from Paul O'G: Ungor Raiders (100 points)

Despite another busy week in Man Cave central, I have managed to finished these 20 Ungor Raiders for my Beastman Army.

Ungors are the lowest class in Beastman society, brutalised (an often eaten) by the larger Gors. Nevertheless, they are used in scouting and raiding roles in the army. They form the skirmisher elements (though not very good ones) and provide some (though poor) bow units. 

So why bother taking them? They are useful in an ambushing role to take out enemy warmachines from behind, as well as screening the main Gor warrior units.

Even better, I got to put them into action today in a Warhammer game against High Elves. They did very well (for Ungors) but I did like seeing this:

which reminded me of this :-)

20 x 28mm figs should net me 100 points (but only 11 skullz) for this submission, and this unit takes my Beastman Army past 200 foot figures - most painted in the past year during AHPCs X and XI

From NickJ: Beastmen Underworlds Warband (30 Pts)

Once Upon a return to Chaos.

Yes it's true. Last time I actually painted something that wasn't part of the myriad Chaos factions within the realms of Age of Sigmar.

And now I need to set the Universe back on course with some Chaos Beastmen. This is another of the Warbands available for Underworlds; these are part of Season 3 - Beastgrave.

This particular warband is called Grashrak's Despoilers and here they are packed tightly together for the inaugural group shot.

So let's meet the individuals and I can't promise you any improvements on the naming front, but let's see...

First we have Grashrak Fellhoof himself. This chap is a Shaman who likes skulls. And I mean really, really likes skulls. The bases are pre-moulded by GW for Underworlds and frankly his has a ridiculous number of skulls.

The green on his staff is to signify that something magical is happening... probably involving skulls...

And next up is the enforcer for the warband: Draknar. He's not so worried about skulls and instead carries around an Elf head. As you do. He's also very photogenic knowing just how to strike a pose when there's a handy log lying around.

Now to the Ungors - the lowest of the castes within Beastmen society. Runts of the litter as it were. Those sent out first in battle to test the waters.

On the left, currently scarring himself across his chest to prove that he does indeed bleed, is Murghoth Half-Horn. 

On the right, and bringing half a tree with him, is Korsh "The Sneak". He's a hunter apparently. Hopefully he doesn't drag that log around with him...

And the final two are the Rangers of the gang.

On the left we have Gnarl. No fancy add-ons to his name.

On the right we have Ushkor. Hmm no fancy add-ons either.

Painted them in the same colours as my main Beastmen army as I can use these in Age of Sigmar games as a kind of special unit. Are they any good? Absolutely no idea. They look cool though!

Points wise we're looking at 6 x 28mm figures so I make that 30 points.

from Paul O'G: Khorngors for the Blood God! (101 points)

After some solid Challenge productivity in quarantine, progress slowed when Mrs Man Cave checked for secret doors in the Chambers of Challenge. A mystery staircase went up to the hitherto unknown location: The Balcony of Domestic Distraction!  Cue the requested significant sanding, repainting etc With that now out of the way, I'm back to more entertaining scales of re-modelling :-)

Back in the day, hearty Beastmen Gor warriors could be given different marks of Chaos. Many know the erstwhile Pestigor (who also make fair Blood Bowl players on Nurgle teams) but those who follow the Blood God are known as Khorngors.

The Khorngor models were removed from production back in 4th or 5th edition so it took me a few years to collect enough of these metal figures to complete a full unit of 20 (including Command characters) but finally here they are in all their Oldhammer glory.

These will be one of the 3 elite troop units in my army, being screened into contact by the supporting hordes where they will (I hope) hit like a truck. Lets see how that goes.

In addition to the 101 points these should earn me (20 x 28mm figs plus 1 for the standard), they boast an impressive number of skullz - as you would expect for followers of Khorne. In fact there are 127 of them amongst them, taking me to a total of 132 for this Challenge.

Blood for the Blood God!

By Paul O'G: I smell bacon! (40 points)

This submission comprises a large pack of savage forest boars that the Beastmen goad into attacking their enemies in battle. This pack of angry yet succulent and delicious with a nice apple sauce beasties is comprised of 6 tuskgors and one larger, angrier Razorgor.

I have no idea what they will be like on the tabletop but as long as they keep Reilly's Dwarf army distracted even for a little while they will be useful. The smaller beasts are plastic models while the big one is resin. The level of detail suited them to be painted with GW contrast paints and then highlighted in the traditional way.

These should net me 6 x 5 points + 1 x 10 points for a total 40 points. 

Paul O'G Ascends the Snowlord's Peak! (475 Points!)

Followed by his goatlike sherpas, a sweating Paul reaches the plateau and calls out in a loud and mildly intoxicated voice:

"OI! Hear me oh Mighty Snowlord! I approach your mighty kingdom bearing gifts to honour your Majesty"

A mighty voice bellows back from the distance

"Oh Yeah? Go on..."

Paul empties the last dregs from his ale horn before continuing:

"Yes oh Mighty One, thrice you challenged me and thrice I answer the call!

First - your challenge to build a unit for my Mortal Gods collection. May I present a Musician with taste far gentler than my own - with his double barrelled Aulos he can inspire those who fight in your name!

Presenting a Musician who as a seperate unit in Mortal Gods provides buffing bonuses to Phalanx and Light troops alike. More importantly, last year Reilly and I had an amazing tour of ancient Greece together - we had daily competitions to be the first one to find an "Aulos dude" amongst the various friezes and artwork. So this guy is fun for me because of those memories.

-------
A voice from atop the mountain yells down:
"Well thats OK I guess, but not very inspiring and not a skull to be seen - what else have you got?"

Paul opens the next bag:
"Next I bring as thee Commanded - heavily armed beastmen - they do smell a bit gamey mind, but they will fight fiercely for you my Lord!"

Presenting an elite unit of Bestigors - heavily armoured and wielding powerful double-handed weapons.  They promise to chop their opponents to bits before lashing the bloody remnants to the herdstone.  10 Warriors and a Champion to lead them.

The Snowlord declares: "Thats more like it! And a few skulls too I see - how many?"

Paul: "A mere 20 my Lord, but there is more"

Snowlord: "More? This is indeed a bountiful offering - bring forward the last"

Paul: "I have saved the best til last your magnificence. I have slaved hard at the painting bench with these, crafting them to the best of my ability. May I present:

Kharn and the Kharnivores!

This is my new World Eaters Kill Team - long range firepower is not their speciality!

I did a lot of conversions on these boys, to give me all sorts of weapon options - from double chainswords, double chain axes, combos of both and lighting claws

And to lead them the anti-hero: infamous Kharn the Betrayer!

Snowlord: Very nice - and 64 skulls between them too! Whats that they are standing on?

Paul: That is part of my offering of Lord, the Throne of Skulls!

It boasts an impressive 226 skulls. (amusingly, I had just bought this when I ran into Barks at CanCon - it was hard to keep the inner smile from my face knowing I had this secret weapon for our side duel)

To summarise my offerings Lord, it is 23 x 28mm infantry models, one standard terrain cube, points for the map location and I do believe, My Lord, you said something about a skull bonus?

Skull-o-meter Overload: 310 Skulls!!!
(This brings my total skull count to 543 metric noggins!)

I hope that these offerings please and amuse you oh mighty Snowlord, and I await your judgement.

______________________________________________

Haha! This is just brilliant Paul - truly in the spirit of the Snow Lord's Peak Challenge!

My pocketbook had a bit of a twinge when seeing the Greek musician as I think I'm about to fall hard for this Mortal Gods malarkey, and this small chap may just be enough to finally push me over the precipice. 

Those Bestigors (as opposed to the much maligned 'Crappigors') look magnificent in all their choppy, horny, smelly glory. I anticipate many skulls will be harvested from this lot.

Finally, your oh-so-nuanced World Eaters kill team look to be the absolute bomb, erm, absolute axe? absolute Chainsword? Well, you know what I mean. And that Throne of Skulls is completely ridiculous, in a wonderful, gory sort of way. I have a sneaking suspicion that you may have humbugged poor Barks and myself with this whole Skulley McSkullface Challenge. I can only hope he'll be producing something like a Ziggurat of Skulls as a suitable response. :)

Nonetheless, I am a man of my word, so the grand total for this excellent submission, with the noggin-shattering skull bonus, will be a stonking 475 points. Geez! That's one of our larger points bomb on record and blasts you past your personal goal for this year. Methinks that with me at the helm, tossing out points like a drunken sailor, Tamsin can rest a little easier about our overall target...

As to your treasure, Paul, I'm delighted to present you with this plucky pulp adventuress painted by your good mate, the talented AlanD. 

Well done Paul you've done the Peak proud!

-Curt Actual Out

from Paul O'G: More Beastie Boys (62 points)

This week see me complete...you guessed it, some more Beastmen!

12 more delightful chaps who wander the Old World's Drakwald forest looking for wandering tourists to eat help

Pleasingly, these lads complete my first Beastman Regiment of 46 figs - all of which have been painted under various AHPC seasons.

Only another hundred or so to go.  I need to learn to paint at an army standard vice painting all the detail in sight. Very satisfying to see them all en mass though!

Skull-o-meter update: 17 seperate skull trophies adorn the fellows of this new contingent, taking my AHPC 10 skull tally to 84.

Thats 12 x 28mm figs for 60 points

Mr Tumnus as your doctor i really must insist that you stop taking steroids, they are bad for your temperament and collecting skulls will not compensate for the testicular reduction. Just because I have given you a bonus for the flag and your have brushed up remarkably I also have concerns about your friends

Martin

From Paul O'G: The Beastmen Cometh (125 points)

Apologies up front for the recent lack of presence other than Minioning duties - in the last few weeks I have moved house, started a new job (which is involved in the current natural disasters here) and... real life stuff.  So sorry about the lack of comments on your entries, there has been some really awesome stuff here of late!

One of my AHPC objectives this year is to work on a Beasts of Chaos/Beastman force.  A few years ago I did a Beastmen unit as allies for my Chaos Raider army but have now been goaded into expanding to a full force. And I am a sucker of hobby peer pressure...

I have gone with 12 figure units for use with Dragon Rampant, but as I find figures will add to them for Oathmark and maybe even a spot of OldHammer (shhh...)  Here are the first two units: 1 each of Gors and the smaller Ungors, plus a War Leader to inspire their ferocity - all GW models of course.

It was good to experiment with GW contrast paints, of which much has been commented.  In the right context they worked nicely: specifically the fur, shields and other high detail areas came out well indeed. However, for larger or smooth surfaces I went back to traditional techniques which delivered the look I much prefer.  I've also been playing with some different inks to give the flesh on different units a different look - representing different tribes coming together to make the Warband.  Some work better than others - the Ungors look a little like baby Hellboy :-)

Skull-o-meter update: these 25 figs and their two hand painted banners are adorned with a total of 23 skulls (plus a few fleshy and seemingly recently severed heads that clearly aren't classical 'skulls' so weren't counted). Coupled with the 44 previously recorded skulls from the Herdstone model, this takes me to 67 noggins in the renowned "Skully McSkullface" side challenge. Not the same high skull to figure ration as say a 40k Chaos army, it seems nonetheless quite reasonable.

Overall for this entry, that is 25 figs in 28mm, for a total of 125 points.
_______________________________


Hobby peer pressure is real and must not be resisted. ;)

Paul, these beastmen are brilliant. These make me a little nostalgic as my first Warhammer Fantasy army was Beastmen (Back when the lowliest ungor had 2 wounds!). Nice, clean brushwork here, and I really like the verdant basework - it gives the impression that they're in a forest glade. I also think their skintones are great, even the 'Hellboy' ungors (they'll lighten up with age). I agree with you on the weakness of the Contrast paints on models with large, smooth surfaces - they seem better utilized on figures with a good amount of relief/texture.

125 points it is, with another 23 skulls for the 'Skully McSkullface' challenge. I wonder how Barks will respond? Stay tuned!

-Curt

From Paul O'G: Monolith at Cook's Crevase (55 points)

Deep in the forbidden forrest, shadowy figures dance and writhe, chant and drum. 

Shadows flicker over an edifice of horror erected to Dark Gods...

To close out the hobby year, my next stop on Challenge Island is Cook's Crevase where "Entries must have a Geology Theme".  I may even be the first to visit this place, and what says Geology more than a giant, creepy stone Monolith!

Rear view - more skulls and grisly trophies!

This adds to my growing Fantasy terrain collection - the model is the current GW Herdstone model, useful for any large blasphemy or even Pulp era Cthulhu cultists (and its been way too long since I painted anything for that genre).  A relatively expensive plastic kit, it was a real delight to paint and had a myriad of details that I spent waaaay too long on for a Painting Challenge - I'm just not a speed painter at heart, and if detail is there then it needs to be painted!

Side view

I went with a darker granite colour rather than a more typical grey rock - I think it gives it a more sinister appearance.  I also tried some OSL effects from the fire, keeping the bottom half of the monolith a bit darker to make that more effective and also help the lower runestones show up better.  So while the colours looks straight forward, I thought about them in far more detail than I usually would bother!

This entry is also my opening salvo for the "Skully McSkullface" side challenge which Barks initiated, and its a skull laden good 'un too:

Fireplace: 11 - yes Barks, I even painted the ones facing the inside
Herdstone: 24, I lost one along the way :-(
Model Base: 9
Total SkullCount: 44!

Evidence for Barks - painted skulls on the reverse side of the fire before the main stone is glued in.

Details of the fire OSL - fun, but time consuming!

Points wise this fills a full 6inch terrain 'cube' for 20 points.  I'll let Curt decide what bonus points the detailing/OSL are worth, plus another 30 points for the map location.

____________________________


This is truly a great geologic find, Paul. Geez, look, at least 44 geologist gave their lives in its discovery - poor dumb b@stards. Skully McSkullface indeed! 

Good gravy, I just looked up the price for one of these things! You have sold your soul to some dark power, O'Grady. You must be stopped. We call upon the only man who can thwart you... Barks. 

Game on.

55 points. I know, it's tough love, Paul, but it's character building and you'll thank me in the end... ;P

From NickJ - Flaming Bull Horns (30 Points)

Ahem. Once upon a kind of Magic...

For those of you unfamiliar with the GW Age of Sigmar I suspect this week’s entry will consist of plenty of “What The Fudge is that?!”

I can only apologise in advance. And apologies for any photo issues as my camera batteries died and I've ended up using my iPhone instead...

Previously in the Tale of Endless Spells we’ve met a flock of purple ravens and a glowy stick, er staff, carrying Shaman. Now allow me to introduce the other 2 Endless Spells that our wonderfully nuts Shaman can generate

First we have a Horn. Or to be more precise a Doomblast Dirgehorn

The blurb says: "Drawn from beneath the earth, animal bones are fused into the shape of a giant horn". As you do.

Hence I tried to give it a bone like look

The flames were going to be orange until my son piped up with the comment "you should do them blue". Not one to say no off I went; couple of tips from the group and I'm quite pleased with the overall effect

The main advantage of the blue is that now all of the spells are varied in their colour schemes as you'll see in a minute when I pull out Spell #3

The effect on the battlefield of this spell is to render it harder for the enemy to hit you in combat as their minds are, allegedly, stripped of their sanity. Nice.

Which leads me to Spell #3. Pictures speak volumes so here then is the Wildfire Taurus

Yes you are seeing what you think you're seeing. That's half a bull. On fire. He stands a whopping 100mm and is 130mm from tip to tail. He's a hefty chunk of plastic.

This took an age to get the skin to a colour I was happy with. He's grey with a yellow shade which seems to have turned him dark green - an unexpected but quite nice effect!

I painted flame effects in the cracks and folds of his skin to hopefully show how hot he is on the inside.

The horns, hooves and teeth have been painted bone and then washed with warmer fleshshade to hint again at the heat within.

The flames themselves include yellow base, white drybrush, red wash, orange wash, yellow wash. Lots of coats to reach the end result. Washes take ages to dry so I was able to paint my entry for the next bonus round at the same time - result!

On the battlefield this chap charges around killing stuff. Nothing subtle whatsoever.

Scoring wise I'm not sure and will leave that to my Minion - sorry Iain :-)

Horn - stands 60mm
Bull - stands 100mm and is 130mm from horns to flames

Next time something normal. Ish. Kind of normal? No probably not to be fair.

NickJ

Lovely reappearing flaming bull and horn, super finish, I'm counting your horn as a 54mm figure and the bull as a 54mm mounted figure giving you a total of 30 points, splendid!
All the best Iain