$1000 To spend. Help me out!

[Carbonite]

OK, so I have $1000 dollars to spend on Warhammer. I am not looking to play. I am interested in building, painting and displaying an army in my office. (Which is gaming themed.) I am dead set on an Orc/goblin army. I have been going through the Games Workshop site for a few months now just looking over everything. I have come up with cart I think I am ready to purchase, but I wanted to get some ideas from any veterans that may be around.

Without Shipping I am at 938 dollars. I imagine shipping will put me just over 1000 dollars which is fine.

My questions are:

1) Have I missed something or forgotten anything that is required to assemble and paint these guys and do you have any suggestions for changes and or additions or removals (basically, does the paint set and tool kit get me all I need along the lines of tools)?

2) The paint set doesn't release until November 1st, so I am going to have to wait for that. Any ideas there?

Number 3 is my biggest question:
3) If you had $1000 to spend on an Orc/goblin army, what would you buy? Consider that you are starting from SCRATCH and have absolutely NOTHING yet. No paint and no tools. Also consider what you buy is NOT for play and only for display.

4) Is there somewhere I can get Dwarf heads and body parts and such to make it look like these guys have been doing some slaughtering?

Notes:
The Green Stuff I want because I intend to pose most everything I have in different ways. I don’t want anything to be stock unless I think it looks so cool that I have to have one that stays that way.

Here is what is in my cart:

Orcs & Goblins Army 175.00
http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?prodId=prod1050183&rootCatGameStyle (http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?prodId=prod1050183&rootCatGameStyle)=

Orcs & Goblins Battalion 90.00
http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?prodId=prod1050139&rootCatGameStyle (http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?prodId=prod1050139&rootCatGameStyle)=

Black Orcs 50.00 (2 sets)
http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?prodId=prod840915&rootCatGameStyle (http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?prodId=prod840915&rootCatGameStyle)=

Orc Boss Wyvern 45.00
http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?prodId=prod840854&rootCatGameStyle (http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?prodId=prod840854&rootCatGameStyle)=

Goblin Warboss on Gigantic Spider 30.00
http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?prodId=prod1130264&rootCatGameStyle (http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?prodId=prod1130264&rootCatGameStyle)=

Black Orc Big Boss 15.00
http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?prodId=prod840862&rootCatGameStyle (http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?prodId=prod840862&rootCatGameStyle)=

Mega Paint Set 250.00
http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?prodId=prod1600016&rootCatGameStyle (http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?prodId=prod1600016&rootCatGameStyle)=

Citadel Tool Kit 120.00
http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?prodId=prod1140059&rootCatGameStyle (http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?prodId=prod1140059&rootCatGameStyle)=

Paint Station 40.00
http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?prodId=prod1095394&rootCatGameStyle (http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?prodId=prod1095394&rootCatGameStyle)=

Modeling Putty (Green Stuff) 50.00 (5 boxes)
http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?prodId=prod1095494&rootCatGameStyle (http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?prodId=prod1095494&rootCatGameStyle)=

[Grunkaz]

Go big spender! :p

Is this your first time buying/painting Games Workshop minis? If so I would suggest putting the $1000 back in the wallet and just start out with a basic paint set (get the big set later on - great value though), maybe one box set of plastic ors or gobbos and a GW painting guide (or just read the online ones) just to spend some time learning (such as how the mini come, how to prepare them, base them and then testing your painting skills and how the paints work and blend etc). If you haven't used Green Stuff before it can take a bit to learn. Practise, Practise, Practise.

I would also suggest going into a GW store if you have one nearby just to have a chat.

Other than that, if you're set on just going out and splurging:

1) I think you have covered nearly everything. Don't forget to get Superglue for the metal minis and polyglue for the plastics. Also some flock for the bases. If it's just for display purposes maybe look into building a display base for the army. You could maybe buy some of the new spiffy Warhammer buildings GW has too.

2) The paint set is very cool and a very easy way to get all the colours. Your choice to wait (i would). Plus you will be spending a lot of time putting your army together

3) Since you're not buying for playing do you just want the display to look like a playable army or a diarama of a natural battle scene? If it's the natural look (maybe like an Orc army advancing it's way to a battle) then I would definately get a large display base. You could then put the models directly on the display base instead of each on their individual gaming bases. I would also buy some of the more cooler Orc and Gobbo units such as the Rock Lobber, Goblin Doom Diver, Snotling Pump Wagon and some Trolls, but i depends on what look you want for this army (mass horde of Orcs or just cool looking minis).

4) Just buy a box set of plastic dwarfs. Heaps of bits n pieces to include.

Good luck and have fun. Take some progress shots for us all to see

[Pendrako]

First of all, ^ what he said. Seriously, the amount of times I've heard stories of people who've seen someone's well painted army, thought it was cool, and tried to do it themselves straight away. I'm afraid to say that this kind of thing takes time and a lot of practise, so start small before jumping in at the deep end, otherwise there's a good chance you'll become incredibly frustrated and give up on it entirely before you've hardly started.

In terms of your shopping list, there's one crucial thing you've missed out - glue. You can use GW glue if you like, but a tube of regular super glue works just as well. This applies to most tools, btw - anything GW sells can usually be found cheaper at a good hardware or modelling shop. That said, GW's tool set gives you everything you're ever going to need, although if you stick to plastics you only really need a good sharp knife. You might want to get some flock (fake grass) if you want a simple way to make bases look good. The paint station is a complete waste of time IMHO. Five packs of green stuff is massive overkill, just get one to start with - that stuff goes a long way (handy tip - keep it in the freezer so it stays fresh).

[Carbonite]

Thanks for the replies.

I will definately go into a Games Workshop store before making any decisions.

I looked it up and the closest one to me is like 40 miles away. So it will be a drive.

I will get myself up there in the coming weeks.

[Revoran]

I also advise caution - it can be a very big job, you don't want to buy so much that it becomes a chore or you get discouraged.

Also, the paint set is huge and it's unlikely you'll need that many colours unless you're some kind of professionally artist and aesthette already, not to mention GW paints are overpriced no matter what country you're in.

One thing I would suggest is the Orc & Goblin army book. Not for the rules/gaming etc, but for the background and painting sections (full colour on the latter) which will inspire you. Should only be around $40 AUS, so like 17 pounds perhaps?

The green stuff is a great idea, why use the stock poses (except for a select few awesome ones) when you could make a spectacular diorama?

And most importantly, if you've never painted before, get some cheapo set to practice on. Like a box of Goblins.

Personally I wouldn't spend the $1000 all in one go, as you'll be in danger of having a load of unpainted minis and unopened boxes but you're free to do as you wish. A suggestion from me would be to buy a Warhammer Giant. They're awesome and can be either a regular (Orc and Goblin) type Giant or a Chaos Giant.

[Julius]

Get this painting guide. (http://uk.games-workshop.com/storefront/store.uk?do=Individual&code=60049999100&orignav=300810)
It's full of usefull tips and trick and it means you'll learn faster. Just start painting the rank&file models first, they're easy and aren't the key-minis so don't have to be as pretty.

DO NOT get the mega-paint set. Since you're dealing with Orcs&Goblins you really, really won't need that much colors. And you will need a lot of goblin green and chaos black and so, so you will have to buy extra pots of those anyway.
Buy a bunch of flock instead, it's vital for making your dudes look good.

As for the models. You're basically the only one who really knows what you like, but have you considered a few of the more exotic things? Like a giant, a squigherd or Savage Orcs?

[erloas]

I would also advise against the mega paint set, there is just a lot of paints there that aren't going to get used much. They usually keep for quite a while, but if you don't get the lids on tight they dry up quickly, something that is easy to forget about when learning and much easier to miss on a paint you very rarily use and wouldn't notice until its gone.

As for the paint itself, I've seen an even mix of people that swear by GW paints, Vallejo paints, and Reaper paints, and for ever person that really likes one line you will have other people that dislike the line. Many people's biggest problem with GW paint is that it costs the same as the other brands but contains half as much paint, and some people prefer GW's pots while other people prefer the Vallejo and Reaper paints in the squeeze bottles. There are a lot of people that use a mix from the various companies too. Just saying you might want to look at your other options for paints. I've mostly switched over to Reaper myself.
Though I've heard very good things about the foundation paints line from GW I haven't used it yet myself. Their new line of washes is very good from everything I've read, and I've purchased some but haven't actually used them yet. They have discontinued their inks though so if you want inks you will have to go to one of the other paint suppliers. Not sure how the washes compair to the inks but I know the inks work very well for coloring metalic paints. If you mix normal paint with metalic it does color it but it tends to "paint" the metalic bits some and so the end result looses a lot of the luster of the metalics, inks don't do that. So if you want colored metalics (which is something I really like doing) you might look at picking up some inks.

As for the tools, GW wants too much for thier tools, you can find everything in their box for probably about half the price. Even Wal-Mart's craft section carries a pretty good selection of utility knifes and side cutters, and you can get some detail files from Home Depot that work just as well. I had to go online to find pinning tools and vises, but I live in a small town.

I don't see much of a point in the paint station, but I suppose if you have to protect some other table and have to move things around a lot it might be a good idea. Although if you have the room you can find used/cheap computer desks to paint on for $40 or less and not have to worry about ruining it and can modify it freely (such as screwing down the vise).

You have floc and basing material with the mega paint set, but if you go with individual paints and get what you need then you will have to pick up some more. Any decent hobby store should have them and you will probably get more for the same price as GW charges.
Same with the paint brushes, GW brushes seem to cost too much. You can find good quality acrylic brushes at any craft stores and at 1/4 of the price for decent ones or some really good ones for the same price. When you are learning though I would start with 2-3 copies of the same sized brushes that you use a lot because until you learn how to take good care of the brushes you will ruin a few, and nothing makes it more difficult to get a good finish on a model then a brush that is having problems. Also for drybrushing and applying glues for basing you will want cheap brushes because it will ruin them and there is nothing that can avoid it, so may as well ruin some cheap brushes rather then some expensive ones.

I would also do some searches on a wet palette for painting, it makes a huge difference in some areas. Dry areas like Arizona and Wyoming (where I lived) will have paint drying out faster then you can use it, a good wet palette will allow you to use paints for hours before they dry up, some people have claimed to still have usable paint on a palette after leaving it for 24hrs. (for me without one I'm lucky to see 10-20 minutes). Basically all it is is a paper towel well moistened in a container with a sheet of parchement paper on top of it. The paint goes on the parchement paper and absorbs water slowly from the paper towel and stays wet. You can pick up parchement paper at Wal-Mart or most any other place that selling baking things, it is usually in with the wax paper (same thing but without the wax, wax paper will not work, the wax keeps the water from absorbing through it).

As for models, you have a very good variety so far. But I'm suprised at the lack of squigs and trolls. Especially trolls since they are very neat, I could see them being looked over in a gaming army because of the stupidity, but not in a painting army. I love squigs too, I can't see not having them. Giants are always interesting too.

There is also a big boss box with a character on foot and mounted, I think they are some good looking models and I've put them together (mostly) but haven't got to painting them yet, I would probably switch that out for the simple black orc boss you have, or add it if you have the money.

I would also find room for some goblin shaman, they have a lot of character and no Waagh is complete without some git trying to blow himself and others up.

I would also suggest picking up the army book. It gives a good idea of some ways of painting, both schemes and techniques. It gives standards, etc. Also you can look at the various ways the models can be equiped and various magic items available to the heros and try to model the models to match some of the special weapon (like the Pig-Stika, and One-hit wonder)

I would also like to say that if you can, support your local gaming shops. Most local shops have some sort of discount on GW products and they can and will show you some of the alternate products available, such as paints, basing material, brushes, tools, etc.
Of course if you are like me and live 250 miles away from the closest "local gaming shop" and about 900 miles away from the closest GW shop then there is the net. TheWarStore.com is the best place I've found so far. 20% off all GW products and a big range of alternative products (as mentioned above) and shipping is a flat $6. That is if you live in the US at least, not sure if they ship internationally or not. But if you live somewhere else I'm sure there is some place that you can get stuff from.

[WhatThePho]

I dont know your personality or how you work.

But for most people, I would suggest buying 1 or 2 boxes at a time.

Being overwhelmed is a bad thing.

[Aeviryn]

Try to plan out what colours you will need rather than buying the whole paint set, as someone mentioned earlier a lot of colours would rarely be used if at all and you might be able to save some money. I think you missed the super glue, though I may have overlooked it.

As for what I'd get, I love the new plastic giant. It has a lot of different pieces to personalize the giant, as well as several different heads and weapons. Boar Boyz, savage or regular, are also great miniatures. The Army and 2 Batallions is a good choice to get the bulk of the army like you have listed. Azhag the Slaughterer since I like that wyvern a lot more, and 3 stone trolls as well, 4 squig herds because who doesn't love squigs and a night goblin boss on giant squig then the art and assembly supplies.

The tool kit should be all you need, and 5 things of green stuff may be more than enough. It really goes a long ways and I have a ton of little green stuff balls in my desk because I always take too much, so I somtimes carve the dried up ones into rocks or something for bases. But if you're planning to do extensive conversions, go with what you feel you need.

[Silvas]

Start off with the battle for skull pass set (the one that comes with the paints).

When you have cut your teeth on that, you should pick up the army box, then go from there.