There seem to be a lot of nostalgia projects around now a days. Maybe there always have been, or maybe there is a healthy perception bias impacting my judgement, but it does feel as though there is more than the odd person revisiting a game or an army they loved in their youth.
I feel that The Old World is one of a number of elephants that are sat in the corner of my writing room that I want to say something about, but don’t know what. Maybe it’s been a jumping off point for some people, for me though, not so much. In fact, because Skaven aren’t included in the main factions it’s been of very little help at all.
That being said, seeing more metal figures in peoples’ social media definitely transported me back to a time when things were a bit simpler. I’ve also found myself at a bit of an impasse when it comes to deciding which projects to pursue. I might not be the fastest painter, or the most willing, but I do like a vague sense of direction (so I can measure exactly how far from it I’m straying). With fourth edition Kings of War somewhere in the distance I’ve not been motivated to start a new army, and I’m really enjoying playing the rats I have at the moment (although travel is starting to take its toll and I think a serious conversation about a new army is required). All this has resulted in a bit of a creative gap which got me thinking about Skaven.
GW’s ratmen were the faction that really called out to me when I flicked through the third edition Warhammer Fantasy Battle army lists. I loved the unit illustrations and in particular those of Clan Eshin. As I tentatively started to build a small army fourth edition arrived and the generic army list just didn’t appeal. It couldn’t compete with the Empire and all their shiny knights.
That’s not to say I lost interest in Skaven, I dabbled with the odd model here and there, and the army list books, when they arrived, were my favourites. In a weird twist of fate, the first time I would ever play using a Skaven army would be in second edition Kings of War. During some time off work I got bored and started painting some rats, a collection that would grow massively out of hand, and would contribute to my return to wargaming in 2018, some many decades after I had abandoned my Empire army (massive regrets). Since that time, I have built two more rat armies, the most recent being my Mantic force, and whilst I like many of the newer models they just aren’t quite enough.
A couple of decent ebay finds, and a small number of models I had in a bits box have given me a great starting point, so now it’s just a case of seeing where it goes next.
As I reflected on this, I began to think about what I thought my favourite rat models were. Of all the models that have been created by different companies which ones were the gold standard. The answer, which may come as a surprise, were the rats of fourth edition Warhammer fantasy battle. More than that I think the army list was also one of the best. Over the years the races of WFB have seen their rosters grow to unwieldy sizes, with all sorts of weird and wonderful things added. In Kings of War Ratkin have a decent number of choices, and yet the last couple of months I’ve massively enjoyed playing with a fairly basic list of infantry, big beasties and weapons teams (not dissimilar to warpfire throwers). All this made up my mind for me, and I’ve embarked on a mission to build a collection of metal models that will allow me to take anthropomorphic rats in any game I choose.
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