From GregB - 30K Space Marines (60 points)

We reject the false Emperor!

Continuing a similar theme from my last entry, here are some more GW figures from the Horus Heresy - known informally as "Warhammer 30k" among GW afficionados.  These are Space Marines, 28mm resin figures from Forge World.  There are 11 models from the Sons of Horus Legion, and a single model from the Emperor's Children Legion - both Legions which turned against the Emperor in the civil war.

Bad-ass commander from the 16th Legion - wearing extra heavy armour

If the Legion is called "Sons of Horus", then it can't be a big surprise that particular Legion sided with Horus the Warmaster - their own Primarch and leader - during the wars of the Horus Heresy.

"Volkite" energy weapon

I like the old-school segmented look to the armour on the Horus Heresy era figures

Some nice cutlery - I just wish I could learn the right technique to make these futuristic power swords look more spooky

The really big figure is a "Praetor", intended to represent a senior commander within the Legion.  He will be the overall commander of any force on the table during a game.  He is wearing old-school Terminator armour - "cataphract pattern", and carrying a scary sword and a small-ish energy weapon known as a "volkite charger" that actually hits much more heavily than it looks like it would.

This fellow saw his first action on our gaming table last week - see here for a break down.

Crowd control, Sons of Horus style

Up next is a "devastator" squad - five troops carrying heavy bolters, rapid fire support weapons of the Warhammer 40k universe.  Putting five of these weapons into a single squad is bonkers, but it reflects the heavy excess of the Warhammer 30k setting and the Space Marine Legion force listings.  This little group of troops can put down a serious curtain of fire at a decent range to boot.

The logos on those shoulder pads look a little soft...

A close examination of the embossed shoulder plates on the devastator troops will reveal them to look quite sloppy - the reason is my laziness, and a mishap with an airbrush. I believe life is too short to go around washing off model kits and figures before you paint them (give me a break) so I generally don't bother with that, despite all of the suggestions, positive intentions and tips from pro-painters.  Part of me just thinks "oh, good lord, what a waste of damn time" and part of me also thinks that washing figure kits in the sink may just be the straw that breaks the camel's back in the marriage, so to speak...

Extra ammo clipped to the back - I'm sure that makes it even easier to get around...not...

Anyway, I was priming these figures using a airbrush (something that challenge participant Byron has been patiently assisting me with - the guy has patience). The primer stuck perfectly to the models, but melted right off the logo-embossed shoulder pads. Rather than evaluating carefully, I instead opted for a Verdun-style war of attrition against the f*!@$!ing resin, piling on the primer until the stupid particles of f!@#!@# mold release fluid or whatever were buried under black to wither and die. Die!

You get a little targerter-type device to add to one of the troops - a nice feature, although not totally clear in this photo

Uh...so, anyway, that is not a recommend approach overall, as it dulls the detail a bit...but hey, they are in with Horus - these guys will be growing tails in no time, so I doubt they would notice soft armour bits anyway!

It's a plasma gun party!

Ahem - moving along with this submission, up next "tactical support" squad - five troops carrying plasma guns, rapid firing energy weapons of significant firepower but relatively short range.  Again, one might typically see one of these weapons within a squad of 10 troops, but in the Space Marine Legion force listings, there is a lot of just about any equipment to go around, so these special weapons are put into their own units! These weapons have some silly special rules attached to them ("gets hot" - soooo stupid) which would make most of their own users casualties through the course of a single game, but whatever - I like how they look :)

Time for a BBQ!

Finally the solitary marine who's armour does not match the others is a test model - a Legion Marine in Mark IV armour from the Emperor's Children, the Third Legion.  Quick side note - how bummed out was the Emperor when he found out the Legion named "Emperor's Children" had lined up with the traitors? Ouch!

Test figure for the Third Legion

Anyway this fellow was just to test some colour combos for a few units of Emperor's Children Marines that are still in the pending painting queue. The purple turned out a little darker than I hoped, but overall I was still pretty pleased.

I love the bonkers chainsaw-type combat accessory - really fits the setting

So this submission includes 12 different 28mm scale models for 60 points.  Up next should be even more Horus Heresy stuff...but after seeing DavidL's awesome submission, I might have to switch scales.  We'll see!


From Curt:

It always warms the cockles of my heart when I read Greg describing how he snapped his crayons during some otherwise inconsequential hobby task. It somehow, perversely, balances the books with my own infantile temper when my toy solders dare to defy my omniscient will.  It's what having friends is all about.

Seriously, great work Greg and a fun post! I love the look of the entire 30K range from Forgeworld, especially their approach to the traitor Marines. Refreshingly they've chosen not to bugger them up with the ridiculous, over-the-top, 'let's put a spike, pustule and tentacle on every square millimeter' trope of the GW designers. It's such a breath of fresh air.

I really like the green and copper scheme you've done on the Sons of Horus, especially the work on the wonderfully baroque armour of the Praetor. As you say, he looks suitably bad ass with his scary power sword and heretical blow dryer. This all being said I have to say I'm in love with the look of a whole squad of Heavy Bolters.  One can almost see the muzzle flashes and brass flying when you look at these guys. Wonderful stuff.

They're a bad bunch Mr. Burch!

From JamesR - 28mm Centaurs (65 points)

Hello,

I finished a small pack of Centaurs.  I wish they counted as mounted, for the points, but I can't find any legal precedence to make the worth more than five points a piece.

Here's a picture of them all together.  Everyone but the standard bearer is a Mega-Mini.  I have no idea if Mega-Minis bought the molds from someone else, or has since sold them. Mega-Minis have great stuff, but their catalog constantly changes.

Here's a couple that are quite Greek looking

Here's the standard bearer and one that almost appears Asian.  The standard bearer is an old Ral Partha or Grenadier sculpt; I wonder if Tom Meir made it.  It may be quite rare, as I can't find much on them using the Google machine.

Here are a couple evil looking centaurs.  I was debating calling them Anti-heroes for Curt; I simply can't think of anything clever for the Anti-hero challenge submission.

Here's a few more classical style centaurs; they strike me far more like the wild ones of myth, who get violently drunk and go on booze-induced rape and killing sprees.  Then Heracles or someone will have to kill them all with poison or tricks.

Love and Kisses,
Baconfat

From Curt:

Awesome! I really like seeing all these various interpretations of centaurs - very cool. Your banner bearer conversion worked out very well and, yes, he does have a Tom Meir look about him.

In regards to points, I'll split the difference with you James, so 7 points each plus a bit more for the standard bearer conversion.

Great job!

From DavidL - Going Small: Epic 40K Titan Defense Company (61 Points)

As promised in my last post, I'm finally getting a start on my big "small" project (but not before Curt schooled us all on the true meaning of big "small" projects!).

Back in 2013, I spotted a very nice deal on eBay for a bunch of old Epic-scale Warlord and Reaver Titans. Adeptus Titanicus was my first GW game, and the second minis game I ever bought, so seeing those old sculpts really brought back a flood of nostalgia. I had discovered my own personal version of OldHammer.

A return to Epic scale also meant a return to painting in 6mm, something I haven't done in 20-plus years. I painted up my newly-acquired Titans in the colors of Legio Mortis and Legio Metalica so that they could fight proper Adeptus Titanicus battles, but I wanted to add some infantry as well so that I could field my Titan Legions in games of Epic 40K. Wanting my Titan Legion infantry to look somewhat different than their Imperial Guard brethren, I settled on using proxy miniatures to represent the grunts tasked with keeping the Titans safe from other enemy infantry and tanks, and found some great selections among the "Pax Arcadia" line from Dark Realm Miniatures.

This is the Heavy Weapon Platoon using the "AT Infantry" pack from Dark Sword. Each stand sports a las-cannon and heavy bolter. For color scheme, I went with the classic Imperial uniform of grey fabric and red helmets.

Here's the Titan Defense Company proper, six five-man squads to a platoon. Dark Sword's "Light Infantry" supplied the requisite figures.

For the Company's leaders, I invoked the Adeptus Mechanicus with the command stands; Dark Sword's "Industrial Infantry" did the trick nicely here with their flowing robes and industrial equippage.

The command HQ stand also comes with its own Rhino for riding in style. I chose a camo scheme suitable for fighting in urban ruins, since that's what my Epic terrain consists of.

Likewise, the basing was kept purposely muted so as to suggest rubble and ruin. I achieved the texture by emptying out a bunch of Earl Grey tea bags, the gluing the grounds to the bases. It's a bit more "in scale" than the basing sand I had on hand.

Speaking of the bases, I went with standard 28mm slottabases rather than the usual wafer-thin bases one typically sees with Epic. The reason I did this was two-fold: first, I like a bit more thickness to my bases when it comes to any scale smaller than 15mm, so that it's easier to pick up without inadvertently grabbing the fragile figures; second, I realized the slottabases were the same thickness as the standard Titan bases. So now everyone's on the same level, as it were, giving an excellent sense of the true scale between the Titans and the swarms of infantry and vehicles.

A selection of infantry and vehicles alongside a Legio Metalica Warlord.

I also threw in a platoon of Leman Russ tanks. These are some of the latter-day metal castings from the line, which came after I stopped playing Epic. I was quite impressed with how each tank is highly individualized with stowage and other customizations.

All together, I've got 105 6mm figures and four 6mm vehicles. That tallies up to a grand total of 60.5 points. This completes my Titan Defense Company, and therefore my Titan Legion project. However, I'll be back in coming weeks as I begin work on my next Epic endeavor: da Orks!

The grunt's-eye view...

From Curt:

David, these are brilliant! I think I'm not alone in having a soft spot for all things Titan-esque. Of course, with the genre being generally well-regarded, it has consigned itself to the IP  purgatory that GW reserves for its best designed systems. What a bunch of f*cking ijits, I tell ya.

Anyway, GW bashing aside, these models are fabulous. I really like the punchy, high-contrast colours, and your basing is excellent as well. GregB and I did much the same thing with our EPIC basing, abandoning the original (and limiting) strip system for more flexible (and arguably visually pleasing) circular and square bases. 

Thanks for the tip on the Dark Realm 6mm proxies. These models are great and you've done them proud. BTW have you checked out the stuff from Onslaught Miniatures? I picked up some of their Sisterhood castings in order to do 'Sisters of Battle' for EPIC (SHHH! don't tell Greg!). :)

Oh, and that Titan is Da Bomb!

Great work David!

From IannickM - 28mm Napoleonic Austrian Artillery (100 points)

Well it's been a while since I posted a 'regular' entry, as the bonus rounds have kept me busy! Today we go back to my first love, the Napoleonic Austrian army, more specifically the artillery arm, with a battery of 6pdr guns. These will come in handy when we play LaSalle, which requires big 4 gun batteries. Anyways one can never have too many Napoleonic guns. I did myself no favour in the competition though as it always takes me forever to paint Napoleonic artillery!

I said it before and I'll say it again; the Austrians just knew how to look good in the field. No exaggerated fluff, no looking like Christmas trees, just a simple and smart dress, and the artillery was no exception. The guns are Sash & Saber, which are by far my favourites and really the only one I use, and the figures are Perry Miniatures. I must say I cursed a lot while cleaning the Perry figs, and it reminded me why I avoid them these days (heresy, I know). The sculpts are great, but the castings were horrendous. Anyways, I'll admit painted and finished they do look pretty good! As usual with the Perrys, the animation makes the figures.

The guns were painted using Foundry Ochre triad and finished with AP, and I really like how they came out. After many experiments in the last few weeks, these were also the first unit to get my new way of painting whites for cloth, using Andrea white paint set. It's less pure white than what I used to do, but I think it's more subtle and more realistic.

If I can muster the courage, and if Curt keeps the madness going next year, I'd like to paint a caisson and some limbers for my guns during next year's challenge! But not this year, I can only manage painting artillery in small dosage!

I believe this quatuor of guns adds 100 pts to my total. Not bad.


From Curt:

Beautiful great guns Iannick! You're right about the austere Austrian military aesthetic which is interesting as they usually get historically stereotyped by their frippery and showy artifice. That being said I love the ochre of the gun carriages. I have a bunch of the Foundry 'triads' and so will have to pick this one up. I also really like your basework. It has a vibrant impressionistic feel that I really find pleasing - it sort of reminds me of how Sidney does his Great War bases but, of course, in a different colour palette. Again, well done Iannick! 

From SidneyR: 28mm French Great War (100 Points)

There were times when I never thought I was going to get these chaps posted....but there you go, that's life!  I started these on the first week of the Challenge, and - oh look, its February!  About time for my first entry - sorry, that's very embarrassing to admit!  I feel I should offer everyone an apology for coming to the party late!

My way of trying to make up for being late, here's 8 French trench raiders, converted from the standard Brigade Games and First Corps figures with the addition of the new heads, and then, a couple of French 75mm artillery pieces which I enthusiastically prepared way back in 2013 (for an earlier Challenge).

When I finally got sorted painting, I found that they were as much fun to do as the rest of the French have been.  I also had fun messing around with the fallen leaves on the bases.

And, painted over this weekend, here's the first figure of the Tirailleurs Senegalais troops for my Force Noire project.  A bit of a test-figure (hence him being prone as a "wounds" or "shock" marker), I've struggled a bit with the skin tone.  Hopefully I'll get it right eventually.  There are another 80 of the chaps to do, so I should get plenty of practice!

From Curt:

The only way I could possibly forgive you Sidney is if you gave these figures to me. 

No, seriously, I'd be offended with anything less. ;P

It's wonderful to have you join us Mr. Roundwood - welcome aboard!! (I thought I'd pop you ahead of the cue in respect of your long absence from your friends.)  Your debut entry is an absolute scorcher. These are beautiful figures Sidney. I love the whole autumnal theme and your conversions of the Poilu are excellent. (Would it be possible to get some close-ups added in the next few days?) Are those the Scarab 75s? If they are I bow even lower as I found mine to be absolute swine to assemble, but yours look fabulous. Also, I think your skin-tone for the Senegalais Tirailleur is marvelous - please share the recipe with us if you can. 

Again, a stonking debut and welcome to the fun! I look forward to other 80 Poilu in the coming weeks.

And speaking of stonking. I must tell you Sidney, in the kindest possible terms, that I have completely obliterated you in our 750 point duel.  My Second will be in contact regarding the terms of honour... :)

From GillesW - Cow Hides for Everyone! (150 Points)

This time we have the heavy infantry (the disposable nappy fighters) of my mycenaean project. As usual they are from Essex Miniatures and Chariot Miniatures' 15mm ranges.

To avoid the bending spears syndrome on the table, I cut off the  lead spears on the Essex figures and put plastic bristle brush in place, it was time consuming but I hope that it will worth it when I'll play them.

For an ease of play I also put them on double bases and painted some change with swords.
Of course their commander is on foot too.

So only 65 foot figures ready for this week, the other and last part of the project still un-based and will be for next submission.


From Curt:

Your post title pretty much nailed it: Cow hides for everyone!  Another excellent entry Gilles! Obviously the cow hide shields are brilliant but your bristle-brush spears look the business as well - much better than the lead spaghetti we usually have to endure. Time well spent I say (and so will the bonus points).

Well done!