Bertalan Csik, a 36-year-old from Eastbourne, UK, has shown his love for Vermintide 2 in the most permanent way possible – an enormous back tattoo. The ink depicts witch hunter Victor Saltzpyre taking on a Skaven Ogre.
One of the playable characters in Vermintide 2, Saltzpyre is dedicated to fighting Chaos, but his methods and personality don’t make him many friends. His greatest enemy seems to be those crafty ratfolk, the Skaven. It’s no wonder Saltzpyre is seen going toe-to-toe with one of the Horned Rat’s disciples in Csik’s tattoo.
“Around 2018 I had this idea that a Vermintide tattoo would be awesome”, Csik tells Wargamer. Csik sent tattoo artist Róbart Borbás his original ideas, and work on the behemoth blackwork began in 2019. Borbás is a tattoo artist and illustrator who also goes by the name Grindesign, and he owns the private tattoo studio Rooklet Ink in Budapest, Hungary.
Csik tells Wargamer Borbás began working on the tattoo in September – September 2019, that is. “We couldn’t meet for the next three years, as Covid had kicked in”, Csik says. Work on the piece resumed in September 2022. So far, Csik says the tattoo has taken 24 hours of work over four sessions – and it’s almost finished.
“My love for Warhammer Fantasy (or just fantasy overall) goes way back”, Csik tells Wargamer. “It started with a Christmas present given by my mum just before the millennium – a Playstation game called Warhammer: Shadow of the Horned Rat.” “Needless to say, it was love at first sight”, he adds.
Despite an early love for Warhammer Fantasy videogames, Csik says he’s never really touched the tabletop version, Age of Sigmar. However, he is a fan of the Felix and Gotrek series from Warhammer’s Black Library.
While it won’t teach you to tattoo, our guide to painting miniatures can help you create some colourful and crafty Skaven of your own. We also have a guide to Age of Sigmar’s armies for anyone looking to spend more time in the world of Warhammer Fantasy.