From MikeF - Imperial Inquisitor [Arrakis] & Crawling Insectoid Alien [LV426] (50 points)

 As the end of the challenge looms, I've been trying to complete several projects at once which will probably take me down to the wire! I didn't want to go empty handed this Friday so managed to bang out a couple figures...and two planets as well.

First up is an Imperial Inquisitor from the Ordo Malleus (Daemon hunters). This model is based on a GW model, but modified. The original model was bareheaded and was holding a large eagle on his left arm. I replaced the eagle and arm with a bionic arm holding a bolt pistol. I also gave him a helmet and a larger hammer! I painted him for Arrakis which has the keyword, Machiavellian. I take this to mean "ends justify the means" which describes an inquisitor from the Ordo Malleus quite well. No atrocity is off limits if it serves their purpose. This includes the extermination of entire planets if they deem it necessary. This inquisitor must believe in a long use of force continuum, as he clearly plans to start with his gun and hammer, working his way up from there.

Second is a model from Knightmare Models called the Crawling Insectoid. It's directly inspired by Citadel Miniatures Ambull alien. It's a nice chunky pewter model reminiscent of the classic miniatures GW produced in the 90's and 2000's. It's an alien painted for LV426.

2 models for a whopping 50 points!

Thanks for visiting.

Nice conversion work on the Inquisitor and that alien looks particularly disgusting!

Tamsin

From GregB - Curtgeld Figure: "Tolerance", Inquisitorial Public Affairs Specialist

Meet "Tolerance", Inquisition Team Member.

We are well underway with this edition of the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge, and I am late with my entry figure, the so-called "Curtgeld". This is pretty shameful on my part, but to Curt's great credit he only reminded me gently and didn't use the word "moron" even once while doing so! Lucky for me, I had already set aside the figure in question well in advance of this edition of the AHPC, and the theme lined up well...MikeF has been painting up a fantastic Inquisitorial band for his 40k collection - and has arrived at the Altar of the Snow Lord Himself - so to hopefully inspire him further, I thought I would paint this figure for him, to join the retinue of his terrifying 40k Inquisitor Grayfax.  Thus I present "Tolerance", Inquisitorial Assassin Public Affairs Specialist.

Plastic figure from GW's "Elucidian Starstriders" set.

This is a 28mm plastic figure from GW. I believe it was part of some kind of Kill Team set...the Elucidian Starstriders. I was never into the background of any "Kill Teams", but I thought these figures were so cool so I picked some up, as there are many neat character-types that will be fun for 30k and 40k gaming. This specific figure is a member of a Death Cult Local Climate Justice Awareness Council. Given the spirit of our times, and hers, I am ditching the GW name and designating her as "Tolerance" instead, as she would appear to capture the spirit of this sentiment in her times...and increasingly ours. 

Not sure what is up with that body suit, but I assume that provides...lumbar support?

When painting a one-off figure like this, it is fun to experiment. So for this figure, I thought I would give GW's new "Contrast" paints a try. Oh, I've used them here and there on small, specific spots (like coloured hoses for Titans etc.), but this is the first figure I have painted where nearly all of it was done with Contrast Paints. Or, I should say, it was supposed to be...I find the effect of the Contrast Paints can be interesting, but also terrifically underwhelming in some ways, so there are a few spots where my more standard painting techniques were used. Still, it was fun to try something new - it is a painting "Challenge" after all. Many folks are coming up with some pretty neat results using these new paints...I just need to practice more!

Good luck with the Snow Lord's Challenge!

So Mike, I hope "Tolerance" here can inspire you to complete the Snow Lord's Challenge, and then help Inquisitor Grayfax impose the Emperor's Social Justice on wargaming tables set in the grim darkness of the far future. For points, this will be five points, plus the Curtgeld bonus. 

Cheers everyone - thanks for reading! Stay sane!

From MikeF - Oubliette - Imperial priest - 25 points

 For the Oubliette I'm to paint something forgotten, or from a long forgotten project. This is the last model for my inquisitor warband and he represents this long forgotten project. I purchased most of these models years ago when codex Daemonhunters came out and they've enjoyed varying levels of attention over the years. This Imperial Priest model has a history of neglect. It's gone through several cycles of basing, priming, debasing to cannibalize the base and then tossing it into the bits box, only to re-discover it years later and begin the cycle all over. This challenge has finally motivated me to get it done once and for all.

You definitely wouldn't want to miss mass with this guy running the show!

The completed Inquisitor Warband

From MikeF - The Shrine - 40k Imperial Preacher - 25 points

 After skipping the Orc Pit, I've landed at the Shrine. This requires I paint a cleric or similar. Continuing with the Inquisitor warband theme, I've completed an Imperial preacher. Everything in 40k is over the top and the Ecclesiarchy is no exception. This model is holding a staff with a burning brazier on top connected by hoses to a backpack gas container. I suppose this is to provide adequate lighting while reading verses from his holy tome, but I suspect that it doubles as a flame thrower for use against heretics, non-believers and people needing the 'Emperor's Peace.' When painting the model I was initially confused by the over coat. I thought it was armor at first, but after painting it I realized that it flowed seamlessly into the sleeves of the model. Turns out its a large padded coat and likely heat resistant. Sorta like an asbestos coat. |Additional protection comes in the form of welders goggles and oven mitts! This was my first attempt at a painting fire and moderately happy with the result. I'd put it in the 'good enough' category.

Best way to turn pages when wearing oven mitts.

From MikeF - Offering for Sarah the Sorceress - 40k Inquisitor Grayfax (post head injury) - 25 points

 I haven't been able to post due to work, but I have been able to complete a few models for the challenge. I've mentioned that level 2 of the challenge is going to consist mainly of models for my 40k Inquisitor squad. I hear you actually need an Inquisitor for one of these units, so I made sure to complete one. This model is of Inquisitor Grayfax. I had to make one slight modification to the models head however. The original head for this model has the iconic wide brimmed hat Inquisitors and witch hunters are known for. Unfortunately, I lost the head and haven't been able to find it anywhere. If you've managed to find it in your travels, please let me know. 

Finding a replacement was quite difficult as the model design was not very forgiving. The gorget made it difficult to place another head on it without cutting it off and I really didn't want to do that. I eventually experimented with putting a head from an Ossiarch bonereaper mortek guard and it fit perfectly! Not sure if it's a helmet or bionic head, but since Grayfax likes to wear power armor without the appropriate helmet, I suppose a bionic head was inevitable.

This model is an offering to Sarah the Sorceress for transport from the Guardroom, across the Orc Pit to The Shrine. Just a quick hop really.

PaulS: Mixed bag of... stuff (27 points)

Unlike past entries where I've done separate posts... this lot can all be lumped together as there aren't enough to justify separate posts.

First up we have an inquisitor, 3d printed from Ghamak on MyMiniFactory. I just loved the bulky, no nonsense look to this guy and wanted him to join my new Guard force (more of that in a later entry)

Next we have some Deep Ones from the Crippled God Patreon (which is where the earlier cultists also came from), which should give my cultists some nice support when the 7TV mythos expansion comes out. I had to scale these down to as the original print size was about as tall as an ogre, which was pretty imposing, but not quite what I wanted. I'll have to see what is in the 7TV set as I'd like to have a larger one to accompany these

Lastly is a golem from the Smog board game. Smog is a steampunk world full of all sorts of weird and wonderful figures. There are others in the painting queue, but other projects are blocking their path to the table just yet... He's a beast of a model, standing about the same height as the ogre from the last post

So that is 4 28mm models (20 points) and the giant golem that I'm going to count as a larger thing at 7 points for a total of 27.

Two entries in a day? Lovely stuff. And this is a great mixed bag of it.

27 points it is.

Tamsin

From MikeF - The Gallery of Ancestors -Warhammer 40K Servo-skulls - 23 points

 This entire level of the challenge I'll be painting models for a Kill Team Inquisitor warband. I wasn't sure how to incorporate  models from the far future into ancestry at first, but while rummaging through my bits box, I managed to find some servo-skulls! These are from Games Workshops Inquisitor game. The models are larger scale (I think 54mm), but the servo-skulls actually look pretty good for 28mm. In the fluff, the servo-skull contains the brain of a person. It is then equipped with some kind of engine or anti-grav unit and finally has all kinds of useful tools/weapons bolted on to it. I suppose it's the 40k equivalent of a predator drone, but without the abomination of slaving a human consciousness to it.

I imagine that all kinds of people can be turned into servo skulls, but most are probably heretics and criminals. My Inquisitor uses several in her warband and they're primarily derived form her...warband. When one of her Acolytes die, they are interred in servo skull so they can continue the honor of serving their lord. The Inquisitor maintains close ties to the families of her Acolytes as a means of establishing loyalty to her. As such, many of the skulls she uses may be relatives of her current Acolytes. 

From left to right: Great grandpa George, first cousin Marty and creepy uncle Steve.

I love the flying gun!

The models are pretty basic so scored them at 1 point each for a total of 23 points.

From MikeF - The Armoury - Warhammer 40k Inquisiton Crusader - 25 points

 The next chamber is "the Armoury" which requires I paint something in armour. Even the most casual glance at my blog posts will clearly indicate that the common theme to my painting selections are models in copious amounts of armour. The real difficulty was selecting which armoured model for the chamber. I decided to use the next few chambers to paint a 40K Inquisitor Kill Team. First up is the "tank" of the group, the crusader. He's wearing carapace armour and is armed with a power sword and storm shield. I'm not a big fan of the full body cloak GW insists on draping over these guys, but I guess they're going for the warrior-monk look for these guys. I found the cloak to be a bit of a pain to paint and ended up repainted it a couple of times before just settling on black. The rest of the model painted up quick and I think he'll look great as part of the completed unit.

From Curt: Inquisitorial Kill Team for Sarah's Balloon (25 Points)

I thought I'd mix things up a bit for my next trip on Sarah's Balloon by submitting something which is, gasp, not related to 'Mansions of Madness'. 

This time out (up?) we have a 40K Inquisitorial kill team composed of a very self assured inquisitor and her retinue of rock-hard Battle Sisters.

For the past couple of years I've been running a winter 'Dark Heresy' role playing campaign for a few of the guys and, surprisingly enough, Sarah. 

This is Inquisitor Ingrid von Bek of the Ordo Hereticus. She's a badass witch-hunter who will have a prominent role in our upcoming DH campaign. I'll give no more away, but with Sarah's character being an unsanctioned psyker things could get quite interesting. ;)

This model shows her strutting her stuff in a fancy-schmancy suit of power armour, wielding a very rare Inferno Pistol (yes, the name says it all) and sporting really fabulous hair. 

I like the gothic details on these figures like the halo and whacky smokestacks on their power packs.

The other four in von Bek's retinue are Sisters of Battle. Two are armed with Storm Bolters, one with a Heavy Bolter and the last one is a young lass with the gift of the gab, a Dialogus, an adept who is particularly persuasive with encouraging allies and haranguing enemies. I see her as Ingrid's herald, press secretary and factotum.

The Dialogus is an an older, now OOP, GW metal (love eBay), but the rest are from Wargames Exclusive, one of my favourite not-40K figure manufacturers. They are tremendously detailed castings with boatloads of character. The only downside (for me) is that they are cast in resin which makes them feel overly fragile, though to their credit they've taken several tumbles without any damage.  Anyway, to give them a little added heft I've based them using metal washers.

I hope to have another group of Sisters ready later this challenge, but we'll see how the next couple of months unfold. I'm in the midst of several big entries (well, big for me) which are absorbing a lot of my hobby time. Fingers crossed that I can get everything I want done.

Next up: 'Docherty's Dock'!

***
Wow, more amazing sisters to add to your collection.  I know this is an Inquisitorial team, but I view it more as an extension of your lovely sisters force, which is not a bad thing.

As usual your paint work and colour choices are top notch, as is your photography skills here.

While I know the Inquisitor is supposed to be the main attraction here, and is very nice in her snazy looking gold power armour, to me the Dialogus is the one I like best.  The scroll / text work you have done on her is superb and really makes that wacky old GW figure shine.  I can picture in my mind her strolling after the Inquisitor while ranting away on her loud speaker either extolling the good of the Emperor or condemming the evils of pretty much everything else in the universe as the rest of the Kill Team fullfills their name and exterminates all the heritics in the area. Simply brilliant.

Keep the great paint jobs coming!

- ByronM

From Barks: No one expects this entry! (45 points)

There are three steps in my red recipe:

1. Vallejo Scarlet Red spray
2. Wash with 3:1 VGC 73.206 Red Shade: Army Painter Strong Tone
3. Black lining
4. Highlight with AP Pure Red and VMC 70.909 Vermillion

Four! There are four steps in my red recipe:

1. Vallejo Scarlet Red spray
2. Wash with 3:1 VGC 73.206 Red Shade: Army Painter Strong Tone
3. Black lining
4. Highlight with AP Pure Red and VMC 70.909 Vermillion
5. An almost fanatical devotion to the Snowlord

Five! Oh bugger...

Cardinal Ximinez

Cardinal Biggles

Cardinal Fang

Hello everyone, it is great to be back for another Challenge! 

These figures are from Hungry Troll, and are 35mm. They were a bonus for a Kickstarter, and I can't find them on their website.

They are my entry for Sander's Sand Dunes, which has to have a red component.

3x 35mm figures 15 points

Challenge 30 points

___________________________________

Strange, I have an odd affinity to your Four Step Red Recipe...

These models are terrific and your brushwork is spot-on, Barks. Well done mate. I hope Hungry Troll decides to issue these at some point as I'm sure they'd be very popular (Cardinal Biggles kills me).

It seems 'Sander's Sand Dunes' is a popular Christmas holiday destination. Your math is correct and you can strike inland with 45 points under your belt. Well done Barks!

From DavidB: Nobody Expects the Inquisition! (125 points)

My prefered army in 40k is Imperial Guard. It seems that although my gaming group have many different forces, They like to play Chaos forces...often. I lose a lot of troops to warp entities and hugs from psychotic, sadistc marines. True I can field my own Chaos troops, but it is more fun to use a force I like and give them an Imperial boost. Agents of the Imperium can boost any guard force with assassins, Soritas, and Inquisitors.

I picture this fellow as a very stern sort of Inquisitor....he has the Puritan hat for it!

In the center is a tortured witch..er psycher. and a couple more flank him made from a fantasy kit.

This particular Inquisitor harnesses the power of them to capture/destroy more.

To aid in his work he has a henchman who is consulting a tome and a peciluar servitor who shouldn't be near books.

The Inquisitor can take a doctor or interorgator to buff wounds. I figured this fellow would probably use torture to find the unclean. Mr Scratch was made from a variety of plastic kits using every bladed part I could find. I think he has 7 blades visible. He usually gets the confession he seeks.

The cherub gives the Inquisitor a buff as well. This one is dragging a flail of servo skulls. They are kinda like drones good for finding adversaries. I think the cherub does this by hitting adversaries with the servo skulls.

This fellow is a junior Inquisitor. His methods are more in line with a younger fellow.

Curt painted his version earlier and it was posted up as I was blocking in colors on this one.

He is accompanied by these two Crusaders. They were undercoated white and somehow I got this nice blueish metal effect on them. I've noted the paint and will return to white coating in the future. I used several layers of very thin paint from near spent paint pots. I always add water to the pots after extended use which means a lot of my paint pots are really washes now! ;)

Blue cords for infantry!

Simple green robes for this entourage.

A missionary with a matyred saint's bones and plasma gun with a scribe help flesh out the entourage.

Both of these were also undercoated white and painted with multiple layers.

Inquisitors can call in favors and bring more Imperial might.

If you can only bring one marine to the party, A Black Templer champion by the name Inigo should be enough to lure Chaos marine champions into the open.

Inquisitors can also use their very own Inquistion troops.

These are second version storm troopers. I have another squad of these sculpts painted in black and red, but they were painted some time ago.

Although these are not as nice as my Cadian storm troopers, I do like the sheer amount of equipment sculpted on them, They are ready for any mission. I painted all the pouches brown and the armor and helmets black. what uniform can be seen is just a simple green and grey camo as they are busy sculpts.

25 more troops off the desk.

These were my "secret" project of the year. Im not sure if i'll get back to them as I'm still playing wack-a-mole on pinterest trying to find a unit to paint them as. Im kinda leaning to dividing them up between Royal Americans and French Marines. I also have a few Prussian Cav too. 

A holy grail would be to have Zinnfiguren of my own. these flats are reproductions as the real tin troops are worth more than I can scrape together. The real ones are painted by artisans too. If you thought painting a different scale was a brain scramble, Flats take everything you know, smack you in the face, and say nope that is not how you do it! ;) the paint has to be kept thin as the detail is very thin. I may have complicated it by trying the Zinnfiguren look of painting shades and shadows. I probably should've done a few test figures earlier. I'm going to have to set them aside for the moment until I can figure a method without wrecking them.

_______________________________

Geez, you've managed to finish off EVERYTHING that was on my list for my Inquisitorial retinue (for which I have 4 models done). I'm so jealous! Now I have to go back to the drawing board and re-think this...

Seriously, terrific work David!  I've always liked that the Inquisition is largely made up of 'normal' human beings and not the genetically over-engineered Space Marines or monsters of the Warp. They're a little bit more identifiable. There is so many characterful models you've provided us here. I like seeing your versions of the figures I've tried, and I particularly like the fellow 'who should not be near books', but they are all great. 

To go back on my previous comment I think you may need to add a few Grey Knights as a little surprise for those folks who like to use daemons. Just to fuels the escalation if not for anything else. ;)

Save up for Zinnfiguren. You need to try some flats!

125 points for you sir!