From Curt: School of Stealth Heroes for 'Hametsu' (15 points)

Hi All!

Moving forward with my 'Hametsu' project, here are three characters from the School of Stealth: a Shinobi (ninja), a Geisha (bard), and a Matagi (archer). These archetypes are very different from the previous School of Magic in that they are a little more subtle in their support of the larger group, but are still very powerful in their own manner. 

All three of these models are 3d prints from MyMiniFactory. I usually print my '28mm' skirmish stuff at a more heroic 32-35mm as it seems more in-tune with the small-scale action on the tabletop.

The Shinobi is from 'Artificers Mini'. Not much to say about this guy. A black-on-black badass ninja fella - death in goth pyjamas. Nice simple pose, which I prefer to the more over-the-top models frequently on offer. 

He'll be a great addition to the party due to his obvious stealth and assassination abilities.

The Geisha is from 'The Dragon Trappers Lodge'. I really like how the game reflects this character-type without regressing to the standard trope. She uses songs and deception/inspiration to either influence her fellow heroes, or mess with the opposition.  

I really like this mini with her elegant pose, and all shrouded in magical energy. She was a lot of fun to paint. Nonetheless, she is quite delicate, so I'm not sure on her survivability on the tabletop, hopefully she holds up well.

The Matagi is from 'Kyousheneko Miniatures'. As you can imagine, the Matagi are a great at long-range missile support, and suppressive fire. They're also good a setting traps, which can be very handy. 

I love the distinctive over-the-head draw back pose of this figure and the elegant asymmetric bow. Very evocative to those who have seen Japanese archers ply their craft.

...and I'll close with a group shot of the heroes so far. One more 'School' to go!

These three models will give me 15 points to add to my tally.

Thanks for dropping in for a look! 

- Curt

From Millsy: Oh wow! Such a contrasting set of minis and so much to love about each of them.

The Shinobi exudes menace in his all black with his matched weapons. I really struggle with getting variation in my blacks without them looking dirty or grey so you will have to share some tips!

The Matagi is all action and I think his cool palette is a great counterpoint. It makes him feel like he's having a Zen moment where he breathes out and settles himself as he prepares to shoot. Only someone in the right space could hold the draw on such a large bow.

And whilst the other two are wonderful the Geisha is my absolute favourite. The pastels and flowing clothing surrounded by smoke from her magic are wonderfully thematic. We understand so little about Geishas in the west and the ideal they are magical in the true sense and not just through our lack of understanding is a great twist.

15 gorgeous points for you mate!

From TomL: Team Evil Pulp Minions, New Acquisitions (105 pts)

 

 

 

Finally able to post after digging out of the first wave of snowstorms for today. Five inches of snow and a 2.5 ft mound at the driveway apron make for a great workout. The extra wide driveway seemed like such a good idea when the kids lived here…

I vaguely laid out a pulp adventure earlier this summer to give me a reason to paint more figures.  For the AHPC I had planned to paint only the pulp & horror models. However, the siren call of the library has called me to modify this approach I will dove deep into the lead mountain in the first two entries. For this week I have returned to my pulp mission. Rex in the background is the team evil mascot.

Helping on our way, the dangerous Double Agent from Crooked Dice will lead us using Sarah's cart to New Acquisitions. The dress is a transparent green from the Pro Acrylic line. I attempted a different approach to painting the nylons which I am reasonably happy with. Definitely need more practice.

These Nazi brown shirt lizard men & human stooges were purchased in September, so it is probably the fastest turnaround from purchase to painted I have ever done. These were painted with a mix of contrast and Foundry Triad paints. There are 3 unique poses each for lizard & human mooks.

For points I have 105 points (Rex was painted years ago).

13 28mm figures for 65 points.

Sarah's Library Cart: 20 points.

New Acquisitions: 20 points.

From Millsy: Another great entry from you Tom. I absolutely love the saturation of colour in your oranges and greens. The lizardmen are very cool with their oversized heads and tiny hands giving them a sort of pocket-sized T-Rex look. 105 points to add to your score in this year's Challenge!

From Barks: Halo Jones (Manga and Graphic Novels)(25 points)

Halo Jones

The Ballad of Halo Jones was a 2000AD comic strip from 1984 to 1986 by Alan Moore, with art by Ian Gibson. Described as a "groundbreaking feminist heroine" by The Guardian, Halo is a futuristic everywoman who decides to leave her life behind to find herself in the galaxy. The epic ballad covers her trials and tribulations over decades of her life as she travels, fights, loves, and ultimately becomes a galactic hero and transcends time and space- or would have if Alan Moore hadn't characteristically had a falling out with his publishers.

The girl who got out

Halo Jones has no characteristic uniform or look beyond her short blonde hair. I made this figure from the wonderful North Star ranges.

1x 28mm (5 points)

Manga and Graphic Novels (20 points)

From Millsy: I have to admit to being a complete n00b when it comes to Halo Jones. Such a pity that a falling out consigned her to a much smaller part in the pantheon of heroines.

Really nice work and a great entry for the graphic novel section of the library. Nice one mate!

From StuartL - Bad Luck Badabians - 210 Points

Hello again.

    In my second post this week, I am concentrating on one of my ongoing projects, painting up an army for the Tyrant's Legion for the Badab War campaign in Warhammer 40,000. I already posted up a few models for the army, and the models today will be joining them on the table-top.

    As I said in my previous post on the subject, the Badab War is about a small group of secessionists trying to break away from the Imperium of Man and starting a small civil war in the process. The main focus of the setting is the various chapters of Space Marines that get dragged into this conflict, but there are some other forces involved. The original story of the campaign was covered in White Dwarf 101 which was published way back in 1988, but was later revamped and updated in two gorgeous hardcover books from Forge World, Imperial Armour 9 & 10. Included in those books is an army list for the Tyrant's Legion. 

    The leader of the secessionists knew that eventually the Imperium was going to come knocking and so began an aggressive expansion of his forces. First of all, he ditched the Codex Astartes (the rulebook for Space Marine chapters) and began adding thousands more marines to his chapter, the Astral Claws. He also began recruiting the population of the worlds under his control to augment the marines. By assigning and dispersing marines to help run the base-line human forces across his fledgling empire, he was able to disguise the build-up of his forces and provide a serious combat advantage to the regular forces.

    While the captain I posted in December will be the leader of the legion forces, the army list allows for a command squad to lead the auxilia troops. This provides the regulars with better leadership, as the marines literally only use the auxilia as human shields. (They gain a rule that improves their cover save at the cost of a few regulars if the enemy draws line of sight through a regular unit).

    Next we have a unit of Armsmen. These are the professional soldiers who were drafted into the legion. They are about the equivalent of regular Imperial Guard, though their unit composition is a little different as they don't follow the usual platoon structure of the guard.

    And finally we have the Auxilia Cohort, a mass of 20 conscripts that exist only to catch enemy bullets. They are one of the cheapest units in 40K on a per model basis and will get mulched by the first thing that even looks at them. When I used this unit back in 5th Edition, I considered myself lucky if they killed a single enemy model. Their massed lasguns will occasionally hit something, but it is the two flamers in the unit that do the heavy lifting of trying to remove a single marine from the board before they are ground to a pulp.

    To differentiate between the units (as they all use the same basic Cadian models), I opted for transfers on their shoulder armour. The command group gets diamonds and skulls, the armsmen get a number and a winged skull icon (the Imperial Guard insignia) and the bullet-catchers receive a roman numeral and a blank pad.

    The full force of troops is 40 models, plus one crew served weapon. Everything is from Games Workshop, but the model range has been refreshed and embiggened since I bought these. As GW minis, they are covered in skulls which is great news for my ongoing duel, plus I added a few in the form of transfers as shown above.

Scoring these models we have:

40x 28mm minis = 200 points

1x crew served weapon = 10 points

TOTAL = 210 Points

For my duels:

Skulls +111 = 144 Skulls

Legions +205 = 345 Points

From Millsy: Flashlights of the Emperor! This is quite the collection of Astra Militarum (or as we grognards like to call them, Imperial Guard) but in terms of the total forces of the Imperium a mere mote in the Emperor's eye. Even so, the merest trooper may have an impact and should never be discounted when he fights with the zeal only the Emperor can inspire.

I really like your choice of colours on these. The mix of grey uniform and blue armour gives them a really consistent, military feel which is just the ticket. An excellent addition to your existing force!

From Kerry T - Italian Wars Spanish Jinetes (140 points)

 Morning, afternoon and evening all

I didn't think I'd manage an entry this week but have managed to finish one thankfully.  The idea of painting a  large batch of horses in readiness over the Christmas period when I had quite a bit of time turned out to have been a good investment time-wise. 

These 36 are left, 24 completed now and 12 half finished

I had a really nice evening on Tuesday painting and chatting online with Millsy and the rest of the Antipodean crowd, though I did get a minor scolding from my wife when I rolled into bed at 11.30pm. That's one of the problems in living in the most advanced place on earth, its always late here while its early for you lot. (ok point taken NZ is only the most advanced place in terms of time and nothing else!)

I've managed to knock off 12 more cavalry getting sidetracked from painting more Normans by these Jinetes

Spanish light cavalry for the Italian wars

Casting Room Miniatures - Wargames Foundry

Flag from Maverick Models this time

I was happily snapping photos an hour ago having only just finished the bases and only realised when editing that I hadn't finished one of the shields so dumped those pictures, added paint to the shield and then took fresh photos. It's amazing what you miss when you're in a hurry

I wasn't that enamoured with the castings when I started out but they've grown on me and look better with paint and when together as a group. Again the fiddly bits took more time than I'd allotted - adding the spears and shields with epoxy and the hateful basing

As I'm still in the library entranceway, these will count as my "overdue & returns" as I bought them  for last years challenge but never got to them. I hope to finish some Andalusian horse next and then make a start on some Footsore Welsh, unless of course I get sidetracked by something else shiny

Many thanks for your support and encouragement to date and "up the Antipodeans"

In summary 

12 x 28mm Cavalry @10 points = 120

Overdue & return bonus 20 points = 140 total

1 squirrel

From Millsy: I reckon a scolding from Mrs KerryT is well worth it when this is the result mate. These are absolutely glorious and I am sure will look every bit as good in game as they do here. Despite your feelings about the castings they have come up a treat and your choice of colours really does lift them up. The dominant red/yellow pairing sets them firmly in the Spanish camp and everything else just adds to the visual interest.

Looking forward to the Normans now you have set the bar with these! 140 well deserved points.

From Barks: Swamp tutorial (DIY)(35 points)

I made some generic swamps for any scale or period. In this tutorial I'll show you how I went about it. This is one of those fun projects where each step looks good and just gets better as it goes along, unlike some projects which seem to get worse before they get better.

I started with some pre-cut MDF forest sabot bases from Knights of Dice (sadly, a company on hiatus). I used my trusty Dremel to hack out the insides and bevel the edges.

Pre-cut MDF forest sabot bases, unglued.

I glued the two halves together with some random offcuts and added Miliput to disguise any regularities in the curves.

After cutting and bevelling, glued together and made more irregular

I used PVA to stick on builder's sand. I then gave a light mist of PVA and IPA to further cement it down. (I could have gone heavier with the spray).

Waiting for the sand/ PVA to dry

I painted them craft paint brown, then drybrushed browns and creams. I could have skipped either of the drybrush stages. I then painted the water dark green- Contrast Dark Angel in this instance. Any dark green or brown would be fine.

Steps of colour

I then used a selection of flocks, static grass and tufts I've been accumulating over the years. I used brighter greens around the water edges, and drier colours to blend with my game boards.

Vegetation added

The final step is Deluxe Materials Aqua Magic. This is like acrylic gloss varnish, a single pour product without any mixing or heating required. I generously poured this in and let it soak up the sides into the flock. I used up the last of my bottle. I put them on a level surface and protected them from dust. Done!

Water poured and left to dry

The finished result! With hobbits for scale. I resisted the urge to add skullz, corpses, rusty bits etc to keep them generic for scale and period.

Sensibly, I did a test swamp a few months ago. I tried some fancy blending in the water to give a depth illusion, but it just didn't work and is unnecessary. More troubling was the cracking of the water. I've slightly salvaged it with a second coat of water effect, but I think more will be required and I expect to have to do it to my new swamps as well. I do need a new bottle of that stuff, anyway. I know I should probably do multiple thin coats, but I'm impatient and in a hurry.

Cracking of the water. Bug or feature?

If you've got any comments on experiences with water effect products I'd like to hear!

Note the different colour water of the prototype swamp

Oh, and also I'd like suggestions on storing them so the tufts don't get squished. I'm thinking of putting each in a greaseproof paper bag. Some sort of plate rack or CD holder?

Swampy bits ?8 points

DIY 20 points

From Millsy: These are absolutely smashing Barks and I have to thank you for taking the time to document your process so thoroughly. The finished product has a very professional feel to it and you've absolutely nailed the colours, density of vegetation and visible amount of water. Everything about them seems hazardous just as it should be.

Only a miser would let you get away with 8 measly points, they are worth double that! 35 points all up.

PS. Maybe some sort of custom card shelving to store them? Just enough space to slide each one in without crushing the tufts but cheap enough not to break the bank.

From Paul OG: Romanes Eunt Domus! (Overdues)(210 points)

Our recent discovery of To The Strongest has reignited our slumbering Roman Civil War project. So I'm expanding my collection with additional Legionaries with more dynamic massed basing, starting with these.

Alan and I are both using 120mm frontages for consistency, though its less important in To the Strongest.

I really enjoyed building these and went for a veteran look with differences in equipment & tunic/shield colours while still being cohesive overall. These are Caesar's experienced men from the conquests of Gaul and Hispania, and now arrayed against the forces of Alanius Minimus! Naturally I completely overthought the whole thing and got lost in a myriad of now utterly lost detail, but I'm really happy with the final outcome. Hand painted shields for the Centurion and the Signifier, others are Warlord decals.

Wanting to use my already completed models (posted in in Jan 21 during AHPC Season XI), I've used my existing single based figures and reconfigured them onto 120cm wide bases, adding an extra 8 to get to 4 full units. I then hobbycrastinated (when you do some hobby things to avoid other hobby aspects you dont want to do) by stripping their old flock and experimenting with a new basing system, and also making a sabot base...before realising that this investment of time was probably not best done during the challenge! Again, the Centurion has a hand painted shield, others are decals.

Figures are mostly Warlord games with some Wargames Factory and a few metals mixed. LBM decals

In To the Strongest, Heroes can be assigned to units to boost them in the attack. I've added four to the force; a veteran Centurion, the infamous Pullo and Vorenus duo, and a certain senior officer (from WI's Giants in Miniature range - said officer is scheduled to make another appearance later in this army project...)

Really enjoying rediscovering this project. In summary, thats: 

• 8 single based figures
• 26 figs across the 2 new multi-based units
• 4 heroes 

Totalling 38 @ 5 points per fig = 190 points. Given that this project harks back to 2020, I'll shelve them in the Overdues and Returns section for a further 20 points.

Romanes Eunt Domus! 

But only the other ones, obviously...

From Millsy: Your Roman graffiti immediately put me in mind of Monty Python which is never a bad thing Paul. I did enjoy the subtext on your pic ensuring only the "other ones" should go home.

These look like they really mean business and I imagine Alan will be suitably nervous when facing off against them. Great colour choices on the shields, and the imperial purple on your general really pops so he'll stand out well amongst the ranks.

Cracking work mate. 210 denarii for your total!