Thursday, August 10, 2017

A Quest for Stillmania: Meeting Nigel Stillman



https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGn16ceJiNy5vrzeRLbuqdFv7YClAtAIUVeiBun6IM9q5kTQqIZHSWsBZszBMEfASykxGm4W3_rX3ujxCAggO9xycSQk0lt0R_Tp9H-Uww5wrkn4W6wtti1BO3wNToNJ56HksdPJ7g0Uk/s1600/Page_1.jpgSo the pinnacle of my trip was getting to meet the man I had corresponded with all last year.  Himself the Stillmaniac Sir Nigel Stillman!  If you aren't familiar with the Quest for Stillmania articles check them out here.











Easy there Airborne. LOL
 Nigel got in mid morning, and came right up and started chatting.  It's like we hadn't skipped a beat from our e-mail correspondence.  We talked a lot about the local history and archeology.

One interesting note; we got on the subject of Vikings and their expeditions to the new world.  He has a theory that somewhere yet to be discovered there will be Viking swords or Chain-mail suits found in an ancient Indian Camp.  I then told him that we have an ancient camp up the road from us.  Where my dad, and then us boys would find arrow heads as kids.

He was very intrigued, and hoped we find a sword at some point there. Fingers crossed. ;)



Then after lunch Nigel brought out his Bretonnian army as seen in White Dwarf.
With all the named characters, and that lovely boat lacquer.  Which made his minis virtually indestructible.

He did note that only a couple minis were shown in the articles, as the rest were deemed not up to studio quality.  I found that a bit unfortunate as the whole army is quite a site to behold as you can see.







Sunday Nigel brought out his self sculpted and scratch build post apocalypse miniatures.  Where we got a chance to discuss his North Sea post apoc game that never got produced.  He was a bit foggy on all the details that the game was supposed to be.  The gist of it though was a mad max, dark future, gorka morka type game set in the dried out North Sea.  Were the landscape was like a desert strewn with shipwrecks.  The minis looked great against the Hells Reach table as a back drop.




 Nigel also brought out his handmade reconstructed Sherden Helmet he built when he was a Bronze Age reenactor.



Nigel really has a deep appreciation for Early/Pre Biblical history.  He stated that it is such a fun period to game, as he can mix fantasy and history together and no one can tell you any different.
He even let me try on the helmet!!!



Well I think this is a perfect place to end the Quest for Stillmania series.  I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have.  Now get out there and game you Stillmaniacs.  Don't forget to yacht lacquer your minis...three coats! ;) LOL

32 comments:

  1. what a crowning achievement (no pun intended) !!!

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  2. Oooh those Bretonnians... love them.

    What is the wagon thing at the end? Some sort of shrine?

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    1. They were so great. Thats going to be a mobile shrine. The banner is something he printed off for inspiration. He is hoping to finish it in the future. If he sends me pics of it I will be sure to share. ;)

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  3. Yeah! Meeting your heroes!

    Great hat, it suits you. You should get one.

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    1. Thanks Zhu! I've been thinking of making my own. LOL

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  4. Your face when you met him had all the joy of a young child being given the toy they've been asking for soooo long.

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    1. I'm not gonna lie....I got a little geeked up. LOL

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  5. What a great moment, to finally meet and talk with someone who seemed on a pedestal in the past. Congrats

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    1. Thanks Maj. What's really cool, is that we parted as friends. ;)

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  6. Nigel Stillman is up there with the OGs from GW I'd certainly like to meet, so consider me jealous. He certainly seems to be the nice, gracious man I've heard he is- and considering the fanaticism of some folks in the hobby, maintaining such an attitude can doubtless be tiring.

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    1. Thanks Badaab. ;) I can agree that he is a kind generous guy. Really down to earth, and we had such an easy time chatting.

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  7. Stillman is a legend... I am so happy you got to meet him! Wish I could have been there with you all. (Andy S)

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    1. Wish you had been there to Andy. Would have been a blast. Maybe next year?

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  8. Those models of Nigels were excellent, weren't they? Makes you wonder what else he might have buried away to show off in the future!!! (:

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    1. Yes they were. And it does, he said if he finds more out in his wargame shed he will send me pics to share. Cheers bud ;)

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  9. Super cool to get to meet him in person. Even better that he's just as nice in person as he seemed in the emails. I think your helmet would have Moose antlers on it. The only thing that left me disappointed about this post was the lack of closeups of exposed Post Apocalyptic Biker buttocks. Say that 10 times fast.

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    1. It was! Ya I've been contemplating making a Slaine the Horned God Helmet. But I might save that for elk antlers. LOL I will get a hold of him and see if he can send me some more close ups. Or if he brings them out next year I will get some better pictures. ;)

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  10. So glad that you guys finally got to meet in person...the Stillmaniac and Thomahawk...what a combo!

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  11. Nice way to end this article series!

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  12. Now, fess up...when you met him did you giggle like a little girl?

    (awesome chance you had, most of us don't get to meet the legends. Thanks for the post!)

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  13. Think I'd be as giddy to meet Jes Goodwin too. Great report. Impressive helmet. Loaded guns!

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    1. I did see Jes Goowin but didnt get a chance to talk with him at WHW. ;) I'm sure you will get your chance!

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  14. Glad you had such a great meeting with his Nigelness. His Bretonnians really are a sight to behold. But that mad-maxian North Sea game looks totally incredible. I wish him the best of luck in getting it produced.

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    1. Thanks Matthew. Ya his Brets are so baller!!! But your right that post apoc game would be off the chain. ;) It's got me wanting to make a bunch of shipwreck for my tables now. LOL

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  15. Really cool article. Random Googling brought me here to determine what became of Nigel Stillman. Glad to see he is still awesome after all these years. His stuff may never have been as flashy as some of the studio contributors at the time but his ideas were some of the most inspirational when it came to creating armies, games, and worlds. Glad I got to check this out even if I'm well behind the pack. Thanks!

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    1. Horrid glad you found you way over. I have a bunch more Stillmania articles check them out, and let me know if you got any questions. ;)

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