Off and running in Painting Challenge VII

So with about a week of hols under my belt (to say nothing of my own body weight in Christmas munchies) I've made a modest start in this year's Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge.

My first post was something of a pick-n-mix of stuff to round out various projects...

There's more pics and some background on the Challenge blog.

Cheers,
Millsy

Two more major projects completed!

I'm a man possessed! Exactly what I'm possessed or and/or by is debatable, however the consequences are undeniable. Today I've completed another TWO major long term projects.

First up is my 8,000 point Epic 40K Squat army. These wee 6mm scale "space dwarfs" have been a labour or love (and not inconsiderable expense) and now they are DONE. Well, there's still a bit of basing to do but that's on hold until I can order a metric tonne of tufts. Here they are in all their red and white glory...

Secondly, with the completion of these three Space Marine Landspeeders I've also wrapped up another of my long running 40K projects...

All up this army tops out at something like 4,300 points using 5th edition (which we refuse to give up!). The purists will note that the weapon load-outs for the speeders are non-standard. That's simply because I had a missile launcher and a pair of autocannons leftover from my Catachan Sentinels and wasn't willing to shell out a lot of shekels for extra bits when these look the business anyway.

So, now I need to decide which of my major projects to clobber next. But first, a nap and the Sunday arvo pie/footy combo. Bliss!

Stay tuned...

Cheers,
Millsy

Epic Squat Progress...

What with 2016 being the Year of Getting Shit Done Projects Completed and all that I've turned my focus to my Epic 40K Squat project this week. A good few hours of squinting and I've managed to complete all the remaining vehicles on hand. Here's how they look prior to basing...

2 x Mole, 1 x Cyclops, 7 x Termites and 8 x Spartans

That leaves me with just two infantry formations to paint and base this week. Once done I'll have a cool 8,000 points of Squat red and white goodness. I'm still hunting for the ubiquitous Land Train and a Hellbore but these are just icing on the cake so to speak. Oh, an ONE single Gorgon model curse it!

More soon...

Cheers,
Millsy

Epic Squat Project Update

This was supposed to be a Paint Table Saturday post but I was called away on a search and rescue op with the fire brigade at short notice. Instead of painting I got to have a very, very long walk yesterday over some incredibly rough terrain in the heat. 8+ hours of near constant walking, climbing, navigating and searching through the bush all the while. I'm feeling it today but that's to be expected. It takes it's toll on the fittest of us, especially those pushing 45 years.

Easy enough to get lost in. Harder to get found in...

Anyway, so that means this will have to be an Epic Squat Project update post instead. Great progress this week with the mojo well and truly discovered and returned to full service...

Artillery, air support, fast attack and infantry with transports

Two sets of gyrocopters and an airship. Another two airships to go.

Warrior brotherhood and spartan transports

Hearthguard and robot cadre

I also got my first order from Warbases which helped move things along. Unfortunately I was somewhat boneheaded in the execution thereof and ordered the wrong sized bases for infantry.
A second order has been placed and despatched so no a major hold up.

This week I've also managed to win a bunch of fleaBay auctions for termites, a few infantry bits and bobs, a leviathan, a colossus plus spotter plane and another two airships which seriously fills out holes in my war engines and transport. Still looking for moles, a hellbore, a cyclops, a pair of thunderfires and another goliath. If you have some and want to sell or trade speak up!

That's just about it from me apart from taking time to welcome rct75001, Tarty, Clint, Brian English and Dannoc. Great to have you aboard!

And a final shout out to my lovely, talented wife whose wonderful painted fabric entry took out first place in the textile and craft section of this year's Blue Fringe Arts Compo yesterday.

Cheers,
Millsy

The Epic Squat Project

If that headline isn't enough to to make you wonder what you're in for clicking the link then I don't know what would. Fortunately for yours truly Google is smart enough to work out what I mean when I type "Epic Squats".

Not these EPIC squats! The other ones!

OK, so anyone who hangs around me or has read the blog for a while knows I have a soft spot for the left-field and/or less popular faction from any given game system or genre. That being the case, if a collection of models was produced by Games Workshop in the late 80s to early 90s and is now loooong OOP, plus the race behind the models was subsequently (and unfairly!) killed off in their 40K fluff I'm more than likely going to be interested.

That brings us to the Squats in Epic Armageddon, GWs mass combat game that was so specialist and so popular and so *not* 40K it had to die. Squats eh? Dead race? Tick! Long OOP? Tick! Hard to find? Tickety-tick! Comparatively expensive to collect? Tickety-flipping-tick! Never actually an official list even though they made the models? Tickety-tickety-dang-tickety-boo! Heck, they've got the lot! Like a Labrador outside a pie factory on baking day there was zero chance I was going to be distracted by something else once I came across these wee chaps...

Anyway, over the last couple of weeks I've been faffing about the painting table desperately searching for my mojo and guess what? I found it painting little hairy space men and their over-compensatingly large vehicles and weapons red-white-black. Here's a sample...

That's better. Although the buns were admittedly rather nice...

So this is the beginning of yet another slightly mad project. Once I get a shipment of bases from Martin and Diane at Warbases I will really kick into it but for now I'm just enjoying myself again at last. Stay tuned!

PS. Yes that *is* Snow White painted on the nose of the airship 1940's bomber style. What else would Space Dwarves [ahem!] Squats paint on there?

Cheers,
Millsy