Warhammer: The Horus Heresy – Legions Imperialis is available to pre-order this weekend, bringing the cataclysmic battles of a galaxy-spanning civil war to the tabletop at an epic scale.
The Warhammer World Studio have been eagerly anticipating this release because it gives them a chance to create battlefield diorama at a hitherto unseen magnitude, with literally thousands of infantry and hundreds of tanks on display. Following the diorama for the Retreat From Kitzu VII earlier this year, the team have been hard at work creating The Battle for Ceres City.
Ceres City changed hands nine times during the campaign for control of the Delta-Garmon system, and the diorama captures the Blood Angels and the Titans of Legio Solaria waging war against the Iron Warriors and Legio Fureans.
Creating a diorama using smaller miniatures presented fresh challenges to the team. They had to put their well-honed skills to the test and sculpt battlefield rubble and terrain details to match the scale of the new miniatures, which are roughly a quarter the size of their Horus Heresy: Age of Darkness counterparts
Most urban dioramas at Warhammer World focus on one type of environment, filling it with many little details, as with the downed spaceship found in The Envoy’s Cargo display. The shift in scale with Legions Imperialis provided an opportunity to expand the scope of the diorama, and instead of creating a small section of a city, the team designed a vast urban area, with residential, municipal and industrial areas.
There are fallen gun emplacements, crashed aircraft, and tanks, all buried in the debris at different depths, emphasising a city that has been garrisoned and besieged many times by many different armies.
With such a sprawling urban environment, the Legiones Astartes and Titan Legios needed to stand out, and the narrative of Delta-Garmon provided the Warhammer World Studio with a wide range of combatants to pick from. The four forces chosen for the diorama each have colour schemes that don’t get lost in the ruined environment, and the Loyalist and Traitor Legions share colours with their Titan companions, making it easy to see who is battling whom.
You will be able to visit Warhammer World and see the display in person soon, and in the meantime Warhammer: The Horus Heresy – Legions Imperialis is available to pre-order this weekend. Collect your own massive army of Space Marines and Solar Auxilia, and recreate your favourite battles for the Horus Heresy