Skaven Warpfire Thrower and Poison Wind Mortar Gallery

*Squeek*

I haven't been online much recently, what with work and everything, but I did find time to finish my first Skaven weapon teams from the Island of Blood box set. Each box set contains x1 Skaven Warpfire Thrower and a Poison Wind Mortar.

Pics and comments below!

Now I've heard a few grumblings and mumblings that people would have preferred to see some Poison Wind Globadiers or Censer Bearers in the IOB set, but frankly, I think the weapon teams are better. Why? Well they are a decent supporting unit for the Clanrats that make up the bulk of the IOB forces, able as they are to skulk along with the clanrats.

The sculpts themselves are pretty decent for the most part, with some nice detailing (the rat on fire for instance on the Warpfire thrower) and a sense of "weight" about the weapons nicely brought out by the bent backs of the crew. Initially I was worried about the very large smooth areas of plastic on the Poison Wind Mortar itself, but after a couple of coats of Dwarf Bronze it looked OK. I'm still undecided on the Skaven symbols on the side of the Poison Wind Mortar though. They look too nicely engraved or cast, almost as though it had been made by Dwarves rather than Skaven (which of course is a delightful possibility - Dwarven slaves working for Clan Skryre!)

Let me know what you think. Step-by-step guides to come!

EDIT: (22.11.2010)
Following some helpful advice and comments I have worked on dulling down these models a bit to make them look a bit older and less glossy. Please see new photos below following addition of home-made verdigris and some Devlan Mud.

*Squeek*

Warhammer and Skaven Errata and FAQs now available.

*Squeek*

Games Workshop has just posted new Errata and FAQ information for the 8th Edition rulebook and the Skaven Army Book (as well as other armies I believe) in the "Shrine of Knowledge" section of their website.



You can find the complete list on the Games Workshop Website at the following locations:

• Full list of PDFs can be found HERE
• Warhammer 8Th Edition Rulebook Official Update Ver. 1.1 HERE
• Skaven Army Book Errata and FAQ ver 1.2 HERE

Here is some information from the intro to the Errata and FAQ for Skaven:

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"Although we strive to ensure that our army books are perfect, sometimes mistakes do creep in. In addition, we occasionally print new versions of our rules, that require amendments to be made in older versions of our army books. When such issues arise we feel that it is important to deal with them as promptly as we can, and we therefore produce regular updates for all of our army books. When changes are made, the version number

will be updated, and any changes from the previous version will be highlighted in magenta. Where a version number has a letter, e.g. 1.1a, this means it has had a local update, only in that language, to clarify a translation issue or other minor correction.

Each update is split into three sections: Errata, Amendments, and ‘Frequently Asked Questions’. The Errata corrects any mistakes in the book, while the Amendments bring the book up to date with the latest version of the rules. The Frequently Asked Questions (or ‘FAQ’) section answers commonly asked questions about the rules."

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As I work for a publishing company myself, I can attest to this part in particular being true:

"Although we strive to ensure that our army books are perfect, sometimes mistakes do creep in."

Despite the very best efforts of the editors, writers etc, on any publishing project, sometimes stuff happens! 

...Although from my perspective as a Skaven player I am now increasingly convinced that mistakes are not my fault - some other Skaven warlord must be trying to sabotage my work...

*Squeek*

Skaven Packmasters and Master Moulder

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Quick update with the models I got done today - below are some photos of my first ever Clan Moulder Packmasters and a Master Moulder (with "Thing Catcher"). I also managed to quickly get another couple of Rat Swarm bases sorted out. (I love painting Rat Swarms...hordes of swarming rats just being such an iconic image of a Skaven army on the march!)

Sorry about the picture quality. The photos were taken late night in poor lighting.

Hopefully I'll soon find time to take a few pics in natural light and with a better background, which helps make them look a little better. Don't know when I'll have time to write up a step-by-step for the Packmasters though. I've done Rat Swarms before if anyone would like a step-by-step for them.

In the meantime, all comments and criticism welcome of course!

*Squeek*

How to Paint a Skaven Warlock Engineer

*Squeek*

At the moment, I haven't even managed to get a game of WFB in, so I don't have any experience of using Warlock Engineers, but from what I gather from reading around these guys make an excellent addition to any force.

1. Decent magic - Warplightning coupled with a Condenser pumps out the pain...
2. Fun - Skitterleap next to the enemy flank and launch a Doomrocket along their line of assault.
3. Cheap - basic unit costs 15 points?? (although adding the fun bits above may not be cheap...)

But as the man says:

"That's not important right now."

'coz the purpose of this post is to look at painting up one of these guys. In particular, this is the sculpt from the new Island of Blood set. Looking around at other WE models on the net, I actually think this is one of the best. It's got some nice detail (posing on a High Elf shield) and yet pretty clean looking. (Unlike the current Ikit Claw model, which looks too "busy" for my taste.)

1. Assembly.

• File down or carefully cut away any flash from the model.
• Glue to base.

2. 1st Basing.

• Paint watered-down PVA glue to the base.
• Dip base into modelling sand
• Shake away excess and leave to dry

3. Undercoat.

• Undercoat whole model Chaos Black (I use GW Spray paint.)

4. Drybrush base.

• Calthan Brown.
• Snakebite Leather

5. Basecoat.

Apply base colours to all parts of the model.

EDIT: Following the launch of the latest Citadel Paint range in 2012, please note that the colours listed below are from the previous range. I hope to have time to rewrite in the future, but for the time being, you can use the conversion chart/ list I made here or use the official Citadel Conversion chart here.

• Boltgun Metal: Armour, glaive blade, warplock weapon barrel, telescopic site, band around warp energy condenser etc.
• Red Gore: Robes.
• Tallarn Flesh: Skin, tail etc.
• Dwarf Bronze: Warp Energy condenser, Skaven charm, armour details
• Bleached Bone: Skull, Glaive handle.
• Dark Angels Green: Warpstone, condenser and weapon pipes/ hoses.
• Regal Blue: High Elf Shield (under his feet)
• Skull White: High Elf Shield
• Blood Red: High Elf Shield

6. Layers.

• Robes: Red Gore/ Blood Red (50/50 Mix), then Red Gore/ Blood Red (25/75 mix) and finally Blood Red.
• Condenser Pipes/ Hoses: Snot Green
• Warpstone: Snot Green
• Skull: Skull White/ Bleached Bone (50/ 50 mix)

7. Washes.

• Skin, Tail/ Ears: Ogryn Flesh.
• Robes: Devlan Mud (example at left above) OR Gryphonne Sepia (example at right above.)
• Armour/ Glaive Blade/ Warplock weapon barrel: Devlan Mud
• Glaive handle: Gryphonne Sepia
• Skull: Gryphonne Sepia
• Elf Shield: Devlan Mud
• Warpstone: Thrakka Green

8. Highlights.

• Armour edges: Boltgun Metal/ Chainmail
• Edge of Glaive blade/ warplock weapon barrel: Chainmail
• Warp Energy Condenser: Dwarf Bronze
• Nails: Bleached Bone
• Skull: Bleached Bone/ Skull White (50/50 mix)
• Skin/ Tail/ Ears: Tallarn Flesh/ Dwarf Flesh (50/50 mix)
• Warpstone/ Pipes/ Hose: Snot Green/ Skull White (75/25 mix)
• Telescopic Sight lens: Snot Green/ Skull White (75/25 mix) then (50/50 mix). Finally a dab of skull white at the top of the lens

7. Final Basing

• Dab on a couple of spots of PVA glue.
• Dip in flock.
• Shake away excess and leave to dry.

Done!

Here's the finished Warlock Engineer...

Hope this is useful!

*Squeek*

Skaven Army update.

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Due to the responsibilities that come with being immersed in  Real Life 2.0™ I haven't done any painting this week. With that in mind, I thought I would take a moment to simply put down how far I have progressed with painting my Skaven army - and to ask for your help!


Below is a visual thumbnail guide to my units painted so far. Can you tell me roughly how many points this it, and what I should paint next? If I had to fight a battle in one week from now and I needed to have a legal army on the table, what size of battle (points) would I be able to play? What do I need to do/ paint to get a game?


At the bottom is a list of units I have that I haven't painted yet...


Units painted so far:

x40 Clanrats with Full command  

x40 Clanrats with Full command 

30 Skaven Slaves

30 Plague Monks with full command  

x1 Plague Priest

x2 Rat Ogres 

x12 Giant Rats 

x2 Rat Swarms 

x1 Doomwheel

x1 Warplightning cannon

x1 Jezzail 

x1 Chieftain

Units unpainted:

x20 Stormvermin

x1 Greyseer

x2 Island of Blood Warlords

x40 Island of Blood Clanrats

x30 Plague Monks

x30 Skaven Slaves

x1Plague Furnace

x4 Handlers

On the one hand I feel like I have painted a fair amount so far, on the other thinking about all those unpainted models gives me a headache!

Now, I know that I can't field Rat Ogres or Giant Rats without handlers, so I have to paint them. But what would YOU paint next and why?

Thanks!

*Squeek*