For almost as long as there has been Warhammer 40k, fans have been making Hello Kitty Space Marine armies. Cosplayer KittiLittl (who prefers to use her online handle) tells Wargamer how she made her Space Meowrine army, inspired by her love for Hello Kitty and Friends. Content warning – this article contains cat puns.
“I started to collect Warhammer 40k over 10 years ago”, KittiLittl explains, “I wanted to play Dark Angels at first”. Unfortunately, a lack of space for painting miniatures meant that a substantial stack of old Space Marine kits went untouched for years.
Towards the end of 2022 KittiLittl made a Sisters of Battle Repentia cosplay; “I think this is what reminded me about my passion to start playing Warhammer 40,000”, she says. She adds: “When I got back to 40k I realized that Space Marines are bigger now – that’s HOW MUCH I missed on my break!”
She soon encountered photographs of other people’s Hello Kitty armies, and being a massive Hello Kitty fan, immediately thought “I want it too! I want my own Hello Kitty army!” It’s common for Hello Kitty armies to give every Space Marine a Hello Kitty head, but KittiLittl considered it “Kinda illogical to have a lot of Hello Kitties in one army”. So she decided to make a Hello Kitty themed Space Marine Chapter.
“The first this I started with was my own color scheme, and Hello Kitty pictures on the Space Marines’ shoulderpads”, she says. She adds that “white is a very hard color to paint, but Hello Kitty is a white cat with a red ribbon, so I thought it was the right scheme to use”. She’s planning to add Hello Kitty friends to the army as well; “The Chaplain will be black, but Kuromi-style, with Kuromi ears and a tail”.
The “cat ears, purrrity seals, Hello Kitty shoulderpads, and paws on backpacks” are made using a 3D printer. The purrrity seals are actually tiny Hello Kitty ribbons, rather than wax seals. She credits her friend Anton with creating them: “I was so lucky to meet him, he is just awesome in 3D modelling!”
The army already contains “purrrminators, a dreadmeowt, and Chaplain-Kuromi”. She explains that the purrrminators are armed with storm bolters and “pawer fists” so that after they’ve shot at their Xenos targets, they can “throw them off the table” in true kitty style. She and Anton plan to add some vehicles to bring the force up to 1,000 points.
KittiLittl uploads more photographs of her army, as well as her cosplay to her Instagram. It’s probably best not to follow that link at work or in front of your grandma; her most recent 40k cosplay is of a Drukhari wych, the least-clothed unit from the most BDSM-themed Warhammer 40k faction, and her Sister Repentia follows the original artwork for the unit and is only wearing purity seals.
Reflecting on the army, KittiLittl says: “Hello Kitty is what makes me happy, no matter what happens around me or with me, this is my own happiness, and having my army full of such cute kittens make me feel so good”. She adds: “I feel like a proud cat-mom for all those meowrines”.
One of the most wonderful things about Warhammer 40k is how it can be a canvas for creativity and self-expression. We’ve covered community conversions for pride flag Space Marines, Formula One Space Marines, denim Space Marines, Scooby Doo inquisitorial warbands, models made from chestnuts and acorns. It’s also a setting where truly daft things can still be awesome, and even deadly serious – just look at the Orks – and in that regard, Hello Kitty Space Marines are a perfect fit.