Every Pirate Crew Needs a Ship - The Squat Jetskull

When I originally put my squat pirates together, I knew that they would need something to ride around in. My initial thought was to buy a second-hand Action Force Roboskull and adapt it, but it turns out that vintage toys are collectible and expensive, so I would need to do something else. I ran with the flying skull theme though, and put together what I've been calling the Jetskull.

Squat pirates prep the Jetskull in the landing bay of their mothership.

The Jetskull was created by combining a Games Workshop servo-skull tape measure with a Star Wars Action Fleet pod racer (I think it's Sebulba's).

I removed the inner workings of the tape measure and the central pod racer section.

Carving off the Imperial eagle from the side of the skull was a bit of a faff!

I mounted a heavy bolter in the jaw in place of the tape. The right eye-socket got a searchlight lens added later.

Some cross-bracing with plastic rod to improve stability.

I added a rear access hatch so the crew had an obvious way in and out.

The finished build sat unpainted for about 3 years, but I painted it the other week as there was a perfect gaming opportunity at Lead & Steel - an Oldhammer day in Sheffield. I wanted to play in Far Corfe - a multi-gang participation game using Necromunda rules. As the game required a few vehicles, I decided to dust off the Jetskull and get it painted so I could use my squat pirates.

I painted the skull section with a piece of foam to give some nice shading.

Some big, bright lenses. There's probably a squat sat behind each one! I love this front profile - looks just like a skull and crossbones.

The colour scheme is the same as I used for the squat pirate walker I previously painted.

That all-important access hatch.

I think the resulting vehicle is ludicrously stupid. But also exactly the sort of thing that space dwarfs with hooks, peg legs and pirate hats would be riding around in!

As for Lead & Steel, this was a brand-new event, very ably organised by Mat Lindsay of Indelible Ink Studios, hosted by The Outpost. There was a great selection of games on show (Warhammer, 40k, Blood Bowl, Chainsaw Warrior), a bunch of great people attending and a special guest in the form of Gary Morley with a selection of his sculpts old and new.

The Far Corfe game was suitably fun and chaotic, featuring exploding table-sauce containers, alien life-forms and a despotic town mayor. Here are some pics of the board and game (most of the great terrain was created by Mat):

Really pleased to roll some dice and also to have painted up something nice and new to use. I'm sure one day I'll find the need to build and paint a squat mothership though!