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I spent some time last year building a Skaven 40K army and fleshing out a background for why they would even exist. The models are turning out great, although I have been sidetracked with my massive Carcharodon army.

The origin of many races trace back to the Old Ones. Skaven were never designed as warriors, but as maintenance workers. Nimble, intelligent and capable of free thinking towards real world problems. They were also weak, subservient and tended to hide away from the eyes of more aggressive races that might bully or treat them with contempt.

Used to build and maintain the Webway for the Old Ones (and then later the Eldar), Skaven lived as a virtual slave race for countless millions of years. However, their craven nature matched well with this poor treatment and they were seen but unseen until the birth of Slanesh.

Dwelling on many of the Core worlds that the ancient Eldar brought to ruin, the Skaven were quick to scurry away into the safety of the Webway. However the Skaven found that much of the Webway was corrupted and unused by the Eldar. Slinking away from the oppressive and brutal masters, the Skaven retreated deeper into the unstable and corrupted Webway corridors. Warpstone abounded here and the skaven were twisted into a more intelligent and cunning race. Growing physically and feeling the first pains of ambition. Warpstone mutation and addiction becoming commonplace among the pathetic creatures.

In the Thousands of years since the Fall of the Eldar, Skaven have modified much of the old Webway and made it useless to any but themselves. Their reach spreads across the entire galaxy now and their raids strike with a ferocity borne of endless scorn and beatings at the hands of uncaring creators. Once a small species and limited in number, the Skaven have grown into a fierce race and massive cities have grown that are choked with uncountable hordes of the cruel creatures.

And in the final days of M40, titanic changes are forcing the webway to dislodge its hidden inhabitants. Armed with arcane technology and striking in indecipherable patters, these ratmen are becoming ever bolder. The hated Eldar balance upon the edge of greatness or oblivion. The time to strike is now! And the Skaven have waited long enough. Pouring out of the long lost Webway, they pillage whole worlds and then disappear back into nothingness.

I play my army as a combination of Skitarii and Mechanicus using warpstone altered Rat Ogres instead of metallic machines. Great ruleset to allow flexibility and plenty of options for scratch building mutant monsters.

I have used arms and weapons from Skitarii for my rank and file troopers. I am planning on adding some Rat Ogres with upgraded weapon systems, but my Tyranid army needs to be finished first. In the meantime, I had a great time modeling these guys and sourcing bits to flesh them out a bit.

Some of my original modeling attempts, rebasing was done shortly afterward.


Rebased models with some assorted backpacks and pouches.


Skaven troops starting to grow in number.

Why not stick to the great Horned One? A dedicated Skaven entity that represents them perfectly.