BLACKHAND'S 40K Skaven

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**BLACKHAND**

Please Do!

I'd love to see someone else's take on the idea

Lol, I wonder if this will become the default way people see skaven in 40k, whizzing around in flying castles....at least it would be different!

UPDATE>>>

I have a friend who has just returned from overseas and following with the rest of his luggage is a set of Hirst Arts molds for castle walls, flagstones and towers. He has generously offered to let me use them to add to my castle superstructures so they should look even better!!!

Cheers

BLACKHAND

**em_en_oh_pee**

My fiance's grandfather uses that stuff and builds epic castles and I am pretty sure he uses dental grade plaster for those. I hear that is best to keep them from getting roughed-up. Normal plasters will chip and whatnot, while I hear dental won't.

**BLACKHAND**

Yeah the problem will be to find a cheap source for the dental plaster, knowing NZ it will be relatively hard but I will have a look around...though as they are ruins anyway a few chips and dings may look good.

Apparently you can add powdered grey paint to the plaster when you mix it so the bricks are precoloured to look like stone, any chips would look like I meant them to be there

**em_en_oh_pee**

I was just thinking durability, not look. Chips can look good in stone, but unwanted ones over time might ruin the effect. Depends on how vigorously you play 40k, I suppose.

**BLACKHAND**

Good point, I hear dental plaster is lighter than plaster of paris which will become a factor even with a styrofoam core to lighten the load.

**Fifty**

Will you have Rat Ogryns?

**Tortured-Robot**

I have come to love the idea of flying castles.... im just getting back into the game, hoping to run an IP army.... They....Must .....Fly...In.....CASTLES!!!!

TR

**Ultra mortalitas**

ARGH! dammit Blackhand! >.< PM me when you post these things, this is awesome!

**Hyenajoe**

Incredible stuff here! Skavens in 40k? An old dream.
I've met Gary Chalk some years ago and he told me he had made one, just for the fun of converting.

I really want to see this flying castle done and the whole army as well.

**BLACKHAND**

@fifty - Oh yes, there will be Rat Ogryns. Again I was really impressed with the rat ogryn box, 2 rat ogres with several head and arm options, half a dozen giant rats, 3 "handlers" or whatever they are called, even a little rat in a robe! Thanks to that I will have rats crawling over all my vehicles for sure.

@Tortured_Robot - Me too! I hope I can pull them off to the level of quality I am aiming for, my rats deserve a sweet ride!
Again I would be stoked to see someone else try the floating castle idea and you would be totally welcome to post pics of anything you come up with here.

@Ultra Mortalitis - My God...I'm So sorry...I can't believe I forgot to PM you...Wait you mean you don't check every day to see if I have started a new thread? I think I am offended!

@Hyenajoe - I'll have to look up Gary Chalk but I am assuming he is one of the model designers that worked on the Skaven figs? While personally I think there is probably enough races in 40K, if they were to add another then one based on the new skaven figs would be a pretty good choice. They have a sleek menacing look without the comical aspects of the old models which really appeals top me...hence me taking on a full army conversion I suppose!

Cheers

BLACKHAND

**Ultra mortalitas**

meh, i'm busy and don't have the time to check up on everything.

**Timonth**

Aaaw, why did you give that stormvermin a lasgun? The Kroot rifles looked so awsome on the rats on the first page! The somewhat more wooden and shaggy looking guns fit the Skaven better I think.

And those flying fortress things are working out really well! Going to ad some Screaming Bell bitz to them I gues?

**Xenon**

Wow nice idea. Can't wait to see more!

**em_en_oh_pee**

Now that I look back on it, I think I liked the Kroot Rifles better myself. Would that be a WYSIWYG problem, though? Count-As Lasgun/Shotgun - shouldn't be an issue, right?

**Hyenajoe**

BLACKHAND wrote:
@Hyenajoe - I'll have to look up Gary Chalk but I am assuming he is one of the model designers that worked on the Skaven figs? While personally I think there is probably enough races in 40K, if they were to add another then one based on the new skaven figs would be a pretty good choice. They have a sleek menacing look without the comical aspects of the old models which really appeals top me...hence me taking on a full army conversion I suppose!

Cheers

BLACKHAND

Gary chalk is an illustrator who worked for GW and who's mostly famous for his work on Lone Wolf (the solo adventures serie, and more recently the RPG)

I agree with you, there's no real equivalent to Skavens in 40k (I mean on the general army theme and aspect). They would be a somehow 'bright' touch to 40k universe

.

**BLACKHAND**

@timonth & em_en_oh_pee - I like the kroot rifles too but as I have already used them as "sniper rifles" I decided to use lasguns as lasguns if only to save on WYSIWYG problems when playing in tournaments (I'm hoping to have this army ready by next years singles tournament and pick up Best Painted again)
I have also ordered a pack each of the GW meltaguns and plasmaguns so that my special weapon troopers will be correct as well.

@Hyenajoe - "Bright"? A race of filthy Rat men who use concentrated chaos energy to power their death machines, spread virulent diseases and warp and mutate their own troopers...yeah I guess they would be a bright touch in the 40kverse

**Captain Klaw**

Could have sworn I subscribed to this a long time ago... oh well.

Usually I detest lore-breaking lol, but for the sake of the project and its modelling potential, I'll let it slide (only once though BLACKHAND).

I really like the flying castle idea in terms of modelling potential (*sigh* why oh why don't I play fantasy?)

Good idea with the counts-as weapons. I've found people less than receptive to my lizardmen counts-as kroot...

**manoknok**

Looking good!

Can't wait for 'Rat'ling snipers!

**BLACKHAND**

It's been a long week so I don't think I will get too much done on the Skaven tonight, I have a had a bit of a play around with the first sergeant model though....

.....Basically cut off his mace/axe thing leaving the handle and skaven hand intact, glued the chainsword on, then some pretty simple GS work, adding strapping around the handle behind his hand and filling in gaps on his shoulders. I will have to scrounge my bits box for a plasma pistol or bolt pistol and hang it on his belt, maybe GS up a holster.

C&C Welcome as always!

Cheers,

BLACKHAND

**Commissar Agro**

WOW nice rat sarge, looks good!

**manoknok**

Awesome...simple but effective!!

**BLACKHAND**

I'm worried about the IG weapons being too jarring when next to the ornate, ragged skaven models hence using the handle of the skaven weapon on the chainsword vs using the complete hand. Once the Gs dries on the handle I might have a go at adding a skaven symbol to the sword where I scraped off the imperial eagle, try and tie the sword in with the model more.

**Captain Klaw**

I think that might be a bit of a problem too. Maybe add some scale-like metal plates with gs and some scratches or something.

Maybe even take a look at the vostroyan weapons for inspiration.

If you try and GS a holster for a pistol, first take a look at existing holsters. If you look carefully (or not carefully or that matter) you'll see most holsters housing pistols are smaller than the pistols themselves. The space marine pistol holsters are a perfect example.

So GS-ing over pistols might look bulky, but using existing holsters can look like it breaks the time-space continuum.

Good luck!

**HadoukenAvenger**

SUBSCRIIIIIIIIIIIBED!

**Gitsplitta**

You might consider a "break away" strapping system instead of a holster, that would be much less bulky.

Beautiful rat.... which is something I never thought I'd hear myself say.

**Commander Cain**

That is one cool looking sergeant!

Perhaps if the skaven use chaos energy to power there castles, some of the more powerful weapons could do to.

**Tim the Biovore**

Once I logged into Dakka, I was heading the Index, but upon seeing the Sarge in the blog's thumbnail, I came here instead. He is AWESOME.

**BLACKHAND**

@gitsplitta - You read my mind, after Captain Klaw's comments I thought I would use a buckled strap to hold it to his belt.

Commander Cain - I was planning on doing any energy cells ( like on plasma weapons) in the same green as the warpstone I use, maybe I should carve out the energy cell part and replace it with a chunk of warpstone instead?

@tim the biovore - Thanks Tim!

Cheers

BLACKHAND

**sc0ttfree**

Looking Great and i agree the straps rather than holsters would be more scaveny.

About the IG weapons, wouldnt it make more sence fluffwize for them to not be covered in Scaven symbols, after all they've just recently been ripped from the still twitching dead hands of guardsmen, not carried through numerous campaigns

**The Good Green**

Fricken awesome!

and I'll third the motion for straps instead of a holster.