Part 1Squats were good silly fun and certainly not grim dark enough for some.
I still much prefer these old-school Space Dwarves over the newer Votann, but with their availability limited and prices correspondingly high; expanding the scope of an army to include non-GW model ranges, as well as printable options, definitely makes sense.
My hunt for alternatives brought me across some useful resources, like:
Arbitor Ian's The great Squat Model Review video,
eilif's Cheap Sprue Review: WGA Einherjar Space Dwarves and a Squat Roundup,
and the
Frothers Unite Space Dwarf Showcase.
Unfortunately these sources of information quickly become outdated; with a couple of Ian’s featured models seemingly discontinued and the vast majority of the models on the Frothers United list MIA.
Of course miniature sellers move on from the hobby or simply retire, leaving sculpts unavailable or the moulds changing hands and being difficult to trace. It’s a shame and I wonder if miniatures are one of the more problematic industries for this sort of thing. I suppose there are a lot of one person operations, with many of them run as a hobby.
I thought I’d detail what I discovered on my collecting journey, as this is exactly the kind of information that would have been really useful to me when I started down this path.
I’d like to do comparisons with all the model ranges I have, especially in regards to height, but to start with; just a list of everything I’ve found feels like the most useful information, since some of these sellers were pretty hard to find.
(I'm not being sponsored, although I have been asked to give a shout out by a seller or two, which encouraged me to start this thread)
Physical Model Sellers:
Uscarl Miniatures (France) -
http://uscarlminis.free.fr/UM_SCI-FI_uk.htm8 metal models plus accessories. Their spare heads and arms would be good replacements for plastic and armless Squats.
Skull & Crown Miniatures (USA) -
https://www.skullncrown.com/18 metal models. Some of the armoured units look very similar to the original Irn Bonce the Squat model.
Old School Miniatures (UK) -
https://www.oldschoolminiatures.co.uk/dwarfs-in-space5 metal models. These are recent releases of a couple of mechs and a few character models. They also have lots of Chaos Space Dwarves.
MSD Games (USA) -
http://msdgames.com/epages/bccb46a7-1a07-48ac-8a77-e8e6cce9e958.sf/en_US/?ObjectPath=/Shops/bccb46a7-1a07-48ac-8a77-e8e6cce9e958/Categories/KRYOMEK/KRYOMEK%7CALIENS/%22KRYOMEK%7CALIENS%7CGALACTIC%20WARRIORS%226 metal models. These were previously the Simtec dwarves and appear to be a Bob Olley sculpt. One of the very few models from he Frothers United showcase that are still available.
Victoria Miniatures (USA) -
https://victoriaminiatures.com/collections/character-miniatures/products/roli-runeseeker-dwarf-mercenary1 resin model. They mainly do interesting Imperial Guard type squads.
Grimforge (Italy) -
https://www.grim-forge.com/en/categoria-prodotto/28mm-en/2 metal models. Nice squat proxies. One of them has two weapon options.
Geek Salad Miniatures (UK) -
https://www.geeksaladminiatures.co.uk/?fbclid=IwAR2weDxjvrK19XW6w9UIPmFiuZkt52OxgOOb7q9yoXl26CeYNQAmWdqGAwI2 metal models. Theses are 32mm scale and made for Bloodbowl, so not a great match for Squats, but interesting sculpts.
Hagen Miniatures (Germany) -
https://www.hagen-miniatures.de/test-category-17/figures-20/fantasy-and-sf/gobbo-land-458/command-group-2410-2420.html5 metal models. These are purposely wonky sculpts for that Rogue Trader look. They also have Traitor Space Dwarves.
Ontos Games (UK) -
https://ontosgames.co.uk/5 resin models. These are seemingly inspired by the unreleased 2nd Ed Squat warrior model.
Satyr Art Studio (USA) -
https://satyrartstudio.ecwid.com/13 metal models. Some come with flying surfboards, nuff said.
Bad Squiddo Games (UK) -
https://badsquiddogames.com/shop#!/Barb-Space-Dwarf/p/1096856321 metal model. This is an interesting female dwarf sculpt.
Fenryll (France) -
https://fenryll.com/en/science-fiction/103-dwarves-squad.html3 Resin models. The only other hold out from the Frothers list.
Diehard Minis (UK) -
https://diehardminiatures.com/product-category/dwarf/4 metal models. A little tall and high tech looking, but nice sculpts.
Wargames Atlantic (USA) -
https://wargamesatlantic.com/products/einherjar24 plastic models. Each box only has 3 body types, but comes with lots of head, arm and weapon customisation. Arms and heads could be used on Squats, but the arms are a little thin and the heads a touch small.
Bits of War Kromlech (Poland) -
https://bitsofwar.com/24-dvergr-commando23 resin models. Nice and chunky commandos, although their gear looks a little contemporary.
Battle Valor Games (USA) -
https://www.battlevalorgames.com/shop/28mm-sci-fi-figures/20?page=2&limit=60&sort_by=category_order&sort_order=asc57 metal models. Nice models, although some of the guns are a bit long and thin for casting metal.
Macrocosm (UK) -
https://www.macrocosm.co.uk/product-category/macrocosm/space-dwarves-macrocosm/Lots of metal models, with some larger parts being resin. Really good range of space dwarves that fit in well next to Squats and with new models sculpted by Inso in the works. They also have Chaos and Mutant Space Dwarves. Some models that used to be sold by Macrocosm can now be found on the Checkpoint Models and Warblade Miniatures websites.
Checkpoint Models (UK) -
https://cpmodels.co.uk/product-category/28mm-ranges/28mm-sci-fi/runts-space-dwarfs/Lots of metal models. Some are a bit large and soft looking, while others are much closer to fitting well with Squats. Some of their new Dwarf models used to be part of the Macrocosm model lines.
Warblade Miniatures (UK) -
https://warblademiniatures.com/collections/28mm-space-dwarvesLots of metal dwarf models, plus some Ratling Snipers. Some of their new Dwarf models used to be part of the Macrocosm model lines.
Scibor (Poland) -
https://www.sciborminiatures.com/en_,shop.php?group=192Lots of Resin models. These are tall yet power-armour clad models, so may still fit in well.
Mantic (UK) -
https://www.manticgames.com/firefight/forge-fathers/Lots of plastic models. These are generally a bit tall, but the Militia models fit in nicely, as do their Iron Ancestor Mechs.
Ramshackle (UK) –
https://shop.ramshacklegames.co.uk/26-dwarvesLots of resin models. These are mostly biker models, with a good amount of variety to them
Gydran Studios (UK) -
https://www.gydran.studio/product-category/sci-fi-dwarfs/Lots of resin models. A wide selection of mostly power armoured dwarves.
Heresy Miniatures -
https://heresyminiatures.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_18_19&products_id=7One metal model. It comes with multiple head, arm and weapon options and looks suitable for easy modding. Heresy also have the
Sharclon Brutality Squad, which is also dwarf-esque, but would probably better fit as a Demiurg stand-in.
Resin Lab Models (Spain) –
https://www.facebook.com/p/Resinlab-Models-100052188321446/4 resin models. These are currently available on ebay:
https://www.ebay.ie/sch/i.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=&_ssn=henrich5
RPE Miniatures & Games (UK) -
https://www.ralparthaeurope.co.uk/shop/old-school-scifi-28mm-c-271/3 metal models. 3 in power armour and 2 mercs, plus a squad of Ratling Snipers.
L72's Metal Minature Musings (UK) -
https://l72smetalminiaturesmusings.wordpress.com/2023/11/26/space-dwarfs/Lots of resin models. A large collection of dwarf models based on popular culture characters, with some new sculpts of RT Squat looking Space Dwarves.
Predastore (Swiss) -
https://predastore.ch/en/20-the-huge-army-of-dwarfsA good selection of resin models. The store has recently been relaunched with a bigger selection of minis, with some of the old ones re-worked.
Traders Galaxy (AUS) -
https://tradersgalaxy.com.au/product-category/sci-fi/space-dwarfs/11 metal models. Some in power armour, which is of great interest to me.
End of Part 1 Part 2 is three posts below this one.