From StephenS: Comic Capers (29 points)

 G'day Everyone,

Cyclops, Rhino and Warmachine

My final post of the challenge are three more characters from Marvel: Crisis Protocol. A villain known as 'Rhino', who first appeared as a foe for Spider-Man in 1966. He is a Russian thug who underwent an experimental procedure and emerged with an artificial skin and superhuman strength.

Cyclops and Warmachine, are probably too more well-known characters as they have also been featured more prominently in the cinematic universe. Cyclops made his comic book debut in 1963 and has been a feature of the X-Men ever since. Warmachine didn't grace the pages of comic book stardom until 1992/1993, but the man behind the suit has been in Iron Man comics since 1979.

I got re-invigorated this challenge for the game of Marvel: Crisis Protocol after seeing some fabulous teams and terrain during a trip with my son to Cancon (Australia's biggest tabletop gaming convention) in January.

These are plastic miniatures in 40 mm scale, and I have scored them at 15 points for the big fellow and 7 points apiece for the smaller two. Not sure if large figures are still scored higher, and you will hear no complaints if the points are lowered.

That will be it from me this year. It has been an absolute blast as always, and I have loved seeing each day's releases, even if I have been quieter with the comments this year. I didn't make it to my target either, which I am disappointed by, but the last three months have still been my most productive of the last 12 (since the last challenge...).

Thanks to Curt, Millsy and all the minions for all their work behind the scenes to make this happen. I can't imagine the time and effort it must take to curate all our posts on top of their own painting, commenting and non-painting life commitments.

All the best until next time.

Steve

_______________________________

A fabulous final post, Stephen. I can't claim much knowledge on the superhero oeuvre. but am always entertained when reading the enthusiastic posts from those who do. Your brushwork is crisp and the colours nicely saturated. I especially like Rhino, but that may be due to nostalgia from him being frequently featured in the animated series when I was a kid. Memory lane aside, I applaud your fine work - bravo! Until next year, Stephen!

- Curt

From StephenS: The Mighty Thor (7 points)

G'day,

In between working on the next themed round, I have been chipping away on a few other projects. This week it is another Marvel: Crisis Protocol character - The Mighty Thor.

Thor Odinson made his debut in the Marvel Universe in 1962 (the original Thor debut a little earlier than that, with the Roman historian Tacitus describing a Germanic god similar to the God of Thunder we all love) and received his very own comic in 1966. He has of course, been popularised by fellow Aussie, Chris Hemsworth, in a number of films from 2011 onwards.

The 1966 debut cover

This figure is a 40mm and plastic from Atomic Mass Games. I had put off painting him for a while, because for some reason black is one of the colours I struggle with the most, but I was happy with the way the new combination of blacks and greys turned out this time.

All up, a thunderous 7 points please.

Cheers,
Steve

From Millsy:

There's nothing like quietly chipping away at small stuff while working on the big ticket items. I'm doing the very same right now. Hemsy would approve mate. Nice work!

Cheers,
Millsy

From StephenS: Marvel... (21 points)

 G'day Everyone,

I have gone completely off script this week and decided to paint up a trio of figures from the Marvel comics/movies for the game Marvel: Crisis Protocol. I believe the mathematical term for the number of these characters I have acquired since the game was released is 'a fair few' and I always enjoy painting them up.

First up are Peter Quill (Star-Lord) and Gamora who both featured in the popular Guardians of the Galaxy films. The lady in green is Viper, a supervillain who has clashed with the X-Men and Avengers for those who are fans of the Marvel Universe.

Viper

Gamora

Star-Lord

They are all 40 mm plastic figures from Atomic Mass Games and I calculate that to be worth a massive 21 points.

Now on to something more empirical in nature.

Cheers,
Steve

From Millsy:

The Marvel and DC universes are something I know next to nothing about but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate a sweet paint job!

These are really slick Steve and the basing really takes them to the next level. I think I'd have gone bonkers outlining all the concrete so kudos to you for taking that on.

21 very well earned points it is.

Cheers,
Millsy

RhysH - Fantasy, super heroes and Sci-Fi in several scales (49 points)

 This week is a group of models from four different sources.

First off are two 32mm entries from AMG's Star Wars Legion Empire line. They are the customizable Officer and Operative.

These are a new addition to the game. The box lets you build two characters with a ton of options to customize them as you assemble them, but also as you add them to your army.

Rhys did some reflected glow off of the lava bases on the uniforms.

The character on the left is melee focused while the one on the right is a ranged support character.

Next up is a birthday present from Rhys' cousin, who also likes D&D. It's a cloaker, a nasty monster that inhabits dungeons and kills low level players.

It's mottled gray coloring helps it blend into the roofs of caverns where it hides.

This is a large model, easily twice as big as the Empire heroes above.

Next up are two Kings of War models from Mantic Games. The barbarian on the war-goat is for the Northern Alliance while the panther is from Basilea.

Rhys is finally ready to start learning to paint faces.

The models are fighting in the snowy north, where the Northern Alliance is from.

The panther is bendy soft plastic and was very difficult to get based, but he persevered and got it to stick.

Last up are two models for Crisis Protocol, AMG's super hero game. These are Beast and Mystique.

These are 40mm, with Beast coming in quite a bit bigger.

These models can be quite fiddly to assemble. AMG apparently thinks that bigger scale enables smaller attachment points. They are not correct. Rhys said the hardest part of Beast was figuring out that he had to attach the beam to the base first, then put Beast on it.

The heroes use character cards in game and Rhys was able to use those as painting guides for these figures.

This is 3 x 28-32mm figures for 15 points

1 x 28mm cavalry for 10 points

1 x 40mm monster for 7 points

1 x 40mm Mystique for 7 points

1 x 54mm Beast for 10 points

The two Empire characters are Rhys' entry for the first bonus round, EMPIRE.

Total points are 49 points, plus the bonus round when it comes up.

***

Hello Rhys - and Happy New Year! Thank you for sharing this interesting assortment of figures with us. 

Now I must confess - I'm not one for the super-hero genre from Marvel, so those are not figures I would be near myself, but it sure sounds like they were a pain in the rear end to get put together. I'm sure many Challengers sympathize with your experience, managing figures designed by people who don't ever actually put them together, much less game with them...

But congrats on sticking with it! You have some fine results here. I also salute your efforts to work on reflected-glow-effects...that is something I will NEVER have the courage to try myself! Well done!

That's 49 points for you - cheers!

Greg

From StephenS: Fraud and Treachery! (66 points)

G'day,

I am clearing the final circles of Hell with an entry for Fraud and Treachery.

First, for fraud, I present Count Dooku of Star Wars fame. Deceiving everyone as the Leader of the Separatist forces, while secretly being a Sith, and fraudulently ordering an army of clones and charging it to the Republic earn him the title of Fraudster. This Count Dooku is a 40mm plastic model from Atomic Mass Games from their Star Wars: Shatterpoint line. He is accompanied by two 40mm B2 - Super Battle Droids, also in plastic.

My entry for treachery is a 25mm plastic Skaven model from Games Workshop. Skaven is almost a by-word for treachery in the Old World (presumably in AOS too), and was a nice quick paint job. My 8 year-old son picked up two Skaven for free from our local GW as part of their model of the month program, and decided we should paint one each. Unfortunately, at time of printing, what would have been his second painted mini ever was not quite ready to be shown off.

Here are the finished models together for a nice group shot.

Points:

3 x 40mm figures for 21 points, 5 points for the Skaven and 40 points for two locations should net me 66 points and put me 2 points over my target.

I doubt anything else on the painting table will make the finish line, so I want to sign off with a big thank you to Curt, Sarah and the Minions (especially my Monday Minion, Millsy), for another brilliant Painting Challenge. I have thoroughly enjoyed being part of this community once again.

Best wishes,

Steve

A fine finale, Steve! The Skaven is really nice, suitably dark and dirty, and fitting for the theme too. It's a pity we don't get to see your son's Skaven, but it is great that he is joining you in your hobby! Cou nty Dooku is a fantastic figure, I like the painted huim up. Very crisp and neat painting, resulting in a very vivid figure. Great job! And to top it all off the battle droids. The metal is very good, and putting them together on one base is a great idea! Thanks for your participation in this year's Challenge and showing us your fantastic work.  And of course, congratulations on reaching your target. Well done!

Martijn

From StephenS: Vampires and Death Robots (Heresy and Violence) (85 points)

G'day,

Two entries today to keep the points ticking away as we edge towards the finish line.

My entry for the Sixth Circle are two German Nachtjager from Warlord Games for their Konflikt '47 game. German scientists have merged the DNA of reptiles, bats and alligators with 'volunteers' to produce these horrific creations. A process that is probably contrary to more orthodox views of what is proper in war and science, and thus, heresy! The end result is these two fine 25mm metal sculpts. I haven't played Konflikt '47 for a number of years, but a search in a drawer for something else uncovered these, and I thought they fitted the theme nicely.

My entry for the Seventh Circle is an elite group of combat droids programmed for maximum destruction, perfect for the theme of violence. They are Dark Troopers and were some of the big baddies in the Star Wars: The Madalorian TV series. These are 32 mm plastic figures from Atomic Mass Games, for their Star Wars: Legion game, though they are quite big and are more in line with some of the 40 mm figures I paint.

Both were reasonably quick to paint up, separated by an inconveniently timed week-long school camp, and involved more dry brushing than I normally indulge in. All up that should be 9 x 25-32mm figures and two bonus locations for 85 points.

Cheers,
Steve

From Millsy:

LOL! I think I have a Konflikt of interest (see what I did there?). I've painted these exact same two sets of miniatures, and in the case of the Dark Troopers we were painting them at the same time unbeknownst to each other. Clearly you're also a man of taste and discernment sir!

Like The Addams Family vs. The Muntsers (look up the timing) you can't have enough of a good thing and I very much like your interpretation of the dark metal. Mine is less obviously highlighted and I think yours will read better on the table.

Well done Steve, a cracking way to earn yourself 85 points.

Cheers,
Millsy

From StephenS: The Punisher (Wrath) (27 points)

G'day everyone,

It has been a little while between posts, with the usual humdrum of life and work to blame. 

I have finally finished painting up what is my favourite Marvel comic character, Frank Castle, known more widely as the Punisher. Many moons ago I received a single copy of a Punisher comic as a ten year old for Christmas as part of some supermarket novelty gift. Widely inappropriate for a ten year old by todays standards (it was nearly 40 years ago now), I was of course, immediately hooked. I vacuumed up the story of the Punisher battling the French Foreign Legion for some reason that would have been more obvious, had I had the opportunity to read any of the other comics in the series. 

While I have long stopped reading the comics (I had to make some hard choices when I took up miniature gaming as a 13 year old), I have always had a soft spot for Frank. Driven to wage a very violent one-man war against crime after the killing of his wife and kids at the hands of mobsters, I think he epitomises Wrath.

The miniature is a 40mm plastic model from Atomic Mass Games for their Marvel game. With the bonus, that should be 27 points please.

I had a great trip down memory lane painting this one up.

Cheers,

Steve

From Millsy:

Now THIS is cool. Such an iconic character and you have really pulled off the look. Really impressed with him overall but especially the skull on his t-shirt which is one of those things that's instantly recognisable even in isolation. Was that easy to paint? I know if it was me there'd be loads of touch ups and then touch ups of touch ups!

Cracking work mate, just brilliant. 27 well earned points!

Cheers,
Millsy

From AaronH - 34 Star Wars Legion B2 Battle Droids (170 points)

 This week's entry is 34 B2 Battle Droids from Atomic Mass Games for Star Wars Legion. These are 32mm sculpts, and these are all 3D prints. The B2s have been out of print for several months so the only way to have any at the moment is printing.

AMG released version 2 of the game last summer, though they call it version 2.6. It brought significant changes to the game. I am a big fan of the new version, though thoughts are decidedly mixed on that front across the community. I, however, have not had a bad game with the new rules and I definitely had games that were lost as soon as we set up in the old version.

One of the big changes in this version is that they added squad upgrades to core units. Core units are the tax unit, you are required to take 3 and can have up to 6 (or 8 in one of the droid lists). It used to be that you had a core size, 3 in the case of B2s, and could add a heavy weapon and one additional model. Now the B2s can add 4 B2s instead of 1. This means squads could be up to 8 models max instead of 5. Other units can go up to 10 or even 14 models in the case of B1s. They also raised the army size from 800 to 1000. This change seems to be much more popular as it lets us put more of our toys on the table.

As a result of these changes I've been adding bog standard models to all of my core across my armies. Last year I painted up two units of B2s (here). I needed to add three more models to each of those to make them capable of being maxed out.

Three bog standard B2s for Red and Blue squads.

Full Blue squad with the three new members in front.

Full Red squad. New 3D prints in front.

Next up will be four squads of seven each. I went with seven because I need to print a few more and you can't actually take six fully upgraded squads in an army, so I can always drag an extra from one squad into each of the others for now.

Purple squad. A lot of these prints have bases with terrain molded on.

Silver droid butts. Some of these prints are themed for mountain warfare and have extra gribblies on them.

Baby Blue squad.

Orange squad.

Green squad. This heavy weapon is different than the rest. There are two options but I, honestly, don't care so if there's a special weapon in the squad it's whatever upgrade is on the card. This one looks cool though.

Close up of the unit leader. He has gold around the colored section. It shows up better without the glare from the photo lights. You can see the large special weapon here. I painted them with color shifting paints and they vary between this purple and a sort of green depending on what angle you view them from.

All of the models painted for this week.

My entire B2 collection with the previously painted squads in the back.

34 32mm models x 7pts each = 238  points.

 

Sylvain: Wow, this is truly an unstoppable tide of metal, all shiny and well coordinated. I like your Tatooine bases, very evocative of the Star Wars universe, as well as your coding. I'm sure players won't be able to stop their urge to say "pew pew" when engaged in combat. Excellent paint job!

 

Regarding your points, the rules of the Challenge do not have a specific category for 32mm, so I will count them as 28mm (rather than 40mm) at 5 points each. 170 is still a nice bunch of points.