What if...??

I have recently joined a forum dedicated to Space Dwarfs.

If you visit it, you will see that it is a very young forum but there is some interesting stuff there. That brings me on to what has been occupying my mind lately and that is...why are there so many people who fervently cling to the GW view of Dwarfs in Space?

GW initially had a nice little band of Space Dwarf militia. They then built up the background to include Guilds and then they ruined everything by making them into some sort of a Hell's Angels cult. As much as this would have been fine...even cool...for a human army, for Dwarfs it was the dreaded straw that broke the camel's back and they ended up a big joke that got wiped out in the most evil way possible...they just got pulled from production with no explanation.

Eventually...'they got eaten by Tyranids' was the reason they disappeared.

They just weren't cool any more was the real reason.

Since then there have been the odd murmur about Demiurg but that, as they say, was the end of that.

So why do people cling to the Fantasy Dwarf in Space that GW started all those years ago...fat, bearded Dwarfs with a knack for making things...living in Holds and Guilds and being miners, just like their fantasy brethren.

Familiarity?

Who knows?

Grymn are really cool miniatures. They are everything Space Dwarfs should be...but the die-hards won't even look at them because they aren't fat and don't have a beard as a mandatory fashion accessory.

The GW idea of Space Dwarfs (or Squats) has gone. The army lists have disappeared in the dim history of the WH40,000 legends.

So what army list would best suit a 'NEW' version of an old idea?

I would suggest that the Space Marine Codex would be the best place to start.

HQ - The Squat Lords had Exo armour and Guild heavy armour which could be represented by Terminator or Powered armour.

HQ - Living Ancestors could be Librarians.

Elites - Hearthguard are elite warriors that also had access to similar armour so they could be represented by Terminator or Powered armour veteran squads.

Troops - Scouts could represent the Warrior brotherhoods (both close combat and standard troops).

Fast Attack - I hate to say it but bikers could be represented by Scout bikers or even normal Space Marine bikes for the Hearth-guard/Guild bikers.

Fast Attack - Gyro-copters could be represented by Land Speeders in their various types.

Heavy Support - Scout Squads with extra access to heavy weapons could act as heavy weapon squads.

Heavy Support - TANKS...Thunderfire Cannon (Thudd Gun anyone?)...Dreadnoughts...

On top of that, throw in some Techmarines and Servitors and you have the Guild Technicians covered.

Thinking of armour types, the basic troops would be in Carapace and the Guild/Hearth-guard/HQ units could be in either Powered armour or Terminator/Exo armour.

So what we need is fat, bearded Dwarfs with a hint of Old-school runes/mining/berserking and wearing a mix of Carapace, Powered and Exo armour. There should be a bike design that suits them, a few miniatures to represent the technical side of their army...maybe a cool Gyro-copter and a few chunky walkers/dreadnought styled vehicles...not to mention tanks, Thudd guns and even drilling machines...

I think that about covers it...

Hmmm...

See you in a bit :)