#1 : Ultramarines

Space Marines

Because they are both relatively easy to paint and play, The Space Marines are probably the most popular race. Also, the Space Marines can be painted any number of different ways, giving them a plethora of color schemes. There are 4 different codexes, and therefore 4 sets of rules/army lists describing the Space Marines. I will post about each of the 4 sub-groups individually.

Ultramarines/other space marine chapters

The Ultramarines are one of the most popular races. They, along with many other space marine chapters, follow the rules from the Space Marines codex picture to the right.

The Space Marines were genetically engineered by the Emperor himself. Also known as the Angels of Death, the Space Marines are superior to any living man. They have several abilities brought about by the presence of the gene-seed, a series of special organs that can be implanted into a new recruit's body. For more info on the Space Marines, refer to a codex (if you have it) or the following link: Space Marines - Lexicanum.

While the Ultramarines are generally painted blue with gold/yellow trim, the great thing about Space Marines is that you can paint them however you like. Below is a picture of 2 of my own Space Marines, one painted as an Ultramarine, the other as a new chapter all together (it is not an original color scheme, and I can't find the original link where I saw it).

Just as a reference, below is a list of some of the Space Marine Chapters. This just shows how many color schemes are already available, and how easy it is to create a new one!

Overview:  The Space Marines are a great starting army, arguably the best. They are very straightforward to paint and play with. Regardless of your initial army choice, I would still recommend getting a small squad of Marines just to mess around with (and possibly practice new color schemes on)