From Tasha: Bolide Ramblings and Yacht Travels (25 points)

I had intended to skip Noel’s Comet because, with the demise of my 3D printer, I was unable to source the figures I had originally planned to use for this theme. I’m not sure about you, but once I get an idea in my mind, it can sometimes be difficult to change lanes! 

I have been sidelined the last few weeks with some health issues. Not being able to work is annoying. I’ve discovered firsthand how overwhelmed our healthcare workers are. I’ve witnessed some outlandish behaviour in the hospital and yet, in spite of that, these wonderful humans continue to provide amazing care. Their resilience really helps put my struggle into perspective (and keeps me from whinging too loudly!) My paintbrushes have become a solace and all of your posts a source of companionship. 

As a first-timer in the Challenge and to essentially all things related to this hobby, I have had a unique perspective to this experience. I’ve been able to be on the outside looking in, while at the same time having the privilege of being included with all you cool kids. Your encouragement and willingness to share your tips and tricks is appreciated more than you know. 

The community that has been built here is like no other. The simple fact that this ‘Comet’ exists in the Challenge is a testament to the real friendships and bonds that exist here. This is a community that extends far beyond paintbrushes and gaming. Relationships have been built over the course of more than a decade. One just has to read back through the archives to see that this is far more than a Painting Challenge. This is truly a group of friends, sharing a journey and enjoying some painting along the way.

I don’t have anything painted to support my ramblings. I simply wanted to pay homage to Noel and thank all of you. 

No points claimed for Noel’s Comet and I didn’t include the label, as this doesn’t technically count as a visit. 

I will use this figure, from WizKids, as my toll to summon Lady Sarah's Star Yacht for travel to Cybertron. Fingers crossed my figure for Cyberton arrives in the mail this week.

5 points for 28 mm figure

20 points for Sarah’s Star Yacht

25 points total. 

I had to look up what "Bolide" means - "A bolide is normally taken to mean an exceptionally bright meteor, but the term is subject to more than one definition, according to context. It may refer to any large crater-forming body, or to one that explodes in the atmosphere. It can be a synonym for a fireball, sometimes specific to those with an apparent magnitude of −14 or brighter." (from Wikipedia). The first two definitions certainly describe Noel, a bright meteor whose points-bombs left many craters across the Challenge!

That lyre player will pay for your trip to Cybertron.

Tamsin

From SarahHC: The Chocolate (Cup)Cake Challenge

Hey Everyone!

At the start of this Challenge, myself & Natasha declared a challenge that the first one to meet our 50 point goal was to bake the other a chocolate cake.

The Challenge was met and declared a tie! Hooray! Cake!

First, I must tell you that I DON’T bake & I was a little intimidated by what I have gotten myself into. This years AHPC Challenge is certainly turning into a season of firsts for me!

Now to the logistics …. Recipes to read, Cakes to make, schedules to coordinate, party planning...

Unfortunately, Natasha wasn't able to join the regular gaming crew for the festive game night so I had to go solo. What to do?

The regular crew was set to game on Saturday Feb 12, and as Valentines Day (aka Chocolate Day!) was on Monday … 💡… with mixing bowls, whisks and baking tins organized, I set to work.  Voilà, Valentines Cupcakes to share with both the gaming crew and (virtually) with ALL of you lovely Challenge participants. Cake for Everyone!

Chocolate fudge cupcakes (gluten-free), filled with a home made raspberry & pomegranate liquor purée and topped with a whipped Buttercream frosting (first time using a frosting piping bag too!).

PeterD enjoying his chocolate cupcake during the game

Overall, I’m pretty happy with my efforts, and best of all, the cupcakes seemed to be appreciated by the group.

- Sarah

I'm sure it was meant to be a full-size cake you were meant to bake, but those cupcakes look more fiddly to have made, so I think we can let you off.

Thanks for sharing. I'm sure Tasha will be along to share photos of her cake(s) at some point.

Tamsin

From MikeP: The Triumph of Frankenstein (Skaro, Death Star) 80 points

 Hammer Studios, Tamsin's Tuesday Terror Talkies, and MikeP, present:

A dear friend of mine knows that I am inordinately fond of fellow Canadian Bob Murch of Pulp Figures and his sculpts inspired by movies and pulp magazines of the 1930s.   A package arrived at Christmas full of Pulp goodness, including Bob's "Triumph of Frankenstein" set.   What could be a better way to visit Skaro, planet of strange doctors, then in the company of Victor Frankenstein.   So be prepared for a spine-chilling, blood-curdling post.

The figures are terrific in their own right, but I wanted some scenery to suggest Dr. Frankenstein's laboratory so I turned to my 3D printer.   I found a mad scientist's lab set on MyMiniFactory, sold by Print Your Monsters, as well as dungeon floors and tiles from Legend Games.  Not entirely sure what the massive steampunk thingy in the corner does - power source maybe? - but it looks cool as does the workbench with the extra brain in the box!  The walls and floors are primed black and dry brushed with successive layers of three shades of gray craft paint, going from darker to lighter.

Dr. Frankenstein's lab coat is a base coat of Folk Art Dove Gray built up with thinned Folk Art Vintage White.  I resisted the temptation to splatter it with blood.  I prefer the idea of the young scientist with pure (amoral?) intentions who doesn't find himself covered in blood and guilt until much later.    The poor monster is mostly brown undercoat picked out with FolkArt Linen, a very useful colour.  Bob's wonderful lifting table is painted in Folk Art Wrought Iron.  Igor and Viktor are painted using the Foundry Triad system for their flesh.

The "set" measures 4.5" by 4.5" and a little over 4" to the top of the power thingy so it fills a 6" cube.

Hi 

I hope you'll agree that Viktor is a natural for immigration to Skaro.   I hope you'll also agree that his handiwork, the Monster (yes, Bob also sculpted the monster as we know him from movie lore) is a creature of very questionable design, when you consider that he's made of dead body parts, that Viktor's henchman stole The Wrong Brain for the monster, and the monster drive up a pretty high body count.  Also, poor hubristic Viktor, who wanted to master the secrets of life and death,  never even gets a sniff of a Nobel Prize, so it all goes rather badly for him.   Hence, with this big green mini as my ticket, we're off to the Death Star.

Poor Igor, he's about to regret terrorizing the poor monster with fire. 

Bob's sculpt of the monster is a great homage to Boris Karloff

The cast of characters.  This project is the first time I've used clear plastic bases, which I felt went well with the printed and textured floor tiles.  I ordered a mittful of them from Litko, and I'm sure I'll find more uses for them.

This was a fun project to do as a diversion.  It allowed me to discover some of the capabilities of 3D printing for scenery and backgrounds, and was also a restful break from the historical painting that I usually do.  I'm grateful to the Challenge for these opportunities to be creative.

4 X 28mm foot figures @ 5 points ea = 20 pts.

1 6" scenery cube = 20 pts.

Skaro and Death Star @ 20 pts = 40 pts.

Total: 80 pts.

Cheers, and thanks for looking,  MikeP

Mad doctor for Skaro? Yes, Viktor is definitely good for that. His "modern Prometheus" for the Death Star - you've made a good argument for that. 

However, trying to argue that 4.5" x 4.5" x 4" fills a 6" x 6" x 6" terrain cube is a bit of a stretch. If we go down that road, someone (you know we're looking at you, Ray) might try to claim that a 28mm bear is a piece of terrain and counts as a terrain cube. By my reckoning the volume would be 0.375 terrain cubes, so 7.5 points for that.

What I will do is count the various bits and bobs (including the animation table the monster is strapped to) as 2.5 figures, so 12.5 points for those. That way your total points work out the same.

Tamsin

From SteveM: 15mm ww2 British Italy infantry (66 Points)

 

This post is for a group of 15mm ww2 British in Italy infantry rifle platoon. There are three squads and  based for the Flames of War rule set. These figures are from the BR762 blister pack. I like the metal infantry figures from v3 over the plastic v4 figures and wish Battlefront would bring back all metal figures as special order at least.

This is a start for a larger British force.

Squirrel Point Running Tally: 6

1. 28mm Squirrel Battalion

2. 15mm Jordanian Army Mechanized Company

3. 15mm ww1 German Stoss Platoon

4. 15mm ww2 Soviet Storm Group plus Mortars 

5. 1/144 UAR MiG-17 group

6. 15mm ww2 British Italy infantry <-- New this post

 

Challenge Points:

15mm infantry @ 2 points * 33 qty = 66 points 

Total points: 66 points

Nice platoon to start off your British in Italy force, Steve!

Tamsin

From MartinC - These Are Far Away (178pts)

 As a complete change of everything I've been painting 10mm Italian wars figures this week. Last year I built some 3D hex tiles to make maps to refight early 16th Century Italian wars . I had acquired a huge 10mm collection of Renaissance figures and had great fun fighting Bologna against Genoa etc. 

I still have a few to collect but wasn't in the mood for 10mm Landsknechts (is any one ever) so I painted these guys

2 regiments of arquebusiers

Simple blue or red jackets

The campaign has lots of random events to manage and one of the things I wanted to have was a peasant uprising. 

Peasant archers

Sorta Robin Hood (Robin Cappucino) and a command stand. 

As it is an Italian peasant uprising red shirts seemed appropriate but instead I gave them red hats. The herald is used as a movement marker on the map and so sits on an 8mm nut.

A slovenly peasant pike block, more red hats

Finally a peasant horde or villagers with pitchforks and monks with halberds and walking sticks

These units will form the core of the revolt and they will be able to recruit extra units based on how many hexes they own. As an uprising they will appear in conquered territories and fight either for the original owners, the Pope or themselves and form a new city state.

So Tamsin, hope you've counted them all. Good. I'll help

176 x 10mm infantry = 176pts

1x 10mm cavalry = 2pts

total = 178pts

I must say I'm glad that you tallied how many figures there are - very helpful! 178 points it is - not quite your usual points bomb, but a tidy entry nonetheless!

Tamsin

From SanderS: Caprica - Doomed indeed! (75 points)

 Hoi,

It seems that every Challenge I have to post at least  one post apologizing to you kind folks and this year is no exception. For the last week and a half our home has been fitted with all new windows in almost all rooms. Since my room has no less then 4 windows, this meant that I had to pack away pretty much all of my hobby stuff and cease activities. The stress and work that went with this work, meant I had basically no time to reply to all your posts and not even to answer all your kind remarks to Arthur's last post. I will try to rectify that asap.  

 While I am now almost back on track I was not entirely able to finish my post for Caprica as I intended it but I managed to get something done. It had originally been my intention to paint up figures from 3 Warhammer 40K armies that had "DOOMED" written on their foreheads in large capitals, The Celestial Lions, The Thousand Sons and The Tanith First and Only. It is these latter that I did manage to finish for today's post.

 For those of you not in the know: The Tanith First and Only are an Imperial Guard unit raised on Tanith as a Light Infantry/ Recon unit for the Sabbath Crusade and just when the troopship lifting them from their planet Tanith got airborne said planet was blown up Alderaan style. So yeah they are pretty doomed. This is a set of white metal figures GW produced a long time ago and even though a new set has been released last year, they are still pretty much the coolest IG figures I own. The only figure still missing is their commander Colonel-commissar Ibrahim Gaunt: I still need to paint him.

The entire bunch:

 

Piper Milo and medic Dorden.

Corbec, Larkin and Mkoll

Generic Ghosts

Points: well 11 x 5 is 55 points together with the 20 points bonus is 75 points. Meanwhile I am on to work hard to get more stuff done before the Challenge ends.

Cheers Sander

 

Nice work on these, Sander! Those bases look great.

Tamsin

 

 

From SteveM: 1/144 UAR United Arab Republic MiG-17 group (88 Points)

 

This post is for a group of UAR (United Arab Republic) MiG-17.  They are from Battlefront for use with the Arab-Israeli miniatures game and made out of resin.

The Jordanians in a previous post appear to need some help so starting a large UAR air force.

 

 

Squirrel Point Running Tally: 5

1. 28mm Squirrel Battalion

2. 15mm Jordanian Army Mechanized Company

3. 15mm ww1 German Stoss Platoon

4. 15mm ww2 Soviet Storm Group plus Mortars 

5. 1/144 UAR MiG-17 group <-- New this post

 

Challenge Points:

15mm vehicle @ 8 points * 11 qty = 88 points

Total points: 88 points

 

Welcome back! And the first of four posts this week, no less! Nice MiG group to support your Jordanians.

Tamsin

Tamsin's Testy Tuesday

 

"Good morning Ladies, Gentlemen...and Ray! You might be asking why I am "testy" today. Well, let me tell you, it's the result of all the high level crisis meetings that I've had to attend over the past week. It seems that my gentle chiding and admonishments have done nothing to stem the spate of slacking off among our guest explorers. Over the past seven days, you have clocked up a paltry 5,717 parsecs of travel. Our current total is 50,745 parsecs explored from a pledged target of 84, 789 (an additional 1,075 parsecs have been pledged since last Tuesday)."

"The Station Master, Captain Campbell, is most concerned for the reputation of Snowlord's Peak Resort Station. As my new whips haven't arrived yet, he has taken drastic measures (somewhat precipitously, in my humble opinion) and engaged some "consultants" to "identify the cause of the problem and to  recommend and implement solutions". 

The "consultants" in the Station Master's boardroom

"Exploration reports for today are as follows:

• Lady Sarah will be reviewing "Dusk Till Dawn" and showing off her cupcakes (Which I am assured is not a euphemism)
• TashaH will ramble about Bolinde
• ChrisW has shockingly submitted his report not just in the nick of time, but before my shift even started!
• SteveM, having skipped last week, returns with four reports. If this pattern continues, he will skip next week then in two weeks time he will have eight reports, skip the next, then sixteen reports...
• MikeP, our Padre, will deliver a sermon on the perils of Man trying to imitate God by creating life
• MartinC will be reenacting a certain Father Ted episode
• SanderS denies that he is a member of Dads Army*

There may be more reports submitted during the day, but that's already quite a long list!"

"Station Master Announcements:

1. Squirrels, Packages Containing, Correct Labeling Of. It appears that some of our guest explorers and crew** have been bringing squirrels onto the Station without correctly labeling the packages. This has caused several issues where said rats-with-good-PR have chewed through wiring, causing blackouts on deck 5-Gamma, 6-Lambda and 4-Epsilon.
Please ensure that all squirrel-containing packages are correctly labeled.

2. Coloured Wax Crayons, theft of. It appears that somebody or somebodies have broken into the storeroom and made off with all the red, green and purple wax crayons. Our Security Team are reviewing the CCTV footage to identify RayR and MartinC the miscreants.

3. Skulls. Whilst not all guests and staff are "collectors" of such things, there does appear to be a thriving community of collectors (including the Station Master). The facility currently being used for their storage is very nearly full and Steward Barks is negotiating for use of a larger warehouse.

"Well, I think that's it for my briefing today."

Toodle-pip!

Tamsin

* Ref:

** no, no, no. I'm not referring to the Station Master, honest guv!