I Also Finished These Mangler Squigs!

Chaos Warrior from Battlemasters! Painted up for Olden Demon season!

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.”

I made this graveyard for fun. The chapel is actually a working music box that I rescued from a house that was going to be torn down, which I then disassembled, primed, painted and then reassembled. It plays “silent night.” I put pop culture names on some of the gravestones and the big memorial piece with the caped hero is for a guy named Nick Post who owned our local comics and games store and was a friend of mine. The castle is a 3D print with a fully playable interior. The balcony was a stand for a Marvel Thor action figure.

The boys are back in town only once a year. Relish this moment.

I don’t know why I’m suddenly thinking about this (travel I suppose) but to get to Fort Collins, Colorado from Saint Paul, Minnesota it is advantageous to pass through Omaha, Nebraska. Me, my spouse 4 bandmates, and a roadie traveled in a rental van towards that city with all of our equipment and amps. To get to Omaha, you’re probably going to drive through Council Bluffs, Iowa. I will NEVER forget Council Bluffs, Iowa.

We get out of the car at the liquor store and gas station to get gas, smoke, piss, what have you. And you’re probably thinking “Baron, a lot of gas stations have a small liquor store in rural places” and you’re right. This was a big liquor store that had a small gas station attached to it and above it on a tall post that said “Mall of the Bluffs” which included a Hyvee grocery store up a small hill from there, and an apartment building with NO INTERIOR OR EXTERIOR LIGHTS ON, that had a big advertising sign in front of it that said “FREE RENT INQUIRE INSIDE”

At the pump was a young couple in a sports car, looking nervous as they finish filling up their tank and drive away and from behind the pump just out of view approaches a man I have etched into my memory forever. He murders tractors you see. High as a kite on some stimulant at this very late witching hour. His truck is a beater like every blue and white beater pickup truck you can immediately imagine. He is about 5’10” maybe 250 lbs. he is wearing boots and overalls and nothing else save for 6 plastic barrettes in his hair. The same one that little girls often wear that have the little embossed daisies on them. Facially, he’s Kevin Smith with a ponytail. He starts telling us about all of the tractors he’s torn apart and hauled away with his pickup truck. He starts asking us to guess how much weight the bed of his pickup can carry in broken tractor units. So we say “250 pounds?” Heartily and assuredly he responds “NOPE!” “350 pounds?” “NOPE!” “450 pounds?” “NOPE!”

550 pounds, it was 550 pounds.

We eventually pawn this guy off to the next person burning the midnight oil and carefully leave. My guitar player asked about why the guy had so many barrettes and our drummer, the wisest amongst us said “one for every tractor he’s murdered”

I’ve met some incredible people, rock stars, comic book authors, poets, animators, game developers.

I think about dead tractor guy more than any of them.

Reblog for greater sample size.

This is the staircase to your favorite underground music venue but twice as long. That’s sexy.

something about that one narrow staircase in Spadina station is deeply haunting to me, what do we think?

My Warhammer Dwarfs army! I’ll add more photos to this when I can get them out and take better pictures!

Idol of Gork and Mork! Scratch built from foam board, garden rocks, those cheap bead necklace things that Jack Skelington dog tags from Spencer’s gifts come on, and Games Workshop skulls.

I originally made this for the Storm of Chaos campain for Warhammer Fantasy Battles sixth edition in the early 2000’s. I added the bad moon later and combined it with some stone pillars I made as my first attempt with using foam board insulation for builds.

I’m going to be doing some updates to it! Adding more Shields and Totems!

wild zero 1999