From TashaH: Wizards, Druids and Witches, Oh My! [Arda] (34 points)

Hello! My name is Natasha (TashaH) and I live in Saskatchewan, Canada.

I am incredibly new to this hobby. I played my first tabletop game (Eldritch Horror) in July of this year with Sarah and Curt and I was hooked. Since then, I've played Moonstone and a few ECW games from a campaign. I am looking forward to expanding my horizons and trying more scenarios in the future. 

I'm incredibly fortunate that the group I have been invited to game with is well established and puts on all the games. As such, you will see that my contributions to this year's Challenge have no rhyme or reason and are not tied to any game whatsoever.  At some point, I will settle in on a theme, or perhaps not! 

For my initial entry, of my first Challenge, I will be landing on the planet, Arda. I’m leaning toward the ‘fantasy’ admission requirement for this planet.

My first figures are prints from STL Miniatures at MyMiniFactory 

The majority of my paint is acrylics. I have a few Citadel Contrast paints and a couple pots of P3. I am hoping to add to my paint collection regularly!

I started with the Wizard's Bookcase in this grouping that I've put together. It is 80mm long, 50 mm tall and 10mm wide. Initially, I highlighted with two shades of grey and then utilized Snakebite Leather Contrast by Citadel. This proved to be an unfortunate decision. The wood did not look like wood at all. After many layers of many colours and washes ... this is the final result. All of the accessories in the bookcase were done willy nilly, with no real pattern or intent. I kept adding colours and layers until I was content with the result.

Next up was the Druid Table. I tried to remember the process I'd employed with the bookcase. My memory is unreliable at best (I really need to remember to write things down in the handy, dandy notebook I was given for such things). For the table, I used the Snakebite Leather Contrast midway through the process and it seemed to work much better for a rich wood look. Having only one brown Contrast makes a person get creative! Also, isn't that stool adorable? The table measures 30 mm across and 10mm to table top/27mm to very top. The stool measures a wee 10 mm across x 5mm high.

I really enjoyed pulling the details out of the book on the table. Note the mushrooms on the tabletop, they come into play next!

These are the Druid Mushrooms that are harvested on the Druid Table. The caps are painted using Contrast paint (such a delight to use). I used a metallic white for some of the highlighting to help boost the shimmer of the mushroom caps. I tried to mimic the same wood tones in the undergrowth as in the Table and Bookcase.  The mushrooms were great fun to paint and measure at 50mm x 35 mm.

Lastly we have a 40mm, Nana the Witch from Printed Obsession at My Mini Factory. This figure was a challenge for me. I almost gave up on her. After following some sage advice to walk away and come back another day, I was able to finish her. The number of layers of paint on this miniature is a bit embarrassing. 

Because I won't be using these for gaming, but rather as display pieces. they are freestanding and not based. 

Now for the points total. I'm really unsure about this, so chances are I'll mess it up! 

If I understand correctly, furniture counts the same as terrain. I anticipate if you packed in all the furniture like you were loading a U-Haul, it would fit a 2" square, so that would be 6.5 points. 7 points for Nana, and 20 points for the Arda (outer ring) landing bonus would give me a total of  33.5 points.

Thank you for letting me play!

(13.5 points towards the Chocolate Cake Duel with Sarah!)

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First, welcome to the Challenge, Natasha!

I quite like this entry, your opening gambit towards your target. This is especially the case as I helped source the models for you!  This is also the case with Sarah's upcoming entires as well. Yes, I am very much 'The Enabler' here. :)

While it is true that you currently have a limited collection of paints, I think you've done an absolutely wonderful job on these models. I particularly admire the wood grain on the furniture, the shiny (and mysterious) accoutrements on the tabletop, and the charming colours of the mushroom grove (the metallic hue of the spotted blue mushroom is particularly eye-catching). 

I'm going to round up your scoring to an even 14 points.

I know Sarah has her post waiting in the wings, so the battle for the chocolate cake should be a fierce one. :)

Terrific work Natasha!

- Curt