Richard Lamb, aka @StormgradGames, is a longtime fan of all things dwarfen, dawi, and duardin.* His eye-catching Kharadron Overlords army hail from Shyish, the roguish denizens of a sky-port of his own devising, Barak Norn. He’s kindly shared some pictures for us to enjoy.
Richard: I fell in love with dwarves and the fantasy tropes that they inspire when I was at school, so when I stumbled onto Warhammer in my teens it was inevitable that I would eventually collect an army of Dwarfs.
One thing that appealed to me in their Warhammer Fantasy incarnation was their more outlandish engineering exploits – Flame Cannons, Organ Guns, and (arguably an early concept for ‘sky dwarfs’) the humble yet spectacular Gyrocopter. My army was full of these weapons of war, and they regularly did battle across our living room carpet against my brother's Lizardmen army.
Many years later, I caught sight of the Start Collecting! box for the Kharadron Overlords and my mind was taken back to Gyrocopters outflanking my brother’s army, raining fire and destruction down upon his reptilian war beasts.
I wanted an army of these fine duardin and their mighty skyvessels. The backbone of my fleet would be a trio of Gunhaulers escorting a pair of Frigates and a mighty Ironclad. I was determined that the local gaming community would grow to fear the massed guns of my fleet.
I’ve never been one to stick to box art, and I’ve always loved adding my own unique background for my armies. Sons of Horus Green had just transitioned into the main range of Citadel Colour paints, and a Gunhauler was the perfect starting point. By slowly working through the colour placement on both my first ship and its crew, I began to envision how my army would come together.
A year later I was contacted by Warhammer World and asked if I'd like to have my Kharadron on display in the store. I jumped at the chance – and took the opportunity to expand my fleet. With my focus on the skyvessels, I had neglected the infantry. Another Frigate was added, along with 10 Arkanauts, 10 Grundstok Thunderers, and six Skywardens.
Much to my Codewrights’ displeasure, it was time for me to add a new amendment to the Kharadron Code dictating the Annals of Barak-Norn – a militaristic skyport in the realm of Shyish. Barak-Norn has access to the lucrative aetherwinds above Nagash’s territory, but this proximity also forces them to negotiate contracts with the servants of the dread necromancer.
This enabled me to embrace the high fantasy nature of the Age of Sigmar setting, as my Kharadron would be brigands peddling the one thing that has any worth in Shyish – mortal bodies full of blood, bones, and souls. Barak-Norn would be home to pirates and ruffians, descending from the skies above to raid settlements for undead buyers.
Thanks Richard! We’d love to see characterful armies like this from other hobbyists, so if you’ve been working on something cool, please share it on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Battletome: Kharadron Overlords is joined by the new Kharadron Codewright and Vanguard: Kharadron Overlords on pre-order this very weekend. Don’t miss out.
* And soon, apparently, Kin as well!
