Tuesday 10 January 2017

From EvanH - "Delenda est..." (23 points)

To quote the late great Douglas Adams, "I love deadlines. I love the whooshing sound they make as they go by."

Yep, this is what I was working on for the 'Armour' bonus round, but failed to lodge my submission in a timely fashion.


This is Warlord Games' 1:56 scale M3 Stuart, aka 'the Honey', a US tank provided to the armed forces of Great Britain under the Lease-Lend program in World War II. It's one of the iconic fighting vehicles of the conflict, especially in the Western Desert campaign in North Africa.


Of course, I could have just left it at that; just do the tank! But no, I overthought it and found myself trying to be cute. North Africa has been the scene of so many conflicts, from as far back as the Punic Wars to the present day. How could I capture that tragic historical constant in miniature? How could I articulate the cyclical nature of human violence? And how could I do so without looking too much like a pretentious prat?

So that's where this spectral chappie comes in;



He's a ghostly Punic soldier, 'The Last Defender of Carthage' if you will. He's a Victrix plastic from their excellent range of Ancients. His spirit has been woken by all the carrying on as the Allies and Axis duke it out in Tunisia, and now he stands atop the remains of his burial cairn demanding answers.

I basecoated him in the old Citadel Bleached bone, highlighted with a drybrush of white, and hit him with some green ink to make him look 'woo-ooo spooky'. It's simple and effective and well within the capabilities of a myopic procrastinator such as myself. Although I'll probably dial back the green with a final drybrush of white for any future ghosts, spirits, or spirims.

Of course, the old fellow might well approve of the fact that the Eighth Army is driving the forces of that wannabe Caesar, Benito 'Ooh What A Big Fasces I've Got' Mussolini out of North Africa, and send them on their way with his blessing. So here is the scene where the modern world comes face to face with the Classical one;


So one 28mm figure nets me 5 points, while a vehicle in the same scale is 15 points. And it's only the third day of my holidays! (Think positive, Ev...)

Of course, there is the little matter of a Frostgrave duel with Mr Mills, but I don't want to overdo it - it's 3.30am as I write this, so no more painting for now, it's bedtime!

What's next? Who can say?

Stay tuned!

Ev

Alan and Paul: What a great, imaginative entry! What a shame you didn't get this in in time for the Armour round. I love the idea of  the ghosts of the classical past as witnesses to the continuing cycle of human violence. Lovely paint job on the Honey. That's 23 points in total, including a couple extra for the tank commander.  

32 comments:

  1. Nice work Evan, even if you did miss the deadline :)

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    1. Thanks Tamsin!

      Same thing happened last year with 'Mad Jack' Churchill - a great risk taker, but too late for the Bonus round...

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  2. Nice work Evan. Sorry you missed the deadline. This would have been a great entry.

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    1. Live and learn, eh? Thanks for the kind words!

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  3. Awesome! The Honey is cool tank. Tinfoil armour perhaps but I did enjoy reading the NZ Div Cav history. cheers

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    1. Thanks Brendon - enjoying the weather?
      ; )

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    2. Had lots of rain so loving the Wet Season. cheers

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  4. What a pity you missed the deadline, she's a beauty!

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    1. Thanks Barks- Yeah, this weather has slowed my already leisurely pace to positively geological. Hard to get motivated!

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  5. Great idea and shame you did not get it under the wire. Great looking Honey too

    Ian

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  6. Excellent stuff and well worth the wait! Excellent idea to make you think.

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  7. what a great way to embellish this base, that statue really does it!

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    1. I was hoping he'd look more like a ghost - oh well, I knew I should have given it a final drybrush!
      ; )

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  8. A great idea Ev , and very well done executed

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    1. Thanks Dave, I'm pretty happy with the result!

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  9. Nice work Ev - I like the whole idea of the theme and the whole thing is carried off rather nicely!

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    1. Thank you, Miles, I try to find an original take on a subject, and sometimes I get lucky!

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  10. Excellent work its a shame you missed the armor deadline.

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    1. Thanks Adam, poor time management strikes again!

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  11. great entry, better late than never

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    1. Thanks Martin, I've cleared the painting area of all non-essential projects and set some realistic goals - no more options paralysis!

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    2. I really need to do this. I have waaaay too many figures prepped and sitting in plain sight - sometimes I feel like a deer caught in the headlights.

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  12. I've had my fair share of. Bonus round deadline fails. Great entry and glad you got it done.

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  13. That is some fantastic work Evan! I have always disliked the Stuart, but man you made it look really sharp. Excellent work!

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  14. That's one fine honey, and nice idea on the spirit of the pad (if a bit depressing!)

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  15. Nice statue, Ev! ;P

    Seriously, that is a honey of a Honey. I also really like how you painted the commander - he has a Jack Hawkins look about him. Too bad she had engine trouble and couldn't make the start line for the Armour round. :(

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  16. What a tremendous piece of work Ev, really impressive stuff.

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  17. Too bad you didn't make it in time for the bonus round. That tank came out nicely!

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  18. Missing the deadline is a good thing. Let me explain. The only down side is missing the bonus points. BUT the upside is that more people get to see and admire it without feeling rushed.
    I may use this Tactic Next year!
    I think it is very nice. I so much prefer the little light tanks to the huge late war tanks. SO this does indeed float my boat!

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  19. Thanks for the kind words, folks - I've reorganised the work area and hope to see some improvements in productivity. And who knows, maybe I'll find something to submit for the next bonus round!

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