Skull Duel!

Roused from stasis, Skully McSkullface is firing up the Skull-o-meter™ to count your skullz for AHPC XIII!

Skully McSkullface reporting for duty

The winner will be the Challenger who has painted the most skullz. These can be any skullz in any scale- Prussians, Brunswickers, Nazis, undead, pirate flags, base decoration, or maybe something from 40K.

PaulO'G knows where to find skullz!

The winner gets to keep the skull of last year's champion! And last year it was the Snowlord himself, so it is a special prize indeed.

CurtC printed a 10mm undead horde to victory

Hall of Skully Fame:

• XII CurtC 475
• XI StuartL 1363
• X PaulO'G 543

To enter, tag your post with 'Skull Duel' and state in the post both how many skullz you have painted, and what your running total is. Feel free to enter the duel at any time in the Challenge.

StuartL has this one weird trick: scenery!

There will be regular skullicious updates throughout the gruelling months ahead, as well as a spotlight on skulltastic miniatures that have caught the unblinking eye of Mr S. McS.

AHPC Studios for Challenge XIII

 AHPC Studios, GmbH

Our wayward talent agent, Sidney Roundwood, has returned from scouting a prime location for our next adventure, and wow, is it a doozy!

From Sid:

'After last year’s voyage through planets and stars, this year we travel to the lavishly appointed AHPC Studios, GmbH.  Based on several acres outside Berlin, AHPC Studios is benevolently controlled by the infamous cinema director, Kurt von Paintheim, aka the “The Show-Lord”.  Ably assisted by his two hench-dogs, Oscar and Felix, and the leading studio-starlet, Lady Sarah, the Snow-Lord has invited all of you to AHPC Studios to assist in making some movie magic in miniature.'

(Updated) Here are the rules for exploring the great variety of cinema-inspired themes on the AHPC Studios lot.

1. Each Studio has a hobby task associated with it (see below). You must submit your work to your minion, get their approval (they may consult with other minions if he/she believes greater deliberation is required) and they will post it to the blog. You then can continue on to the next Studio;

2. Each successfully completed Studio awards you 20 one-time bonus points;

3. The Studios need different security passes to enter.  Each Challenger begins with a Green Security pass and can enter any Green Studio.  After you have visited four Green Studios, you will receive a Blue security pass, allowing you entry to the Blue areas located further in the Challenge Studio grounds.  If you complete four Blue Studio tasks, you will receive a Red security pass - which allows you to visit the studio of the Great Show-Lord himself. 

4. There are three ways you can move between Studios: by the pathways between Studios; along the Yellow Brick Road running through the whole site; or by being driven through the Challenge site in Lady Sarah’s Limousine;

5. Once a task is completed you can pass through it without having to do the theme requirements again (unless you wish to);

6. When you complete the task which is appointed to you by the Great Director, you can sit in the Producer’s Chair, and bask in the adoration of all the beautiful people out there, self-satisfied with your grand achievement.

Lady Sarah’s Limousine

At the (very reasonable) cost of you painting one single female figure, per relocation, Lady Sarah - star of the Silver Screen - will drive you in her luxuriously appointed limousine to any location within your security pass colour (Green or Blue), or back to a previously cleared colour pass area. Travel in her limo will award you 20 bonus points for the journey. The Limousine award can be collected multiple times. At the end of the Challenge, Lady Sarah shall judge all the female figures painted during the Challenge - including those painted to facilitate Challengers’ relocations in the Challenge Studio site - and award the winning Challenger a special prize.

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The Yellow Brick Road

The Yellow Brick Road runs through Challenge Studios. At the additional cost of painting a Cinematic miniature figure (of your choice, according to your discretion), you can travel down the Yellow Brick Road from any crossing point to any other crossing point on the site - which are denoted by the small traffic lights (note: The Director's Chair cannot be accessed by the Yellow Brick Road unless you've achieved 4 locations of both the Green and Blue areas). For your efforts you will also receive 20 points. This award can be collected for each use of the road.

__________________________________________

(Updated) The Gift Store

Are you looking for something to commemorate your visit to the AHPC Studios GmbH, or maybe a souvenir for those friends and family unable to make the trip? Come along to the AHPC Gift Store and see what we have to offer. Snow Lord (tm) snow globes, Replica flight attendant uniforms, delicious AHPC Studio crayons, we have it all.

Models entered as a Gift Store Special must be figures that you are going to give to someone else as a gift. Entries should explain why you chose the model as a gift for its recipient along with the usual photographs of the mini itself. Challengers can visit the gift store from any other point on the map without needing to use the Yellow Brick Road or Lady Sarah's Limousine (though you can if you wish). A gift submission will award 20 bonus points. Like Lady Sarah's Limousine and the Yellow Brick Road, the Gift Store bonus can be collected multiple times.

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Green Security Pass

These are Studios which allow access to all participants in the Challenge at any time. Feel the excitement on each of the Green-pass Studio lots as you join the huge array of extras and crew and watch magic being born.


Under Construction: Half-done, almost-done, or barely started. This is the studio for painting projects which are just not quite there yet.


Black & White: Paint something in grey-scale, with black and white being your colours of choice. Reconjure the elegance of the silver screen!


High Adventure: Whether it’s battling mummies in a pyramid, or scaling the Himalayas in search of a Yeti, the entries for this studio all remind us of the spirit of High Adventure, daring and risk-taking. All that, and fighting a giant Gorilla on the Empire State Building.


Historical Drama: The whole of history at your fingertips and painting brush-points. Which historical drama will you choose to paint in miniature?


World Cinema: Russian war movies, Bollywood excess, or Samurai showstoppers. The idea in this Studio is to paint a figure, vehicle or terrain item from elsewhere in the world from where you live now.


The Casting Couch: Every film needs stars and talent. Let your paintbrushes create one of the leading characters of your gaming experience. Champagne flutes will be handed around while you paint, as befits visitors to this most discrete of Studios.


1980s or Retro: You might remember the white socks. Or New Wave. Or maybe neon lit palm trees in Miami. Or just WRG 6th Edition Ancients. Whatever you remember from the 1980s, the 1970s, or indeed any time long past - your task is to paint something which screams “RETRO” to you.


Sci-Fi: From Aliens to the Mandalorian, from Solaris to Jules Verne - your mission here is to boldly go and seek out new science-fiction subjects to paint. May your paintbrushes live long and prosper.


Blue Security Pass:

These are the inner Studios on the Challenge Studios site. You need to have completed at least four Green locations to be allowed into these most-exclusive of Studio locations.

Books: Time to paint something from a famous book. It can be any book, as long as you think it would make a great subject for a film.

Swords & Sandals: The gladiatorial arenas of Hyboria. Chariot racing in the Colosseum of Rome. Battling strange gorgons on white-sand Greek beaches. Or climbing into the Wooden Horse of Troy. Whatever you’re painting in this studio, we’d love to see the shifting sands of ancient adventure, scimitars flashing in the dark, and maybe a few sandals too.

Fantasy: If you want to paint a hobbit, a dragon, a skeleton or a wizard’s castle, this is the studio for you. Anything goes as long as it’s from a world which is either fantastical, or pure-fantasy.

Arthouse: Darling! Come in, relax at the Cabaret, and enjoy the show! From cold-war European drama, to adventures conducted solely in 8th Century Mayan dialect. From miniatures created out of bottle-tops, to hair-roller armies. Everything artistic is welcome here - whether the art is visual, or just a pose. Want to paint a miniature in just pink paint? Obsessed with Carroburg Crimson ink? This is the Studio for you! Welcome to the location for the quirky, arty and the downright strange.

Superheroes: Bring a cape, and your set of flaming-lazer eyes. This is the place for painting Homelander, Batman, Buffy or Judge Dredd. But supe’s come in all shapes and sizes. Who’s your favourite superhero for painting in this Challenge?

Westerns: Anything goes, as long as its ‘Way Out West’. Your chance to Paint Gary Cooper, Sitting Bull, or - for the more lateral thinkers - Toshiro Mifune, Darth Vader or Luke Skywalker. Wagons roll !!


Red Security Pass:

If you have completed at least four Green locations and four Blue locations, well done! You’ll now be welcomed into the Studio of the Great Show-Lord himself to collect your Red Security pass. The Show-Lord will give you one task to complete. If you succeed, you’ll have earned the chance to sit in the Producer's Chair. Everyone… please be quiet…… shhh!! ….Lights. Camera. Action!

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As usual, I'm sure we've (meaning me) missed something... If you think of anything that may have been overlooked, or something that has not been clearly explained, feel free to ask in the comments! We strive to ignore all queries with equal consideration.  :)

I'm looking forward to exploring AHPC Studios with you all!

Next from Administration: A Guide for Posting from our Senior Studio Tour Guide, Tamsin!

- Curt

RossM - An Untidy Hobby Desk and Challenge Painting Plans

RayR's recent post made me have a look at the calendar and realise that AHPC XIIII is 7 days away and I haven't started the ritual tidying of the hobby desk. The picture below shows the daily carnage that I call a hobby desk and a poor attempt has been made to start the tidy up.

More pictures to follow over the weekend - time allowing - including some of the prep work started for this year's challenge including:

• 28mm Republican Romans for SAGA: Age of Hannibal
• 28mm Carthaginians for SAGA: Age of Hannibal
• 28mm Late Romans
• 15mm Early Imperial Romans for ADLG
• 15mm Arabs for ADLG
• 15mm Thracians for DBA and ADLG
• 15mm Wars of the Roses for ADLG
• 6mm Punic and Macedonian Wars for Age of Hannibal (LittleWarsTV) and DBA

Looking forward to the off and following everyone's progress in paint. 

Cheers for now, 

Ross

 

Lee H - Back again, and not a moment too soon

Wow! Twenty Twenty Two shot past in a blur and here we are on the eve (almost) of another Painting Challenge. This will be my ninth time in the mosh pit and I'm all geared up, ready, and eager to get started. I set myself a modest points total, but as most of my work this year will be 6mm, that equates to a lot of minis. For a change, I am nearly* ready ahead of time. Everything* is primed, my consumables have been restocked and my long-running AHPC Spreadsheet of Doom is set and ready to start recording my completed entries. (* More figures from Baccus are on their way, but are clearly being delivered by an asthmatic carrier pigeon and may take a while to arrive!)

My desk is tidy, although a quick going over with a mini-vac is probably in order... there's a year's worth of sand, dust, and static grass building up in the corners and between the bottles. 

So what am I working on for Challenge XIII? Well, I'm back with 6mm this year (following a 15mm Foreign Legion outing last year) and I'm working on the late medieval period and the end of the Wars of the Roses. I  will be focusing on the Battle of Bosworth and its participants. I visited the Heritage Centre earlier in the year and the more I read about this battle the more interesting it becomes. I'm looking forward to exploring the battle and the seemingly endless theories on exactly where it was located, who took part, and how the two sides were deployed. Modern archaeology may have answered a lot of questions, but there are still lots of options to explore so this seems to be a battle that will just keep on giving. 

Best of luck to everyone taking part and I look forward to seeing the entries of Challengers new and old over the next few months. 

SimonG: Absolute Chaos -- How Come It's Starting Already!

Great to be back again for my third run around the AHPC -- despite all my plans to be well prepared I'm once again up to my neck in half finished projects.

For those that don't know me I'm a 50+ mostly retired Englishman who rediscovered my teenage hobby of miniatures just as we entered lockdown in 2020. Since then I've actually managed to finish one project (28mm HYW) but have several others still on the go.

On the deck for this time is the continuation of my 28mm skirmish Jewish Wars project -- with the major focus this time around being terrain. In fact a reproduction of one corner of the Antonia Fortress and Temple Mount circa 73CE.  This has been great fun learning lots of new skills such as MDF construction, paper crafts (for tiling), and working with clay to put a finish on all my fortifications.

As you can see it's still all a bit of a mess, today I've been trying to apply PVA sealant and hope to have it all undercoated for the kick off. It's a 1.2m square setup based on four 60cm square blocks. I'm looking forward to sharing more with you as I go along.

My other projects will be the continuation of my 10mm 1980s cold war Soviet/British project and expect to see more Black Rose Wars miniatures plus new this time -- Descent Legends of the Dark.

So lots to keep me occupied in my office come hobby room -- the cupboards are stuffed full of paints, brushes and materials all ready to go. The room is about 12' square, so not particularly large but theres plenty of storage in a void under the mezzanine floor of the next room up -- just mind your had as you struggle to get around in there. It's rapidly filling up with KR cases full of completed miniatures, terrain and the like.

So heads down to get all the prep work done before next Wednesday (when I promptly head off to Paris for the holidays) -- and hope to be sharing much more with you over the coming few months.

Side Duels Update

G'day All!

It's great to be back! Huzzah! As Wallah of All Things Duel I am raring to go once again. The Indifference Engine has been oiled, my impartiality polished and my abacus thoroughly shaken.

I've completed my first trawl through inbound emails and post comments to compile the following list of open side duels and their participants. I'd ask all those intending to engage in one or more side duels to review and make comment where I might have missed something. For a few people I am also not 100% certain of your Challenge handle so would appreciate clarification.

Here goes, last updated 16/12 after comments and feedback...

A Squirrel a Day

Most painted points at Challenge end. 25+ points of models per sub, excluding bonus points. Each point must be unique in army, scale or period. Different uniforms from the same army don't count.

• AdamC
• PaulS
• ChrisW
• MartijnN
• KerryT
• StuartL
• RobertH
• KyleC
• PhilH
• JezT
• BenitoV
• BenF
• MikeW

Skullz for the Skull God!

Most painted skullz at Challenge end. Barks has kindly offered to manage this one.

• StuartL
• Barks
• DavidB
• TeemuL
• GregB
• MikeW

Turnip28

Most painted points in the style of Turnip28 at Challenge end.

• CurtC
• Barks
• StuartL
• PaulOG
• AlanD

Airbrushes at Dawn

Use an airbrush for more than priming on as many subs as possible.

• DavidB
• CurtC
• MattW
• KyleC
• BenF

Carausius Emperor of Britain

Most painted points of Late Roman/Sub Roman Britain at Challenge end.

• CurtC
• PeterD
• KyleC
• IainW

SPQR

Most painted points of Roman armies from Caesar to Late Imperial at Challenge end.

• MattW
• PeterD
• SimonG

Neverending Cold War

Most painted points from 1950 to today at Challenge end.

• MattW
• DavidB
• SimonG
• DaveD

Codpieces & Ostrich Feathers

Most painted points from Italian Wars and Renaissance at Challenge end.

• KerryT
• CurtC
• IainW
• PeterD
• ChrisW
• MikeW

TFL America 500

First to paint 500 points (ideally using only red, white and blue paint).

• PhilH
• JohnE
• CalebG

RayR - AHPC XIII - Hobby Desk and Painting Plans

 

Looks like I'm a winner already? I can claim the "Most Messy Painting Desk in the Challenge"

I did plan a clean up, but couldn't be arsed in the end. I'll only make more mess anyway.

For those of you who don't know me, I'm Ray and this will be my 12th Challenge. I like you guys look forward to the Challenge each year and have been busy cleaning and undercoating figures for a while now.

I will of course be painting up figures for Donnybrook, which as you all well know I'm quite partial to.

There'll be figures for Vienna 1683 and a smattering of other stuff to. The Haitian Revolution will again make a appearance. Not that I really need anymore Donnybrook or Haitian Revolution figures???

But I shall be starting a new period and scale, shock horror???

It's all Reject Richard's fault, he's painted up some great figures for the French Wars of Religion in 2mm. So he made me buy some, I was going to get armies for one of the larger Nine Years Wars battles like Neerwinden or Steenkirque, but instead chose to go for a battle during the War of the Spanish Succession. Postie the Evil Warlord of Posties Rejects already has figures for the Battle of Blenheim, so I chose another theatre. Spain.

More specifically the Battle of Almansa 1707

For the Allies the British, Dutch and Portuguese there are 42 infantry regiments and 55 Cavalry squadrons. For the French and Spanish there are 52 Infantry regts and 76 squadron of cavalry. So I'm gonna be a busy boy!!!

The figures were calling to me in my sleep "Paint me, paint me", so I had a little practice as to how to paint them up, coached by Reject Richard. 

Here we have 2 regt of Dutch Infantry Torsay and Kepplefox, each regt has 240 figures!!!

And here we have 2 squadrons of the Portuguese Cavalry regt Naronja, each has 24 figures.

I've not yet decided how I'm going to decorate the bases, so I need to play around a little more.

These troops of course will not count as points in the Challenge, but I will post them up, with the other regts in their brigades.

Why 2mm you ask?

Well that's an easy question to answer.

Big Battles

I could never to Almansa in any other scale, if I did it would be scaled down so much, it would have nothing in common with the actual battle. Using 2mm, I could comfortably play the whole battle on a 8 foot board, 6 foot if you squash it up.

Cost (very important)

In 6mm a 240 man regt would cost you approx £20

In 15mm a 240 man regt would cost approx £135

in 25mm it would coast a staggering £443

In 2mm it costs 99p!

Yep 99p and that's with a few stands left over for the next regt as well!!!

Some gamers say, you might as well use counters? But that's what any figure you buy is, they'e all just counters.

Now I must admit, they are bloody small and are a bit of a bugger to see, so get yourself a pair of these badboys!

You too can look as cool as me?

Challenge XIII - {Insert Witty Title Here} - From StuartL

Hello all,

So, here we are at the cusp of another AHPC madhouse, and I for one am nowhere near as prepared as I should be. But, before we get into that, introductions are in order.

My name is Stuart and I have been gaming since the early 90's I guess. However, my first foray into wargames happened in the previous decade. When I used to visit my grandparents' house, I would often pass the time playing with my uncle's old airfix toys and 1/72 soldiers (nearly all were unpainted). He and I would line the men up and then take turns firing matchsticks at them from a spring loaded cannon. It wasn't the most well balanced ruleset, but it was fun. My first real exposure to wargaming came via everyone's favourite evil wargaming corporation, Games Workshop. I got Heroquest as a birthday present, followed by Space Crusade for Christmas. After that it was on to Space Hulk and Space Marine (the precursor to epic). At various times I think I played most of GW's games during secondary school and university. 

Originally I am from Stockton-on-Tees in the North East of England, but in 2004, for a variety of reasons, I packed my bags and shipped off for Japan. My initial plan was to work as an English teacher for between 6 months and 1 year and then head back home to find a new job. All of my hobby stuff was left with my parents for my eventual return. However, I found that teaching English was a lot of fun and my 1 year plan quickly extended. Needing something to do in my free time, I found a local store that had a tiny selection of GW minis and picked up a box of Orcs, some tools and some paint. This led me to find my local gaming group, where I became an active member and to me requesting that my family start shipping stuff out to me. 

Fast forward to today, where I am still living in Japan, working as a teacher and am still in the same hobby group. I have been less active over the past few years as the group tends to play 9th edition 40K, whereas I'd much rather be playing anything else. I have a huge collection of minis for Bolt Action, Saga, Black Powder and more besides. I do like 40K, but the current rules feel bland and pointless to me. The newly released Horus Heresy rules are much more to my liking.

My initial plan for this challenge was to stay totally focussed on getting 2 or 3 armies completely finished. That lasted for about 20 seconds. I will still try to do the bulk of work on those armies, but I'm expecting to embrace my inner Squirrel and see what I have in my eclectic collection. I started building and assembling models for the challenge in early October, but due to real life issues taking up a good chunk of November, a lot of things got pushed back to December. 'Not to worry', I thought, 'December is always quiet at work'. Not this year. My boss decided that instead I should be as busy as possible in the run up to Christmas. Luckily, all is not lost. I still have a ton of minis built and primed from Challenges XI and XII in my stash. Speaking of.....

Unlike some of the challengers who live in vast sprawling mansions with enough room for a gigantic hobby space, I'm limited to a 6' by 9' room where all of my stuff must stay. Should anything stray from the room, my better half will immediately throw it into the trash.

My work area is pretty small. I don't have room for a monitor or a PC, just a small music player. Over the course of the last challenge, this tiny work bench hosted nearly 300 minis, so it seems to get the job done. On the back wall you can see a memo reminding me to do the chores and other tasks before I get too lost in painting. 

The main part of my stash is kept on a set of metal shelving racks. While I do try to sort stuff out every now and again, I am rapidly running out of flat surfaces on which to stack things. Included in that lot are numerous army cases, bits boxes and a full 6' by 4' WW2 Normandy beach board that I have only used twice in the eight years since I built it.

And this is my gaming table. It is made from the same metal racking as the shelves and is currently home to about 20 KR multicases and numerous boxes of plastic, metal and MDF. In the background you can see yet more shelves containing rulebooks, terrain supplies and yet more plastic. As you can see from the foreground, I am in the process of priming stuff, building things and it is all a colossal mess. That said, it is usually much, much worse. 

Having seen some of the neat, organised hobby spaces from other challengers, I am reminded of a quote. "If you can't be a good example, you'll just have to be a horrible warning." Guess which category I am in. 

Oh yeah, I'll be minioning for the first time this challenge, if you are unlucky enough to be in my care, I apologise in advance.

See you all at the starting post!

Challenge XIII (Winter 2022-23) - RobH Intro

Good day all.  My name is Rob and  I've been a miniature gamer for slightly over 5 decades. Some may thing I have a problem. Some have asked why I don't suffer from the effects of lead poisoning. My main problem is the unpainted mound of figures. In my case neatly categorized and stored away in tin boxes. 

The wall of shame to the right of my work table

I have no plans. I will be attracted to whatever bright and shiny object should catch my eye.  I am certain there are unpainted minis in any box I choose to open. With temperatures in Montreal now regularly below zero, I will not be doing anymore prep until the spring thaw. Fortunately we are still a snow free zone.

Currently on the table, unfinished Victrix War Elephants,
Bofers AA Gun and crew by Bad Squiddo Games and,
some Roman High Command by Black Tree Design

Other distractions located to the left of my work table.

Behind me, the office and on the other side of the half wall, my bedroom. For me January is the start of my busy season with tax prep and then the Canadian income tax season. It is when I have the least time to commit to any gaming activity including the painting challenge and I will spend more time in front of the office computer than anything else for almost the next five months.

In the upper left there are 4 red tool boxes. In total I have 20,
each containing a fully painted army

And of course, none could take place without the constant supervision of her Imperial Majesty Josephine, Empress of Her World.

 

BruceR: Hobby space and Challenge XIII excitement

Here in the Great White North, slightly south of the Snow Lord is this humble hobby space.  This is my 3rd challenge and I've enjoyed every minute/miniature through the event.  My first was during COVID and I'm hooked.  I am still Blog challenged, I know I should, but I've not taken the time as I usually just sit at the paint table rather than record the events to the hobby.  I talk about retirement as I can and maybe the Blog will blossom when I finally pull the plug.

I'm ready for the Challenge as we had 18" of snow in mid-November and we expect another 12-18 this coming week. Going to be a long winter. 

The War Department (Rox) and I are empty nesters with Loki the wonder dog and three grand dogs who visit on occasion with our ranch managing son.  Our daughter lives in our city and we spend time with her when she allows.  

I've gamed since high school with the rural nature of ND, USA being a slight impediment to my expanding horizons.  SPI or Avalon Hill started this, with Chain Mail sending me into miniatures with plastic 15mm knights ordered from the back of a comic book.  A deep dive into D&D and AD&D during college continued the momentum.  A tour in the military exposed me to many more miniature gamers and the concept of club in Colorado Springs, while stationed at Ft. Carson, CO, with the 4ID.  I've never looked back.  

I'm lucky as our home is large, when purchased had an unfinished utility room space.  The furnace and water heater take up 3x6' in a 15 x 24' space.  Unfinished so the War Department simply doesn't care I've taken over as the hobby dungeon (other than my struggle to keep storage from entering the space).  I talk about finishing the room but moving all my hobby stuff makes me always pause.  I do have 5-6 friends and we game in the dungeon regularly.   

As many of you, I'm a gadfly wondering from project to project and system to system.  I tend to have a very cluttered workspace and my office at work is also covered in papers, so it is who I am.  Here is my tour of the space.  

  
Paint station:

Tech Station to the left for viewing:

Airbrush station to the right:

One Hobby Wall:

Game table:

Loki the CSM of the game room begging for chase the bumper down the hill time.  (Quick trips during the cold season)

My planned projects:

    1) 28mm pirates for a Adepticon participation game to include a 28mm sloop.

    2) 15mm Napoleonic

    3) 2 1/1200 ships left to complete my fleet

    4) 28mm Italian winter WW2 troops

    5) 28mm AWI

    6) The Silver Bayonet Austrian, Prussian, Russian

    5) 15mm Zulu wars

    6) Space Hulk terminators and bugs

    7) Other odds and sods.  Ha

I enjoy the painting, the viewing, the commenting and the fellowship the challenge provides.  The War Department (who has a MS in social work) tells me it is a support group and I guess it is.  We support each other's hobbies in a very positive way, and all should be grateful for the opportunity.  So, even before we start a be thanks to the Snow Lord and Lady Sarah, along with the minions for your efforts.  

CHALLENGE ON!

Cheers, Bruce 

 

From RobP (Codsticker): Preliminary Bombardment

As is the custom this year, I am 'showing off' (for lack of a more appropriate phrase) my work area. Not much to speak of; it is the old front entrance of the house (we don't use it anymore) which I share with the kitty litter box (a pretty good indicator of where my hobby and I stand in the household). Currently sitting on it are some 15mm Sassanid command models which will be based for Field of Glory. On the left is an old dresser which houses hobby supplies: two drawers of paints; 1 of flock, static grass and foam turf; 1 of small terrain odds and sodds (fences, barrels, crates, etc). 

The photo below shows what I have prepared for the Challenge so far.  The RUB currently holds about half of my target this year: some 28mm Dark Ages, 28mm mounted ECW, LoTR Khand, 15mm Sassanid archers. Just behind it is a number of LoTR Khandish items still boxed that I hope to get to during this edition of the AHPC.

I do have most of the unfinished basement all to my self although most of it is taken up with work benches and my hand and power tools. I have about 25% of the space chock-a-block with painted and unpainted minis as well as finished terrain and terrain supplies. The 4' by 4' MDF and 3' by 3' plywood are finished skirmish tables and I have set up a temporary photography area

Yes, most of rough necks on the left are filled with unpainted minis/terrain but a couple do have finished terrain items in them. The half wall at the back of the photo has a mix of painted items as well as untouched games. So... I will have no problem finding something to paint for this challenge.

From KyleC: Hobby Area and some projects

So another year passes and we all meet up here once again.. And like all the regulars I am always in excitement of this time to get some serious hobby time in. Or at least that is the plan.. which has not gone down well over the past few years. Between moving, illness, and work.. things like life keep getting in the way. 

Though this year I do hope it is much different as I have begun to do much more painting in prep for the event, and also aligning my space to flow better for it. 

Behold.. my claustrophobic sized office space that encompasses everything one needs for a work/hobby division. 

Hobby zone and work space combo
No space left unused!

In the past I did have space upstairs that was more dedicated for painting and hobby. However I seemed to rarely use it as work made it nearly impossible to get away from the computer. And with the inclusion of my partners family from Ukraine now residing with us, I spent a bit of this year redesigning my office to hold more items than it probably should be. But it has seen an increase of painting as I tend to not leave the office now, and can paint in-between calls or before/after work without feeling guilty that I am not available for work. 

With my main work computer set up in front of me, and drawers filled with paints, materials, and models.. I have everything within arms reach ( including a drink fridge, and Mince Pies ) to keep me going. 

War of the Roses models. Some finished, many not.
Let's change that!

Plan this year is to get through a few of my armies that I have built over the past years and not got around to painting. More just moving from box or display case as we update or move house. 

Some of the bigger ones would be my War of the Roses army, Roman forces, and Dacians. Those being some of the more pressing ones I wouldn't mind getting completed this year. 

Historical armies. Romans and Dacians.

Couple other ongoing projects would be my Deathguard Horus Heresy forces. Although much is done with it over the summer, I have a lot of support vehicles and units to finish off with it. Including a few more units that are being finished up with printing that should prove to be quite a bit of fun. Quick shot to show where I got up to in August before working on a few other projects. 

Deathguard Horus Heresy Army

Also have the Cursed City boxset to finish that I will be following Marco's youtube tutorials for to get them done quickly ( airbrush and oils to be used heavily there ). The skeles got finishes, as did the heroes, but the rest of the mobs still need doing. So I do look forward to getting them done, and then more games being had with them all on the table. 

Skeletons for Cursed City

Some Orks need doing for a mate of mine that I have set aside for this as they are a bit easier and a good palette cleanser. 

I expect also a lot of random pieces at times. Star War Legions. Adeptus Titanicus. Age of Sigmar. Blood Bowl. Weird War 2 models. And likely whatever gets through the printer or makes me go Ooo that looks interesting. 

One of the biggest things for 2023 for me though is to get in more gaming. I have not had much time with it over the past years due to work and such, but looking to rectify that more this year. So a wide range of models, and armies will help me be ready for whatever game type one might want to play, and have it done in a bit of style. 

Looking through all the other setups, and hobby plans, this years is looking to be a right blast overall. Should be fun, and looking forward to it! 

From TamsinP: The Senior Flight Attendant's Office

 

Good evening Ladies, Gentlemen...and Ray! My name is Tamsin and (according to a tradition I self-established a few Challenges ago) I will be your Senior Flight Attendant for this year's exploration of, oh, what's that? It's a Studio Tour this year? No flights? Well, I never! Hmmm, quick rethink needed...

Good evening Ladies, Gentlemen...and Ray! My name is Tamsin and  I will be your Senior Studio Tour Guide for this year's Challenge. For those who don't know me, here's a brief bio.

In my early teens I discovered wargaming by chance. I was browsing history books in the town library when I came across a book which had been misplaced on the shelves - it was by Donald Featherstone and I decided to add it to my small pile of books to check out. I had seen painted figures before in David Chandler's "The Art of Warfare on Land" (I believe they were from Peter Gilder's collection), but hadn't been aware of wargaming. For a few years I played wargames using Feathertone rules and Airfix figures with a few boys from school, mostly WW2 and ACW. I also played RPGs and it was mostly those figures I painted using enamels and cheap, crappy brushes. However, as I got older other things (exams - bah!, other activities, etc) began to take priority and I pretty much forgot all about it.

Then I got struck down by a chronic illness in 2010 and was off work for several months. Around May 2011 I saw or read something sci-fi related and decided to check some facts on the internet. On one of the pages I looked at the chap had various pages listed in the sidebar and one was "wargaming". I decided to take a look and saw spaceship models and 25mm sci-fi figures. I vaguely recognised some of the ships - they were the ones in an advert I'd seen in an RPG magazine in the late 80s. I followed the link to Ground Zero Games, discovered the Full Thrust rules, eyed up the spaceships and realised that the bug had bitten me once again.

Reader, I bought some...

...and made my first foray of about 25 years into painting. Now, back when I was a teenager acrylics were new and weren't particularly good but I'd read that they were now the way to go. My first attempts weren't awful, but I really wanted to improve. That was when I discovered blogs and various websites explaining how to paint well. Then YouTube, but there weren't many channels doing painting tutorials back then; now there seem to be hundreds of them.

But it wasn't just the sci-fi gaming bug that bit. I remembered those lovely figures from that book and how as a teenager I'd wanted to have my own armies for ancients, medievals, English Civil War and the like and began looking at what was out there. I also wanted to find people to game with. Checking the interweb, I found a club (Central London Wargames Club) that met after work in a pub (bonus points!) that would be easy enough to get to from work - by that time I had recovered enough to return to work part-time - or from home. I went along one evening, introduced myself and watched a game to find out what the main figure scale and rules were. I bought the rules and a couple of army list books and looked through to decide which army I'd like to begin my journey with. As I'd always loved horses, I decided to go with a cavalry army - the Sarmatians. I initially ordered what turned out to be the last stock from Strategia e Tactica - the figures were nice, but tiny and the metal was a bit flimsy. So I ordered everything I needed from Donnington.

And so it began...

On 01 January 2012 I decided to record my wargaming and painting adventures in a blog of my own. I haven't looked back since. I started following other blogs, they started following me and so it went on and I'm still here at the end of 2022.

I discovered this wonderful event during its second running and decided I wanted to take part the following year. AHPC III saw my entry into these hallowed halls and I have become something of a fixture; even in the couple of years when I wasn't a participant I was still a minion.

But that's enough about me, what about my workspace?

The workbench

I'm in the fortunate position of being a single person living in a two bedroom flat, which means that I have been able to convert my spare bedroom into my hobby space. It's large enough for my painting desk, materials and some storage but the last has inevitably spilled over into my own bedroom and the lounge (which now also houses my 3D printer set-up).

Most of my paints

How the workbench would be set up for painting

I don't actually have anything being painted right now; the two glass jars are for my "dirty" and "clean" rinse water.  Switching between brush painting and airbrushing is quick and easy - move a couple of things out of the way, pull the spray booth forward and open it up, plug it in and away I go! For photography it just takes a few minutes to clear things away and get out my camera set-up.

I don't have room in my set-up for a computer or TV, but I do have space for a radio/CD player if I want music to paint to. As it can accept USB drives, I could listen to podcasts as well if I thought about it.

What will I be painting this year? I have one big project and a few smaller, related projects all from the 3D printing I've been doing over the past few months. There may be some non-related stuff as well.

My one big project? Well, it's a single 28mm vehicle. 

"A single 28mm vehicle is her big project? You've got to be kidding!"

No, not kidding at all. Let me explain. Whilst it may be a single 28mm vehicle, it is a rather large one - about 26" long, 17" wide and 9" tall, weighing in at about 2.5kg. And there's a normal-sized 28mm vehicle to go in it.

Fully playable (if somewhat cramped) interior

Some of you may recognise it as the 100 Ton Type S Scout Courier from the Traveller RPG. I missed the original crowdfunding campaign for it a couple of years ago, mostly because I didn't have a 3D printer at the time. Late last year the same company had a Kickstarter campaign for 1:270 and "tactical" scale versions of Traveller ships. I decided to back that campaign (despite the lack of a 3D printer) and went for the pledge level that included the 28mm ships (they'd also done the Type J Seeker variant and someone had done the 30 Ton Gig). 

Their Kickstarter campaign for the 200 Ton Type A Free Trader ship has just ended, but it is (for a little while longer) open for late pledges on My Mini Factory. I've backed that campaign as well but won't be printing the ship until next year.

"You mentioned 1:270 scale Traveller ships..."

I did indeed, and I have printed them. They may appear if I make good progress on the Type S.

Well, that's all from me folks.

Toodle-pip!