No you can't, you must use the ballistic skill of the regular skink crew. In the Lizardmen army book (p. 45) it states "Instead of firing another missile weapon in the Shooting phase, one of the Skink Crew may fire the giant bow." The Skink chief is a character with a monster mount, but it is not considered to be Skink Crew.
That's lame. I was thinking of using an army build that just sat back and shot ballistas without the aid of a slaan, then charge in for impact hits when the enemy got too close.
That would have been a pretty cool build. As it stands, there isn't much point in mounting a skink chief on a stegadon (in my opinion)
In the army list entry it says he replaces one of the crew. One could interpret this as "he is the fifth crew member he replaced".
Sadly this is one of the lingering questions That I believe GW never officially answered...? I think it's the sticked FAQ in the forum somewhere.
He replaces a skink crew, but that doesn't make him skink crew. Unfortunately, there is no reference to him actually being skink crew or being able to fire the giant blowpipe. In this scenario we need evidence of him being allowed to do so, as opposed to the opponent needing evidence to prove he can't. Maybe others play it differently, but I've never seen it being allowed. I think you are right. The closest GW ruling comes from our 7th edition army book FAQ ...
All my plans for naught! I was planning on making an army to fight the WoC. The main force of saurus and stegs (ridden by chiefs) would sit back and wait for my opponent while the faster lighter troops would harass and chip away at him and force him into situations to my advantage. I guess it can still work but the stegs won't be able to shoot near as well as they could with the chief's BS.
Remember, that FAQ entry is from our 7th edition book. However, although not conclusive evidence, it does point strongly towards it not being allowed. Back to the drawing plaque. Any backup ideas?
How about an almost naked skink chief, with just a Charmed Shield? does it gives protection from the first cannonball, or it doesn't apply to steggy?
I think I will use 4 stegs instead of 2 stegs with chiefs. I will have less chance of hitting but I will have more chances to hit.
Just make sure that if you come up against cannons, that you don't try to sit back and shoot with the Stegs... you will lose.
Yep cannons will probably only take out one if you rush them first turn. Best to get into close combat as soon as possible.