Some of you “old” timers may remember the last, last, time we got a Space Marine codex. The year was 2005 (May I think to be exact), and it was the pinnacle of 4th edition.
This book usher in years of the “min-max” meta that saw nearly every list taking five man tactical squads with Lascannon and Plasma guns, and then filling the rest of the list with every last Assault Cannon they could find to spit AP2 rending “hits” downrange.
Needless to say that aspect of the book was not fun, BUT the book itself was pretty cool. Besides updating the book itself with supplemental White Dwarf rules for absent chapters in the Index Astartes features, they also introduced the “chapter traits” system to make each chapter your very own.
All this aside, at one of the Games Days (Baltimore 2004 I think ) Jes had on hand his sketchbook, and had tons of cool sketches that everyone though were going to be in the new release, and weren’t.
Then when Space Marines came back out in 2008, we all thought they would be back… but they weren’t in there either.
So will we see some of these units with the lastest rumored Space Marine release? Has technology finally caught up to Jes’s artwork and can now make all these units possible? I guess we’ll see shortly…
Courtesy of Faeit
I have now seen the White Dwarf cover for September (always alleged). It has 3 of the new ‘Dreadmarine’ models on it, and from the fuzzy looks of it, they are look rather nice. They are dressed in blue for those that care, with not rounded shoulder pads. It does not look like any heavy weapons mounted on them, but the shot is very fuzzy and hard to tell.
Also we have several old concept photos coming around that are very much similar to what I have seen on the cover. From what I have seen on the White Dwarf cover, the ‘Dreadmarine” models are much bulkier than these concept sketches below, but the look is very similar.
Just to be clear, there is no name Dreadmarine on the cover that I can read. So the units name is still unknown
These are the concept pics from 2004 Games Day.
About the Author: Rob Baer
Rob Baer
Job Title: Managing Editor
Founded Spikey Bits in 2009
Socials: Rob Baer on Facebook and @catdaddymbg on X
About Rob Baer: Founder, Publisher, & Managing Editor of Spikey Bits, the leading tabletop gaming news website focused on the hobby side of wargaming and miniatures.
Rob also co-founded and currently hosts the Long War Podcast, which has over 350 episodes and focuses on tabletop miniatures gaming, specializing in Warhammer 40k. and spent six years writing for Bell of Lost Souls.
Every year, along with his co-hosts, he helps host the Long War 40k Doubles Tournament at Adepticon and the Long War 40k Doubles at Las Vegas Open, which attracts over 350 players from around the world.
Rob has won many Warhammer 40k Tournaments over the years, including multiple first-place finishes in Warhammer 40k Grand Tournaments over the years and even winning 1st place at the Adepticon 40k Team Tournament.
With over 30 years of experience in retail and distribution, Rob knows all the products and exactly which ones are the best. As a member of GAMA (Game Manufacturers Association), he advocates for gaming stores and manufacturers in these difficult times, always looking for the next big thing to feature for the miniatures hobby, helping everyone to provide the value consumers want.
While he’s played every edition of Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy (since 5th Edition) and has been hobbying on miniatures since the 1980s, Titans of all sizes will always be his favorite! It’s even rumored that his hobby vault rivals the Solemnance Galleries, containing rulebooks filled with lore from editions long past, ancient packs of black-bordered Magic Cards, and models made of both pewter and resin.
