Sunday 19 October 2014

A Warhammer Bestiary: Skaven


Hello all! Long time no blog. Well, blame the job for that! Still, I cannot complain as I only have one more week to complete (albeit one with Parents' Evening in) and Autumn Half-Term is here. As those of you of an UK extraction will know, this means a whole week off to recharge the batteries until the Christmas Half-Term begins!

Hooray!

I managed a few hours painting today and the result of that is a couple of new models complete in my Warhammer Bestiary project. The first of which I can document here with the first skaven to be added to my collection for some time. 

I have always loved the rat-men, as they started life, and find them to be the most interesting of the more evil races in old school Warhammer. Chaos is the BIG SHOW that will inevitably destroy the world and few humans even know of its true existence. But even few know about the teeming hordes of chaos ratmen that lurk beneath the world poised to conquer all!

As time went by, the skaven became less and less threatening as the 'cowardly' side of them was played to the full. I much prefer the insidious version that saw light of day in the early parts of the Enemy Within Campaign. Cunning schemers who'll do anything to keep their existence a secret, despite their long quests for warpstone. 

This skaven is one such ratman! 


The paint job was relatively simple as I needed something to ease me back into the painting lark after some time away. I basecoated the entire model in brown before basing each of the different parts of the model. Once dry, this got a generous wash of brown ink and was left to dry. It was really easy to just repaint each part in the base colour and highlight up with a little Bleached Bone. 

An enjoyable few hours. 

9 comments:

  1. That's one finely painted Ratman. I agree wholeheartedly that the Skaven were a far more unique race back when their very existence was one of their greatest secrets. These days they just seem to be a typical horde army, with little difference to Lizardmen skinks, Dwarves and goblins. Lovely model and a lovely colour scheme too.

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    1. You are right about the 'horde' aspect of the modern ratman. But then I guess its a perfect way to sell loads of models. Too me, the skaven work best in secret and in small numbers. They are the ultimate GM's units to use in secret during a game without anyone else's knowledge. Then they can spring up with their own agenda and throw everyone's plans out the window!

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  2. What a delightful find on your Blog!

    My most beloved race certainly did work better back in 3rd. I whole heartedly agree that the cowardly aspect of their racial traits has been flogged and used against them far too much, but hey, I would say that!

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    1. My skaven and mean, cruel killers with a tiny part of needing to squirt the musk of fear - but only when they spot a daemon!

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  3. Very very nice! I love the miniature, but the painting really sets it off! The red is wonderful.

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    1. Is red the ultimate colour for miniatures?

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    2. Painted like this, with loads of contrast and dark shadows, YES! (In my opinion ;) )

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  4. Gorgeous figure! I love the old skaven, both the figures and the background.

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    1. Yes, as with many things - nothing quite beats the original models for ratty flavour. And by this I don't mean you eat them!

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