From KerryT: The final cut -The Baron Munchausen - for the Director's chair (55 points)

 Morning afternoon & evening all

This will be my final post for the challenge and having rushed home from work today I tried to get a  few more things finished but failed. One consistent aspect of this challenge for me has been the unreasonable expectation I placed on myself each and every week to get things completed in an insufficiently allotted time frame. I'm definitely a slow learner.

Wikipedia quote- "Baron Munchausen's Narrative of his Marvellous Travels and Campaigns in Russia is a 1785 novel about a fictional German nobleman written by the German writer Rudolf Erich Raspe". These are a series of ridiculously exaggerated tales of his exploits

Eureka Miniatures produced a  lovely model of the Baron Munchausen a few years ago and I painted one up using him to led my imaginary 18th century forces of Silverfernia.

This first model depicted the Baron watering his horse after making an escape from his foes during which his horse's rear end  was sliced off when a closing portcullis severed this. The Baron apparently did not notice until water gushed out from his half an horse when drinking from a fountain.

The original Baron painted in 2012

This is my avatar

My recollection of the tale is that then undaunted, the two ends of the horse were sutured together using some nearby tree saplings allowing the Baron to carry on with his exploits. To stretch an even longer tale further it then appears that not only did the sapling successfully unite the two ends of the severed horse but it subsequently took root and grew into a tree. This of course allowed the Baron to continue his travels in the comfort of his own personal patch of shade!

This story is depicted in a second and later sculpt produced by Eureka and one that I finished today for my submission to the Director's chair having been tasked by Curt to....

"Do you have something in your collection that you've been avoiding due to complexity, size, etc? Or perhaps you have something that you've been wanting to do, but it always seems to get pushed to the back of the queue? If any of these resonate with you then lets see if we can blitz to get it done!"

I've had this model for perhaps as long as 10 years but decided it might be time to finish it off

I also decided it would be nice to have a final ride in Lady Sarah's Limousine and intended to ask her to take me to the Swords & Sandals studio but I failed to complete the requisite figures in time. I though I might just still have a little trip around the block courtesy of my last female miniature a Steampunk figure given out to attendees of the Salute show of 2016.

In summary

1 x28 mm Mounted and 1 foot figure = 15 points

Lady Sarah's Limousine @ 20 points

Director's chair ? 20 points

Many thanks and best wishes to all, hope to see you next year!

_____________________________________

While the steampunk lass is marvellous (though perhaps a bit over accessorised), what a triumph to have Baron Munchausen as both your Director's Chair submission and your final entry. Absolutely lovely brushwork, Kerry. I didn't know that Eureka did these figures (not surprising, considering their criminally impenetrable website), but they are really superb, especially highlighted by your fine work. I love the riot of colour that makes up Munchausen's pelisse, dolman, shako and horse furniture. A tailor's delight, or nightmare, I don't know which. No matter, it's all fabulous stuff. 

I'm delighted you had a good Challenge, Kerry, and I hope to see you with us for the 14th edition.

- Curt

From ChrisW: Last post [325 points]

So, another challenge has come and (almost) gone. I confess I have mixed feeling about this ending. On the one hand it has driven me to paint a lot of stuff, some of it that might actually be useful! On the other hand I have new interests that, had the challenge continued, would surely have interrupted my production. 

This last post is a return to the scatter style of my earlier posts. It also marks my return to the map as I journey to the Directors chair. I think we shall travel in style in one last limo ride.

The limo ride

 

She is from Pulp Figures, of course, awaiting Kong...She was the last figure that I finished painting for this years challenge.

The Directors chair [Nurgle demon]

So, I believe this item fits Curt's criteria, "get a model, or group of models done that you’ve had on your to-do list for awhile" While I have a lot of stuff that would fit the bill (fortresses and Martians come to mind) I have settled on this demon of Nurgle.  

It was part of yet another long put off project, two demons of chaos for Warhammer. However I only have the Nurgle demon done as the Khorne demon fell apart while I was painting it...😖😬😁 Long ago I was using epoxy to glue figures together, and did not do a good job, apparently. Anyways too near the end, no time to rebuild it, so just the one demon today.

 

Graveyard golem

Another vacation purchase, another figure by Reaper.

 

More vehicles

Post apocalypse vehicles I did some of these for last years challenge, I believe this finishes off all wrecked vehicles that I have in stock. They are from Mantic.

 Freight truck 

Another Blue Moon miniature, again mostly resin with just the cab top, wheels, headlights and suspension being metal. This was an easy model to put together, unlike the cars from the last post that arrived with bent metal flat beds and somewhat warped bodies.

Halftrack/Armoured car and even more toy car repaints

No idea where I got this, maybe Empress. One more item for some interwar gaming. After my previous post I kind of got into painting vehicles, makes me wonder why they have been sitting in a drawer, all primed up for so many years. They were fun to paint and a good way to end the challenge with a fun 'task'.

After painting them, I felt they looked a little naked so I quickly painted up a dozen or so boxes and tarps to add on to them. Still need to do some more.

Points total this time

• 20 points limo
• 20 points for Directors chair
• 240 points 12 x 28mm vehicles
• 5 points for 1x 28mm foot
• 40 points for 2 x 28mm large monsters (found a 20 point Nurgle in some past post)
  

Total this time around 325 points

Skull challenge +14 (did not really expect to add to my total) 

Well, that is it. I have left a lot of stuff started but not finished on my painting table, even some stuff that is done (not much) Thank you again Curt for organizing this it has been fun, but now I look forward to having other things in my thoughts instead of paint colours and figure tallies. I will post a final wrap up post anon. 

Squirrels this time around []

1.  Post apocalypse vehicles
   

 New squirrel total - 62

 Previous squirrels

1. Back of Beyond
   
2. Mad figures (Top hat toffs and companions)
3. Greek skeletons
4. Sisters of Sigmar
5. Ancient Germanic women
6. ECW cuirassiers
   
7. Monsters large
8. Post apocalypse
9. Tekumel Palanquin
10. Empire Pike
11. Jazz Band
    
12. French Cuirassiers on Mars
13. Court of Dr Koo
14. Movie makers
15. Gothic/movie Vampires 
16. Gladiators
17. Women rocket corp
18. Supers
    
19. Forest scenery
20. Robin Hood
21. Gorillas 
22. Dr and his pets
    
23. Nuns
24. The flying squad 
25. Mechanical spiders from Mars 
26. The Gorgons
    
27. Cthulhu creatures
28. Mad gardeners and their plants
29. Pulp mummies
30. Pulp Egyptian skeletons
31. Jason and the Argonauts
32. Asylum residents 
33. Dwarf Roman style troops
34. Hatchet/axe wielding maniacs
35. Free range lunatics 
36. Gunslingers
37. Hill Martians
38. Martian artillery
39. Lizard infantry
40. Tekumel monsters
41. Failed experiments
42. Dr Frankenstein and monsters
43. Cold hearted mad scientists 
44. Mexican civilians
    
45. US cavalry
46. Cowboys
47. Town folk
48. Lawmen
49. Hired guns 
50. Royal Martian marines
51. 18th century naval
52. Fritz & his Igor mates (lab helpers)
53. Abbott & Costello meet the Mummy
54. Men of Faith
55. Torture chamber
56. Deep ones
57. Hybrids
58. Scuba divers 
59. Wild west hooded thugs
60. Flat bed trucks Pulp Ally
61. BoB vehicles
    

 

 __________________________

You've had an epic output this Challenge, Chris, congratulations! I love that shambling Graveyard Golem, and the traffic jam of jalopies is excellent as well. Well done! 

- Curt

 

From StephenS: A mixed bag [Lady Sarah's Limousine, 1980's, Casting Couch, Historical Drama and High Adventure] (261 Points)

 G'day,

My apologies for combining so many entries but it is well past my bed time! Not quite the productive challenge I was hoping for but at least I finish with a bit of a flourish.

First up in the 1980's category I have He-Man, from... Well, you all know who he is. This one is from a recent Kickstarter I received and came with quite a few buddies and enemies. A 28 mm plastic figure from a CMON board game, he was quite a nice mini to paint up.

Next up on the tour is the Casting Couch and I present Batman from, well, we also know what comics, movies (1989 version is still the best) and TV shows he has headlined. This is a 28 mm resin model from Knight Models. He is part of a game they sell, but I have only picked him up as I'm a fan of the Bat. I went the classic blue and grey over the more modern black because that is what I grew up with (I also hate painting black).

We now hit the road in Lady Sarah's Limousine after flagging her down with a miniature from Micro Art Studios. A 28 mm metal figure, she is Tiffany Aching, a character who appears in a few of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels. Micro Art do a great line of Discworld figures, and I have painted up a few now.

Almost at the end, we are dropped off at the Historical Drama Studio. Here we have 12 x 28 mm plastic Gauls from Victrix Miniatures. They are the final piece in a Carthaginian Army for Basic Impetus. They will be used as veteran Gauls, their looted Roman armour distinguishing them from their less veteran cousins (and making their Roman opponents tremble).

Finally, we reach the end with some High Adventure. I picked up a copy of the board game Mice and Mystics to play the adventures with my son and have painted them up to have a try of some of the new speed paints from Army Painter. Mixed results but he will like them. There are 14 mice, rats and insects that are 28 mm scale, but the cockroaches don't deserve to be scored as highly. I will leave it to the minions to decide a score. The bases are just painted black to fit in with the various game tiles, so points will need to be deducted for them too I believe.

Total Points:

- 5 x location bonus = 100 points

- 29 x 28 mm figures = 145

- 8 x little bug things = ?

That is me done for this challenge after a big final weekend. While I was away too much to get as much done as I wanted, I had a blast following along, and hope everyone keeps the painting going over the rest of the year.

A huge thank you to Curt and all the Minions (sorry Phil, for not giving you more to do) for all the hard work they have put in over the last few months. I really appreciate the effort and time you have given.

Cheers,

Steve

______________________________________

Well, this is a great exit to your Challenge, Steve. I especially like your Batman (I'm with you on the blue), Tiffany Aching (never read Discworld, but love the figure) and the figures from Mice & Mystics (we enjoy the game here). 

Have a great spring and Summer, Steve, but remember to come back to the Challenge next Autumn. :)

- Curt

From StuartL - Final entry for my various duels - 198 Points

Hello all,

This is my final post for the challenge, and I have been working hard to clear my work space, finish off a few bits and pieces and add a couple of final points to my various duels totals. During the course of the challenge, I was involved in three duels, Skullz, Squirrels and Turnips. So, lets see how I got on.

TURNIP DUEL

    

    I had planned to finish off my first force of Turnip28 by the end of the challenge, but sadly I am still 1 Toff and 1 Unit away. I also had an idea for a second force, but sadly didn't have time to assemble and convert the models let alone paint them. So, for the Turnip duel, I have no more points to add. :(

SQUIRREL DUEL

    I have been able to get a few more Squirrels done and off my desk over the past week or so, most of them were halfway done and just needed those last few licks of paint to get them over the finish line.

First of all, some Chaos Marines for my 40K Iron Warriors force. I figure that these are different enough from regular marines to count. Being chaotic renegades, they come packed with skulls, 19 in total.

Next up, a squad of 10 Night Goblins. These diminutive fellows are from one of the Warhammer Fantasy starter boxes, Battle of Skull Pass I believe. They are single piece minis but they are super cool. I really wish I had more of these as they were fun to paint and look awesome. Note the musician has a skull atop his gong. 

These two mannequins are animated constructs for the Showgirls crew for Malifaux.

I painted the three models at the back as payments for trips in Lady Sarah's Limousine a couple of weeks back. The addition of the mannequins means that they now qualify as a full Squirrel point.

The start of a new project for me, 5 USMC for 'Nam. My local model shop (not a games store, a dedicated scale model shop) has started to stock Rubicon models, so I picked up a bunch of marines, some VC and a huey. I plan to work more on these over the summer. The plastic is not the usual type and needs some fancy glue, but they paint up quickly. The detail is a little fine in places, but I like how they look.

These five elves are from a company called Mirliton Miniatures based in Italy. They are pretty old now, I have had them for about 20 years. They are very reminiscent of old citadel minis. These will be used for Saga: Age of Magic.

So, that is 5 Squirrels and there should be one more Squirrel below.

SKULL DUEL

Honestly, the Squirrel Duel has kept me away from painting up many skulls this challenge. I had a large undead army and a ton more Space Marines (and all their tiny skullicious iconography) sat in the 'to-do' pile, but as I couldn't claim any more Squirrel points after painting the first five of each, they have languished there throughout the challenge. As mentioned above, there are 20 Skulls so far in this post, plus a few more below.

This archway is from Reaper Minis. I'll probably end up using it in a D&D game when I need to mark an important exit in a dungeon. The back of the arch is totally blank, but the front has 5 lovely skulls to add to my tally.

582 Skullz

50 Skullz

342 Skullz

154 Skullz

35 Skullz

The above are all terrain kits from GW from around 2006 I think, with the exception of the final piece which is slightly newer.

All of the above including the archway and the skullz on the models in the Squirrel section comes to 1188 Skullz.

The central panel has 46 skulls, with 8 more on either side of it, 7 underneath it and 2 on the back.

As well as the central skull, there are 4 more tiny skulls, picked out in bronze.

There are even skulls in the ceiling.

Each panel measures 2 inches by 3 inches.

For the measurements of these ruins, I have ignored the balconies on top and any odd outcroppings or pillars.

The first building is 8"x6"x6" = 288 cubic inches.

The second building is 2"x2"x3" = 12 cubic inches.

The third building is 8"x2"x6" = 96 cubic inches.

The fourth building is 6"x2"x6" = 72 cubic inches.

The fifth building is 2"x3"x9" = 54 cubic inches.

Total = 522 cubic inches = 2.4 Challenge Terrain Cubes, and more than enough points for a Squirrel

And finally, I have just one more mini to post. 

This fish seller is going to pay for one final trip in Lady Sarah's Limousine to take me out of the studios in style. Having spent the last three months travelling very short distances in a very large car, I am planning to do what any real Hollywood celebrity would do, lecture people on being more environmentally friendly!

My final additions to my score are:

18x 28mm models @5 points = 90 Points

10x 20mm goblins @4 points = 40 Points

2.4x Terrain cubes @20 points = 48 Points

1x Limo ride @20 points = 20 Points

Final Total = 198 Points

For my side duels.

Squirrels +6 - 47

Anglo-Saxons, Vikings, Dwarves, Fire Giants, WW2 Polish, Daemons, Viridians, Vasa, Junkers, Turnips, Necrons, Tau, Genestealers, WW2 Japanese, Teutonics, Lizardmen, Gnolls, Arabs, Space Marines, Kung Fu Chinese, Wolf's Dragoons, Merfolk, Fishmen, Fish, Mummies, Greek Myth, Peasants, Desert Terrain, Guild, WW2 Africans, WW2 French, WW2 Germans, WW2 Russians, DKoK, Sengoku Fantasy, Fantasy Zombies, Undead Pirates, Blood Bowl Orcs, AWI British, Modern Zombies, Skaven, Iron Warriors, Goblins, Showgirls, USMC, Wood Elves, 40K Terrain

Skullz +1188 - 1575

Turnips - 115 Points 

See you all in the Challenge Review Posts

________________________________________

This is an excellent Challenge wrap-up, Stuart. I really enjoyed your Turnip28 entries, and am delighted to have another rootish commander in our little community. My favourties of this group has to be your Night Goblins and the dancing mannequin constructs.  Soo creepy and cool. 

Thank you again, for all your diligent work being our Saturday Minion. You helped keep this crazy, shambling monstrosity of a Challenge on the straight and narrow. Cheers mate!

- Curt