From DaveD - The what I did post

 The round up for my 13th Challenge is a decent one . I always have a rough plan for Autumn/Winter and it has helped to make sure all the existing long term projects have had some brush time and a few other new diversions have been started . 

My table currently has an refight set up on it for my 7 Days to Rhine campaign game where  my newly mustered T64s did the new toys thing a few weeks ago blowing up spectacularly. ,They will be encouraged to do better  next week when we re fight it over the same terrain . With  the other parts of my hobby room undergoing another season of storage wars  I can’t get everything completed out together so here are some reminders .

The offshoot for the Sudan sees a visit to the NWF - Last Stand at Gandamak . I really enjoyed working on this .

 

Proper size Ghurka Battalion added.

   

Colonial commanders added

The start of the Winter table project :-

I have a vision for this - and it’s coming along nicely 

 

More guns for the ACW :-

 

We are playing Antietam on Easter Sunday 

 

More firepower for the ‘Nam :-

 

Panzers and transport for NW Europe .

Our first big D  Day beach game is booked in for the 2nd April 

 

Old Guard for a commission 

I have another 20 battalion like this to do yet !.

For the Cold War gone hot project , more WarPac stuff :-

J 

Necromunda additions :-

Apologies for not getting many UK based paint and chats up this years however there has been a family health scare  with MrsD which kept time and inclination limited  - all sorted now at least so more next year . 

Achieve your objectives comrades - or the Duke will be displeased and the hand will visit you!

 

So that is me done . I have posted every week - the painting target points wise has been met with it nearly all being actual painting not just bonus stuff and a number of collections have had some love. There are a few quick wins to do after the challenge , I need to give the 10mm AWI some attention , and of course there are still some hangers on that  will be held over until next time. I normally write out an Autumn / Winter wish list - so here is the progress , a good 50% completed 

I will see what can be moved into Spring /Summer list coming up . 

If any of you are getting your 10mm stuff from Pendraken then you might just find me making it ( yes I am talking about Miles Reidy 😂😂) as I now have a hobby job casting toy soldiers for a few hours a week . Toy soldier heaven .😀😀. 

If you are in the UK and attending Partizan in May then myself , MartinC and JamesM will have my Sudan stuff out - look for the North Riding Wargames Club - please do  pop by and say hello and help Martin to save his Egyptians .

As ever thanks must go to all the behind the scene crew here who help to make this annual event the fun it is . 

Until next time - Huzzah! 

From Skully McSkullface: SkullWatch XIV: the final score!

The cream, the bone, the white, the off-white, the ivory and the beige paintpots have been closed, and the brushes lovingly cleaned. SkullWatch XIV draws to a close and Skully McSkullface's tallying cogitators have rattled out the verdict:

• StuartL 426
• DavidB 272
• CurtC 214
• Barks 184
• KyleC 158
• Millsy 131
• TeemuL 102
• ReillyOG 55
• MikeW 40
• PaulOG 19
• GeoffreyT 17
• TomL 11
• ChrisW 10
• GregB 9
• ChrisW 1

StuartL retains his noggin, but his final output is much less than his four-figure sums of the past. CurtC put in an skulltastic effort to place third, and multiple Challengers made it over the 100-skull line to become Skully Centurions.

Congratulations to all the cranial competitors!

Notable Skullz:

Terminators were clearly 'in' this last week:

DallasE's Horus is truly the Warhammer 40 000

IainW's Space Wolves know skullz are the best.

MikeW also goes the skully tactical dreadnought route.

As does PeterB! Shhhh in the librarium.

ScottR's Basilisks promote these veterans.

It only counts as one!

JP can't resist adding a skullified statue.

His Germanic women audition for Hamlet.

PeterB also painted some Orks wiv skullz.

Reilly won the O'G clan skull-off.

DavidB's Breachers take their servoskull for a trip to space.

Sander's skellies take to the pitch

SteveA found skullspiration at the aquarium store.

TeemuL's skellies have skullz on their shields, banner, and bannerpole.

CurtC's Bloodletters rank up to allocate skullz fairly and evenly

Skull of the Week:

SteveA's Boneheads play a skully anthem

This is Skully McSkullface, entering hibernation until next Challenge. May your skullz be plentiful!

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Thought of the day:

The only good skull is a painted skull.

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Wrapping it up for Lorenzo - AHPC14 - a great challenge!

Well back in December 2023 as I mulled over whether to join some online painting sessions I went and joined two at the same time, having never done these before. No regrets though. My painting capacity was stretched so that was a good thing and in more ways than I thought - I had assumed it would be just volume or rate. First up - the other event - Dave Stones "Paint what you've got" was meant for my existing paint queue. Well I managed just two lots - for 1848 - Pickelhaube Prussians and some Danish Volunteer Kepi Cavalry. I have been a bit naughty and slipped the Volunteer Cavalry into the "Final Collection picture". Its just a shameless plug for the the First Schlieswig Holstein War (which started on 24th March 1848). Hopefully Curt and my minion Sylvain will forgive me. Turning to Sylvain I must say a big thank you for his Musee des Fossilles backdrop to our Monday Crew. And I have really enjoyed discovering AHPC. Thanks to the Monday crew and all the comments people kindly left for me. The big story for my AHPC14 was I encountered the library challenge. This completely derailed my 1848 army painting plan. So the Lancers, Hussars, Cuirassiars, Dragoons, and more Artillery remained in the paint queue. In the event I managed..... 8 Danish Riflemen 8 Schlieswig Holstein Chassuers 12 Danish Guard Infantry 1 Danish Artillery piece I am happy with that, not to mention that at least another 5 units have now been started. Now back to the library challenge - this was fascinating - I got lost there. Which is at it should be. I then descended into fantasy courtesy of Doncaster Christmas Toy Fair. A venerable 1980's Games Workshop Cyclops was found hiding unloved at the back of one trade stand, who along with a Partizan freebie Empress Matilda 1140's era, made up my first non 1848 entries. Second up was a reconnaisance Spitfire from 1939 in "Camo Mint". A five quid snip at the same toy fair. I had then envisaged doing pink and then blue versions but I simply took too long on other entries that now demanded my attention. Suddenly Nissen Huts invaded my mind - apparently my first library trip was to one in a Nissen Hut. So this hut took a lot of time as it was built from scratch including the whole idea generation - Truly out of the blue: However it was the "more satisfying" for that creativity moment. Then another Partizan Freebie took my eye in the great figure heap - General Sikorski. He was duly painted up and some more DIY gave him a suitable plinth. Then it was back to 1848 with some Schlieswig Holstein Chasseurs. To complete the challenge I offered up a "figure bashed" sci fi character (magazine freebie ww2 german + bits and bobs) plus another toy fair bargain (1/32 ww2 soldier) who morphed into a cute monster - idea courtesy of the Wargaming Pastor. And last but not least was Noggin the Nog in 28mm from the little soldier company. Next here are some pictures.

As you can see a nice varied collection and Noggin the Nog sends his apologies but he is already gifted to my friend who suffers from dementia and was just delighted with him. It simply remains for me to thank everyone from Curt, organisers and minions right down to anyone who painted and presented - I really enjoyed this challenge both through my contribution and seeing what others created. thank you!

From TeemuL: Challenge XIV Wrap up

Today is Thursday so it is perfect for my Thor's Day wrap-up post. It was only yesterday, when I read the news that Finland was selected as the Happiest Country in the World! Yes, for the seventh time in a row. Curt and Sarah, you need something more?

That also means, that I don't need to post any Finnish propaganda for Finland, I'll let a Brit do it for me:

Veryfinnishproblems is a social media brand, you can find it on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube and probably a dozen other platform I have never heard of, and it is made by a Brit living in Finland. Quite funny and sometimes even accurate. The video above shows different names for winter storms in different countries. I have no connections with the account, just find it quite amusing.

But let's get to the real business, the minis I painted during the Challenge! I managed to paint quite a lot, especially the last week sprint was extremely helpful. I had a slow start, I was supposed to paint a lot during Christmas holidays, but I didn't wanted to. I didn't want many things during the holiday, I guess I was having a (light) burn out after hectic period of work before Christmas and I was generally not interested in pretty much anything.... But it is gone now and I feel good.

Everything I painted during the Challenge

Flames of War Germans

Rest of the smaller ones

LotR, old fantasy minis and robots

40k

Napoleonic Highlanders

Warriors of Delmonteland with authentic scenery?

Me yesterday at scout meeting

My painting desk on Tuesday morning, not a single partly painted mini!

Thanks Curt for organizing this Challenge again and Sarah for supporting this maniac! Thanks fellow minions and participants! Thanks for all the comments!

If you like to keep up with my painting projects between challenges, feel free to follow me in Instagram @vainvader78. Remember to join AHPC group in Facebook, too. And remember to keep your eyes open the coming November to be able to join the next Challenge.

Meanwhile you can practice some Finnish...