STEVE FULLER - US STUDIO PHOTOGRAPHER

Converting. Rangers are great, first of all, because their weapons are... well... great! Furthermore, Dwarf Rangers are Scouts, so they can hide around corners and ambush the unwary. What better way to take guys out than from far away with a well-shot crossbow quarrel? If I don't have to send my stunty warriors into the thick of things, I won't. If they can whittle an enemy unit down from 20" away, more power to 'em! Of course, adding the shield on his back was a nice way to add some character to the model (he carries all his belongings with him, wandering the countryside), and it beefs up his armour save by 1 against missile attacks. I figure that if my Rangers are peppering the enemy from afar, the enemy will probably want to return the favour. With something heavy and far-reaching, no doubt. Of course, the beer tankard is especially useful, because after a long day of filling those treacherous High Elves full of crossbow quarrels, it's time for a pint o' Bugman's Best!

Painting. For painting my Ranger, I thought about how Dwarfs really were in essence miners. They LOVE metal! I wanted to make sure I had a lot of different metals on my model. I used Chainmail and Mithril Silver for my silver parts, Burnished Gold with a light Chestnut Ink/Brown Ink mix for a wash, and some Burnished Gold and Mithril Silver mixed for a highlight to complete my gold tones. Then, I decided to give the shield and great weapon Dwarf Bronze with a light highlight of Burnished Gold and Mithril Silver mix as an accent colour. What better bright colour to go with all these warm metal tones than Blood Red with a Scab Red base and a Blazing Orange highlight? These reds kept the overall look of the colours very warm, and they offset the metals rather nicely, too. Besides, Dwarfs have that red-hot temper and disposition, right?

KEN KENNEDY - GLOBAL WEB TEAM

Converting. This was the first Ranger that I modelled, and when I started, I was psyched on the whole throwing axe idea. Originally, I was going to do a 100mm x 20mm stand of just axes flying through the air. Whenever the Rangers threw their axes, I would place this in front of the first rank to remind me, and to look cool. As it is, I just glued a hand axe into the palm of the open arm piece (both from the Thunderer sprue). Being so light, the axe did not need pinning. I made the great axe on this Rangers back from the Thunderers' standard pole and an axe head from the old Dwarf Warriors sprue. If you don't have piles of these sprues laying around, any of the bits off of the new Dwarf Warrior sprue will suffice.

Painting. One of the things that really excited me about the changes to the Dwarf background was the fact that Dwarfs in units are still individuals and often dress differently with some unifying theme. This background is great, as it means I don't have to paint my entire army one colour! This particular Ranger is dressed in Terracotta, a colour I've never used before. I did the highlights on his trim with a 3:1 Terracotta/Skull White blend, and then finally a 2:1 Terracotta/Skull White mix. I painted his beard light brown following the instructions in Warhammer Armies: Dwarfs — Bleached Bone, Flesh Wash, and then highlighted with Bleached Bone.

ERIC SARLIN - US WHITE DWARF EDITOR

Converting. In my mind, Rangers are accustomed to travelling away from the hold for long periods of time. As such, they must carry a lot of gear with them. To achieve this "kitted-out" look for my Rangers, I scoured my bits box for appropriate tools, bags, and other parts appropriate for a bunch of Dwarfs who have been camping out and sleeping rough for months. The Mordheim Accessory sprue and sprues from the old and new Dwarf plastic regiment sets were very helpful. I also figured that Rangers wouldn't have as much time to groom their beards and hair, so I sculpted some extra fuzz on my Ranger.

Painting. As I painted my Dwarf, I chose greens and neutral browns appropriate for Rangers. For the green parts, I started with a Dark Angels Green basecoat and then layered on Dark Angels Green + Snot Green, Snot Green on its own, and then Snot Green + Bleached Bone. For the brown leather parts, I painted a Scorched Brown basecoat, made exaggerated highlights with Bestial Brown, and then applied an undiluted wash of Brown Ink. The result looks like worn, polished leather.

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