When I stumbled upon the WHQ expansion “Domain of the Horned Rat” from the english White Dwarf #195 I knew that I had to include it in my WHQ project log. There’s a unique new dungeon room, the Warlock Quirrik, the Assassin Shreek Deathstrike and lots of neat Skaven stuff. Especially the Rat Golem, Quirrik’s creation, caught my attention.
The Rat Golem is a prototype of a new Skaven creature. It is a mechanically modified Rat Ogre, with chunks of warpstone embedded in parts of its body to provide it with a resistance to magic and the ability to heal itself. However, it is even more stupid than normal Rat Ogres, and frequently needs repairing. It needs no food and instead draws upon the raw power of the warpstone within it to live. This source of energy is somewhat slow and erratic though, and the prototype is still unreliable. Once (if?) Quirrik manages to solve these teething problems, the Rat Golem will become one of the most powerful creatures in Skaven armies, only surpassed by the dreaded Vermin Lords, daemons of the Horned Rat (or so Quirrik claims… )!
Even though one could probably scratchbuild something cool for the Rat Golem, I immediately had to think of the mechanic Rat Ogre from the Mordheim miniature range. It’s even a Clan Skryre invention, thus really fitting the bill.
I will most likely (you never know though) focus on the other two big expansions first. But as soon as I got my hands on this fiendish machine I couldn’t wait and had to paint it.
The Rat Golem.
The creation of Quirrik – Clan Skyre Warlock.
Feelin’ at home at the Dungeons of the Old World …
… just like on the streets of Mordheim.