hello i am a basically new player - used to play about ten years ago but i can see it has changed much since i last played. have got myself a little lizards force but was a little sad to find that my 100 or so skins from when i used to play have become redundant as thre is no longer any short bows in their profile.. how long has this been in effect for and is it expected to change in 8th?
Skinks with bows have been removed from the Lizardmen armies for a couple of Army books (I think). There currently is no official way to use them in 8th edition. However, in friendly games, you should be ok if you want to use them (as long as your opponent doesn't mind). You can also use them as 'counts as' blow pipes.
Yep, Arli is correct. The last time skinks were able to use short bows was 5th edition (after re-checking 6 & 7th edition books..). However there have been some pretty good conversions with them done by some forum members here and other sites. Also... it's "possible" that GW may put shortbows back into the hands of skinks in the future (no rumors or hints.. just speculating on my part). But maybe by then, you'd want newer models anyways.