From StuartL - Challenge Island Safari Journal - 6th Jan - (35 Points)

Avast shipmates and C.I.S.T.ers!

Well, after feeling a bit under the weather yesterday, the party has set off once again. Perhaps a stroll across the famous Rousell's Sandhill would be good for us. After a breakfast of penicillin and a shower with as much disinfectant as we could find, we are on our way. 

Arriving at the Sandhill, we found a lonely looking figure looking a tad lost at the top. Upon exchanging greetings and pleasantries, he introduced himself as Midshipman Andrew "Sandy" Baggs.

From what we could gather he had left his previous employer and was looking for some work. Having heard rumours of numerous pirate factions converging on Challenge Island he had made his own way here. With infamous groups such as the Pirated Pirates and even the legendary Captain Hook at large on the island, it seems like he has his choice of employment.

It was at this point that we saw a group of Royal Navy Marines cresting the Sandhill. "There he is," yelled the officer, "That's the filthy badger botherer!"
Seeing he was outnumbered, Midshipman Baggs took to his heels and ducked down over the side of the hill.

With the marines in hot pursuit, we set up camp and prepared our plans for the assault on Snow Lord's Peak. What would we find lurking up there? What was the best route for our ascent? And how exactly does one bother a badger?

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The pirate was originally going to be named Andrew "Overly-pedantic-requirements-for-a-challenge-location" Baggs, but it didn't really roll off the tongue. Of all of the locations, this one posed the biggest conundrum for me, as the 1660-1699 period is not one that I had any figures for, or would be able to get in time for the start of the contest. So I started looking around for alternatives. I have some buildings by Sarissa that match the architectural style introduced in that period, but none of them are wearing a big floppy hat. Likewise, the list of odd little wars suggested didn't give me anything  from my collection that I could easily paint up. Knowing that I wanted to cover every location if I could and being a stubborn/stupid (delete as appropriate) individual, I knew that I had to find something for Rousell's Sandhill. So, I started looking a little further afield and found that the Golden Age of Piracy covers the period suggested (1650-1720) and can potentially include big floppy hats. Now, while I have a few pirate models with nice, pointy tricorns, I had none with the required floppy hat. So, I took an unhatted figure, mixed up some green stuff and formed (or deformed) a hat onto the mini's head. 

The mini is from Black Scorpion and, aside from the green stuffed hat, is a nice metal sculpt of a piratical type rapscallion. Assuming that it meets the strict requirements for the location, the figure should get me 5 points, plus 30 for the Sandhill. (The marines weren't painted for the challenge and aren't based either, so don't count). That should get me 35 points and a run at Snow Lord's Peak for getting my 5th location.  

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How, indeed, does one bother a badger? The mind reels.

Well done Stuart, I certainly enjoyed sharing in the process you followed to find a figure that could fit the Sandhill's strict requirements! That said, I expect even a bothered badger would concede that the Sandhill pales in comparison to the doom-laden centre of Challenge Island.

Another 35 points for you, another journal entry completed. 

GregB