ve bounced from project to project trying to find the perfect fit:

• Space Wolves burned me out with endless conversions and “wolfifying”
• Imperial Fists taught me yellow is suffering
• Raptors made me frustrated with how much of the range clashes with their tactical aesthetic
• Black Templars and Flesh Tearers taught me that I absolutely hate painting black armor

At this point, after failing to fully commit to basically every army I’ve started, I’m wondering if maybe the Ultramarines are “boring” in the same way a perfectly engineered hammer is boring: they just work.

So I figured I’d ask the people who genuinely love them:

Why are the Ultramarines the best Chapter, and why should I finally give them a try after 25 years of avoiding them?

Hello, and welcome to my unnecessarily long post.

I’ve collected Space Marines on and off for 25 years, but I’ve never managed to paint more than about 1000 points before getting bored, burning out, and starting over. Maybe this will finally be the edition where I stick with one army.

My first real army after returning to the hobby as an adult was the Space Wolves. They’re still my favorite Chapter lore-wise, but I completely burned myself out trying to make every model look appropriately “wolfy” through endless kitbashing, sculpting fur, and adding beards. Eventually the hobby side became exhausting instead of fun, so onto the shelf they went.

Next came the Dark Angels, where I ran into many of the same problems — just slightly toned down. Too many robes, too much conversion work, and too much pressure to make everything feel thematic.

After those two failures, I decided to go in the complete opposite direction and started a Raptors army. They were genuinely fun to paint, and I loved the grounded military aesthetic and pragmatic lore. They also became the first army I managed to push beyond 1000 points. Eventually, though, I became frustrated with how many Space Marine kits simply don’t fit the cleaner tactical style the Raptors are known for. After two conversion-heavy burnouts, I had no interest in converting half the range again, so onto the shelf they went too.

Then came the Black Templars, which taught me an important lesson: I hate painting black armor. Highlighting black is tedious, time-consuming, and difficult to make satisfying. Apparently I needed to learn this lesson twice, because I later painted some Flesh Tearers and immediately rediscovered how much I dislike black pauldrons, black backpacks, and black Death Company armor. At this point, Chapters like Raven Guard, Iron Hands, and Deathwatch are basically ruled out by default.

Somewhere in between I painted a small Retributors force, but their doctrine and markings never felt like they translated neatly into the Primaris era. They feel much better suited to Kill Team than a full army. I also tried painting a couple of Emperor's Spears after reading Spear of the Emperor, but I struggled to find paints that both looked right and were enjoyable to work with.

I painted five Howling Griffons before losing the will to continue. I painted some Crimson Fists, but found them too monotonous. Painting Silver Skulls taught me that I also strongly dislike highlighting metallic armor.

Next came the Imperial Fists. They look amazing, but yellow armor is incredibly unforgiving to paint. Every mistake shows and fixing errors is a pain.

I’ve never really connected with the Ultramarines creatively, despite respecting their place in the setting.

The White Scars are probably my second favorite Chapter lore-wise after the Space Wolves, but painting white armor is miserable.

And the Salamanders? They seem fun to play, but for reasons I can’t fully explain, I’ve just never been able to warm up to them. Possibly childhood trauma.

So after 25 years, countless abandoned projects, and repeatedly learning the same lessons the hard way, I’m still searching for the Chapter that strikes the perfect balance between:

• good lore
• a fun paint scheme
• a manageable hobby workload
• and an aesthetic I won’t get tired of after 1000 points.

Any suggestions?

I thought Veterans and Captains were supposed to have red trim?

Is it just an artistic choice from the painters?

I am wondering if anyone has any input. Here's some lore-bits I've gathered so far:

• Whenever a Company Champion dies the Imperial Fists will hold a tournament where any warrior of the company may compete to become the new Champion.
• A Company Champions will take to the battlefield as part of a Command Squad assigned to accompany a hero of the Chapter along with several other Veteran battle-brothers and will fight alongside his company captain.
• The Company Champion is the greatest warrior of a Space Marine Company, though he is not a high-ranking officer, such as a Captain or even a Sergeant.
• They are technically outside the chain of command and are outranked by lieutenants and sergeants.

So the Company Champion is outside the normal command structure, is of "lower" rank than a Sergeant and can in theory come from any squad in the company (meaning he doesn't have to be a Veteran), as any battle brother could be chosen. If so a white helmet seems wrong as he hasn't necessarily earned the right to wear one. The most recent Combat Patrol had him painted in a yellow helmet and there is an old Company Champion depicted in the 6th ed Sentinels of Terra Codex suplement but they've also painted the helmets of the Veterans yellow in the box, and in the supplement the Terminator heads are yellow, which is outdated.