PeteF Wrap Up

The Painting Challenge is the highlight of my hobby year. A big THANK YOU to Curt, Sarah, the minions and all the participants - especially those who comment/encourage on everyone's posts. I'm not a particularly prolific commenter but appreciate reading the advice and motivation that people give.

This time round I had less time for brush twirling than in previous challenges - new job, new puppy, more chores on the list and with the gradual relaxation of COVID restrictions I found more time for actual gaming with my toys. 

Having started with the best of intentions - to squirrel prolificly, to visit every planet and to knock my 1,000 point target out of the park - I got bogged down. Sadly, my order of Blake's Seven minis - many of which would have been a good fit for planet challenges - placed and post marked around 24 December, was not delivered until 14 March. 

Nevertheless - plenty of items were transferred from the Shelf of Shame to the Shelf of Self Esteem and new things were learned. I'm better at clear bases, finished a Stargrave crew, completed a SAGA warband, started 2 new projects (Judge Dredd & Battletech), improved my drybrushing and added to the Quatres Bras project.

Because I'm as bloody minded as a certain Black Knight, I'll visit the remaining planets in my own time and maybe post on my blog - when I get to Noel's Comet I'll put a link on the Facebook page as I'd like to honour our fellow challenger with long story of some kind.

That's it until next time - enjoy the intervening seasons but, as Ned Stark would say Winter is Coming!

KenR - "Rome or Death" a Garibaldi Project for AHPC

 

Wow that went quick ! Another challenge over and another huge project half done !

I was never going to get the whole of my Battle of Mentana build done in three months, its 20 units of 24 Garibaldi plus 4 units of 36 Papal troops and 5 units of 24 French plus three batteries of Artillery and a small amount of Cavalry (around 800 figures) but I hoped to make a big dent into it.

So I managed 7 units of Garibaldi Infantry, one of Papal Zouaves, a battery of Garibaldi guns and a Command Base or 213 figs in total, so around a quarter of the total needed to get the Battle on. I plan to do this as a display game at FIASCO 22 in October but that might be a stretch especially as I need to sort the terrain out, which is never my strongest point.

Work sadly got in the way this Challenge and I managed just over 1,000 points well short of my 1500 target, so I'm shy 4 or 5 units worth of stuff of where I hoped to be.  But it's been great fun researching, building up the units and getting enough on the table to make it actually look like something.

My personal favourite from the Challenge was my Papal Zouaves, the yellow flags and grey / red uniforms just make the unit, its something different that's for sure.

Thanks to everyone who has commented on my posts and if you are interested in seeing more of the Project as it builds keep an eye on Yarkshire Gamer, I've got a blog, YouTube Channel etc where these troops will appear.

And a special thanks once again to Curt for organising this wonderful event 👍

Keep in touch and I will see you on the start line, with another Big Project later this year.

Regards Ken 

The Yarkshire Gamer 

From Martijn N: Wrapping up

Well, that went fast! As a matter of fact even faster than I thought, for I had written a final (I thought) contribution for March 21st, only to find that I was too late! A very senior moment I fear. However, even without my final Squirrel I truly had a blast. I smashed my target which, even though admittedly still fairly modest at 500 points nevertheless was considerably up from that of my my first Challenge last year. I think I managed an average of more or less a squirrel per post, which just goes to show that focus is not one of my few strenghts. Neither is photography, of figures or otherwise. So here goes, with the obligatory hat:

I did figures, in 10mm, 15mm, 28mm and 40mm, I did a hill, I did houses, two wells and a keep (which I forgot for the photo, duh)  and a market stall, I did animals as in horses, wargs, and camels, I did Elves, Men, goblins, a Dwarf, Romans, Arabs, Russians and Württembergers; I quadrupled the number of female figures I ever painted; and I did ships. I embraced the Squirrel. Yippie!

Once again, I painted less than I had hoped, but more than I expected. I find that the (self-inflicted, I know) pressure to try to get a post in every week tends to severely limit my ability to comment on others' contributions, which I have done much less than I intended to and very much less than everybody deserved, so my apologies. Next year, I will do my best to better my life. I am also sorry that I only got to join the chat once; my speech is somewhat impaired, and I find it very difficult to concentrate on painting while talking, or the other way around, especially in  a foreign language; but I very much enjoyed the company when I was there. I shall definitely look forward to joining more often in future!

I can only say that I have thoroughly enjoyed the fantastic, diverse, extremely talented, awesome, quirky, weird and otherwise interesting contributions of the amazingly creative, welcoming, kind and friendly bunch that you Challengers are. Thanks ever so much for having me join you, it truly has been a privilege!

Thanks, Curt, for allowing me in once again and organizing a wonderful Challenge. The Challenge Quadrant was an absolutely  brilliant idea and I had great fun with it. Thanks also to all our long-suffering minions, and  especially my "own" Friday minion,  our unfortunate Dave. I do hope you have a smoother ride next year!

Well, that's it from me. So long one and all, and thanks for all the fun. I hope to see you all again next winter!

DavidB wrap up and vacation

My first few entries were the gifts painted above. Since Razor is off to Northern Michigan and trespassing in teenaged son's bedrooms is akin to slow dancing with Cthulu...the entry pictures will suffice.

This was a very happy indulgence  this outing. I am still adjusting to being back home and enjoying the little things like having bed, food, and bathroom under the same roof! Simple luxury! My leg is healed from surgery and I'm back to light jogging and walking soon rucking with heavy pack and attempting to beat past record times.

This was how my desk looked from day one of the challenge. I have since packed all paints and untouched miniatures away and did a much needed cleaning of debris in the man cave. Currently I am relaxing in a nice hotel with close friends and taking a small vacation before stepping up in physical training and securing a mortgage for our home....definitely need the peace and tranquility before confronting Bankers! ;)

I was not quite able to fill the field desk  like i have in past challenges, but I am happy to have converted a good foot hill of the Mountain-of-Neglect into playable game pieces.

It was also a treat to be amoung like minded hobbyists and being exposed to games, genres, and miniatures thatI may even look for here at Adepticon.

Although I wasnt able to comment directly to every post, I have marked my favorites. Whether I was performing military duries or protecting the power plant, a big part of my day was viewing the email with my morning coffee.

Now, I and the Iron Snakes( and unfinished Orlocks) are in Illinois at Adepticon. The crowd is enthusiastic and rather large. Large enough I have been enjoying more of the Schaumburg air than the convention sights! I did see the GW teasers...Greg and the rest of the Heresy fans are going to be pretty happy this year( save some money for this summer)  I also have been snagged by the small shapeway company Pop Goes the Monkey. They are keen to see the Iron Snakes up close as my companions were bragging about them. Only a little anxiety there...and here I am carting them about in a cardboard box till I can proper trays for them! 

Thank you all for an enjoyable outing this round. A very special thanks to The Snowlord, Lady Sarah, Tuesday Minion Tamsin, the rest of Team Minion, and the cat herders tallying the side duels. I'm going to have a few words with the smurf behind me and gather some projects for when the snows return after the Autumn winds.

PS I only have the mustache( cannot grow a beard-looks like mange!) as not only is it the only reminder of my used to be black hair, but it also annoys my wife! She also says it must be gone before I return home.

From PeterB. AHPC wrap up. The hobby butterfly strikes again

I said it all in my last post really, but thank you all for a wonderful first challenge. My target was a modest 500 points as I wasn't sure on my speed or spare time, but post Christmas I managed to post at least one post a week. I originally felt being a newbie and not competitive at all to finish near the bottom of the table wouldn't be a problem. Then halfway through it looked like a top ten finish was a possibility. I was pipped at the post however by the excellent last minute efforts from Tamsin and Millsy, a fact I am totally content with. (Shaky fist!) 

In all seriousness though, I really just wanted to get the project done that had been haunting me, sat on my official GW painting tray for nigh on two years. My Zulu War Perry Plastics. Well, goal achieved. I had great fun painting and getting all the great feedback (my personal blogging comments section remains thinly commented in comparison.) Many other models were painted too and my lead pile is looking diminished. (They never empty do they?)

I had multiple poses tested in photos taken, I'm confident in going with two thumbs up.

Well there you go. I've had to make an order of mdf bases at one point, more foam trays to store all this and I've run out of tufts. (Are all these taken into account for the economic value? ;-) )

The Space Marine sits behind me now and looms over me in Zoom meetings for work.

If you want to see more of my painting throughout the year, I go by PlayingwithLead on facebook or on the blog at https://playingwithlead.blogspot.com

Otherwise, see you next year.

From Barks: Gaze upon my works

The Challenge is an annual highlight I always look forwards to. It has been an honour to be your Thursday minion for AHPC XII. I fell heroically short of my target, but I did complete my Challenge Star. I got there in a very fuel-efficient manner, and should probably have used a few Star Yacht trips to gain more bonus points. Everything I did this year was 28mm sci-fi or fantasy, with a shameful lack of historicals. I did complete over 100 skullz, and got a fair way into Slowpainter's alphasoup.

Very much looking forward to AHPC XIII!

Barks

From SimonG: AHPC XII Wrap-Up aka Swords & Sandals

It hardly seems like yesterday that it was the end of November and I'd just realised that I'd missed the cut-off to sign up for this year's challenge 😫 . Very luckily for me Carl was kind enough to expand the roster of entrants and admit me along with a few other laggards!

Now why do I never smile? Mr Grumpy and his figures 😄 

Last time was my first entry into the full challenge (having participated in the Quarantine Challenge earlier in the year) and I had rather hoped that I'd be able to match my target of 1,000 achieved in Winter 2020/21.  Unfortunately painting at a somewhat larger scale (i.e. human room sized!) got in the way and I fell quite a long way short.  

A reasonable haul ...

Still I did manage to work on four separate projects including

1) Putting the finishing touches to my 28mm Hundred Years War Impetus project -- finally now ready to be hit the tabletop now that I have a room set aside for gaming and a suitable table -- seven KR boxes full of figures ready to go

Ravens and Maidens

2) Making a solid start on my next 28mm project -- the Jewish Revolt as a skirmish game using 'Clash of Spears'.  I still haven't got into the routine of assembling my figures before the challenge starts so one of my excuses for lower painting productivity this time around is all that head swapping and tzitzit adding! Still this looks like a good project and I'm looking forward to including some major construction of ancient fortifications in the next AHPC

Annoying shields and other fiddly bits!

3) Continuing to chip away at my 10mm Cold War Gone Hot project and making a start on my BAOR force. Vehicles make a nice change from 28mm figures and I also like painting camo at 10mm -- basing at this scale on the other hand less so

Pointy end of the British force

4) And finally a smattering of Black Rose Wars characters for variety and to meet various challenge goals.  I'm rather coming to the end of the Stator Box now but I think I've got another expansion due to arrive soon so should set me in good stead for next time.  I always enjoy the variety of designs, and scales among these figures -- and of course lots of opportunities to try out new designs and techniques.

All shapes and sizes!

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Of course none of this would be possible without the sterling efforts of Curt and Lady Sarah plus the minions -- my apologies to Curt (my appointed minion) for errors in point scoring and other demands on his time.  Also my deepest thanks to all who have commented so kindly on my efforts.

Until next Winter here's wishing you all the best in your painting, and gaming -- and in the wider (and wilder) world outside this pastime.

Simon

ps anyone who finds themselves in East Kent (Sandwich) and fancies taking a side in an Impetus HYW battle please feel free to give me a shout 

From Skully McSkullface: The Skull Duel results

474 skullz here

Holding on to the bitter end, The Snowlord claims the Skull Throne. He is now entitled to use outgoing AHPC XI skull-champ Stuart L's cranium as a drinking vessel or dice cup. All hail the new Skull Champion!

1. Curt 475
2. DaveB 336
3. Millsy 230
4. TashaH 201
5. StuartL 136
6. GregB 134
7. TeemuL 111
8. Barks 106
9. Sander 25
10. PeteF 3

Notable Skullz

JamieM's Hunters of the Wild

Teemul's Skellies with freehand skullz

RayR can't deny the joy of skullz

Neither can TamsinP!

MikeW's Black Orc banner

StuartL's Khorne banner

Waaagh! Scrivs gets in on the skull action

More 10mm skullz from GregB

FrederickC found a few skullz

I have a few humble skullz myself

JohnE's Silver Bayonet skullz

Skull of the Week:

Printing her way into #4 on the ladder, rookie TashaH!

Until next time

Barks

From TeemuL: Challenge XII Wrap up - Squirrel Hunting across the Galaxy (1376 points)

Let's start with some unfinished projects. My son managed to paint and finish some models, but he got a severe painter's block at some point and couldn't just decide what colours to use - I guess we all suffer from that from time to time. That left him with a bunch of partly painted minis, but I didn't want to pressure him, just mentioned from time to time, that my working area is crowded with his unfinished minis. :) The painter's block is seen best on the German halftrack (Revell 1:72), which we assembled together during the Challenge and which he painted in subassemblies, but then the block struck: he didn't know what colours to use and he "didn't want it to be too colourful..." Yes, Tamsin, once this is ready, we'll book a flight and go to the Mega City One for a ride. :D

There is also a terrain piece with purple rock, some wooden houses (the red one might be finished, I'm not sure), two Pathfinder models, Stormcast Eternal and Space Marine (he wanted to paint a marine from Aurora chapter once he saw one in my many books, but once assembled and primed, he wasn't so sure anymore), the already mention German halftrack Sd. Kfz. 9 "FAMO" and Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-10.

He did finish the Pathfinder Orc and a genestealer amongst the others, but I don't have a group shot of them, unfortunately. Anyway, it was much fun to paint and assemble and in general have hobby time, father-and-son time, doing something together which we both were interested - in addition of playing lots of boardgames and being outside in nice Finnish winter.

Guilty as charged. Here they all are in a compact formation with me lurking in the background. Photo taken by my son. Below are some closeups from the stuff I painted, but they came a bit blurry because of the lightning and my eagerness.

I had lots of ideas and plans before the Challenge, but most of them were thrown away. I wanted to "finish" projects, painting those last minis for armies from the pile of shame, to complete things. I made some progress on that. I also got carried away hunting squirrels and going through the planets, which distracted me from my first target - the Runewars army still has some unpainted minis and 20mm Austrians are still in the Italeri box and so on...

I did manage to paint all the Sludge minis I had planned for and even managed to play a game, that was nice. Sludge raised some interest, so here is a link to the rules (not free): Blaster 3 from DriveThruRPG. The Blaster 4 has some additional rules, if you are interested in, but Blaster 3 has all the rules you need to play.

It was fun to paint all these "strange" minis, ducks from Glorantha and pulp minis from Crooked Dice, without the Challenge I would still be painting Oldhammer, Blood Bowl and LotR, I guess - not necessarily a bad thing, but there is much more competition on my working area now and those three saw very little paint. May be again in the next Challenge.

Here is something from the smaller scale. Start of an Undead army for Warmaster, some tactical squads for Epic and a modest display piece of Cruel Seas ships. Beginning of Flames of War armies can be seen in the backrow...

Here they all are again, rather many Tyranids got paint as well. I guess I need to see what I need to paint more in order to be able to play with them. From this photo you can also see that planetary expedition gave me lots of points (including the tour of Twilight Ring and several stops at Sarah's Star Yacht). There are not that many minis painted, at least when they are all very close to each other.

Thank you Curt and Sarah, all the minions and other participants! I make my best to not miss the next Challenge. In the meanwhile, if you are interested in, you can follow my minis, boardgames and life on my instragram account: https://www.instagram.com/vainvader78/