From Rob Hingley - At midnight, on the twelfth of August, (25 Points)

"a huge mass of luminous gas erupted from Mars and sped towards Earth. Across two hundred million miles of void, invisibly hurtling towards us, came the first of the missiles that were to bring so much calamity to Earth. " was my planned entry for the Recce Bonus round.

Death of the Thunderchild

However on Friday I knew that the bases would not be ready in time for photos. The sun sets far too early for my liking in winter.  Fortunately, I had a Plan B (not from outer space). The above intro is taken from Jeff Wayne's, The War of the Worlds.  The narration brilliantly preformed by Richard Burton.

From the time I first ventured into the realm of Sci-Fi wargaming I desired to own a trio of Martian Tripods.  When the Kickstarter campaign for All Quiet on the Martian Front commenced I hemmed and hawed. As I was underemployed at the time I dawdled until it was too late. Most likely that was a good thing for me.

Last year I was lucky to find a set for sale on eBay and I happily made my purchase from a gentleman in Denmark. The price was very reasonable. One model was missing a body part that I was able to construct from green stuff. Next to duct tape, green stuff surely is one of the great forces that helps bind the universe together.

I'm unlikely to acquire any more materials for which to play All Quiet on the Martian Front, but I wouldn't be surprised if the tripods made it onto my gaming table in a tabletop game of Future War Commander.

3 x 15mm Vehicles = 24 Points

_____________________________________________________________

Always good to see some Victorian SF in the Challenge, Rob, and these are great little figures. Pity about missing the Recce deadline, that's happened to me too many times to count!

24 points plus an extra point for nostalgia value (I owned the album, back in the day - you never know what will prompt extra points, so surprise me!).

Ev

From KyleC: Sepheron Heroes (10 Points)

So its been slow here... but I have gotten 2 models painted up! Another commission but this time for my son and his (hopefully) growing Lizardmen/Sepheron forces for Age of Sigmar.

He was wanting a blue color scheme with a white underbelly, so I have worked up 2 of his heroes in that scheme. All the while trying to ensure that the style and format was easy enough for him to replicate on the rest of the models.

First up is a Skink Starpriest..

Quick and easy paint up. No real depth to the scales atm, but a nice transition from the white to the darker blues.

Next up was a converted Saurus Oldblood for him as well..

Same colors but more of the blue, and this time with some dark blue wash over the scales to make them pop a bit more.

He seems to like them ( always good to have a happy customer! ) and thus I am happy. Though he makes slow progress on his 20 skink unit, he is making progress. I hope to show them here when he gets them finished!

Being only 2 models, it should only be 10 pts.
Thanks for reading!

_____________________________________________________________

Kyle, these really are splendid. The colour palette and subtle shading merit an extra point each. 

Well done for the effort you put in on these standout figures.

12 points!

Ev

From AndrewE: Stormtroopers (30 Points)

The first Starwars Legion models I began work on where the trusty old storm troopers. Nothing fancy about them but so iconic in the Starwars universe. I had actually started working on these prior to the Rebel commando’s but finished the commando’s first in time for the bonus challenge

The eagle eyed among you would notice that there is only 6 there. I had started painting the test model prior to the challenge, so I have completed the full squad but not include him (are stormtroopers all guys?) in the challenge.

The paint scheme is pretty basic but ends up coming out quite nicely. A white undercoat, black wash and then touching up the white panels in the centre again (leaving some dirty edges). A little bit time consuming but a nice result.

Now… back to the rebels (and wookies!)

_______________________________________________________

Well, we have set a precedent here with Wookiees, so remember they come in as 40mm and then some!

Lovely work on these classic Star Wars mooks, they're expendable, so you need a few of the blighters.

That's 30 points for you, sir!

Ev

From MikeD: House Delaque Gangers 50pts

With the Challenge starting during the holidays, and all the travelling it entails, I always feel I'm getting a late start. I don't think I've ever gotten on the board in December and this year is no different. My personal mission for this year is to try to plow through all the Games Workshop boxes I've gotten in the past few months. I've especially fallen in love with the new Necormunda minis that came out last year. I've bought every model that has come out, and only in past couple of months have I painted up the initial box set. So this year's challenge begins for me with these House Delaque gangers.

Predictably, I'm not as in love with the actual game as I am with the figures. I really like the gang/cult scale and fluff. I've got a ton of Genestealer Cult figures done, and I've been thinking about adapting Sharp Practice (a system I really like a lot) for this setting. I'm hoping to get through Orlock and Cawdor as well as some Chaos Cultists and the Blackstone Fortress by the time this is all over. (I don't know if I'll ever break the shrink wrap on the Adeptus Titanicus stuff I bought). Anyhow, that's my first 50 points in the bank for this winter.

________________________________________________________________________

You've certainly done these Delaque Gangers justice, Mike; that's 10 of the myopic devils for a very respectable 50 points!

Probably going to see a few more Necromunda gangs down the track, I have an inkling...

Ev

From JohnSh - Krautian Jägers for Slaughterloo

It is no secret that I am a huge fan of Slaughterloo, the mass battle fantasy Napoleonic game from Alternative Armies. Sure the concept is flaky, the figures are goofy but more importantly they are hugely fun to paint and the game is a cracker! I would go so far as to say that it is one of the top 5 Napoleonics games ever.

One of my goals for Challenge IX is to paint up the Krautian Division that has been taunting me from the Room of Shame for several years. My first unit of the painting table is the Krautian Jägers, 12 lightly armed troops.

Krautians are a fantasy analogue of Prussians. I actually spent some time researching the Prussian Light troops uniforms before painting these. I am very pleased with the results. I have shied away from yellow on my historical figures but I think it looks quite effective on these.

I particularly like the trumpeter with the "Do-Rag" and the fellow with the brass blunderbuss. Not the kind of chap you want to get in a scrap with!

That's another 60 points for me I believe. Now, on to some line infantry.

_______________________________________________________________

'The Room of Shame"? Hooboy, do I know that feeling...

John, these are extremely characterful miniatures, and I do like the fantasy take on Napoleonics (Does this mean the Ogre of Corsica will be an actual Ogre?).

I have no idea what a Prussian Jäger is supposed to look like, but I like what I see; 60 points, well played Sir!

Ev

From JezT - AVBCW - Armed Police - 65Points

Hi All,

This is my first post for this competition. To say hello, I am Jez, a wargamer based in the UK near Coventry. I tend to do all 28 mm gaming mainly playing Basic Impetus games against local friends and my brother.  This is my third year as an entrant and pushing myself for 500 points. I love the painting challenge as a way of motivating yourself through projects. This year at least made sure I had bought some lead before the challenge started, in fact made the mistake of starting painting lots of projects but finishing nothing.

Anyway my first finished entry is actually a new project for A Very British Civil War genre, the mythical civil war set in 1938. We are going to use the popular Bolt Action rules - I am sure these are going to work well especially with the "Operation Sealion" booklet option with the Home Guard type extra rules. Anyway I will be the government forces player and armed police seemed an obvious category for a squad.

These are the initial squad, a mix of Footloose Irish Civil War and Foundry Victorian period police. These would benefit from some support so added in a Lewis light machine gun support, blended from some head swaps.

Also added a mounted command element, and as playing using Bolt Action I have a mounted and also a dismounted figure to use. 

The mounted figures are from Foundry. In total this is 2 mounted and 9 foot so 65 points to get me started. If anyone has any recommendations for other manufacturers and figures that would fit the mounted police or foot theme please post. 

Cheers and "chin chin" to defeating that Bolshevik and commie swarm  - Jez

____________________________________________________________

Welcome aboard Jez!

I can't remember the last time I saw the Old Bill in the hallowed halls of the AHPC, and these are a real treat. AVBCW is a setting made for the creative painter and converter. 

That's 65 runs on the board, a cracking first submission!

Ev

From StuartL - Qui étaient les Bretons? (Who were the Bretons?) - 295 Points

As part of this challenge, I am aiming to get some larger forces done as well as the various bits and pieces for the Squirrel duel. This was one of the larger sets I had ready to go. In all these took me about 2 weeks, half the time I had expected and way less time than they probably would have done without the challenge to motivate me.

I started playing Saga nearly 2 years ago and have Saxon and Viking forces already. I bought a few boxed sets of the Conquest Games plastic Normans a while ago and started building up a force for them. After a friend gave me some extra Normans, I realised that I had more than enough for a second force, so I built them as Bretons. In Saga Normans are the go to choice for heavy cavalry. The Bretons use the same rules more or less, but are more lightly armed skirmishers, preferring the harass the enemy with javelins rather than run them down with spears.

To lead my force, I have a Warlord and 2 units of Hearthguard. These are the best units in the army and can generally be expected to unleash a shower of sharp pointy sticks on anyone that gets too close to them. To further differentiate my Normans from my Bretons, I have used round shields on all of the Bretons (the Normans get the more recognisable Kite shields).

The Bretons were based in Brittany on the North West coast of France, but as the name may imply, they originated in Britain. When the Anglo-Saxons invaded Britain, some of the locals felt that there were too many foreigners entering from Europe and decided to leave, a kind of Brexodus if you will. Mainly between 450 and 600 AD waves of British people crossed over the channel to what is now Brittany and settled there.

Next up is a unit of warriors. These form the core of the force, offering a mobile unit capable of dealing with most enemy troops on an equal footing and scarpering away when it looks a bit dangerous. If need be I can also split them into two units of hearthguard if I want to play a bigger game. 

For all of my Saga forces, I try to create a fairly uniform look, while keeping them visually distinct by limiting my palette. I use 3 colours for the tunics, 3 different colours for the leggings/under-tunics and 3 for the shields. In this case, Vallejo's Hull Red, Russian Uniform and Iraqi Sand for the main tunic colours, Ultramarine, Warm Grey and Mephiston Red (GW) for the leggings/under tunics and Ultramarine, Mephiston Red and White for the shields. By mixing them up, you get a cohesive looking force while maintaining an irregular look.

These 8 warriors on foot are my defensive troops. Armed with spears instead of Javelins, they are in the army to take and hold an area while the more mobile troops cause havoc on the enemy lines from a distance.

All of the shields are hand painted, it takes a while and maybe doesn't look as nice as transfers, but I like the chance to be creative and again, create an irregular uniformity to the force. On some of the shields I have painted small Christian crosses. The original British people who made the crossing to France may well have been Pagans early on in the migration period, but there were certainly Christians among them during the later part. As these models are all from the 1066-ish era, they would all have been devout Christians and I wanted to represent that on the tabletop.

My final unit is a group of javelin armed levies. These are a weaker unit and I'll probably use them as a speed bump to guard the flanks of my more valuable troops from my opponent's melee units. I have very low expectations for them based on similar units in my Saxon force. If they manage to cause a casualty or two, that's enough for me.

These are the only models that aren't from Conquest, being instead from Gripping Beast's Dark Age Warriors box. As figures go, they are pretty simple, but they do the job of looking like ragged peasants forced into service.

Some of the models have small water effects on their bases as I wanted to do something to make them even more visually different from my other forces. It was my first time trying to use basing material to build a hollow area for the water effects, but I think they came out ok. 

And this is the army as a whole. They were a lot of fun to build and paint, and I hope they will frustrate my opponents as they dash forward, lob a volley of javelins and then retreat back to safety. They seem like a tricky force to use, but fun.
I am a big fan of plastic kits and one of the best parts about them is being able to kit-bash models together from a variety of sources. Sadly Conquest made some design decisions that makes their kit incompatible with other makers like Gripping Beast or Fireforge, which is a shame as I would have loved to be able to do some head swaps. If you have the time and the patience, green stuff and a sharp pair of clippers would allow you to mix and match parts, but as I wanted to have these ready to go for the challenge, I just built them straight from the box. They still look great and I'm happy with them. Maybe when I get round to my Normans I'll have the extra time to convert them a little.

In total, there are 17 cavalry and 20 infantry, which I believe is 270 points and an extra point towards my Squirrel tally.
_______________________________________________________

Well done, Stuart, and a cracking second submission for the week. I'm throwing in 25 extra points for the painted shields as well, terrific job!

Ev

From StuartL - Ultramarines from the Horus Heresy - 25 Points

For my third entry for the painting challenge, I offer 5 space marines from the Ultramarines Legion. The models come from the Burning of Prospero set and are wearing an earlier style of power armour than the usual marine models for Warhammer 40,000. 

When Games Workshop released the two Horus Heresy boxed games, I bought both of them and picked up a few spare figures from a friend. I already painted some of my collection as Word Bearers (the adversaries for these blue chaps) and now I have used this painting challenge to make a start on my second force.

The models are mainly painted with Vallejo, though I did use a couple of GW washes. The armour is done in Vallejo Ultramarine Blue, which I had some issues with during painting. When I applied a wash over the blue, some of it washed off!! I don't know whether it was down to a bad batch of paint or what, but since I was going back over with a second layer it didn't cause too much trouble.

The models all have transfers on their shoulder pads. However, I didn't have any of the extra solvents and what have you that allow for easy application of transfers. Usually it's no problem on flat surfaces, but the curvature of the shoulder pads means that most of the transfers don't sit correctly on top. I expect they'll tear at some point in the near future.

Anyway, 5 28mm figures should net me 25 points for my tally and an additional squirrel point.
_________________________________________________________

A valiant squad indeed. I have a sneaking affection for the old 'beakies', but I suppose these Marines are the real old skool variety, technically speaking!

25 points, well-earned!

Ev

From SimonM: "Lucid Eye Publications" Lord Rascal's Skeleton Swordsmen (20 Points)

These four "cartoon scale white metal" Skeleton Swordsmen are produced by “Lucid Eye Publications” and are available from the company's "Toon Realms" range. Sculpted by Steve Saleh and led by Lord Rascal, I thought this quartet would form part of the Undead Light Foot unit I'm currently building for my 'Lord Of The Toons' project using the "Dragon Rampant" rule-set.

Originally primed with two coats of "Vallejo" Dark Sand, the four miniatures were somewhat soaked in "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade and subsequently dry-brushed using (more) "Vallejo" Dark Sand. I then dry-brushed them rather more lightly with Dead White, before 'picking out' their swords and shield emblems using a combination of "Citadel" Ironbreaker and Nuln Oil.

So as to give the hand-weapons something of an edge, and to 'highlight' the details on the skeleton's armour, both of these areas were later delicately dry-brushed with a little smidgen of "Citadel" Ironbreaker. I also painted each of their shields in either "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna, Heavy Blue, Heavy Violet or Black, and dirtied them all up with a shade of "Citadel" Nuln Oil.
_________________________________________________________

I do like these guys! Lucid Eye are producing some extremely nice sculpts (or 'skullpts' as the case may be); definitely a studio to watch.

20 points for these cheery (and chibi) undead!

Ev

From SimonM: "Kitbash Games" Punchline (5 Points)

This 28mm scale resin miniature of Punchline is produced by “Kitbash Games” and will be one of the company's stretch goals for its upcoming "Supers Unlimited" "Kickstarter" in January 2019. "Better-known locally as Zorbo the Magnificent", this penniless clown entertainer "found two gleaming golden power gloves fallen from a smashed glass case" in an abandoned super-lair, which would transform him into a "heavy-hitting villain."

Dave Zorbavic was initially primed using two coats of "Vallejo" Heavy Green and had his trousers shaded with "Citadel" Biel-Tan Green. I then 'picked out' his big boots and tie with "Vallejo" Heavy Red, before heavily washing his bulbous footwear with "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson and his neck cloth in Nuln Oil. The mortgage defaulter's shirt was pigmented using a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Violet and "Citadel" Druchii Violet.

The criminal's power gloves were originally treated to a layer of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna, and were subsequently painted with Gold and then a serious splash of "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade. As a final step they were dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" Gold. I decided against simply giving the clown an entirely "Vallejo" Dead White head by leaving some of his flesh showing around his neck and bonce, and simply washed it with a little Pale Grey.

As a final step I picked out the former party entertainer's hair with "Vallejo" Heavy Red and "Citadel" Nuln Oil", and his nose with a dab of "Vallejo" Heavy Red. I chose not to shade the nose as I wanted the red to appear quite flat, and eventually decided against applying any additional red-coloured make-up to his face and mouth as well, as I rather liked the hauntingly lifeless look his pure "Vallejo" Black eye sockets and mouth slit created...
________________________________________________________

The second of the week's entries from Simon sees a... well, I'm not familiar with the subject in question, but my word, isn't he a cheery chap? And rather disturbing as well...

5 points, and we're on to the last of Simon's submissions!

Ev

From SimonM: "Fantasy Flight Games" Wookie Warriors (30 Points)

These four 47mm tall hard plastic miniatures of Wookie Warriors are produced by “Fantasy Flight Games” and can be found inside the company's four-figure strong "Wookie Warriors" Expansion Box for "Star Wars: Legion". "Easily assembled" this quartet show the Kashyyyk Killers "charging into the fray, brandishing their Ryyk Blades" and consists of a Bowcaster Wookie, a Wookie Warrior Leader and two Wookie Warriors.

As with my previously painted Chewbacca miniature, each figure was originally undercoated with "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna, shaded with "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade, and dry-brushed with both (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna and (lighter) Heavy Brown. I then applied a combination of "Citadel" Doombull Brown and "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade to any waist-bags, straps or ammunition pockets on the miniatures.

Having decided to simply pigment all of their bandoleer in "Vallejo" Gunmetal Grey, I also used this metallic acrylic paint to 'pick out' their firearms (whether holstered or not) and their shoulder-armour. All of these areas were subsequently washed with some "Citadel" Nuln Oil, before being 'highlighted' with more "Vallejo" Gunmetal Grey. In addition, I shaded the shoulder-pads and the Wookie Warrior Leader's arm-shield with a splash of "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade to help separate it from the plain dull 'steel' look of their weaponry.

As a final step, I painted the Wookies' infamous blades with "Citadel" Ironbreaker and Nuln Oil, and later dry-brushed their edges with a spot more Ironbreaker. I also dabbed a spot of either "Vallejo" Heavy Brown or Gold over the furry aliens' hair braids and gave them a quick wash of "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade for good measure.
________________________________________________________

Nice one Simon,

These just missed the cut-off for last Wednesday, but they're worth the wait - 28 points plus another two because of sizing anomalies (yes, I'm sticking with that, I'm a minion of my word)! 

Now on to your next submission, and my, haven't you been busy...?

Ev

From TeemuL: Ral Partha and Prince August (50 points)

Random set of old Ral Partha and Prince August miniatures from late 1980s and early 1990s, all based on 25mm mdf bases from Warbases. Several of these are females, so I'm joining the Sarah's Choice competition again. These models come from variety of sources, mostly some bargains, when someone (or someone's mother) sells old game things and toys for ridiculously low price on internet market places, or some clever trades (like 20 plastic glade guard for 20 metal random miniatures). Some of them had never seen paint, some of them I stripped and then painted. These would be good for RPGs or some skirmish games or may be as objective markers, civilians etc in various games, but unfortunately I'm not expecting to play any of those games. However, this Challenge always drives to paint some random miniatures in order to get the lead pile smaller. They are much faster to paint than GW models for example, so I don't complain. :)

 

They are bit different, but unified bases and quite limited palette gives them a group feeling, they could easily be in the same world and area. They have mostly the same skin color for example and so on.

First three zombies, Prince August UN7, they have seen better days, but still going strong.

 

Druid, Prince August CH13, and Houri, Prince August CH16, Druid here is my favorite of this bunch.

Two clerics, Ral Partha AD&D 11-002, 1988 - 30 years old!

Enchantress, Ral Partha D&D 1990, after I had painted and washed, I finally understood what she is carrying - a cat! It was just a very strange object before, but paint does miracles. I don't know if she should be holding something in her raised hand or not, could be broken.

Female thief, Ral Partha Basic Heroes box 1991, she has a dagger behind her back!

And Kender rogue, also female, Ral Partha 11-014, one of the two in the set.

If you look very closely, you can see, that I took some extra steps and painted some makeup on some of the females...

10 25mm miniatures gives me another 50 points and 1 Squirrel point from "25mm general fantasy" genre.

____________________________________________________________

Some lovely old figs there Teemu - 50 points it is!

Ev