I Kitbashed A Nippon Ronin In The Empire! They’ve Taken Out Some Raiding Orcs!

Tabletop artist transforms the Golden Girls into Warhammer 40K supersoldiers

by Ian Walker - Polygon, February 7, 2025

Artist Adam Huenecke recently used his love for both ’80s sitcoms and tabletop wargaming as inspiration for a series of figures imagining the eponymous Golden Girls as battle-hardened warriors in the service of Warhammer 40K’s grimdark Imperium of Man. And while not the most obvious peanut butter cup-style pairing, the results are incredible.

“I’m a massive Golden Girls fan, so I can think of no better leadership for my Adeptus Sororitas,” Huenecke said via Instagram caption on Jan. 26. “I’ve been working through this concept for years and I’m excited to finally have it accomplished.”

Speaking to Polygon, Huenecke said the crossover was a natural result of being a lifelong fan of The Golden Girls and miniature painting. His dream was helped along by a digital sculptor at tabletop company Black Site Studios, who modeled the figures’ custom heads. Black Site Studios has since made the heads available as digital models for a small fee.

“Once I had the head sculpts, I printed out a bunch of reference pictures to try to do their faces justice,” Huenecke told me through email. “I had to digitally sculpt Sophia’s purse (carried by the cherub), which I’m not very good at so it took forever. Otherwise, I had to modify the miniatures a little to fit some of the characteristics of each Girl: I made Dorothy a little taller, Sophia much shorter, etc.”

Due to the Golden Girls dressing as nuns at various points in the series, Huenecke figured Warhammer 40K’s pseudo-religious Sisters of Battle were a “natural fit,” and went about choosing models he felt matched their unique characteristics. Sophia “runs the show,” much like a senior officer known as a Cannoness, Dorothy is modeled after the discipline-focused Dogmata due to students nicknaming her “Attila the Sub” when she teaches high school, Rose’s love for telling stories about her hometown St. Olaf made her a perfect fit for the inspirational Dialogus, and Blanche became a whip-wielding Repential Superior thanks to her often-physical guidance.

“It turns out there is a considerable crossover in the fandoms,” Huenecke said when asked about the feedback he’s received. “People were happy to see the loving detail put into some of their favorite characters. The Golden Girls holds up over time; their humor is based on brilliant timing and great writing, and their values are surprisingly progressive, even by today’s standards. I think that resonates with a lot of gamers who have revisited the series. And honestly, if you aren’t a fan of the Golden Girls, you’re probably not any fun to spend several hours pushing toy soldiers around with.”

Some of my Warhammer Books!

I found the first Warhammer thing I ever painted, these Eldar Warp Spiders, in 1995 or 1996. I didn’t even know what they were! I would get the 2nd edition 40k big box with the beloved mono pose space marines, space orks, and gretchin, as well as the ever infamous and tournament legal cardboard deff dred in 1997 which is when I consider my actual start in Warhammer. Here they are next to the last thing I painted for a competition, a Chaos Daemon Prince, in late 2024.

I’m so excited!

Sentinals!

Some forest terrain for Warhammer Old World, with removal trees for easy access.

Some tips for hobbying while being cheap and neurodivergent:

If you, like me, pick up cool rocks and want to show them off and have cool terrain at the same time: glue them into cool piles on a piece of cardboard to make landmarks. People have been stacking large rocks in piles for millennia to mark trails and denote distances. And now everyone can see your cool rocks on the tabletop!

Do you ever worry about mixing up too much Green Stuff or Milliput? Have a leftover epoxy putty project. Don’t rush it, it’s just where you put all the leftover stuff. It doesn’t look like much now, but one day I’ll have a four armed, two headed Chaos Giant because I keep mixing up a little too much putty!

Do you ever want to do make statues for your terrain, but you don’t want to sacrifice a whole mini to make one? Glue extra horns and weapons onto Knights and Warriors style army men from the dollar stores! You’ll have some convincing statues after just a prime and a dry brush or two!

These shelves are what constitutes nearly all of my 40k stuff. Mostly Rogue Trader and Second Edition stuff as well as the 5th edition boxed set.

I’m a Warhammer Fantasy guy. But I respect 40k.

Alexey Gorboot

I got this tattoo on bastille day, a day of jailbreaks. Those who get it get it.