From PeteF ASOIAF Lannister Halberds (65 points)

Our local wargaming convention Enfilade! has an awesome Bring & Buy.  This year someone brought their A Song Of Ice And Fire (ASOIAF) Miniatures Game Kickstarter that they finally decided wasn't for them.  I've been eyeing up this game for a long time.  I generally prefer miniatures on the sprue rather than limited poses but I do love me some Game of Thrones and rank & flank soo - I bought the lot and now it's time to start chipping away at this new addition to the Pile of Potential.

The core set is Stark vs Lannister and I'll be mainly concentrating on getting my Lannisters painted - first unit on the table are these Halberdiers.  There are 12 footsoldiers - 3 basic poses and a banner bearer - plus an Assault Veteran.  In the game you can spice up your units by adding various leader types by spending some additional points.

The miniatures for this game are a collaboration between Dark Sword - who have the ASOIAF license and have produced a beautiful and expensive line of metals - and CMON.

I've played the game once and it has some interesting mechanics - there's figure removal (and sometimes replacement as a unit heals) and as the number of ranks diminishes it's fighting stats change.  There are also some non combatant slots that can have a great deal of influence on the battlefield.

To prevent the figures getting jostled in the movement tray and for ease of transport I've magnetized them and glued a metal base underneath the plastic movement tray.  

Behold Magnets! (and loose flock)

The non combatants include many of the main characters in  Game of Thrones - who incidentally reflect the vices and virtues of the Divine Comedy - so I'm planning to use them to complete many circles and spheres on route to this Challenge's target.

One of the things I don't like about ASOIAF Miniatures is that they typically come 13 to a box - plays havoc with my triskaidekaphobia. 

13 x 5 = 65 points.

I'm scoring these as 28mm minis - they are 35mm foot to eye (heroic 32mm?)

Wishing Challenges a Happy New Year and all the best for 2025 - see you next year!

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Lovely work on these Lannisters Pete! The red and gold livery is very sharp and besides, who doesn't like a good pike? The fact that you have finished these puts you miles ahead of that tw@t GRR Martin who seems incapable of completing the core storyline. I look forward to see your efforts with the opposing Stark faction.

- Curt

From PeteF Shadow Hulk breaks out of Limbo (40 points)

This large gribbly horror is a Shadow Hulk from the Nightstalkers faction in Kings of War.

He's 7" (185mm) tall - much bigger than what I usually paint - which is one of the reasons he stayed in limbo for more than a year.  Encouraged by the category - and that he has that one-of-the-circles-of-hell vibe - I knuckled down and finished him.

I make that 11 skullz for this entry including the ones on each side of of the creature's head.

Not really any prettier from behind. The model is from Mantic Games and is a mi of resin pieces and a plastic giant figure - they thought it would be a good idea to use this plastic giant as a basis for other giants - frost giant, rift-forged Orc giant and this one.  

I joined this merry band for Challenge VIII and haven't missed one since - back in those halcyon days I wasn't fully employed (at least at an office by someone who was paying me).  I've had to set my points sights a little lower and don't have as much time as I'd like to enjoy and comment on everyone's work - but here goes...

At 7" I think this giant is worth maybe 20points plus 20 for limbo for a total of 40 to get my Challenge XV started.  Good luck everyone - may your paints flow smoothly and you brushes twirl swishily!

40 points

.8 of a squirrel

11 skulz

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Lovely to have you back with us Pete (Challenge VIII? Has it been THAT long - yeegads)! 

This is one big brute (7" is quite impressive, as the ladies say). That being said, as scary as he is, his face ironically reminds me of a Jim Henson creature, perhaps Grover or Cookie Monster?  Still, I'd definitely be getting my coat if he crested the horizon. Very Noice!

- Curt

From PeteF: Going Out with a Full Thrust Fleet (22 points)

As Challenge XIV draws to a close I'd like to thank Curt, The Minions, and my fellow Challengers for another winter season of brush twirling fun.  With a new job and an infinity chore list at home it's been good to have a source of motivation to keep chipping away at the Pile of Potential.

This project is thanks to ShawnD - who's interest in space battle gaming resulted in the Full Thrust rules finding their way onto my shelf and this OUDF fleet onto my painting table.

The Oceanic Union Defence Force is one of many factions.  They have rather boxy spaceships. I went for a fairly simple colour scheme, partly inspired by Tamsin's Challenge XIII Scout ship.  I tried a metallic orange to start with, but I couldn't make it work so the OUDF ended up with plain orange, some washes and some dry brushery.

I believe the rules are free to download and that there's a fairly devoted Full Thrust community - I'm looking forward to trying it out now that I have a fleet to play with.

Scoring - I thought maybe 1 point for small, 2 for a medium and 3 for the large battle cruisers. That would be 8x1 + 4x2 + 2x3 for a total of 22 points.

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Love these OUDF ships Pete! We played 'Full Thrust' when it first came out and quite enjoyed it and with your post I'll definitely look at the rules again to see how they've evolved. I really like how you got inspiration from Tamsin's work on her HUMUNGUS 'Spirit of Camberwell'. The orange you went with looks great - very businesslike and utilitarian. I'll accept your points suggestion as it finely balances your reasonability and my laziness to think of anything better. :)

I hope this fleet gives you good service in the vacuum of Spaaaace... 

- Curt

 

From PeteF: A Phoenix for The Oversized Section (40 points)

Fire is hard to paint! And there's plenty on this rather lovely sculpt from Mantic Games.  It's a Kings of War model, a Titan, which can be included in both the Salamanders (Lizards riding lizards are definitely something I want to paint more) and Basileans (haughty paladin do-gooding types) factions.

I got the model as prize support at a tournament a while back - I guess the original owner decided against painting all that fire.  It's been sitting on the Pile of Potential waiting for the right moment to rise.  I have to thank Curt and the other Challenge organizers for the themed sections - I don't have an overarching project on the go at the moment and having to come up with models for each section has forced me to try new things and leave my comfort zone.

This one also gave me an excuse to try some new paints from AK - my local store has really branched out now with Vallejo(game, model and air), AP, Citadel, AK, Scale Color, Turbo Dork and I think a few more.  Two yellows an orange and a red make up the fire effects set and I loved using these paints.

The model is about 6 inches high and 8 inches across - full stretch wingspan would be around a foot- quite imposing on the gaming table.  I'll have to paint a whole bunch of lizards or knights if I want to use it for Kings of War.  

Maybe score this as a 28mm vehicle for 20 points plus 20 for the room.

Challenge XIV got off to a slooow start for me, but since January I've managed to perambulate through various sections of the Analogueville Library and make a weekly post.  I don't think I'll have time to complete all the sections but with the phoenix that makes at least two sections of four rooms - which I think means I can request a visit to Rare and Antique Books - hopefully there's enough time left to complete this - and maybe a few more challenges.

Great work, and great to hear that you are moving outside of your comfort zone with the challenge here. Was wondering what you would do here, and this looks to be the business for bigger is better. 

Great job, and 40 pts for you
Kyle

From PeteF Greater Air Elemental - Nature (40 points)

My first Kings of War army was Forces of Nature and I still have a soft spot for the faction - intending to go back to it for a few games... if only I get some more models painted.  To that end here is a Greater Air Elemental, one of the stronger units in the game.

The model is cast in resin and available from Mantic Games.  Having prepared poorly for Challenge XIV, I didn't take enough time to deal with the joins in this model - hope they are not too obvious!

This is my first excursion with an airbrush!  ShawnD leant me his spray booth, brush and accessories and I tried it out.  Having being unable to get more than a spatter from it I fiddled with some settings and on the next try emptied the cup in about 20 seconds.  So I guess this airbrushing thing might take some study to get it right.

After hand brushing blue, airbrushing gray blue, then white with a hint of blue, then blue wash it got a heavy drybrushing.  The result looks OK for the gaming table and I'm looking forward to improving my technique.

Scoring:  this chonky monster stands 100mm high.  Maybe score as a 28mm vehicle for 20 points plus 20 for the library section for a total of 40 points?   

This proved a tough model to photograph - in the first attempts it still looked like a grey lump of resin - there's a decent amount of painting here - honest!

By Paul the Guest Minion

Welcome to the wonderful world of airbrushing! May your experience see you join the legions of fan bois who loves theirs so much they want to be buried with it, rather than be one of the frustrated, cussing masses who complain about unclogging it more than using it (I refuse to confirm which camp I am in :-)

May this big fellah fight well for you and enjoy the 40 points!

From PeteF: Waterloo’s Fightin’ 44th in The Gift Shop (236 points)

One of my gaming buddies unwisely purchased Warlord’s Epic Waterloo (and many of the add ons).  I, also unwisely, asked him if he had anything that he wanted me to paint.  He said Highlanders – I countered with regulars.  I’ve never painted British Napoleonics so this is my first foray into Les Rosbifs.

Here is the 44^th East Essex regiment, a rifle company, foot artillery and mounted officer.  This is what you get on one regular sprue in the Waterloo box - a whole lot of troops!  YouTube furnished a speed painting recipe - using a combination of contrasts and AP Speed Paints (which I really like).

Maybe a little too grasshoppery on the green

Even though this was speed painted (with some highlighting) it took a while  – despite being fused together in strips these 13.5mm ish fellows pack in quite a lot of detail and there are numerous opportunities to accidentally paint outside the lines (don’t look too close).

I didn’t really know what I was letting myself in for with this entry – I think NickG will be happy he has one less regiment to paint himself (and there are so many).  He got flags with the kit and will be adding those in due course. I’m looking forward to seeing the epic armies on a nice big table.

I think we score these as 15mm scale – 2 points per foot, 4 for mounted and  the gun.

104 foot = 208 points

1 mounted = 4 points

1 artillery piece = 4 points.

Gift Shop Bonus = 20 points

Total= 236 points 

Amazing work here Peter! I have only thought of the idea of picking up this boxset, let alone the effort required to paint them up. And after doing 8mm space marines in large numbers, I am not sure I could stomach such a mass of models in double that scale. 

So to see this, done so well, for so many models, and for a friend... wow.. such a great gift/assistance provided here! Hopefully he gets many more of them painted up, and offers you a game with them all. 

Great job all around, and a very hefty 236 pts for you here!

Kyle

From PeteF: Sea Nymphs in the Romance Section (35 points)

 

At first glance, The Pile of Potential didn't seem to have anything for the Romance section. Then I found this sculpt at the bottom of a box of odds and ends bought as a job lot a few years ago.  I purchased the lot for some eagle riders and tree men, never thinking I'd have a reason to paint these sea nymphs. Nothing says Romance like The Baroque.

Flesh/nudes are super hard to paint and I'm no expert - I watched 3 or 4 You Tube videos for ideas and had a couple of false starts.  I'm reasonably happy with the end result - it's not great but it's given me the desire to keep working at it and do better next time.  I think thinner paints and more glazes are called for.

As long as they don't offend I can use these as a playing piece in Kings of War - there's a faction known as Trident Realms who have various magic users that could be represented by these nymphs.

3 x 28mm nymphs plus bonus for the Romance section for 35 points(?) 

With 3 sections done in room 2, I'm ready to move to an adjacent room... or perhaps skip one using Lady Sarah's Cart.

 

Wonderful interpretation of the section here Pete, and a great piece for it as well. Agreed that skin can be very difficult to get right, especially on female sculpts. Being that if you shadow too much, you can overage the model. If you don't do enough it can look so simple. Glazes, and the like, are the way!

Great piece, and 35 pts for you
Kyle