Benito Makes Snow Lord's Peak

The testudo crests the peak and the barrier of vegetable covered shields opens like a clockwork machine. Benito steps away from the serried ranks of Romans and looks around inquiringly. 

'Hello. Anybody home?'

This week's Snow Lord's Peak brought to you by Mount Edith Clavel, Alberta.

The Snow Lord emerges from his cave, sharpening a knife, an apron stretched across his not inconsequential bulk.

'Hiya Benito. Good timing, we're just about to have supper. What to join us? What's with all the guys toting shields?'

Benito hands over a fine bottle of Rioja as a gift to the hostess. 'Oh, it's just to avoid being pelted in the vegetable crossfire. People are flinging them at Ray, trying to make him stop painting Donnybrook figures without yet having played a game. It's madness down there.'

The Snow Lord shrugs and plucks a leaf of lettuce from a scutum, 'Donnybrook, indeed. Oh well, you've saved us from going to get greens for the table. You just didn't come up for supper, did you? What can I do for you?'

'I hear that I'll need to submit a boon in order to claim my treasure. I'd like to know what you have in mind.'

The Snow Lord looks over at the Roman legionnaires speculatively. 'How about something for your 'Infamy! Infamy!' project. Let's see some more opponents for those Roman fellows over there, a nice mob of great hairy barbarians. That should do the trick.'

_______________________________________________

Now, Benito, will it be Gauls, Germans, Iberians...? I look forward to seeing what you come up with.

-Curt

From ScottM: Grave Concern at Awdry's Atoll (95 Points)

Last year I picked up the Undead Gravestalker pack from Mantic Games. With this pack there's 20 figs that can made into zombies and ghouls. There's also a bunch of grave stones. So for Awdry's Atoll I decided to make up a few graveyard bases.

These were stupidly simple to do up. Now that I have the graveyard, it needs some occupants. So I went with a dozen zombies.

So that should be:
12 x 28mm foot figs = 60 points
4 120mm bases = 5 points (?) +30 (location), for a total of 95 points
------
By Paul:
Thematically creepy! Now I'll the Michael Jackson song "Thriller" stuck in my head all day...
Despite that, I'll still  give you the 95 points :-)

ChristopherS : Fallschirmjäger Tank Hunters (35pts.)

I decided to add some more support options to my force with some important anti- tank options in the form of a couple deadly panzerschreks and some nasty panzerfausts plus a  Panzerbüchuse 38 Anti-tank rifle followed up by 5cm mortar team to keep the enemies heads down.

I had two of same models for the panzerfausts but by changing up their uniform I think that really helps for them not to look like repeats.

You may have noticed that all the Crusader miniatures are sculpted in the early war uniforms and I kept them that way without any late war camo. I did this for two reasons one being that troops wearing early uniforms works fine in the late war and second at some point I also want to build an early war Fallschirmjäger force and the Crusader figures will help towards that goal.

I hope this overhead shot works as I wanted to better show what the base and the prone figures look like that is a bit harder to see when looking head on.

As usual for my 20th century figures and beyond  I used mostly Vallejo paints and MIG  pigments for the dusting to get the colors I want.

Some people speculate what theater I designed these for and mostly it was for Normandy with some Italian veterans and of course Italy itself.

I still have some more fallschirmjäger on the way, but starting to see a small crack of light at the end of the tunnel, however still some ways to go yet before the job is done.
So that's 4 prone and 4 standing 28mm figures which I believe comes to 30pts.

Thanks for viewing!
Miniature Company-Artizan, Crusader

Nice work on these Fallschirmjagers Christopher.  I'm not enough of a rivet head to tell the difference between early and late war uniforms, so I'll let others begin the Y-webbing critiques.  They look great to me and I especially like the overhead shots of the weapons teams  which are very nicely based.  I have Crusader figures for SYW and El Cid and ave to say I like their sculpts, very clean cast with subtle variations.    FYI which figures are Crusader and which are Artizan?

I'll bump your score up to 35 for those nice bases.
PeterD

From Barks: Sampans at Douglas' Shallows (58 points)

Sarah's Balloon drops me off over the delta as Ride of the Valkyries crackles from her gramophone.

These 15mm sampans are from Flashpoint Miniatures. They are resin boats with metal crew, and were not my favourite things to assemble. They will help set the scene on the tabletop.

2x 15mm boats ?16 points

6x 15mm crew 12 points

Douglas' Shallows 30 points

Nice little boats, but it sounds like they were a beast to work with.  The end result is really nice and would work for Vietnam, colonials, pulp gaming or James Bond stuff (Man With the Golden Gun anyone?). One never knows what is lurking in those sampans.

 I agree with treating the sampans as vehicles giving you 58 points.  And its' a very worthy entry for my Shallows.
PeterD

From NoelW: Butting out at Bromley’s Butte (35 points)

As we cross the grassy plain in the early morning light, Bromley’s Butte rises before us as firm and roundly butte-like as if it had been designed for a Kardashian. 

Getting closer, we see a dot of light glinting on the peakest point of its peak, like the sun reflecting off a bald man’s forehead, or the twinkle in his eye he’s no longer got the capacity to act on. Shiny!

Then it vanishes.

Then it’s back again.

Gone again. Back again.

Gone. Back. Gone. Back.

Wait a minute! This might not be a natural phenomenon. Could someone somewhere be signalling with something?

My deep intellectual rumination are suddenly interrupted by a rustling in the bushes nearby. Grabbing the latest of my sergeants (I seem to be running out of them) we dive courageously into the long grass, holding our weapons and our breath.

Zulus! Tall, muscular men clad only in loincloths and sweat, edging the way cautiously towards the mountain outcrop. At their head their leader reins in, to confer with a scout who points out the flashing signal on the hilltop.

More Zulus appear. You can guess how many. They fan out to left and right in classic oxhorn formation, the central chest following the track as nonchalantchally as zulus can, directly towards the mountain, whilst the hidden horns on both sides slide through the grasses with hidden menace, closing in surreptitiously on the flanks of the lone mountain.

If Admiral Ackbar was here, he’d know what to call it. Those men on the mountain have no idea of their peril. In a few moments they’ll be surrounded and their position enveloped. If only there was someone here who could signal them. Or someone around who could distract the Zulus. Or perhaps attack them in the rear, bluff them into thinking they were under attack from a much larger force.

I look around but there’s no-one. Just us.

Dot dot dot.

Which direction is Piper’s Peak?

---

Sander mentioned that I'd neglected to include an (updated) map, so here's the start of the return journey, beginning at Snowlord's Peak and aiming to get to Douglas’ Shallows.

Continuing with my return journey, at Bromley’s Butte I’m required to provide a reconnaissant model. So here’s two for the price of one: one for each side in the Zulu Wars. I’ve still managed to stick with my aim of small vignettes for each theme (though there are some future encounters that might be a bit of a headache…)

Here's a spotter for Chelmsford's column, equipped with heliograph to signal any sightings.

And here's a zulu command stand, an nduna interrogating his scout.

All the figures are Perrys. The zulu scout and the three soldiers with the heliograph are plastic; the zulu commander and the guard for the heliograph are metal models.

Scoring: 5 x 28mm foot and 1 x 28mm rider: 35 points

Another Noel anecdote and some lovely looking Colonial figures.  I do love the Brits in there scarlet tunics and blue pants and nice basing on the ZULU commander.  But who can resist the Heliograph, it brings back memories of a mischievous childhood using a "borrowed" mirror to blind one's friends or start fires.
PeterD

From SimonM: "Wizkids" U-Men (20 Points)

These four 28mm U-Men figures are produced by “Wizkids” and can (still) be bought as miniature number 002 from their “Heroclix” Marvel Mutant Mayhem range. Members of an "organization of fanatical humans" who believed "that using stealing and grafting mutant body parts through surgery" would lead them to become "physically superior", this movement first appeared in the 2001 "New X-Men" Annual and were created by Grant Morrison and Leinil Francis Yu.

Having pried each model off of its 'clicky-base' and super-glued them onto plastic 25mm circular stands, the "humans empowered with mutant abilities" were primed using some "Citadel" Abaddon Black. I then 'picked out' all of their environmental suits' pipes, apparatus and breathing masks, as well as their carbines, with "Citadel" Ironbreaker. Each miniature was later shaded using some "Citadel" Nuln Oil and 'tidied up' with a little more Abaddon Black.


From DaveD - yay i get to minion some more stuff from Nuln Oil kid!. Thats given them a suitably slippery look the these lads alright. 

From BillA - Helena Van Gaal, Space Pilot (35 points)

I've done a few figures from Crooked Dice Games' "Colony 87" line of sci-fi civilians already this Painting Challenge, and here's one more to earn myself passage on Sarah's Balloon; this is "Helena van Gaal," the pilot of a cargo carrier for hire. 

I thought the official paintjob shown on Crooked Dice's site looked a little busy to me, with a lot of black and white panels on the jumpsuit; I decided to simplify down to a white belt, zipper, helmet, boots and backpack; as for the primary color, I blame Star Wars for making orange the color my mind defaults to for space flightsuits.  

To provide a touch of contrast, I went turquoise blue with Helena's hair; I've got several more futuristic models in the wings who will likely be getting vibrant blue, green or pink hair.  It's just more fun for me.

Finally, the base is my now-standard baking soda and superglue arrangement, here painted with Reaper's "Stone Gray" and drybrushed with "Weathered Stone" to look like concrete.

So that's one 28mm figure plus the bonus for Sarah's Balloon so that should equal about 35 points if I'm remembering correctly.  

From DaveD - thats a cools shade of orange! And i think your right star Wars has indeed embedded that thought - it would be my default choice too.

From AndrewE - Afrika Korp 28mm reinforcements - pt2 - 45pts

With a tournament looming, you always end up needing to paint "just a couple more models" and so it was the case for Bolt Action at CanCon 2020 (Australia's biggest Bolt Action tournament).  I had most of the army sorted and done, but needed a couple of tanks and one last rifle toting infantry (something about miscounting models....)

To complement the rest of my army I had painted up two Panzer III G's (in BA rules - light tank with a medium AT gun and some machine guns).  These tanks are nice and small, a little fragile but still pack a decent punch with their main gun.  And are cheap to boot (so you can have 2).  They are also not the usual Panzer III models, so I had to get them as resin kits (instead of some of the beautiful plastic kits that are around these days).  These guys where really nice but a lot harder to find.

The Panzer's were from Blitzkrieg miniatures who make a great range of vehicles and often the harder to find ones.  Making sure you wash them properly for the paint to stick was key.  I used the Army Painter Skeleton Bone undercoat\primer which is a great paint.

The foot slogger was done in the same style as my previous DAK infantry, with strong highlights and bleached bone style base.

Overall, Cancon was a great event as usual with 5 enjoyable games that could have gone either way quiet easily (even the ones I lost!).  

Next stop - Aussies!

Nice looking Mark IIIS Andrew, I like that you've gone off piste on your selection of models.  
What make are the tanks?  I'm sure Challengers will be interested to know the source.  Also any issues with flake gate as per Yarkshire Ken?   45 points it is.  

Don't forget to add labels to your post-  I've tagged this with your name and a few basics.  I believe that CanCon was a few weeks ago - how did the tourney go for you?  Did you give the Desert Rats hell?
PeterD

From SanderS: These are not the Sand Troopers you're looking for! - (71 points)

Hoi,

What's this Sander? Are you actually going to paint Star Wars Legion troops? Have you started another project? The answer is no, the figures presented here are part of a commission I took following the Crisis Protocol post. Remember that I painted those figures for our FLGS owner? Well one of his customers noticed them and asked for my contact information and well, the rest as they say is history from a long time ago and a Galaxy far far away...

My client has just about any set from wave 1 and quite a lot of wave 2 as well. I am to paint the Imperial side and all different squads (Storm-, Snow and Scout Troopers) are to be done as if ready for a desert environment (Tatooine anyone?)

What I did to make them more gritty and wheathered is I coated them Zandhri Dust, build the layers of armour up as follows:
- base coat
- Valejo Dark Sand
- Gryphone Wash (GW)
- Valejo Dark Sand
- Army Painter Arid Earth
- Valejo White
All the while making sure that lines of the basecoat kept peeping through, I really like the result.

The Dewback is a whole other story... I cannot remember how many layers of green I used nor how many washes, but it was huge fun painting this beast!

Quite a lot of stuff is cluttering my work desk at the moment: before I took the commission I was trying to finish my Death Watch Marines, which I am still painting alongside the Stormies. I also have my mission from the Snow Lord and have to prep stuff for that and my other Challenge Island entries are almost all prepped and ready to go except: since there's another storm going on outisde (this one is called Ellen if I am not mistaken) I can't go outside to base-coat anything... bugger!

Pointswise I think 7 x 5 points for 28mm figures is 35. The Dewback is a bit harder to count: if one takes it as a "28mm mounted figure it's 10 points, but it is rather more work and larger than a regular horse, while it isn't as big as a vehicle so I'd say 15 points? Well I'll leave that up to the administrations of our beloved Minions...

Cheers Sander


I thought that SW Legion figures were somewhat larger than 28mm, so I have taken a look back at other entries and they have been scored as 40mm figures. I've scored the Dewback and the rider separately as mounted (it's a big beast) and foot. So, lots more points that you expected!

TamsinP

From ArthurS: Millsy's Millpond here we come! (55 points)

Hoi,

Here's Arthur's second entry for this Challenge. He's decided to travel land-inward towards Millsy's Millpond, for this locale he needs to enter a figure that's pre-1990. In order to complete this quest he has painted up a Battletech Catapult that he was given by a friend of ours (thanks Jan-Willem) and which he has painted in the scheme of his "The Power Wolfs".
It's from an old FASA set dating from 1988 on the box:

He also painted up an Enforcer (to the left on the picture) out of the latest Introductory Boxed Game finishing the mechs he had in cue.

The entire force:

We use these to play Alpha strike (a more fast and young kid suited) version of Battletech occasionally and he really likes that.

Arthur also painted up the second Matchbox car we kitted up with stuff from the Gaslands parts-sprue. He has painted it the same way as the car he has entered for Sander's Sanddunes.

That leaves me with a little explanation regarding the Challenge Island map and the points.

In  RED you can follow my progress across the Island, while I have plans and figures for all locations, I do not think I will be able to actually visit each location, which bums me out mightily. In PURPLE you'll be able to follow Arthur who's only going to travel the Path of History. The GREEN arrow denotes our joined effort to gain Snow Lord's Peak's treasure...

Now if I count it right the points this lot leaves Arthur with, should amount to the following:
- 15 for the 20mm vehicle
- 10 for the 2 mechs who are basically 28mm is height
- 30 for the Challenge Island Millsy's Millpond bonus
Totals to 55 points right?

Cheers Arthur and Sander


Very nice work Arthur, especially on the car - great colour scheme!

TamsinP