Need tips on Skaven

[MusedFable]

I’ve decided to actually create a good looking team to field. I have bits and pieces enough to get away with just about any team, but I’m kinda sick of seeing just hunks of plastic and metal on the pitch. The team that fits my play style best is Skaven, but unfortunately I don’t find the 3rd edition mini’s all that great. What I currently have (and use) is a team comprised entirely of mutants (the actual stats are accurate though). I have 4 big hands, 4 claws, 4 4 arms and 2 hakflems (In case you wanted to know I use 2 big hands as throwers, the 4 arms as GR, claws as lineman, and haklfems as storm vermin). I also have an unpainted mordheim rat ogre, and 2 different styles of plastic warhammer skaven (some kind of basic unit: one type has a BBQ knife and the other has a sword).

I’m a poor college student and most if not all of my minis have come from bargain bins, flea markets, or ebay. After taxes and grant money came in I found out I have a bit of spare change laying around. I’m buying a 2nd edition BB box off and star player/companion books off ebay (for reading and lovely picture references). I’m buying some sculpting tools and green stuff from heresy; along with a pin vice (I hope that’s a drill right? Is it the right size for paper clips?). I want every one of my minis to be unique. I’m also looking for a good theme. Currently I have a lab rat theme. They are all painted with white fur, green uniforms and metal armor. I kind of like this theme, but if a better one is suggested I jump on it.

So, if anyone has anything to say about skaven team themes, minis, ideas, stadium/pitch types, or wants to display what they’ve done with skaven I’d love to see it. I’d also like to ask if anyone has come up with a good way to get some of the less seen mutations viably taken. I’d like to make a rat with extra arms or two heads (ironic that those are the mutations they chose to sell, but not VLL or horned gutter runners). Whats foul apperence look like anyway, I’ll eventually get a linerat with it at least once in the many reincarnations of this team.

EDIT: I have the clan eshin rat not the robot one (and plan to contort those arms to a better pose). I was looking around the GW site and do skaven ever yell or look bad-arse (all the minis are either normal or slightly snareling).

[PilsBier]

Whats foul apperence look like anyway, I’ll eventually get a linerat with it at least once in the many reincarnations of this team.

Well... have a look at the Warhammer-Plague-Monks or the Bile-Daemons of Nurgle. They show perfectly what foul apperence should look like.

[Chairface]

I've played BB on a budget myself, and very few of my teams are made up of new figs. A Lab rat theme sounds good! Don't forget the little pink eyes.... A good start with the scuplting tools from Heresy. Bought a set myself last year and they have been bloody fantastic. Enjoy. As for hints and tips on Skaven, they aren't a team that I am interested in playing, but I would suggest, if you haven't already, so a search on skaven in the miniatures area. You will see a TON of cool skaven pics and conversions. Theres a cool second edition team from not too long ago, as well as some interesting looking cheerleaders.... Enjoy!

[Fubar]

Your lab rats idea sounds like a fantastic one! Painting white skaven has proved surprisingly difficult for me in the past, but if you can get it right then you can't go too far wrong with an idea like that

Like you I decided I wanted a team I would finally be happy with, so I'm constructing myself a skaven team for the BloodBowl tournament using the standard skaven plastic boxed set. I have gone a bit overboard and resculpted the torsoes (keeping the legs, head, arms and tails) to allow more variation in pose and design. If you've had a go at sculpting it might be worth considering, but it is not an easy task! I will post pictures, but I sadly got my camera nabbed on the way to the Pearly Kings and Queens, so the photos may have to wait a bit!

Let us see any WIP shots you might have!

Skaven are a great fun team to play - stick with them

Mike

[Indigo]

a pin vice (or pin vise, depending on where you buy it) is indeed a drill. I've found you need drill bits from 0.85 - 1mm diameter to get a decent fit with paperclips, depending on your paperclips.

[sineater40k]

unpainted mordheim rat ogre, and 2 different styles

I use the same guy as my RO. he looks great, certainly meaner than the BB RO. The one major flaw i do find with the figure is that he is way top heavy. To make matters worse i put the arms in more of an out stretch pose. To help the unbalanced RO base i chopped up lots of metal sprue. Once i got soem fine little chunks i glued them to the bottom side of the base. I will get a pic and post it for you.

[kithor2002]

I would go for a dark colour sheme because if I would play a Skaven team
my players should look intimidating especially the Rat Ogre.

[MusedFable]

Thanks for the tips. Right now I’ve only been working on the Rat Ogre conversion. So far I’ve repositioned the arms. I moved the hand infront of his face in a “come here” motion by bending his arm a lot closer and positioning the fingers and hand right. It took a vice grip to move the arm closer to his body (pewter’s pretty strong when its half an inch thick!). I put the back arm in a claw below the waste wind up motion. It took a Dremel to get the shoulder to "accept" that kind of arm pose. Then I took some green stuff (actually grey stuff) and filled in the shoulder gap. I put a shoulder pad over the putty cuz I couldn’t make a good enough shoulder (was in my bitz box; think it came from a mage knight orc). Then I made a cloth strap to go under his arm to hold on the shoulder pad. That came out fairly well. I put some folds and rips and holes in the cloth (think it looks like it was always part of the fig). I plan to hack off a tail of one of my skuttlespike (think that’s the 4armed 2headed star) and plop it where the rat ogres pouch used to be. I was going to use a skaven warlord’s grappling tail (that I just bought) but it was too thin. Oh, and I also cut between his toes and moved them farther apart in more of a gripping pose (well at least how my toes look when I grip the floor).

About the white lab rat thing: I took the team photo from GW and messed with photoshop to change the fur and clothing colors. White fur almost never comes out intimidating; except when I gave them black skin and white coats that was kinda cool (well creepy at least). I don’t want to make them traditional brown either (seems so bland). Anyone got any really cool ideas. I’ll be pretty busy chopping up all the players, so if you reply like 2 months from now I’ll probable read it and still not be painting.

P.S. I’ll try and get a few pictures up if I can find some web space to put them.

[kithor2002]

Thanks for the tips. Right now I’ve only been working on the Rat Ogre conversion. So far I’ve repositioned the arms. I moved the hand infront of his face in a “come here” motion by bending his arm a lot closer and positioning the fingers and hand right. It took a vice grip to move the arm closer to his body (pewter’s pretty strong when its half an inch thick!). I put the back arm in a claw below the waste wind up motion. It took a Dremel to get the shoulder to "accept" that kind of arm pose. Then I took some green stuff (actually grey stuff) and filled in the shoulder gap. I put a shoulder pad over the putty cuz I couldn’t make a good enough shoulder (was in my bitz box; think it came from a mage knight orc). Then I made a cloth strap to go under his arm to hold on the shoulder pad. That came out fairly well. I put some folds and rips and holes in the cloth (think it looks like it was always part of the fig). I plan to hack off a tail of one of my skuttlespike (think that’s the 4armed 2headed star) and plop it where the rat ogres pouch used to be. I was going to use a skaven warlord’s grappling tail (that I just bought) but it was too thin. Oh, and I also cut between his toes and moved them farther apart in more of a gripping pose (well at least how my toes look when I grip the floor).

About the white lab rat thing: I took the team photo from GW and messed with photoshop to change the fur and clothing colors. White fur almost never comes out intimidating; except when I gave them black skin and white coats that was kinda cool (well creepy at least). I don’t want to make them traditional brown either (seems so bland). Anyone got any really cool ideas. I’ll be pretty busy chopping up all the players, so if you reply like 2 months from now I’ll probable read it and still not be painting.

P.S. I’ll try and get a few pictures up if I can find some web space to put them.

It would also look cool if you put a disarmed body part into one of his claws and some blood spots on his arm and in front of his feet at the base.