Drowned Rats

Skaven Clans Skryre and Pestilens go to war on the high seas! A battle report using the classic Warhammer boat rules from the 2003 General's Compendium.

 

Dreadfleet: Converting the Auxiliaries

The last leg of my Dreadfleet project was finishing the auxiliary boats, and I wanted to do something really creative with these. There are only two versions of the standard "cog" markers for the auxiliaries– one for the Grand Alliance fleet and one for the evil Dreadfleet. 

 

 

All of the fleet ships are so different, each with its own unique design, I felt their auxiliaries should reflect this. It didn't seem right that the Skaven vessel, made from a leviathan fish carcass should have the same auxiliary design as the Tomb King's ship. And how, exactly, would a little wooden sail boat dock with a giant mechanical squid submersible? After rooting through my parts box I was able to put together some satisfying conversions:

The Heldenhammer

This was simple enough. Plastic card for the extra sails, covered with putty to give it the "puff" of a sail catching the wind. A tiny bit from a Black Templar accessory went on top of the mast, and a helmet spike from a Grave Guard forms the prow spire.

 

 

 

The Curse of Zandri

This was the first one I made, and the easiest. I removed the sail but left the oars, and cut a pyramid into the center so it matched its parent ship. The metal bits are from Tomb Kings models– the end of a halberd and the top of Settra's head. (Yeah, that's right. I ruined a classic Settra model for a tiny counter in a game I'll hardly ever play.)

 

 

 

The Skabrus

This one was fun to kitbash. I kept the figure on the prow because it looked like a little Skaven dude, and added a triangular icon cut from a Clanrat spear. The top of the tower and the boilers and smokestacks are tiny bits taken here and there from the Boneripper kit (the parts are so small they probably won't be missed). There were also two small rats on the Boneripper sprue that had little wheels for their back legs, and I used those wheels with some thin styrene strips to make the paddle wheel.

 

 

 

The Swordfysh

One of the extra sails that I cut off the other boats went into the Swordfysh conversion. The main sail needed to be turned so the sails would both be blowing the same direction. The "sword" on the prow was made from a strip of styrene, shaped and pinned in place. Modeling putty was used to extend the bow.

 

 

 

The Bloody Reaver

I tried to match the sail-laden castle aesthetic of the parent ship. The top of the tower is part of a Grave Guard helmet, and the tiny skull comes from a Tomb Kings banner. The stern of the boat was built up with modeling putty, and a few tiny windows were added to the tower.

 

 

 

The Flaming Scimitar

Another Grave Guard helmet was used for the tower, and the hull was shaped with modeling putty. The scimitar on the bow was cut down from a full-sized Tomb Kings chariot scythe. The boat's square sail was turned on its side, trimmed and puttied into a triangle. I used a piece of wire to make the angled mast, matching the style of sail on the larger vessel.

 

 

 

The Black Kracken

This one was the most complex, and probably has the least amount of "original" boat remaining. More Grave Guard helmets for the fins, and a melta-bomb forms the boiler with a small spike for the smokestack. There are parts of old battle wagon spikes on the stern, and a metal light from the Killer Kan accessory sprue to form the bridge windows, which were painted to match the green glow of the Kracken's "eyes." The paddle wheels are made from hole punched styrene card, with a thin strip over the top and details sculpted with putty.

 

 

 

And that's it! My Dreadfleet set is officially done! Both fleets are ready for war. I hope you've enjoyed following along with this project, I sure had fun painting it!

 

'Til next time!

Dreadfleet: Heldenhammer and the Bloody Reaver

The capital ships are complete!

 

The Heldenhammer

This was easily the most complicated ship to paint in the entire game. The variety of color on the hull, the intricacy of the sail iconography, it all adds up to one long week of painting and patience. I'm super happy with how it turned out, and this was definitely the pinnacle of my Dreadfleet project. I took a few shots of the hull before gluing the sails on since the details are harder to photograph once everything is assembled.

 

 

 

Same for the sails.

 

 

Time to take to the high seas!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Bloody Reaver

Despite the jigsaw puzzle assembly, this one painted up very quickly. The rocks were done with a series of drybrushing and washes. the castle was essentially two-tone, with the lighter stone walls and the magenta tops. There were lots of little anchors and cannon barrels on the rocky surface, with tombs along the sides.

 

 

 

 

The sails painted up very quickly as well, since they're essentially all bone and ochre for the banners. The text on the banners is mostly obscured once they're on the ship, which is unfortunate. The "Noctilus" sail is almost touching the sail in front of it!

 

Death patrols the Galleon's Graveyard!

 

 

 

 

 

 

But it's not over yet! I still have all of the little Auxiliary boats to paint before I can finally put this set to bed.

'Til next time!

More Dreadfleet Progress

I've been making more progress on the final ships and I'm in the home stretch now. Here's where I am on the Heldenhammer and the Bloody Reaver:

Solving the Bloody Reaver's Assembly Puzzle

A few posts back, I talked about my concerns about how the Reaver was going to be able to assemble the model with all of its seams puttied and still be able to paint its recessed areas.

 

 

 

It turns out that with a few cuts, the assembly isn't as complicated as it looks. First I glued the center halves of the ship together and puttied the joins around the skull.

 

I also cleaned up the walkway on the prow. The peg in the middle of the dragons was left unglued so that I can slip the sail in there after it's painted.

 

The castle halves were the real issue, however. My solution was to cut the castle free from the support beams. (These castle bits would be great for a Mighty Empires map, by the way!)

 

The castle was then attached and the joins puttied, creating a solid centerpiece for the ship.

 

 

 

The masts have ball-and-socket attachment points that prevent them from being inserted after the ship halves are glued together. I shaved the ball and ring away to make the flag a straight post that can now plug into the hull. (I honestly don't know why the model wasn't designed like this in the first place; it's not like there are any pose options for the masts.)

 

With all the parts assembled, the painting doesn't look as intimidating as I had initially feared.

 

Painting the Heldenhammer

Speaking of intimidating painting... The Heldenhammer, despite it's small scale is about as complex as a regular 28mm character model. The deck was simple enough– a simple drybrush and wash, some metal to pick out the cannons.

 

 

Then came the gold trim and gun ports. I drybrushed all the gold and then went in with some red to meticulously paint the spaces between the gold. This was then washed with Agrax Earthshade and the gold given a touch-up highlight.

 

Next the silver bits and cannons were picked out and washed with Nuln Oil. A dab of the Nuln Oil was applied to each of the gun ports to blacken them in. Once dry it's not completely opaque, so I'll have to add another touch of black below the guns.

 

So. Many. Cannons.

 

The sails were painted the same way I painted the Swordfysh's sails– Light primer, basecoat and wash the icons, then highlight them and paint the background color. You can see the sail step-by-step in the Swordfysh post here.

 

The sails are finished except for the text and masts. I'm so close!

 

'Til next time!