When some blighted enemy of the Imperium manages the near impossible and mortally wounds a Space Marine, there is no reprieve for that maimed Astartes. Their duty to the Imperium does not end – instead their twisted remains are interred in a sarcophagus humming with barely understood technology and emplaced into the hulking frame of a Dreadnought.
Each Dreadnought is fully loaded with weapons, plastered with purity seals, and kept hungry for battle. These fallen heroes are revered by their allies and rightfully feared by their enemies – even the end of mortal life cannot contain the wrath of the Emperor’s Angels of Death. This blend of grim purpose, arcane technology, furious firepower, and massive power fist makes the Space Marine Dreadnought the quintessential Warhammer 40,000 miniature.
These days, there are many types of Space Marine Dreadnought, but the classic boxy silhouette of the pattern designated as Castra Ferrum* has endured on the tabletop for decades.
Initially produced in metal, this hefty walker was able to fulfil a variety of battlefield roles from close assault, to tactical support, or even assist Devastator Squads with long range firepower, using a combination of power fists, multi-meltas, assault cannons, missile launchers and twin-linked lascannon. Being cast in a fairly heavy metal alloy, it was often wise to add extra support in the form of ‘pins’ to the arm and weapon joints as mere superglue alone was sometimes not enough to keep them attached in the midst of a game! There was, however, nothing like bringing a furious lump of Imperial righteousness to a tabletop dust-up in the heady days of the 1990s and Dreadnoughts were among the most common additions to any Space Marine force.
This pattern would eventually come to plastic, with further variants such as the Furioso Dreadnought, the Venerable Dreadnought, the Librarian Dreadnought, the Ironclad Dreadnought, and legendary characters like Bjorn the Fell-Handed.**
Even the Chaos Powers got their own dreadnoughts – albeit spikier and with scything fingers – which would eventually evolve into Helbrutes.
Interestingly, the iconic Castra Ferrum was not the first Imperial Dreadnought released – there were three earlier patterns from the Rogue Trader era, the Furibundus, Contemptor, and Deredeo. The latter two would be reborn for the Horus Heresy series, joining the massive Leviathan on the battlefields of the 31st Millennium.
No matter what changes occur in Warhammer 40,000, Dreadnoughts remain suitably immortal. Belisarius Cawl recognised the utility of half-dead Astartes, developing the hulking Redemptor Dreadnought chassis, which in turn gave way to the close-combat monster of the Brutalis – as well as something else spotted in deployment to the galactic west….
With the advent of the Brutalis Dreadnought, and the plastic Contemptor and Leviathan, the future of the Dreadnought is rosy. Rosy, that is, with the blood of the Emperor’s many enemies.
* A modern designation – the original was simply known as a Dreadnought.
** Who actually had an original highly detailed metal chassis of his own.