That’s how to skin a rat

Back again already! I wouldn’t get used to updates this frequently…

Like I mentioned in my first post I have been looking to come up with a paint scheme for my new Skaven army that is a bit out of the ordinary. For me the paint scheme is primarily defined by the skin and fur colours used with the clothing and armour more of a secondary consideration. The image of a brown Skaven is what comes to my mind as a typical example of the army and this steered me more toward grey colours.
I also wanted to stick as much as I could to foundation paints and washes to keep things simple and prevent me from having to build up a huge paint collection. Furthermore, I was not enamoured with mixing paints for the base colour and so looked to start with a flat colour.

My first idea was a clan that had been underground for a long time and had begun to lose the colour from their hides, akin to the weird and wonderful animals scientists occasionally find in long sealed caves.

Basically: White base coat, 1:1 Devlan mud/ water wash all over, Baal red wash on the skin areas, 1:3 Menoth white base/ Morrow white (P3) on all the raised areas, pure white for extreme highlights.
I like the result, but it looked a little too healthy for me.

Next was an idea that I had talked over with Matt previously, doing a scheme where the fur was a lighter grey than the skin.

Fenris grey for the skin, 1:1 Astronomicon grey/ Fenris grey for the fur, 1:1 Badab black / water wash, 1:1 Astronomicon grey/ Fenris grey for the raised areas of skin, Astr. grey for extreme highlights on skin, 1:1 Astr. grey/ white for highlights on fur.
It came out okay in my opinion, but also took a lot longer than the first test model, while also being not as interesting on the tabletop.

Third was similar, but darker. I wanted more of a charcoal look, but since I was using Fenris grey as a base it turned out too blue and way off the mark from what I was thinking.

Basically the same as number 2 with black added into the initial mixes.
Not happy with this one. If I had a dark grey that was less blue it could have worked. Maybe also from a dark brown base.

The last test came from the results of the first. I tried to keep things very similar, but more pallid.

Same as #1 but I replaced the red wash with a Leviathan purple wash and the subsequent skin tone with 1:3 Astronomicon grey/ Morrow white.
I think I like this one the best, but going with a 2:2 mix to more easily see the final white extreme highlights might be a little better. Also, the fur areas stand out a bit funny as I didn’t wash them purple like I did the skin.

So there you go. I am leaning toward scheme #4, but I am keen to here some feedback first while I build up the remaining clanrats. Sorry about the relatively bad photos but I wanted to get them done today in the half-light that was available rather than wait until the weekend when I’ll have too much to do.

Cheers for reading.

G’day, Servus, etc.

I was originally going to include this post with a soon to be following one that showed a few test minis, but soon came to the realisation that it would end up being quite the long and winding blog post.

Anyway, enough of that, let me introduce myself. The name is Brad, the one and the same that Matt occasionally references (and abuses) in some of the blog posts here. I’ve known Matt for a long time now and we seem to be good mates, discuss and play Warhammer against each other amongst other activities. So what am I doing writing on Matt’s blog then? Well after having a hiatus from Warhammer due to 8th edition, writing a PhD thesis and moving overseas I am starting to get back into it with the most devious of races, the Skaven.

Given that Matt is a total ratman fanatic and that my hobby time is far too limited to run an interesting blog of my own we decided that it would be most excellent if I could post my experiences on an irregular basis.

I’m not one for long an rambling posts, so I’ll leave the introduction there. When I return it will be with some pictures of the test miniatures that I am working on, where I attempt to do something a little different than the ‘standard’ Skaven colour scheme.

’til next time.

House renovations

Way too hot to paint today. I doubt I would get a couple of brush strokes onto a miniature before it had all dried. So I decided to attack another project.

This is one of the things Brad left with me before his departure. It is a pre-cut wood house that you punch out and assemble, made by CNC Workshop.  The whole piece opens up, the roof comes off to reveal the first floor, which also comes off the reveal the ground floor.

As you can see, as well as the distinct segments there is also two ‘halves’. This is because it is essentially two smaller houses that you can push together, creating one larger building. Now, me being me, of course I have decided that I only want the one large building. So I am going to attach the two halves together to create one seamless piece.

First things first, I want the building to be quite open, so the centre walls have to go. The first levels walls came off fine, I guess Brad hadn’t got that far in the gluing yet. However, the ground floor walls proved to me far more bother. I couldn’t figure out if they had been glued in or not, but they certainly wouldn’t budge, whatever had been done to them.

So I went with the easiest solution. I broke out the ancient Dremel tool I possess, and cut the walls off. Now, if you are going to do this yourself, a couple of things you should know.

First, a Dremel tool like this was probably amazing thirty-five years ago, but in todays age it is a scary device of loud, whirling death. And on top of that, it is maximum effort for minimal result. I would have been better off using my smaller hacksaw than the Dremel, but I had committed to the tool and wanted to see it through.

Secondly, as well as saw the wood, it also scorched it. There are some fairly pronounced black scorch marks down the cut, where the blade has been burning the MDF. The billowing clouds of smoke should have given away that this was happening, but again, I just soldiered on.

After cutting the walls off I glued the sections together. This meant using PVA to glue each half together, as well as brush some glue into the joins of each piece.Obviously this is stage one. When dried the ground floor will be attached to a single piece of thin MDF so that the centre of the two halves isn’t the only place they contact. I will also have to add some further braces to the centre walls, to both create stability and to cover the large holes left from the tabs. Then I’ll add a floor, most likely made of plasticard, to the first level.

As for the roof, I didn’t have to take out the centre walls here, so there was more area to glue to. However, I still think I will add some kind of overall frame to support both halves. Though made of what and how I am not yet sure.

It was also at this point that I noticed the very ragged edges. Obviously Brad hadn’t cleaned up the pieces from where they popped out of their frames initially, and there were these odd little bumps over the whole thing. I just cleaned these off using a Stanley knife, carefully cutting away slivers of them parallel to the flat of the board.

Later this week is Australia Day, so hopefully I will get some time to come back to this in a few days.

Gutter group

Worked on the Gutter Runners again today. While the pathetic photo doesn’t show it very well, all the highlighting and detailing is done. All that is left is adding rust. Oh, and painting the torch. I haven’t really painted flames on anything before, so I am leaving this as its own little project.

Where current publications lack

At the beginning of each year I sit down and think about what Skavenblight Gazette can do that year. What has been working and can be developed? What isn’t working and can be dropped? What needs adding?

Normally when looking at starting or renewing a project like this I would do some research. Look at examples, both good and bad, of similar works and see how they handle different issues. This mainly entails looking at the relevant items, in this case wargame and miniature related publications, and analysing them.

At least in my neck of the woods, only two miniature wargame related magazines exist on the shelves. White Dwarf and Wargames Illustrated. A handful more are available to order, like Unseen Lerker or No Quarter. Then there is the clutch of other fan made webzines.

Comparing content from these example publications against Skavenblight Gazette, both content that has actually been published and content ideas to be written, I have noticed something. And I will probably be stating the obvious when I say this, but sometimes you have to break it down to build it all up again.

Everybody, the commercial publications and the fan made webzines, is publishing the same handful of themes. That being, painting articles, rules pieces, previews, interviews, modelling and converting instructionals. And that can all be topped off with miniature galleries.

Now I realise that some, no, all of this is handy stuff to have available. Who doesn’t want to read about proper paint application, or look at the interesting conversions?

But I have the feeling that there is more. That this isn’t everything that is going on in the hobby. These are the themes that commercial publishers have normally pushed because they pertain to the most immediate and relevant part of their business, selling miniatures and rules (either their own or advertisers). And the fans have followed suite because, well, they haven’t had the financial need to sit down and seriously think about the publishing game and what the miniature wargame format is lacking.

Which is fine. Except when you are like me and everything has to be turned up to 11.

So what do you think is lacking from these publications, both pint and digital, commercial and fan made, that us gamers would be interested in? My initial example I could think of was casting.

You can find discussions and tutorials on casting on some blogs and forums, but I doubt you would find much of one in a commercial magazine. Because they want you to buy their cast pieces, not model and cast your own, or make copies of theirs (for backup reasons, I assure you!). And while the blog and forum posts are great, they are limited by the fact that they inherently don’t have a peer standard. They are written because the person who wrote them wanted to, and there is no onus on having to produce something that is accessible to everyone.

Which, again, is fine. Except where people don’t have the necessary skills to decipher the work.

What I am hoping for is feedback. Tell me what you like and dislike in publications, but also, what you would like to see that you haven’t before. There are facets of our hobby that we have an interest in but have not been catered to by commercial press. I want to know what these are, no matter how small or outlandish.

Back at it

Back onto the painting wagon this weekend. Applied the basic base colours to the Gutter Runners. Looking forward to getting in and detailing them.

The reason of edge

Had a little time when I got home from work today, so I rummaged through some more of Brad’s offerings to my loathsome, twisted horder god. From out of all the boxes and bags I have managed to collect a small pile of movement trays.

Another of the things that Brad left with me was a whole bunch of magnetic sheets and a handful of rare earth magnets. Now, my initial thought was “ok, just cut the magnetic sheets to size and stick them into the trays”. But on further reflection I stumbled upon a revelation I hadn’t ever thought about before.

These plastic trays have raised edges. This stops the miniatures from sliding out during movement, as there is nothing to secure them to the tray itself. But introduce magnets and is the need for raised edges diminished? Can I have a movement tray that is almost totally flat? Has this been done before?

Casting my mind back I can’t recall ever seeing what I am thinking of. A quick google search also turns up nothing. So this leaves a me with a couple of questions.

Am I just missing something? Every magnetic tray I have looked at has edges. Is there a sound reasoning behind this, or is it just a holdover from the Games Workshop design?

What material would I use as a base? The magnetic sheet I have is too pliable to just be used on their own, they need to be attached to something. I have seen a couple of articles on using plywood, but that just doesn’t seem that durable to me. Wood warps, and the thickness of the board itself would be an issue for me. I don’t want my troops with an extra 5mm of height. A stronger metal is also an option, but it seems like adding so much weight for no real benefit. I am going to have to explore plastic sheeting options, I think.

Any thoughts on the matter, or links to relevant articles, would be appreciated.

Not more tedious New Years Resolutions

We are seven days into the new year, and I have thus far avoided writing resolutions,  recaps, stat analysis or blog critiques. For some peculiar reason it just hasn’t felt necessary.

I don’t know if it was coming back after more than a year with fresh eyes, but it seems Brad has come to the realisation that maybe he has just a few too many models in storage. So he has left a bunch with me. Which is nice.

The last few days have been going through this lot. At the moment it is largely just reboxing them into something more economical. I don’t know who taught Brad to sort, but he sucks at it. Orc and goblin part were spread across four or five different boxes, and I managed to condense them down to just two.

So at the moment the big plan is one of organisation. Get everything stacked away, find all the little random unused bits and banish them to my bits box, and then progress from there.

This isn’t to say that there isn’t a ‘plan’ for this year. There is, in the loosest sense of the word.

Work on the Skaven army, that seems like a no brainer. These battles against Brad have helped me to figure out where my army will probably grow and develop, which will help in building the necessary parts. I would also like to take them to some tournaments this year.

Another no brainer, issues of Skavenblight Gazette. It will be interesting to see what direction we can take it in this year. There are thirteen issues under our belt now, so it seems like we should be stepping it up a notch somehow. In what way, I do not know.

I am also keen to really put some work into writing a game system. This is something I have been tossing around for a couple of years now, but it just feels right to make this the year that something gets done. I already have a slew of ideas to work from.

If everything goes well with the Skaven, I would like to ‘finish’ off the Bretonnians. This will then, theoretically, give me the opportunity to work on another army. At the moment I have access to some Empire, High Elves, Orcs and Goblins and Tomb Kings. Who knows where any of this could lead me?

And that is it. That is all you get in the way of retrospective or, whatever the opposite of retrospectives is, insights.

Oh, and as usual at the beginning of the year, I have changed up the blog design.

Matt vs The New German: The Revenge

Brad came around again yesterday and we had another game of Warhammer. He is interested in starting a Warriors of Chaos army, and I happen to have one lying around. So he took Warriors of Chaos and I took the Skaven again. We went for pitched battle again, and randomly selected and placed the scenery.

His army contained four units and three characters. Two lots of Chaos Warriors, Marauders and Chaos Knights along with a Sorcerer Lord, Sorcerer and Aspiring Champion Battle Standard Bearer. On my end I decided to take three units of 35 Clanrats, 30 Slaves, 6 Jezzails, 10 Gutter Runners, 10 Globadiers, 3 Rat Ogres and a Doomwheel. They were accompanied by a Warlord on War-litter, Warlock Engineer, Cheiftain Battle Standard Bearer and an Assassin.

I was very excited that some of the new scenery that I recently built finally got used in a battle. So excited I decided to deploy my Jezzails behind a wall. Possibly not the best position for them.

Unfortunately a detailed battle report really isn’t needed. No offence to Brad, but he played an average game at best. Mostly because he didn’t get the chance to excel, as I was sucking so bad. My Warlock miscast first turn, killing sixteen Clanrats in a calamitous detonation. When my Assassin was revealed in combat he fluffed all his attacks against the Aspiring Battle Standard Bearer. My Warlord even failed to make a real dent, both him and his unit being broken and run down in their first round of combat. The only thing that went right in any respect was the Globadier Bombardier managing to kill a half-dozen or so Chaos Warriors with a well placed Death Globe.

As a testament to how poorly I played the game only made it to the end of Turn 3. I had little hope that three Jezzails and a Doomwheel could defeat an almost unharmed 2000 point Warriors of Chaos army.

That’s not to say it was a waste in any sense. We both had fun in the game, and I learnt a few things. Firstly under the new rules the Warriors of Chaos hit like a tonne of bricks. They have a high Initiative and a large number of attacks, so facing them one on one with an army like the Skaven is going to fail. Charging in seemed pointless, and holding back to give me some more time to soften them up would probably have been the way to go.

Secondly, their magic is nasty. I probably could have done with another Warlock Engineer, or even a Grey Seer or Vermin Lord. As it was Brad could walk all over me in the magic phase, and I didn’t have the power to negate that advantage in the combat phase.

Third, I clearly had the advantage in shooting, but unfortunately Skaven shooting is a bit selective. It hits hard, but there isn’t a lot of it. In hindsight I should probably have ditched the Doomwheel and opted for a Warplighting Cannon instead. At least then I could have been killing a larger amount of infantry in every shooting phase, rather than have the Doomwheel meandering around on the flanks doing as much damage to myself as the Chaos.

Fourth, (and I actually already knew this, but it is nice to have old beliefs reinforced) sometimes stuff just goes wrong. Really wrong. Spectacularly wrong. But you just have to roll with it.

Have you ever had that feeling

So I did say I would give an explanation on where I have been (two posts earlier, if you are keeping track).

As alluded to in the aforementioned post, the bulk of this time was spent on issue 13 of Skavenblight Gaztte. I was quite happy with how this issue came out, though unfortunately most of the hobby specific stuff fell through. It wasn’t quite supposed to be so interview heavy, so self-interested. But thems the breaks.

The other thing I was up to was painting.

I have no idea if this happens to anybody else, but you ever just wake up one day and realise that you have like, a hundred half-finished projects lying around? Well, that happened to me around the beginning of November, so I decided to start doing something about it.

One of my projects lying around was three paintings I had been working on. As in, paint on canvas paintings. The first of these I started nearly five years ago, and still hadn’t finished. So I decided to break them out and finish them off.

The fruits of my labour.

Anyone who has been around my old place would have seen at least one of these. I have a bunch more canvases to do some other ideas I have, but the three that I had already started are now completed works. I am quite pleased.

Speaking of feelings, the other day when Brad took my Bretonnians to battle something occurred to me. I never actually finished the army off. There are a handful of models that still need attention, as well as a clutch of them that had didn’t have the new basing style. I just got so caught up in the Skaven that they were kind of forgotten.

In an effort to rectify this, I decided to tackle the easiest task at hand today. The original eleven knights, fifteen Men-at-arms, fifteen bowmen and Lord on Hippogryph i did all have the grey edges on their bases. The latest version I had been working on omitted the grey edges for black.

So out came the black paint, and over the course of about an hour I redid all the base edges. One step closer to another project completed!