From ByronM: 30k Mechanicum and 30k Death Guards (55 points)

My first regular submission is going to be a small one as I started way too many different projects this week and most of them are sitting at about 75% done.  So while this one is small, next week's should make up for it.

Let's start of with two more Castellax Class Battle-Automata, this time armed with multi-meltas, flamers, and close combat saw blades!  They were done as my first entry of them was (30k Mechanicum Automata - The First Salvo) starting with an airbrushed base colour setup and then hand painted details.

The bases are hand made using liquitex, cork board, cut up sprue, guitar wire, and copper pipe bits.  I tried to give them an urban rubble look without going overboard as I find a lot of cast resin rubble bases have too much on them and you wonder how the hell the model is moving through it.

I also kept with the blue glow as a colour accent to keep in theme with the last batch, even though I tend to think of melta as a red/orange glow.  My thought being that it just would look like more of the same base red armour colour if I did that.

Next up is a Death Guard Anvillus pattern drop pod that I had started doing up for this weeks "flight" theme just in case I didn't get the piece that I really wanted to get done completed.  I did though, so here is the drop pod as a regular submission.

This bad boy transports a unit of 10 marines into combat.  It is meant to hold teams like last weeks Breacher Squad as they rocket towards enemy space craft and then latch onto them with their clawed equipped bottoms.  The drop pod then uses powerful plasma thrusters and cutters to burn through the hull of the enemy ship to disgorge the attacking marines into it's target.

While that is what the Anvillus was designed for, the Space Marines they were entrusted to quickly found another use for their plasma cutters.  They now use them to set down in the middle of a combat zone and fire the flame up to 11 as they land, causing auto hits to everything within d3+3" of the hull (and it is bloody big at almost 5" across) at S6 AP5 no cover saves.  Once the fire kills everything nearby, or at least distracts them, the marines leap out and slaughter the remnants of the enemy.  Can you think of anything more 30k than that?  Using space ships to burn the enemy on a planet!

While the drop pod can fly around the table on a flight stand, I really dislike the mounting mechanic as it is simple a little resin piece that glues to a flight stand and the drop pod rests in it.  I included a picture from the Forge World web site to show you, but I am not using it, I am just going to sit the model where it is. The model is a pain in the #%$ to assemble and would likely shatter into its 50+ component pieces if it ever slipped off of its mount and fell even the 6" of height to the table.

The drop pod was painted the same way I have been doing all of my Death Guard vehicles, making heavy use of Mig products.  I base coated it black, applied chipping solution, painted the off white colour with an airbrush and then once dry wet it with water and started chipping the paint off.  It gives a completely random and organic look to it, you just have to give up control though as you can go light or hard on the brushing to control it a bit, but sometimes it just comes off in big sections and sometimes it sticks and you can't get any chips, so you just go with it.  I then apply decals and clear coat it, then come back with Mig streaking products and oil brushers and make it a mess with multiple different browns, blacks, and rust colours.  Apply a bit of each, let set for a bit, then use thinner or white spirits to spread it around and cause the streaks, or to clean up areas that got to much.

While I mentioned I was not sure about the look on the infantry in a previous post (and I still am not sure), I do love the look on vehicles.

The Breachers in the image are just to show scale and have already been scored.

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Bryon, great to hear from and what a post!  I am more than happy to honour the previous scores for the Castellan, but the Anvils is something else, certainly not your average vehicle so I'm saying 55 points for the lot! 

Side Duels Roster and Points Updated

Hi All,

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

Things are really starting to heat up with multiple entries in the Black Powder duel and several others now kicking off.

PLEASE send me an email to challengesideduels@gmail.com when you collect points for your duel. I'm having to track back through posts and find qualifying entries which is a laborious and potentially error-prone way to go about things. At times I'm not 100% sure if a post should be included or not.

As always, please check the points and make sure they're correct.

Fun fact: Did you know 78.38345935% of stats are made up? Just sayin' Miles...

Right, I'm off to put the kettle on.

Cheers,
Millsy The Duels Wallah

WOO-HOO! It's STATS Time, Baby!!!!!!

That's right, Stats-Fans, it time for your all time favorite part of the challenge.  Yes, its stats-time!!!  You better get prepared 'cause I'm going lay some stats-math down on you like a baseball bat* to the head.

* for those commonwealth types who are of a particularly sensitive nature please replace the brutish American term "baseball bat" with the much more erudite and calming term "cricket bat".  Look at me be all caring-like.

Challenge VIII is off to a fast start and of the 80 stalwart Challenge-a-nista's who have embarked upon this pigment adventure, a stunning 52 have made a submission within the first 2 weeks.  That's a record breaking two week participation rate of 65%.  Even more astounding is that the "Fast 52", as this group has been dubbed by the Fake Media, have collectively made 118 submissions over that first 2 week period smashing yet another record.

I'll pause here while all of you get over the "vapors" this shocking news must have inflicted upon you.  Take your time, there's no shame in fainting.

OK, ready to move ahead.  No?, I don't care - we're Oscar Mike.

Lets take a look at the KPI chart of doom and compare the first 2 weeks of VIII vs VII:

KPI's:	VIII	VII	+/- Var
Weeks Completed	2	2
Weeks Remaining	11	11
Participants w/ a Submission	52	47	10.64%
Total Submissions	118	89	32.58%
Total Points	7,184	7,711	-6.83%
Participation Rate	65%	47%
Average per Submitter	138	164	-15.79%
Avg per Submission	61	87	-29.73%
Submitter % of Target Completed	15%	16%	-1%
Projected Points
Submitters	46,696	50,122	-3,426
Remaining Bouns Rounds	7,500	9,261	-1,761
Non Submitters @ 50%	6,769	13,358	-6,589
Projected Total Points	60,965	72,741	-11,775
Figures Painted
28MM
Inf	882	1,100	-19.82%
Cav / Art	47	69	-31.88%
Vehicles	20	20	0.00%
15MM
Inf	110	179	-38.55%
Cav / Art	16	28	-42.86%
Vehicles	16	16	0.00%
6MM
Inf	834	479	74.11%
Cav / Art	22	11	100.00%
Vehicles	70	35	100.00%
Score Distribution
28MM	72%	84%
15MM	5%	7%
6MM	8%	4%
Bonus Round "Bonus Points"	0%	0%
Other Scales	15%	4%
Total	100%	100%

I'm sure all of you have be drawn to the Projected Points from my secret Point-O-Projectorama machine.  It does require the sacrifice of several small mammals to keep the gears running but that's something we have to do for the sake of science.  Anyway, once the wailing subsided I was able to divine a points projection for VIII - and have determined that this august group of Pigment Warriors will generate close to 61K in total points.  That's a bit off the pace of last year but there are only 80 participants for VIII vs the 100 for VII.

In truth, these initial estimates tend to be biased conservatively.  For example last year's the Point-O-Projectorama prognosticated 73K and we came in at 83K.  Similar error terms occurred in Challenges VI and V.  So if we take the derivate of - HEY YOU IN THE BACK, WAKE UP, THIS IS REALLY EXCITING STUFF THAT IS ROCKING YOUR WORLD AS WE SPEAK.  Sorry, Stats make me a bit crazy.  Anyway, my gut tells me we'll probably chime in in the 67K range when the dust settles.  Since my gut is rather ample, it's rarely wrong.

There other trend I've noticed is a resurgence of 6MM scale submissions - I doubt they will dethrone 28mm as the champ but there is a lot of activity there.

While I hate to end the exciting topic of stats on a somber note, we do have to consider the status of the "Late 28" - those lost souls without a submission for this challenge.  Let us all hope that they soon see the error of their ways and join us on the path of painting enlightenment.  Perhaps soothing words of encouragement in the comments section below will help them throw off their indolence and take up their brushes once more.  Let us all pray that, one day, they will also be assimulated.

From KeithS: Welsh Elites (52 points)

I did not expect to have time to finish these by Saturday, but thanks to the heat failing at work, followed by the bursting of many pipes, I have not been at work much the past few days!  Oh well, more time for me!

Here, then, are the last of my Welsh forces.  This batch of ten 28mm figures is also by Gripping Beast.  The represent the elites of the force, with the two center being two copies of the Warlord (as mentioned previously, I ended up with two sets of the starter army).  Each has a shield and sword or axe...no spears for these guys.

Each has a shield and, being fancy types, I paired them with the shields that turned out the best.  For the warlords, I gave them somewhat anachronistic Welsh flag shields.  Again, I could not find much on Dark Age Welsh shields, and I wanted something distinctly Welsh, so there you go.

Unlike the rabble, these guys have mail armor, which really makes the painting a lot easier.  And, each has a pair of shoes.

That's it for the Welsh, so now on to the Irish (a much smaller project).  Ten 28mm figures for an easy 50 points.

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Have I lost a week somewhere?  No, it's just Keith managing a double post and a jolly good one at that too.  I loved the spearmen, but these Elites take it to another level, not least because of their shields.  Great job Keith, another 52 points to your tally, (2 bonus for the shields) now looking forward to the Irish! 

From KeithS: Welsh Spearmen (165 points)

Men of Harlech, indeed!  Up next from me are 32 Welsh spearmen in 28mm from Gripping Beast for use in Saga.  This was a big batch I wanted to get done by New Years Day.  I succeeded, but never got a chance to post them!  They are nice figures, as are most from Gripping Beast.  As with all the Dark Age guys I do, they are done with realistic, muted colors for their attire.  Here's the obligatory group shot.

22 of them have shields.  Ratehr than decals, I went ahead and hand painted them all (along with ten more for the next batch of elite chaps).  I really could not figure out what 9th Century Welsh shields should look like, and I really did not want them to look like my Saxon or Viking hordes.  So, a lot of them got a cross pattern, though I did quarters for some of them.  These are rank and file guys -- I avoided fancy for the most part!  I did these 22 plus ten more shields for the next batch.  That let me select the best ten for the elites.

Although lower end warriors, they are a step above the archers I recently did (after all, some of them have shoes!).  So, they got slightly fancier attire with more variety of decorative patterns.

For some reason, I had a devil of a time with spears and shields easily coming off after being glued.  I must've reglued fifty times!  And every time, I had to quote Zulu: "You slovenly soldier..."  Here's one of the common malefactors with the style of shield I arbitrarily decided would be common among my Welsh.

Another guy, without shield.  I suppose, in hindsight, I could've given one over his back, but I was ok with less shield painting!

And another representative chap.  He got a hatched design on his tunic.  Fancy him.

That's all for this batch.  One more small one of elite Welsh and that project is finished and its on to the Irish.  With 32 folks at 28mm, that's a cool 160 points.

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Cracking post Keith, and from the offset I have been humming 'Men of Harlech' and can hear the distant banging of spear on shield - Damn funny. Like a train... in the distance.  I was sorry to read about the difficulties during the painting and find that sort of thing very frustrating myself - 'slovenly soldiers' have been known to reach orbit when something similar happens here.  Delighted that you persevered and you have ammaseed a fine body of men.  Kudos also for the hand painted shields that I feel are worthy of recognition so this little lot will bag you a cool 165 points. 



From AlexS : Terrain, Napoleonic, RCW, Fantasy (647 points)

Hello everybody! My name is Alex, I am from Russia and I do not use doping. Today I have an important and great post. Much of what I present to your attention, was launched on December 21, but thematically I decided to put these works in one post.

Let's start with the area that I did as part of my project "fast-cheap-ugly terrain" In my opinion, it was supposed to be containers with different types of fuel, but it turned out something very futuristic or apocalyptic.

In this photo you can see from what and how it was done: a can, baby food, lids, springs from miniatures and even a kinder-surprise.

What is especially nice, in the application of the base color, my younger daughter helped me. Maybe in a few years she will also take part in this event :) 

 I continue my project "Visual novel", dedicated to strange and terrible events in the vicinity of the city of Yekaterinburg in 1918. The following participants of this narrative met in the buffet of the station in the city of Yekaterinburg. Firstly, it was the family of a rich man: he himself (looks at his watch), his children, their governess, his wife and a teacher of children (5 inf). I note that the children and the governess are not accidentally painted in these colors.

In the buffet they meet as quite expected people - an old drunkard, a barman, a dandy and a railwayman (4 inf).

But they also meet strange people - an American cowboy who turns out to be an agent of Pinkerton, an Indian, a petty criminal, and two women from a cabaret (5 inf). In fact, during the revolution and civil war, it was possible to meet more exotic characters.

The next chapter of my visual novel will return the reader to the village, especially since he has prepared many more miniatures that will help me tell this story.

The following miniatures (3 inf) are associated with my friend and wonderful player Veniamin (Benjamin). He is also a sculptor and the owner of a small company producing miniatures. The archer on the right is his work. In the center is a miniature, which he gave me for the new year (they are from some sort of board game, but it is beautiful and suitable for a wargame table). The ghost on the left is my work, I was inspired by the way Benjamin (Veniamin) made the folds of the cloak from the archer and tried to do something like that. I could not get...

Well, in the end - "Zulus" - this is how I call my miniatures for the era of Napoleonic war, because they are many and painted, they are quite simple.

Russian generals (4 inf and 1 mount)

Austrian General (2 inf and 1 mounted)

Polish Line Battalion (24 inf). As often happens with me, there is a shaft in this detachment, but I have not decided on the banner yet. I got great pleasure working with these miniatures, because the sculptor from Front Rank is my favourite. 

Prussian Landwehr (48 inf) and a battalion of Prussian line infantry (19 inf ,1 mout). Landwehr was painted on the night from January 1 to January 2. All night ... All night long! So far I can afford it, because up to the 9th we have long Christmas and New Year holidays.

On it all at the moment. A couple of days I will sleep, eat and walk with children. But then again I'll pick up the brushes and try to do something that will be interesting for the participants of the event.

Points:

Terrain - 2 cube 6"x6"x6" - 40 pts

Mounted 28m - 3              - 30pts

Infantry 28mm - 115        - 575 pts

Total:                                - 645 its

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*Nudged by Snowlord*

Sorry, was I supposed to be doing something?  Oh yes, my apologies, I was completely stunned by this post, bravo Alex!  So much to enjoy and I am particularly looking forward to reading more about the adventures in Yekaterinburg.  I have to confess that I know very little about Napoleonic armies, but I am always impressed by the sight of their massed ranks and yours are no exception to this.  For me, though, the highlight was your "fast-cheap-ugly terrain" it just looks great!  I love the idea of using plastic miniature sprues and what a delightful shot of your young apprentice.

Once again, well done Alex a well deserved 647 points, (I have added a couple of extra points for fiddling around with flags!) now go and get some sleep!