Doomwheel... Prototype?

ManicMan

ManicMan

Member
Okay.. the Prototype of the Screaming Bell (Original one) was a scratch build model by Andy Chambers and was shown in and issue of White Dwarf.. I forget which one.. it was a fairly basic but good design. But.. Was there any known images of a Prototype Doomwheel? Like the final Screaming bell, the Doomwheel was sculpted Norman Swales. Apart from some drawings he did with Hinchliffe, I know very little about him and there doesn't seam to be alot as people are more focused on who sculpts the character Minis then machines and terrain.

The reason I'm asking is pretty simple. I got a doomwheel from my youth which was well painted (well, good paint job) by a friend back in my youth as my painting skill weren't great and for something which was kinda pricey, at the time it was better to get someone which more ability to do it ^_^; while I would love to get a second one to paint up I have lost out on getting the odd one and they are pretty pricey at times.. the modern doomwheel.. just looks crap to me.. too much based on modern stylings with the techno skaven.. So I decided I might have a bit of fun kit bashing one. Instead of trying to just copy the original, I was wondering if I could find some early stuff, like a Prototype or early sketch ideas to give some inspiration.. but I'm turning up empty.. alot of that stuff doesn't seam to float around, with the most likely and detailed information on Prototypes again, being the miniatures themselves..

So.. wondering if anyone has any ideas?
 
ManicMan

ManicMan

Member
What I need to think about are what are the defining features of it.. though it's kinda going a bit off topic.. I think I'll keep SOME information here for this..

To work out it's defining features, lets look at what the rule book says about it:

The Doomwheel was designed by the mad Genius Ikit Claw, Chief Warlock of Clan Skryre. The Chief Warlock was obsessed with creating the ultimate killing machine, determined one day to outdo his predecessors who enjoyed the easy successes of warpfire throwers, Jezzails, Screaming Bells and the rest. By harnessing the power of raw warpstone to create energy discharges Ikit Claw has created a terrifying engine of destruction that rolls forward surrounded by a crackling halo of purple warp-lightning. Anything foolish enough to hold its ground before this infernal machine is blasted apart by war-lightning or crushed under the Doom Wheel itself.

The Doomwheel has a single Warlock Engineer as crew: its motive power is supplied by hordes of giant rats in two great treadmills. The turning of the treadmills in turn operates a warpstone generator which creates the lightning. Though it can be said that the warpstone reactor is somewhat unstable and the speed generated by the rats is rather erratic a series of tests using slave-units as targets has yielded impressive results. Now the Clan Skryre Warlock Engineers are building this new wonder weapon as fast as possible
Click to expand...

Ah.. now that's interesting.. I also get the feeling I never used to read some of the fluff as much as I might have done.. I always picture warp-lighting as Green, the same as the Warpstone, not purple.. interesting.. also interesting that Screaming bells are said to be older while both were 4th inventions.. (I don't remember them bringing out one a bit earlier, atleast with WD rules or so..)

anyway.. Key points:
* Shots Warp-Lightning. I'll add to this that the rules say 3 bolts but doesn't say anything for location of these shooters. It will just shot within 360 degree arc.
* Powered by raw warpstone.
* two great treadmills powered by giant Rats
* Connected to Warpstone generator in order to create the lightning.
* one Warlock Engineer. Added to this, Rules allow him to be in hand to hand combat with any thing in base contact
* It's called the 'DoomWheel'.. so needs atleast one BIG nasty wheel

I'll point out some interesting other bits.. the Doomwheel model has the two great tread mills be inside the wheels, This is a simple method for linking them but not required.. though makes sense if you look at things like the Medieval treadwheel cranes, which had people who walked inside to create the movement. So really, I think they might have gotten the idea of the two wheels from the old Treadwheel cranes which date back to atleast middle period Roman time.. looks like surviving drawings date from late in the first century AD.. Though a question comes that do they really mean Treadwheel, when they say Treadmill (as the terms can be.. kinda mistakenly but acceptability interchangeable) OR more accurately, in that a treadmill came BEFORE a treadwheel (as the treadwheel was an advancement on the idea) so they don't mean the Wheel.

Looking into bits (yay, research!) early Treadmills which pre-date the Treadwheel were in fact, them things where you put a post/ vertical axis, and have someone or animal push it around as you walk around in circles. where the treadwheel was vertical so instead of pushing around in a circle, you 'climbed' as you rotated the wheel around.. It does state 2 of them, so I think it should have two, regardless.. I'm not sure when the treadmills which were a belt around two wheels (like tanktreads) first came out though.. that would be a third option.. and in the Warhammer world, I think they are already around.. but maybe a bit too advanced.. (I might also mention a treadmill design which is kinda half way between mill and wheel in that it's kinda at a 45 degree angle and the circle track is walked around.
 
ManicMan

ManicMan

Member
yeah.. mostly the same as the normal one but with an extra place for a jezzail team and less lighting protectors but not bad.
 
Padre

Padre

Member
I know it is not what you are asking, but I scratch-built one, using the insides of a VHS tape cassette. Much bigger, but no better on the field of battle, other than I got to say I made it!

Doomwheel7.jpg


Doomwheel5.jpg


It is a 'giant version' compared to the official versions, but If you want to see the 'how to' picture, see my post on Lead Adventure - https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=120442.msg1509652#msg1509652
 
symphonicpoet

symphonicpoet

Moderator
^^Yes! I love it! You're going to make me like Skaven now darn it, aren't you?

^^^^Hey Padre! I was going to suggest ManicMan look through some of your scratchbuilt stuff on the blog. A couple of your bombards even look like they might make a nice starting point for a doomwheel. Great use of a VHS cassette.
 
symphonicpoet

symphonicpoet

Moderator
^Playful answer? Be a were-cat. Though I suppose they love Skaven. As meals, or maybe entertainment.

Serious answer? By being a persnickety grumpus who is slow to accept new things. I hated beakies the first time I saw them. Hated orcs and eldar for a long long time. Still haven't quite warmed to RT era chaos, though some folks here have made a heck of an effort. I start out hating more or less everything new. (And I was in the hobby before beakies, so there's a lot that's new.) It's a pattern, really. But then a switch flips and I suddenly love it. Or at least it sometimes works that way. I think it just takes me a while to accept new artistic styles, truth be told. (And I do want things to fit together, at least scale-wise.) It's not really unique to miniatures. With music I put some real effort into trying to find the beauty in new styles. (And it still doesn't quite always work.) With miniatures? It's a hobby. Either they win me over or they don't. I figure it's not really a reflection of the miniatures so much as it is of me. Skaven can be cute. The contraptions are higher on the goofy than I'm immediately comfortable with, but you guys are making this grumpus less grumpy. I'll get there. ;)
 
ManicMan

ManicMan

Member
at 4th, Skaven tech was still possible at early medieval tech level, which is fine and good. these days, (probebly since.. 6th but I don't pay attention that far) it's more 1800s level which.. is just completely wrong
 
EricF

EricF

Administrator
symphonicpoet said:
But then a switch flips and I suddenly love it.
Click to expand...
We've a thread for that! :)

I must admit all this talk of scratch building doom wheels it nudging at me to go and get some skaven (beyond the handful I have). I'm looking forward to seeing more creations. I do like the one Padre did, nice alternate look. I guess you could do a BB-8 (droid from those films) style one with a spherical cage of rats and the control platform "floating" on top. that could be quite interesting.
 
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