40 Years of Warhammer: Miniature Retrospective – The Dreadnought
Another iconic model is here from Games Workshop. The Dreadnought has made its mark on the Warhammer Universe.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of Warhammer and Games Workshop is taking some time to look back at miniatures that had a big impact on their work. Today it’s a look at a classic that’s been redefined a few times. The Space Marine Dreadnought brings the weight of history with it!
“When some blighted enemy of the Imperium manages the near impossible and mortally wounds a Space Marine, there is no reprieve for that maimed Astartes. Their duty to the Imperium does not end – instead their twisted remains are interred in a sarcophagus humming with barely understood technology and emplaced into the hulking frame of a Dreadnought. “
The Space Marine Dreadnought
Now, some of the more veteran hobbyists and players might be looking at the above Dreadnought and start to think, “hey, that’s the the OG Dreadnought…” And you’re totally right. This Dreadnought has been designated as the “Castra Ferrum” — which is a more modern designation. But even this model had a predecessor:
Yes, those are the OG three Dreadnoughts: the Furibundus, Contemptor, and Deredeo. All of which are from the Rogue Trader Era. That said, their more modern redesigns are much more heavily influenced by the Castra Ferrum version. There’s still design elements from all of them in their respective redesigns but, for the vast majority, the Castra Ferrum is the default Dreadnought.
The Dreadnought was cast in metal and it is a chonky model. It had various options over the years and the plastic kit did a great job of making it more accessible and lighter. Players of a certain vintage will probably have a horror story or two about the old metal Dreads shattering if they were dropped or if a table was bumped just right and they toppled. It’s happened to me! It was even worse for the Chaos Dreads…
The Old Metal Chaos Dreadnoughts had a slightly higher center of gravity because the legs were different and their old Power Scourge weapon would get caught on things. Emperor help you if you had a loose jacket or sweater on around one of those things!
Anyhow, you can still see the influence of the Castra Ferrum in not only the Space Marines and their newer Primaris upgrades but also in the Chaos Daemon Engines like the Hellbrute. You can even see remnants of it in the Defiler, too.
The concept of a broken warrior encased in a sarcophagus of war is a very Warhammer 40,000 thing. It’s another chance for a fallen warrior to continue to serve humanity as it’s guardian in a massive warmachine that is a Dreadnought!
From the classics to the Leviathan, the Redemptor, and everything in between there’s a lot of Dreadnoughts to like — which is your favorite one?
