From GregB: 28mm Legion Space Marines and Dreadnought (55 points)

Troops of the 12th Legion, ready for action in GW's Horus Heresy

Hello once again to all of the participants in the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge! It's great to be back in the madness again, and I'm hoping to sneak this first submission in just before Christmas. 

 

Unit officer, equipped with power claws/back scratchers

When it comes to painting I don't do well with plans, and I'm not much for focus, but I am hoping to come out on top of my 30k side duel, so that is where I am starting this year.  This is a unit of Space Marines and a Dreadnought from GW's Horus Heresy setting, known colloquially by nerds like me as "Warhammer 30k". 

 

These fellows are carrying small flame-throwers...tasty...

These troops are from the 12th Legion, known charmingly as the "World Eaters".  This Legion sided with the Warmaster Horus in his civil war against the Emperor, and as such are "bad guys". The World Eaters are meant to be scary, ominous and keen on brutal, in-your-face conflict.  Dark, but necessary implements of order in a terrible universe. But in the hands of the GW writers, however, the World Eaters come across instead as comically homicidal.  The supreme commander of this formation is a character called "Angron" - and guess what - he's angry!  Their special formations are generally troops who have received further psychological augmentation that make them unstable and a bit nuts.

 

Regular assault grunts

So, the World Eaters are kind of silly, but I still like them, as I'm not that mature. I can see the Sons of Horus hanging back while letting these guys go in first to absorb some damage before they swoop in to finish things off.

 

Some weathering and chips painted on to make them look a bit worn

The World Eaters are fun to paint and you can make them look a little rough and ready without spattering blood effects etc. on the models.  That is the effect I tried with this group.  White is tricky sometimes, and I had a few problems on some of the models, but they got some heavy weathering which helps the problems go away :) The Forge World decal sheet was extra handy for helping add little bits of character and customization to the models.

The infantry models are assault marines, sporting jet packs and equipped with heavy, short-range pistols and flamethrowers as well as the chainsword, the ubiquitous face-smashing device of the grim and dark future.  

 

Rotary cannons are always the best in any sci-fi situation

The models are resin castings from Forge World - you can tell, as some of the jump packs have some appalling mold lines.  Forge World has great sculptors, but their casting quality is often indifferent at best...

 

Power unit at the back...not carbon neutral

The larger model is a Dreadnought, a heavy armoured support unit for the Space Marines.  The Dreadnoughts can be configured with a wide assortment of different weapons for different purposes.  It is armed with a rotary cannon (rule: rotary cannons are always awesome) and a power fist to punch large obstructions rather directly in the face.  This is a plastic model from GW's "Betrayal at Calth" game - a bit of a disappointment in terms of how wooden it looks, not GW's best work, but certainly easier to assemble than the resin ones from Forge World.

 

Large power fist ready for large punching work

There are ten 28mm infantry models in this submission, but one of these models is a test model, painted prior to the Challenge, so the squad should be worth 45 points.  I can't remember what a Dreadnought counted for, so I'm thinking it's like an artillery piece - 10 points?  So that will be 55 points.  A small step toward my goal of 1000, and more importantly, a small step toward revenge against JamieM!

Merry Christmas to everyone, look forward to a few months of painting madness ahead.

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Awesome work Greg! I've been keenly waiting who will get the first salvo in with the 30K duel. I know you're out for vengeance this year, so I'm not surprised to see you quick off the mark. 

The World Eaters. Really. Really?! They are such a ridiculous cartoon legion even in a universe of over-the-top cartoon silliness. GW should have ordered the writer who dreampt-up these guys to disembowel himself with his keyboard. C'mon, as if the Emperor wouldn't have thought it was a bad idea to have a loon called 'Angron' create a force of jacked-up mutant sociopaths who wanted to call themselves 'The World Eaters'. The case for a genetic 'mulligan' would have been quite high, I think. 

This all being said, I've always liked the colour scheme of these pre-Heresy loons. The embossed shoulder pads and transverse crest on the officer are nice touches. I also like the chipping to the paint and general wear-and-tear.

I agree with you Greg about the blah pose of the Contemptor dreadnought, it's pretty darn boring, in fact it looks a bit stunned. He looks like he's waiting in line at Starbucks and has just remembered he forgot which guys from the Assault Squad wanted soy milk with their lattes. Oh boy, they're really going to be angry now...

But I digress... 45 points for you Greg. Now, we eagerly await the other 30K duelists to make their voices heard.
 

From SteveB: First Week (45 Points)

I finally joined the challenge this year. I've been wanting to join for the last few but never got around to it.

My goal is to get some of the model that have been collecting dust on my shelf done. This also include some half finished projects( I know they don't count, but gives me an incentive to get done).

First day I managed to get 3 tripods from 'All quiet on the Martian Front' done. Not sure how to score these I think they are 20 mm so about 12pts each (36pts total).

These were very fun to paint. Got to try out some candied red to add some color. Tried some OSL red ( not happy with). Also got to use some Vallejo air metals, ( very nice, smooth coverage).

The last couple of days I managed to get lot done on some guard vehicles, just putting the finishing touches on them, should have them done by Monday or tuesday as well some progress on my Necromunda gang.

For the rest of the challenge I have my shaven blood bowl team I would like to do, as well a lot of batman miniature game figs to do.

Best of luck to everyone.

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Great work Steve and welcome aboard! 

Those Tripods look terrific. I particularly like the airbrushed steel, and the red crest you put on them is quite sharp. Design-wise, I've always thought their Tripods look like ballet dancers walking 'en pointe' and their heads look like they should be the other way around - but that's just me. 

I quite like how those how those Chimeras are coming along but your 'shaven blood bowl' sounds painful. :p

45 points for you!

From PaulS: Tim the Enchanter (5 Points)

Follow. But! Follow only if ye be men of valor! For the entrance to this blog is guarded by a challenge so foul, so cruel, that no man yet has entered it... and lived! BRUSHES of full fifty painters lie *strewn* about this lair! So! Brave knights! If you do doubt your courage or your strength, come no further, for death awaits you all with nasty, big, pointy teeth... 

That is how it goes, isn't it? 

Tim the Enchanter is another Christmas present for another friend. The figure is one of the bonus characters from Zombicide: Black Plague and will be joining some other film and tv characters that I've painted up for him over the last few years. You'll have seen his other presents in previous challenges :)

I just wish I'd remembered to buy some 28mm rabbits at Warfare earlier in the year to add to the base as that would have been a touching addition. Touching... with big, pointy teeth!

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Oooh, terrific work Paul. I really like his grey and russet garb (and the horns are marve as well). 

Rabbits of Caerbannog beware the Holy Hand Grenade is being unpacked and prepared. 

'One. Two. Five!' (Points that is...)

From AdamC: Bess the Butcher's Wife (5 Points)

I'm off to a slow start but this year but here three days in is my first entry.  I've been collecting Civilian figures to serve as extras in games of En Garde! Bess the Butcher's wife (her husband is coming along) is one of the War Lord "Clubmen" set.

Bess is clearly not happy about the level of street violence and is ready to make sure the young rakes get off her lawn!

The colors for her outfit were taken from a my study of paintings from the 16th and 17th centuries and from colors used by reenactor friends of mine who I know know there stuff.  Paints don't necessarily mimic them identically but I think I got the look of a reasonably prosperous trades woman.

Clearly she's a tough middle age broad who isn't going to take any guff from some rapier wielding raskals.  If the Cleaver doesn't serve to put an end to the ruffians her husband and neighbors are on their way to help. This first entry should get me on the board with 5 points.  (1495 to go)

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A formidable lady to be sure, good work Adam and welcome back. Both her and her cleaver are definitely things to avoid.

From KenR: 15mm SYW Saxon Infantry (66 points)

So here it is, my first entry of the 7th Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge for the year, in fact it's my first entry to the challenge ever! After missing out on joining up for the last couple of years through basically being distracted and forgetting to sign up on time, it's good to be on board in the Challenge and now on THE board with some points (64 I think) for these bad boys.

Here we have 2 x 16 Figure Battalions for my 15mm SYW Saxon Army, based and ready to go into action.  The marching Private figures are custom made, this was done for Leeds Wargames Club about 25 years ago and has laid dormant ever since! The figures themselves are true 15mm and I have struggled to get a sui table Command  figure for them because of their size. I have ended up going with Mini Figs as their figures are slightly stooped and therefore about the right size. The flags are from Maverick.

The units are part of a 14 Battalion contingent which became part of the French Army for the Campaigns against the British and German troops. These two are part of a batch of 5 (I had finished the other 3 Pre Challenge) so I now have 10 done. I will do the other 4 over the coming weeks.

I am working on some 28mm WWI for our traditional WWI Mesopotamian game next whilst chipping away at a 12 Fig 28mm AWI Cavalry unit which is going to take for ever. Merry Xmas to one and all.

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Lovely work Ken and welcome aboard! 

It's great to see some 15mm Seven Years War figures and I must say, these are very fine. When you say they were custom done do you mean that you sculpted them or they were sculpted for the club?  I really like the marching pose and they're terrifically proportioned for 15mm. It's great seeing some Mini Figs getting some love as well. I look forward to seeing the other four battalions emerge over the coming weeks.

I've pipped you up a couple points for the flags. This is a great start to your painting challenge. Nice work!

From Clint: A Pack Yak! (10 Points)

Just to get a couple of Pre Christmas points. A single pack Yak. For those that do not know a Yak is the traditional beast of Burden in Tibet! And they are used to carry loads in the

Himalayas as my regular blog readers will know I am working on a 28mm colonial Northwest Frontier project. So to round it out here is a Yak.

The figure is old but we all have things in the unpainted pile we should have started years ago. It is 25/28mm Irregular Miniatures which is a company that is still going but they no longer attend shows or advertise. So if you want anything you have to contact them directly and wait! (I have more Irregular miniatures coming in this challenge).

Neither the best paint job now the best figure I have ever sculpted but it is done and need never be done again.

Yaks do come in a variety of colours. There are many Black and white but equally as many brown or Ginger. It all depends on the herd it is born into. They have been used to carry loads for centuries. The Mongols used them and they are still used today. So if you are wargaming in the

Himalayas you just might need some of these. As I have said I will use this one for colonial and Victorian Science Fiction but they could equally well be used for Modern all the way back to biblical.

But most importantly It gets a few points before Crimbo and I just want to get off the mark as I carry on with 3 other projects. So it was a distraction but a welcome distraction.

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Never met a Yak I did't like and this one's no exception. Nice one Clint. If you ever need to find this one a Yak girlfriend (or boyfriend for that matter) check out Mark Copplestone's 'Back of Beyond' range. Some lovely Yaks to be found there.

You're officially on the scoreboard Clint! Welcome back.

From PaulS: Foul! (10 Points)

'Tis the season to be festive and giving... and all that sort of stuff. So what better way to start the competition with the first of three sets of presents for friends this year. Let us hope that they do not get in the way of Tanks!

The first one up is for a fried that I've worked with for over half my life, across multiple companies. He has taken his first steps into Blood Bowl with the re-release, so what better present than some of the new Forge World refs? We have Dribbler, the halfling and Sneaky McSneakypants the Gobbo (my names).  Both are really characterful models that are great fun to paint. There is plenty of detail, even if they are overly large in places (just look at Dribbler's hands!!)

Dribbler seems to be taking some time out to have a Subway mid game... which is cruel as I now really really want one for lunch. Ah well, pork pie and homemade shortbread will have to do while painting resumes.

So why is Sneaky McSneakypants called that? Just look at that bag (and back pocket) full of bribes! I'm not sure he has space for any more...

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Lovely work Paul. I had no idea that Forge World was doing Blood Bowl figures - these are wonderful. Your work on Dribbler's sub sandwich is so good that I'm getting hungry myself and I like McSneakypants' nose (and notice his hat has a longer bill to help shade it).  I'm sure your friend will be delighted with these gifts. 

Well done!