From MikeF - Imperial Guard Regimental Advisors- 28mm x 2 - 10 Points

My Tuesday post is a small one this week. I'm working on a few vehicles and it was a bit tight getting them done in time.

During previous challenges I've added models to my mostly done, never really done Cadian Imperial Guard. I'm past the point of adding any big units, but I still have a few odds and ends to add. One of these is Regimental advisors! These are a neat little buff you can add to your command squad to help you on reserve rolls or to drop a big ordnance template on the enemy. They include the Astropath, Master of the Fleet and Master of Ordnance. The Cadians already have an Astropath, but the other two have been absent for far too long. I've always turned away from purchasing the actual models from GW due to the cost. Fortunately, I've been able to source a few alternatives. Over the years I've accumulated a large number of bits and I was able to throw together a Master of Ordnance. He has a large back pack communication device, an auspex and he's holding a document containing coordinates...or maybe his lunch order. Everything is GW, except the head which is from Pig Iron Productions.

Master of Ordnance 

The red star features throughout the army. I think of it as more of a regimental badge and not an indication that they are space commies!

For the Master of the Fleet, I purchased a model from 3rd party manufacturer, Chaostemple Miniatures. He comes with two head options, mask or no mask. My entire army has gas masks, so I went mask. It's a resin and metal model and is nice quality. Unfortunately, Chaostemple will cease trading at the end of February, so get him soon if you want one. I did a first with this model and gave him grey hair! I was inspired after looking at myself in the mirror!

Officer of the Fleet

That's 2 x 28mm models for 10 points!

Thanks for visiting!

Love these Mike!  I always like to see some kit bashing, and here you'v cobbled together a whole figure from the bits box.  I hope he got hi extra pickle and the correct type of mustard on his Smoked meat sandwich.  And you've nailed the great hair on the Fleet advisor.  Is this true to life, dare I ask?  I dunno much about 40K, but on reading the term 

"Imperial Guard Regimental Advisors" I was thinking of a SciFi equivalent of the French Revolutionary Representatives of the Peoples, but these guys look and sound like they might actually be useful.

From SylvainR: 28mm Horde Monsters for D&D (185 points)

There are only 4 weeks left to the Challenge and it would be great if I could finish my D&D project before the end. With some extra effort, I was able to finish 3 batches of horde monsters for this week.

First, we have three Myconids (or "Shroom People" as my daughter would say) and 3 weird monsters.

These two "mouths", I realized it later, were in fact the two parts of the same monster. Oh well, I guess it gives me two monsters for the price of one. But I will count these two as only 1x 28mm figurine for 5 points.

It took me a while to find this very alien looking creature in the Reaper catalog. It's called a "stone lurker" and is known as a "roper" in the "Monster Manual". Dwelling in caves, it mimics stalagmites and feeds on heroes (like any decent monster).

These guys were a blast to paint. The "papa shroom" is supposed to be a king according to the Reaper catalog. I like how these mushrooms are covered with mushrooms. It's like a recursive structure ("mise en abyme") in literature.

 

 

 Next, we have a bunch of seven classic orcs. I painted their skin green, in the GW tradition.

These orcs are quite tall, but not tall enough to be considered 40mm. Above is the orc boss, who seems to have collected the clothes of defeated enemies. Originally, his shield was covered with hands and body parts cut from his enemies, but I scrape those off because I would like young crowds to play with these minis. Instead, I painted a "scary face" on the shield.

I assume that orcs don't take good care of their weapons, so I added lots of rust on them and on their armor as well. The rust creates a nice contrast with the green skin.

The big guy in the center might have been sculpted as a zombie orc (or orc zombie?), because his body is covered with gushig wounds that I ignored. Anyway, I painted him as if he was "normal" to complete the war band.

 

The final batch is a clan made up of various "beast-men". I decided to paint them together with similar techniques, to save time.

All these "beast-men" are quite big and I would like to count them as 40mm figurines, if allowed by Minion PeterD.

First, we have three of the "goat-kind". 

Then three of the "bull-kind", or minotaurs.

Next, we have a beast-troll (Reaper lists it as an "Ice Troll") and a man-bat (batman!). The troll is 60mm tall to the top of the horns and will be claimed as a 54mm figurine.

Two brave centaurs that will be claimed as 28mm cavalry.

A bunch of 5 identical bugbears.

And three more bugbears to complete the clan.

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Before signing off, a quick battle report about the first game of the Gabbiano-class corvette and MAS boats I painted last week.

The mission was to escort two freighters and a tanker across the Mediterranean Sea, leaving Naples to resupply and refuel the Afrika Korps. Captain PeterD was in charge of the protective squadron.

 

In no time, enemy torpedoes came a-plenty from five British Vospers. With some clever dodging, the corvette survived, but many "eels" hit the ships behind, putting in jeopardy Rommel's conquest of Egypt. It was a fun game, packed with action, but we could definitely use more playing surface. Heck, the table's width was exactly the length of five freighters!

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Points claimed:

3x Myconids (28mm foot at 5 points each) = 15 points

3 2x weird monsters (28mm foot at 5 points each) = 10 15 points

[Note that the two "mouths" are counted as one]

7x Orcs (28mm foot at 5 points each) = 35 points

3x Goat-kind (40mm foot at 7 points each) = 21 points

3x Minotaurs (40mm foot at 7 points each) = 21 points

2x Centaurs (28mm cavalry at 10 points each) = 20 points

8x Bugbears (40mm foot at 7 points each) = 56 points 

TOTAL =     183 178 points

Thanks for reading!

 

A fantastic bunch of monsters Sylvain.  I concur with Sophie on the Shroom people, easier to say and spell and suits them way better.   I get kind of a Seven Dwarves vibe from them, as if they're singing Hi Ho as off to work they go.  

I will count the two mouths as two monsters, since that's how you painted them.  I'll also agree with counting the larger critters as 40mm and the centaurs as cavalry.  Toss in a coup e points for the fine details on the Shroom people and I make it 185 points.  I assume that the scantily clad young lady was there for scale purposes.

Thanks for posting the AAR photos from our recent game.  I enjoyed taking the convoy role, even if I did feel like. sitting duck in a shooting gallery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From MartinC The Waikiki Sharks (85pts)

This could be the last bloodbowl team I paint for a while. I've said before one of the great joys of bloodbowl is the none standard teams. The lizardman team is one of the best teams with a big guy, lots of blockers and stunty linemen and throwers. So obviously my team is sharks not lizardmen. 

I present the Waikiki Sharks

The big guy, with his kills on his shoulder

Very much a life guard vibe

The blockers

Very much a mafioso on holiday vibe

The lizardmen have chameleon skins as throwers. So my team, obviously has starfish

The stunting, kids on the beach 

Love the at play poses

Finally a cheerleader 

The whole team. Could be my favourite team

Scores on the doors

17x28mm sharks =85 points

My god Martin, there is no end to the weirdness is there?  But what wonderful wacky weirdness there is.  I love the Hoff from Baywatch vibe on the big guy and his kill tattoos.  The beach going middle rankers are wonderful too.  Can the Pickleball paddle be used as a weapon?  Any team with Starfish gets my backing.

JOHNB: tuesday terrors: IRREGULAR VIKINGS in 40mm (25 points)

Squirreless again! The Vikings failed the test..... First though you get a sample of Irregular Miniatures 1848 Range! of course repurposed from their other ranges! Enjoy Danes, Romanians, Tuscans, Modenanians and Parmese oh, and a cafe selling wargame figures......

In March Ian Kay who runs Irregular Miniatures will be retiring and his business will cease production. As someone has said he cast a million figures in 45 years and they travelled to wargamers all over the globe.

Ian Kay represents that era of the metal miniature where sculptors often were manufacturers as well. I met Ian at wargame shows where his stand was an extension of his workshop - it was not flashy but a veritable mine for figures piled in recepticles with the ranges laid out on shelves above.

A far cry from todays pre packed and branded ranges on offer.

I have even met the man at his home when I collected some figures but wanted to do a size comparison check first. He said just pop in when I was passing. He was just so accommodating and I thank him for that and his service which I found to be excellent.

All the best Ian for your retirement.

For some people Irregular were or are marmite - the rugged nature not loved or the style unappreciated.

In years to come people will recognise that these figures were an artform in the same way that a printed digital STL file is an art form of sorts - at least if it gets painted!

The cast metal figurine is most definitely a piece of sculpture and the mere fact that flames, heat and sweat are involved means its a very human creation.

We should celebrate the metal casters even more so as their kind diminish. As it happens I bought these 40mm Vikings at a cafe in York - back in 2022!

It is a pity the sets came in threes...............

They have since sat in a corner but in pursuit of squirrels I suddenly thought - their different. Only after painting them did I consider the 25 point cut off. Its hilarious as this AHPC I have done quite a few items for squirrels without considering their below the points threshold. heyho.

Whats more I had a varnish disaster with these figures - a first for me.

I had decided to play around with some washes and super diluted some colours to create bland cloaks on two figures. Two days of drying before varnishing did not prevent the vallejo matt varnish reigniting the washes. However I stopped and actually decided I had just made them a bit more timeworn!

The paint jobs are a mixture of citadel and vallejo paints regular and contrast even the odd one dating back a decade or more and still in great condition. However I also used some windsor and newton sepia ink wash over the initial white primer which while excellent for shading may have contributed to my varnish issues.

TOTAL POINTS are 3 x 40mm vikings = 3 x 7 points = 21 points.

First of all thanks for taking me down the Irregular Miniatures memory lane John.  For me if I was looking for that niche figure, or one that could be morphed into a niche figure, Irregular was THE go to place.  Looters with torches, wagons, odd animals, medieval bombards - check, check and check!  Love these old school vikings and the old school paint job that suits them to a tee.  I'm round you up to 25 for the nostalgia.