Within the Urgall Depression, the Salamanders fall back from their faltering attack on the Warmaster’s fortress, expecting the newly arrived Second Wave to bolster the assault and finally break Horus’ defences. Instead, Vulkan’s warriors unknowingly turn back towards their annihilation – the guns of the Iron Warriors arrayed against them in betrayal. Their presumed allies unleash a ruthless barrage of fire into the Salamanders’ lines, turning the black sands into a mire soaked with Nocturnean blood.
Originally planning to show the pivotal moment of the betrayal, the Warhammer World Studio instead decided to set this diorama late in the battle in order to convey the absolute devastation caused. Panels of trackway, providing access to rapidly deployed emplacements, were built to reflect the Iron Warriors expertise at engineering and siege warfare.
Over a thousand casualties were created for this diorama. One set was converted in a range of static poses, and cast in resin. A second set, with only bodies and legs were also assembled, then moulds made and hundreds cast in resin, before individually adding the arms, heads anc backpacks in different poses.