Nagash has been one of my favorite characters in the Warhammer Fantasy world. I guess it’s because he is so heavily designed after Vecna from D&D who IS my favorite character from a RPG standpoint. But I digress.
Painting that Necrosphinx really has my hobby mojo flowing and I feel like painting an army again. This project will be for Arkhan, Nagash’s chief lieutenant. I’m still trying to pin down the color scheme but I think what I have will work fine. I’ll likely expand on it as I go. I’ve a real love for ancient Egypt. Everything they created has/had such character it’s a real thrill to recreate it in miniaturized form. I’ve painted a TK army in the past but had to sell it off to pay some bills. It will be fun to do it again I think.
Colors Scheme:
Detail – Dark red or black
Metal – Dark brass, gold highlighting w/ patina
Skeletal Bodies – Krylon Almond (satin), directional dry brushing, ivory highlighting
Mummified Flesh – Dark brown, flat earth highlights
Leather – Terracotta > tanned flesh > pale flesh
Gems – Unknown at the moment. Likely red.
Construct Bodies – Onyx (hopefully he marble technique I used for the Necrosphinx will translate)
Current Range Model Concerns:
Heroes
Kings/Princes – Good to go w/ new kits en route.
Liche Priest – Eww! Converted (see Below).
Herald – Really unbalanced but satisfactory
Core
Chariots – Great kit. Conversion (See Below).
Cavalry – Satisfactory.
Skeletons – God help me… (see Below)
Specials
Ushabti – Nice though expensive
Scorpion – One of my Favs.
Swarms – Acceptable but pricy & uninspired
Rares
Giant – Still like this kit. Conversion ideas brewing…
Catapult – Satisfactory.
Casket – Very sexy kit. Converted (see Below).
On Skeletons…
The current model range for this army is unusual. It contains new kits combined with some really OLD bits. Most of the range looks good together but some kits are really showing their age (Skeleton Warriors). This kit is so freaking antiquated GW really needs to put these sprews out to pasture. I can’t bring myself to use them and I’ve been searching for alternatives.
I’ve found that the current vampire counts skeleton range will satisfy the foot troop niche nicely if you are careful which parts you choose. I used 9/10 legs in the kit with the bare torsos, and bald heads. The spears work perfectly as they appear sufficiently ancient and their state of decay fits in nicely with this theme. Add in some TK shields and you’re done.
The archers are a different problem altogether… I don’t have an answer for this kit. I hate these models so much. If anyone has any ideas on how to circumvent these horrors please let me know.
On Liche Priests…
Currently there are only three LP models. One mounted/foot blister and the LP from the CoS (Casket of Souls) kit. I hate the blister and the casket kit is doing the ‘Big Arms’ thing (Eddie Izzard ref) and does not rank up so I converted them.
Now I’m not really satisfied with these conversions but I think they will suffice until GW releases some new models. They do fit in well with this army theme so I’ll likely grow to love them.
On the Casket of Souls…
I love this kit but an idea struck me yesterday that I just had to follow. Nagash created a huge pyramid made out of obsidian to show the world the degree of his badassness. I had an idea that his followers would use small replicas made from the original glass as artifacts of war.
I designed this kit to float on a dais with a LP reading from a cursed tome to activate it. The dais is a Dragon Forge Temple base I had sitting around unused, and the base is made from acrylic sheet. The two guards will walk next to it as they are unworthy of hitching a ride.
On Chariots…
The current models for the chariots are pretty cool. The only problem I found was that they are not very character friendly. Normally the chariot is too narrow for ‘based’ heroes to be used but I found a work around. I like to keep my models modular if possible and this was simple. I Dremel’d out a nice groove along the base of the two sides of the chariot so you could fit a character inside that was mounted on a base. The Prince/King clicks right in. Sweetness…
More to come as I progress.
