A Rat By Any Other Name...Part IV

In 1994 Dean Edwards, veteran of Grenadier, Games Workshop, Marauder Miniatures and Fantasy Forge , started Harlequin Miniatures with his brother Vaughan. Much like Heartbreaker, Harlequin hoped to grab a piece of the GW fantasy wargame pie, and at times held the licenses for some prestigious IPs, including Doctor Who and Lord of the Rings. 

Harlequin also attracted its fair share of talents, including Tony Ackland, Aidan Anderson, Lisa Palin, Nick Collier, Phil Solom and, again, Kev Adams (who I'm storting to be convince is the most prolific fantasy miniature sculptor about, the Terry Pratchett of 28mm goblins).

But what makes Heartbreaker stand out most of all  is that it is, to my knowledge, the only company to offer a comprehensive line of Skaven proxies, covering every extant troop type in  a range that for a third party company is still quite impressive today.

Harlequins Ver'Men line is contemporary of the Colin Dixon era of Skaven sculpts, and carry a similar aesthetic, especially compared to the Marauder Stormvermin, though the sculpts are perhaps a bit cruder overall. Though very hit and miss for my tastes (with a bit more misses than hits), there is undoubtedly some charming elements. In particular, the not-Warpfire Thrower "Ver'Burna Teams" with their welding-torch helmets and melted candles atop. 

Harlequin was also unique in offering full box units in the same style as Warhammer. Looking at even the iconography on the flags, its hard to believe they weren't a target of post-Ansell GW's penchant for litigiousness. But the 90s were a simpler time.

Ver`Men Slave Champion (FA5036) and Slave Command (FA5035)

Fa0533 Ver'Men Slave Fighters 1

Fa0534 Ver'Men Slave Fighters 2

Harlequin provided an impressive array of infantry options, overcoming the disadvantages of most non-Citadel Ratmen lines where one was expected to use similar sculpts multiple times, giving units an artificial look. This is especially important in a horde army, and one of the reasons the vast output of Jes Goodwin for the C47/C22 series from 86 to 89 was so impressive.

Harlequin also had a decent selection of "not-Eshin"...

...and several "Not Moulder" units

Harlequin's "Not-Pestilens" feature some distinctly non-European touches,
​I'm tempted to say Etruscan or Scythian in inspiration...

Ver'Men Priests (FA0529, FA0530, FA0531)

​FA0524 Ver'Monk Command & FA0525 Ver'Monk Champion

HM1146 Ver'Man Plague Shaman

...an aesthetic also carried over to their "Not-Skryre". 
​Harlequin's "Ver'Bombers" carry a decidedly Middle-Eastern vibe...

Ver'Bombers (FA0519, FA0520, FA0521)

Next comes something that remains a bit of a mystery to me. Harlequin published its own set of Fantasy Wargame rules, Raven, of which I've not gotten a hold of as yet. Perhaps the background in this game explains the "Zahranian" troops, or maybe this was merely an extension of the Middle-Eastern theme a number of the Ver'Men troops embraced. However, the sculptor of these troops is obviously someone quite different than the person(s) who worked on the rest of the Ver'Men, as is their scale, being closer to true 25mm than GW's Heroic 28mm. Delightfully, these troops were given names much like the Goodwin Skaven...

Harlequin miniatures was acquired by Icon in 2000, which quickly turned into Black Tree Designs, who have kept the entire Ver'Men range in production to this day. Despite that I was hard pressed to find online any examples of painted Ver'Men armies. If anyone knows of such a thing, please point me the way.