When a Sky Dwarf Isn’t a Sky Dwarf: Chasing a KO Proxy Idea
Army-building rabbit holes are the best kind
Sometimes an army idea starts with a rules interaction. Sometimes it starts with a cool model. And sometimes it starts with us looking at a dwarf on a dragon and immediately trying to figure out how on earth to make it fit into a Warhammer list.
That was very much the case here.
It began with a model that, as Michał quickly pointed out, was definitely more of a “redneck dwarf” than a sky dwarf. Which, honestly, only made it better. The problem was that being awesome and fitting neatly into army construction rules are, as usual, two very different things.
The rules-first answer
Michał’s first take was the strict one: if we wanted to field something like this in matched play without bending anything, the most sensible route would be to start with Fyreslayers, then add Kharadron Overlords through the Exile Scavengers regiment.
That would at least create a legal framework for getting some sky-port-adjacent dwarf nonsense onto the table.
Of course, the much funnier suggestion arrived almost immediately after: just let the dragon pretend to be an Ironclad.
A joyful substitute, as end3r put it.
Immersion? Questionable. Energy? Immaculate.
The real hobby problem: the model exists, the official kit doesn’t
The conversation quickly moved from list legality to the much more relatable hobby issue: sometimes the thing we want to put on the table is available as a 3D model, while the official miniature we’d need for the army idea simply isn’t something we have access to.
In this case, the dragon was available. The Kharadron flying hardware? Not so much.
And that is where the classic hobby question appeared: do we force a substitute, or do we go looking for a proper proxy that was actually designed to match the role?
Michał leaned toward the second option, which is hard to argue with. A good proxy can sometimes look better than the official miniature. Not often, maybe — but often enough that it’s worth digging.
Deep dives into strange corners of the internet
From there, we went treasure hunting.
end3r dug up a model source connected to a VK group where he had previously found Drekki Flynt, after apparently browsing back through about a year of posts. That alone is the kind of hobby commitment we respect.
Then came the render.
And, well, that escalated things a bit.
Michał’s reaction was immediate and correct: if someone was willing to assemble that monstrosity in Blender, he was willing to print it.
That is a very dangerous sentence in any hobby group.
We also had the usual side discussion about where these things are even found these days. VK, Telegram, random STL sources, old posts, scattered archives — the digital archaeology side of miniature hobbying is real.
Maybe the better answer is a proper airship proxy
As fun as the dragon-Ironclad concept is, the conversation eventually drifted toward a more practical conclusion: if the goal is to run something as an Ironclad, maybe it should look at least a little bit like a heavily engineered dwarf vehicle rather than a flying beast.
That led us to some alternative dwarf models, including options closer to Cities of Sigmar aesthetics and some classic dwarf vibes from The Old World side of the internet.
One of the suggestions definitely felt more like the right direction for an Ironclad proxy than a dragon or dinosaur. Still weird, still characterful, but much easier to sell across the table.
And then there was one more dwarf model that got the simple but powerful verdict from end3r:
ładny
Which, in hobby terms, is sometimes all the review a model needs.
Where we landed
We didn’t end this discussion with a final army list or a single definitive model choice. But we did end up in a very familiar and very enjoyable army-building space:
- start with a model that looks cool,
- try to make it legal,
- fail a little,
- consider house rules,
- get distracted by better proxies,
- and somehow come out of it with three more ideas than we had at the start.
At the moment, the most sensible route seems to be either:
- building around a legal Fyreslayers + Kharadron Overlords combination,
- finding a proper dwarf airship-style proxy for an Ironclad,
- or embracing the chaos and playing by our own army composition rules when the model is just too good to ignore.
Honestly, all three options sound fun.
And that is probably the main takeaway: army-building is at its best when it sits somewhere between rules puzzle, model hunt, and collective enthusiasm for something slightly ridiculous.
If we ever do get that dragon onto the table as an Ironclad, we promise to report back.