edriarr blackleaf:
I dont get to play WH as much as I’d like, more often though, I get in smaller skirmish games and Warhammer Quest (which I’m slowing working my way through completing the bestiary in stages).
Gaming isnt a cheap hobby, and it doesnt help when some of the things we’d like are no longer available from the source we’d prefare. This leaves us with
1) auction sites, but that can be expensive and distressing.
2) Forge World, luxury goods IMO, see 1) above … expensive and distressing.
3A) third party options, upside - potentially cheaper, value / quality - proud of their product, want return customers.
3B ) third party options, downside - scale variation, value / quality - poor, disappointment with product and the source.
Commenting on dwarf products I’ve seen in the flesh, touched, or purchased.
Avatars of War mostly makes metal character miniatures, slowly expanding into plastic army boxes. A company with a love for beards, though just one dark beard so far, the Apocalypse Lord of War.
Top quality, zero complaints.
Hasslefree Miniatures, a great indie source for metal character miniatures and collector resin variants of their popular miniatures. A deadly dozen dark dwarves in their catalog, one of which can be found in the dwarf section - maybe he’s showing how hard he is, alone in enemy turf.
Top quality, zero complaints, and great value for money.
Mantic Games, the marmite GW alternative, has a great selection. Metal characters, plastic Warriors with metal command bits / metal guns, and plastic resin Bull Centaur mutations. I think they have an old skool vibe to their design, remind me of metal chaos dwarves from the 80s, not bad value for money.
Raging Heroes does a rather nice Lammasu monster head for their manticore model.
Titan Forge has some great resin steampunk dwarves, mostly warmachines at the moment but a friend of mine has some of the mechanical warriors via kickstarter. They look amazing, great alternates for WH but I’m not sure using a mechanical warrior for WHQ would be practical - I’m on the fence about them being durable as individual miniatures and wear and tear / repairs. The character miniatures look more durable for my uses.
Something I came across online.
Battleforge has a few metal chaos dwarves (I quite like the champion stroking his beard, holding a skull mace), and some GW styled Hobgoblins resin or metal. Not sure the photos do their products justice, would need to see them in the flesh to be sure, but otherwise they look alright.
Collecting outside the GW range can be hit and miss and open to personal taste. As you can tell, I’m open to shopping outside GW, I think you have to be if youre a WHQ fan, its the only way to fill gaps in the collection… hmm … scorpions from Heresy.
Everyone here probably knows everything I’ve posted above, if you know of any more interesting finds share them. I’d be interest and grateful to know, especially things to darken my hours in WHQ.
tenebre:
my rule is and always will be get the models you LOVE the most. regardless of cost. If that means waiting 10x longer to buy them, then so be it.
Personally out of those i dislike mantic the most. I find their models lacking details and poorly made. I bought some to try and after 3 replacements since the moulds were all broken and 2 months of waiting and begging for said replacements, i put some together and they just felt ugly to me.
you forgot Russian Alternative! I think their guys are really in line with the old style.
Bloodbeard:
Hi, and welcome to CDO. And super busy at the moment. Check out: [[Alternate Chaos Dwarf Models]] - it’s a (as far as a know) complete list.
And check out this amazing project by Nicodemus 3D Warhammer Quest
and he has also made some special rules: A complete Chaos Dwarf Warhammer Quest Expansion!
edriarr blackleaf:
I completely agree tenebre, follow your heart… not fads and fickle trends.
Hrm, yes, Mantic can be very marmite. Sorry to hear you had such bad luck with them. I’d never seen the Russian Alternative miniatures until today, now my face aches from grinning… those are some seriously cool chaos dwarves.
Hi Bloodbeard, thank you for the alternate model list, some lovely things there.
Aha Nicodemus’ 3D WHQ, I know that from another site, its one of my favourite fan builds, I love the low tech approach and overall style of his collection - and its been an inspiration for some time.
I’ll have to don my chaos dwarf teapot tophat and read his CD Expansion, fan books can be real gems.
DAGabriel:
Have a look at the Ewal Dvergar, too!
edriarr blackleaf:
Thanks for the link DAGabriel, some amazing miniatures there. Saying they’re Retro doesnt do them justice, its like time travel… crazy voodoo. Someone has tapped into the realm of chaos era and is chanelling its madness.
In a picture showing greens awaiting casting I especially like the champion with the tentacle arm and his spine erupting with horn growths. The tzeentch influenced sorcerer looks good too, I do like his hammerhead flying shark, reeks of fun.
Lovely vibrant old style heavy metal paint jobs, wonderfully done and the crossbowmen and command. The standard barer set me off coughing after laughing, love the flayed badger, or whatever it is, so funny, eeevil. It looks so annoyed to be dead, reminds me of the wolves from ITVs Wolf It.
Thoroughly enjoyed wandering through the blog, spotted a fantastic armoured dwarf homage to a very familiar chaos warrior I own. To mimic what howard carter may have said … wonderful things. Very characterful, all the goodness of a bygone age.
DAGabriel:
Love them, too. Am using them to flesh out my 3rd Edition collection/army. And new ones are coming soon…
edriarr blackleaf:
oooO! I’ll have to keep an eye peeled for those, now I’m hooked and what to know whats next.*
*Reminds me of waiting for WD to see what the releases are going to be this month, flicking the pages to run fingers over the black and white images of photographed lead and chuckling at some of the names theyve each been given.
Abecedar:
Show me a picture of a D3, C16 and I could probably get the name right