How to Make a Skaven War-litter

What self-respecting Skaven warlord wouldn't want to ride into battle on the shoulders of his minions, elevated above the common ratmen and the enemy? 

The Skaven War-litter allows your warlord to do just that...

...not to mention also being an easy way to add some extra attacks, increase your warlord's armour save AND keep his "look out sir" roll.

How do you get a war-litter? 
At time of writing, you have to build one yourself. However, it is actually not too difficult, and the materials are probably in your bitz-box already. Additionally, there are lots of good examples on the net that you can draw inspiration from. 

In this guide, I'll lay out what I did to get a war-litter ready for painting. Also, I'll show you how you can kitbash the litter and bearers so they can still be used separately (in other words, you won't lose x4 litter bearers by gluing them to a war-litter that you might not always want to use.)

Ready?

Building the War-litter - gather your materials!

Howdah:

Plastic sheet 1-2 mm thick. (I used leftover GW movement tray material, which is 2mm thick.)

• Floor: x1 (30mm x 37mm)
• Side walls: x2 (20mm x 40mm)
• Front wall: x1 (20mm x 30mm)
• Rear wall: x1 (20mm x 30mm)

Optional: front wall "trophy panel" (optional): x1 (20mm x 20mm)

TIP:  For speed and convenience you might want to use a material that is thinner and easier to cut than GW movement tray...

Decoration:
x1 Skaven Warlord (sold separately - I use the Island of Blood Skaven Warlord)
x1 Flag (Stormvermin unit flag works well.)
x5-6 shields (Skaven shields are great, but a variety from different armies works well.)
x12 Spikes - to decorate the walls and repel boarders (I used old Goblin spear tips, but any old swords can be cut down)

Optional: x1 -2 giant rats (Skaven players often have these left over from their sprues)
Optional: Chains and skulls (Chaos bits?) 
Optional: x2 halberds and chain to make a weapons rack inside the war-litter.
Optional: x2-3 arrows (more about making those later!)

Litter-bearers:
x4 pre-assembled Skaven Stormvermin with halberds (I prefer them to Clanrats, but the choice is yours!) 

TIP: The halberds you want are held in their right hands (on their left as you look at them). Do not glue them onto the bodies yet!!

Assembly!

Front and right side (Click to expand)

Left side (Click to expand)

Right side (Click to expand)

The difficult thing here is not the litter itself, but actually the litter-bearers. Let's look at them separately later.

War-Litter.

1. Score the plastic to simulate "grain" in the wood. Before gluing everything together, you will want to score the plastic to make it look like wood. To do this, take a box cutter and run the blade down the plastic vertically. Don't do everything evenly. You are trying to create a "plank of wood" effect.

2. Cut the top and bottom of the walls to simulate "planks". Cut the edges of the panels so they look random, and like planks of wood.

3. Glue the war-litter. Glue sides, front (and optional "trophy panel") and rear to the base.

4. Decorate. Glue optional decorations into place around the walls (e.g. chains, spikes, shields, rats, flags, weapons rack etc.)

5. Add arrows. Glue/ drill arrows into place.

TIP: When adding the arrows, think carefully about the angle and positioning. Would they stick "straight" out of the wood, or angled up (more likely, if they had come as a volley from long distance).

The howdah is not ready for undercoating.

Litter-bearers.

1. Assemble x4 Stormvermin bodies on bases, without their right arms (on your left as you look at the model.)

2. Cut away/ file down the shoulder armour/ shoulder pad on the Skaven where the arm will be glued until the arm will fit closely to the body with the arm pointing up and with the halberd haft horizontal (parallel to the ground.)

TIP: Before gluing each arm, carefully eyeball the arm and halberd hafts so that you glue them on straight...
They don't have to be perfect, as you won't notice it when they are on the table, but you want the halberd hafts to line up horizontally when the litter-bearers are ranked-up, as shown in the images below. 

Notice how the halberd hafts line up.

3. Glue arms into place.

4. On the front two troops, cut the halberd blade off where it meets the haft. Then glue them to the opposite end of the haft (Glue blades towards enemy), so they are now pointing in front of the model. Remember - pointy end at the enemy!

5. On the rear troops, cut the halberd off where the blade meets the haft. Save these two blades (or stick them on the front of your war-litter as I did!)

6. Glue modeling sand to the base in preparation for undercoating.

So, you now have the assembled war-litter and litter-bearers.

What you will find is that by pushing the bases of the bearers together, the hafts of the halberds should roughly line up, allowing you to balance the howdah on top...

TIP: Do NOT glue the howdah onto the litter-bearers at this point, even if you intend to glue it later! That will make painting the litter-bearers almost impossible...

In my next post "How to Paint a Skaven Warlitter", I'll go into detail about the colours I used.

If you have any questions, let me know in the comments!

Cheers,

How to Paint Skaven Night Runners/ Gutter Runners

*Squeek*

My Clan Eshin troops have arrived and are now ready to join my Clan. Below you will find a guide to painting up the most common troops of that mysterious clan of assassins, the Night Runners.

At time of writing, these come in a boxed set of 20 plastic figures. One thing to note is that under the 8th edition rules, Night Runners are not very popular on the battlefield. Many warlords seem to view them as overpriced (in points terms) and not as flexible or as lethal as Gutter Runners. For this reason and because of the high price of Gutter Runner models (which come in a small blister pack with only 3 models in) many warlords will use NR models as "counts as" GRs. (After seeking the agreement of their opponent of course!)

Why this lengthy preamble in a "How to paint" guide? Well, intending to use these models as either NRs or GRs, I have gone for a darker colour scheme than I would have done if I was only going to use them as NRs. In fact in friendly games I may even use one or two of the models as Assassins, so the less colourful the better I reckon!

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.

Step 1: preparing the model.

- After assembling each model, file off any excess plastic ("flash").
- Carefully paint PVA glue onto the bases and around the feet of the character.
- Immediately dip into modelling sand, remove and let stand until dry.
- Remove excess sand by tapping the base of the model.

Step 2. Undercoat.

- Undercoat all models using Citadel Chaos Black spraypaint (or equivalent).

Step 3. Basecoat.

The following citadel colours were used.
- Base top: Calthan Brown (overbrush or drybrush over sand)
- Base edges: Vermin Brown.
- Fur; Vermin Brown or Calthan Brown.
- Weapons/ studs; Boltgun Metal.
- Pouches; Calthan Brown.
- Leather Caps; Calthan Brown/ Snakebite Leather mix (1:1)
- Bandages/ straps (where tiger-claws are on hands); Calthan Brown/ Bleached Bone mix (1:1)
- Skin (Face/ Hands); Tallarn Flesh/ Dwarf Flesh mix (1:1)
Note: Leave cape/ armour/ trousers and boots untouched and in the Chaos Black undercoat for the time being.

Tip 1: To save time, on a unit of Skaven I usually leave 25% of the unit with black fur (the Chaos Black undercoat), and do 25% with Calthan Brown fur, and the remaining 50% with Vermin Brown fur (or another brown). This also adds a bit of variety to the colouring of the unit.
Tip 2: To save even MORE time, consider using the tip above, but just roughly drybrushing the fur instead of actually painting it. If you do this as the very FIRST basecoat, it doesn't matter if you accidentally drybrush other bits of the model brown because you will be tidying up as you go along.

Step 4: Washes.
- Fur: Devlan Mud.
- Skin: Ogryn Flesh.
- Weapons: Devlan Mud.
- Weapons: (after Devlan Mud is dry) A very watered-down Solar Macharius Orange wash, stippled on, and dabbed off with a tissue while wet. (For better effect, once the first wash is dry, stipple on another layer)

Step 5. Drybrushing.
- Fur: Depending on the fur colour you originally used, very lightly drybrush a lighter shade of that colour.
E.g. Vermin Brown? Vermin Brown/ Skull White mix (80:20).
Calthan Brown? Calthan Brown/ Skull White mix (80:20).
Etc.
- Black clothes, armour, trousers etc: Codex Grey/Chaos Black mix (80:20)
-Skin/ tail: Dwarf Flesh.
- Base: Calthan Brown/ Snakebite Leather: (50:50 mix)

Step 6: Highlights.
- Eyes: A dot of Blood Red
- Teeth: Bleached Bone (gently running your brush along the teeth is easier than trying to pick out each tooth one-by-one IMHO.)
- Edges of pouches/ Leather Straps: Snakebite Leather.
- Weapon edges: Boltgun Metal or Chainmail.

Step 7: Final Basing.
- Brush small areas of PVA glue onto the base.
- Dip into flock to simulate grass or apply electrostatic grass clumps if preferred.

Done!

Let me know if you have any suggestions for improvement of course!

Cheers,
*Squeek*

Skaven Warpfire Thrower Step-by-Step Painting Guide

*Squeek*

I'm probably not the only Skaven Warlord that decided to start a Skaven army based on the access the minions of the Great Horned Rat have to weird and wacky war machines! See below for a guide and more pics...

One of the (many) excellent things about our hordes are the supporting vehicles and almost "Steampunk" home-brew weapons that can be found in almost any force...

...massive engines of destruction?
Check!
Deafen and madden your enemies with the Screaming Bell or stink them out or putrify them with the Plague Furnace or Plague Claw catapult.

...fast moving vehicles that slice, dice and "electri-fry?"
Check!
Courtesy of randomized greenish bolts of warplightning from your fast-moving, rodent-powered Doomwheel.

Now, as cool as those things are, let's not forget one more really cool thing the Skaven have...

...core-unit support?  

Check!

One Doomflayer sized serving of whirling chopping death comin' up (OR burn and gas'em with your Warpfire Throwers or Poison Wind Mortars.)

Now of course, all these items also have one glaring caveat...

...frequent failure due to poor build quality? (or sabotage?) 

Check...

:-(

But that is something that many people think adds to the dark humor of playing Skaven in the first place!

Onto the guide, which has taken some time to get done due to other things. Below you will find a simple Skaven Warpfire Thrower stage-by-stage guide with some big photos at the bottom (I'll post a guide to the Poison Wind Mortar in the next few days or so.) It is a while so I painted this, so this may not be exact, but you'll get the idea!

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: Condenser pipes on Warpfire backpack. Nozzle and handle on warpfire thrower.
• Red Gore: Robes, flames on small rat that is on fire on the base.
• Tallarn Flesh: Skin, tail etc.
• Dwarf Bronze: Warpfire backpack top, chimney, skaven symbol. Bands on warpfire thrower.
• Dark Angels Green: Warpstone smoke.
• Codex Grey: Weapon team hoods.
• Bestial Brown or Calthan Brown: Wooden parts of Warpfire backpack.
• Vermin Brown or Bestial Brown: Fur.
• Snakebite Leather: Leather shoulder straps on backpack, weapon team gloves, belts.
• Bleached Bone: Nails on feet.

6. Layers.

• Robes: Red Gore/ Blood Red (50/50 Mix), then Red Gore/ Blood Red (25/75 mix) and finally Blood Red.
• Warpstone Smoke: Snot Green/ Dark Angels Green 50/50 mix, then progressively lighter mixes, working through Snot Green/ Skull White (50/50 then 50/25) and finally almost pure Skull White.
• Flames on Rat: Red Gore/ Blazing Orange Mix (75/25 then 50/50) Then add some yellow to that mix to get the tip of the flames.

7. Washes.

• Skin, Tail/ Ears, feet: Ogryn Flesh.
• Robes: Devlan Mud.
• Warpfire backpack: Devlan Mud
• Warpstone smoke: Thrakka Green

8. Drybrushing.

• Warpfire backpack (Wood parts): Drybrush slighter lighter shade of the basecoat brown (above)
• Warpfire backpack (Bronzed parts): Light drybrushing of Dwarf Bronze
• Warpfire thrower hose: Light drybrushing of Chainmail (just to bring out raised areas on hose.)
• Fur: Light drybrushing of lighter shade of the brown you used as a basecoat. 

9. Highlights.

• Edges of any parts done in Boltgun Metal: Boltgun Metal OR Chainmail
• Edge of warpfire weapon barrel: Chainmail OR Dwarf Bronze as appropriate
• Warpfire backpack edges of Bronzed parts: Dwarf Bronze
• Nails: Bleached Bone
• Skin/ Tail/ Ears: Tallarn Flesh/ Dwarf Flesh (50/50 mix)

10. Verdigris (Optional)

This is the light blue patina that you see on old statues or layers of bronze in museums or exposed to the elements. Having this will add an additional sense of age to any bronze parts. Please note, if you haven't done this before, experiment first, as if you get it wrong this is the last stage of the model, so it may be difficult to correct...

• Heavily water down GW Ice Blue. You'll have to experiment to find the right consistency, but I would say 1 part paint to between 7 and 10 parts water. It should be watery enough that you can wipe away WITHOUT leaving a stain. (Very important so you can correct mistakes if necessary!)
• Carefully paint onto any bronze parts where Verdigris would naturally appear so that it gathers. See "bluish" areas on photos below on the warpfire backpack and thrower nozzle. (recessed areas, around nails, buttons and joins between bronze parts.)
• Quickly take a tissue, fold to a point, and dab away any excess, so it is left gathered around the parts mentioned above.
• Leave remainder to dry. (Be patient!)
• HINT: Only add Verdigris to one area at a time so you have time to wick or dab away excess before it dries. Don't add to ALL bronze parts on the whole model at the same time! E.g. Do the Bronze top of the backpack, then wipe away. Then do the pipes, then wipe away. Then do the - you get the picture!

11. 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 Warpfire Thrower...

The observant among you will notice that the guide above closely follows those of the other Clan Skryre units I have done to date as the basic clan colours remain the same. (Warlock Engineer, Warplightning Cannon, Jezzails and Doomwheel.)

Hope you like it. Let me know what you think!

*Squeek*

How to Paint Giant Rats

*Squeek*

After finishing a couple of Rat Ogres I thought I would tackle something that looked as though it wouldn't take much time and that would be pretty simple to do. Giant Rats probably fit into that category (along with Rat Swarms) more than many other troop types in the Skaven army:

1. They don't demand too much detailed painting to look OK on the tabletop
2. They are small models.
3. A unit can be anything from 5 on upwards (I think), so you can get them up and running quickly. (The unit of 12 here took me a few hours (I'm a slow painter so this is pretty quick for me!)

Below you'll find a few more pics, followed by a (rough) step-by-step guide that looks OK to me for the tabletop.

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.

A.) Undercoat

• After assembly, liberally apply PVA glue to base and dip in modelling sand. 
• Wait until dry, then undercoat. (I use Chaos Black spraypaint.) 

B.) Basecoat(s)

• Fur: Drybrush Calthan Brown OR Bestial Brown OR Codex Grey. (Note, I usually use all three colours on different models in a Giant Rat unit to achieve a bit of visual interest in the colours, otherwise the whole unit looks just brown...)
• Skin/ Tail/ Feet: Tallarn Flesh. 
• Metal: Boltgun metal and Dwarf Bronze. (Trinkets, machine parts etc.) 
• Bandages: Skull White OR Bleached Bone
• Buboes/ Boils: Elf Flesh Bone
• Exposed bone: Skull White OR Bleached Bone
• Warpstone: Dark Angels Green, then Scorpion Green. 

C.) Apply Washes: 

• Apply Devlan Mud Wash all over.

D.) Reapply base colours: Layered up lighter shades/ colours:  Skin/ Tail/ Feet: Dwarf Flesh on raised areas. (Try to leave some Tallarn flesh areas and the shadows created by the Devlan Mud wash and the black undercoat - especially on the tail)

Metal: Chainmail on edges

Bone: Skull White or Bleached Bone on edges.

• 
  

• E.) Drybrushing

• Fur: Drybrush Calthan Brown/ Skull White (50/50 mix) OR Bestial Brown/ Skull White (50/50 mix) OR Codex Grey/ Skull White (50/50 mix). I find that unless I drybrush this lighter shade then all the fur ends up looking very similar in a unit.

• 
  

F.) Base:

• Drybrush Calthan Brown, then Tallarn Flesh, finally a very light brush of Codex Grey. 
• Apply dabs of PVA glue onto the base and dip into green flock. 
• Paint base sides Knarloc Green. (Many, many people have told me they prefer to paint their based edges Calthan Brown or another brown rather than green.)

Now I'm going to have to do some Clan Moulder Pack Masters. Until then these guys are just going to have to run wild!

*Squeek*