More Tomb Scorpions

Expanding the army with another tomb scorpion:

 

Several years ago, I picked up two metal tomb scorpions on eBay. I've been holding on to them with the intention of building them... someday. Now that the Tomb Kings of Khemri are a playable army once again, that day is today!

These models are really simple to build and pain, but (because they are metal) it requires some work to make the miniatures stable. The legs need to be pinned into the body. The claws can probably get away without pins, but I pin them anyway. I also drill pins into the tip of each foot so they can plug into the base and attach more securely.

I also magnetize the tails of my scorpions so they can be removed for transportation. I use a 1/8-inch magnet for the connection, and add a pin alongside the magnet to keep the part from spinning. I'm not a fan of the original stingers on the tails– That ugly skull face with a spike sticking out of its mouth. I replaced it with a new stinger, sculpted around the hooked point from the yoke of an old Warhammer 5th Edition plastic skeleton chariot. 

 

 

The back of the tomb scorpion is a sort of sarcophagus, housing mummified remains and canopic jars. I resculpted some of the detail to make each of the scorpion's occupants look unique.

 

 

The base was modeled with ruined obelisks and skulls from my Skull Forge Scenics range: 

 

 

Posing and pinning the feet on the scenic base probably took the most time.

 

 

I paint the scorpions with the same bone-color as the rest of the army, and darken the tips of the stinger and claws with glazed layers of Agrax Earthshade and Nuln Oil.

 

 

I think my favorite detail of the model is that the "face" of the tomb scorpion is a giant scarab beetle clinging to the carapace. I paint it black with highlights of The Fang grey and off white to accentuate the skull imagery on the scarab's shell.

 

 

And here's a look at the two side-by-side so you can see the difference in the mummified remains:

These scorpions have already seen action in a couple games, and I'm still trying to work out how best to use them. Holding one in reserve and using the liche priest's "From Beneath the Sands" ability to summon it onto the battlefield leaves it vulnerable to a round of shooting before it can charge. Deploying it normally, and using the scorpion's Vanguard rule for an extra move at the start of the game helps get it across the field faster, but it still has to weather even more shooting before reaching its target. I think in my next game, I'll try using the Ambushers rule normally, rather than summoning them from beneath the sand– That will allow the scorpions to enter from the table edge behind the enemy, forcing them to turn if they want to address them and at the very least, disrupting the enemy battle line.

'Til next time!