Rats Get Everywhere

It's a myth that you're never more than 6 feet away from a rat, however, when it comes to fantasy, sci-fi and other fictional settings, it doesn't take too much digging to unearth the telltale signs of verminous creatures scurrying around the foul underbelly of whatever world you inhabit.

Whether you're looking for something to bullseye in your T-16 on Tatooine; need a new general for the mutants on Third Earth; or just clearing out the innkeeper's cellar at 1st level, there are always rats, rat-men, ratkin, were-rats or sundry other variants lurking in the shadows.

Obviously, Skaven are the poster-boys of rat-related villains in fantasy settings, and those of you with adequately functioning memories may remember that I made a rather rash commitment to paint up my long neglected Skaven contingent.

Technically, I said I would paint them up for Warhammer: The Old World, but after all the work I've done so far on three other armies that feels like something that would be surplus to requirements.

Therefore I've started to look for other ways to use my small band of Skaven (admittedly this is over 50 models) across other games...

...such as Necromunda.

I know, you're probably thinking, "there are no Skaven in Necromunda," and you'd be right. But there are Giant Rats, and there are Wyrd Beastmasters who can be hired by gangs.

Therefore this pack master and three rats might just find their way into the Underhive if we ever get round to actually playing that campaign again.

I also used these four miniatures as test models for future painting, trying to find a quick and effective way of producing decent looking miniatures using mainly contrast paints, and I think I've found a process I'm happy with.

Also, with Skaven being the newest poster boys for Age of Sigmar, the I may switch my 'paint an army' focus in that direction and finally get round to trying the game out (if I can find someone to play).

I was also pleased to find that there are rats lurking in the recesses of the Fallout setting, mainly because it gives me a chance to use up some of my many Giant Rats, and some of the happily Fallout: Wasteland Warfare sized bases that I have picked up (I think from Wizkids D&D miniatures), but also add to the number and variety of Wasteland creatures that are available for narrative gaming purposes.

Initially I had intended to paint them as Rad Rats from the Nuka-World add-on for Fallout 4. However, Rad Rats are hairless and white and that just didn't work on the furred miniatures I had available.

Apparently, in case you are interested in such things, there are some more game accurate Rat Rats available in one of the STL bundles Modiphius provide for the game.

Therefore I changed focus to the Giant Rats that appear in Fallout: New Vegas (which I haven't played). They are also largely hairless, but by playing with contrast paints and drybrushing I think I've got reasonably close to making my rats approximately right.

I'm not amazingly happy with these two bases, but I am pleased that I've been able to use bits and pieces to add some visual interest to what are essentially beige models on a beige base.

In game I will probably initially use the stat cards for Radroach Swarms, however, with the newer fast-play game Fallout Factions being set in Nuka-World, I wouldn't be surprised to see Rad Rats get statted up soon.

In other news I sold a big bundle of miniatures (mainly 5th edition Bretonnians and Lizardmen) that I wouldn't use. Despite the fuss about Warhammer: The Old World, they didn't make that much money, probably because both of these armies have newer (and arguably much better) miniatures readily available.

However, this does mean that there are some real inroads into the Lead Mountain for the first time this year.

Acquired: -107
Painted: 261
Lead Mountain: 683