From Curt: 10mm Empire Crossbowmen (24 Points)

My thanks to Teemu not only for allowing me to horn-in with his Thorsday crew, but also for his excellent work minioning his charges during the Challenge. Teemu, we all appreciated your thoughtful opinions and insightful (and humorous) commentary. I  especially enjoyed your Finland Facts and related emojis. Thanks again for all your help - it was very much appreciated.

______________________________________

I'll continue on with my gratuitous Empire schtick with a unit of plucky crossbowmen.

The original GW models for these units were designed around 2-man strips, which look great on the small Warmaster bases, but I wanted to take advantage of the larger real estate of the 'To the Strongest' style bases I'm using. These allow me to array them in a more natural looking (at least to my eye) ragged skirmish line.

Again, I found the base with just the figures on it to be a little wanting, so I quickly printed off a ruined cottage and a small field to give it some oomph. (I'm sure there are some turnips in there somewhere.)

A pic of the force as it stands now. 

I have one more unit and that will close my Empire streak for this Challenge. It's a big mob, so we'll see if I can get it done for tomorrow.

For scoring, this base has 24 crossbowmen for 24 points.

Thanks for dropping in for a look!

- Curt

From TeemuL: Good looking addition to your force, the primary colours usually work well and in this loose unit they are nicely visible. The addition of terrain features to the base is a nice touch, the pile of rocks looks almost like a stone-turnip-golem...

Minioning has been a nice task, it has been good to give something back to this wonderful community which sees me to push my output - not necessarily quality, but at least quantity. :) I'm looking forward to your fibal entry/entries, while I work on mine.

From Jezt: Post 9 - Warrior Monks 28mm (45 points)

Hi All 

Hopefully can squeeze this on the last Thursday - some Warrior Monks from me. No not Samurai (is it me but dont seem to have seen many of these this Challenge) but instead Late Crusaders, Hospitallers, Templars, Teutonic's and well just monks 

These are for a new Late Crusader Basic Impetus army designed to take on my brothers new Khwarazmian army that he has been posting up. Originally thought I would be painting a Mongol army and started to read this new book appropriately titled "Mongol Storm".

I definitely recommend this as a brilliant study of 13 century geopolitics of the area. This book introduced me to the Battle of Fordie 1244 when a combined Frank-Syrian army took on a Khwarazmian-Egyptian army - well got smashed by them would be a better description. Anyway I was reminded of a great illustration I had fseen in a Medieval Warfare special magazine "The Art of Medieval Warfare". 

With is as inspiration I also remembered I already had some painted Teutonic Knights figures that never get used - mainly as I tend to use the Basic Impetus set armies now rather than larger "points based" armies from the main rule set. These could become the core of the new army and if I used sabot basing I would be able to use some of my newly painted Anglo Norman spearman - although the basing might be difficult. 

This is how I got on - firstly these are the existing bases for redeployment. 

These are the new painted figures - all Footsore Miniatures. Two mounted and eight foot with five that I have based so far. 

Close of new Footsore figure painted as Hospitaller Knight

3 new figures - 2 foot and new mounted Hospitaller. Find Footsore mix well with Gripping Beast

  

Second Knight base with 2 new foot - this base mix of Teutonic's and Jerusalem Knights  

                     

New monk figures with sabot based spearman - these were painted this Challenge as Anglo Normans

Five bases done and main part complete

Overall really pleased with these and just a couple more Foot spear units to do. One of these will be using more new Footsore painted as Templars and Hospitallers. 

In total as strictly new figures it is 2 new mounted and 5 foot so 45 points in total. 

Cheers Jez

From TeemuL: A nice bunch of Teutonic Knights, again one setting I'd like to get familiar with. This post is not helping much, maybe a small SAGA warband? Enough of me, these are very nice minis and it was nice to get you onboard this last Thor's Day.

From AndrewB: Christmas surprise! (55pts)

It’s been far too long!   I missed a week, but I still got some hobbying done!   In the true Christmas spirit(late, I know), I’ve made some folks to fight in a very odd conflict.   First, we have Chris Kringle and his brother Dingle!

They’re joined by three elves, armed with various blunt instruments and a crossbow!

Next are a group of Christmas Gobbos, ready to bludgeon their foes before eating their weapons! 

These boys were 3D printed, and are even partly modular, which is pretty cool!   Their aesthetic is close enough that I painted them in a similar manner, maybe they might fight under Dingle Kringle at some point in the future!  Also, painting candy canes is terrible.  Happy I’m done with that.  

Lastly, a group photo of the residents of my Christmas battlefield that I’ve finished up so far   I’m liking how it’s shaping up   

Lastly, I have some pictures of another large model I painted as a gift to someone, a 3D printed Lady Justice!   These pictures are the final WIP shots, but I forgot to take final pictures after I mounted her on the plaque, and now she’s on his shelf!   No points, but still cool to see!  

I’ll have that final challenge from the Director’s chair done in the next couple days, so be ready!

From TeemuL: Good to have you back Andrew (I had to make some investigations, since in true Christmas spirit this post had no name or labels, but Finnish Elfs are very good helpers of our Santa)! Christmas, it will be again, quite soon. Almost as soon as the next AHPC. Very nice gobbos and nice Lady Justice. Are you sure you don't want any points of her?

From SteveA: Thorsday Ragnarok with Dirk The Daring, and some dead guys (45points)

For my final post in this year's AHPC challenge,  my first foray into joining all ye fine painter people participating in the AHPC has seen me stare into the abys that is my piles of long undone miniature shame  and raise my paint brushes high to slay some old grey.

I may not have reached my lofty painting points ambitions, but even in falling short on points I am riding high on the satisfaction from adding some new minis to my display shelves, with my old painting passions rekindled and ablaze anew from this year's challenge.

The final feature I shot at AHPC studios is a 1980s style flick,  a miniature interpretation of the original 1983 Dragon's Lair Video (laserdisc) game.  ( Available now on Steam)

Some of you may recall Dirk The Daring, and some of you may have also disappeared more than a many few quarters into Dragon's Lair at the Arcade  to see Dirk battle foes, dodge traps, slay the  Dragon and rescue Princess Daphne.

Sometime last year I was watching one of the YooToob videos by the 'Miniature Hobbyist' and I learned this model was available as a 3D print from Thingiverse  (Search Thingiverse for 'Dirk The Daring'), and  I felt the ghosts of nostalgia call to me, so I called ByronM to hit him up for a print job.

At about 6.5 inches and without a supporting game rule set, I suppose Dirk is more a display model than a mini, but Dirk will be homed in my miniatures display cabinet because painting Dirk gave me a new appreciation for how many layers of paint an action figure sized model needs to obtain solid color, and for how easily on a larger model errant brush tips accidently add unwanted color  driving a surprising amount of repaints and corrective touch-ups.

During the challenge many a model in my old stables received a new dab of paint or two on the long path to done but far from complete, a few had a paint job go sideways, while others just fell short of moving out of the in progress pile to the display shelf.

What last crossed the finish line for this challenge is these 3  Undead Warhammer Fantasy battle minis out of my long queue of paint overdue.

The Tomb King is cast from the GW variety of 1990s pewter, and the  Zombie may be old enough to be from when GW still cast with lead.  The skeleton was build from the first GW Fantasy battle Skeleton horde box. 

I will wrap up my final post this challenge with a nod to the comments TeemuL provided me on my first post  -  (noting how my old  green Citadel paints  dated back to when the minis in White Dwarf  often featured green trim bases),  so rather than sticking to my black trim base scheme, my oldest GW Zombie mini now done gets an olde tyme citadel snot green edged base.

28mm undead Foot Figure x3
    Tomb King           5 pts 
    Skeleton Solider   5 pts
    Zombie                 5 pts 

Dirk The Daring,  

- display model 6.5 inches high (score as 54mm Foot Figure) 10 pts 

- AHPC Studio 1980s   20 pts

Total 45 pts

I enjoyed seeing everyone's contributions to this year's challenge!

Thanks!

From TeemuL: Oh, the moment in spotlight - I actually have affected how some one paints. :D

Jokes aside, I do like the old GW undeads and you have painted them well - including the green trim on the base. Dirk the Daring is familiar to me, not from Arcade Caves, but from some home video/computer game system. I remember the character and that it was very difficult... You have painted him well, matches the original.

From PeterD Pict Commanders (45 points)

I am hoping to get another unit finished plus the typical last week shelf soup stuff, but this will be my last Thorsday post.  I have a trio of Pict command stands.  All figures are metal Gripping Beast, most from their Pict range plus one (the standard bearer with the round shield) coming from their Arthurian range.

First up are two commanders on foot with standard bearers.  A couple of the helmets look a little late for 370CE but they are sufficiently early dark ages for my purposes. Shields are free handed based on rock carvings and blatant stealing from LBMS images.  The flags are also freehanded  based on mythical marine creatures on rock carvings. 

The upper left most is known as the Pictish Beast 

 

Next we have a Pict Warlord in Chariot.  I'm not sure how late in time chariots were used by the Picts, but they would be among the last users of chariots.  The last recorded use of Chariots comes from Agricola's 84 CE campaign, and by 700CE the Picts are shown riding horses. While army lists allow (or even require) chariots up to about 500CE, I find it doubtful other than for ceremonial purposes. However, a Warlord would want to ride into battle with great ceremony and therefore I figure it's fine to give him a chariot. Plus, it is a great kit with lots of action and character.

I made the mistake of fully assembling and basing the vehicle with horses before painting, which I regretted almost as soon as I started painting. I was debating breaking it apart when my glue gave out and it fortuitously broke into more easily painted constituent parts for me. The cart has two horse and carries driver and chieftain. I put the big guy on a cut down plastic base for ease of painting so that he could be removed as a foot figure (I even figured out to do this from the first).

There are no skulls on this base, but I will note the fine collection of 7 severed heads.  There's three aside of the car plus the one brandished by the Warlord.  He's one short of a Joe Pesci comedy.

I have almost run myself out of Picts.  I have more on order including cavalry, but I delayed placing the order until the UK got it's postal issues in order.  They are a fun army to paint, I'll be interested to see how they do on table.  In the WRG 6th edition Army List, Phil Barker describes the armies follows.  

The strongest points of this army are its ability to operate in difficult terrain, the ability of its infantry to endure if organised in sufficiently large units, and the puzzlement that its diverse but related threats may cause an opponent! 

Points wise I believe that the light chariot and two horses counts as 10 points plus 6 foot figures for a total of 40 points.

Thanks to our Thursday Minion Teemu, who has provided us with a steady stream of FFF (Fun Finn Facts) and kept us in line. 

From TeemuL: Lovely Picts, and scoring the chariot is always tricky. As you have already passed your initial target, I'll give you the points you requested, even though I could have given a few more. But I still give you 5 extra points for the shields and flags, the total is probably quite right now. Glad you enjoyed the FFF. :)

From ScottC: 15mm Emperors Children (96 pts)

I felt the desire to dive back into my 15mm Emperors Children.

9 Palatine Aquilae with jumpacks and phoenix swords

5 Palatine Aquilae with jumpacks and phoenix spears

1 palatine aquilae seargent

1 palatine blade without jump pack

2 xiphon fliers

2 javelins

3 landspeeder proteus

4 assault marines with power maul

20x 15mm infantry = 40 pts

7x 15mm vehicles = 56 pts

From TeemuL: Lovely Space Marines, I guess 15mm is much better scale to play this game. Very nice colour choices and I like the purple a lot - and the reddish ground! And you have already passed your target, too. Well done!