From QuinnM: Tree Lord and some Malifaux (35 points)

This week I didn't quite finish as many models as I wanted to, but I was able to get some Malifaux completed. These are some versatile terracotta soldiers for Malifaux. These guys are some quick washes and dry brushes just to have something more than one guy for this week

And then the model that I spent most of the week touching up and refining. We have a tree-lord from Age of Sigmar. I've seen a number of these guys painted up online as cherry blossom trees (Sakura trees) and they all look amazing. And I ultimately decided to do the same for my Army. 

I am still waiting on some pink flock to fully finish him. But ultimately the OSL and nmm are things I don't have a lot of practice with and I'm going to try and do a lot of it across the entire Army. We have a larger batch that's not quite finished for next week. 

only for size ref

Points this week for me are a little tricky as this guy is big. So I'm going to leave points to you 

3x 28mm foot soldier @ 5 points = 15 points

1x 28mm vehicle @ 20 points = 20 points

Total = 35 points

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Sylvain: Quinn, this is a great "fusion" of cultural references, and very colorful too. Because of its hybrid aura, your treeman feels otherworldly. As for your terracotta warriors, they have a great earthy texture. Bravo!

Scoring is not easy, since you obviously spent a gazillion more hours on one figurine than the 3 others. I will score your large figurine as a 28mm vehicle.

From GregB: Axehole: The Sequel (15 points)

"Saturnine Praetor" for the XV Legion Astartes. Multi-part plastic kit from GW. 

In strict technical marketing terms, this is a "Saturnine Praetor" kit for Games Workshop's "Age of Darkness" setting (a.k.a the Horus Heresy). He is wearing the colours and symbols of the XV Legion Astartes, the Thousand Sons.This is a multi-part (like, a LOT of parts) plastic kit from GW. But never mind what it said on the box. Let's call this figure for what it is: "Axehole: The Sequel". 

NOTE: You may be asking: "Wait a minute - a sequel? Who/what was the first one?" See the original "Axehole" at this link. 

"And I took that personally" - a lot going here. I was disappointed that the decals did not show well on the scroll of the chest plate...I might go back and work on that.

In the "Age of Darkness", the Space Marine Legions ape the terminology of ancient Rome's military structure. Thus the Praetor is a senior command figure for your Space Marine Legion force. Nicer armour, fancier kit, more capabilities etc. all designed to have him stand out from his fellows. Like the original Axehole, this figure was included as part of a core Horus Heresy box set, in this case the 3.0 edition (which dropped last year). 

You will surely have observed the powered armour this fellow is wearing is rather bonkers, even by the already rather bonkers standards of GW. This is the "Saturnine" armour, and it was the "big new thing" clumsily and careless retconned into the setting and included with the 3.0 edition of the rules. Now you don't even have to be a fan of the setting to see this and think "wait, WTF? Saturnine what?"

Example of an original "Saturnine" EXO ARMOUR figure from the Rogue Trader era. Metal figure on a 25mm round base.

It is always funny to contrast how lackadaisical the GW studio types are in their treatment of their own established lore and stories for their various settings - even as its corporate office simultaneously unleashes lawyers on any outside party who tries to do anything with it. "Saturnine" armour wasn't pulled out of thin air. In fact, it has roots in very early 40k sculpts, the very first of what would come to be known as the the original metal terminators.  

So, in way, what you see in this submission. is the GW studio is going "Hey, cool more nostalgia! Just like the plastic 'beakie' Marines from version 2.0!" But the similarities end right there. First of all, hobbyists clamoured for years for a return of the "beakie" armour, but nobody ever gave a sh*t about the old Saturnine designs -mostly because they sucked hard.  I will readily acknowledge that a few 3rd party sculptors were out there with some interesting, Saturnine-style sculpts, but on the whole this kind of armour was a fringe interest.

A look at his whacky cape!

I think what was more jarring was that the Black Library has something like ten years (or more) of Horus Heresy novels where "Saturnine Armour" did not ever come up, at least to my knowledge - through like 40 or 50 novels and novellas etc. This includes the Siege of Terra novel actually titled "Saturnine"  in which the most elite forces of the Warmaster confront the most elite forces of the Loyalist defence, in the "Saturnine District" of the Imperial palace, and nobody on either side is using this amazing, elite, super powerful armour...it is never mentioned. 

Anyway, whatever..."Saturnine Armour" is "back". Retcon clownf*ckery to the side, one thing that I feel unites the core of 30k fans around the world is a shared fear of the game becoming "like 40k" (i.e. unplayable trash). If GW's studio wants to ignore the Black Library, that's one thing, but when they act to wreck what made 30k so fun and special, that is of much greater concern. 

A tool fit for an Axehole!

"Saturnine" units are popping up on Horus Heresy gaming tables, and while they are technically 30k models, they have 40k "vibes". The blind indifference to the established story (note: "well they have always changed the story" does not equate to "every change they make is great - or even good"). The scale creep (that fellow is on a 50mm base). The over-the-top weapons (I'm SURE that axe isn't compensating for any emotional problems, right?). The terrain built into the base (FFS, STOP DOING THIS - IT MAKES EVERYONE'S MODELS LOOK THE SAME). I enjoy goofy models and silly guns, but like all recipes, a balance of ingredients is important - even too much good stuff can throw things off. This one...I'm not sure...

The worst part is the comically over-powered rules for these new models on the tabletop - the rules are "broken" right out of the gate, and the new "Saturnine Terminator" units slaughter everything on the table. 

And just wait until you see the "Saturnine" dreadnought...

"Where is my latte???"

Look, it's not all bad. I'm just one ranting nut. There is a counterpoint here: many, many 30k players seem excited about these new models - whatever I think (not sure "excitement" is a word I would use for the new rules, but that is for another time). I did get a starter box of the 3.0 edition, so I have some of these "Saturnine" models, and after ignoring them for months, I figured the Painting Challenge might be a way to get them under the brush. I am in the process of continuing to expand my Thousand Sons Legion forces, and I thought I might as well designate this chap to join them! Why not let this Legion have a taste of the insane power of these new models, if only just for fun. 

These "Saturnine" models are not easy to assemble...they are designed to be flexible in their posing, and yet they are SO large that the real scope of their poses is extremely limited. Like any model type, the more you work on them, the easier they get, but these Praetor ones in particular are a bit tricky, and probably best painted in sub-assemblies - although I rushed on this one and only painted his cape seperately.

Size comparison - on the left that is a Sekhmet Cabal Terminator, previously the "big guys" of the collection...well, there is a new boss.

For scoring, this is a bit of a conundrum. This is, technically, a single 28mm figure. At the same time, it's comically large for that setting - as you can see, much larger than even the big Terminator-armoured figures for the same setting. It is almost as large as a Dreadnought (which have been scored at 20 points, as 28mm vehicles), but still a little smaller. So I am proposing we might score it with this in mind - 15 points. But at the end of the day, this will be up to the judgement of my exalted Minion, Sylvain, and I will humbly await his ruling.

Sweet, sweet SKULLZ. Guaranteed to make your axe even axe-ier.

This guy does have SKULLZ! So we do get some sweet, sweet SKULL goodness here. He has eight skullz! EIGHT! I'm on the SKULL board at last!

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Sylvain: Greg, your painting talents are as good as your ranting skills. It's always a pleasure to read your posts and to feast my eyes on the latest additions to your ever growing collection. Keep on sharing your passion, your pictures and your stories. Bravo!

From AdamC: German Destroyer and Torpedo Boat (4 Points)

 

With the Flue hitting my home hard I have only small entry this week.  A pair of German ships 1/2400 Scale form GHQ. 

First up a Z1 Class German Destroy.  The Z1s were big destroyers mean to counter the large French and Polish destroyers of the late 20s and 30s.  Unfortunately for the Germans there were issues that came from a lack of practical experience among German ship designers/builders.  

These ships had too much capability crammed into too little hull. Sea keeping was poor (one commentator indicated they had distressing habit of plunging bow first as if  trying to join the U-boat arm).  Three out of the four were lost in 1940 the last one eventually being surrendered to the British.  

I also have a Type 23 torpedo boat also called a Mowen (Seagull) class  Theses are small ships built under the restrictions of the Versailles Treaty.

Six were built in total and despite being older designs they saw a good deal of fighting.  All six were lost during the war.  I am not sure if Baltic Camo pattern is appropriate for Destroyers and Torpedo Boats but I like how it looks and use it for all my Kriegsmarine ships. 

Two 1/2400 Scale ships is 4 points 

 

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Sylvain: Great looking little ships. Destroyers make naval games fun. It's a great idea to use transparent bases. Bravo!

 

From BruceR: Warmaster madness continues, Braganza's Besiegers and canons (60 points)

For this week I continued my Warmaster work with some crossbows and artillery.  The crossbows are modeled as Braganza's Besiegers, again  from the Dogs of War supplement in WHFB.  Many times, while painting I'll google for inspiration and on this occasion the "Snow Lord" pops up with his own rendition of these fine fellows.  Small google world. 

Here are 5 stands of the little armored missile troops.  The colors looked good from the photos so I mainly stuck with the original GW work.  I did lighten the red and green as to counter the small size.  The pavis is the bulk of the figure and hides much of the front ranks, so I tried to spend a little time making these stand out.  Again, black under coat, followed by dot painting from inside out.  Flags hand painted.  I've ordered another 4-5 stands and I will increase the unit down the road.  So, for now, five stands of besiegers. 

I next added some canons to my growing force.  These are sourced as empire canons, and I'll use them for Bronzino's Galloper Guns with my Dogs of War Warmaster force and as great canon with an empire force.  Long range fire negating armor saves.  The models are great with some buckets, barrels, stacks of balls, and one crew looks to be carrying grape shot to the gun.

Have to love the wee dude covering his ears.

Group shot in defensive formation

The group of friends I game with have launched our Warmaster fun and even played a small game yesterday (Sunday).  I have both Orcs and humans for either Dogs of War or Empire.  We also journey to Adepticon in March and 3 of us have signed up to play at the Warmaster Open.  Its listed as for all comers not a tournament so to speak, I really enjoy playing others who share a passion for the games I enjoy.  So should be a good trip.  

Points:

40x 10mm wee crossbows  @ 1 point = 40 pts

4x 10mm canons @ 3points = 12 pts

8x 10mm crew @ 1 point = 8 pts

Total                                              60 pts

Have a good week.  Be safe.

Bruce

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Sylvain: Your figurines are so detailed that for a while I thought I was looking at 28mm minis. Wow, you are a master of the small! Your sense of the hue helps the eye pick up the volume while the vibrant colors add "panache" to the army. Bravo!  

 

From Paul O'G: Russian Cruiser Reinforcements (30 points)

A small Cruiser Squadron to reinforce my growing Russian Dystopian Wars fleet. After a couple of weeks travelling away from the Hobby bench (for the best of reasons!) its was nice to get these finished and meet this week's deadline.

Disclaimer: I have used AI to generate a more contextural background.
The models themselves are unchanged and are my own work.

Like the rest of my fleet these are an Ebay rescue, and as a bonus they came with nicely magnetised turrets. I've painted them up in more grungy wartime colours to contrast with the rest of my Fleet. I used historical paint schemes again, this time from the Russo-Japanese war. I like to think of these ships are the offensive night patrollers - going out ahead of the main force to screen against marauding torpedo boats

Yes, they're 'nice" I guess but...

The right backdrop makes quite the difference!

3 x Cruisers at 10 points each, for a total of 30. Thank you!

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Sylvain: Paul, you will have to show me how to AI my pictures, it's astonishing what you can do. But the paint job is even more amazing: with a few well applied touches of bronze, your ships seem to be brimming with power. I can foresee fun games for you. Bravo! 

From BillA: Heroes of Horror & RATS! (38 points)

 This week, I've completed a few more horror-themed goodies; in a few weeks' time I'm going to be running a demo table of Planetsmasher Games' solo/co-op game "Perilous Tales" at my alma mater's annual gaming convention; 2026 marks 20 years since my first year attending, and while it's mostly a roleplaying and board game kind of convention, there's always a couple tables of miniatures demonstrations and last year they brought back Warhammer 40K tournaments for the first time in over a decade. This is my first year since 2006 for me to be trying to demo a wargame, so fingers crossed.

Perilous Tales produces games that feel like a good B-horror movie; a small group of heroes attempt to fulfill a set of randomly-determined objectives as a timer counts down and threats - including monstrous villains, sinister minions and environmental hazards - close in. Objectives can range from "defeat the master villain" to "get three figures to safety off the opposite edge of the table." 

I'd previously run a demo table at a one-day wargaming show back in September and it went well enough, but I decided I'd paint a few new heroes and villains for the upcoming convention. My first entry in this year's painting challenge were the master villain and henchmen I'm bringing; here, now, are the rest of my heroes and the last villainous minions I'd need.

As soon as I saw these "FBI Agents" from Crooked Dice, I knew I had to have them; X-Files scared the tar out of me as a sensitive kid in the 90s, but I've since become a fan of the "Monster of the Week" episodes (the overarching mythology episodes, not so much). Having Mulder and Scully on the table as heroes players could use was a must.

These are another two from Crooked Dice, though maybe less familiar; the armed cheerleader is a dead ringer for Kelli Maroney's character in the 1984 cult classic NIGHT OF THE COMET, while the teenage metalhead is just as clearly intended to be the character Eddie Munson from Netflix's "Stranger Things" series. I even freehanded the partial skull and crossbones on the bandanna he's wearing around his head. 

Finally, I needed multiple rat swarms to represent the lowest grade of minion serving the master demon; these are 3D resin prints from GreenStuffWorld that I found on a spinner rack in one of my local game stores. I like the little extras on these; the king rat directing his fellows, the wedge of cheese, the stack of newspapers. It gives each base personality. Each one is glued to a 25mm Renedra round base. 

So that's four 28mm humans at 5 pts apiece for 20... I'm not sure if the rat swarms should be scored as 28mm miniatures? Maybe count each one as half, as seems to be the case for prone figures? I leave it in my minion's capable hands whether this post as a whole qualifies for 50 points, 35 points, or some other total.

No new squirrel points, but two badass monster-killing women means I'm tagging Sarah's Choice.

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Sylvain: I love it when I can recognize a miniature based on a real-life character, and with your brush you did an excellent job at helping the viewer "read" the references in those figurines. I really like your skulking Scully. Now about this points business... I will count them for 3 points each, because of the cheese and stuff. Bravo!

From TomL: BattleTech (20 points)

Most of my time last week was absorbed by the Empire theme but I did finish my first stompy battlemech post of this AHPC.  This Catalyst BattleTech unit is painted in Olsons Raiders color scheme.  This is my first of several planned units using various recently purchased stencil camo patterns. 

As my first attempt at using stencils with my airbrush it was quite a learning experience.  Mostly due to my relative inexperience with airbrushing and a bit of a shake in the stencil holding hand. I am happy enough with the final result for the "disc" camo.  

 

The “third hand” magnetic holders attached to my exhaust hood really made it possible.  I used AK Duo Exo purple release paints at first.  Both colors are excellent base/primer coats but failed miserably to spray through my finer airbrush nozzle.  Switching to similar colors in Vallejo Air line was a much better experience using the camo stencil.  Finished up with various Vallejo acrylics and Metallics on the details and a drybrush of Deck Tan for weathering.

Miniatures in the battletech miniature lines vary in size by quite a bit but to keep it simple have been scored as 28 mm.  So for points:

4 BattleTech figures at 5 points for 20 points.
4 Stompy Mech Duel points

 

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Sylvain: You make me want to collect Battletech figurines! Your attempt at using your airbrush for camo proved fruitful. I like when Challengers share new techniques, it means that the hobby is alive and evolving. These new additions will certainly bring doom to rival clans! Bravo!

 

From Andrew G: Wars of the Roses Bill & Bow with Men-at-Arms (110pts)

One of my ongoing big army projects is to build a Yorkist and Lancastrian force to fight the various battles that occurred during the Wars of the Roses. Specifically, I’ve chosen the Battle of Northampton (10 July 1460) as my focal point around which to build my first units.

Why this particular battle? A few reasons. First, I didn’t want to snow base my figures for this project and Northampton was one of the few major engagements of the period to have occurred during the summer months. Second, the battle is notable for being the first in which artillery was used in England – though typical British wet weather that day rendered much of it useless during the fighting. Third, the battle had all the good stuff representative of the period – lopsided forces and formations, bad weather, arrow storms, treachery, etc. – making it a great project for wargaming ‘what ifs?’.

I’m currently leaning towards using the Hail Caesar Wars of the Roses ruleset, so I’ve opted to multi-figure base my troops accordingly. This group represents a unit of (William Neville) Baron Fauconberg’s household with the men-at-arms upgrade. The unit includes both bill and bow, with men-at-arms occupying the billmen’s front rank. The miniatures in this unit are all Perry plastic Wars of the Roses Infantry and Men-at-Arms with a few alterations here and there just to create some variety within the ranks.

Once assembled the figures were primed black and then batch painted with various Vallejo and Army Painter colours and washes. I purposely did not paint Fauconberg’s hook symbol on these figures yet as until I have enough troops painted, I may use them to represent generic forces in other battles.

After letting them dry for a few days, I gave them two coats of matt varnish and then positioned them on their bases. I find that typically I can get six billmen comfortably on a base but only five archers, thus my 4-base units tend to consist of 22 figures vice 24. However, since what matters in Hail Caesar is frontage and not figure count, it doesn’t really matter how many figures occupy the unit’s space. Last, I keep the troop types separate for flexibility as some army lists includes units made up of just one type or the other.

I make my own bases on my FDM 3D printer – these ones are printed in olive drab PLA and measure 40x60x2mm. I find anything thicker tends to make the figures look like they’re standing on a platform and takes away from the terrain aesthetic. The base is then covered using Vallejo European Mud (26.807), a mix of Tajima tufts, and some Noch static grass. Done and ready for the table!

Claiming 22x 28mm figures = 110 points

A fine collection of WoR infantry from those excellent Perry box sets.  Love the clean liveries and your basing really works.  I might suggest To The Strongest as an alternative to HC, we've found that it gives a fun and fast game with reasonably plausible results.  I like your choice of Northampton as you battle, my dad was born in Northamptonshire.  Peter

From SylvainR: Tray 02 - 6mm Comet and Churchill Tanks (78 points)

 

 This week, I offer my last tray of late WW2 Canadian/British elements. 

 

First, some Comet tanks. These represented the final development in the series of cruiser tanks. I've put some blurbs of paints in the front and back of the tanks to mimic the unit's insignias and weight limitation warnings. When you keep the miniatures at arm's length, the normal distance on the table, you can't even see them :-). 

 

A side view of the Comet. The squadron triangle on the turret is about 1 millimeter wide. It's amazing what the camera on an i-phone can do nowadays. I remember struggling with taking good photos not so long ago.

 

Next, a squadron of Churchill Mk. II and III modified for the Dieppe raid. A few years ago, Challenger DallasE painted amazingly detailed Churchill tanks for Dieppe which greatly impressed me. My models are nowhere as clean as his, but I'm still happy with the final result.

 

I added the typical exhaust pipes on the rear deck by drilling micro holes in which I inserted bent needles.

 

Again, blurbs of paints suggest tank names and serial numbers. I could have sourced tiny decals for this project, but I just wanted to get them done. Now I just need to find a casino for scenery and I'll be ready to play Dieppe!

 

Finally, a squadron of Churchill AVRE. These will help the Royal Engineers get the "work" done on D-Day.

 

With these units done, I have finally completed my late WW2 Canadian/British army with a total of 11 trays. I worked on this project mostly from June to September of last year, basing already painted miniatures, touching up some others while putting aside the unpainted models for the Challenge.  

I displayed some of the miniatures that were painted at the time in the officer's mess of the Regina Armoury on November 11th, Remembrance Day in Canada. It was an homage to the 1st Canadian Division who fought mostly in Italy and I was showcasing the military organization of infantry regiments, showing also some support vehicles, etc. It was well received. Note the magnifying glass at the disposal of aging eyes. A Canadian veteran (not from WW2) took a look, immediately pointed at the weapon company and said: "This is me!" He then explained he was on a mortar team during his service. We then compared for a few minutes the effectiveness of the 2", 3" and 4.2" mortars. It was great to connect with the veterans. 

Please, allow me one more photo to show you the little dioramas I made for the battalion HQs. The Canadian commanders are identified by little flags while the British commanders have none, so I can make the troops either Canadian or British. When naming commanders, I like to honor people I know. Challengers might be able to identify Mudry, Ewen, Burch and Violago. And maybe Rheault? :-)

 

Here is the updated to-do list of my WW2-6mm project, something I started in 2021 after a friend of mine decided to retire from wargaming and gave me his collection, a treasure he accumulated over 40 years. His miniatures were in serious need of TLC and I decided to give them a new life by putting everything on bases (ha ha, silly younger me). I remember back then naively ordering 500 bases from Warbases, fearing that it would be too much and that I would be stuck with surplus for the rest of my life... As of today, I have finished well over 4,000 elements, and I have not yet started working on US and Soviet armies. At the core of each army I have completed so far is an infantry battalion. I now have 9 such battalions, which is the equivalent of an infantry division where each tiny 6mm figurine represents a soldier in real life. A division... My insanity is factual... 

Points claimed: 

39x 6mm vehicles at 2 point each = 78 points

Total = 78 points

Thanks for reading! 

On Comet, on Churchill, on,,,oh wrong Comets.  Love to see the Comets in play instead of the all too prevalent Shermans Sylvain.  Your painting at this fine scale is amazing, and I don't want to think about adding the exhaust pipes to those Churchills.  And everything is wonderfully based to your normal standard.  Thanks for sharing your photos from the local Remembrance Day event, great stories there.

And no need to worry, none of us doubt your sanity..Peter