From StuartL - Jumping To Lightspeed - Xanth to Krypton - 142 Points

Hello all.

For my second post today, I present the last five planets in the Challenge XII sector before my final approach to the Challenge XII Star.

Unlike previous years where I blitzed through the Challenge areas to reach the centre as quickly as possible, this year I have tried to take my time completing each section. However with just four weeks left on the clock and no idea what herculean task my minion might set me, I figured that I should get cracking and finish off the outstanding planets. I still need to submit an entry for Lady Sarah's Star Yacht too. 

So, without further ado, the next port of call after Lune is Xanth, where I have looked at the Unique Talent part of the conditions. Most of the models I have for most of the games I play are generally focussed around killing the enemy with bullets, blades or bombs, so finding something unique was not so easy. Luckily for me, I play a game called Malifaux, a Weird Wild West skirmish game, and a lot of the minis for that game have some downright bonkers abilities. In my collection for the game, I have a faction of Performers. Essentially can-can dancers, singers and the like who use their stage shows and props as cover for a smuggling operation. Within than faction, there are a set of models called Ice Dancers. However, unlike more traditional figure skaters, these dancers are able to form ice themselves and then use it to move around the tabletop. The models come two to a box, but are generally considered to not be all that great, one usually being more than enough should you wish to use them.

 I imagine that skating through a desert on a pillar of ice should count as a fairly unique talent.

From Xanth I head off to Mars (surely that should have been after Lune??), and a meeting with a mysterious neighbour. For this mini, I head back to the Warhammer 40,000 universe where Mars is synonymous with the machine worshipping Adeptus Mechanicus. In the setting, the Ad-Mech have very strict doctrines and beliefs about what technology they can use and what is tech-heresy. However, there are also rumours that an ancient, evil, alien star-god is trapped deep within the planet and that it is tied in with the mysterious Necron race of sentient robots. So what would happen if one of these Mechanicus priests were to stumble upon some crypt of hidden alien tech while exploring the depths of Mars? Why he'd immediately report it to his superiors and they'd destro.... 

...Oops.

One of the problems with the Ad-Mech box sets is that you can quickly end up with duplicate Tech-Priest models that you don't really need if you aren't careful. Having a couple of these guys spare, I decided to convert one up as a Heretek using a bunch of spare Necron parts I had lying around. The head, shield, upper torso and right arms all got added to create this monstrous fusion of Martian and Alien technology gone awry. 

I usually paint my Necrons with green power cores, so to show that this guy was different, I went for an orange colour scheme along with paler colours for his robes instead of the standard Mechanicum Red.

Speaking of Necrons, Altair IV is my next stop with the theme of Old Robots. 

This lanky fellow is a Canoptek Reanimator, a giant machine that strides across the battlefield reanimating fallen Necron Warriors as it goes. The model is mounted on a 60mm base to give you some idea of it's scale.

The model came in the Indomitus set that was launched at the start of 40K 9th edition. I have no intention of ever playing 9th, but the Necron models in that set were all fantastic. This one was quite fiddly to paint with all the hanging wires and pipes, but I'm happy with the end result.

Onwards we go to Gethen were things are Icy and Cold. My next model fits both of those, (but I think I can't claim the Androgyny part). As I mentioned above the Malifaux Ice Dancers come two to a box, but you only really need one. Luckily?? they can work in 2 different factions in the game, the Performers and the Cult of December, both of which I collect. 

The Cult are a bunch of cannibals who live high up in the snowy peaks of Malifaux's mountains. So, it seemed like a good idea to paint up the second dancer to match that faction.

And finally, we come to the last planet before the big finale. Krypton. Way back in the 90's I got into comics, particularly the various X-Men series. At that time, one of the more well known artists was a guy called Rob Liefeld. He is generally considered to be a source of division among comic book fans. He was involved in creating the very popular characters of Deadpool and Cable and his comics generally sold very well. However, his art style was unpopular among a lot of readers (he has no idea how perspective and anatomy really work) and he tended to draw a lot of pouches and equipment on all of his characters. So in homage to the comics I started out reading, I found a model with strange anatomy from my Reaper Bones stash and some glue....

Rather than my usual method of Paint>Wash>Highlight, I went for a different approach. The model was base coated black then given two coats of each colour, leaving some of the original black showing through to give it a more 'comic book' feel. The original model had no pouches on it, these all come from various 40K kits.

So, that's the final five planets done. Points wise, I have 3x 28m minis, 1x 40mm mini and a 28mm vehicle for a total of 42 points, along with 5 planets for a 100 point bonus and a grand total of 142 points.

The necron walker has 3 skulls on it's base to add to my Skull Duel tally. 

Skullz Total: 108

Before I finish, I would like to add the Ice Dancers to the Sarah's Choice category. I usually have a hard time choosing colour schemes for individual figures, so for these two, I based their colours on two popular characters from a Disney movie with a very similar theme to the models. While their clothing doesn't exactly match up, I think I captured the colours.

Next stop, the heart of the challenge sector!

Congrats Stuart on being the first of the Monday crew to the centre of the system.  I'm not sure if there are other challengers who have hit every planet in this years' challenge.  Most of us are opting for the faster (sic?) 4 planets and on the the next ring method.    I'll be in touch to discuss your FINAL CHALLENGE!!!  

I like the ice dancers lasses, nice blue palatte that you've used.  I would wouldn't know the difference between the Ad-Mech stuff and a Necron if one nipped me on the backside with a claw, but those are fine looking buckets of bolts your've assembled.  I also really like the effects that you've achieved on the Big Red guy, is he named Clifford perhaps?