From PeterB : Faith Hope and Love (125 points)

Well, the plan to visit every stop in the Abyss and Paradise is nearly at an end. Last stop was the Contemplatives, so now we have the Fixed stars of Faith, Hope and Love. I was really struggling with this category, it being quite vague. I asked my 10 year old son what he thought and he immediately mentioned Hope. "Surely, you need to paint some revolutionaries or citizen fighters, they fight because of Hope." Well, the kid wasn't wrong there. 

Coincidently, a unit I didn't have for my new Empire army was some free company militia. 

Well, I do now.

A box of plastic frostgrave pirate crew are perfect for this. A few arm and head swaps and I am super happy. I used every different shade of brown I had painting them, then each chap has found some blue cloth to tie on so that in the frenzy of battle they know who not to clobber over the head with a billhook or club. (Although in our club games it's easy to identify the enemy, it's normally a slavering servant of Chaos or a raging greenskin.)

The unit has the ability to use thrown weapons, so to represent this I have given a couple some missile weapons. The models are also diverse enough I could probably use them for a Mordheim gang.

Additionally I have been saving this next model in case I needed to skip a stage of the challenge. As this has not been necessary I am just going to claim the five points now for this raging barbarian from Bad Squiddo Games.

The Points.

One location = 20 points

20 x 28mm @ 5 points = 100 points

Another single 28mm model = 5 points

Total = 125 points

Children and drunkards speak the truth, as we say, so I can't argue with that. Where there is hope, there is life, although when these brutes come storming in it might be a short one. The blue accents tie them together nicely, and the variety of browns has a very pleasing effect. Your barbarian lady is my favourite though, the metals look very good. Well done, Peter, another 125 points for you!

Martijn

From PeterB - Worms!!! (and ogres) (365 points)

Bit of an unusual one today. 

Last year Mantic games did a kickstarter for Worms the boardgame. For those that do not immediately recognise thus, it is from a video game franchise where players use teams of worms to fire rockets and other weapons at each other in a side on view of a landscape. A bit like those games we played on BBC micros back in the 80s for learning about angles and trajectories. (I think we were being trained up as child Mortar teams in case World War three ever happened.)

The Collectors edition promised more worm models than the retail version, so I bit the bullet and signed up. The only issue was these worms all came in grey plastic.

Well, I definitely couldn't have that, these little dudes were begging to have some paint slapped on them.

The game takes place on a set of hex shaped cardboard pieces that are laid out in a  random pattern and yes, sections do dissappear if they take too  much damage and any worms at that location fall in the sea.

The much loved mines, exploding barrels and weapons drops are included as well as banana bombs and exploding sheep.

The models themselves bear no resemblance to what they are armed with in the game, cards are drawn to select weapons.

Each team have a set of coloured surrounds that the worms clip into to identify their own pieces. This does mean any paint on the base edge is likely to be scraped off, so I have not made any attention to the edges.

I love the various characters, there is a lot of variety. There are some repeats, but not a huge amount. A couple of the classic weapons number in up to six.

This special edition has enough for six players which means lots of carnage on a club night.

I have given them a good coating of Army Pai ter light brown Super Shader which gives them some durability like a varnish coat. It does give them a shine, but I think it works with the cartoon style.

In total we have 65 worms and 1 super sheep. The worms are around 28mm from eyebrows to end of their tail, so I am claiming five points each.

66 x 5 = 330 points

Additionally I have done a little more for my Old World army

The Ogres box set had some sprues left that I hadn't used. There is now an option to take an allied unit of Empire Ogres in the Empire army and arm them with a mix of weapons. I have already used them in a game against Orcs and Goblins and although their multiple wounds make them tough. They cannot hit a barn door with those black powder weapons. I don't think I hit a single thing all game.

They are intimidating enough though, so I might use them again.

They are 40mm tall so

5 x 7 = 35 points.

Grand total for the week 365 points.

Well, those worms might like to throw explosives around, but you definitely dropped a points bomb here too, Peter! What a wonderful wacky whopping worms horde. You have achieved a very fitting cartoony effect with them, and I am sure playing the game will be much enhanced by these lovingly painted pieces. Th Ogres are quite impressive too, and as long as your opponent doesn't realise their lack of proficiency with their weapons you should be fine I think. Not that they need those anyway... 

365 points it is!

Martijn

From PeterB - Old World Empire additions (140 points)

This week I am not claiming any location bonus. I have just been concentrating on some additions for my Old Work Empire army. Our local club is playing a lot of Old World, so it won't be long before these models are failing miserably in combat.

Firstly the Hellblaster Volley gun and crew. 

Next up, a model with some vintage, a Unicorn knight on foot.

I love this old model, it was in a mixed bag of items I got from somewhere and has been sat in my bits box for a while. It makes a great addition to the army as a Champion or Captain, Sadly I could not find a shield in my bits box with a unicorn head, but I shall keep looking. For now, the lion will have to do.

Some more Warlord games Landsknecht, this time with handguns and crossbows make up two units of line troops.

And finally, the Landsknecht box has enough parts for thirty models, so a couple of the spares with some parts from my bits box make up an Engineer and a standard bearer for my Longswords from a couple of weeks ago.

So that is 26 x 28mm models for 130 points and 10 points for the gun.

Total 140 points.

The Old World seems to be very popular since its release. Looking at these figure one can easily understand why, they have a very old style fantasy feel about them. The models themselves are very nice, and you have done a fine job with them, Peter! I like your lion unicorn knight, and the Hellblaster Gun is aways a favourite. Nice! 140 points it is.

Martijn

From PeterB - A gluttonous points bomb (Gluttony) (373 points)

My progress through the Abyss continues slowly. For the layer Gluttony I have found a model that is a monstrous creature that is a nightmare for those that overindulge. I present a Mimic from Archon Studios.

You feel peckish, you want a full fat fizzy drink full of sugar, some crisps and a chewy chocolate bar. You put your money in and a giant tongue slithers out of the collect slot and grabs your arm. You are the next victim of the Mimic.

The Mimic is 28mm scale and was a fun little distraction to paint.

Now to the bulk of the weeks painting. Firstly some of you may remember my Zulu War project from last challenge, well I have added some Natal Natives to give a bit more choice in army selection. Friendly natives who lived in Natal under British rule were conscripted into the British army to fight against their foes the Zulus. They were equipped with outdated weapons and minimal ammunition, some preferring to still use their native assegai and shield.

They would have been formed into regiments and companies as normal, but their only uniform was a red rag tied to their head or arm. Estimates are that about one I'm ten actually carried a firearm, I have increased that ratio somewhat, just so I have choices for wargaming purposes. 

We have been playing a lot of the Old World at our local club, my Orcs and Goblins army and Khornate Chaos Warrior army have both been reasonably successful. A chance opportunity to purchase second hand some Empire Knights and a Steam tank however that could not be passed up has led to the start of a new Empire army. I can't imagine I will have as much success gaming wise with this army as I will probably need to use tactics rather than just charge forward. I have had great fun painting it though and the latest work done is two units of infantry. Finding vintage GW models at a reasonable price has been tricky, so for Christmas I asked for some Warlord Games Landsknechts with zweihanders. This box combined with a box of Wargames Atlantic Landsknecht Ogres is enough for two units. One core infantry with halberds and a unit of Longswords.

The Ogres are unit fillers and game wise will just count for 4 normal men. It makes painting the unit easier and makes for an interesting looking unit.

For the longswords I chose all soft caps with feathers to identify them easier. Oldhammer rules mean you need larger bases now and instead of rebasing everything I bought these movement trays with slots from Warbases. At first I thought it would cause an issue with the Ogres, then I came up with this ingenious idea:

They slot snuggly in and don't shift about.

Finally, I have also over some time, been making a barbarian/viking/marauder army, not historically accurate, but useful for a Chaos marauder army, or Midgard or Dragon Rampant. I already have plenty of foot troops and horse riders, I felt like they needed some chariots. Victrix do a great set of three chariots in plastic (parts of which were used in my last post for the Mammoth crew. This week my large bases from Warbases arrived, so I could finish off the chariots.

They are fiddly kits with individual reigns to glue on, but I think they are worth it. Yes, technically the kits are Celtic Chariots but I think they still fit in as I have avoided the shields and helmets.

To the points.

One 28mm Mimic - 5 points

One location-  20 points

32 Natal Natives in 28mm - 160 points

20 Empire human troops in 28mm - 100 points

4 Empire Ogres (counts as 40mm troop) - 28 points

3 chariots in 28mm scale - 60 points.

Total = 373 points.

"A chance opportunity to purchase..." Ha, I had never had that happen to me, surely! But I am glad you did not let it slip, for the Empire troops are the highlight from this points bomb for me. Excellent sourcing of "alternative" miniatures, and a cracking paint job. Very clever solution for the basing too. I also like your NNI, I think you captured the skin tone really well. And the chariots, well who doesn't like a good pair of wheels, Celtic or not? Last but not least, the Mimic is a great find. Better think twice before indulging! All in all a great post, and a major step on the road to your target!

Martijn