Well here we are, my first OWAC done and dusted! And it was just great! I painted a lot, pretty much every day for six months and still it felt like fun.
I managed to paint a respectable Undead army, more than 4000 points worth of models. This should be more than enough for all my gaming needs, allowing me to field multiple different army compositions.
I painted two units as a test before the challenge proper, the archers and the Skeletons with spears. Even though they're not part of the challenge and are not included in the points and model count, I still wanted to include them in the overall army picture.
My phone camera sort of failed me though. I just couldn't get the lighting, colours and focus right for the whole army shot. Luckily the previous posts contain better pics of all the models.
The eagle-eyed among you might have noticed that I managed to paint one new model on July:
the mighty 4th edition Ghost. The model was quite silly back in the day and time hasn't really done him favours either. Be that as it may, I still wanted to include one in my army.
the mighty 4th edition Ghost. The model was quite silly back in the day and time hasn't really done him favours either. Be that as it may, I still wanted to include one in my army.
The highlight of July for me was entering the Vampire Lord to painting competition (The Cold North Open at Ropecon, Finland's biggest gaming convention, ran entirely by volunteers) and coming away with Bronze! Finland may be a small country but the judges certainly weren't: there were two recent Golden Demon winners and Louise Sugden (savage_ork_guy) as the judges. I'm amazed that a mini from -93 and painted in the style of that era could compete with modern styles and techniques.
Plan vs reality
Like I said in my first post, I was fairly sure I could finish the big skeleton units easily, thanks to using enamel washes and a simple but strong color scheme (bone, metals, red as a spot color).
I decided to do all of the core units first and tackle the more exotic units and characters afterwards. Just like those old army collecting articles in White Dwarf. I stuck to my plan, even though it was a bit of a chore at times, and it paid off.
I even had enough time to add some extra units and terrain. I've meant to do proper hills for ages and I'm so happy I finally did, they'll help me in pretty much all of my games!
I even had enough time to add some extra units and terrain. I've meant to do proper hills for ages and I'm so happy I finally did, they'll help me in pretty much all of my games!
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| The initial plan. |
Originally I meant to just paint the characters from the Armybook cover, not do a full recreation of it. I'm really happy I did though, it was my favorite part of the challenge! I also planned to build the magnificent piece of scenery below but realized fairly soon that I just wouldn't have the time. Maybe someday.
Statistics
My total for OWAC9 is 4507 points and 138 models.
If I counted the 2 test units it would be a whopping 5089 points and 186 models.
If I counted the 2 test units it would be a whopping 5089 points and 186 models.
It is at this point that I feel that I must apologize. Even though my army definitely looks like it came straight from 90s, most of it didn't.
I only have 20 old metal models, if I counted correctly.
All of my core units are new models, both plastic kits and prints with an old aesthetic and I even included two 3D printed scans of the old Chariots. I hope I didn't break the spirit of OWAC too much. In my defense I think the proxy models I included are really cool and I hope that more hobbyists find them!
I only have 20 old metal models, if I counted correctly.
All of my core units are new models, both plastic kits and prints with an old aesthetic and I even included two 3D printed scans of the old Chariots. I hope I didn't break the spirit of OWAC too much. In my defense I think the proxy models I included are really cool and I hope that more hobbyists find them!
That being said, consider this lovely Zombie Dragon from the 80s as my apology:
I bought this old chap midway through the challenge and just barely managed to paint him before the end of July (that's why he's not in the army shot).
I haven't put together big old metal minis in a long time and boy was it a blast from the past. I think assembling him and filling the gaps took as much time as the actual paint job. Lovely sculpt nevertheless and I admired the way the pieces were designed - all the joints are strong without any pinning. My other Dragon is painted in a bright 'Eavy Metalesque way so this one is just muted naturalistic tones, as a befits an old Dragon.
I doubt I'll ever use 2 Zombie Dragons in a game so I'm not including this one in the final tally.
I haven't put together big old metal minis in a long time and boy was it a blast from the past. I think assembling him and filling the gaps took as much time as the actual paint job. Lovely sculpt nevertheless and I admired the way the pieces were designed - all the joints are strong without any pinning. My other Dragon is painted in a bright 'Eavy Metalesque way so this one is just muted naturalistic tones, as a befits an old Dragon.
I doubt I'll ever use 2 Zombie Dragons in a game so I'm not including this one in the final tally.
Final Words
I really don't think I could've pulled this off without the added pressure of the Old World Challenge. Like most hobbyist I tend to get bored after a few units and gravitate towards different projects. But thanks to OWAC and all the other participants I powered through and now I have the Undead army I've always dreamed off. I couldn't be happier! And to top it off I've played a few games of 4th/5th ed. Warhammer which I never did as a kid, even though I really wanted to.
I'll sign off with a pic of the happy Necromancer and his tiny minions. Thanks to the everyone who's followed my ramblings and who knows, maybe I'll write some more blog posts in the future. I cerrtainly have enough old minis in my cabinet for that!
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