From Curt: Gnomish Airship for Moonstone (35 Points)

Hi Everyone,

I hope you all are enjoying the Holiday Season, taking in the treats and festivities, and perhaps managing to tuck in a little time with the brushes and paints. 

Last night out gaming group had a Christmas-themed game of Moonstone which, as usual, was a lot of great fun. I was hoping to have this entry done for the game, but it just wasn't quite ready for the tabletop, so I got up early this morning to properly finish it off. 

This is the 'Gnomish Airship' for Moonstone (one of our proud Challenge sponsors). It's a lovely little model, packed full of whimsical character and silliness (who can deny an pedal-powered airship, armed with a steam harpoon and bombs). I painted it up using fairly punchy colours, reasoning that Gnomes are a jolly lot and so would like their flying machines to be much the same.

I considered breaking out the airbrush for this little brute, but frankly I was just too lazy (rum and eggnog are good sandbags to activity) and the model actually seemed well-suited to straightforward brushwork. I used a mixture of VMC, Contrast and good ole craft paint for this. It was a lot of fun to work on (though it's a surprisingly delicate piece, so I had to be mindful).

The base was built up with foam bits, liquitex and tallus. I had some great mushroom prints on hand, which I glued in for a bit of additional whimsy.

The Airship will be a nice addition to the Gnome troupe and I hope to see it plying the skies, causing mayhem, during our next game.

Mama Grimble, her two Boys and the new Gnome Airship.

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As to scoring, I'll pitch it at 15 points, between a 28mm cavalry model and a vehicle, which seems about right. Since it is for a fantastical setting, I'll also be bold and claim an extra 20 points for the 'Fantasy Book' topic. So all together that's 35 points in the bag for this clever bit of Gnomish engineering.

Thanks for popping in for a look!

- Curt

From AlanD: Low Budget Fun (Babylon 5) (50 points)

When Paul O'G moved house last year, I bought him and his family a gnome. And because I am basically a hateful person, I bought a hateful gnome.

Paul's wife, being a better person than I will ever be, couldn't bring herself to let the 'Go Away' message stand, so added the second line to make unwanted guests feel a little better as they sadly left the premises. 

Anyway, I stole the gnome, obviously.

In the spirit of the low budget fun that positively abounds on Babylon 5, I repainted him as a border guard in the GnomeKVD, the little-known branch of the secret police raised in 1932 to protect Soviet toadstools and snails, and provide security around Stalin's dacha. I'm not sure about GnomeKVD rank insignia, but I think this one is a sergeant. I'm not sure what that is in Russian as I don't know the correct gnomenclature. 

Today, with the assistance of one of my kids, we undertook a stealth mission to return the gnome to the O'G household, where I trust he will undertake his guard duties diligently. Suggestions for his name should be put in the comments below.

As for points...wow, heaps, obviously.😊 Seriously, I have no idea, and any crumbs Barks throws my way will be gratefully received. Technically, he is a 300mm miniature, but the paint job was not exactly challenging. Something plus 20 points for the planet bonus will be ace.

Gnomenclature... have thirty points, and get out of my sight.

Barks

From Barks: Heroes (60 points)

These are the eight heroes from the Descent 2nd edition core game. I remounted them on 25mm bases because 20mm wasn't aesthetically pleasing. There's a fair amount of Contrast paint going on here; I'm grudgingly coming to like it. It makes certain colours quicker and is excellent for straps and bags etc.

Taste the rainbow.

Jain Fairwood, outcast ranger

Tomble Burrowell, Murder hobo gnome

Widow Tarha, orc witch

Ashrian, elf herbalist

Syndrael, elf exile

Leoric of the book, mage

Grisban the Thirsty, dwarf

Avric Albright, cleric

8x28mm: 40 points

Hall of Heroes: 20 points

Skull-o-meter™: 1

Where to next...?

From Barks: Six sorceresses (55 points)

For access to the Teleporter, I present three villains and three heroes, of assorted sizes. They're all magical ladies from the Descent boardgame. I followed the game's artwork for colour choices.

Three villains

Ariad, demon spider lady

Zarihell, soul summoner

Dragged some washes together on her cloak-
worked surprisingly well!

Lady Farrow-
"Excuse me while I finish my... wine."

Three heroes

Dezra the Vile- antihero

Ravaella Lightfoot, gnome mage

Ulma Grimstone, dwarf alchemist

6x 28mm figures: 30 points

Teleporter use: 20 points

Sorceress bonus: 5 points

Skull-o-meter™: 9

From HerrRobert: Constantinus Prodromus (5 points)

My last entry for Painting Challenge IX is a mini for an NPC I used in a Pathfinder campaign: Constantinus Prodromus, a gnome fighter.

The build was based entirely around the armament of the mini, which I found entirely by accident. He's armed with a spear, carries a tower shield, and wears a breastplate and helmet. He's very much a tank, with Armor Class 23, despite his small stature (3'4" tall, weighting 42 pounds). 

He was a major player in a party of wizards clearing out the mines at Rashtan, and is usually seen in the company of a gnome illusionist/thief, amusingly called Bubbles the Executioner.

The mini itself is from Stonehaven Miniatures, and goes for a very hefty $11.99 on Amazon. I splurged a year ago, purchasing a gnome thief, two halfling barbarians, a halfling cleric and a half orc bard. Paint is on several of them, but only Constantius will be finished when the Snowlord calls brushes down. I'd partially thought they'd be my fellowship entry, but instead they languish in paint table purgatory.

He's been done since almost the challenge began, but has been waiting to post. I, personally, found this to be a very difficult mini to paint. Partially because of how small it is, and partially because some elements just did not flow well at all. I went more Macedonian than Greek in my palate, trying to echo the Companion cavalry or the phalangites.

The armored skirt, frankly, was a nightmare. I tried white on black, which failed. I tried the top color white, which failed. Finally, I had to paint the whole thing Reaper Leather White, then Vallejo Offwhite, then hit it with Vallejo's pale gray wash. I'm still not satisfied, but it's done. 

I also wanted the cloak and the crest to be purple from the get go. Purple and white is a combination I have found goes well together on a mini. This was my first experience using Army Painter's Purple Wash, so I wasn't quite sure how it would turn out. As you saw with my previous posts, I've gotten better at painting purple.

The bronze of his cuirass, helmet and shield was pretty easy, but the ears and many crevasses made everything fiddly.

I deliberately kept the base simple, since most Pathfinder mats are usually just sketched out grids.

So, another five points, which should push me over the top to my raised challenge target of 300, and a personal Best Ever for the five challenges I participated in.

Huzzah, or whatever gnomes shout before bashing you with their shield.

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Haha, great work Robert. Gnomes often get a short shrift (excuse the pun) in fantasy games, so it's nice to see one claiming a bit of the spotlight here. I also like that he's working the whole hoplite/tank angle. AC 23 and in the front rank taking the hits. That's a tough nut indeed - a very cool mini for a very cool character. Well done. 

- Curt