40 Years of Warhammer: Miniature Retrospective – Imperial Knight Paladin
The Imperial Knight Paladin had been a miniature from Epic but it made the jump to 40k and ushered in a whole new era.
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 the Imperial Knight Paladin model that’s under the spotlight. While the concept of this massive warmachine wasn’t new to the Grimdark it was it’s implementation into 40k that really shook things up.
Noble steeds ridden by the scions of the Knightly Houses, these massive engines of destruction are the Imperium’s abhorrent might reified but were initially designed to help Imperial colonisers overcome nature. Jes was once again involved in updating these classic machines, using the opportunity to bring an iconic piece of Warhammer history to the tabletop in plastic.
The beetle back design, sunken head, and massive rounded shoulders evoke the armour of mediaeval knights while riffing on Imperial Warlord Titans, creating an utterly unique mechanical monster that blends chivalry with the esoteric technological sensibilities of Warhammer 40,000 and made a stunning centrepiece in any collection.
Imperial Knight Paladin
The Imperial Knight Paladin was first introduced in Adeptus Titanicus in the 1980s in epic scale. There were various versions of the knight with the Paladin, Crusader, and Errant variants. Fast forward to now and we see that those variants became the different classes of knights we have today.
But when the model was recreated for 40k everything changed. While the Imperial Knight wasn’t the first super heavy on the block it’s arguably made the biggest impact. When it launched it created an entirely new army to play in 40k. Much of the lore and history of the various Knight Houses was also revisited and updated as these warmachines rumbled back into the Grimdark. And the brought so much firepower with them that they couldn’t be ignored. They also opened the door for other variants of knights to be created in the 40k scale, too.
And of course it wouldn’t be the Grimdark without a corrupted counterpart introduced. Not too long after Imperial Knights were introduced the Chaos Knights were also added to the game. With their extra spikes and reverse joints they might share of common origin but the have certainly been twisted to chaos!
Knights really did change the game of 40k. They are still a popular army and if you’re going to an event it’s a wise move to have a plan to deal with them. Odds are good that you might run into them!
To the Imperial Knight Paladin that brought these warmachines into 40k, we salute you!
