Side Duels and Challenges Tally Updated

I don't know about you but I really LOVE Adam and the Ants!

Hi All,

Another points update for the Side Duels and Challenges has been posted.

BenF has been added to the Sharp Practice side duel. Things are hotting up in the 15mm Seven Years War and Age of Sigmar duels and IanW is blazing ahead in the More Joy of Six duel.

Please check and confirm I have things right!

Cheers,
Millsy the Duels Wallah

MilesR: Modern US Marines w/ Support (150 points)

Some more moderns in this entry in the form of US Marines and support teams in 28mm.  The miniatures are from Empress and are really nice.

 First up a Stryker APC to provide some light armored support

 An 81mm mortar team and a rather casually dressed SEAL team.

 16 Devil Dogs in desert fatigues

And, finally, a Humvee with an armored turret.

That's 24 figures and two vehicles, which my maths tell me nets out to a nice 150 points.

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More hard-nosed contemporary warfighters from Mr. Reidy. These troops are great Miles. The Marines seem ready for action and the SEALS look like they're already in it. I really like the arid groundwork you've come up with, but I think your vehicles might benefit from a little in-country dusting, unless they're meant for convoying lobbyists and VIPs along Washington's blacktop. :)

150 points for you, my Spreadsheet Ninja. Well done.

Curt

The Tribe of Bromley: Bone Giant - Nina Bromley (15 Points)

My Giant is for my Tomb Kings Army. 

My dad bought all of us armies so we wouldn't have to paint his. He helped me assemble them, base them, and for my Tomb kings he bought some stain to dip them. We made a big mess and made my mom mad!

The bone giant is very special. When he was built I was doing the base when I was little and added too much glue, my dad had to scrape alot of sand off the stuff he added to the base. Dad helped me base and dip the whole army before he went to Afghanistan.

I painted him blue, green, and red because they blend well with each other and two, I wanted what I call "specials" to stick out from the other regular army. So far my regular army has generals, tomb kings, and my queen.

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Well Nina, make no mistake, THAT is a magnificent Bone Giant. Very well done! 

I really like the colours you've picked for this big chap along with the rest of your 'Specials'. It conveys, very well, the ancient Egyptian design of the beastie. I'm also quite impressed with the bone colour you've achieved. It looks like its just risen from the sand, bending very well with the rest of the basework (artfully scraped by your dad).

He's a big, bony fella, so lets score him at 15 points. Beautiful work Nina. Until now I was having a rather cloudy day, but you've brightened it up considerably. I hope you join us again soon with another entry.

Curt

From RobertH: Frostgrave - The Werefox Culled (13 points)

"Long ago, the great city of Felstad sat at the centre of a magic empire Its towering spires, labyrinthine catacombs, and immense libraries were the wonder of the age and potions, scrolls, and mystical items of all descriptions poured forth from its workshops. Then, one cataclysmic night, a mistake was made. In some lofty tower or dark chamber, a foolish wizard unleashed a magic too powerful to control. A storm rose up - an epic blizzard that swallowed the city whole, burying it deep and leaving the area as nothing more than a vast, frozen wasteland.

After a thousand years, the fell winter has passed. The snows have receded, and Felstad has been uncovered. Its buildings lie in ruins, overrun by undead creatures and magic constructs, the legacy of the empire's experiments.It is an evil, dangerous place. To the few hardy souls who inhabit the nearby villages, the city has acquired a new name:

The werefoxes dwelling in the remaining forests and magically frozen outskirts, like the other weres that inhabit the frozen city, are not true lycanthropes. Instead of shape shifters, they are instead human-fox hybrids, the result, or unintended consequence, of a long forgotten Beastcrafter meddling in things they may not have understood. Unlike werewolves, which hunt alone but live in packs, werefoxes are solitary creatures. They generally roam alone, though may be found bound to valuable magical treasures as guardians.

While generally hostile to humans, a sufficiently talented witch or warlock could attract one to one's warband.

As with all other weres, werefox heads are a valuable commodity in the villages and adventuring camps, and beheading is an all to common fate for any were caught in the city:

The werefox is a paint conversion of NorthStar's werewolf miniature, part of their Forgotten Pacts Nickstarter expansion to the very popular Frostgrave rules. I got the bug at last year's ConQuestSac, a combination of a Frostgrave demo game, and commanding the forces of a poor misunderstood necromancer and his equally misunderstood army of completely totally not at all evil orcs, goblins, dragons, and other fell creatures.

The paint job was relatively simple, but everybody asks. I used Reaper's red hair triad for the fox body. The white was Reaper's linen white and Vallejo's Offwhite, with Gamecolor's Pale Gray wash. Though they look alike in the photos (I used my cell phone, and am still disappointed in the quality), the werefox claws are actually Apple Cart bamboo, ivory and antique white with the same pale gray wash. Black was craft paint, with a charcoal gray highlight on the fur. I always give my animal miniatures humanesque eyes (white iris, black pupils), because I like how it looks.

The magical treasure was a piece from a miniature zen garden I repurposed into a fountain. North Star minis have a little bit of flash, but are otherwise a joy to paint. This one was no different.

The inspiration for the paint scheme:

Well, it looks like I won't be culled this year!The werefox is technically a 28mm figure, but stands as high as my Airfix 54mm Army men, so I'll take a stab at it being 10 points, with another 3 or so for the head. Not a points bomb by any means, but 2.5% of my goal of 200 points.

And, while normally part of Thursday's crew, the never ending fun of atmospheric river induced power outages (seven, by last count) delayed posting, so guest moderator Curt will offer comments about the close shave.

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Yes Robert, you deftly evaded the Big Bad Curt this year.  Welcome back to the Challenge!

I'm embarrassed to say that I don't know a thing about Frostgrave, but I do like this werefox. He has a almost Pulp heroic monster quality about him. Your 'inspiration' was bang-on, I say (and rather cuddly).  I particularly like your use of black for his legs and paws as it really helps to define his impressive claws. The severed head base is a nasty but good touch.

13 Points for you Mr. H - well done and I look forward to seeing some more in the future!

  Curt

From EdwinK: 28mm Pilots (10 Points)

Here I am making my first submission just in time to avoid the great cull.  For your consideration I offer two 28mm pilots of differing generations.

The first is from Ironclad Miniature's splendid VSF range - the pilot from their steam helicopter.  I won't be submitting the helicopter itself as part of the Challenge, but include a picture of him in the (partially-finished) aircraft for context.

The pilot striding out to his Spitfire or Hurricane is from the ever-reliable Artizan - their Pilot Officer Reynolds.   I decided for khaki rather than RAF uniform as I'm likely to use him in a Pulp setting.

I can't remember the scoring scheme for unbased, seated figures and the aircraft was done before the Challenge started.  But as least I've broken my duck!

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Ahh, it's great to have you out with us again Edwin - welcome back to the Challenge!

These pilot figures are wonderful and perfectly convey that quintessential 1930's Pulpness (not sure if that's a word, but you know what I mean). I particularly like the goggles and grimace of the seated pilot, flying by the seat of his pants, no doubt. I hope we can see that steam helicopter later as it looks it will be magnificent bit of kit.

10 points for you Edwin. Good work, my good man!

Curt

From ChristopherSM: Procrastination Meltdown (5 Points)

So having never used Blogger before this is a learning experience. I have a 28 mm of Shyla Varad, Daughter of Mandalore, from the game I love to hate Imperial Assault. 

This is just to keep me in as I work through some pretty miniature pirates from Firelock Games, as well as finishing some squadrons for Star Wars Armada. Until next time, viola.

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I know it was a rush for you, and then having to overcome the trials of Blogger, but it's great to have you with us Chris - welcome to the asylum!

Good work on Shyla. I like the aged metal on her Mandelorian armour and the highlighting on her blue cloak is nicely done. If I may be so bold, why do you hate Imperial Assault? I only ask as our group has had a good time playing it, but are far from veterans.

5 points for your entry into the Challenge. I look forward to seeing your upcoming pirates and Armada fighters.

Okay, seven more to go...

Curt  

 

From StefanK: First batch 28th Regiment of Foot at Aboukir 1801 (30 Points)

This time it's really late that I throw my hat into the ring during our Painting Challenge but actually I've been hoping to be able to present my interpretation of the 28th Regiment of Foot at Aboukir as a whole. However currently I'm somehow smack in the middle and the deadline for the mandatory first post is coming closer. Thus I have to bring some fellows of the unfinished unit before your critical eyes:

So these are the first five men for the centre companies of the 28th Regiment of Foot during their mission in Egypt in 1801. The figure are actually pieces from the Napoleonic plastics the Perry twin are producing but I heavily converted them with parts from several other boxes and some greenstuff. This was of course work from before the challenge but in case that you're interested in it have a look at this post here.

However I decided to go for a rather late version of the uniform worn at Aboukir. For that reason the soldiers are wearing those whitish overalls over their breeches and gaiters. On the one hand I found a picture of this kind of dress in the Osprey book about Napoleon's campaign in Egypt and on the other hand I wanted some figures reusable for the later Peninsular campaign. For that I'll create an alternative command group but have the remaining 21 figures versatile.

Anyway we'll need those chaps for our presentation game at Tactica show in February so I have my hands full with painting them. In addition I'm planning to have a version of the unit on board of a landing craft. A bunch of work for a slow painter like me...

Anyway I hope you like those first impressions. Unfortunately I too those pictures before finishing the bases and didn't find to take new ones during the last days. But upon my word I covered them with sand and painted and highlighted them with three shades of sandy colours.

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First, welcome back to the fold, Stefan! It's great to have you with us again this year.

These Redcoats are fabulous!  Your conversions have been very deftly done and really bring these lads to life. My eye is especially caught by the fellow with his arm in a sling and the other with his shako in his hand - they are all very expressive. I also really like your approach to doing skintones, though you will have to work on a 'sunburn' effect for your new recruits heading off to Egypt. :)

30 points for your debut on the roster, including a little extra added for the conversions (to offset the lack of bases). Well done, Stefan!

Curt

DaveB: EU INC-MERCS, and some more FCC (50 points)

For another bit of the spread out bomb, I have some more MERCS. I have a bunch to get through this winter. All of these and the future entries are the plastic minis from the box games and extras from the kickstarter. Although each faction has ten specialists, only five can go on a mission and some like snipers and heavy weapons are not to good to have in an office building raid.

The FCC(free of corporate control) got plussed up with a FCC sniper from the sniper pack and the Saboteur. I painted the sniper in various colors like my FCC from last year. The Saboteur was done in neutral tones, he did get an orange tie and the sniper got an orange scarf to keep the spot color bit going.

I do not have MERCS 2.0, so I do not have rules for them, I do know the Saboteur can taunt, so that will be fun!

I pulled out a few FCC troopers to make sure they look pretty close.

The EU are a group I'd still like to get in metal. Their sniper is pretty nice and all of them are equipped with bull pups except for a few esoteric specialists.

The EU are the megacon controling what was once most of Europe, they do have a very British aesthetic to them, and they seem to be the more "good guys" of the game...as far as a megacon can be considered good! ; )

They have a rough time with the "burn it down" mission as they don't really do a lot of area effect like the NorthAmerican based CCC. These guys are pretty precise in application of firepower...almost polite!

Except for this guy, he is the Analyst. He looks like he is flipping a bird, but he is really a brainiac hacker and lockpicker. His data picks are also combat blades concealed in his guantlets.

He's prettymuch a hacker brainiac who is also an agile bar-room brawler with a wolverine flair.

Besides the Female Assualt team leader, I also got the EU demo specialist.

MegaCon Games does not disappoint with the detail on them either.

With a sergeant, medic, monkeywrench, and a shock trooper. I am only missing two specialists, and I believe they are both heavies which may pump up the EU to win the "burn it down" mission. I kinda like their precision without the big guns though.

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These MERCS figures continue to impress Dave, although it is difficult to associate the "EU" with figures showing such dynamic action poses and resolve (I rather imagine a faction with that name to be filling out forms in triplicate and whiling away toward an unfunded defined-benefit pension plan).  This lot really looks the business.

Also like the use of FCC - as that acronym today would, to me at least, imply the exact opposite of freedom from corporate control.  I do like the thinking behind this setting :)

There is a lot of excellent detail to be found here, and you have done some great work.  That paper terrain I can see in the photos looks pretty interesting too.  That will be another 50 points, and the Bromley bombardment continues...

Greg

From RobH: There Be Undead Dragons (10 points)

My first submission to the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge is a 15mm Undead Dragon to go with my HOTTs Undead Army. It is my first completed work in about two years. I have found it difficult to find time to paint, especially during the day, with the full benefits of natural sunlight. My eyesight is not what it used to be.

The figure is by Reaper Miniatures and is listed as 03644 Skeletal Dragon. I had to hand drill the holes in order to properly glue the wings, but other than that the figure was easy to assemble. The paint job itself was a  black wash over Vallejo  Dark Sand as bone. The figure is mounted on a 40mm x 60mm base covered by Liquitex Black Lava texture gel. I think it provides a nice, simple field for the Undead.

Welcome aboard Robert, with a rather terrifying beast! There has been some really tremendous fantasy beasts making their way off of the painting tables during the Challenge (many today) and this is another excellent bit of work.  I have to say all that assembly sounds like a real chore, but you should feel chuffed to have this total bad@ss ready for the table. 

First work in two years? Well that is one thing I enjoy so much about the Challenge - getting stuff out of the box and under the brush. Well done.

As a 15mm monster, this would be six points, but I'm adding a few extra for the challenging assembly process, and general all around coolness.  Messing with liquitex gel, that is a heck of a project in my book!  That's 10 points for you. 

Greg

From AlanD - Fallschirmjaeger Support Weapons (95 points)

Following on from my Fallschirmjaeger troops that I finished a week or so ago, here are some support weapons to go with them.

All these figures are metal, from Warlord Games. First up is the Pak 40, which looks quite an impressive beast in this scale.

Next, a MG42 on a tripod mount for sustained fire.

Then we have the much-feared 81mm mortar. I was surprised to find when I researched it that HE mortar bombs were painted maroon. This is a great little set of figures, from the gunner shielding his face to the anxious-looking second passing him the next bomb.

To complete the platoon support options, we have a sniper team, a Panzerschrek and a flamethrower. 

I think I am done now with Fallschirmjaeger, apart from some vehicles in support. I am very happy to take a break from painting Splinter B camo! These 16 figures and the AT gun should give me 90 points or so.

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Wow Dux, it has been a real treat to see this force come together.  I'm sure your paras will appreciate all the support on the table.  The camo, the ground work, man these guys really look great.  In particular, I find that PaK 40 model looks really sharp with the crew crowded in all around it. 

I will use my temporary minion powers to crank this up to 95 points, in recognition that painting any German camo pattern from WW2 - splinter in particular - is likely to have long-term side effects and cause long-term brush trauma. 

Well done - take a bow!

Greg