From AndrewG: Law, Order, and the Undertaker (15 points)

Tap, tap…is this thing on? Okay! Hi everyone, my name is Andrew and let me start by saying thank you very much to Curt et al., for the kind invitation to participate this year. This being my first time doing the challenge, I set my own bar relatively low with a modest 300 points goal.

My own painting objectives over this winter are twofold. First, complete some small warbands for various skirmish games as my local group tends to play a lot of these. Second, add some more units to my ongoing big battle projects, specifically the Battle of Northampton in 1460 (Wars of the Roses) and the Battle of Bunker Hill/Breed's Hill in 1775 (American War of Independence).

My first entry is a simple one and consists of a couple of 28mm Old West characters which I can use for skirmish games such as What a Cowboy or Dead Man’s Hand. I bought these over a decade ago at a show in the US, and they’ve been sitting in the pile of opportunity since then waiting patiently for the paintbrush.

 

 

From left to right – a Wargames Foundry character (Judge Guthrie Prentice dismounted), the 2012 Partizan Show figure (No.15) - ‘The Undertaker’ - sculpted by Mike Owen, and an Artizan Gunfighters figure representing ‘The Bad’ in the Good/Bad/Ugly set. These will form the core of my law-and-order folks, soon to be challenged by a couple of gangs which I’m currently working on.

I find Western figures a joy to paint – the colours are simple, yet small touches can add some nice variety to an otherwise dull palette. The Undertaker’s waistcoat for example done in purple betrays the fact that his business is booming and he can afford some nicer threads. For the other two, functionality is the key. Simple clothes that hide dirt and a long day’s work.

I painted the figures with a range of Vallejo and Army Painter paints. I started with a black primer and then worked up from there, using colour, washes, and quick highlights where appropriate. The bases are simple plastic 2mm thick rounds. The basing materials consist of tufts from Vallejo scenery and Quicksand basing paste from Legendary Paints, over which I add a highly complex mixture of the free sandy grit that collects at the end of my driveway every spring before the dust cleaners go by (if you live in Canada and suffer winter road conditions, you’ll immediately know what I’m referring to). Once dried, I gave it a wash of Army Painter Warpaints Soft Tone to bring it all together. A bit of Vallejo Flat Earth covers the base rim.

Finally, I do two coats of varnish to protect the miniature for play. Done and dusted and ready for the table!

Claiming 3x 28mm foot = 15 points to get things rolling.

_______________________________

First off, welcome to the Challenge, Andrew! It's terrific to welcome new people into the fold of Challengeristas. 

These gunslingers look terrific and compliment each other wonderfully even though they are from different sculptors. Very neat and tidy brushwork, and your basing is equally on-point (what did we ever do without tufts?). 

This trio will give you 15 points to work towards your target. Well done! I look forward to your upcoming entries over the next three months. 

- Curt