Greetings, citizens,

The Combat Cards team are, unsurprisingly, big Warhammer fans – and our Senior Artist Benji has taken that passion to another level. His latest project, an incredibly detailed Ahriman cosplay, brings one of Warhammer’s most iconic characters to life with impressive craftsmanship and dedication.

We caught up with Benji to talk about what drew him to this complex character, how Combat Cards influenced the build, and what it takes to bring a Warhammer legend from screen to real life!

Why Ahriman specifically, what draws you to the character?

Benji: For those who don’t know, Ahzek Ahriman is a tragic character – once driven by a desperate desire to save his brothers from the curse of mutation. In his attempt, the infamous Rubric Spell succeeded in halting their decay, but at a terrible cost: most were reduced to soulless dust, their souls still trapped in their armor.
Branded a heretic and cast out by Magnus, he now journeys through the galaxy in exile, relentlessly seeking a way to undo his great sin, by any means necessary.

I’ve always been drawn to such characters – those deemed evil, yet burdened by a path they never truly wished to walk.

That, and he looks pretty damn cool.

How long have you been into cosplay, and how many Warhammer characters have you done?

Benji: I’ve been cosplaying roughly on and off for about twenty years now, having built about nine-or-so complete suits in that time. Gradually I’m increasing their fidelity, and using better materials after absorbing many, many tutorials and constantly practicing the skills required to build them.
There’s nothing more demoralising than your suit falling to pieces on you at a public event – trust me, it sucks!

I’ve built three complete Warhammer 40k suits, the first being a Necron Overlord in 2016, then the Silent King in 2023, and finally Ahriman in mid-2025.

How long did the whole process take, from idea to finished costume?

Benji: Ahriman has taken the longest amount of time to date, both because it involved a lot of complex processes, and I didn’t want to ‘crunch’ it and burn myself out building it. Spoilers; it happened anyway, but not as bad!

I’m an experienced 3D modeler, but it always takes an inordinate amount of time to meticulously model something from reference, and figure out what is plausible translating something from a miniature to a human-sized suit. Parts might be much heavier than they appear for example, which materials would be better to craft certain parts, how does it all combine together? Therefore, I spent quite a while engineering on paper how much things would approximately weigh, how they attach together, and how light I could possibly make it, as I’d be wearing it for long periods of time.

The Ahriman Project (™) took roughly nine months to build from scratch.
The first two months were spent 3D modelling every individual part, and consulting with a good friend how to print them (using his printer setup). There were -many- setbacks, things being more fragile than they appeared, things coming out the wrong size, etc. So another two months were invested repairing the 3D models and developing them in other ways, so they’d fit together better and be more robust.

Another month or so I sunk into relearning how to sew, and ended up having to consult the local seamstress for advice and to borrow their expertise with a sewing machine. Sewing is definitely my ‘cosplay dump stat’, but I knew enough to get this job done, with their tutelage!

The next four months were spent meticulously painting each piece, and it took quite a while to find the exact paints I needed.
Replicating the techniques I used to paint the miniatures, I ‘scaled up’ and repeated the process en masse.

The final month was spent combining it, and thankfully my measurements were exact (enough) that it went together without a hitch.

What part of the costume was the most challenging to make?

Benji: The two parts that were the most complicated were the helm, and the power-pack.

The Helmet was by far the most complicated piece and most difficult to model from scratch. I had to keep account for how heavy this thing would be, how many parts it would consist of, how they connected together, and how gigantic my actual default head is (hats fear me, and I fear them). It ended up being 17 individual parts, held together with 3 types of glue – and was big enough to incorporate green torches in the eyes, and an internal vox mic connected to my sound system. It does get a bit hot though every now and again though. It roughly weighs about 2KG.

The Power-Pack was almost as many parts, and a fair bit heavier. But the main challenge was how to attach something vertically to my back, and keep it there comfortably. Fortunately, I have one of those huge backpacks for carrying whole Warhammer armies, so I replicated the straps featured on it, and bolted it all together with a power drill and a silly amount of nuts and bolts. It’s comfortable, and part of it detaches magnetically, so it’s a functioning (albeit space-inefficient) backpack too!

What details or elements are you most proud of in the final costume?

Benji: Simply, four years ago, I couldn’t paint very well. I was primarily 3D-focused both leisurely and professionally, as a video game artist. But since working on Warhammer Combat Cards, I’ve gradually taken over all of the art processes required to develop art for the game, especially Cosmetics.

After getting to grips with how Cosmetics were made, and the painting techniques I’ve learnt on the job, I’ve incrementally gotten better and more explorative with colour palettes and more adventurous. This is also supplemented by a high standard of quality the role demands, and Games Workshop themselves monitoring all of my art that goes through, ensuring 100% accuracy and brand representation.

I’ve been a lifelong fan of Warhammer 40k since school, but the company also pulled me back into the hobby full-time, with a community that greatly enjoys the painting and playing aspects of the hobby. It is a great motivator being surrounded by such a community, that both gave me the drive to see through the Silent King and Ahriman suits to completion, and learning to paint miniatures with like-minded people has strengthened my painting skills more than I ever thought possible.

Since then, I’ve entered and won quite a few painting competitions such as Armies on Parade, and this gave me the confidence and skillset necessary to breathe life into such a complex and colourful character – something I was simply incapable of before.

What’s it been like bringing a character from Warhammer into the real world, and how have Warhammer fans reacted when seeing it?

Benji: The reactions and outpour of support from the fanbase has been tremendous. My Silent King cosplay debuted at Warhammer Fest 2023 was super well-received. I’ve done large cosplays before, but nothing this big (physically, as its almost ten foot tall and requires stilts). I’ve never attended an event with a singular focus before, which meant almost everyone at WHFest knew who I was cosplaying!

At first, it was mostly for me. As both a challenge to build something enormous, and to a quality I deemed good enough for an exhibition! Plus as I was representing Warhammer Combat Cards at the event, I wanted it to look extra good!

But at WHFest, I experienced something else that I hadn’t experienced anywhere else. You see usually at Comicons, the fan-base is mostly teens and young adults, but at this event it was whole families. Lots of kids, but also their mums and dads who loved the hobby too. I ended up being in a lot of family outing shots, and knowing that I contributed to their overall experience at WHFest, and being a memory for them to look back on, was hugely rewarding. I distinctly remember seeing this kid, who had a Necron Codex with him, excitedly pointing at me to his Dad. I also met a lot of Warhammer influencers that day, and my utmost favourite – which was Baldermort. He said something to me that day that I’ll never, ever forget, and changed my entire reason for doing cosplay.

‘You’re bringing so much joy to the people here. Well done, mate’.

If you could cosplay another Warhammer/ Combat Cards character next, who would it be?

This is a good question I’ve often pondered as of late. I always have grand designs, but producing a suit consumes a hell of a lot of time and money, so it must be both a labour of love and something I can realistically complete, that’s also worth the investment!

I will for now keep this a secret, but there are three front-runners I’m considering – but only after I’ve had a substantial break!

It’s also important to mention that the Warhammer Cosplay Community is the greatest and most supportive one I’ve ever been a part of, and that in itself, is a huge motivator to create something new and exciting, and to join them at various exhibitions.