From what little is known about such things, it seems that the pecking order of within the Kruleboyz tribes is determined by cunning and it is certainly the case that those among them who successfully rise to the rank of Killaboss have a grasp of strategy and tactics that is as sharp as the wickedly barbed weapons they wield.
Perhaps it is inevitable then that Daggok Finkstealer would arrive at the conclusion he has done. A Gutrippa Boss who dreams of becoming the most kunnin' Killaboss ever to have stalked the Mortal Realms, Daggok's logic runs thus: as thoughts come from the brain and the brain is within the skull, all he must do is claim enough heads and the thoughts they contain, and his path to glory is all but guaranteed. And where better place to find the sharpest minds than the Underworlds, where death is never more than a heartbeat away and survival is as much about wits as it is strength?"
Consisting of four models, Da Stab-ladz are a Destruction warband led by Daggok Finkstealer. Like any self-respecting Kruleboy, Daggok has bought along his best boys to aid him in his quest for power and he's accompanied by Jagz Da Bleeder, Grak Da Hook and Hurk Da Howla.
Because it's taken me so long to get them painted up, I didn't give this warband a go before the end of the first version of Underworlds, and while they didn't make the cut for the Warbands of Embergard card pack, they seem to have been translated in to version two of the game as a 'mastery' warband - and I think that makes sense given they view themselves as smarter than the average bear greenskin. Although they're low on numbers, they seem to have some very flavourful, if a little swingy, rules so it'll be fun to give them a try some time.
When the warband was revealed, I was really happy to see that there were more Kruleboyz heading into the Underworlds as I loved their addition to Age of Sigmar when they emerged from the swamps into the third edition of the game. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of ordering them at the same time as some Middle Earth made to order miniatures which ended up delaying the delivery of three Stab-ladz by several months - lesson learned for next time though!
As with most Underworlds kits, they were quick and easy to assemble, however while putting them together I made a wee change to Daggok and Hurk as I wasn't keen on the jagged spikes on armour and the warhorn, so these were carefully trimmed off and the remnants sanded down to just leave the metal banding and rivets.
After priming the minis with Humbrol Spray Primer #1, I painted the bases of the warband to match those of Da Kunnin' Krew. This was partly for consistency when they're on display, but also so that they'll match up nicely if I decide to use the miniatures in Warcry or Age of Sigmar. Grey/brown mud and shattered rocks were the order of the day here, with the careful application of some Vallejo European Earth wash helping to add a nice grimy look to things. In contrast though, the skulls are pretty clean - in my mind these are the recent victims of Daggok's campaign to make himself smarter, so they've not had the chance to get covered in muck yet.
Daggok Finkstealer
Hurk Da Howla
Jagz Da Bleeder
Grak Da Hook
In terms of painting up the Warband, as is my habit, I've cleaved quite close to the box art and the studio scheme - though I switched up some of the brown tones in their 'clothing' a little for some variation. I also decided to paint one of the scraps of cloth that Grak is wearing in a crimson tone so that they would all be wearing or carrying something red which I feel helps to tie the four models together a little more.
Although the Kruleboyz don't have a lot in the way of details compared to some of the races that inhabit the Mortal Realms, one of their defining characteristics is their scareshields each of which is usually made to be a visual representation of the Orruk who carries it. Even though Daggok and Jagz' shields face backwards, I lavished a little attention on both so that they're as characterful as the Kruleboyz themselves. To get the nice deep red, I started out with a basecoat of Khorne Red before shading it with Agrax Earthshade. I then layered the surface of the shields back up a bit with more Khorne Red, before painting progressively finer highlights on the sharp ridges and edges with Wazdakka Red and Squig Orange. Once I was happy with this, I used some wee dots of Cadian Fleshtone to on the very sharpest points and where two or three other highlights met to finish things up.
Another thing I spent quite a bit of time working on was the Roar of Kragnos, the warhorn being lugged about by Hurk Da Howla. The Kruleboyz are a pretty resourceful bunch, but most of their wargear is either crudely forged, or more likely repurposed from something else. With this in mind, I figured that Hurk had found the tusk or horn of one of the wild beasts of Ghur akin to a Mournfang or Stonehorn and simply modified it to suit his purpose - so I painted it to resemble polished horn before adding some subtle green tones in a few places, because it's not as though Hurk will be expending any effort at all to keep it clean.
When I was painting the wooden hafts of the warband's weapons, I also worked quite a few green tones in to them as well, as I thought this was quite in keeping with the dirt, grime and corrosion on their armour, shields and blades and helped to play into the background of Kruleboyz inhabiting damp and swampy places where nothing is ever able to get truly clean or dry. To do this I used successive glazes of Athonian Camoshade and Kroak Green, focussing first on the areas where the wooden and metal parts of the weapons meet, before using a final glaze of Athonian Camoshade over the wooden area to tie everything together.
As I was writing this post, it occured to me that it's actually been quite a while since I painted up an Underworlds warband, so I double checked and the last was actually The Sons of Velmorn who were finished up back in April 2023 and it's probably been about that long since I had a game of Underworlds to boot. I've been quite excited by the release of Embergard and the streamlining of what's required to play though, so I'm hoping to line up some games with the new rules soon, and I'm finding myself increasingly tempted by the Jaws of Itzl, so the chances are I'll have another warband on the painting table before too long.
Until next time though, thanks for reading and happy hobbying.
Until next time though, thanks for reading and happy hobbying.
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