From NoelW: O’Grady’s Gulch: Fallout on the Pelennor Fields (200 points)

We keep seeing a balloon flying over our heads, and try to flag it down, but for some reason they don't see us. So we plod further westwards, with the Snowlord's Peak temptingly taunting the horizon to the South - but no roads lead there.

We find ourselves following a small stream. On both sides of us sheer cliffs gradually rise till we're travelling a canyon, the perfect place for an unexpected ambush. 

But we're expecting an ambush, so it can't work, can it? 

Well, it wouldn't've if we'd remembered we weren't traversing a Canyon but that completely different geographical entity, a Gulch. Gulchs, of course, are renowned as sites of treachery, deceit, trickery, rattlesnakes and men in black hats with variable ethical standards. So the last thing we expect is a little man with a patch over one eye, a steely glint in the other, a cigar dipped in paint behind his ear and a smouldering paintbrush in his mouth, who stumbles from behind a cactus and demands we explain why we're tresspassing in the Brady Bunch. (I believe that's what he said). He waves a loaded paintspray menacingly in our direction.

Thinking quickly, I said: "We were told this is the home of an expert master-painter. We're looking to commission some difficult painting. There could be a few euros/roubles/dollars in it, if so. Do you know any brilliant painters?"

A subtle gleam appeared in the gentleman's eye, if I may call him a gentleman.

“I may do,” he said. “What’s the job? Napoleonics? Space armour? Awkward Orcs from Auckland? Armoured space trolls from the Fallout universe (second edition)?”

“The inside of a Lady Sarah’s balloon basket,” I said. “It’s got dusty, so she wants it redecorated.” He squinted suspiciously. “By a professional.” I added. “For real money.”

“Real money?”

“The realest. Absolutely real. Couldn't be realer.”

At that moment, the balloon appears in the narrow sky above the canyon, almost as if blown on the winds of narrative expedience. Dropping his paintgun, his stogie and his attitude, the man waves frantically, chasing the balloon as it heads down the valley and screams excitedly as he runs. His cries are shredded by the wind, but I'm pretty sure he's invoking a personal divinity of some puissance: “bargain rates”, “three colour highlights” and “secret varnish recipe” were all I can hear, before he disappears in the distance.

---

My submission has two, unconnected, parts. The first, for O'Grady's Gulch, consists of two Fallout figures. I've a friend who is too ill to paint figures any more, but still likes collecting, and will game with them when he's able to. His most recent passion is Fallout, so here are two of his figures.

The rest of my offering this time come from Middle Earth. They're Gondor cavalry and bolt throwers from GW's Lord of the Rings range. LOTR has been a passion of mine ever since I first found the trilogy in my school library, around 55 years ago, and I've a long history of buying LOTR figures, then doing nothing with them. I could name at least 7 different ranges bought at various times, and any number of half-stupid plans around them that never came to anything. I bought the GW figures almost the moment they were released (was that 2003?), undercoated them and left them. 

I’ve never really liked these figures – in fact, was not too keen on the 

Weta conceptualisation, though it’s not too far from Tolkien’s description. But it’s mainly that they don’t seem an interesting prospect to paint. They’ve perpetually languished in the back of the cupboard, whilst other LOTR figures jumped the queue. Then, in Challenge IX I painted up most of my orcs, meaning that Pelennor Fields looked like an actual possibility, so I’ve decided this time round I’ll finish as many Gondorians as I can, and at last get that spectacular game on the table.

Firstly, eight cavalry:

And three repeating crossbows:

Finally, the lot together:

I’ve still left the infantry out, though! Hopefully they’ll be in a later post. 

Scoring: the two Fallout figs are 40mm tall, so I guess that's 14 pts. 8x 28mm cav = 80, 9x 28mm foot = 45, 3 crewed weapons = 30, O'Grady's Gulch = 30. Total: 199 pts, I think.



Magnificent! For some reason, 200 points sounds much better than 199 points, so I'm going to add a point to your total.

TamsinP