The Gaffer found a handful of old Games Workshop Ratlings in his bitz box and shared them with me, as I’m building an Imperial Guard army.

Much of the paint had been stripped off, but there were a few patches where the paint had stubbornly refused to fall away. A bit of nail polish remover, some paper towels, and a small metal brush solved that issue.

One of my weaknesses as a painter is that I am attracted to bright colors. Oh, I love the armies that have been painted with a muted, earthy paint scheme–they look so much more realistic. And I also admire the slightly disturbing color palette of Games Workshop artist John Blanche.

But I’m a pitiful painting, and until I have enough troops painted to play the battles I want to fight, I’m going to stick to fast and furious–and paint by the numbers.

Still, I occasionally make a nod to the idea of artistry. My Ratlings were a very subtle nod.

I haven’t decided which stereotype I will follow with my dimunative snipers. Will they follow the path of Sgt. Bilko and be incorrigible thieves? Or are they simple yeoman, gentle farmers who are stalwart when faced with the horrors of Mount Doom?

The fun thing about a narrative campaign is that these questions often answer themselves. There’s an organic quality to The Corvus Cluster, and I never know where it’s going to take me.

In either case, when I began thinking about a paint scheme, I concluded that a sniper wants to blend in with his surroundings. And I concluded that abhumans tend to be kept at arm’s length by the high brass, and thus seldom draw the attention of spit-and-polish officers.

So, my Ratlings tend toward non-regulation body wear—and a largely muted, earthy color scheme. And that’s what they got. I can’t say it’s “realistic.” But it’s a workable job.

Now it’s just a matter of finding the right mission for them on the game table.