From: Curt - 'The Butcher' from Kingdom Death (10 Points)

Staying true to course, meaning really no course at all, I have several irons in the fire with little to show for it. Nonetheless, I did manage to finish this chap last week and thought I should get him posted and scored.  

This fellow is called 'The Butcher', one of the baddies from 'Kingdom Death'. As you can imagine he's not someone you'd want to ask for a choice cut at the local grocery. In the game there are basically two types of nasties: Prey monsters, ones that the players actively hunt (the White Lion, Screaming Antelope, etc.), and Nemesis monsters, which are those who show up in front of the players' settlement wanting to experiment with their form of 'population management'.

The Butcher, as can be expected, is a complete close-combat goon. He likes to use his two huge cleavers and heavy armour to get in close in order to dish-out the damage - lots of bleeding crits and general gory mayhem. Last week we had the pleasure of facing off with this guy and managed to overcome him, just. Seeking vengeance, he'll be revisiting our settlement again in a few years as a Level 2 version. Being a sucker for punishment, I'm actually quite looking forward to it.

Similar to my other KD figures, I've painted The Butcher largely in greyscale, with only the lanterns on his breastplate and cloak to provide any real colour. To be frank, I'm not really crazy on how he turned out, but I'm not much for hand-wringing on these things, so here he is, warts and all.

He's a big lad, about 54mm, so maybe 10 points? 

Finally, on an administrative note, I've completed the scoring for the 'Childhood' theme round. A big congratulations is due to the many Challengers who've now hit their point targets, bravo to you all - well done!

Thanks for dropping in folks!


Welcome back to our nice and cosy Tuesday evening boss-man! You might not be entirely happy with the Butcher, but I am of the opinion that many a gamer would be very happy indeed to own such a lovely painted miniature. Those lanterns are truly well done and add a lot to the figure's atmosphere. The whole miniature just oozes a sense of awesome foreboding and menacing gloom, or impending doom, whichever you like best. The cloak indeed has a lot of detail and your greyscale makes it pop just as much as a "regular"painting technique would. All in all it's a pretty cool figure Curt. Well done indeed!  

From: EricM - WWII Russians and Germans (465 points)

Its been a busy week for me from a hobby perspective.   Thanks to a 3 days weekend I was able to get quite a bit done this week.   I finished up the last of the First Corps World War II Russians.  This week included a couple sub machine gun squads, 2 medium machine guns and an anti tank rifle team.

Here are pictures of the two 12 man sub machine gun squads with supporting light machine gun teams.

Below there are the 2 medium machine gun sections

Lastly the anti tank rifle team.

Here is the full group of Russians

In addition to the Russians this week I was able to move on to some early war Germans.   All the figures are from Wargames Foundry.  I love these figure they are a joy to paint.  Its really great to see 20 year or more old sculpts hold up so well.  Great detail, clean casting and a good variety  of poses.  Whats not to like, oh yeah the cost.  But in my opinion you do get what you pay for with these Foundry figures.

Here are the squads grouped in twos.  The first two pictures are four rifle squads.  I was tempted to paint helmet markings but decided against it since I am planning to use these guys for 1942-1943

The last group of two includes a rifle squad and a sub machine gun squad.

The last picture is the full group picture including the German Platoon commander and his aid.

I was able to finish 93-28mm figures this week.   It was a very focused painting week and I doubt very much it happens again.  I am toward the end of my World War II figures on hand.  I have an order, placed in early January, to Black Tree for more Americans but haven't heard anything from them since my order early last month.  I doubt very much I see them in time so its on to something new for next week.

Hoi Eric, gosh 93 figures in a week that's very good indeed! Nice to see yet another Tuesday crewmember finish an army, your Russians look great. I like the way you've based them a lot. Not only do the bases look good, they are practical and also show the type of miniature upon it. You've done the German up a treat as well, the Feldgrau really came out perfectly fine. You've also gone for a decent mix of weapons as far as I can see and these will surely avail of themselves well on the tabletop. In all: a great entry and I am looking forward to what you come up with next week! Cheers Sander

From: KentG - 28mm French infantry (600 points)

 Hi Guys trying to get this loaded while a cyclone is going for it outside ,

 I need to go get my wife. As you can see once again I've gone mad

with the French this time we have five companies of line and light infantry.

It was a real push this week didn't think I'd get the completed to be honest but really pleased I did

so 120 x 28mm at 5 points for a total of 600 points

Dang Kent! What have you done? 600 points worth of French Napoleonics?! That is mind- blowing indeed. As I said in the opening post this morning: you must need more than one table to display all the French you've painted this Challenge. I really cannot get my mind round how and where you find the time to get all these done, I am mighty jealous of these fabulous figures mate, well done!

Cheers Sander

From PhilH: The Most Beastly of the X-men (9 Points)

After a week's hiatus (I blame smashing through Altered Carbon on Netflix: tldr; pretty watchable but the book is better), I'm back with another little post of another lonesome single X-Man. Two weeks to paint one mini, not good at all.

This time, it's Hank McCoy, known as Beast.

A mutant possessing superhuman strength, an ape-like physique and rather dapper blue fur, Beast also has genius-level intellect specialising in biochemistry and genetics. More at home in a science lab than a zoo, then. He's been part of the team since X-Men #1 waaaay back in 1963, with one of his better known story lines being torn between science delivering a cure for his mutation, and loyalty to his fellow mutants.

He's a nice dynamic sculpt, bounding over a gatepost for Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, though the post does mean much of the detail on the underside of the mini, and looking at him from tabletop-level is less interesting. I added a shrub, to make the post look less lonely. 

I had a bit of fun doing a verdigris effect on the sign. Having not tried it before, I may well look for opportunities to play about with it to add a bit of colour. 

I did take the time to paint his eyes, serving as my annual reminder of why I don't usually bother: too much hassle.

Well, we're getting towards a team now:

Next week, time to mix things up a little and up the tempo for the run-in...*cue foreboding music*

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Great work, Phil!!  Beast looks fantastic, and the pose you have him in is dynamic and really impressive - not least for the way you've managed to bring everything together in a wonderfully constructed base.

I love the blue tones you've used, combined with the yellow insignia belt.  The combined effect is really striking.

And the ground work, including the plinth which Beast is vaulting over, is exceptionally good. I really like the small shrub (...I'd love to know how that was made...) and the verdigris sign. Both really set off the whole model.

And yes, that's a wonderful team, coming together!  Excellent work.  As for points, there's 7 for Beast, and I've added a couple for the brilliant groundwork, Sir!!  And you're closing in very impressively on your target - best of luck in the last month!

From: NoelW - A miscellany (253 points)

As the Challenge has progressed, I’ve started several things, then put them aside as something else catches my eye. My original plan, was to concentrate on ECW, but along the way that’s been severely dented by other excitements, especially the 15mm lead pile I was lucky enough to acquire. So this week, and probably next, I’m trying to tidy up a bit by completing some of them. Which makes form a rather eclectic submission.

These 15mm figures have suggested quite a few new projects, but most of them would need additional work or purchases, so for the time being I’m just painting units that interest me for one reason or another. At the moment, they’re mainly Seven Years War and French Revolution.

Firstly, SYW. Here are 12 Austrian cuirassiers and 12 Grenzer. They’re not actually 15mm, but 18mm Eureka miniatures. I think their additional height won’t be much of an issue on the battlefield if they’re in units separate from true 15mm. And there’s also a unit of 15 French infantry, though they’re lacking command (so that’s a purchase I suppose I’m forced to make).

Next are two more battalions of French, this time from the Revolutionary wars (circa 1798), a total of 52 figures. They’ll be heading for Egypt eventually. Plus three more of the guns I began last week (there are still more of these to come, but no crew as yet).

My main aim with these is to get as many as possible painted as quickly as possible, so the style is very basic:

As well as all the 15mm, I have kept the ECW project ticking over, however. So here’s the two Scots ensigns I didn’t quite manage last week, together with a General to lead them.

Finally, three more EMP figures for display on Wargames Emporium’s shelves. They’re from the Boxer Rebellion range: one Chinese officer, one Japanese officer and one miscellaneous European.

So, that’s 12 x 15mm cavalry = 48 pts. 79 x 15mm infantry = 158 pts. 3 x 15mm guns = 12 pts. 1 x 28mm cavalry = 10 pts. 5 x 28mm infantry = 25 pts. Total: 253 pts

Hoi there Noel! What an exciting miscellany you've cooked up for today. A return to 15/ 18mm and in Napoleonics  no less, great work. These small ones look mighty impressive arrayed like this in battle formation. I must confess however that I like the 28mm figures you've painted up best. Both the ECW and the Boxer Rising figures are superb, well done indeed! Cheers Sander

From: MartinC - 1st German Colonial Women's Rocket Corps (200 points)

I've found this years challenge a little bitty. I have finishing off odds and sods from the darkest recesses of the lead mountain. Most of these figures are there for a reason. I didn't want to paint them and so some of the painting has been a little perfunctory. This week has been similar.
First up the 2nd unit of Carthaginians. I've stalled painting these for ages but once I'd started they were fun to paint. These have white linothoraxes and some more hand painted shields, although the design is much simpler than the scorpions from last week - still authentic though

24 Victrix Citizen Infantry

The next unit though is squarely in the "these are really crappy figures, why am I wasting my time and paint on them". These are the last 8 Gauls from Wargames Factory and they are pretty shocking

Finally the eponymous Women's Rocket Corps. I have a significant female Geman colonial force now - sailors, and 2 units of askari. I'm eyeing up some camel corps from Hinterland but they aren't cheap. These are from Bad Squiddo from an American manufacturer whose name I've forgotten. These were also expensive  and a joy to paint. They are supposed to be British but fit with my German force

That is 36 x 28mm infantry = 180

Artillery piece = 15 (I think)

Gosh Martin, while I agree this Challenge lends itself to finishing those long started and left untended figures, heck that what I seem to be doing myself, your post has some real treasures in there. Those Carthaginians are great indeed and those hand painted shield will net you some bonus points as well. The Celts are...well they are Wargames Factory what do you expect? You've done what you can and they look good enough to me. The female
Rocket Corps are brilliant! I have quite some Hinterland figures and yes they are not cheap but sooooo cool and well manufactured, they are well worth it. 

Anyway great entry overall, Cheers Sander

From: RussellG - 15mm 20th century warfare (178 points)

A few projects have been started but nothing finished to show off until these guys.

This week i present some 15mm goody's.

First up 2 anti aircraft guns from Forged in battle.

These are early/mid-war 88mm guns, which I painted the gun tractors for 2 years ago.

Very nice sculpts with excellent detail and very little if any flash,Ido however recommend using a good quality undercoat on the resin parts.

They have been left languishing in the lead pile as I already have a brace of 88's painted in this scale.

Next up are the neglected Airmobile infantry from Battlefront for the Vietnam version of Flames of war.

Now these poor chaps have been based and part painted before, then removed and cleaned up.Then they were abandoned for a few years. This is mainly due to the fact I have never been very happy with them, the sculpting is poor, the undercuts are too big leaving very fragile models, and the flash that was on them was bordering on ridiculous.

However, with the fact I had finished there opponent (the PAVN) last year, I felt obliged to do at least a basic paint job on them. This is not the complete force, I have some more that require attention before the brush goes near them.
I intend to finish them off next week and get a picture of them with the helicopters I painted a few years back.

A small but needed push towards my total

2 guns for 12 points
10 crew for 20 points
83 infantry for 146 points

178 points

Thank you for looking.

Hoi there Russel, great entry for this week! Battlefront has some really lovely work and some less lovely stuff, but you have managed to make them look ace my friend. The Vietnam conflict has some great opportunities for us painters and gamers and I have been looking at it for some time. So I am mighty curious as to what you will treat us on next week, specially them Choppers! Cheers Sander

A Top of the Tuesday Morning to ya!

Welcome ladies and gentlemen to this new and shiny Tuesday!

Don't you think there's one hell of a good Theme Round going on? 31 contestants vying for undying honour in the ranks of, well Michael, Sidney and Deb really, but okay we mere mortals might now share the prime place on the top of Lead Mountain as well. Silly how we keep saying "unpainted lead pile" and "Lead Mountain" and all that, while most figures do not contain any real lead any more... oh well back to business.

Today has a few nice post for you and more will surely follow. Noel, Martin, Kent and Russel all have post in at the time of me writing this.
Funny enough this seems to be a week of Bitsa entries as both Noel and Martin (oh and yours truly on Friday) have excellent if eclectic posts of very diverse and superb nature.
Russel is back and with a vengeance just you wait and see. Oh and Kent ladies and gents is making sure he will remain at the top of the leaderboard for some time yet.

 Do you know I am really looking forward to Kent's "Look what I painted during the Challenge" picture at the end of March. You know the picture Curt always makes us do and then we have to try and remember what we actually did paint so we check back the Challenge blog and it takes a while before we remember we can use the label with our name and so we revel in the glory of everyone's entries all over again.

Let's put a bet out: will Kent need more than one table?

So there you have it folks, can't beat the feeling!

  Come on Millsy and Ray, listen to the song! You know you will hate it and then the song will get stuck in your mind mwuhahahahaha!