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Warhammer 40k: these indie minis channel Rogue Trader so damn hard

The new Star Rogues miniatures recall the days when Space Marines and other Warhammer 40,000 minis were small, metal, and incredibly weird.

Warhammer 40k inspired indie minis from Star Rogues - art by Mustafa Bekir, and a beQuest miniature sculpt

If you’re a fan of metal miniatures, old-school Warhammer 40k, or just weird little guys, then make sure you check out the ‘Star Rogues II’ crowdfunding campaign currently running on Kickstarter. beQuest Miniatures is adding more models to its line of freaky little sci-fi models inspired by the late ‘80s and early ‘90s era of Citadel Miniature design.

The current crowdfunder is raising funds to produce ten original metal miniatures, five ‘Assault Star Rogues’, and five ‘Traitor Space Dwarfs’. They would work great in gonzo science-fiction miniature wargames like The Doomed or Space Weirdos, and would fit in perfectly alongside models from the original edition of Warhammer 40k, 1987’s Rogue Trader.

Warhammer 40k inspired Star Rogues chaos dwarfs - short mutant warriors in power armor

If you’re interested in picking up these miniatures, the Kickstarter runs until 2am PST / 5am EST / 9am GMT on November 14. A set of five miniatures costs $27 (£21), plus postage.

According to beQuest, the “mould making, the spincasting and the shipping will be executed by Hagen-Miniatures… an experienced caster”. The moulds have already been made, and Hagen-Miniatures has collaborated with beQuest on four previous projects.

Warhammer 40k Inspired Assault Rogues from Star Rogues 2

The concept art for these Space Marine-like space warriors comes from artist Mustafa Bekir. You’ll also find their distinctive heavy black line work in the upcoming Advanced Fighting Fantasy: Dark Dungeons board game.

With the number of oldhammer inspired sculptors producing original miniatures, we’re fast approaching a point where you could build a Rogue Trader era army for any Warhammer 40k faction entirely using original miniatures produced since 2000. Knightmare Miniatures has Orks and Chaos down to a tee; Old School Miniatures makes some great retro space Ork bikers; Diehard Miniatures covers all sorts of weirdos.

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Even Games Workshop is joining in with the fun! The new Squat miniatures for Necromunda are incredible modernisations of the original Squat designs. The only issue is that they’re clearly digitally sculpted, with more precise detail but a little less of the sculpting process visible in the miniatures – which for some collectors, is part of the charm.

Love these miniatures but don’t fancy grappling with the original, very awkward rules for Warhammer 40k Rogue Trader? Check out our review of The Doomed: it’s a kit-bashers dream, and an excuse to use absolutely any miniatures you can put onto the table, the weirder the better.