The origins of Warhammer 40,000 go back over 40 years. At that time, the miniatures looked quite different – and were even made from a completely different material. What you now know as “expensive plastic” was once real metal. A veteran presents one of these old models and intends to make his army modern again.
This is the evolution of Warhammer figures:
- Games Workshop was originally a wooden board game company that later ventured into the trade of miniatures.
- In 1983, the first edition of Warhammer was released. At that time, the figures were made of pewter and significantly heavier than what you know today from the plastic figures. Many models were only available individually in blisters, as shown by a grandmother in her old comic shop.
- Now you can get complete armies to assemble and paint in a box, all made of plastic for cutting and self-assembly. Advantage: You don’t have to carry around heavy armies and can customize the figures.
This is what the veteran shows: On Reddit, user KlausDerDDR posted a picture of a 32-year-old cybot, or “Dreadnought”, calling it his “Emotional Support Dreadnought”. Cybots are Space Marines that must serve even in death, their models are significantly larger than infantry.
The special thing about this Dreadnought is that it is entirely made of pewter. The metal is significantly heavier than plastic; the veteran himself says: He does not want to get that on his foot. On the table, such a figure makes quite an impression.
In the post, the user explains that the miniature comes from the second edition of Warhammer 40,000 – which is from 1993. Recently, Games Workshop released the tenth edition, gradually for all armies, and revealed one of the biggest secrets in the process.
Klaus removed the paint from the Dreadnought and is now waiting to get it operational again. The goal is, as the veteran explains, to make his old army fit and compatible for the new edition.
“Even in socks, you shall serve”
Among the fans, there is much enthusiasm for such an old model, but mainly an ancient joke: The metal Dreadnought is heavy enough to be used as a weapon. Put in a sock and swung, it’s really “emotional support”.
The running gag with the cybot in a sock is as old as the models themselves. Klaus himself seemed not to know this yet: He says he has heard this joke twice already, which concerns him as to how many brothers have probably been used for self-defense.
In the comments, the community shows its best side and says: why only for self-defense? At this point, I’d rather not delve further into the ideas of Warhammer fans. The world is not without reason quite wacky.
Fortunately, most users are only excited about the model itself and about the fact that the veteran wants to return to the hobby after such a long time – and then directly with such cool vintage minis.
Warhammer can indeed become quite confusing for newcomers. After all, there are three different worlds in which you can play Warhammer – and not just in tabletop. Additionally, there are hundreds of books, video games, series…
As a newcomer, one can quickly feel overwhelmed, especially since tabletop not only requires figures but also rulebooks, paint, and tools. One can quickly lose track, but fortunately, Warhammer fans are always eager to help new players find their way into the hobby: Uncle wants to buy figures from Warhammer 40,000 for his nephew, doesn’t know how to proceed, gets complete purchasing advice from the community
