Chaos Dwarfs Through the Ages

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Karak Norn Clansman
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Chaos Dwarfs Through the Ages

#1 Post by Karak Norn Clansman »

Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the first ever compilation of official Chaos Dwarf miniature developments through the ages!

This overview of Games Workshop and Forgeworld's various iterations of Chaos Dwarfs will take you from the very beginnings up to the present day (April 2019), and showcase the evolution of the weird and wondrous concepts embedded in Chaos Dwarfs.

This thread deals with Chaos Dwarf concepts in official miniatures. For compilation attempts at community homebrew work on Chaos Dwarfs, see Carven Images (CDO 2007-2017) and the Chaos Dwarf Culture Project.

Enjoy! :)


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Last edited by Karak Norn Clansman on Fri Apr 19, 2019 7:09 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Shannar, Sealord
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Re: Chaos Dwarfs Through the Ages

#2 Post by Shannar, Sealord »

I've always really liked the 80s Chaos Dwarves. The 90s....
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Karak Norn Clansman
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Re: Chaos Dwarfs Through the Ages

#3 Post by Karak Norn Clansman »

@Shannar, Sealord: Haha, those tall hats put you off? Then remember that towering headgear, scalemail, lords riding winged monsters and contempt for other than their own kind is a trait shared by both High Elves and Chaos Dwarfs. :D

But mention this on CDO and they'll light the witch pyre!


Typos cleared out and much more importantly, Mini-Me Marauder Chaos Dwarfs (with comparisons to their Human Chaos Warrior counterparts) have been added into 1980s - 3rd Edition. Check it out!

Zygmund over on Warhammer Empire had this observation to share on Chaos Dwarfs as a concept:
Zygmund wrote:What would be even more interesting is the question why Chaos Dwarfs?

Why not Chaos Goblins, Chaos Orcs, Chaos Halflings, etc. etc.?

My guess is that Dwarfs in the Norse legends and folk beliefs are morally ambivalent, and many are outright evil. Even Tolkien makes a mention that in ME some Dwarfs were so consumed with envy that they became evil. So evil Dwarfs. Then GW made the obvious link to good Dwarfish armour, maybe even Dwarfish Chaos armour, and machines. Add an (un)healthy dosis of Punk, Giger and Cthulhu, and there you have it, I'd guess.

-Z
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Re: Chaos Dwarfs Through the Ages

#4 Post by SpellArcher »

This is awesome KNC, thanks so much for posting it! I actually remember reading that guy’s letter at the start, White Dwarf or more likely a Citadel Journal or something? Like Shannar I’m an 80’s guy, come close to building an army of those several times:

http://ulthuan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=80&t=70550

I guess one compensation for GW not making a huge amount of Chaos Dwarf miniatures is that you can make a splendid summary like this!
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Karak Norn Clansman
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Re: Chaos Dwarfs Through the Ages

#5 Post by Karak Norn Clansman »

Cheers, SpellArcher! The 1985 Autumn Citadel Journal, according to Zhu Baije. And it was during 2nd edition (damn, memory slip.) The 80s were before my time in more than one sense of the word (born shortly before the Berlin Wall fell), so there is no nostalgia attached when I say that Warhammer went strong from the start. Rich creative stuff more or less from the get go, with lots of inspiring concepts and quality content. Well worth visiting in models and publications from the archive.

You may be able to tell above that 6th edition is where my nostalgia plane lands.

Haha, indeed the limited number of Chaos Dwarf models from GW made the job easier! It would be a lot harder to do likewise for High Elves or Dwarfs. :D
Shannar, Sealord
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Re: Chaos Dwarfs Through the Ages

#6 Post by Shannar, Sealord »

Karak Norn Clansman wrote: Haha, indeed the limited number of Chaos Dwarf models from GW made the job easier! It would be a lot harder to do likewise for High Elves or Dwarfs. :D
I've getting close on the High Elves. Still missing about 25% of the Pre/early slotta stuff, Elwings Cav, and a few random minis here and there. I'll get there. And someday my grandkids will get it all painted.
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Karak Norn Clansman
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Re: Chaos Dwarfs Through the Ages

#7 Post by Karak Norn Clansman »

Wow! A real family treasure. Just the kind of thing I'd like to do later in life; you're living the dream.Your grandchildren will have a grandpa to admire. 8)

You just have to post a walk-through of all High Elves through the ages when it's all completed. Your own painted army, a complete collection...! It'd be an unprecedented and sweet sight.

And please share on other websites as well when completed. It'd be a unique compilation, the glory of Ulthuan amassed under one banner in full splendour!

You have my respect for for this completionist collection endeavour, to be inherited in due time.

Cheers!

Matte
Shannar, Sealord
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Re: Chaos Dwarfs Through the Ages

#8 Post by Shannar, Sealord »

From 4th-8th it's complete. I was fairly impressed with that, but I've been slow on the painting of those- I just love the pre 4th edition stuff more. And the preslotta elves are simply a joy to paint. It's rare that I get the chance, but they seem to jump to the front of the line every time I get my hands on one.
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