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

AHPC VIII - Ev's Challenge; The Final Roundup

The Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge is over for another year, and what a roller coaster it's been!

Here are the final figures, the rest of my output for this (northern) winter's event.

First up, the Bonus Theme Round, "Childhood"; some Reaper Bones Mouslings to entertain my grandchildren. These were a lot of fun to paint, and the emphasis is on bright, eye-catching colours.

The next Bonus Round was '"Monstrous", and I put together a tribute to the man behind the Challenge, Curt Campbell, aka The Snowlord. This figure will soon be winging his way to Canada as my price of admission, the Curtgeld.

He's a Reaper Bones Frost Giant Jarl, and he was a pretty big subject. Of course, his sword has been swapped out for a paintbrush. I hope he finds favour in his new home in the frozen tundras of Saskatchewan!

My production ramped up marginally in the last week of the Challenge, and I was able to get a couple more of those Reaper Bones monsters out there. Gotta say, if you want a big impressive beastie for a reasonable price, then the Bones range is the way to go. Some of the detail can be a little soft in parts, but a black basecoat followed by a drybrush of grey at the start really helps highlight areas that need attention and ensures you don't miss anything.

The Marsh Troll was a fun figure, part stegosaur and part crocodile with a killer underbite. I really went for it with the basing, finally getting some use out of a bottle of model railway water effects for the ponds of stagnant water. I like him a lot.

Next up, the iconic fantasy monster, the Dragon.

Reaper Bones AGAIN (and no, I don't have shares in the company). I tend to go a little crazy with the basing on these stand-alone figs, but in this case a little extra height was called for to allow the tail of the monster to follow a more natural curve rather than get pushed upwards by resting on a flat base.

Lastly, some of the women warriors of the Dwarven Kingdoms, courtesy of Scibor Miniatures (see disclaimer above re shareholding).

They're so damned characterful and packed with detail that I think I'll be giving this company my custom for a good many years yet.

So let's review; the theme of the Challenge was, broadly speaking, 'Monstrous', and I managed to get at least five monsters completed, while dwarves, ogres, orcs and goblins also got a look in. But this year, no humans at all, despite a late stab at getting an Imagi-Nations regiment started.

Better clean and prep those pulp adventure figs for next time, to say nothing of the assorted Bronze Age figs left over from the Challenge before last, and of course, there's a bunch of ECW stuff as well, oh, and a shedload of 40K Orks still to assemble...

This may take a while, so I'll say my goodbyes and see you all again soon!

Stay tuned...

Ev