From Barks: Tommy Atkins's weird WW1 day (Limbo)(64 points)

I've been a little slow getting off the starting blocks for this Challenge, but I'm happy to be back.

My initial Limbo entry is this Martian scout tripod from Alien Dungeon, which I picked up from the good people at the War Library. I sprayed the whole thing silver and washed it black, and then hit a creative wall. Should I make it rusty and decrepit? What colour should the eye be? Should I make the details more defined? So it languished, until the Challenge inserted new life.

I decided to leave it un-rusty, and go for a red gem effect on the eye. I blended a deep red to black and orange, and then gave it a gloss coat. I'm not entirely happy, but it is done. The photos are with a previously painted PSC 15mm plastic soldier for scale. What else will poor Tommy Atkins encounter today?

I painted the tripod because I had been inspired by The Last War, a Forbidden Psalm/ Weird WW1 ruleset. My 15mm WW1 project had also been in a bit of limbo as well, and Last War has helped it approach completion. The tripod will be my 'Thing from the fog'. To add to my meagre Squirrel score, I've painted a few more gribblies.

First, I had a bag of transparent zombies from a board game. These made great ghosts, and also mud ghouls when liberally coated in mud effect.

Ghosts

Mud ghouls

I 3D printed some other figures at 50% size.

Trench maggots (Goonmaster)

Hounds of Annwn (Knucklebones)

Gas bugs (Goonmaster)

Trench rats (Duncan Shadow)

Some of these were barely painted (mud ghouls and ghosts) and others are small (15mm giant rats). So how about:

• 1 x 25mm vehicle: 20 points
• 24 x assorted 15mm gribblies: 24 points
• Limbo bonus: 20 points
• Squirrel (Last War) +1
• Can opener duel +8

From Millsy:

Great to have you join us again this year Barks! This is a great way to kick of your Challenge and I think you did the right thing sticking with the shiny finish on the walker. I've always thought part of the otherworldliness of tripods is they were made of unknown materials and wouldn't rust. I've scored it as a 28mm vehicle given the scale.

Nice work mate, a healthy 64 points to kick of your Challenge.

Cheers,

Millsy

From PaulO'G: Last War Trench Squad

The Living will Envy the Dead...

The battleground of the Last War is inhabited by the despairing, entirely without hope. Former causes have now been extinguished by an endless struggle for pointless survival. Equipped with the failing relics of industry produced by once proud nations, these scavengers now scrap over the dwindling remains of this once proud world...

I enjoyed making this base and its mysterious signage...

The Last War system has players controlling small bands (5-6 figs) of Trench fighters in narrative style scenarios to fight battlefield horrors in a desperate bid to win resources to enable their continued existence. Encounters can be head to head, coop, or solo, which provides a lot of great play options.

Posed in front of the pdf rules cover

My first trenchers are styled after the Kaiser's army but now reduced to desperate survivors.  Models are by Knucklebones miniatures and I have added some extra bits (stick grenades, Grenade satchel, backpack, trench shield) to customise them. The dog came from another sculptor on 3dcults.

I've painted them in a thematically Grimdark style, experimenting with adding textures and using some Abteilung 502 oil washes.  I also spent far more time than usual scratch building each base and liberally applied Vallejo water gel effects to give it all a sodden, miserable vibe.  

The glow from the gasmask lenses and complete lack of visible flesh tries to convey their devolution and reduced humanity. But I could be overthinking it.  On the bright side, they have a puppy to keep their spirits up! ('Trench companions' play a valuable role in the game).

Love the tattered rags adorning these models

In their bunker they have a damaged pianola, salvaged from a long destroyed Chateau and now haunted by a powerful but unknown spirit.  And if one wishes to hear it play, homage must be paid to the duck with the curiously bleeding eyes inside its rasping gasmask...  (Piano also by Knucklebones)

Yes, in my obsessive madness I painted each key individually; what was I thinking...

I had a lot of fun obsessing over these models, so yes it was (yet) another of those 'sweat all the details well beyond any points efficiency which is irrelevant' projects. Thats 6 x 28mm figs plus one more for the piano/duck combo - call it 35 points if the festive spirit endures :-)

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Wonderful work Paul! I love all the thought and effort you took in bringing these figures to realization. I have a bunch of Knucklebones stuff waiting in the wings, including some variations on some models seen here, and now I'm very inspired to give them a go.Your grimdark style looks amazing combined with these models. Well done sir!

- Curt

From Paul O'G: Last War Barbed Wire Beasts (15 points)

My opening entry for Season XIII is also my first salvo for a small side project. Last War is a small indy produced skirmish level game with a Weird/Horror WW1 theme, with the premise that the War goes on, never ending, with only death awaiting all...

On that cheery note - Merry Christmas!

What really got me was some wonderful digital sculpts by another small indy company called Knucklebones Miniatures (whom you can find on Facebook, Patreon, and MyMiniFactory).  I just couldn't unsee them, and so (with Reilly's technomage assistance at our 3d printer), here we are. 

Pics thematically taken in front of the Rulebook Cover

While my first Section of Trenchers is under construction, here are the first of their battlefield antagonists - barbed wire beasts. The "Spandau ballet" undead kept in agonising pain by the cursed barbed wire that is now enmeshed in their bodies as they hunt the living across No Man's Land...  

I sculpted the bases to represent the eternally muddy and moist Western Front 

Great to be back and always good to get onto the scoreboard before Christmas - hope you all have a great one!

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Haha! This is hilarious, as I have the same three minis on ramp to get done for the exact same set of rules. Burned! Well done, Paul. These ghouls look absolutely fabulous, especially with the wire wrapped around them. Chilling. 

- Curt