From ByronM - 1/144 Bandai X-Wing - Mudry's Mesa (36 Points)

For today's painting challenge entry I will be visiting my own map space, Mudry's Mesa.  The rules for my space are that the model has to be bought after the challenge was announced, or was purchased due to someone else's submission last year. 

This figure was purchased on a whim while doing some last minute Christmas shopping for my sons at my favourite local Gundam store (miHobbies) here in Winnipeg.  I saw that they had a pile of the Bandai Star Wars kits, and they were very reasonably priced.  Since I have loved putting together several Bandai Gundam kits over the last year (much to my wife's annoyance "where are you going to put those..."), so thought, why not try one of their Star Wars kits as well.

I could not help but add a space background to at least one image,
as I think this looks almost good enough to use to create a stop motion movie from!

The kit comes with both a 1/72 and a 1/144 X-wing in the box for a pretty reasonable price, or you can buy just the 1/144th separately.  I picked up the dual pack and got to work over the holidays.

The 1/144th scale kit is super simple to build having maybe 20 parts, but oh boy does it have detail! Oh, and the wings move! The 1/72 scale kit in the box seems to have probably 100 parts and even more amazing detail... hopefully I will get it done sometime later in this challenge.

After assembly, I did a quick pin wash with black oil paint and then cleaned it up with my handy Gaia notes finish master swabs. 

I then painted up the rest of the model and added some of the decals, and was done!  Super fast and simple, but I believe it looks almost perfect as is so didn't really do much else to it.

Unfortunately, I now really want to get a pile of these models and do a game with them, rather than the smaller Fantasy flight versions.  Heck, I may even just want to jump right to the 1/72 scale versions that they do, as those could look amazing mounted on tripods zipping around a gymnasium at a convention playing x-wing using a huge scale!  I know, I am kinda crazy....

Oh, and for scale here is one picture with a standard 28mm figure.  

I am not really sure on what it is worth points wise, so will leave that to my fellow minions to decide on.  Since it is for a map space (my own), I do know it gets a bonus 30 points for that.

***

There was a time when I would have been so excited to see some Star Wars content! After all, is there any cooler fighter out there than the X-Wing? In any scale, a game where I get to zip around in an X-Wing and paste TIE fighters should be pure gold, so I salute your insane plan Byron - we could cover the gymnasium floor with space mats...just saying...

Alas, the appalling combination of Disney's Korporate Klowns and the various directors, marketing buffoons et al have so thoroughly and completely mucked up and wh***d out this once beloved franchise, I find myself trying to find the Nissan logo on the X-Wing model in your submission.  Here in Canada we see Star Wars now being used to assure us that Bell Internet is "hyperspace fast".  And did you know the Force is actually Bell's 4G network? F*ck off. 

But none of my grouchyness has anything to do with the quality of the submission here! The X-Wing model looks fantastic, and your efforts with the oil paints and swab serve only to enhance it.  One hopes it can make the kill shot on a space station full of marketing f*cks while they are signing a naming rights agreement...

Points? Well, I think this should count this as a couple of 10mm vehicles (I think 1/144scale  is not too far from 10mm). So that should give you 36 points.  Well done Byron - I look forward to the 1/72 version :)

GregB

From JamieM: A Gnarly Submission (52 Points)

Word up dudes, a quick Gnarly post for me today. I think you’ll agree it’s pretty Rad to be here.  Dudes.  Ahem.

Anyway, it’s a 28mm MDF skateramp from ttcombat that I really liked the look of as being something a little different  I like the asymmetry in Line of Sight blocking that it provides.

I think I might have gone a little overboard with the weathering, but that's what Cleethorpes Council get for using paint they found in the bargain aisle at B&Q instead of proper outdoors paint I guess....

The graffiti is printed onto special decal paper, sealed with varnish and then applied.  I think you'll agree that it adds a certain level of sophistication.

It's a decent sized piece, as you'll see with the local Yoof of Today enjoying it below.

With regards scoring, it's my entry at Mudry's Mesa as I bought it as part of a job lot of items from eBay that were delivered on 27th December.  I know, I know, the Challenge is about reducing one's lead pile.....

Anyway, with regards the size I was going to suggest 15 points as my maths isn't good enough to relate the shape of it into the scoring unit!

So 30 for the Mesa and 15 for the scenery for 45 points is my guesstimate.

Next up?  I'm striking out for Cooke's Crevasse..... as it were.

***
Wow, lot's of creative terrain today.  Certainly Jamie, this terrain submission speaks to me...basically, I would want to drive a motor rifle division over this structure and any "yoof" enjoying it, and any surrounding park that contains it...so suffice to say, your efforts have hit the nail on the head, as your recreation of the skate ramp structure has provoked the same feelings in me that a real one does!

Your math skills might be on the wane, but surely they are stronger than anyone using a skateboard at such a ramp.  Your 45 point guesstimate is off only slightly...I have this scored at 50 points, and I add two points for the hilarious graffiti. So 52 points total for you, sir! 

Now get off my lawn...

GregB

From PeteF: We are Gathered Heer (50 Points)

After a short balloon trip I took a break from Challenge Island exploration to chip away at the WW2 Germans. This is a squad of ten infantry that came as part of the Warlord Games box of Blitzkrieg Germans.

I enjoy working with hard plastic figures and like the variety you can get with all the heads and different equipment set ups. The main thing that can go wrong is head positioning - one of these must have slid a bit while it was curing - can't see it from 2 foot though.

This was my first, very small, experiment with chipping medium - I painted a coat of rust, then the medium, then green before giving it a brush. I think I'll use some on at least the wheels and tracks of the tank that I'll be tackling soon. Are you supposed to varnish over it afterwards or just leave it once you have all the chips you want?

Challenge X is really helping with motivation for this project. The Blitzkrieg box has spent a long time on the shelf of shame - just a tank, a mortar team and another squad and I'll have a 1,000 point army for Bolt Action.

Ten 28mm infantry for 5 points each. Now for some camels.

***

Well, even more Blitzkrieg-era Germans! It's good to see the Challenge inspiring people to dig out their assorted boxes and get moving on all sorts of projects.  Whether for Bolt Action or Chain of Command (or whatever other awesome rules are out there), it looks WW2 gaming is definitely getting a boost from the early phases of Challenge X. 

Great work on these Pete, they look ready to take Europe by storm. 50 points on the tally sheet for you!

GregB

From BenitoM: German Early War LMG Teams (30 points)

Today (Jan 6th) is Epiphany day. In Spain (and I believe, in some other European Countries) is the traditional day to exchange Christmas presents: instead of Santa Claus, children await the arrival of the Three Wise Men (Melchior, Gaspar and Balthasar) riding their camels at the head of a caravan loaded with toys, in the night between the 5th and 6th of January.

 

It also happens to be a holiday in Spain (... and sadly my last day of the Christmas break, tomorrow the office will  reopen), so I take this opportunity to offer you my latest painting work for the Challenge as an Epiphany Day present.

I continued progressing with my core project for this year's edition of the Challenge, the German Early War platoon for Chain of Command. Having concluded the HQ section (senior leaders and 5cm mortar), now I will turn my attention to the each of the three squads.

In Chain of Command, each squad is divided in two fire teams: one manning the squad's LMG (with a crew of three)  and the other composed of six rifle-armed privates. I have concluded today two of the LMG teams.

One is moving towards the front, and as you can see they are wearing the cap instead of the steel helmet and the privates are heavily loaded with extra ammo boxes and belts as well as the full combat gear.

The other team is now very close to enter into action and enagae the enemy; they may be taking positions near their jump of points, advancing more carefully and with lighter gear.

These are 28mm plastic models from the Warlord Blitzkrieg German Infantry box. I have mentioned in previous entries that the scultpting is very good and the variety of poses allows to personalize each of the 30 models in the box.

One comment thorugh, for the model carrying the LMG on the shoulder I have used a spare part of the Perry German DAK box, which is made of one single piece. You can replicate this same pose with the Warlord box but will have to glue one arm and the MG 34.

This entry represent additional 30 points to my score on the challenge (six 28mm models @5 points each)

Before closing the post, I owe Curt and asnwer to a comment in a previous post, in which he asked how I did work the steel helmets of my Germans.

Let's start by stating that I am a tabletop painter, I'm not looking to win a Golden Demon. My approach is making the right effort to look good on a table at a distance. The critical factor here is to focus in what you see of the model looking from above at 1.0-1.5 meters distance. 

 

In the case of the helmets the process is as follows (illustraed with some pictures hopefully of good enough quality)

The base color of my German models is a very dark grey:

I apply a first layer of lighter grey on the helmet, but centered in the areas that the gamer is going to see on the table. In this case, with the helmet hanging from the belt, the upper part and about half of the front.

A final third  lighter layer is applied. Don't be worried about overdoing for two reasons:  the colors get darker after varnishing and the contrast effect is diluted when you look from a distance.

  

A view of the model form above (bird/player eyes)

As you see, nothing complex or difficult to achieve. Important when doing the painting work: don't forget from time to time to look the model at a distance, the perception can change significantly. 

Hope this explanation helps.

***
Hello Benito - Happy Epiphany Day! Did I say that correctly? I'm uncertain, as I'm plugged into the North American timing and traditions for Christmas, but it is always fun to learn about the different traditions and approaches to various holiday seasons around the world.  I hope you have enjoyed your break - we have certainly enjoyed your painting.

And this is another fine example. These Germans look the business.  I particularly like the MG34 team that is ready to get the weapon into action, very well done. I'm sure Curt will also appreciate the brief tutorial - I know I do! I always love learning how different Challengers approach their painting, thank you for sharing this with us. 

And yes, these six Blitzkrieg-ing Germans will fetch you another 30 points. We look forward to continued progress on your project. 

GregB

From RayR: Challenge Island - Docherty's Dock (40 Points)

At last! I've finally got something painted!!!

I've had a bit of a nightmare, like other Challengers I had grand plans of what I was going to paint

over the Christmas break, then on Boxing Day, I went and did my back in! No, I wasn't at the gym, or swimming, or doing gardening or even DIY.  It's all Postie's fault, the git had the audacity to knock on my front door!

In the act of getting out of the chair to answer the door, my back decided it'd had enough for the day

and seized up. By the evening I was in agony, next day Diazipam and Tramadol ended my Christmas totally. For the next week I sat in the chair dribbling!! So painting was well out the window!

Well now I'm back! Although the said back is still not all that clever to be honest. But I can at least sit at the desk, paintbrush in hand! Phew!

My first entry sees me attack Challenge Island, I'm starting on the Path of the Forgotten at Docherty's Dock. I have seen this figure already painted up, but can't remember who entered it. The figure is from Black Tree Designs and will be added to my Donnybrook Moor army.

It's was a fairly simple paint job, and I'm pleased with how Mr Moor and his camel Dave turned out!

I'm more pleased with my newly made grass tutfs! I was bought the tuft machine the Xmas before last, then a month before the Challenge I made up a few sheets, it's a bit messy but well wort the effort!

As for points a work it out to be 10 points for the figures, plus 30 points for the Challenge Island entry.


***
Hello Ray! I must confess, I assumed sitting in the chair dribbling was something of a default state of existence for you which interfered in no way with your painting output. 

That said, we are all relieved to hear that things are well enough for you to get on with your painting for yet another Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge! It looks as though "Dave" is sufficiently burdened with goods that I can only assume have been smuggled.  Very nice - and your home made tufts (there is a machine for that?) are lovely. 

40 points for you - we await more...

GregB

AdamC: Curtgeld Combative Sailor (30 Points)

I picked up this fellow with my "Master and Commander" set for Black Seas and I thought he would make a worthy Curt Geld.  Its a good sculpt as one would expect from Warlord.  A dramatic but balance posed and good details that where easy to paint.

I wanted to keep his outfit simple and fairly generic so he would fit in with a number of armies.  A Yellow brown color for this pants with red pin strip  or "ticking" (as its called in the reenacting world).  I went with a medium gray which works for a dingy linen shirt with a frailly heavy wash and then highlight in the same gray.

I went with a red brown for the leather belt and cartridge box (props to Warlord for remembering this detail on a pirate/sailor figure so many forget it!).  The dirk strapped to his for arm is the only point I'm not a fan of it seems like an awkward argument. Speaking as a sometime historical fencer I can say I would want to have a hold of the weapon. Still rule of cool and it does look cool if a trifle impractical.

One last picture to show how the figure looks at "table range" for points 5 points for a 25mm figure and 25 for Curtgeld comes to 30 points for my modest little pile.

So with five map locations I'm ready to discover my way up Snow Lord's Peak. To review I've visited Douglas' Shallows, Cook's Crevase (twice), Docherty's Dock, Hawkin's Hill  and O'Grady's Gulch. Next I will probably attempt the task award to me by Curt though I do have some flares ready to summon Sarah's Balloon if I don't have something ready to go that fits that at this time unknown task right away.

***

Great work Adam, I'm sure Curt will be glad to see this addition to his Geld Collection - and "combative" Curtgeld is great Curtgeld.  The "ticking" (always great to learn new things like this!) looks very nice.  Certainly pin striping is very tricky, and I hope you are pleased with the results of your efforts.

30 points for you, Adam, keep up the great work.

From LeeH - The Crumbling Inn - 20 Points

Today's entry is another one of my bluefoam scratch-built model ruins for Forstgrave. I do have some more resin models to work on but these still need to be cleaned and primed so I decided to work on one of my foam models first. I'm doing buildings in several styles, some are monumental buildings 'made' of great stone blocks while other buildings are brick and plaster. This is one of the latter and represents a crumbling Inn or coaching house. 

I went to town on this building throwing all my newly learned foam modelling techniques at it. So we have brickwork exposed under the plaster, window ledges and lintels, cracked plasterwork and even the remains of a wooden floor and internal walls. I'm hoping to make more buildings like this later in the challenge, with a view to providing a variety of modular terrain and multiple levels for players to exploit. I have made some smaller buildings which will be seen later in the challenge and will be exploring various techniques as I learn them. Incidentally, I have found YouTube an invaluable resource for how-to videos and tutorials and would definitely recommend this for anyone tackling this material for the first time. 

Aside from using the bluefoam for the walls I also used thinner foam board for details like the window ledges and coffee sticks to make the wooden floors. As before, the ground is covered in a scattering of tallus and hand made bricks to represent the collapsed roof. I did consider building up the floor with a depth of collapsed building but decided I needed relatively flat floors for models to be placed on. 

The whole building stands a little over 4.5" tall and has a 'footprint' of 6" by 9" giving an internal volume 243in³ so a little over one terrain box.

***
Wow, Lee, great work here.  It's all I can do to drag my lazy rear into painting any wargaming terrain. Building it? I can't imagine! I marvel at the skills, patience and capability of those who can. While it seems you have this intended for Frostgrave, I expect it would work very well in a number of settings. 

20 points for you Lee - keep up the good work! Those of us who never touch terrain are counting on the clever, hard working folks like you to make sure there is terrain out there for all of us :)

GregB 

From AlexS: Terrain Made of Clay and Branches. Burch's Bluffs (50 Points)

Hello everybody. My name is Alex and I managed to delve into the trash before my wife threw it away. And, of course, I again bring to your attention a terrain of clay and branches.

When I was looking at the map of the island, I was happy to find the Burch's bluffs. This made me very happy. I love and respect all the participants in the event, but Greg has a special place in my pantheon of wargamers (Oh, yes, there is Tamsin, but she is the special love of us all!). He has great ideas, excellent performance, goodwill towards other wargamers. Therefore, I could not get past the punt on the map with his name.

I have a fatal relationship with 30k - I still have not assembled the army and have not played more than once, although I periodically tried to start. I read all the books, I know how the siege of Terra will end (I won’t spoil it!), But I never started playing. Maybe this terrain set will still give me one more reason to start doing it.

 I decided to do something that will be both terrain and lenses for the game - either a warehouse with fuel, or with other chemistry. And, of course, it belongs to the Legion of the Ultramarines. I believe that he is not such an interesting order as the Sons of Horus or the Death Guard, but more promoted.

As you can see, I used simple materials from the garbage to make, an airbrush for painting and decals to create the background. Quick, easy, cheap, but it looks fine. But is this not necessary?
My traveler liked, I hope, Greg will like it and all the participants in the event.

points:
20 pts for 6x66x3 inch terrain
30 bonus pts

***
Alex, this is brilliant! Your posts are always a lot of fun, as you consistently show how every day odds and ends can be transformed into great gaming pieces.  I'm such a laggard myself when it comes to painting terrain, so I find it extremely impressive when others manage - and you always set a bar with your creativity. 

These pieces would make wonderful objective markers on any 30k or 40k table! The Sons of Horus, for their part, would have a good time looting/blowing up/sabotaging any equipment belonging to the tiresome Ultramarines.  It is also easy to imagine the Alpha Legion booby trapping all of these things - great stuff Alex.

Also have to say, I loved your description of your relationship with the 30k setting :) 

Another 50 points for you, sir!

GregB

From BenF: 20mm Royal Scots, WW2 (85 Points)

Operating under the principle of better late than never, here's my first entry for Analogue Challenge X. I was planning on my first entry being my initial step onto Challenge Island, but a combination of the first Christmas with our daughter Evie, and the catastrophic fires hitting the East Coast of Australia has meant that this hasn't happened. The fires have been quite scary, while we're in a suburban area about an hour north of Sydney, our house is surrounded by bushland. This has meant we've been watching the updates from the Rural Fire Service, have a 'go bag' packed, and have been blanketed with smoke with burnt bark and leaves falling in our yard. The closest fire got to 18km away, but wind directions changed and as I'm writing this we're having our first decent rainfall in a few months. That said tomorrow its back to 35 degrees Celsius, so it looks set to be a long summer.  As far as the challenge goes, my first entry has been driven more by necessity than design, as I needed more Second World War Brits for a game of Chain of Command this weekend gone, so this lot skipped up the painting queue.

This challenge, I'll be focusing on finishing up a few projects that have been sitting around for years - 15mm Macedonian / Antigonid Successors and Achaemenid Persians, some of which I spruiked way back in challenge VII. I'm also working through my 20mm Chain of Command British and German forces, replacing plastic figures with new offerings from Simon's Soldiers and Battlefield/Blitz. For Chain, I've also got a load of Russkies, including Eastern Front Terrain, a purchase inspired by a visit to Russia in 2018 and yet to see any paint, and I've also got a squad of Volkssturm to paint up, inspired by a viewing of JoJo Rabbit (great film by the way). Paper uniforms, overweight Nazi officials, and a Hitlerjugend Panzershreck team anyone?

Another long-dormant project is my Star Wars Legion Rebels and Imperials. I've received a gorgeous 3D prints from Skullforge Studios of 'space baby' and 'the Hunter', definitely inspired by a certain Mandalorian and little green child in a recent Disney+ TV show, so cant wait to get the paint on them. Some 6mm Napoleonics and Cold War will most likely make an appearance, as will a few Black Seas ships. That's the plans anyway...

For this entry is a bunch of Late War British troops from Simon's Soldiers. These are by the same sculptor as the Battlefield/Blitz range, and I love the dynamic sculpting style. While I do love AB, I find Simons/Battlefield better suited to my idea of a skirmish game, with troops looking as though they are under fire. I've painted these all up from the 11th Royal Scots Fusiliers, part of the 49th (West Riding) Division which saw action following the D-Day landings from the Battle of Rauray in June 1944 to the end of the War. After blunting several ferocious counterattacks by II.SS Panzer Corps at Rauray, Nazi propagandist Lord Haw-Haw gave them the nickname the 'Polar Bear Butchers', after their polar bear divisional patch. So I simply had to try to replicate the famous patch.

First off, a few commanders, or 'Big Men' as they're titled in Chain of Command. These are replacements for some old Plastic Soldier commanders, and include the lieutenant, platoon sergeant, and three corporals, each commanding one of the sections. Great sculpting on these figures, I particularly like the Lieutenant and the corporal in the jerkin.

Next, a 2" Mortar team, and two Bren teams. The 2" mortar is a valuable bit of kit for the Brits, as while its HE round is in effect a glorified hand grenade, the smoke rounds can be used to mask those terrifying MG positions. You may notice that the loaders on the Brens are slightly larger and painted in a slightly different style. They're Kelly's Heroes sculpts, from my old collection of Chain of command Brits painted around 6 years ago. I couldn't find any loaders which matched the sculpting style of Simons/Battlefield, so repurposed the old ones. Needless to say, they're not part of the entry, but I have found it interesting to contrast my older style to the new. I must say I'm much happier with the smoother blending on the flesh which I use now.

Rounding out this entry are the riflemen, the backbone of the platoon. I know I've said it before, but these really are lovely sculpts. I like the posing, but also the little details like the tea mug hanging from a pack, or the figures sculpted with tam o' shanter caps and helmets slung.

That's it for this round, this lot fought valiantly in a game this Sunday gone, and met the fate of all freshly painted troops. As far as points, twenty 20mm figures should net me 80 points by my calculations.

My next entry should hopefully be up by the weekend, and it will be my first foray onto Challenge Island.

***
Hi Ben, glad to have you among us in the 10th Edition of the Analogue Hobbies Panting Challenge. I'm sure I speak for everyone involved when I wish you and your family the best as you contemplate the fire situation. Given the ambient possible stress of dealing with a possible evacuation etc, it is impressive that you have painted anything at all, but then, one of the great things about this hobby is its ability to provide a fun escape from the demands of 1-to-1 scale real life. I certainly hope this can be the case for you!

The brushwork here is top shelf...the small markings on the shoulder, so many little things that make the quality of these fellows really stand out. Well done! 

As someone who has ranted repeatedly at AB's tendency to sculpt beautiful WW2 figures in poses that have them just standing around, I am thrilled to discover "Simons Soldiers" from this posting, and expect I will shortly melt my credit card with an order for some 20mm figures...

OK, for points, yes, these castings provide a base of 80 points, but I'm throwing in five points for painting shoulder patches. Well done!

GregB