From KyleC : Khorne Bloodbound gang (55 points)

So I am just squeezing these guys out in time to post on the Monday...

A few chaps and I have begun our own little tale of 4 warlords competition to get us all back into Age of Sigmar. We each chose our own little starter box, and have gotten into it.

I picked Khorne Bloodbound as they could easily be partnered up with my Nurgle/Death Guard forces in the future as a separate detachment ( with some liberation taken on what units count as ). That and I have an idea for the force that might be really cool or horrible depending on how it is executed...

So far I have worked over the Slaughterpriest and the Blood Warriors that come in the boxset. I have realized that my OSL work on the orange is lacking on the main model, so I want to test it further before I place it onto the infantry itself.

They will all also get a dosing of snow, but only once I have the whole starter box finished up ( 3 Juggernauts and riders to go now ).

If I can manage it I will head into the local GW shop and put them up against the others in this current army painting challenge that is going on. Will see how I do against the rest of them, even if the third round involves a model/unit choice I am not looking to buying nor think I need at the moment.

The Blood Warriors took me forever this week to get completed due to all the rims on the armor sections needing metallics applied. But I think it worked out in the end.

So 11 models at 5 pts a piece, makes an easy 55 pts! Not the best, but it does the trick!

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Woah,..... Kyle!!  These are magnificent!  The whole unit just oozes menace, and the pale blues and frosted tones really blend very well with the metallic armour.  That's a lovely looking unit, right there - with a particular shout-out for the fire-eyed skull sitting at the base of the huge half naked guy with the cleaver!  I would not want to meet these guys on a snow-bound walking expedition (...or indeed anywhere!)

It's always fun to build up forces with other players - taking a few units each and see where you all collectively get to.  I'm sure these will definitely be one of the stars of any show when the games start coming.

Terrific work again (and congratulations on the very well deserved second place in the "BFG" round).  In total, these chaotic maniacs will add another 55 points to your spiralling score....taking you over your initial Challenge target of 1000 points....

.....which means with Benito and Narval, you're officially one of our heroes of this Sixth Monday of the Challenge!  HUGE CONGRATULATIONS!!

From ChristopherS : FIW Pennsylvania Provincials (45pts.)

Provincial troops are best described as a troop class that is somewhere between regular troops and militia. Unlike regular soldiers who served for x number of years or militia who were raised only for local needs in times of emergency provincial troops were formed from a province and recruited for a period of time to complete a specific military campaign or duty like transportation, manning forts etc. that could be local and further abroad.

In the French and Indian war a colonial governor would raise the provincial formation under a field officer often of high political standing with experience in commanding militia and junior officers with good standings in their local community. Were militia tended to be every man doing his duty for home that was often filled with men of some import the soldiers of provincial formations on the other hand were of less import to society shall we say and recruiting would either be voluntary through offering money to men without property and uncertain futures to a draft if needed that typically targeted persons they wanted to get off the streets so to speak. You could also pay others to take your place in the draft if you had the means.

Pennsylvania Provincials served on the frontiers manning forts and guarding against raids from Indians and French. A notable task they did take part of was the expedition against the strategically important French held Fort Duquesne that resulted in the French retreating and burning the fort down on their way out.

I decided to do some Pennsylvania Provincials because of the simple reason I like the green and red colors of their uniform. I doubt they looked this well turned out, but we as painters tend to paint things in their best light. Using the most excellent Kronoskaf as a guide I opted for a dark green on these because later I will be doing some rangers who will be wearing green as well albeit a lighter shade to help distinguish the two from each other. What he have here is a corporal and 8 soldiers wearing full equipment for my first group which will total three units in the end plus a command to be used for Sharp Practice or Muskets and Tomahawks.

I really enjoyed painting these figures from Galloping Major as they are large figures with very well raised detail and are what I like to call painter friendly making me look forward to the next batch. That said even thou they are painter friendly they still are time consuming figures to paint simply due to all the hats, buckles, straps, clothing layer etc. however when finished I do really like the look they give making the work pay off. I suppose that is the reward for painting lace war and Nap figures in the end and is what keeps us coming back.

The colors I used were once again Foundry with some Vallejo and my ever trusty Mig pigments for some good dusting on the stones. 

So nine figures should give me 45 points. Thanks for viewing! (Miniature Company- Galloping Major)

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These look wonderful, Christopher!  Everything about these lovely figures, and the way you have painted them, just looks 'right' - from the fine colour choice (green and red make such a nice combination), to the careful shading, to your trademark (wonderful) basing and to the lace work on the uniforms.  Well done indeed!

I love fielding militias on the table, mainly because there is always that element of uncertainty about how they will perform.  Of course, they might be utterly useless, unnerved by the fighting and seeking an early exit from the field as soon as practicable.  But, then again, they may be unlikely heroes and heroines, about to write their own place in the history books with a moment of military glory.  So, fielding a unit like this gets two thumbs-up from me, Sir!

Congratulations on a well deserved 45 points to add to your total!

From BenitoM: Vienna Volunteers Swelling Ranks (40 points)

Men continued flocking to signup to the Vienna Volunteers Regiment this week and the first battalion is now ready to march to the front to fight the Ogre Napoleon. The last company was painted...

... and now the first battalion is ready to depart to the front to fight the Ogre Napoleon.

In the meantime the first cadre of men for the second battalion is starting to take shape

According the sources I have found, while the first battalion had a distinctive uniform (dark grey coat, white breeches, and a hat white lining) the remaining three battalions dressed with the standard militia of Lower Austria uniforms, in a lighter grey tone and with the white strapping of the line infantry.

As in previous weeks, these are 28mm scale Victrix Austrian infantry models with Perry Austrian heads.  A total of 8 models x 5 points = 40 points.

If I'm not wrong I'll be now just above the 500 points target I put to myself! This is great, the first time in three years that I've each the threshold. I must now reassess my Challenge target upgrading to 700 points mark. This is out of my comfort zone but still at reach with all the models pending paint on my table right now.

A final comment. I'm sharing with you a new tip provided by one of my club friends to speed up the painting of heads and hands: a Citadel shade called "Reikland Fleshshade".

Use Vallejo flat flesh straight out of the bottle, wait for drying and apply the shade. After drying you can highlight nose, eyebrows and chin with flesh again and the lips with red brown. There you have reasonably well painted model to put on the table, saving a lot of time.

Note that I neither paint in detail eyes or other face features; I just want my models to look right on the table at a distance and forming in mass formations. This method is good for that purpose and saves a significant amount of time.

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With the punctuality of an Austrian train timetable (...which I imagine is very punctual indeed...), you have again, Benito, treated us to another wonderful submission of Viennese Volunteers.  Their ranks are indeed swelling very impressively and will look fantastic on the tabletop.

I particularly like the mix of uniforms in the regiment, with the dark grey coat of the first battalion contrasting very well with the light grey of the other battalions.  Finding out details like this, from your research, is a great way to make a unit really exceptional.

And thank you very much for the painting tip.  I greatly enjoy hearing these, as I'm sure everyone does.  It's the small insights like this which can really enhance the painting experience for all of us Brush Pilots!  Thanks again!

And HUGE congratulations on reaching your target - one of three Monday Challengers (with Narval and Kyle) doing so this week. 

For a gentleman with a very busy family, professional and social life, this is very deeply impressive and something we can all celebrate!  HURRAH and WELL DONE, Sir!

GOOOOOOD MORNING MONDAY, CHALLENGERS!!!

Good Monday Morning to you all, Challengers, readers, friends and passers by to this wonderful blog and Challenge VIII !

I hope you all had great weekends, including some time with your paintbrushes.  And, whether you hail from the cold of the frozen North of our beloved Snowlord and Lady Sarah, or from the ferocious heat of the South with our many Challengers celebrating the wonders of Australia Day, I can only hope that your Vallejo and Coat d'Arms painted true and non-transparently, and required no extra layers of paint! 

And whether you're in the north, the south, the east or the west - or maybe just somewhere pleasantly in the middle - I know you will have a great time during the course of today watching the submissions roll in from the Monday Challengers.

And this 6th Monday of the Challenge (we, dearest friends, count them..... SIX), we have fantastic terrain, horrifying chaotic nightmares, resolute provincials, Viennese citizenry and possibly, just possibly, some other submissions which might be rather special indeed.

So whether you need to crank the air conditioning down to freezing ... or throw yet more beech logs onto the fire .... I hope you can all join me over the next few hours to enjoy the company of the wonderful Monday Challengers of Challenge VIII....

Side Duels Roster and Points Updated

Hi All,

The sixth points update for the Side Duels and Challenges has been posted.

As always, please check the points and make sure they're correct.

Cheers,
Millsy The Duels Wallah

The Votes are in for the 'BFG' Bonus Theme Round!

Hello Everyone!

Our second bonus theme round is complete! We had 41 participants submitting entries providing their interpretations of the 'BFG' theme. Below are the results of the voting. As you can see it was a close race, with several ties all along the line.

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Here are the Runners Up:

Martin C's 'Big Freaking Gorilla'

DaveX's 'German Winter Pak 40'

and PaulOG's 'FIW Royal Artillery'

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The podium finishers are:

Tied for Third Place: ChristopherS' 'Hessian Jaeger Amusettes' and KenR's 'WWI German Howitzer'

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Both Christopher and Ken will receive another 25 points in recognition for their excellent submissions this round. Wonderful work guys and congratulations!!

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Tied for Second Place: Byron's 'Mechanicum Thanatar Siege-Automata' and Kyle's 'Medieval Cannon'

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Kyle and Byron will both receive another 50 points to add to their respective totals. Beautiful work and tremendous job you two! 

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And in First Place: 

Michael's 'What a Load of Bullucks'

Absolutely wonderful Michael (that pale violet gun carriage is brilliant). For claiming top spot on the podium Mr. Awdry will receive another 75 points and a gift certificate from Kyle over at Mr Lee's Minis. Congratulations Michael, you can now unhitch your beasts so they can rest on their laurels and bask in the glow of their fame.

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Once again, a BIG thank you to all the participants of the 'BFG' bonus round - you all gave us wonderfully varied and booming interpretations of the theme. Brilliant stuff! 

Finally, as a reminder, next Saturday midnight (February 3rd) is the submission deadline for our next Bonus Theme Round: 'Musician', so limber up your fingers, run the scales and show us what your interpretation is of this sonorous theme!