Aw rats!

It is hard for me to believe it now, with the current backlog of armies to paint, but there was a time when I didn't have a project to work on. I had finished up Da Beech Boyz and didn't yet have the idea that would become my drunk dwarfs.

When the Island of Blood set came out for Warhammer 8th edition, I ended up with a bunch of skaven models. I had converted a couple of the weapon teams into Abyssal Dwarf Dragon-Fire Teams, but otherwise they were sitting there.

Dragon-Fire Team converted from skaven warp-fire thrower

I made two

So I thought I'd do a skaven army. No theme, I just liked some of the cool contraptions. I picked up a Screaming Bell and Doomwheel and had a lot of fun painting them.

Skaven Screaming Bell / Ratkin Death Engine

Skaven Doom Wheel / Ratkin Death Engine

I also got some rat ogres, and mixing parts with those that came with the Isle of Blood made six unique ones. I got these primed, but no further.

Skaven Rat Ogres / Ratkin Brutes

Then I started painting the core infantry - rats. Rats, rats, everywhere. I used a brown primer to get ahead on them, but painting something like 80 noses, tails, hands and feet pink got to me. I didn't have this problem with goblins, but I didn't like painting them, and felt no passion for them.

Skaven Slaves / Ratkin Tunnel Slaves

Skaven Warriors/ Ratkin Spear Warrirors

Then I had hand surgery for carpal tunnel - and that meant I couldn't paint for a while, so they went back in the box and on a shelf.

When Mantic announced Uncharted Empires, and then the Rules Committee put out the first playtest list, I got excited. I had just come home from four exciting, exhausting days at Origins, but this filled me with energy and I dug out those old models to give them a try.

I had never picked up a Warp-lightning cannon - but my son had a bunch of bits left over (he had used the chassis for some of his goblin war machines). Combined with the bits I had left over from the screaming bell, I made a shredder and artillery from them.

Ratkin Shredder

The crew for the artillery are the plague monks from the plague furnace - I had painted them up at the same time as I did the screaming bell, so they were ready to go for this conversion.

Ratkin Artillery

I had also previously picked up a Hellpit Abomination, and again barely started painting it.

Skaven Hellpit Abomination / Ratkin Mutant Rat Fiend

I also had a few characters from these sets, with some conversions on the warlord from the Island of Blood to make two characters that didn't look quite so identical. And I had a poison wind globadier still as well.

Skaven Plague Lord / Ratkin Blight Lord

War Chief / Warlock / Swarm Crier

Enforcer / Weapon Team

So I started play testing the new book with them. And lost. and lost. and lost. Because, of course, the core needed to be troops, more troops. Especially with the Pack Mentality rule. So I hit up Ebay and picked up a bunch of storm vermin and multi-based them into troops (to use as troops, regiments or a horde).

Skaven Storm Vermin / Ratkin Shock Troops

I also figured since I had the blight lord (again from the screaming bell), then I should add a blight unit. I got some off of Ebay again, but could not get enough. Then one of the FLGSs near here had an anniversary sale - so I stopped by. And I have to admit, I bought an Age of Sigmar box of plague monks. Repackaged, round bases, everything. I felt dirty, but it was cheap. So now I had a horde of blight

Skaven Plague Monks / Ratkin Blight

I had made some Vermintide from reaper rats as well as the extra rat bits from the sprues (and some more I had around), though in the playtest the kept constantly changing, and eventually I removed all the reaper rats.

Skaven rat swarms / Ratkin Vermintide

I also figured I might be able to use more shooting, so once again to Ebay for some jezails - and these were not cheap as they were out of print metal. I finally managed to get eight (for two troops), but there were only three of the shields, so I made wax molds of them and used greenstuff to make more. My son also tried resin casting a few as well. Now they are primed, even I can't tell which is which.

Skaven Jezzails / Ratkin Clawshots

The last bit was just a whim - with the giant rats I was no longer using (with them not having survived the playtest), I thought I would use some of the extra warrior bodies and make up a cavalry troop.

Ratkin Hackpaws

So I have a primed, partially painted Ratkin army - big enough for tournaments if I ever finish it. More importantly, I need to come up with a 1000 pt demo list out of all of this and get THAT painted for Origins in June of 2017

Because it is all fun and games . . .

Unt l Somebody Loses An Eye

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Aw rats!

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