Rat Race – October

Hear that rumbling, rushing, screaming sound – the sound of something hurtling towards you with terrible inevitability? That’s the sound of the end of month deadline to add something to my Skaven, racing out of nowhere and bearing down on me inescapably. With not a lot of year left ahead of my self-imposed deadline of seeing my Skaven army to completion by the end of 2019 I turned  my attention to the Doomwheel – perhaps the craziest of all the crazy contraptions employed by the ratmen – and finished it in time, although only by the skin of my teeth (with a few frantic late-night painting sessions to boost him over the finish line).

Before we look at the pictures allow me a moment to bitch about the kit which, although the finished model is great, is a real nightmare to assemble. It dates from an era when kits were becoming increasingly complex, and components need to go together in a very specific combination for it to work. On the other hand the parts aren’t numbered and the diagrams leave a lot open to interpretation. Add the fact that I decided to build and paint the entire thing this month and there were a few moments of teeth-gnashing, a bit of muttering and a whole lexicon of swearing before it was finished. That said it’s probably a good thing that I set myself a target and just knuckled down and cracked on with it, otherwise I’d probably never have finished it.

Anyway, enough moaning – it’s done and I’m rather pleased with the end results. As it’s a big kit I’ve used larger images than usual, give them a click and you’ll be able to see them full size (I’m always thinking about the health of your eyes you see!).

Sadly the Warlock Engineer who sits at the controls is damn near impossible to photograph. I did put a fair amount of effort into him, and I think he’s looking good, but he’s really only visible in the hand so if you only see my miniatures via this blog you’ll have to use your imaginations! You can just about see him – and his rat “engine” – in here though.

Suddenly realising that the banner needed to be painted, with mere hours left in the month, was a suitably hair-raising moment for Halloween! Luckily you can’t go wrong with a few Skaven sigils, and my freehand is just about up to coping with them (which is a relief as there’s the Battle Standard Bearer still to paint for next month).

And with that one done we have just four models to go, and two months to paint them in. Onwards and upwards!