Reactions to the Nurgle WoC at Blood in the Sun
People really seemed to like it. Amusingly, being in Chicagoland, there was some jokes from Bears fans and such, but they even admitted it turned out quite nicely. People were also pleased with how I avoided the ever constant "dark and drab" problem that can plague (no pun intended) Nurgle armies, which normally leaves less 'pop' to catch the eye. The green and yellow seemed to be just right to catch the eye. That's the nice thing about armor, it can be painted green like that.
The display board was also very well received. I had a few people, such as The Bear, ask how I achieved the texture. I used a waterbased spray (to not eat foam) that is used for housing work that can be adjusted for a fine or coarse texture. It REALLY sped things up! Then put plenty of time into actually painting it, matching my basing. Throw in patches of static grass and 'ard coat for a nice swampy look. A nice final touch, courtesy of a local engraving company, made a very nice etched name card that also matched the feel of the basing!
So overall, people liked the Nurgle army. I got a lot of compliments, and it was pretty cool when paint judges were eyeing it over and talking a lot about it and taking their time. It catches the eye, and several people agreed it is the best stuff I've done yet. So I will happily play these guys for quite some time, definitely well through Waaaghpaca 2013 and probably even Adepticon. Domus even tweeted "I didn't get to sit and look at details but it caught me eye- then I saw it was yours. Good job! Go Packers WoC!". Hearing such a comment from a skilled painted like him, well... that really left me feeling pretty good about the appearance. Overall people's reactions are leaving me VERY confident. I also got a 42 out of 50 on their paint scoring system
which can be seen here.
So I will go back and probably add a few extra details, perhaps runes on the shields in light/moderate quantity (one per shield, perhaps two on the shields of the command)... so I don't over do it. A few won't have a rune too.
The two scores that I take the most pride in, when I do well, are sportsmanship and appearance. If I get high scores in either (let alone both) I can walk away proud.
Oh, for W/L/D record at BiTS I went 2/2/1. So I'm content for their first tournament outing, as it isn't a losing record, especially since it seems like a lot of peopel think Nurgle isn't the strongest mark (let alone an all Nurgle army)... though I believe I showed it can compete! Learned a bit too, so I should do better next time.
Primary Goals for the next month or so.
Alright, here are the next four goals!
1. 10 Nurgle Marauders as proof of concept. Basically get 10 of these guys up and running to see how they turn out. I want 10 of these guys ready to go ASAP to see how they look before I drop more money on them.
I also want to try to make a few scythes out of plasticard to see if they turn out OK (easier than bits hunting on e-bay).
It will also help me get an idea of if I can get a unit done in time for Invasion Kenosha or not, as I am debating between a large unit of them or a moderate sized unit of warriors. Making movement trays is easy, so I'm not worried about that aspect.
If I find I can't get them done in time, but I like them, I will still build a unit so I have them as an option for the Screw City GT.
2. Nurgle Chaos Dragon
I still need to track down a rider for the dragon, and I'm aiming for a plastic one as it'd be easier to adjust if needed.
Splitting the neck seems easy enough, though I still need to greenstuff it a bit. Being Nurgle, this will actually make it easier as I can make it look diseased, ragged, etc. I can also add boils, etc to add detail to make it look interesting.
I'm also liking the DE dragon as the base a lot, for countless reasons. Wondering if it'd be legal to use a 50x50 base, despite the chariot base that came with it, to make it less vulnerable to flanking. Not a huge concern yet.
I suspect I will be painting this thing in sections, and gluing for final assembly... to make it easier to paint.
I am enjoying this little project, as I've never had a dragon before so it should be fun. I really, really, really, want to field one for a change and the 3k Screw City GT should provide a nice opportunity to field it without it being too much of my army, and without being a total jerk for fielding it. Plus being Nurgle makes mass BS shooting at it much less of a threat.
The only thing I need to decide on, and this will slow me down, is the color scheme. Would green and yellow work for a Chaos Dragon (Nurgle, mind you) or should I work with different colors? Green would probably be the primary color, for the skin, etc. Wings and some other things would be yellow. I'd probably use offwhites as a third color where needed, to help sell the sickly Nurgle feel.
Thankfully, I can put more time into this as I want it ready for the Screw City GT which is a few months out yet. So by starting assembly now, I can put a lot of time into painting it, so it gets the work such an eye catching model deserves, as let's face it... dragons will draw the eye in any army. So it deserves extra detailed work!
3. Watch tower
This is a fairly simple and easy project that I can work on to break things up. Low priority, so I can take my time on it. I had fun building my "Inn" (still need to do the signs for it), so working on another building would be nice... and add to my terrain collection.
4. Nurgle chosen
I will admit, I am hiring out the conversion work (partially due to time, and my not having the tools to convert metal models as this will need). I am contracting out
Ursa's Den to do the conversion work, but only the conversion work. I am getting the old Pestigors converted to wield halberds, as I like the idea of using them for Nurgle Chosen. I am
not a fan of the current chosen sculpts, especially since they are armed with what seem like great weapons. If they had a plastic kit in that style, with weapon options, I'd probably consider them... but it's just not worth it the way they are. Plus, I think Pestigors will REALLY help sell the Nurgle feel of it, and also add that sense of mutation, etc that Chosen should convey.
Not entirely sure on my list for Screw City, but the Chosen are something that is being considered for the moment, as I think they add some nice fighting options. Marauders would add numbers (that die easily), chosen would add a nice solid block that could put out some pain, albeit with less numbers. The chosen, however, would being swinging early, and have durability... plus that ever nice Eye of the Gods.
Long Term Aims
Looking at building up a collection of classic Lizardmen (roughly 5th ed era). I've always liked Lizards, and while I do like the current range, I first saw them as the classic line in the old black and yellow "How to paint wargames armies" book. That left an impression on me and I like that old style, plus there is something I like about having Lizards (the oldest race in Warhammer) being all old models. There is just something I honestly like about that. Plus being the history geek I am (I have a damned degree in it afterall), the Aztec/Mayan feel is a bit stronger.
So I am slowly collecting classic models to use. I current have the Kermit Slann, 22 (35 soon) old Saurus warriors, and the old metal Stegadon. Slowly getting more. I'll probably pick up the few old Temple Guard models the Last Square has soon.
However, while these are older models, I am applying the painting techniques we see these days... which should hopefully complement them well. I will also being using some nicer bases (granted, it bumps cost up)
as seen here. Hopefully painting those up, and adding a bit of static grass should make it very nice looking.
I will probably use "bow skinks" as blow pipe skinks.
From what I can gather, "chameleon skinks" have either not had models prior to the 6th ed Lizardmen book. Please correct me if I am wrong! I am tempted to do conversions (with current cham. skinks in finecast) where they may be hidden in a steam or something. Alternately, I could just have them be normal. If normal, I may have them among ruins or vegetation and... try to make it look like they're blending in somehow. That will be tricky.
The ultimate goal of such an army? I want this army to be my showpiece army. I'm feeling VERY confident following how well received my Nurgle WoC was.
