From Anthony O: Grey Beards, Mortars and Desert Pirates (230 points)

After a light on week last week I have come through with a wrecking ball this round, well of sorts anyway. I put a big effort into building a Dwarven Regiment as both an allied unit for My Kingdom of Men force and also to be the centerpiece regiment for my actual Dwarf army. I also continued with my BEF by adding a mortar team and then painted a few Long Range Desert Group vehicles in anticipation of some nice desert action in V4 FoW.
 

 

Dwarf Regiment - Games Workshop

I put these guys together from my bits box with the intention of padding out my Dwarf army and to also have a more colorful unit to act as an Ally to my over the top bright Kingdoms of Man army for Kings of War. They are all from GW and are just fantastic miniatures.

I decided to make them look like veteran greybeards, something to inspire fear like that saying about being careful of those with grey beards in an industry where men (or Dwarves) die young. They are also one of the first multi based units I have done and include the full 20 troops that make up a regiment.

BEF Medium Mortar - Warlord Games

A few weeks ago now I painted up two Universal Carriers and now I am adding a medium Mortar team to the mix for Bolt Action. Mortars are a must have in every army I take and the BEF are no exception.

Long Range Desert Group - Battlefront

I was given these miniatures recently by a friend who had too many and knew that I was interested in the LRDG. I had painted a 1/56 patrol up (which recently donated to a charity raffle) and as such he gifted me these and more so I got stuck in with relish. I am in such awe of these gentleman and love bringing these miniatures to life.

So that's it for this week, next week should see a bunch more Team Yankee with a horde of Russians crowding the painting desk.

By Paul and Alan: Wow! Another stunning submission Patch, yet you still classify this as a "light week"! :-)

The Dwarves are great, I love the dioramic basing for the mortar but the LRDG vehicles take the cake (especially after seeing your lovely 28mm ones last week).  Looking forward to seeing what you do in a "productive week!".  

230 points including a few bonus points for the banners and all the little extras on these great figures.

From EvanH - Doctor de Bruse - 28mm Plague Apothecary (5 points)

One more for this week - while nowhere near as imposing as the Orc Chieftain, and nowhere near as much work, this little fig from Casting Room Miniatures is a gruesome delight.

I present, for your edification and enjoyment, Doctor Lividus de Bruse, late court physician to Duke Delius of Marchmont (deceased).

I've always had a liking for the more lurid aspects of history, and plague 'doctors' like this chap, their beaked masks filled with dried flowers and sweet-smelling herbs to prevent infection (because everybody knows that bad odours, or miasmas, cause disease, right?) roamed the affected neighbourhoods of European cities during the various plague outbreaks of the 16th and 17th centuries.

I'm pressing him into service as an Apothecary for Frostgrave, since I need some more specialists for when I bulk up the warband.

I've given him a colour scheme redolent of disease and injury, with yellows, greens and purples to heighten his already odd appearance, and I've added a belt pouch and dagger from the Frostgrave Cultists box.

He's ready to roll, or will be when the PVA/Bicarb snow mix dries (I had to get this done before the heatwave tomorrow!).

So one 28mm figure is a princely 5 points towards my total, and another contribution towards my Frostgrave Duel with the estimable Mr Mills. Yay!

I really should be working on the next Bonus Round, but I ran out of some crucial materials which will need to be chased up asap, which is why this guy got pushed up the list. Will I be able to get my terrain entry finished in time? Who can say?

Stay tuned, viewers...

Ev

By Paul and Alan: great fig which has induced flashbacks to Dan Brown's "Inferno".  Combined with the bright colours on the robes, that mask is pretty creepy!

From EvanH - The Big Fella - 28mm Orc Chieftain (10 points)

I'm back from the Apple Isle and ready for more painty goodness!

I love Tasmania. The scenery is breathtaking, the weather is cool, the beer is great, the seafood is brilliant, the cheeses are amazing, and the stonefruit are the best I've ever had. I can state categorically that sheep's milk whey makes an excellent vodka, as well as forming the basis of a delightful vanilla liqueur, and quinces are an excellent and flavourful addition to cider. 

All that stuff about oysters being an aphrodisiac is rubbish though; I ate a dozen and only eight of them worked.

But I'm back in the hot and humid confines of Sydney now, and I went to the painting desk first thing upon my return to finish off another fig from Scibor's Monstrous Miniatures, an ostensibly 28mm Orc Chief, who, at 55mm in height, certainly lives up to the 'Monstrous' tag. As soon as I saw this model on the website, I had to get it. Scibor Teleszynski's work is excellent, and this is one of his best sculpts so far. Six hours later, here's the result.

You can't rush this!

I went for a cooler colour scheme than the canonical GW Goblin Green. It makes him look a bit more grim and forbidding, or at least I hope so!

The skin was basecoated with the discontinued Citadel Foundation colour Orkhide Shade (because it was good, of course, it had to be discontinued - thanks GW!), a dense dark green at the blue end of the spectrum, worked up through Vallejo Scurvy Green and with successive additions of Citadel Hawk Turquoise and Space Wolves Grey to the mix. 

I decided to work with a wet palette to help with the blending of colours, and when the weather is hot, it's the only way to go if you don't want your paint drying out before you've finished. Given the heatwaves we've had to deal with recently, this will probably become a fixture on the work bench for the duration of the Challenge!

The leather loincloth was worked up from Citadel Scorched Brown, through Vallejo Game Colour Beasty Brown and Citadel XV-88 (that's light golden brown for those of you playing at home) and on to a final drybrush with Citadel Bleached Bone. A wash of Citadel Agrax Earthshade over the surface tied the layers together.

Hair and whiskers were basecoated black, highlighted with Vallejo Model Colour Black Grey and a light overbrush of a dark blue. Citadel Space Wolves Grey provided the final highlight for strands of hair and beard.

This is one of those sculpts that cries out for a patient approach, and repays it many times over. I am glad I took my time with this one; while this pace will never get me an army anytime soon, it's allowed me to finish one really imposing figure to a standard that I'm happy with.

I don't know what this will be scored as, 28mm or 54mm, but it's just one figure so it's not going to set the world on fire!

Maybe he needs some friends? I'll have to see what I can dig out from the hidden valleys on the northern slopes of Lead Mountain...

Stay tuned!

Ev

By Paul & Alan: Not sure your Tasmanian tourism advertising has many of our international viewers sold, but I've definitely enjoyed a few trips there over the years too.

You've done great justice to a fantastic sculpt.  I love your choice of colours and your blending technique is top notch!  Given his size, I've scored him as a Cavalry fig - 10 points!

From Sean M: Some stuff (31 Jan 17)

You might detect a lack of enthusiasm in the post title, and I'm not going to lie. This gets pretty brutal. Ever start on a project, then regret it almost instantly? Well, then, let me present to you 16 of Wargame Factory's finest 28mm Celtic Slingers.

I feel bad for even making you looks at these. The poses on these guys is so awkward, it's like watching me dance. Curt was at one of my wedding receptions, so he can vouche for that. The details on the face are so soft that there was nothing to bite into. The difference between these and the Ashigaru from the "East" theme is night and day.

I may have shot myself in the foot by putting all of the good poses in the warbands, and there are no Old Glory or Warlord figures in this batch to break up the monotony to make me dig deep for these guys. No amount of alternative facts are going to polish these turds.

However, here is a batch of something a bit more refreshing to the palette.

Here is a squad of GW's finest, Deathwing Terminators. They even did battle on Monday, as I introduced my kids to the gateway drug call Space Hulk. I'm that kind of dad...

I have not hewn close to the "Codex", preferring to paint the chest eagles red vice green. More aggressive, I should think. And of course, as it is GW, there's a skull chained to a chain gun. <get it?> I am a lot happier with this effort, GW does make some very nice and crisp plastics, although one of those blokes is pewter.

A little less input this week, but I have finished the "Movie" theme entry, and I have started work on the Curt Geld, although, as a guy on a farm, that might mean something different.

I'll leave that with you.

I do realize that there is an doom like shadow crossing some of the frames. Although very "End Times", it isn't actually that chunk of skull that carries my brain casting a shadow. Oh, no...

It's Tesla, our newest house cat; named by my eldest, as he is all smokey and mysterious. Not bad name association for a nine year old.

I'd like to thank all of those who have taken the time to comment, and bemoan the state of rural internet that makes it a 5 minute ordeal to load each of your posts, and much longer to comment. I try my best when I'm in town at a hot spot, but that is not very often as of late.

Sean.

By Paul & Alan: We all have some Wargames Factory figures in poses like that and they serve their purpose as rank and file.  But serving up your kids a plate of Space Hulk goodness with lashings of awesome sauce is fantastic Dad action - great job!  Have 105 points as a just reward :-)

Watch out Curt - that machine is going to make your eyes water!

From Barks: Jabba's retinue (50 points)

Star Wars Tuesday is back! Here's Jabba and chums from the latest Imperial Assault release.

Since taking this pic, I've added gloss varnish to Jabba's eyes and slobber.

The Gamorrean Guards are classic pig-faced orcs and such fun to paint.

The Weequay are nice generic scum and villainy.

Paul & Alan: "This Bounty Hunter is my kind of scum, fearless and inventive"
Nice job Barks - the Gamorreans were always my favourite from the scum palace and you've pulled off Jabba beautifully! 50 points will be added to your bounty

From JamesL - Lorraine Schlepper and friends (25 points)

Another small contribution, this time to add some firepower to my LW Germans in Bolt Action.
First up is the excellent Warlord Games kit for the 155mm heavy howitzer armed Lorraine Schlepper converted tractor

The Germans converted a number of captured French artillery tractors into self propelled anything towards the end of WW2, and one of these designs included mounting their heavy howitzer onto a lightly armoured cab.

This Warlord kit is superbly detailed, with the crews jacket and helmet stowed away, cartridges protruding from their stowage in the floor, and rivet work around the hull.

I've painted mine in one of the many camo schemes used by the 21st Panzer Division in Normandy, in order to fit in with my Bolt Action force. Next up is the last of my units that I had painted for my recent CanCon Bolt Action tournament army, a Veteran SS sniper team.

Another excellent kit from Warlord Games, the sniper is in a very purposeful prone position, and even has some clever hat camouflage to protect against enemy heavy machine guns (cue PaulOG ). Bravo!- ED

I tried a variant of the Oak Leaf camo for the sniper himself, and kept his spotter in Spring, whilst having the sniper wear a combination of Spring and Autumn Oak Leaf.

I finished these chaps the night before CanCon and they went on to earn their keep throughout the tournament

Paul & Alan: Nice job mate - that Schlepper is wonderfully detailed and clearly the effort you put into those snipers' camo paid off on the table!  Congrats on making the top 10 in the CanCon Bolt Action tourney- great stuff!  Enjoy the infamy of being "That guy who brought an 88...."

Tuesday Minions reporting in!

The weekend still lingers and its not yet hump day, but Monday is gone and there is the promise of an adult beverage at the end of the day! Let's say goodbye to January in style :-)