One of the most popular unit choices for a Ratkin army list is the Mutant Rat Fiend. He's big. He's tough. He has a healing aura that helps verminous units.
The model is really awesome, too. He's just an enormous titan of a rat, and he looks kind of like Charles Entertainment Cheese was exposed to the T-virus, and then escaped from Umbrella Labs and started eating livestock. Every Ratkin player seems to include at least one Mutant Rat Friend in their army, and I can see why. Unfortunately, though, such an epic model comes with a hefty price tag of $65.00 (US).
Can I afford to buy a single $65 figure? Technically, yes... but, part of my hobby journey is adhering to a very strict budget. So far, I have managed to keep all but one of my Kings of War purchases limited to special hobby funds raised through selling and trading of old gaming books, miniatures, and collectible memorabilia. With the exception of my mousefolk vermin swarms, which I bought with money from my actual bank account, I've kept this project very compartmentalized. I'd like to keep it that way, if for no other reason than it is part of the challenge to me.
So, anyway, that's how the dollar store plastic rat toy became my Mutant Rat Friend.
Not really much to say, here. He was one dollar. He is cheap plastic. I used gap filler putty to fill in his seams. I made him a little cape out of blue shop towel soaked in school glue. Then I painted him and based him. He turned out better than I could have hoped for. One player commented that he is “Too cute to shoot...”
There have also been some pretty funny comparisons between my rat friend and “Scabby” the Union picket balloon animal so commonly seen wherever organized labor is on strike, especially because the tiny friends surrounding him on his base could just as easily be holding signs instead of spears. What would the little rats have on their protest signs? That's a great question. Probably crossed out Games Workshop logos, since an awesome homemade model like this would never be allowed in any GW sanctioned tournament.
At the same time I was working on my Mutant Rat Friend, I had a bizarre inspiration to build a war machine out of a mouse trap. So I did. Conveniently, the frontage of a Victor brand mouse trap is 50mm, which is exactly the unit footprint for a catapult. Mouse traps are very cheap. It was three dollars for a pack of four. I love how this little Ratapult turned out. It is very classically cartoonish. I don't have room for artillery in my current army list, but in the future I am sure to use it.
Next project is the Tunnel Runner wheels. My army definitely needs something that can hit hard and fast, and a unit of three rodent wheels is exactly that. The Mantic miniatures have a very sci-fi or steampunk look to them, and don't really match with the big wooden doomwheel from classic GW. My solution for this was to get Popsicle sticks, trim them to fit, and put them over the metal textured wheels of the Mantic Tunnel Runners. It looks great, already, and I haven't even primed them yet.
Once the wheels are done, all that's left to paint is my Broodmother. I'm so close to being done with my Rat army. All I need to do is find a weekend to finish it up. The month of May was a busy one for me.
First, I volunteered as event staff for a Star Wars LARP/Airsoft event. I refereed all day, and admired the cool costumes that everyone had made. It looked like everyone had a great time, and I really didn't have to deal with any sportsmanship problems or anything, so it was a pretty easy weekend.
Then, I helped my kid shop for a new car. My kid reviewed the carfax reports on numerous vehicles, talked to the salesman, did a test drive, negotiated price, got approved for a loan, and purchased the vehicle, while I sat in the waiting room. So, by help, I mean I gave the kid a ride to the dealership? It sounds cliché, but they really do grow up fast. So I get the Ranger back, and now the kid has the nicest newest car in the driveway. I'm very proud of them.
My wife and I attended an airsoft swapmeet the following weekend. I sold some old gear, and some patches from my patch collection. I walked away with over a hundred dollars of hobby money to feed my tabletop gaming projects. I was very good, and didn't bring anything new home with me. Not even those Soviet-era Polish (gen 1) Tank crew night vision goggles. I mean, they are really neat, but when would I ever use them? And besides, the last thing I need is a brain tumor from whatever the heck is sealed inside the power pack on the back of that helmet.
The weekend after that, I attended a LARP event with my kid and their boyfriend. I played an NPC mercenary named Larry. I died.
Then, on the following Sunday, my wife and I went to a wargaming and board gaming swapmeet in New Berlin. We spent the hobby money we had earned from the airsoft swapmeet on some new miniatures, and a board game called “Mice and Mystics”, which we are excited to try. My wife picked up a shoebox full of AoS Beastmen miniatures for cheap. Further investigation at home revealed that it was, in fact, an entire army worth of miniatures. We plugged the units into the Mantic army builder app, and were pleasantly surprised to discover that my wife now has almost 2000 pts of “The Herd” for Kings of War. For the most part, they are even painted, already, so they just need to be re-based.
The most important thing that I got from that swapmeet, though, was the opportunity to network with other wargamers. I made friends with a fellow KoW player who is local to me. I also got information on two other local KoW players who frequent the “Battle Brothers” game shop, and who are always looking for someone new to play with. The more players I can find, the better!
In the days of social media, chat groups, and forums, it is easy to take for granted that sometimes the best way to make friends is to go out and meet them at a hobby shop, convention, or swapmeet. It was how we did it in the old days, and it still works today. The difference is that instead of exchanging phone numbers, you're more likely to add each other on FB or messenger, or something.
Hobby communities are wonderful, because no matter how shy or introverted a person may be, they can generally summon the courage to open up and socialize with someone who shares their interests. You might not know anything else about the person, but you do already know something that they would like to talk about. Sometimes that spark is all it takes to start a lifelong friendship.
Speaking of making friends, I have signed up for my first Kings of War tournament! It is in September. That gives me the whole summer to get the hang of my Rat army, and to feel familiar and comfortable with the rules. I learn more every game, regardless of if I win or lose. I don't expect to be particularly competitive, as I am still new to the game, but I figure that by September, I should at least be competent enough to give my opponents good, fun games.
Now to finish up those 3 tunnel runners and the Brood Mother so I can officially call this Army complete!
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