From MartijnN: Fighting Windmills (10mm ACW)(SuperHeroes)(103 points)

I am not really into superheroes. The Marvel universe and all associated superheroes does not, I fear, really appeal to me. What will not have helped is that my dad, the one time I brought home some comics borrowed from a friend, cast one look upon them and said "We don't read that trash in this house" and made me return them the following day...

In all honesty, I don't think I really suffered for it. Yes, I got the occasional glimpse of Superman, or the Hulk (Lou Ferrigno, of course), but it never really struck a cord. So coming up with a suitable hero for the Superheroes Studio was a bit of a struggle.

And then I thought, why not go for the anti-hero. So here he is, my dad would have approved of him, and his heroic struggle against windmills has gone down in languages across Europe: Don Quixote de la Mancha, accompanied by  his faithful servant, Sancho Panza. Surprisingly, I don't think many films have been made about him. This one, from Terry Gilliam, seems to be the most recent one.

And here is my hommage to the heroic hidalgo, on his knightly steed Rocinante, Sancho Panza at his side:

Once again, these are Iain Lovecraft figures, 3D printed.

Certainly no anti-heroes, although in some way, perhaps, fighting windmills nevertheless, are these 10mm Perrin ACW troops. This is the final Confederate brigade for my Champion Hill project; just a couple of Union brigades to go now. There is also an artillery battery and two generals. I will claim a squirrel for these.

For the Union, there are also two generals, Grant is to follow. And three artillery batteries.

Not much, after last week's rather rich harvest, but I'm glad I have kept up the momentum. Also, I passed my target last week, so the pressure (if there was ever any) is off. Here's my map:

Next stop? Don't know yet. I don't think I am quite ready for the Director's Chair yet, so I still have four studios to choose from. Hm....

As for points:

36 x 10mm foot @1 = 36

4 x 10mm artillery piece  @2 = 8

5x 10mm cavalry @3 (per the recent revision) = 15

2x 28mm mounted @ 10 = 20

SuperHeroes Studio bonus = 20

Grand total 99

Some very nice looking minis there, Martijn. The Don and his companions look amazing, and (while I am a big comic book fan), I think your justification of choosing a hero from classic literature rather than Marvel or DC is very appropriate. Well done. 

Also, according to the Spreadsheet of Doom, 10mm Artillery also got bumped up to 3 points from what I can see.

From Millsy: Russian Civil War Bolsheviks (241 points)

G'day All,

It's been a while since my last submission, mainly due to a dose of conjunctivitis which makes painting unpleasant at best. Thankfully things have improved and I've been able to get back on the tools.

This submission is a large chunk of one of the two opposing forces for my new Russian Civil War project. There's some cavalry, an armoured car and a few transports to go, but this covers all the command and core troops on foot for the Bolsheviks.

I'm using a home brew variant of Bolt Action so infantry squads are ten men as a rule and command, supports, etc. all follow the standard sizes under those rules. Miniatures are for the most part from the wonderful and quite extensive Copplestone Castings Back of Beyond range which a few extras from Empress Miniatures. I'd like to add some Brigade Games stuff but at their (frankly extortionate!) postage rates that seems unlikely.

Command

Officer, Standard Bearer and Kommissar. The flag is a freebie thanks to Wiki Commons.

Infantry Squads (4)

Three x standard rifle-armed Bolshevik infantry squads with Officer, Standard Bearer and LMG.

The fourth squad are rifle-armed Communist Volunteer infantry with Officer, Standard Bearer and Kommissar to keep the "volunteers" in line. The Kommissar bears a striking resemblance to my good mate and sometime Challenge participant EvanH. The flags are once again freebies thanks to Wiki Commons.

Support Squad

HMG and crew. Dakkaski-dakkaski!

This brings me to within around 250 points of my target, which should be easily achievable with 2.5 weeks to go. Next up hopefully the aforementioned cavalry, an armoured car and transports.

Cheers,
Millsy

Glad to hear that you are doing better Millsy. These models all look great, the flags are going to give you a bonus point to help you get just that little bit closer to your goal. I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of this army.

From GregB - Sons of Horus Tactical Support Squad (50 points)

Tactical Support Squad for the Sons of Horus, sporting the dreaded Volkite Caliver.

When you are undertaking a tough endeavour, it is nice to know you can count on support. Even Space Marines need support now and then. And when you are talking about the Sons of Horus, we don't mean moral support - because the moral superiority of the Warmaster is crystal clear. Nor do we mean spiritual support - the Word Bearers have that covered. No, we are talking "tactical support", available here in squad form. This is a tactical support squad of the XVI Legion Astartes, sporting Volkite Calivers, all are plastic multi-part figures from GW.

I just love the look of the "Volkite" weapons in the 30k setting.

For those (rare) occasions where the big 20-man tactical squads run into a battlefield issue that is reluctant to move out of the way, these tactical support squads are on hand to lend a boost. Rather than  the sturdy, basic bolt gun, these squads avail themselves to the dizzying array of special, scary weapons, helpful in the particular military situations which might arise 30,000 years into the future. 

Close up of some of the poses...the guns connect at the wrist, which sucks, and leads to some...interesting joins...

The Volkite Caliver is my favourite, because it looks whacky, and is meant to be a giant ray gun. In the great tradition of 30k weapon silliness, there are "Volkite" weapons for every category, from pistols all the way to versions which are equipped and mounted on the massive Titans. 

A view showing the rear packs, and trusty bolt pistols holstered at the hip.

While I continue to love these new plastic kits from GW, the assembly of these was a pain in the @ss, as the instructions are absolutely Kafka-esque, in that they require you to have a DIFFERENT set of instructions, from the basic tactical marine box set, to go with them. Moral of the story - don't throw out your instructions right away...

We're here to support you! You know, in a tactical way!

OK, for points, we have another 10 figures, in 28mm size, so that should be good for 50 more points. And we get another SKULL for the skull duel too :)

Cool looking volkite squad, Greg. Nothing like a bit of the ol' CHOOM-CHOOM death ray action to clear the enemy out of the way.

I'm not 1005 sure, but all of the parts on the Mk.VI sprue are numbered and if you put them together in order and choose the support weapons by number order too, I think they should all fit. Those wrist joints are still a bit of a pain though.

From DaveV: Sedition Wars - Strain Strategic Points (Retro - 50 points)

Like my Ogre project for last year's Challenge, this year I have become fascinated by another old board game, Sedition Wars: Battle for Alabaster.

My previous entry featured mostly characters from the human Vanguard Samaritans. I now turned my focus to the Strain. These "strategic points" come from a 70+ piece Terrain Pack that was another Kickstarter stretch goal. For this entry, I painted up the following:

• 2 x Necrocysts - each creates 1 Phase 1 Necroform (zombie) from 2 nano-virus clouds.
• 2 x Exocysts - each creates 1 Phase 2 Exoform (living monster) from 3 nano-virus clouds.
• 1 x Macrophage - evolves an adjacent Exoform to a tougher (Phase 3 or 4) beast for 3 nano 
• 1 x Gestation Vent - consumes a Phase 1 Necroform (eww!) to create 3 nano 
• 1 x Spore Engine - creates 4 clouds of nano-virus at the cost of 1 nano

The design of these plastic models is real nightmare fuel. Kudos to the designer. They are cast from a brittle, hard plastic, which takes sanding and filing better than the basic Vanguard and Strain. I cleaned up the models with sanding sticks and files, and affixed them to 25mm or 50mm square bases, to fit the 1" square grid lines of the game.

Below, the Strain strategic points on their painting handles. (Visible behind them are Vanguard strategic points, which include various computer consoles, sentry guns, auto-docs, and doors.)

After priming with trusty GW Chaos Black, I used rattle can GW Corax White downward at about a 60 degree angle for zenithal highlights. The skin, orifices, tubular bits, claws, teeth, and other protuberances  were painted with various greens, brown, purples, reds, and pinks from the Army Painter Zombicide Warpaints sets (Scaly Flesh, Zombie Flesh, Toxic Boils, Crusted Sore, glazed with Zombie Shade and Toxic Shader). The harder chitinous plates and spikes were built up with several glazes of Seraphim Sepia, and shaded with Agrax Earthshade and Army Painter Sepia.

The bases were painted with various Vallejo greys, glazed with Secret Weapon Stone and GW Coelia Greenshade washes, then finished off with weathering powders.

Afterward, all 6 models got a coat of Tamiya Semi-gloss (TS-79), and Matt (TS-80) spray can paint. I went back with some Citadel Blood for the Blood God and Green Stuff World Coagulated Blood, to add various blood effects. This was used y around the fleshy tubes, orifices, teeth, and seeping from the claws.

Below, L-R  a Necrocysct, 2 Exocysts, and another Necrocyst.

Below, L-R a Gestation Vent and a Macrophage.

Below, a Spore Engine.

With my recent Sgt. Ramirez purchase on eBay, I also received a 2' x 3' paper map that Studio McVey used when Beta testing the game way back in 2011. I took it to my regular art framer's, who dry mounted it like a poster. This gives me a striking map, much more robust than the then cardboard map boards provided in the basic game, which are prone to warping. This will be great for participation games at conventions, too.

 

With seven 28mm terrain models, these models for a long OOP (Out of  Production) game are also Retro, Total = (20 + 20) = 40 points.

Cool looking gribbly things, they certainly look creepy. I have scored them as 28mm minis as they won't garner you many points as terrain. Given how nice the minis are, it is a shame that the game just vanished once the kickstarter was over, your board looks very cool laid out mid-game. 

ChrisW 18th century naval Abbott & Costello & some loose ends [290 points]

So, no studio and no limo service this week, just some miniatures. 

The biggest group are the Galloping Major 18th century naval figures, 29 in total. In addition to those fine figures I finished off a bunch of stuff that were only a few colours away from being done. Every week I have a selection of figures that I did not finish either because I ran out of time, focus or motivation. 

This has worked out to be a good thing this week because as of Monday I was out of town for a week on vacation in Florida.(not back by the time this post was posted) So everything posted this week is from that unfinished category. Normally I take Saturday and sometimes Sunday off after my late night Friday posting, but this week I had to get back at it as I only had the weekend to finish off some stuff to post. I like to post every week, kind of like the old weekly work targets that I used to have.

This also means that I will be under the gun for the week that I get back as I will miss the Monday and will have fewer 'almost done' stuff to fill out my post.

18th Century Naval [29 figures]

 Interesting figures, lots of character and interesting poses. They are a little odd in that they have some very nice detail but then you find a figure with very large ham hands.

Fritz & his Igor mates [6 figures] (or good help is hard to find)

A selection of helpers from a number of ranges, some Pulp Figures, RAFM. These really need to be distributed to some of the mad scientists that I recently finished, but I sense Fritz may be going independent and starting a union.

 Abbott & Costello meet the Mummy [9 figures]

Not a copy more of an homage to the old movie. I was inspired by the 'Costello figure' as he looked kind of like Lou, so I then looked for Abbott, and some other likely figures. So a mix of Pulp figures, Artizan/Northstar, and Blue Moon. The actual movie had a femme fatale in blue and the figure from Pulp Alley fits the bill near enough. Otherwise the cast in my version has the kindly old archaeologist and his daughter with the local museum curator pretending to be a friend but is really another villain out to resurrect the mummy.

 Men of Faith [6 figures]

After painting some nuns I noticed that I had some priests, at least six. The usual suspects here for figure companies.

Djinn [3 figures]

Maybe RAFM figures, kind of basic, but quick and fun to paint. Not certain what I will use them for, some type of skirmish game, maybe 7TV.

Torture chamber [5 figures]

One complete Pulp Figures set with a Lobo (Tor Johnson) figure thrown in for good measure. (looks like a relative of the helpers) What more is there to say, everyone should have a pulpy torture crew in their stable.

Scuba spies [6 figures] 

Crooked Dice figures painted like the good guys from the James Bond film Thunderball. The orange suit is one of the more recent GW contrast paints and come out very very orange. I find that some of the newer contrast paints do not seem to have all that much of a contrast finish to them. These are not the best figures to show off contrast as they are rather smooth but still my comment stand for this colour and a few others.

 These have made it to a draft post a couple of times, but never finished. Maybe next time.

Apparently I need to pack some stuff for the trip, so that is all for this week, just shy of 300 points 😞

Points total this time

• 290 points for 58 x 28mm foot (including sarcophagus and risen mummy)
  

Total of  290 points

And I am out of here for a week in the sun (hopefully) at very least a week away from snow! (& painting)

Squirrels this time around [+5]

1. 18th century naval
2. Fritz & his Igor mates (lab helpers)
3. Abbott & Costello meet the Mummy
4. Men of Faith
5. Torture chamber

 New squirrel total 55

 Previous squirrels

1. Back of Beyond
   
2. Mad figures (Top hat toffs and companions)
3. Greek skeletons
4. Sisters of Sigmar
5. Ancient Germanic women
6. ECW cuirassiers
   
7. Monsters large
8. Post apocalypse
9. Tekumel Palanquin
10. Empire Pike
11. Jazz Band
    
12. French Cuirassiers on Mars
13. Court of Dr Koo
14. Movie makers
15. Gothic/movie Vampires 
16. Gladiators
17. Women rocket corp
18. Supers
    
19. Forest scenery
20. Robin Hood
21. Gorillas 
22. Dr and his pets
    
23. Nuns
24. The flying squad 
25. Mechanical spiders from Mars 
26. The Gorgons
    
27. Cthulhu creatures
28. Mad gardeners and their plants
29. Pulp mummies
30. Pulp Egyptian skeletons
31. Jason and the Argonauts
32. Asylum residents 
33. Dwarf Roman style troops
34. Hatchet/axe wielding maniacs
35. Free range lunatics 
36. Gunslingers
37. Hill Martians
38. Martian artillery
39. Lizard infantry
40. Tekumel monsters
41. Failed experiments
42. Dr Frankenstein and monsters
43. Cold hearted mad scientists 
44. Mexican civilians
    
45. US cavalry
46. Cowboys
47. Town folk
48. Lawmen
49. Hired guns 
50. Royal Martian marines
    

Another fine mix of minis, Chris. I particularly like the Abbott and Costello set, they look like they will be plenty of fun on the table. I hope that you enjoy your break in the sun and come back to the challenge fully recharged and ready to go for the final push.