diff --git a/scripts/build-appveyor.bat b/scripts/build-appveyor.bat
index 11981c5c3..73929fa5e 100644
--- a/scripts/build-appveyor.bat
+++ b/scripts/build-appveyor.bat
@@ -28,6 +28,10 @@ ECHO ========
 SET PATH=C:\Python27;%PATH%
 SET PATH=C:\Program Files\7-Zip;%PATH%
 
+::update submodule variant
+git submodule update --init deps/mapbox/variant
+IF %ERRORLEVEL% NEQ 0 GOTO ERROR
+
 ::cloning mapnik-gyp
 if EXIST mapnik-gyp ECHO mapnik-gyp already cloned && GOTO MAPNIK_GYP_ALREADY_HERE
 CALL git clone https://github.com/mapnik/mapnik-gyp.git