Forgeworld New Release: Contemptor

Today, Forgeworld has posted on their website the latest Space Marine model, the Contemptor!

Forgeworld's new Space Marine Contemptor

The Contemptor is an interesting model. It looks like an over tall dreadnought. With those long armour clad legs, it looks like it can stride across the battlefield with ease..... but.... as a friend of mine pointed out, it is reminiscent of 80's anime mecha legs.

I don't think that was intended, but I see his point, and when I was checking out the pictures, it actually negatively affected my initial opinion of the model. Then I saw the red blood angels version, in dynamic "I'm coming to get you!" pose, and my opinion immediately changed. Especially when I noticed the details on the legs which were reminiscent of Space Marine leg armour, and I realized that the intent was to appear more marine like. And when I saw those similarities, I immediately liked the model a lot!

Then I started seeing the potential for this model! When the Grey Knights were first released, and the Dreadknight was announced, I was a little underwhelmed by the overall model. Now, it has grown on me a bit, especially having seen some in person, but I still feel it resembles an original Eldar War Walker too much, where the pilot rode on the front like an infant in a child carrier.

But, I also see an opportunity. And it's the Contemptor that changes all that. It has lines that resemble the Grey Knight terminator torsos, and looks like it would be a perfect swap for a Dreadknight with the appropriate weapon swaps, you could do conversions with just the torso, or use the whole model. Ultimately, it brings a bevy of options to the modeller and converter who wants something a little bit different!

It would also make for excellent swap fodder with regular dreadnought parts. In fact, I did a very quick mash-up using the Forgeworld comparison picture with a regular dreadnought to show just how the torso would look on regular dread legs, and how the dread torso would look on the Contemptor legs. It gives you an excellent idea of scale, and how the overall model could work in such swaps.

New Forgeworld Contemptor and potential conversion ideas for Dreadnoughts and Dreadknights.

And after having done it, and also seen the Blood Angel version on the website, I have to say, I've grown to love this model. The legs are no longer a concern for me as they are reminiscent of space marine legs...at least that's what I think they were going for...though I do see some of the 80s anime imaging that my friend mentioned.

If I had a picture of a Dreadnight to scale, I would have done a mashup with the contemptor torso, but I think this does give you the overall impression. I would probably use the Contemptor for a Dreadknight straight as is, and just swap some arms, etc.

If you are a Grey Knight player, and want an alternate Dreadknight, this model is just for you. If you are a Space Marine, or Chaos Space Marine player and want alternate dreadnought torso reminisicent of pre-heresy dreadnought variants, than this model might be right for you!

Now that I've set that catalyst for creativity, go out there, and start converting and mashing parts together. I would love to see what kind of conversions you come up with, so don't forget to link them in the comments section below. And for anybody who can get their hands on one of these, if you are converting it to a Dreadknight, I would be especially interested in seeing that!

Links:
Games Workshop
Forgeworld


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