Ev's Challenge - Day 55 - The Journey Upcountry (and a Detour or Two)

Greetings Paint Fans, and welcome to my second round up of entries for The Tenth Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge!

I struck out from Sander's Sand Dunes, making my way inland to Millsy's Mill Pond, a deceptively calm stretch of water where old and forgotten figures were to be displayed, with provenance!

Well, they don't come much older than this chappie, a Daka Fal Adventurer from Citadel's line of RuneQuest figures, released in 1982. He's a member of the Sable Tribe of Prax (hence the horned helmet), and the priest of a cult of ancestor worshippers.

He netted me an excellent score, thanks to his extreme age, and so I felt emboldened to undertake a detour of sorts. I produced a Curtgeld entry, the price of admission to Challenge X.

This year, Curt asked us to produce a figure for someone else, not necessarily another Challenger. So, because my blolleague Millsy is sitting out this Challenge after having fought monster fires for the last couple of months, I decided he deserved a gesture of appreciation.

It's the old Warhammer Giant, a plastic model 110mm tall, and an imposing addition to Millsy's Orcs and Goblins, or Dogs of War armies. I really enjoyed painting this one; he's so characterful!

My most recent entry is this substantial lady, a Fertility Goddess from Reaper Miniatures.

Based on the Paleolithic Venus of Willendorf (only much, much bigger), she comes with a decorative base dotted with pots and baskets of offerings.

All I need to do is come up with some worshippers for the Green Goddess, and the vignette will be complete!

As she is an indisputably female figure, I was able to secure travel in Lady Sarah's Balloon, all the way to the other side of the island. This honour is vouchsafed only to those who have submitted a female figure as the price of passage.

I'm now at Awdry's Atoll, preparing a vignette based on an old CD. Hey, it's what Mr Awdry specified, and who am I to disagree?

What's up next?

Stay tuned...

Ev

Ev's Challenge - Day 28 - Not Even At Base Camp!

Greetings, Paint Fans, and welcome to the first of my entries for The Tenth Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge!

Doughty painters from the four corners of the circular globe are gathered at Challenge Island, landing on its deadly shores and beating their several paths into the interior to make their final assault on Snowlord's Peak...

Not exactly covering myself with glory this time round, I'm afraid. It's been a busy new year so far, and if I'm to meet my target of 400 points, I'd better get a move on.

I've made landfall at Sander's Sand Dunes, in the NW corner of Challenge Island. The stipulation for this locale is the colour red. Submit anything you like, as long as it features red. So here's my first entry for Challenge X.

It's the Orruk Megaboss, from GW's Warhammer Age of Sigmar. And no, I'm not buying into the new lawyered-up naming conventions. He's an Orc, pure and simple!

He was a gift from my young friend Patrick, who brought him back from a visit to Warhammer World in Nottingham (Rich Nerd Central). Given the fact that Paddy had gone to so much trouble, I couldn't not paint him up for the Challenge!

Stupid IP-protective names aside, it's a lovely figure. The assembly can be fiddly, but it avoids the solid-across-the-hems look of previous GW Orcs. I painted the head before adding the jaw plate, since it would have been nigh-impossible to get to otherwise. The sometimes tedious business of painting sub-assemblies is worth the extra time taken.

The base was built up with Milliput over an extruded foam core, and assorted Skullz™ were scattered around the resultant rocky outcrop (it's virtually the law when it comes to basing GW figures). I was going for a wind-scoured sandstone look, and I think it turned out nicely.

What's next? Well, I really have to produce a Curtgeld figure as the price of admission to Challenge X, but I'm to-ing and fro-ing on what it should be... Better be something pretty bloody spectacular if I'm to get some serious points on the board!

Stay tuned...!

Ev

Ev's Challenge - The Final Chapter

So the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge has come to an end for another year. And what a ride it's been! I've minioned for the first time (big shout-out to the Wednesday Warriors!), and I've produced a varied assembly of fantasy figures.

So what have I learned?

• Preparation, above all. While I could get away with doing things on the fly in previous years, work commitments plus the weekly minioning meant that I really should have gone in with a proper plan. I'm severely ADHD and a worrier by nature, so lack of preparation really is the enemy.

• Try and vary the subject matter. I have so many historical, 40K and horror figs still in the lead mountain, yet this time round it was almost all fantasy, and I think this got me in a bit of a rut. 

• Realistic targets. After last year, when I actually cracked 500 points, I thought I could do the same again. Not so, topped out at 479, worse luck! Time and resources are limited, and I have to take this into account next time.

Anyway, enough of the self-reproach, here's the last of my submissions for Challenge IX!

 An Oldhammer-ish Witch Hunter, a figure from the old Warhammer Quest boardgame. I have a lot of affection for these old sculpts.

A command section for a unit of Sun Dome Templars, the elite pikemen of RuneQuest's cult of Yelmalio. Aventine Miniatures Tarentine Phalanx, repurposed for Glorantha.

A terrain entry, a ruined Gloranthan temple to the River God Zola Fel. Despite its desolate and desert appearance, it was entered in the 'Water Feature' bonus round on the basis of its frescoes.

The remainder of the Sun Dome unit. I do like how they turned out!

A Reaper Bones Griffin - Reaper has given price-conscious gamers a cheap and easy way to get big flashy monsters onto the tabletop, and I am very happy with this big guy.

Here's the last of my Dwarven Blood Bowl team, the Durinhold Tectonics. Finally, they can compete in the big leagues! 1990s sculpts from Citadel's Gary Morley, loads of character.

Reaper Bones Brain-In-A-Jar™, aka Mr Akeley. This one, and the Mi-Go, were the only non-fantasy entries in my Challenge. Really have to mix things up a bit more next time...

Following up from the unfortunate Mr Akeley, my Curtgeld submission, Gazzzz, the Fungi From Gorgoroth. A cosplaying cosmic horror mashup from the pages of Lovecraft and Tolkien. In keeping with the Challenge's theme, 'Fellowship', he's a Tolkien villain as well as a constant trial to his long-suffering co-worker Bazzzz. Reaper Bones again, with some GW Black Orc and Gripping Beast add-ons!

And that's it from me for this year's Challenge. Will I still be painting and modelling outside Challenge times? I only produced one figure between Challenges VIII and IX; I think I should try and increase my output a bit and see if I can maintain some momentum. It's just wasteful having so many unpainted figs lying around!

So stay tuned...

Ev

Ev's Challenge - The Saga Continues

Day 49 of the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge, and we're past the halfway point.

I'm just past the halfway mark on my own 500 point target as well, so all going according to plan, I might just squeak through...

So what have I done since the last update? Let's take a look!

The brutish Manticore, a staple of the medieval bestiary - a Reaper Bones figure which will give any band of adventurers pause.

A Reaper Bones 'Avatar of Resilience', a humanoid rhino, now repurposed as a Broo with the addition of goat horns and weeping sores. Broos are the chaotic bringers of disease in Greg Stafford's world of Glorantha, the setting of the wonderful RPG RuneQuest.

The Durinhold Tectonics, a Blood Bowl Sevens team yet to make it to the top-flight leagues. But they're a plucky lot and will undoubtedly get some reinforcements soon! These were old Blood Bowl figs from the 1990's, so the basing scheme was an homage to the Oldhammer Era. A moment of silence, please, as we remember Citadel Goblin Green, the most popular basing colour of the good old days... (sniff)

Next up is a Deep Cuts Medium Fire Elemental from WizKids, a transparent plastic cast which was finished in yellow and red inks to preserve its translucent quality. I drybrushed the tips of the flames with black to suggest a smoky fire, and picked out a few areas in opaque yellows to keep it interesting. Quite pleased with the final effect, but don't ask about the water elemental I've been working on - that's proving to be a tricky one!

Three Bugbears, more Reaper Bones sculpts, and a lot of fun to paint. Lots of textures to keep the painter busy, and a unified colour palette really tied the group together, man.

Lastly, an entry for the 'Mercenary' bonus theme round. A Citadel Miniatures Ogre Maneater from the 2000's, he's been languishing on the north face of my Lead Mountain (which is situated in the Garage of Shame) for a good many years now.

He's actually made of metal - fancy that! Old metal Ogres appear to be undergoing a bit of a renaissance this round, with my blolleague, the estimable Mr Mills, submitting a corker of an entry. Call me old-fashioned, but you can't beat the satisfying heft of a large chunk of metal on the tabletop!

That's all for now, more updates to come!

Stay tuned...

Ev

Empire Altdorf Halberdiers

As promised last post, here's the latest addition to my Warhammer Fantasy Empire army - a unit of 24 halberdiers in the service of Altdorf. This brings me to a total of 60, in two units of 24 and a detachment of 12, more than enough to form a solid core of foot troops. I really must remember to do the basing on my unit trays at the same time as the troops themselves...

On the painting table at the moment is another of my (many!) half-finished units in a unit of French 3rd Hussars for my 15mm Napoleonic project. They should be completed this weekend. Woohoo!

Cheers,
Millsy

Sunday Workbench

I've been pretty quiet of late, struck down by a near-terminal case of man-flu, combined with rebuilding my PC and lots of actual real life work. Occasionally though I've managed to find time to twirl the brushes, plugging away at a bunch of post-Challenge leftovers.

On the painting table at present are a 95% finished unit of Altdorf Halberdiers for my Warhammer Empire army. This is the last (thankfully) of a total of 60 of the buggers. Just a little touching up to do and finish the basing...

There's also a number of additions to my Epic Imperial Guard Steel Legion in the form of a second company of Shadowswords, extra Griffons and two more Baneblades to turn a single guy into a full company.

Once these are complete it'll either be more bits and bobs or I might kick into full swing with the Scottish Project depending on motivation.

Cheers,
Millsy

Empire Reiksgard Foot Knights

Just a quick post about my latest AHPCVIII entry...

This time its a unit of 24 Reiksgard Knights on foot. Happy to have these off the workbench as they've been hanging about, taunting me relentlessly with their half-finished state for some time now.

More pictures and some random musings on the Challenge blog.

Cheers,
Millsy

AHPC VIII - Ev's Challenge, Day 57

Greetings friends and followers!

It's been a while since I've delivered a progress report on what has been a moderately productive Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge (at least by my admittedly leisurely standards), so here goes.

I had a bit of a rest following the Flight Theme Round, but resolved to get back into the game while on holidays from work.

First off the table was my entry in the Theme Round, 'BFG', 'Shooting the Messenger', an insight into how Ogres handle battlefield parleys.

A concerted push to get some more terrain into the mix saw the long-neglected contents of my garage get turned over in quest of something suitable, and I lighted on an old kit from GW, 'Dreadstone Blight', a ruined wizard's tower.

I'm very pleased with how it turned out, though the designers do love them some skullz...

I was also able to return to a previous subject, Chaos Dwarf Admiral Thadrak Krakenbane, seen here at the height of his powers. This Scibor sculpt was a delight to paint.

A Reaper Bones Ettin rounded out Day 41's entries. I decided to go with a yellowy skin tone, and the large expanses of flesh on the beastie rewarded the extra effort.

The 'Music' Theme Round was upon me shortly afterwards, and I was pleased to be able to submit some old skool minis in the form of these Goff Rockerz, an Ork rock band from the early WH40K universe. Extra bright goblin green skin and gaudy costumes, and the tribute to the days of Rogue Trader was complete!

Finally, I finished some more Scibor Dwarves, the Salvage Crew. The colour scheme is meant to recall blue denim overalls and convey a sense of no-nonsense workers and craftsmen.

A wealth of detail on these sculpts, especially given their small size, but they really repay the extra effort.

Another bonus theme awaits, 'Childhood', so I'd better get cracking.

Stay tuned...

Ev

AHPC VIII - Ev's Challenge, Day 22

The story so far;

I've gone into this year's Challenge with a target of 500 points, and have proceeded at my usual sedate (some might say 'sedated') pace.

First up was this chap, a strapping Orc Chieftain from Scibor's Monstrous Miniatures. Certainly in keeping with the 'monstrous' theme of the Challenge!

It's a terrifically dynamic figure, and as usual, Scibor's bases are little masterpieces in their own right. I loved painting that fallen statue head!

Next up was a terrain entry. This is the first year for terrain entries outside of a bonus theme round, so I thought I'd paint up a couple of Pictish Standing Stones by Scotia Grendel. I'd had these in the to-do pile for a while, so they were overdue for an outing.

These two lovely resin sculpts were not quite enough to get the entry across the line quantity-wise, so I rustled up a quick Celtic Oratory Chapel, scratch-built from a block of polystyrene coated in filler and carved to resemble rough stone. The door was made from some bamboo skewers with a loop of fuse wire for the handle.

Returning to the Challenge theme, I went with a monster for my next entry; the Reaper Bones Giant Worm, painted up as that old D&D favourite, the Purple Worm.

Very pleased with the final result on this one, suitably repulsive!

Last but far from least is the Goblin Doom Diver, 'Da Rite Stuf', my entry for the Themed Bonus Round, 'Flight'. I really like the goofiness of this model, and I hope I've done it justice.

So, 22 days in and I'm just under 25% of the way to my target; let's see if we can't get a few more points on the board before too long!

What's next? Stay tuned...


Ev