Recycling WoK Nasier to Saga AoM The Other World
Recommendations: 41
About the Project
Taking up the gauntlet thrown down my Justin I will be recycling some Wrath of Kings minis into Saga Age of Magic army.
Related Game: SAGA
Related Company: CMON
Related Genre: Fantasy
Related Contest: Spring Clean Hobby Challenge (Old)
This Project is Active
Up-Painting
Three of the original minis were selected to receive an ‘up-paint’ rather than the full on stripping.
On the left is the before shot and on the right the after shot.
Most of the work was to improve a few areas of definition and add a few highlights.
Here are the results starting with the Warlord:
Next we have the Sorcerer
and Finally the Behemoth
It's all about the Base Part 2
I then select 4 ‘brown’ colors and start applying them randomly to the stones on the bases.
Once I have painted all of the stones and allowed them to thoroughly dry I apply a heavy coat of Agrax Earthshade.
Once that has dried I do heavy dry brush of Iraqi Sand then a light dry coat of Pale Sand
The colors I used on these bases were:
879 Green Brown
921 English Uniform
880 Khaki Grey
914 Green Ochre
819 Iraqi Sand
Citadel Nuln Oil
Citadel Agrax Earthshade
Citadel Biel-Tan Green
Citadel Carroburg Crimson
I use a couple of washes on the dead branches. Dead wood tends to look quite grey and mold or moss will also tend to grow on just one side so make sure you keep that consistent.
Once the those steps are done I paint any extra items that are on the base and I usually paint any ‘extra’ masonry with Iraqi Sand so that it is different from the ground.
Lastly I paint the surround black.
Here’s what the finished bases look like:
The next entry will cover the three miniatures that I selected for ‘up painting’ rather than dipping.
It's all about the Base Part 1
Next up are the new bases.
My go to bases for fantasy skirmish are Rubble City from Fenris Games.
They’re a good price and have enough details to be interesting whilst still leaving enough space for the miniature.
Here’s all the bases that we will be working with:
Currently Fenris don’t do a 100mm base in this style so for the Monsters I will be using Milliput and a rubber stamp from Happy Seppuku who are unfortunately no longer trading.
Let’s look at the big bases first.
They are deep bases so I mix enough Milliput to be about level with the rim.
I then smooth & flatten it as much as possible. This includes turning the base upside down and gently rotating it on a plastic bag.
Once it’s flat I run a knife around the edge, it’s not essential but I like a nice crisp edge, then I carefully and firmly press the stamp into the Milliput.
The final touches are to remove some of the Milliput and stipple the area with an old tooth brush so it looks like dirt or sand then add a couple of pieces of cork to represent fallen masonry.
Now to paint. Using Vallejo primers through my airbrush I prime first in black then use a white primer at an angle.
On to part 2…
Test Strip
After a couple of days soaking in Simple Green it’s time to see what happened…
Here’s our brave volunteer fresh from his bath and the first good news is that he hasn’t dissolved into a blob of plastic residue.
But what about the paint…
After a few minutes vigorous scrubbing with an old tooth brush and a scrape with a toothpick you can see he has cleaned up pretty well.
Now there’s a few caveats that I would like to add at this point:
Normally I let thinks soak for a week or more and this was only 2 days.
I went at him quite vigorously with the toothbrush hence why I pulled his arms and other sticky out bits off. The Simple Green didn’t do that I did. The reason is simple enough. This test was to check if the paint would come off (it does) and if the mini would melt (it didn’t) but I wasn’t worried about the exact condition of our volunteer as he is only going to be around long enough to try a test paint scheme (but don’t tell him that as he thinks he’s going on vacation soon!).
I should also mention that he was undercoated with Vallejo primer, painted with Vallejo paints and, if I recall correctly, finished with a coat of Testers Dullcoat from a rattle can.
Next week I shall be away for a few days so what I am going to do, now I know things aren’t going to melt, is place all the minis I want to fully strip in to soak for a good week.
That should ensure the final scrub will be even easier than this one.
Stripping
As I am going to be stripping several of these minis I first need to work out a safe and effective way of doing this.
Generally I prefer metal minis so in the past, when I need to strip a mini, I have used Simple Green
Simple Green is a US product that I picked up whilst on holiday and brought back home with me.
It works great on metal minis but I have never tried it with CMON’s plastics so its time to try this at home.
Here’s our volunteer
He’s an Ashmen Swordsman holding a banner but unfortunately for him the banner pole got damaged in a previous house moved so he has been volunteered to take a bath.
I first removed the based
Then dropped him into an undiluted Simple Green bath and set it aside.
I’ll leave it a couple of days and see what happens to him.
Here’s a very exciting picture of our brave volunteer in his bath:
My final point - your input needed...
So far I have selected:
- Warlord – Longhorn
- 3 Monsters
- Hateforged Titan
- Greathorn
- Kor Kallum
- 2 Creatures
- 3 Pelegarth Brutes
- 2 Arkazan Greatwings and Arkan Thesh
- 1 Sorceror – Rathor
That comes to a total of 7 points and in Saga AoM you need 8 points.
So here is where I’d like your input. I can add another Rathor to have 2 Sorcerors or I can add 4 Ashmen Swordsmen as Hearthguard
Comment below on which choice you would like me to go with.
Sorcery - mmm, sauce
Obviously in Age of Magic we need a Sorceror and in this case we will be going with Rathor, who, coincidently, is also a caster in Wrath of Kings
Just like the Warlord this one also needs a painting up-lift and a re-basing.
Creature Feature
Next on the list are Creatures.
The Otherworld allows two units of Creatures so I’ll be spending 2 points on 2 units then spend another 1 point on hearthguard to trade-in for another 2 creatures so I have 2 units of 3 creatures each.
My first set is 3 Bipedal Creatures and for this I am using 3 Pelegarth Brutes
These guys need a lot of work and I may well decide to strip them rather than try to ‘up-paint’ them.
My second lot of Creatures are flyers – 2 Arkazan Greatwings fresh from the box and Arkan Thesh
Arkan Thesh definitely needs a trip to the paint strippers!
Here be Monsters
This list allows you to take 3 Monsters, although none can be Titans, and I intend to take full advantage of this.
Firstly we have a Scourge call Kor Kallum:
Obviously this one needs a little work 😉 as he has sat in his box for many months.
Secondly we have the first of the two Behemoths. This chap is called Greathorn:
Like the Warlord, this mini needs an ‘up-paint’ and re-basing.
My last Behemoth is actually an immigrant from House Teknes.
Here is the Hateforged Titan:
This is the standard of painting and basing that I want to bring the rest of the warband up to. Nothing will be done on this mini except maybe the odd tufted of grass being added to the base.
List building...
Normally, regardless of the game system, I would read through the rules and army lists, do some research then write an army list and finally go and buy some minis to fit the list but with Saga AoM I’m actually doing this in reverse.
I’m looking at the minis then deciding what army they would fit in and finally build the list around the minis available.
Looking at Wrath of Kings House Nasier the faction that leapt out at me was Other World – I think it was all the demons 🙂
A quick note about the initial set of photo’s – they are not the best and, to be honest, that can only help them in their current state. I will be taking better quality photo’s as the project progresses and especially at the end.
So first of all I need a Warlord – introducing Longhorn
Sitting on a 40mm base the sizing works well however the actual basing is most generously described as basic.
This is actually the case with all of my House Nasier minis. I don’t let myself play with unpainted minis so these were all speed painted and based to get them on the table so I could see if I like the Wrath of Kings game.
The paint job isn’t too bad but could certainly benefit from so TLC. I probably won’t strip this mini but I will definitely be ‘up-painting’ it.
In the beginning...
As I listened to the details of the Spring Hobby Challenge the first thought through my mind was Bugger!
I am already working on a Saga AoM army using some Britanans minis from the Relics game that I have had for ages, including some that needed stripping. It would have been perfect but unfortunately for me they are 80% done and I didn’t take any photos! 🙁
So back to the drawing board.
I had a read through of my friend’s Salute copy of the rules (my book is on pre-order) and decided to build a Saga army that I wouldn’t normally field. A low model count, high value (points-wise) army.
Scanning the shelves of my hobby room my eyes alighted on my Wrath of Kings minis and specifically my Nasier.
They were the first WoK army I put together a few years ago. The paint job on most of them is pretty basic although one or two are ok. I also have a couple of unbuilt boxes from CMON’s last Black Friday sale (or possibly the one before that) so they are ripe for an upgrade and re-purpose.
Now to list build and select the mini’s…