He did not buckle down.
While progress did move fast I still struggled to wrap things up in time. The last two weeks were a mad dash made worse by coming down with a stomach bug that took me out of action for two whole days!
As the last week approached I realized I was not going to be able to complete everything as originally planned. While I liked my first test model with streaking grime having to dab the grime off each model was going to take too long (I was cutting it that close) so I went and grabbed a can of Army Painter’s quickshade for the dip method. Unfortunately I didn’t have time to put a test model through it beforehand so when it started coming out really dark and thick at midnight the night before leaving I panicked and switched to Nuln Oil. With the shade out of the way I was able to finish basing in the hotel room 
Here’s an example of how each method came out: Streaking Grime → Quickshade → Nuln Oil
The streaking grime look is really solid. It’s greenish tint makes me want to use this for some Turnip28 or Trench Crusade when I get a chance to try those. I can also tell there’s an art to the process and running through 50 some odd models would have taught me a lot.
I probably could have stuck with the quickshade and been happy enough, but with a 24-48 hour dry time I just couldn’t bet on it turning out right. The instructions make it sound like you literally just dip and shake, but the reality is you’d actually have to shake so hard you’d make a terrible mess so I ended up either dipping and brushing off or just brushing it on to begin with. It’s also a very glossy finish.
This is actually my largest application of Nuln Oil. It was a fine substitute in the end and worked well with the white.
A few shots of the army!
As for the actual tournament, it was an absolute joy. I’ve never participated in a tournament of any kind before and it was so much better than I expected, largely due to the game choice I imagine. Historicals are known for an older, more laid back crowd and, while everyone brought their A game, they were really there to just have a good time. The pacing of the tournament was also fantastic. I expected to be totally worn out after 5 games in 2 days (2.5 hour rounds) but found that I was still quite peppy afterwards and not burned out at all.
I ended up coming out 5th overall, however if you exclude extracurricular points (earned outside gameplay) I actually tied for second! A very unexpected result, but one I was obviously happy with. The Polish are a much stronger faction in Age Of Crusades than their reputation gives them.
One result of this whole experience has been a surprising feeling of… contentment? I’ve got no drive to paint or squeeze a game in right now, but not in a burned out sort of way. More of an afterglow. Since coming back I’ve spent my evenings reading or studying. My interest in TOW, having ebbed and flowed in the lead-up, has waned a bit and given I’m going to be out of the country for a month I haven’t fought it. My last trip to Japan resulted in both Houses And Hats and my Scribes win so I’m looking forward to letting my creative juices flow again. On the docket this year is a board game concept, cleaning up my WHFB edition comparison (and maybe adding TOW to it), and maybe some work on an rpg setting. Or maybe something else entirely will take my fancy!
Thanks for following my first Off Topic Blog!
