From Kerry T - Men in Black (260 points)

A belated Nadolig Llawen to you all from here in NZ where the weather's warming up nicely and the Vallejo's getting lumpy.

It's great to be in such good company again for this my third challenge. I've really enjoyed the previous two, not only because I really enjoy painting, finding it relaxing but being part of a supportive and encouraging community for 3 months. The quality and variety of stuff produced by you lot never ceases to inspire.

As is usual my butterfly tendency and my "oh look shiny" predilection means I'll probably be all over the place as usual. I'm hoping but not promising to knock off a few mounted units in my continued slow- burn Italian wars project. I think this might be my main focus again this year. I made a good start over the Christmas holidays preferring to paint horse flesh in large numbers knocking off about 72 horses. I hope by doing this it means I might be able to manage about a dozen riders/ week in the coming weeks. I suspect a few blokes all called Norman are also likely to feature prominently and also hopefully some terrain.

Well, finding myself at the front counter at the moment I feel drawn to the right to the history section, though I suppose this entry could have equally been titled overdue and returns though looking at my blog reminds me that I bought some of these figures at the Partizan show last year. So men in black eh? There's no Will Smith or Tommy Lee Jones on show I'm afraid, these Men in Black strutted their stuff just after the 10th Century

Hashim Black Guard Cavalry with accompanying infantry

I started collecting both an Arab army and a Crusader army I think as long ago as 2011when I saw them at Salute. At the time my oh look shiny gene got mesmersied by the Arab Cavalry produced by then Musketeer Miniatures (now Footsore Miniatures) and somewhere along the line I decided to blur the boundaries and stretch it to include the Reconquista. As a boy I recall being enthralled by the movie El Cid ( That's El Cid as in Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar - or El Campeadour, by the way not the modern day El Syd as in Roundwood of this parish!)

Artizan Designs Figures from Northstar

My collection is now made up of several manufacturers' figures but I think my favourite Arabs are those from Artizan Designs and sold by Northstar. The raised detail on the sculpts just cries out for paint.

The large shields are a favourite of mine

All my infantry are 24 strong based in 6s on 60 x60mm bases

To date the Black Guard component of my Arab army has 2 x 12 figure cavalry units and I probably won't add Moor ('scuse the pun, sorry, couldn't resist) along with 3 x24 figure infantry units. I've decided to paint each with a distinctive headscarf or sash colour, for no plausible reason, this is the third I have, the others are in red and green and the last and final infantry unit which I plan to acquire soon will be in yellow for no good reason other than ease of recognition on the table.

Shut that door

Thus in summary

12cx 28mm mounted at 10 points each = 120 points

24 x 28mm Foot at 5 points each = 120 points 

History book bonus @ 20 points

Total 260 points

1 squirrel (actually a Squirrelefant if there were such a thing)

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Welcome back to the Challenge, Kerry. You spoil us with this beautiful bit of brushwork. I too have a soft spot (head?) for all things Islamic from the 10th C up to the Great Siege of Malta, so this stuff is wonderful to see. Your choice in colours is great, as the punchiness of the red is set off nicely by the grey-blue shields and cloaks. Lovely work and I look forward to seeing more from you over the next few months.

- Curt 

From StuartL - Tyrannical - Sarah's Library Cart - 65 Points

    And hello again.

    This should be my final post for a day or two, as I clear the last few models from my workbench and make space for some more.

    One of my projects for this year is to paint up some 40K minis. I don't actually play 40K currently, but I do play the variant ruleset for Warhammer 30,000. On one of the forums I frequent, someone has posted up rules for playing games of 40K using 30K and this seemed like a good chance to refresh an old army. 

    Back in 2011/2012 I painted up a bunch of minis for an army list produced by Forge World for their Badab War books. The Badab War is a mini civil war between rival factions in an area known as the Maelstrom Zone. The group of Space Marines assigned to guard the zone become bitter that they aren't getting the support they need and decide to secede from the Imperium. The Imperial high command decides that this needs to be nipped in the bud and send a task force to reclaim the lost worlds. When they arrive they find that the leader of the secession has been building his own Space Marine Legion, complete with unaugmented human auxiliaries. This force would become known as the Tyrant's Legion.

The Tyrant's Legion army allows players to field most of the usual Space Marine forces along with human meat-shields auxiliaries. By using the normal troops to soak up incoming fire supplement their fighting strength, the Space Marines can close the gap and annihilate their foes. For now I have only painted some marines, the bullet-sponges regular troops will be coming later in the challenge. First of all, we have a captain to lead the force. The model is an old metal figure from GW. I think the model originally had a storm bolter, but as I couldn't find it, I substituted a plastic grav-pistol instead. 

    Providing some solid fire-support and devastating melee power, a Contemptor dreadnought makes an impression in the 30K rules. This is the first gen plastic kit which is kind of static, though I did use a melee arm from the newer, more posable second generation model. To help show these guys as being the baddies, I added a couple of extra skulls to the torso (who needs peripheral vision) and some chains around the waist.

    And finally a squad of scouts. the middle model is plastic, the others are metal. All of these models have transfers applied from The Mighty Brush, though sadly that store seems to have discontinued most of their chapter specific decals. 

    Between them, these models are sporting 30 Skulls (31 actually, but the last is a transfer and so doesn't count), you have got to love GW's obsession with skull iconography.

With that lot out of the way, it is time to head across the lobby in Sarah's Library Cart to the History section. I don't have my entry for that part of the library ready yet, but it is underway. To pay for the ride, I offer this female assassin figure, once more from Reaper Bones.

    What is it with assassins and duel-wielding odd looking swords? It doesn't seem like the most efficient way of stealthily and sneakily offing someone. Still, it looks cool.

For scoring, we have:

7x28mm minis = 35 points

1xDreadnought = 10 points

Library Cart = 20 points

Total = 65 Points

For my duels:

Skulls +30 = 31 Skulls

Legions + 40 = 40 Points

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Another(!) great entry, Stuart! I've been aware peripherally of the Badab War, but never knew it's particulars, so thanks for filling in that gap of random 40K knowledge! These seven Space Marine models will provide you a great basis for your emerging force while that overzealous assassin will either get her kill or go down in a flurry of flashing blades. Well done!

- Curt

From SimonM: Temporal Traveller by "Crooked Dice Game Design" + New Acquisition Bonus (25 points)

This 28mm scale white metal figure is sold by "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" as SKU: MINI 1652 Temporal Traveller 15. Sculpted by Ernst Veingart, the model is clearly inspired by actor Ncuti Gatwa's fifteenth incarnation of the Doctor, as seen in some of the BBC promotional photographs publicising the upcoming new season of “Doctor Who”.

The miniature was primed using a couple of coats of "Vallejo" Heavy Blue and shaded using "Citadel" Drakenhof Nightshade. The Gallifreyan was then dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Blue, before having his jacket buttons, hair, moustache, eyebrows and shoes 'picked out' with "Citadel" Abaddon Black. I did strongly consider applying some thin stripes over the suit, and even gave one of the Timelord's sleeves a test run. But such a delicate touch is most definitely not my forte, so in the end I opted for a plainer, yet saner, all-blue costume.

I did however manage to apply a little "Two Thin Coats" White Star and "Vallejo" Pale Grey to the Doctor's shirt, as well as a combination of Amethyst Rayne by "Two Thin Coats" and "Citadel" Druchii Violet to his tie. Lastly, I used some "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna for the model's face and hands, shaded these in "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade, and applied a few highlights with a smidgeon extra of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna.

Considering that the miniature is one of the Lincolnshire-based company's latest releases, and is based upon the new Doctor Who, I thought it would make an excellent subject for my visit to the New Acquisitions area in the Challenge Library.

One x 28mm scale foot figure = 5 Points

New Acquisitions Bonus = 20 Points

Total = 25 Points

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It wouldn't be a Challenge without some Dr Who and who better to raise the standard than our SimonM! :)

Great work on this refreshingly new take on the Temporal Traveller. I agree that pinstripes can be hellaciously difficult to pull off, but he cuts quite the dash in a classic dark blue suit with white collar and tie.  Very dapper and a great choice for New Acquisitions!

- Curt

From SanderS: Spreading the WAAAAAGH! (30 points)

 Dear Everyone,

Another Challenge has started and I for one am eager to get at the brushes and  slap some paint on mini's! That said I am astonished at the rate with which you people are able to produce painted figures, well done all of you. 

During these first few days of the Challenge I only have managed to finish one single miniature and start on a few more for the next post.

This Challenge sees me going all-out GW fanboy with almost exclusively Games Workshop products mostly Oldhammer stuff what with the release of the Olde World around the corner, more about this later.

I started the Challenge library at the Front Desk as one should and I have realised I will probably not finish all the halls but when I post figures for the Library, I will try to accompany them with a suitable book. This post sees me post that reddest of Goblins: da Red Gobbo a seasonal release that GW has been selling since 2020 or so? This is the 2021 version complete with his trusty squig Bounca. 

He can be used in games of 40K but I guess I will not be doing that since I do not own an Ork army (yet). So for now he will sit in the showcase and await his chance to create some chaos.

As far as points go I gues this 28mm figure is worth 5 points together with the Library bonus is 25 points right? 

As for the future, my prep has almost fully focussed on the recreation of a Bretonnian army that I wanted so badly back in the days that WFB was still a living thing. The re-emergence of Ye Olde Worlde has seen a frenzy of gathering old school miniatures and I have quite the collection now as you can see from the picture below. You can also see the Castle I am printing for them to live in and fight over which I hope to paint up as well this Challenge if time and health (not to forget weather for priming) permit me. 

The story of how I got this brilliant army will have to wait till the first unit has been painted but for now the picture will have to suffice. 

Cheers Sander

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First thing, welcome back to the Challenge, Sander! Your rendition of da Red Gobbo is fabulous. I especially like how you've painted the festive decorations and the snow base. Like you, I'm also keenly anticipating the release (re-release?) of Warhammer Fantasy. I love seeing the pic of all the Bretonian models that you've managed to amass in preparation (and that castle looks magnificent). I very much look forward to seeing this project get off the ground during the Challenge! 

As to points, let's count da Red Gobbo as a 'New Acquisition' for the 20 point bonus AND as a 28mm cavalry figure for 30 total. You can amend your map accordingly for your future planning!

- Curt

From StuartL - NSFW Children's Books - Children's Books and Sarah's Library Cart - 60 Points

Hello again.

With the Fantasy Books taken care of, I'm going to hop back on Sarah's Library Cart and zip off to the next stop in the library. 

    I offer this maid as payment for the journey. Another Reaper mini, this time one of their civilian minis that will probably see the table as either scene dressing in a game, or an NPC in an RPG.

    I also painted up a little piece of terrain. This is a stone animal enclosure from Warlord Games' Rorke's Drift set that I bought years ago. The pen is resin and mounted on a CD. The gate is made from pieces of plastic sprues that I trimmed down to fit.

    It's not very big, but should fit onto a wide variety of tables as a piece of handy scatter terrain. I'm not certain exactly how much of a terrain cube this is, it isn't very big and I don't want to have to do the maths to calculate it, so I will simply ask for 1 point.

    For the next library section to visit, it is off to the Children's Books section. There doesn't seem to be a day that goes by where the news isn't talking about something or other being banned, cancelled or removed from schools, libraries and public access. Some things are removed because they are may offend people from different backgrounds, others because some politician is trying to score political points and others because the writer said something mean on social media. It is hard to keep up. 

    Personally, I am of the opinion that you shouldn't read something that you don't like, but unless a book is egregiously wrong and offensive, it should still be available for people to look at. (Perhaps with suitable warnings if people might find the contents hard to stomach). For the longest time, children's stories were pretty horrendous, often serving as dire warnings as to what happens to naughty kids, or as an education in the real world and all of its horrors.

 

    For my entry to the Children's Books, I offer the Little Mermaid. Not the Disney version, but the Hans Christian Anderson version. I painted up a similar model for last year's challenge (https://thepaintingchallenge.blogspot.com/2023/02/from-stuartl-fish-fishmen-and-menfish.html), but found that I had a couple of models from the same set still untouched in my to-do pile. This one is a little NSFW, but I think we are all mature enough not to giggle too loudly.

    As with the models last year, this is a Reaper Bones mini. I don't know why this one is topless, the others were all wearing something. I'm no expert on mermaid biology, but I assume that they are mammalian in nature, or at least the sculptor believed so. I went for a blue skin tone to match my previous entries and to avoid any of the controversy surrounding the most recent live action movie. People truly will complain about anything.

    To accompany the mermaid, I also finished up the set with this regal looking monarch figure.

    And here we have the pair together. Both of the figures are fairly large, being well over 40mm tall before you include the rocky bases. 

For scoring, we have:

1x28mm mini = 5 points

1xsmall terrain piece = 1 point

2x40mm minis = 14 points

Library Cart = 20 points

Children's Books = 20 points.

TOTAL = 60 Points

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A great entry, Stuart. I like your milkmaid and animal pen, and your Little Mermaid (with Monarch) are excellent (love the swirling red hair). I also liked your comments on book censorship. 

I have to be honest that one of the reasons I chose 'Libraries' as the theme this year was not only because it was super-easy to pop themes into (certainly a factor!), but also in recognition of the unique and invaluable service they provide to society (and I'm speaking specifically about public libraries here). When allowed to follow their mandate (a important distinction in today's environment of ever-growing censorship) a public library gives access to knowledge to all members of society, no matter their standing or the topic of interest, so I feel strongly that they need to be protected and nurtured. Anyway, off the soapbox, thanks very much for the fine entry, Stuart!

- Curt 

From TeemuL: Overdue Grey Knights [Overdues and Returns] (40 points)

The nice lady got me to the Overdues and Returns desk and I'm forced to explain my wrong-doings. These Grey Knights were supposed to be ready well before the Challenge begun, but covid-19 and other problems caused too many delays and thus they were not. If I have understood the Overdues and Returns correctly (I assume it is similar to Under Construction last year), then these minis count even though they were started before the Challenge begun. If not, I probably score zero points...

They are GW models, 3 of them metal and one plastic, all second hand. The plastic one is assembled from the sprue, so it was kind of brand new. I have added lots of purity seals and other trinkets to all of them to show their greatness and purity.

The idea is to use them for Kill Team, I already have 5 of them previously painted, so these will provide nice reserves and some variety. Assuming that I manage to organize a game with them...

The colours are quite simple, silver for power armour and then blue for missile weapons and yellow for sharp weapons, basically. Some red and yellow details and they are ready. Not to mention the skulls and scrolls. I guess I should count the skulls and report them...?

If you wonder why I'm lost, maybe this photo explains it...?

20 points for the location and 20 points for 4 miniatures, total of 40.

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Great looking Grey Knights, Teemu. I like that you've brightened them up from their normally dour rendition with some vibrant accent colours. If you can, I suggest you count up and include your skulls to help Skully McSkullface's (aka Barks) noggin' tally.  :)

Well done!

- Curt

From AndrewB: First Entry! Runners, WWI, and a Wizard! Overdue, Historical, Fantasy (287pts)

Hello again everyone!   Excited to be back for another great year of the AHPC!   

I’ve got lots of projects to get work finished on, but I really enjoy the challenges, and the Library has tons of rooms, so time to jump on in!  I started with Fantasy! I’ve had this old suspiciously Gandalf looking figure for quite some time, and he certainly shouted out to me, so I did a quick hybrid speedpaint/traditional job to get him onto the gaming table soon!   I’m still working on making this technique so what I want, but it’s pretty solid for good Tabletop standards that I’m usually happy with   

If anyone has any idea who manufactured this figure, let me know!  I’m sure it’s out of production now, but I really like it. 

Next, for the big chunk of 15mm I’ve plowed through in the past couple days! For the History room, I grabbed some 1910-early WWI folks based for FoW, as a part of a fun project you all will get to see as the weeks tick by!   These are from Peter Pig, admittedly my first from the storied company, and I’m quite delighted by them!  There’s some Highlanders in their khaki kilts, some RN shore party (which I made the completely wrong blue, but it’s a ‘what if’ campaign anyways), and a couple bases of trench raiders   Flanking the two command stands and sharpshooters, I have three heavy machine guns, and a block of eleven bases of infantry!

I wasn’t sure how long it would take me to get through these guys, but I pleasantly surprised myself!   

Highlanders and RN

Tench raiders(in an unadapted test scheme), MGs, and the HQ troops

Block of infantry!  And an MG

Lastly, a group photo!   Please excuse the improvised Photo Booth, space limitations prevent me from building a proper place to take large photos.

My final count for the 15s is 101!   Painted those on the bases to return to my roots painting FoW at 18, what a mistake!  Putting figures on sticks is the way to go, and I’ll be doing that the rest of the 15s I paint in the coming months! Everything’s based with the excellent products from Geek Gaming, who are some of my favorites for hobby supplies.   

Lastly for this post, a quick session on Christmas Eve is gonna complete the Overdue room!   I’ve had these four runner models for a few years now, not sure what I wanted to do with them, but recently played in a game put on by Thomas Foss of Skull and Crown, which was more of a race than a war game.  Boom, racers for a generic setting, where players will be running for something, yet to be determined.  

The different pants will be how the players (hopefully some younger/newer gamers) will keep track of their fig. 

Running along for now!   More next week!

Gandalf as a 28mm is five points, with the fantasy room bringing his subtotal to 25pts.  The 101 15mm minis plus the historical room will bring their subtotal to 222pts!  The fun runners are 28mm, with the overdue room totaling them to 40pts.   Hot dang, we’re on our way with 287 and a strong start!  Will upload my progress picture with the library on my next post!  

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First, welcome back to the Challenge, Andrew! 

You're opening gambit is a nice blitz through the first Section.You can never have enough Gandalfs I say, and this chunky model of unknown provenance is a wonder example of the breed. I particularly like his lustrous beard - it reminds me of Ralph Bakshi's rendition of the Grey Wizard. I also look forward to watching your 15mm WWI project unfold - the test stands look the business. Well done!

- Curt

From StuartL - Way Out West - Fantasy and Sarah's Library Cart (65 Points)

Hello all, I hope that you are enjoying the winter festivities. For me, Christmas is a small, quiet affair. My wife was at work all day, so I could get on with the important business of painting minis, and I have a few to post as a result. 

    Having spent the last challenge travelling in the comfort of Lady Sarah's Limousine, I was a little disappointed to be downgraded to a Library Cart, but as I have no intention of walking, I won't grumble too much. 

    So, to pay for my ride, I present this female knight from Reaper Bones. This is one of their older figures and the face is a little bit lumpy. (Plus I have managed to get flock everywhere despite my efforts to clean it up). To accompany her on her quest and to do any fetching and carrying, I have included two other knights. These are more recent Bones minis and they are a lot crisper in terms of detail. 

   These models are going to be used in a new game. Over the summer I started work on writing my own miniature skirmish game, and so far I have the core rules done. The idea is that it will be very sand-boxy and miniatures agnostic, so that players can build whatever they like in terms of their forces. Having played a few test games, the system plays quite smoothly, though some balance tweaks are necessary. However, my gaming group meets infrequently and are obsessed with some minor (and inferior) game called Warhammer, so getting in enough playtesting has been challenging to say the least. If anybody fancies helping out, let me know and I can send you a copy of the current rules. Any and all feedback will be most welcome.

    So, with Sarah's Library cart trundling along, it is time to visit my second section of the library, the Fantasy Books section.

    Tomorrow I have a friend coming over for a day of gaming and he wants to play Malifaux. For those of you who don't know it, Malifaux is a card driven, Weird Wild West skirmish game set on a world in a magical dimension. Factions run a wide range between steam-punk cowboys, redneck gremlins, killer snowmen and undead ladies of ill repute. For tomorrow's game, I needed some muscle for my crew, so painted up a character known as the Brutal Emissary.

    This chunky fellow is a manifestation of one of the factions in Malifaux, the Guild. The Guild are the rulers of Malifaux's human population and are very draconian in terms of their policies and practices. The Brutal Emissary is no different, either walloping enemies with that massive blade, or locking them in a cage (or that coffin on his hip).

    Despite being an undead monstrosity, this model synergises really well with the Guild's undead hunting crew, the Death Marshals, which I shall be using tomorrow. Hopefully newly-painted-model syndrome will pass me by and the emissary won't be killed turn one by a lucky shot.

    

    And just so you can see how big he truly is, here is a scale shot with the Reaper mini from earlier.

On to the scoring and we have:

3x 28mm minis = 15 points

1x 54mm mini = 10 points

Library Cart = 20 points

Fantasy = 20 points

TOTAL = 65 Points

   The Brutal Emissary also gives me 1 skull for the Skull Duel. Woo.

My Duels Totals:

Skulls: 1

Legions: 0

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Great work on these fantasy denizens, Stuart! That Brutal Emissary is a very impressive piece of nastiness. His gibbet 'lantern' must have been quite fiddly to work with - well done! 

As to your rules-in-developmen, I hope our group can take a run at them this new year, and hopefully you'll get some other Challengers interested to serve as playtesters for you. The more the merrier!

- Curt