Talk to me about Dwarves

[Captain Crooks]

I'm after some advice about what folks consider to be the quintessential unit of Imperial style dwarves. I'm hoping to run a simple ongoing narrative campaign of fantasy games set somewhere in the middle of the old world Empire and it will likely feature some guest starring units and characters from other races as the story progresses. What do you folks think? Show me some dwarf love!

 

[dieselmonkey]

Quintessential Imperial Dwarves? Has to be Prince Ulther's:

Some people might say the later, floppy sleeved Marauder ones, which are nice, but to me, they're just too Empire-influenced. Prince Ulther's are just more 'Dwarven'.

 

[Asslessman]

Said it on FB but I'm saying it agin here :

THESE :

The dwarf lords of legend

If I ever was to paint a single unit of dwarves (might get tempted), I'd paint a unit of heroes like these :

If I were to add rank and file though (very unlikely) I'd add Perry dwarves and would probably add Bood-war's alternates. Not a fan of renaissance dwarves but it's more a quetsion of style than a question of quality of models to be honest.

 

[Erny]

Pretty much has to be the Dragon Company. Lovely unit, great character models, they even have pistols.

Ah, DM beat me to it...

Ah people keep posting as I'm trying to post!

 

[Bluey Zarzov]

Dude!

So much choice here, from Uther to the Marauder minis - there is just so much, but here - I'll break it down to what I consider essential in an Imperial dwarf.

1. Minimum Chainmaille preferably Plate mail.
2. Tabbard or surcoat. A must for heraldry. If not on the model, a shield or standard displaying the heraldry is essential.
3. Helmet style must be a sallet, kettle or visored helm. - pot helms, sugar loaf, spangenhelms (with or without horns) just wont do. Decorations should be limited to plumes.
4. Shields must be heater shaped or a variant, not round, not kite.

Bonus points for pistols.

The Landsknecht style of puff and slash clothing is definitely Imperial, but kinda represents mercenaries, especially if armed with halberds or crewing artillery.


Well, that's my take on it. As some of you may have guessed by that list - yes, I'm into medieval re-enactment.

 

[Captain Crooks]

What's the availability and price per head like of Ulther's lot? I'm looking for a unit of 15 - 20 dwarves and i do like the look of them. And what about the Dwarf Lords of Legend? Or Marauders??? Which tend to be easiest to track down?

I really appreciate all the input here fellas, cheers!

 

[Bluey Zarzov]

Fortunately for you, Ulther and his regiment aren't too difficult to get hold of. You can find em on ebay readily, and Giant Collector here on the forum can most likely supply you with the imperial Marauder range too.

 

[Bluey Zarzov]

I better paint up that standard bearer too.....

 

[Erny]

Dude!

... an Imperial dwarf.

1. Minimum Chainmaille preferably Plate mail.
3. Helmet style must be a sallet, kettle or visored helm. - pot helms, sugar loaf, spangenhelms (with or without horns) just wont do. Decorations should be limited to plumes.
4. Shields must be heater shaped or a variant, not round, not kite.

Bonus points for pistols.

The Landsknecht style of puff and slash clothing is definitely Imperial, but kinda represents mercenaries, especially if armed with halberds or crewing artillery.

Don't confuse Imperial Dwarves from what remains of the Dwarven Empire with Dwarves from the Empire.

The First imperial dwarves I remember were the chain mail clad perry dwarves. The armour was sort of either side of the Barons wars with earlier and later stuff chucked in. There were certainly a few pot helms Dwarves came with the round and kite shields.

Dwarves from the Empire were described in late 3rd ed as adopting the human style of dress, here then are your puff and slash marauder dwarves.

No idea who much the dragon company go for. I picked mine up for a song in a 2nd hand miniatures stall in Brighton in about 1996.

 

[Bluey Zarzov]

Ah, so true Erny!

My take is certainly the human influenced Empire - not the Dwarf empire - that goes back thousands of years.

 

[Count Von Bruno]

Just throwing my lot in here with Prince Ulther's Dragon Company, mainly because of this guy

I missed the boat on (good old) Dwarfs but geez I wish I hadn't.

 

[Bluey Zarzov]

Oooh... Traditional colours 'n all!


I so need a new camera.

 

[Blue in VT]

I'm some what conflicted on this subject. I too Love the Dragon Company...my very first RoR which I've had since the late 80's...but of course Bugmans Rangers are equally as epic and perhaps even more "storied" even in the Oldhammer Fluff.

Here are my Ulthers still sporting their 80's paint jobs...and still lacking their shields...



I hope to spruce these up and finally add shields and new bases before the OHNW event this august.

Here are my Bugmans which got reworked for last years event.



Really you couldn't go wrong with either of these fantastic units. this sounds like an exciting project so please keep us updated!

If you were willing to open your arms to the Empire Imperial dwarfs then I would suggest the Marauder Pike unit which are my favorite dwarfs of all time....which can, obviously, be seen in the pic above as well.

Also...you have a PM Captn.

Cheers,

Blue