Sunday 29 January 2023

SkullWatch XIII 3

There have been some big moves in the Skull Duel! Seasoned grognards know that scenery is where it is at, and StuartL and TeemuL got out their master crafted drybrushes for our skullicious enjoyment.

StuartL's pillars

TeemuL's grimdark architecture.

Skull Tally:

  • TeemuL 512
  • StuartL 200
  • Sander 47
  • DavidB 46
  • PeteF 25
  • ChrisW 16
  • MikeW 15
  • GregB 12
  • Barks 0

MikeW's ork with skully fashion sense

ScottR's pagan trophies



BartekR's skull-festooned Chaos Warriors

This is no mine. It's a skully tomb from FrederickC!

PeteF's red spear skellies

SteveA's undead rider and nag

Skull of the Week:

DavidB's Adepticon trophy

As always, to enter the Skull Duel:

a) tag your post 'Skull Duel'

b) state the number of skullz and your cumulative skullz

c) notify Millsy via the Side Duel Spreadsheet (in the right sidebar)

from Paul OG: Turnip28 madness (70 points)

Today I'm contributing to the Turnip28 madness squelching about this Challenge; apologies for my tardiness but Turnips mature slower out on the sludge sea you see. Root whales nibble at them you know....

Skirmishing Chaff. Extra long rifles give extra long range - it only makes sense really

Adding to my existing (pre AHPC) force is a unit of 4 Chaff (skirmishing types), a unit of 6 Brutes (melee specialists) plus two characters. 

Brutes - melee specialists in kilts

As usual, they are heavily converted with all sorts of bits - Medieval, Napoleonic, Afghan Tribesman, 3d printed components, home made bits, the odd Warhammer and 40k parts and of course much rummaging in the bitz box.
Yes one has a snail on his helmet and another holds aloft a Turnip standard. Judge not.
Adding rooty growths to one's helmet is a mark of martial prowess you know

This is a Toady, one of the Leaders of my motley crew. Super creepy.
He likes hugs. Do so at own risk.

His collection of turnips and tubors have taken over his body, even transforming his face. Still, despite a lack of eyes he can sniff out the best root tubers in the muck, so the boys continue to follow him. Conversion based on a 3d print from Knucklebones Miniatures.


I had fun building these, with all sorts of madness that made me chuckle often. From misaligned spyglass sights to double length rifles, hand painted flags and heraldry, it was a hoot. Its also wonderfully freeing to just do whatever one wants. Does take awhile though, to be honest. Not the most economical of hobby genres but worth it in terms of mental health and getting bewildered comments on posts :-)


And now the piece de resistance - the Toff (or General) of my army; Tiffin McSnobbingburn, self proclaimed Lord of the Carrot fields. 

'Bring me news of our Victory. And turnips - bring those also'

His snooty, holier-than-thou pose makes him far too good to walk in the filth with everyone else, so I built a viewing stand to keep him and his brandy out of the muck. Well, a suitably crappy and poorly constructed one, obviously but still, it keeps his shoes shiny and remarkably free of filth crusting.  Hand painted flag obviously, once again using the champagne foil method (Mrs Man Cave insists you know...)

'Bow down before my enormous Carrots!'

Collectively that is 12 x 28mm figs for 60 turnip filled points, subject to any flag/heraldry bonuses.  Plus two skullz rolling around in the muck.  And so my Turnip28 collection now looks thus:



...with something a bit different on the horizon! :-)

More mad veggie nonsense. These are really well done and the General on the viewing stand is very cool. Well done, bonuses awarded

From DallasE - Vehicle (parts!) (20 points)

A few odds'n'sods to submit this week, not vehicles exactly but vehicle parts. First up is a resin turret weapon to fit one of my Blood Drinkers Space Marine Rhinos.

It had been sitting in a bits box for probably close on 10 years, so it was time to just get it painted. It took a bit more work than just that though - I also had to fabricate a plasticard base to fit the Rhino's top hatch space.

I'd kept track of the paint mix on our blog but unfortunately, I'd painted the Blood Drinkers so long ago that the GW paints I used no longer exist (Evil Sunz Orange, anyone?)

Anyway here's a couple pics of the Rhino in standard configuration. I like that the Predator turret is easily swapped in or out. If the Rhino itself looks a little "different" that's because it's been converted with "MkI" parts from Chapterhouse Studios (RIP). I really miss that vendor...

And lastly, the Predator turret by itself.


Next up was finishing a couple more weapons for the Reaver Battle Titan - a Volcano Cannon and carapace-mounted Vulcan Mega-Bolter, both shown above

The Volcano Cannon is faintly ridiculous...but you gotta love it.

Vulcan Mega-Bolter ready to dish out some hurt.

Of course I had to stick a plate on the big Volcano.

Pic above shows production with an Iron Warriors Space Marine Sergeant. Just wanted to demonstrate a bit of the scale of the vehicle parts here.

So I'm going to claim 20 points for this lot, I hope that's acceptable. I'll be back next week with something for the Western Desert campaign.


I do like a BFG. Some nice completion work here and yes 20pts is acceptable

From StuartL - Family Issues - Historical Drama - 77 Points

Hello once more,

For my final post this week, it is off to the Historical Drama section of the studios. Well, I say Historical, but what I really mean is Future Historical Drama. 

(Warning. What follows is a fast and dirty history of the Warhammer 40,000 universe. You can skip to the pictures at the end if you aren't into SF lore.)

You see, once upon a time, a small games company in the North of England made a small SF skirmish game called Rogue Trader. Over time it evolved and became to be known as Warhammer 40,000. As the game grew, more and more of its lore and background was fleshed out. The setting as a whole is pretty grim, dark and generally a horrible dystopia. But it wasn't always like that. In the history of the setting, some 10,000 years prior to the events portrayed in the game, things weren't all that bad. Sure, it was still a grim and dark dystopia, but not quite as much as it is in the present setting. 
The story of the game really starts some time in the late 29,000's. Earth is a mess of radioactive wastelands and techno-barbarian tribes fighting over what scant resources are left. Humanity's vast interstellar empire is in ruins after all long distance travel and communication was cut off during what is known as Old Night, and things are looking pretty bad all round. However, at the turn of the millenium two things happened. Old night ended and long distance travel became possible again, and a new warlord was to emerge on Earth. Calling himself simply the Emperor, (not one for humility this one), he had created an army of genetically engineered soldiers called Thunder Warriors and set about conquering and unifying Earth. The Thunder Warriors were just the first step though, they were too unstable both mentally and genetically, so the Emperor refined his process and created the Legio Astartes, or Space Marines. To help in this process, he first created 20 Primarchs, his 'sons', each with a unique set of talents and abilities and essentially demi-gods in all but name. However, his new plans posed a threat to the denizens of the Warp (aka Space Hell), and the daemonic pantheon that ran the place decided to derail the Emperor's grand scheme to reunify humanity by stealing the Primarchs away from Earth while they were still infants and scattering them throughout the galaxy. 
This didn't really stop the Emperor so much as slow him down. With Earth under his control, his newly formed Space Marines first conquered the solar system and then began the Great Crusade. His armies would grow and swell with each new system that joined his Empire and slowly the Primarchs were found and joined as his generals. Knowing that the forces of the Warp fed on the belief of mortals, the Emperor outlawed and forbade all forms of worship. Religion gave way to logic and rationality. Each new world was rendered compliant and its churches and temples torn down and destroyed. And this is where problems began. 
One of the infant Primarchs, Lorgar, landed on a planet called Colchis. Colchis was largely a desert with scattered cities in the few areas that could sustain plant life and wandering tribes of nomads that lived in the plains. The folks of Colchis were a superstitious lot and worshipped a pantheon of gods that looked suspiciously like the daemons of the warp if you looked closely. Lorgar grew up with a preacher for his adoptive father, who taught him all the ways of worship and expected him to become a preacher himself. However, Lorgar started having visions of his real 'father' the Emperor and decided that his 'Dad' was the one true god. Using his Primarch given powers of being super persuasive and a pretty darn fine general, Lorgar conquered Colchis at the head of an army of fanatics and introduced the worship of the Emperor as the state religion. 
Once the Great Crusade arrived at Colchis, Lorgar was given command of his own legion of Space Marines known previously as the Imperial Heralds, but from hereupon as the Word Bearers, he was also told to 'Knock it off with the worshipping, I'm not a god.' by 'Dad'. Faced with this contradiction Lorgar decided that only a REAL god would deny his own divinity and set about writing a set of holy texts about how the Emperor was a god and converting any planets he conquered into massive shrines to his father's divinity. 
Once word of this got back to the Emperor, he was a little bit ticked off. Heading to the biggest shrine world along with his must reliable of legions, the Ultramarines, the Emperor had the capital city of the planet eradicated by an orbital bombardment while the Word Bearers watched. After giving the entire legion a ticking off, he then departed to continue the crusade. Lorgar, finally got the hint that maybe he shouldn't be going around preaching about the Emperor being a god. But rather than take the hint and drop the religious mumbo-jumbo he instead went back to his old Colchisian beliefs and started looking for ways to get in good with the god-like entities of the Warp. Eventually he figured it out and went full on evil-cult leader. Worlds conquered by the Word Bearers were converted to daemon worship and cults sprang up everywhere. Eventually the Word Bearers started to spread their creed through their fellow legions and soon the Emperor's chosen son, Horus Lupercal, the Warmaster was convinced that it was time for a change in regime and the forces of the warp were the perfect tool to get the job done. While the civil war that broke out would later come to be known as the Horus Heresy, it was really Lorgar who did all the real work to get the ball rolling.

TL:DR Somebody in Nottingham wrote some background for a game and I painted a model.


Way back when, GW said that they were NEVER going to make models for the Horus Heresy, but the historical setting was very popular and so 3rd party companies began making their own models for the Primarchs. This figure is by Kabuki Models and is called the Preacher Knight (to avoid copyright claims from GW). Since then, GW has started making models for the Heresy and is on its second edition of Warhammer 30,000 as a separate game from Warhammer 40,000.
Sometimes referred to as the Golden One, Lorgar would have devotional script printed on his face in golden ink, which I have tried to recreate here. His armour is dripping with books and prayers to help signal his beliefs in a set of higher powers.


The model is metal and is stood upon a resin base. The sculpt has a fair bit of detail, but doesn't go as overboard as a standard GW character model might. The mace is a little bit small and unimposing unfortunately, but overall the figure looks okay.


The model is painted in the Word Bearer's traditional grey armour colour, but after the Heresy started, they switched to a deep, dark red. I actually have a second copy of this figure, so at some point I may build that and add a few more chaotic icons before painting it with red armour.

One of my reasons for painting this figure was that I actually need it for a game this week. On Sunday my friend and I will be playing a game of 30K using my Ultramarines army and my Word Bearers army. The Word Bearers will have a small allied contingent of World Eaters and the Ultramarines will have some Space Wolves as back-up. As my Space Wolf force is pretty small, I decided to add a few minis to that force for the game too.


This model will be the junior commander leading the Space Wolf contingent. It is mainly made from parts for 40K, but I think it still fits with the 30K aesthetic.


You can't have a Space Wolf commander without a fur cloak, it is an unwritten rule of the game. The model is based on an older 25mm base as it was assembled years ago.


This Tactical Support Squad brings some extra fire-power to the Space Wolves as they assault the enemy. Armed with Volkite (i.e. death-ray) weapons, their job is to pin the enemy down while the main force charges into contact with a variety of swords and axes. These figures are from the newer Age of Darkness box set and have a few Space Wolf parts added to make them look like they belong in this feral legion.


Technically speaking this Predator tank is from Warhammer 40,000, but one of the nice parts of the game is that a lot of the models can be used for both settings. There is a new 30K model of this tank that came out recently, but I haven't had a chance to assemble mine yet.


And the officer, the squad and the tank as a whole. There are 12 skulls dotted about the tank and the infantry's wargear.

And finally, a scale shot of Lorgar. I think he is going to count as a 40mm model rather than 28mm.


For scoring:
1x 40mm model = 7 Points
6x 28mm infantry = 30 Points
1x 28mm tank = 20 Points
Historical Drama = 20 Points
Total = 77 Points


Just one more location to go for the green area of the map.

My side duels:
Squirrels +1 = 19
Anglo-Saxons, Vikings, Dwarves, Fire Giants, WW2 Polish, Daemons, Viridians, Vasa, Junkers, Turnips, Necrons, Tau, Genestealers, WW2 Japanese, Teutonics, Lizardmen, Gnolls, Arabs, Space Marines

Skulls +12 = 200

Turnips +0 = 85 Points

So that is what 30K is about, makes sense. Now what is 40K about? This is a great post and I love the Predator tank. Great way to end a fantastic week's output. now work harder

From StuartL - Into the Void Once More - Lady Sarah's Limousine - 75 Points

Hello again,

To continue my exploration of the AHPC Challenge Studios, GmbH., it is time for another trip in Lady Sarah's Limousine. Once again, I will be offering a miniature from the Void range as payment, and this time heading to the Historical Drama area.


This is another marine from the VASA faction of the game. Void was ahead of its time in offering mixed units of men and women, but still a bit behind the times in terms of design. The men are generally in shooting or action poses, but the women are in more of a 'posing' pose.


As I used the same design of figure for my last trip, I thought I should show you both side by side to prove that I didn't just repaint the skin and call it a day. This brings me to the last of my painted Void figures, so I am going to have to start looking around for more female minis if I hope to continue enjoying the luxury of the limo service.

And to help fill up this post, I also painted up a bunch of Arabian troops for Saga.


These ten figures are a mix of Gripping Beast plastic and Black Tree Designs metal minis. The two ranges scale pretty well together and the BTD figures will help break up the monotony of the 5 poses in the GB figures in my force. 


For historical figures like this, I tend to go for three colours for a force and repeat them for the main items of clothing, in this case their robes and their turbans. This helps to give a slightly uniform look to the force on the table, while still making them look like a bunch of individuals. I haven't done much with the shields, so I may revisit them when I have had time to look up some suitable designs.

So for scoring:
11x 28mm infantry = 55 Points
Lady Sarah's Limousine = 20 Points
Total = 75 Points.

My side duels:
Squirrels +1 = 18
Anglo-Saxons, Vikings, Dwarves, Fire Giants, WW2 Polish, Daemons, Viridians, Vasa, Junkers, Turnips, Necrons, Tau, Genestealers, WW2 Japanese, Teutonics, Lizardmen, Gnolls, Arabs

Skullz +0 = 188

Turnips +0 = 85 Points

Brilliant use of purple here. Love the Arab chaps as well.

From StuartL - Lizard Lord - Casting Couch - 70 Points

Hello all,

Last week, I left off with a limo ride to the Casting Couch area of the AHPC Studios, so it is from here that I will pick up this week. 

Last year, I started to paint up a Lizardman army, first with a post for Noel's Comet, then for the Challenge Star and finally in my last post of the challenge. Needless to say, I have done absolutely nothing with the army since then. When I got to the theme of the Casting Couch, I saw a great opportunity to make some more progress with the army and get one of the centrepiece models out of the way. 


While I already have a general in the form of an old Slann Mage-Priest, I wanted something with a little more bite to it for a more melee focussed force, and you can't get much bitier than a giant dinosaur being ridden by another dinosaur.


This model is a Saurus Old-blood mounted on a Carnosaur* by Games Workshop. It is a fully plastic kit, but I added a resin ruin to its base to help stabilise the model as all of the weight is on its back leg. The resin terrain comes from Green Stuff World if memory serves.


As well as being an awesome model in and of itself, it also comes with a couple of skulls to add to my tally for that side duel. The total for the monster and the rider should be enough for one Squirrel.

And because I have a tendency to paint several things at the same time, here are some Gnolls from the Reaper Bones range.


These were first undercoated in brown, and given rough drybrushes of various colours followed by an all-over brown wash. Fast, simple and suitably bestial. Three of the models are identical, but since they will probably just be meat-shields and mooks to be killed by various heroes, that is fine. Five models should also net me a Squirrel here.


So, the final scores for this post:
6x28mm infantry (5 Gnolls and the Dino-rider) = 30 Points
1x28mm monster = 20 Points
Casting Couch = 20 Points
Total = 70 Points




My side duels:
Squirrels +2 = 17
Anglo-Saxons, Vikings, Dwarves, Fire Giants, WW2 Polish, Daemons, Viridians, Vasa, Junkers, Turnips, Necrons, Tau, Genestealers, WW2 Japanese, Teutonics, Lizardmen, Gnolls

Skulls +2 = 188 

Turnips +0 = 85 Points

I abslutely love lizardmen, and have vast army. Loving the dinosaur and rider