Better Late Than Never

One of the greatest Challenges of the Painting Challenge for me is that it is held in my busiest time of the year. While it's great to be all tucked up and painting your way through the frankly silly low temperatures of the Canadian winter, down here at the other end of the planet we melt at Challenge time. Plus our biggest wargames show is held at the end of January (Cancon) and I get sucked into the vortex of Making A Living for pretty much all of January and February. Adding in a long overseas trip for all of March, I basically was pulled off the Challenge just before Cancon.

Happy with my result

In fact, today is the first day I have picked up a brush (other than to pack one into a customer's order) since January. Naturally, this lead me to looking at my Challenge output. Although I didn't achieve my hoped for point goal, I did achieve a Personal Best. Isn't that we're supposed to strive for these days?

With the encouragement of Dux, Man Cave Paul and the other friends from Odin's Night Games Club I had a great time facing the Challenge. Our Hobby Day get togethers really helped me power through and not get distracted by the mundane.

I love the Challenge, thanks again for organizing Curt and I hope to participate next year, aiming for a new PB.

They may be small but they're perfectly formed

Oh, and I won The Vertically Challenged Side Duel. I guess no-one else is as devoted to plumbing the depths of the dwarven and goblin deep as I am. (You may notice in my photo above that I am working on more gobbos today).

From Mike D: My Grimdark Winter

The particular area of my unpainted horde I wanted to work on this challenge was all the GW stuff I had purchased for the past year or so. Overall, I wasn't optimistic. I almost missed the deadline for application to the challenge and wound up making it in at the last minute of the waiting list. And I never really got my act together with planning out the challenges, so I left a lot of points on the table there. I set my goal at a piddling 400, but still fell short.

Still, when I look at what I wound up with, I'm happy. Those figures I wanted to paint were very fiddly, and though I know part of the challenge is speed painting, I often find that I set out with best, simplest intentions only to get drawn in to some need to do a particular something that just takes me forever. I did wind up with enough gangs and cultists to actually play with in Necormunda or Kill Team, which these days feels like a big accomplishment to me . (I'm still only half-way through my ADLG 28mm Thracians, and I've been working on it for so many years, it started out as a Warhammer Ancients army.)

Once again, I want to thank everyone involved with the Challenge for their support and inspiration, especially my minion Evan and Curt. This year in lieu of the usual Curtgeld, I've sent a donation to International Rescue Committee. 

Already looking forward to next year!

From TeemuL: Things you do for love

The original idea for this Challenge was to paint vast armies for the re-released Lord of the Rings (or Middle-Earth) Strategy Battle Game. Then I decided to join the Squirrel side challenge. Then Urban Conquest was released for WH40K and I decided to really get back in to that game after 10+ year pause and start a new army...

I did manage to accomplish my personal goals, I hit the target of 900 points, I participated all Theme Rounds and I posted something each week. I managed to paint 11 Squirrels (but I didn't remember to report them in time to Duels Wallah). Above you can see all the painted minis (expect the forgotten ones) and below you can see the same minis and me.

It wasn't the hobbits this year, which I forgot, it was the Hoplites. I took a quick picture of them separately to get them to join this post.

All in all, again an excellent event, very well organized, lots of nice entries (too many to comment - or even read properly) and lots of progress on my armies. In fact, at the moment I own almost 100 unpainted miniatures less than I had 1st January!

From EvanH - The Challenge IX Wrap-Up, or "I Coulda Been A Contender!"

Well, Challengers and Challenge Fans, it was a roller-coaster of an event this year, and I didn't exactly cover myself with glory. I fell short of my target - proper preparation next time!

As in previous years, my output fits comfortably in the frame of a single photo. I'll be the first to admit, I'm no Stakhanovite. I'm more of an artisanal figlimner.

There were some standout entries from my own point of view. There were figures I'd kept unpainted for nearly 20 years;

The unquiet ghosts of bare metal figures have at last been put to rest!

Some decidedly odd detours;

And an actual ranked-up unit of troops;

And here is my body of work for Challenge IX, as well as the body of me, which is (for some reason) a requirement set down by Our Esteemed Host, Mr Curtis Campbell Esq, in the fine print.

Portrait of the Artist as an Overweight Middle-Aged Man

Next time round, I'm going to get organised, dammit! Because here's what I was working on when the final bell sounded. Missed it by that much!

I only painted one figure between Challenges VIII and IX, so here's hoping I can do a bit better than that this year.

It's been an honour and a privilege to have taken part in the Painting Challenge, and to have enjoyed my first outing as a Minion. Thanks to Curt for entrusting me with this very important duty; I hope I was able to repay your confidence in me! Thanks also go out to the Wednesday Warriors, for being all-round good blokes and extra patient with a newbie minion. It's been grand!

So, will I be able to get it together for next year? Stay tuned...

Ev

From DavidB: End of the Line

Another fantastic season of AHPC has come and passed. My output was diminished, but still pretty good considering all the training and family activities I had to do. Although I wish I had more time to devote to painting (and commenting), it was still quality time. A few cold dreary days were made much better by just viewing the content from my email.

A pretty good haul of painted minions was achieved which included finishing the contents of several GW games like First Strike and Execution Force. I made a substantial dent in Overkill too.

I still have lots of Imperial Assault to complete, but all Battle fleet Gothic ships are finished. I even have enough Scifi that is not Grimdark to venture into 5150

My daughter is mighty pleased with her colored fisherman guild and now has defeated me twice with them. I scored the farmers guild and decided I will keep that team for myself, perhaps with practise I'll be able to tally a win?!

With a freshly painted Huron force, I have plenty to play Flint and Feather. Warlord Games neglected to bring FIW forces to Adepticon, but I did get Blackpowder, Frostgrave, and Saga. I'll be reading those tomes for a bit, but it appears my ancestors will soon have lots of adventures!

I still have three traitor titans and three forces of marines to paint, but the Dark Angels turned out pretty good for an initial foray into Epic. The other loyalist chapter and traitor legions will wait for later.

I anticipated using the Deathwatch forces, but did not take them to Adepticon. I'll use them this summer to support the Cadian 7th in an apocalypse game....I really need some Knights and flyers!

I now have six WW1 figures, not enough for WW1 gaming, but when added to my modest pulp figures, I do have enough for some two fisted pulp gaming!

The Fenrisian wolves were probably my favorite unit painted in this period. They are massive, but will be used in several genres. I may actually use the 54mm Inquisitor figures for a game instead of decoration. The wolves do scale nicely with them.

So maybe not a massive amount of completed miniatures, but it is certainly enough to add to gaming options on wet summer days.

Adepticon also provided a nice haul of goodies to supplement my Christmas haul. Blackstone Fortress, ShadowSpear, Test of Honor, and I even got an incredible deal on Dreadball (two games 12 teams and more for $35!!!!) I even found a mint Eisenhorn which I promptly devalued by assembling!

Yup, getting older and no wiser! I still have a couple models to paint for a friend and Star Saga to complete, but it's nearly time to put the paints away for summer. A final thanks to all for this years challenge as well as Curt for shepherding us along and Sarah for allowing the indulgence. I hope you all have a wonderful summer, and I'll try to see you all again after the leaves fall! 

Tom Cochrain- life is a highway

RayR - Challenge IX Wrap-up

Sadly that's another Challenge all over and I was just getting on a roll. I hope I can keep up at least half of the effort I put in, for the rest of the year........can't see it happening though???
I've gotta admit I feel pretty pleased with myself, I've earned 2274 points placing me 8th in the Challenge, which is my third highest placing and third best points total.

Here's my performance so far in all the Challenges
Challenge II  4940 points 1st
Challenge III 2586 points 4th
Challenge IV 1227 points 17th
Challenge V    691 points 37th
Challenge VI  681 points 36th
Challenge VII 1093 points 24th
Challenge VIII 662 points 40th
Challenge IX   2274 points 8th
Challenge X ????

So to the points......

I don't know if anyone noticed but the majority of my figures painted were for one set of rules

Donnybrook??? 

I painted :

1147 points of Donnybrook figures

587 points of other 25mm figures.

368 points of 15mm Beneath the Lily Banners figures (same period as Donnybrook!)
172 points of other 15mm figures

And I managed 2nd place in the Sport Bonus Round for my Lacrosse figures!!!

So a good Challenge for me all round!

From StuartL - A Squirrel by any other name.

Was that really three months? Sure, it felt like it when I was putting brush to mini for the umpteenth time, but looking back it seems like only yesterday I was wondering what madness I had signed myself up for. 

As it turned out, it was a madness I embraced all to readily.

At the start of the challenge, I thought a modest target of 500 points would be reasonable. I usually average about 30 minis a month, so 500 didn't seem to extreme. As it was, I managed around 90 models per month, with a grand total of 269 figures, (counting the multi-based 6mm minis as 1 figure per base), over the course of the challenge. Of course, during that time I practically gave up every aspect of my life except for work and those odd times when my wife dragged me away from the painting table and threatened me with violence if I didn't put the brush down.

I understand that a mug shot and a picture of all the painted models is obligatory at this point.

I began the challenge with the intent to post comments on everyone's entries, but that swiftly became a difficult proposition. The only time I could find a chance to post was during my daily commute and the volume of entries quickly created a backlog that I couldn't work through. So, I would like to take this opportunity to say that I have thoroughly enjoyed looking at everyone's work, whether they entered just a couple of small groups of minis or painted an entire army or three. The sheer enthusiasm for the hobby is astounding and I am glad to have had the chance to participate.

My entries can be divided up into 4 smaller categories. The first is the Fantasy group. I had some of these models lying around for ages, though the Blood Bowl team was donated by a friend for the sports round and the Warmachine figures were done for a friend's collection.

The second group is SF and is the only one where I varied scales. The Epic minis were certainly a challenge as they are so small. I did my best to get them looking prettier than just a small green lump. This challenge certainly gave me a chance to try out different techniques.

This small group is Modern Historicals. I play a lot of Bolt Action and Black Powder, so have plenty of armies half built and in need of reinforcements. The British armour, AZW minis and Japanese infantry will go to join their brethren in their respective army cases. The Germans in winter gear and the Poles will form the start of all new forces.

And finally the main Historicals. I had a plan to paint up three large batches of figures over the challenge. The Crusaders on the left and the Bretons on the right were two of them. Sadly the third never materialized due to logistics issues.

I am very happy with finishing in 10th place. Truth be told, it is far better than I expected. My hat is off to those who finished in the top places. Even if I had had more free time, I don't think I could have managed much more painting. As it was I felt really burned out towards the end and have taken a 1 week break from my hobby room to clear my head a bit. The last couple of days I had to force myself to pick up a brush to finish off the last licks of paint on my final entries. I actually had the day off on the final day of the event, so I could have done another squad of something, but at that point I would rather have taken a hammer to my figures than a brush.

Which brings me to the Squirrel Side Duel. Despite claims to the effect that I only had 1 Squirrel wearing a series of ever more elaborate hats, I am very, very happy with my victory. I thought Noel was going to win it, simply because he outpaints everyone. I knew that to stand a chance, I had to paint smarter. You'll notice that a lot of my entries are quite small. Throughout the time I was working on the bigger groups, I had one or two smaller groups of figures on the sidelines. When I had spare paint in the pallet, I would grab one of them and add a quick coat. I also kept a set of notes on my desk of what was in the queue, what could go in next and what I had posted. I tried to move an entry into each column each week to ensure a steady output, with the final couple of weeks being focused on getting the last few details in on a bunch of different entries.

So that's about it from me. I would like to thank Curt (I have some Curtgeld that I need to finish off once my painting hiatus is done), and Lady Sarah for hosting the event. Ev, my minion for his fair and even-handed scoring, as well as the special guest minions who stepped in when needed. I'd like to say thank you for everyone's kind comments on my entries and I would like to thank Noel for giving me a serious run for my money on the Squirrel Duel.

Despite vowing never to paint again once I posted my final entry, I think I would quite like to come back for the next challenge. I have a novel idea for what I would like to enter, but it will probably take me several months to get everything I need built and prepped. Plus I am likely to change my mind and go chasing off after the next Squirrel that comes my way.

Thank You!

From DaveD - Challenge IX Round up

So another challenge painting season has come and gone , and my 8th time participating  - personally its been a pretty good one. First up I met my challenge target - doing this in the last week. I also managed to post something every week which kept the productivity up.  I only did one bonus round as i didn't feel like committing to them this year as I had a plan already. Millsy and I had a little side duel -which thanks to Mlllsy choosing in a moment of heat induced madness to hand paint heraldic designs saw me reach our target first - though we both agreed to settle the forfeit as we had chosen injured forces charities in the UK and Oz - i will settle for the future bragging rights and slapdowns...

I had a few projects in mind - 15mm WW2, 1/200th Aircraft, terrain stuff , Sudan odd bits and these progressed nicely,

realisation dawns that i have missed a box of stuff from the South Seas side project from the round up shot  - damn!

an inevitable Sudan top up - NSW infantry, Bengal lancers on camels and vignettes,

I completed my Cruel Seas stuff early - played 3 games so far

the missing Pulp stuff 

1/200th aircraft for Wongs of Glory - 10 altogether

 I have really enjoyed doing the various aircraft this season. i just need to properly sort out more flight stands and storage arrangements. especially as I  have also just sourced 3 c47s and Waco gliders - so more coming up soon

15mm WW2 , US army infantry , - landing craft , D Day stuff and 1/144th aircraft - 11 of them - plus buildings, bridges , trees , and hedges.

I see a nomination for challengers choice for my Landing craft - appreciated ! - they were certainly hard work

I have a D Day game pencilled in for June (with JamesM and MarticC) - to coincide with the 75th anniversary - so the upcoming focus  will be more US infantry and Paras and terrain bits for UTAH beach. 

once more thanks to all the back room minions, the Snowlord and  Lady Sarah for making this happen 

I ran a few paint and chats over the season - though not as many as i had wished due to a few technical gremlins and then being a ill in the last week .

Until next time!  remember your "little helper" pills are available for the challenge asylum check out desk... just leave the blue ones for Noel, Miles and Martin .. who are now wondering  where the hell to put everything! 

From JamesM: This is not the end...

Hi folks,

My very own (rather insignificant) end of challenge lineup, with the obvious exception of the full LCT, as I only painted some crew figures for that.

I had set myself the rather moderate target of 750 points for this challenge, which I achieved and no more.

However I was happy enough at the progress made towards my ongoing project, so the challenge time has definitely been productive. Almost everything was 15mm scaled, other than a few 6mm vehicles at the start of the challenge.

The required shot of me at my painting station... complete with grotty painting t-shirt

And a quick shot of the 'also rans' - the stuff I has as in progress when I hit my target and all motivation left me:

Polish Stuarts, 40mm SP Bofors and the last of my Scottish Quads, all still on the paint desk!

Moving forward, I've more D-day themed models to paint this year, including some more DD Shermans and Sherman Crabs. I've bucketloads more stuff to do for Normandy, with purchase of more only just being restricted as this weekend I started the process of buying a house. This may mean 1 to 1 scale painting is in my future, but I'll keep on with the fun stuff until then!

Thanks to everyone else who took part, while I didn't get round to commenting much, the scope of the different projects everyone is doing is always impressive. Thanks especially to Lee for being the Tuesday Minion, and to the guys that joined in on the paint and chats!

From GregB: Another Wrap-Up

That's a wrap for AHPC IX! A pile of stuff, my Jets jersey and my little buddy Joey - all of the key ingredients needed to keep painting!

Another edition of the Painting Challenge has flown by. As many have observed, the time does pass quickly, and as so many others have experienced, I always thought I would be able to finish many more figures than I managed to...at the same time, I made some great progress in several areas of hobby interest, new and old.  My mountain of unpainted stuff has been chipped away, and the inspiration of others has been an excellent motivator! 

The finished pile...

Anyway, here is the obligatory wrap-up photo - my completed figures, sitting in the kitchen where I do my painting.  You can see all of the key things that support my painting obsession - my lamp, the jersey of my favourite hockey player, (Patrick Laine, #29 for the Winnipeg Jets) and my little buddy Joey (more on him below).  The only thing missing is my amazing and understanding wife Linda, who tolerates me setting up in the kitchen to paint for hours and hours - and who was kind enough to take this photo!

The Turcos are now prepared to defend France...

I think we all wished could have finished more stuff than we managed to - certainly I'm no exception there.  Like many of you, I had to deal with 1-to-1 scale matters in the background, particularly some demanding things with regard to work, and this slowed my painting production in this edition of the Challenge.  But I still managed to hit my target, which is what matters, right? Looking back on my paintbrush wanderings through the AHPC IX, I was very, very happy to get so many bits for my 28mm Franco-Prussian War collection finished - enough to finally host my first game of "Black Powder" using the figures, something that I am quite chuffed about.

10mm FPW in the foreground...after all, when you love a setting, do it in multiple scales!

I was also very happy to add another great big unit of 28mm Austrians to my Napoleonic collection.  Given the theme of this edition of the Challenge, I was very pleased to get it done - and to have been able to spend several hours working on the figures together with Curt while he and Sarah popped into Winnipeg for a visit. It is a fact that units and figures you paint with your friends perform better on the table.  I'm sure of it!

28mm Austrians tucked in front some units from the Iron Hands in GW's 30k setting...I bet they would love to have that dreadnought on hand to handle Napoleon's lackies...

On the sci-fi side of things, it's always fun to add to my collection of 30k bits - in particular, I finished a few of GW's new plastic Titans for the re-booted "Adeptus Titanicus", and now I have two complete maniples of the "god-engines" in my collection, a great basis for games with my friends, and a good basis on which to add more, naturally :)

Joey having a snooze one night while I was painting late in an evening during AHPC IX.

Now, back to the dog in the photo - that's Joey. Since the theme was "Fellowship", I thought it would only be right to include Joey in my wrap-up photo. He is my constant painting companion. When I'm painting at the kitchen table, Joey likes to stay close and keep an eye on things. So we got him a little doggie bed for the corner of the room. He can relax, snooze and ponder dog matters while I paint away into the wee hours of the morning. Painting is always fun, but its even more fun when you have a loyal little companion snoozing away beside you!

A few super heavy tanks for the 30k setting - and some Vostroyans in the background.

In the spirit of those who seem to think we need stats to interfere with painting, I thought I would provide a comprehensive analysis of my painting output in AHPC IX.

Scale breakdown of points total:
28mm: Most of it.
15mm: Some of it.
10mm: A bit of it.
6mm: A little bit.

Period/Setting breakdown of my points total:
Franco-Prussian War: Quite a bit of it.
Napoleonics: A notable amount.
Renaissance/Italian Wars: One figure...not sure what happened there?
Seven Years War: An amount to signify a fixation on Austrian things.
Lord of the Rings: Enough that it could have been more.
30k: A falling contribution indicating loss of focus.
40k: Some amount, pointing to the likelihood of what could have been more.
Arab-Isreali Wars: A token amount signalling a sudden diversion to something else. 

As you can see, careful statistical analysis really consumes a lot of my hobby time!

Thank you to all of the Challengers for your support and inspiration!  Every supportive comment helped keep the brushes moving, and I appreciate very much all who took time to share a thought or an acknowledgement, not always easy as there are so many submissions!

Tamsin, you never fail to support any of us, even as you paint enough to fill a museum, thanks so much for that. Alex, your tremendous output, and clever use of whatever material is on hand to create neat terrain features, is always inspiring.  It was great to see the tremendous efforts of Byron and MikeF, my friends here in Winnipeg.  Nick, your painting skills continue to blow everyone's minds! And a big "thank you" to JaimeM, I can't wait to see that dreadnought arrive here in Canada!

Thanks again to Curt for hosting the madness. It was so nice to see you and Sarah again this winter.  I hope you enjoy your pending trip abroad this spring, and I look forward to seeing you both again soon!

Congratulations and best wishes to all of the Challengers - I hope to be back with you again next winter.

Greg