From RossM: The Last Post - 20mm WWII German armour (38 points)

As the final hours of the Challenge tick by here is the final post for my contribution to this years challenge and as promised its the WWII German Armour in 20mm from Britannia Miniatures.

From left to right above we have:

• SDKFZ 140 Flakpanzer 38(t)
• PZKW III J with short 50 mm barrell
• PZKW II (f) - Luchs

All three vehicles were painted in the same method starting with a base coat of Vallejo Mid Stone, followed with a liberal wash of Nuln Oil from Citadel. Then it's wet brushing the base coat back on then to finish with a dry brush of Foundry Moss C to highlight.

Here are some more pictures of the SDKFZ 140 with decals from Skytrex.

Next we have the PZKW III

With all three vehicles opted not to have camouflage on them and whilst I enjoy painting Late War German camouflage I feel the finish on these three vehicles is good without the detailing of camouflage.

The stowage and extras on the MK III really make the model.

Lastly we have the PZWK II (f)

Both MK III and II together.

As this is the final post I make the tally a grand 36 points for 3 20mm vehicles. This takes my overall total to 304 which just passes my Challenge target for this year.

In preparation of next year's challenge I would like to put forward this tune for you all:

Public Image Limited - Rise

https://youtu.be/Vq7JSic1DtM

Looking forward to seeing your brush work again next challenge and I will sort out my donation to charity very shortly.

Cheers, Ross


From Minion Tamsin:
A cracking finish to the Challenge for you Ross and congrats on passing your target.
I do like the painting on these - as you say, they look damned good without adding camouflage. I'm going to add a couple of points for the stowage.

From Dave D - 15mm US Armored rifle and supports (222 points)

This is my final entry for this years challenge - more boys and kit for my US Armored force  for Normandy 1944. A mix a Plastic Soldier Company Infantry , and M3s , and Battlefront other stuff.

A full armored rifle platoon - plenty of bazookas!

Full figures = 38  = 76 points

Prone figures = 4 = 4 ponts

The transport 

5 M3 halftracks = 30 points

the transport has drivers, gunners and passengers

29 crew figures - 29 points

The recon secion

4 jeep and 1 trailer = 24 points

7 seat figures - 7 points

1 standing = 2 points

The HQ section and support

3 x  M4 - 81 mm mortar -= 18 points

 with 11 crew  = 11 points

1 M16 MGC  = 6 points 

 with 3 crew = 3 points

HQ , two standing figures -1 seated = 5 points

HQ Tent? its the same size a jeep - or is it terain ? 6 points?

I even included some sandbags - just for Ray!

Total point tally = 230?

Phew - these are cracking along - mind I have a at least the same again to do plus more support elements - but they are getting there.

As for my challenge this should take me to 1600 points - which is under target - but given I lost a whole month to illness its actually on track overall points wise - and I am pleased with the progress. I have finished some more key units for the Sudan - still life in that old dog yet. I have completed my 6mm modern forces with games played. I have started a new project - this one which is going well.   I enjoyed the challenge with Sander and Alex  Its been fun on the paint and chats as well. 

Until next time people - enjoy your painting

From Minion Tamsin:
Your final entry? You've still got a couple of days, and we know that's plenty of time for you to knock out 500 Madhists!
That's a cracking looking force Dave. I'm scoring the HQ as equivalent to a vehicle. I note you've included some sandbags for Ray - maybe on the next one you could ad a badger?
I think your maths is a little off - I made it 221 points and so did the spreadsheet. But I've added a bonus point for the dig at Ray as 222 points looks better!

From JonathanO: 28mm Vikings (44 points)

Oh dear! My participation in this challenge did not turn out to be the success I had hoped for.  Various circumstances reduced my available painting time considerably.  I did manage to get these 8 Gripping Beast Vikings finished to post before this edition of the challenge closes.

 These are the start of my Viking skirmish warband for SAGA and other games.  The warband will have a black and white shield theme.

 This should be 40 points to bring me to a mere 110 in total.  So much for the 1000 point target, sorry about that!

I do have 20 more vikings and 40 WWI Infantry more than half finished, plus a whole 15mm ancient Indian army started. Sadly, these will not get completed in time.  I should have a lot more painting time available in the summer, so I plan to challenge myself to get all my "in progress" figures finished then.

Thanks to everyone for sharing their incredible painting skills (and impressive productivity) and to Curt and all the Minions for running such a fantastic event.

Cheers

Jonathan


From Minion Tamsin:
It's annoying how life can get in the way of our painting plans isn't it? But these things do happen and at least you have managed to get some things painted, even if not as many as you'd hoped.
Those vikings look great and the black and white shields should inspire dread in your opponents' forces.
I'm going to add a few bonus points for the hand-painted shields. 

From EvanH: Monster and Regimented Women, or The Last Post (40 points)

Greetings Fellow Challengers, Figlimners and Aficionados of Fine Brushpersonship! 

Gosh, is it that time already? Did we just lose three months? It's gone far too quickly, I still have two regiments of Seven Years' War Imagi-Nations troops to paint, along with a battery of artillery! And the ECW cuirassiers, and the other monsters, and the Orks, and the undead horde and all those pulp figures... well, you get the idea.

This is my final entry for the 8th Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge, so let's get on with it...

First, the monster; the Fire Dragon, another Reaper Bones model, this reptilian pyromaniac is 70mm from front foot to the top of his head, 80mm across the wings, and 90mm long. I have absolutely no idea how to score this, but based on my Curtgeld Frost Giant, I'll stick my neck out and guess 20 points since they're both of a similar size. 

Like the giant, the dragon is based on an 80mm Warbases MDF round, with broken cork and pumice paste to build up the groundwork. Sand and gravel mixed with PVA glue were used to add texture and blend the figure's base in with the supporting structure.

I didn't add as much detail to this base as I would have liked, but the Tajima1 Tufts again rescue it from total blandness.

You can see the reason for the raised basing here; the tail is actually lower than the level of the figure's feet, so to allow room for it to curl around and follow its natural inclination, he needed a little lift.

The last half of my last entry for Challenge VIII is a matched set of Dwarven warriors, four formidable women.

These are more Scibor Miniatures Dwarves, incredibly detailed and loaded with character.

Here's the venerable General Freydis Ranveigsdottir. Battles won, 29; Number of Challenges Issued to Enemy Commanders, 0; Number of Enemy Commanders Obliterated by Long-Distance Cannon Fire, 12 (because battles are too damned important to entrust to the results of stupid duels).

This is her daughter, Gudrun. Gudrun is an enthusiastic student of strategy, but is still quite impetuous and has a way to go before she gets her own command.

Pippi Astridsdottir, a dab hand with a shortsword in a desperate situation!

And lastly, Sigrid Svanhildsdottir, an independent woman whose hammer, 'Maiden's Kiss', is always at the ready to remind over-familiar men not to take liberties. Like demanding a kiss, for example.

And it's goodnight from me...!

My biggest point total yet, and if the weather had been kinder, I dare say I might have been a tad more productive!

Thanks to Curt, Monday Minion Sidney and all the other Minions, this has been an amazing Challenge, and I hope to participate in the next one if they'll have me!

Until the group shot, goodnight, Gods Bless and keep smiling!

Seeya!

Ev

From Minion Tamsin:

Lovely work Evan and congrats on making your target. That's some nice painting there on the dragon and I do like the Dwarven women.

I'm going to score the dragon as a 40mm vehicle, as that's the 20 points you suggested and seems about right.

From NickJ: Monster, Rats and Birds in the Age of Sigmar (50 Points)

Once Upon a... Good Grief! Is it March already?

The last 5 weeks has seen me messing about with a work project that was a little more intense than we all imagined and involved some extra travel. Suffice to say I had no chance to sit down and paint anything other than Clint Eastwood for the Childhood Bonus.

I was chuffed to hit my target though and so thought that would be that for this year's Challenge...

Until the Snow came to the UK again. The UK shuts down when a flake falls so I suddenly had some spare time to finish off some projects and so here then are my final entries for this year!

First up representing the Khorne Bloodbound is a Khorgorath. He was originally intended for the Monstrous Bonus round but he never got beyond the base coating stage.

He stands a whopping 70mm high and has a fair number of bones/skulls all over his body including a massive right claw!

I tried out a little bit of blending with purples and reds on his legs and arms. Quite pleased with the overall effect.

And the tentacles on his left arm have been painted in the same colours as the rest of the Khorne army weaponry to help tie him in.

Next up let's return to the Skaven and a Warpfire Thrower team

This is basically a flame-thrower with a little more magic involved... and it has a really good chance of exploding when you fire it! Standard Skaven weaponry that can be brilliant and then, if you push it that little bit too far, it goes bang. Love Skaven.

Really nice model and great to paint up. I opted for yellow warpfire and green smoke to be a little bit different. 

And finally I had a promise to keep. Do you remember the Kairic Acolytes that took me weeks to complete? If you do you'll remember that in their command squad they have a bird handler but I didn't complete the birds (Vulcharc) in time.

I promised to have them done during the Challenge and here they are with their Handler.

 

I kept their lovely plumage green to match the feathers in the handler's head.

As I said before one of these sits on the handler's outstretched arm normally but I just felt it overpowered the model so instead I've set them on flying bases... currently held on by blu-tac whilst I come up with a more permanent solution.

 

You only need 1 per squad of Acolytes but as 2 came in the box it seemed churlish not to paint both!

I apologise to the minions as I've no idea how to score the Khorgorath! I think the Chimera I did for the Flight bonus netted 25 points and they are close in size.

The Vulcharcs have a 40mm wingspan so perhaps 5 points each or 5 points for the pair?

The Skaven are 10 points. That one I know :-)

Thank you to Jamie for his minioning this year and to Curt for inviting me to take part again. I've had a blast and now I'll have a rest... well I would if my group hadn't decided that we all need to paint a 2,000 point army from scratch in 6 months to celebrate our blog's 10th anniversary. Of course I said yes...

See you next year.

From Minion Tamsin:
Oh my gosh! That is some beautiful brushwork on all of these Nick. I love the vibrant greens on those birds.
I'm going to score the Khorgorath as a 54mm vehicle and those two birds as 5 points each.

From ByronM - Last unit of Greeks and a group shot ( 90 points )

Well, it has been a long road to get here, but I have just finished off this year's mega project, or at least mega for me.  I find I have a really hard time staying on task and painting any given single thing for a long time, as I get bored with the same thing over and over again.  I also find that I simply can not force my self to do anything but my tabletop quality when painting anything were there is more than 10-20 of them. That has been why traditionally I have stuck with sci-fi games where each unit can be very different.  However, this year I really wanted to do a project that I have had in mind for years and years, ancient Greeks.


Since there is no one else around doing that era in our play group (Fawcett Avenue Conscripts) I figured that I had to complete enough of a force that games could be played with just what I have.  While a longer term goal will to be adding a Persian force to face off against the Greeks, for now the Greeks can fight among themselves, which the did throughout their history.  This led to me doing a mixed Greek force consisting of Spartans, Thebans, and Athenians.  While the Spartans make up about 1/2 of the force the others can be arranged to fight against them, or later with them against the Persians.

While I have taken short cuts on many of the units to make sure I get the project done, and they are not all done to the standards I hold for my single figures (like my Kingdom Death Dragon, or Alice in Wonderland) they look just fine when ranked up on the tabletop and allowed me to finish the army.

With all of that preamble done, my final unit is a group of unarmoured Spartans from Foundry and sculpted by Steve Saleh along side a command stand with figures from Steve as well but this time from Gorgon Studios.  They are awesome figures with a ton of character. If it was not for my dislike of metal figures (I know, heresy around here, but I prefer plastic then resin and metal as a last resort) I would likely have done my whole force from figures that he has sculpted.

The one complaint I have with the figures is the spears that they come with.  Sure they are metal and won't break, but they have no hand grips, no end weight, and just look wrong compared to all the other plastic spears in the force.  I however did not have enough extra plastic spears to kit them out with so had to use the metal ones.

 

As you may have noticed, not all of the Spartans have their logo on the shield.  Only 1/2 of the shields came with the lambda on them, and I tried both hand painting the others and applying decals to the others, neither looked correct next to the embossed shields, so in the end I decided to leave them blank.

I needed a third command stand for the Spartans so I used the last few figures I had from the command set from Gorgon to make up one.  These characters just ooze character so I gave them and the unit some extra attention compared to a lot of the other units.

Last up, since I keep promising it and never actually got around to it yet....  some pictures of the whole force arranged in battle.  There are a total of 16 units, 6 command stands, and 7 casualty markers (I need to make more but ran out of figures).

Overall, while challenging to stay on task for these, I am thrilled with how they came out in the end, and even more thrilled that we will soon be able to explore a new era of combat in our gaming group.  I also have the suspicion they will be requested to make the trip west with me next time I visit Curt and his gaming group.

The Greeks also allowed me to smash my points goal, and along with my relatively simple monochromatic zombie-bomb set a personal best points record that is highly unlikely that I will ever break.


The actual newly painted figures here are:
16x spartans in unit = 80 points
2x spartans on command stand = 10 points
Total = 90 points



From Minion Tamsin:
More glorious Greeks! It's been great watching you plug away at this project and I can appreciate how much of a grind you must have found it, but the pics at the end showing all of them together must bring you some warm & fuzzies. What a magnificent sight they make, but I'm sure you're glad to see the back of them for a while.
That's another well earned 90 points for you Byron.