Warhammer Underworlds: Harrowdeep is available for pre-order tomorrow, bringing with it a new season of the ultimate competitive miniatures game. Before we bid a fond farewell to the setting of Direchasm, we thought we’d celebrate the amazing miniatures it brought us by showcasing the collection of a certain Vincent Knotley.
Deathstrike missile enthusiast and all-round top bloke Vincent is quite the prolific painter, and one (or should that be eight?) of his recent projects has been to complete all of the Direchasm warbands. We were so impressed with the results, we thought we’d show them to the world. We’ll hand you over to Vincent himself to explain what inspired him and how he went about choosing his various colour schemes.
Vincent: When approaching any Warhammer Underworlds warband, my brain goes into something of a delicious miniature meltdown. Unlike Starter Sets or Warcry warbands, where my first instinct is to tie them into an existing force, the moment I see an Underworlds warband, nothing is off the table.
Each individual warband represents an exquisite opportunity to try something new, something old, something borrowed, or something orange – that’s how the saying goes, right? – without being married to colour schemes I’ve tried in the past. From a sprue or two springs forth a characterful microcosm of each Warhammer Age of Sigmar faction, eager to let the floodgates of experimentation and ‘what-iffery’ run wild.
What would Chaos Warriors dedicated to each of the Dark Gods look like together? Khagra’s Ravagers stand ready to answer that. How would four different Orruk skintone methods work next to each other? Time to find out.
Warhammer Underworlds warbands are also an opportunity to try out faction colour schemes before committing wholesale to a larger force. I would likely never have given the Idoneth Deepkin’s Mor’phann enclave or the beastly bone constructs of the Ivory Host a try for an army, but a single warband? Sure, why not!
Some of the warbands from Direchasm have served as jumping off points for entire forces. The ghoulish Sons of Horus Green on my Crimson Court cemented my confidence in using it for a force of Soulblight Gravelords – and an Adepta Sororitas army too.
More than anything, the warbands of Direchasm – and Warhammer Underworlds as a whole, for that matter – offer a palate cleanser. After weeks of painting grey-armoured Carcharodons Space Marines, dipping my toe into a warband of bright orange Seraphon was just the boost my hobby batteries needed. If you’re in a rut or don’t really know what to paint next, grabbing a warband and seeing where it takes you can do wonders for the soul.
It can do wonders for the technique too. A major part of why I’ve pushed myself to get each warband painted – beyond internet hobby points – is to give my painting fingers and brain free rein to tease the boundaries of my ability a little bit further each time. Khagra’s Ravagers helped me cement my techniques for painting armour and cloth,
in painting green skin, and
in finding a new way to paint white armour.
Sitting here now and looking back over the warbands of Direchasm, I’m filled with both pride and excitement – pride in what I’ve achieved so far, and excitement for whatever’s on its way in the sculpts of Harrowdeep.
Thanks, Vincent. Have you painted all of the warbands from Warhammer Underworlds: Direchasm too? Or Nightvault, Beastgrave, or Shadespire? Show us on our Warhammer Age of Sigmar Facebook page – we’d love to see them. And don’t forget, the new season of Warhammer Underworlds – Harrowdeep – is available for pre-order tomorrow, so set your alarm and secure your set first thing in the morning!