Graeme's Skaven reinforcements for February (224 points)

The plan for February was as simple as it was cunning: pick out a small group of high points cost models, get them painted by the middle of February and get a head start on the contribution for March. Easy. What could go wrong?

The best-laid schemes of rats and men...

Screech to a halt. Back in the real world, a busy work schedule and other commitments meant I was struggling to even get this small group painted in time. I got there in the end, though. Just.

I experimented with some different basing techniques this month, which I plan to do for the major character models - taking some inspiration from Nico's Realms of Chaos Skaven (http://nico-realmsofchaos.blogspot.com/).

So here's my small contribution for February:

Gnawdoom

One of the most iconic Skaven models, as far as I'm concerned. Unfortunately, the quality of this model wasn't great - there were a lot of mold lines - some of which I didn't spot until I was in the middle of painting it...  😒.
For the paint scheme I wanted to use muted colours for the clothing (Wargames Foundry's Soviet Summer Tan and Rawhide), to bring out the lighter fur and skin, suggesting an albino rat, and to make the warpstone key and crystal ball stand out. This colour scheme was inspired by Stone Cold Lead's Gnawdoom masterpiece: https://stonecoldlead.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoid=191884252. For the same reason, I decided to model the base as a piece of rock, with very little colour, to keep the attention on the figure.

Gutter Runners

Finishing off the remaining three Gutter Runners from the group of ten. I continued these in the same style as the previous group. One in my trademark pink, the others in slightly more modest colours.
I may switch out the model with the shield for one without, to make the group more consistent. It'll do for now, though.

Rat Ogre

A second Rat Ogre to strengthen the Clan Molder contingent. Painting one of these a month seems to be a big help reaching my totals, so you can expect a few more to come...

Here's the full group and their points:

- Gnawdoom (level 15 wizard), with hand weapon: 144 points
- 1 Clan Moulder Rat Ogre, with hand weapon: 38 points
- 3 Clan Eshin Gutter Runners, with hand weapons, light armour, and slings: 42 points

Total for February: 224 points

Total for the army so far: 426.5 points

Next month I'm determined to work on building up my rank-and-file troops - starting with some Clan Pestilens Plague Monks with Plague Censer Bearer support. Wish me luck - I'll need it!

Graeme's Skaven scouting party for January (202.5 points)

Yeah, you smell a rat. A few of them, in fact...

Some inspiration from WD 137.

I've squeaked in with my first month's contribution, a whisker before the end-of-month deadline. Already, it's been a real challenge for me. I've learned a few valuable lessons about planning, avoiding distractions, setting realistic targets and focussing on getting models completed. Hopefully, I'll be able to put those lessons to good use in the following months...

You don't give a rat's ass! Do you?

Okay, on to the stuff you're here for... with fewer rat puns...

I tried to focus on rank-and-file models rather than characters. Okay, they were among the most expensive rank-and-file models available, but let's call that a compromise...

So, the bulk of January's contribution is made up of Gutter Runners. One of the reasons I love these models so much is the amount of detail packed into them. This definitely slowed the painting down, though.

Skaven armies generally have a very dark palette, and I tried to stick with predominantly browns and muted greens, but added quite a few splashes of colour with these guys, as I can see these scouts looting anything they can get their grubby little claws on.

Seven done, out of the ten planned for the army.

One Clan Chieftain (level 5 hero) to lead this ragged little mischief, with a Clan Skyre Poisoned Wind Globadier to add a little warpstone to the recipe.

Next up is the muscle: a Rat Ogre and accompanying Beastmaster. The original Rat Ogres must be some of my favourite Skaven models - not a lot of variety, but loads of menacing character. I may try a conversion of two if I've getting brave near the end of the challenge. Getting some texture and shade over such a large amount of fur was a challenge, but it seemed to work out quite well with the lighter brown shades I used here. I've already found out darker fur is more challenging.

And finally a group shot of the furry little advance party.

I've got a few more finishing touches to make and some more work to do on the bases, as these didn't quite turn out how I wanted. I've got static grass and grass clumps to add, but I want to get the base colour sorted out before I do that. That should be sorted out for next month, as I want to make them nice and consistent across the whole army.

In terms of points, we have:

- 1 Clan Chieftain (level 5 hero), with hand weapon, shield and light armour: 31 points

- 1 Clan Moulder Beastmaster, with hand weapon, and light armour: 10.5 points

- 1 Clan Moulder Rat Ogre, with hand weapon: 38 points

- 1 Clan Skyre Poisoned Wind Globadier, with hand weapon: 25 points

- 7 Clan Eshin Gutter Runners, with hand weapons, light armour, and slings: 98 points

- Total for January: 202.5 points