From Curt: Paris of Troy (Lust) (45 Points)

Hi there!

For my entry for 'Lust', the 2nd Circle of the Abyss, I give you Paris of Troy. 

As the myth goes, Zeus (aka 'The Big Horny Coward') had Paris choose the most beautiful amongst Athena, Hera and Helen of Sparta (the proxy for Aphrodite). He chose Helen.  Not being able to master himself, Paris stole Helen from her husband Menelaus. As if this situation wasn't bad enough, Menelaus was also the king of Sparta, which made matters exponentially worse for Paris and the Trojan people.

The abduction of Helen instigated the Trojan War which lasted 10 years, cost thousands of lives, and the destruction of Troy itself. In Dante's 'Divine Comedy' Paris' lust for Helen sees him committed to the Second Circle of Hell. 

Oh well, on the bright side at least he has Helen there to keep him company.

I chose to depict Paris mounted in a chariot armed with his trusty (some ancient chroniclers would say cowardly) bow.

This is a stl purchase from Wargames Atlantic. A really nice kit. I scaled it down to 20mm for printing so it would fit in with the rest of my Trojan War collection (some of those previous lads are seen here legging it alongside Paris). 

In the last pic we see Paris speeding away as he and his bow have an upcoming date with Achilles...

Chariots in the Challenge are a bit of a points grab as they have numerous component parts. 8 points for Paris and his driver, 8 for the horse team and another 15 points for the chassis. Hmm, that seems like a lot. Let's dial it back to 25 total. Okay, then add an additional 20 points for the Second Circle (Lust). That should give me 45 points as a grand total (and one Squirrel Point).

Thanks for dropping in!

- Curt

Thanks for dropping by, Curt, and what an exquistite submission! You might have saved it for Greed and claimed the full points. As it is, your modesty gains you 45 points for Lust. This gives an entirely new meaning to visiting Paris, and it truly is a visit in style. A perfect companion to your other Trojan War figures! Excellent work as always.

MartijnN

From Curt - The Last Post of Challenge XIV - 'Beware of Greeks Bearing Gifts'

Well the last day of Winter (and more importantly the first day of Spring) is upon us, and so too we find ourselves at the conclusion of Challenge XIV. And what a great Challenge it's been! We had many of our veterans return to participate, which was wonderful, but we also had a good many new folk join-in which was terrific to see as it means that the Challenge remains relevant and reenergized. 

This is the second year in which I've largely stepped back from taking part in the day-to-day posting and scoring and I have to say it has allowed me to enjoy the event all the more. Of course, this meant that I had to rely on a full roster of friends to help keep the whole circus rattling  along. So I give my heartfelt thanks to Sylvain, Martijn, Greg, Teemu, Millsy, Dallas and Kyle for their excellent work as our intrepid minions. You guys were magnificent in leading your individual crews, while also promoting the Challenge's open and welcoming nature. Also, a big thank you to Paul for keeping track of the Duels, Barks for his ever-entertaining 'Skull Challenge', and to Miles for making sure the Spreadsheet of Doom worked as it should (and was suitably appeased). 

As per custom, I close out the Challenge with the final submission.

This past autumn I read a review of Emily Wilson's recent translation of 'The Illiad' and decided to pick it up. While it was a bit of a slog in spots, I still really enjoyed it. Wilson chose to translate Homer's prose using unrhymed iambic pentameter, rather than the traditional dactylic hexameter which is an academics way of saying that she translated Homer's epic not only for ease of reading, but for listening to as well. And it's true, I found her translation very easy to digest, and was struck by her descriptions of the battles and motivations of the characters. I think any reader will find that much of what the story describes still resonates today, which is pretty impressive for a tale that is almost 3,000 years old!

Reading the Iliad also prompted me to bring out my copy of Rosemary Sutcliff's 'Black Ships Before Troy' (wonderfully illustrated by Alan Lee), and re-watch both the 2004 film and the 2018 mini series. Of course all this Hellenic enthusiasm spilled over into my hobby as well, with me collecting miniatures and mulling over possible  gaming scenarios.

Ever since I was a kid I've been fascinated by the story of the Trojan Horse and Odysseus' ruse which saw the fall of Troy and the end of the 10-year siege. With this in mind, I started to sketch out a semi-cooperative game where the Horse has been brought into the city and the players, who control the Greeks hiding inside, emerge from the Horse to try to secure victory and gain fame under the gods' eyes. I envision that there will be various missions for them to complete and compete for. Things like 'Light the Signal Fire'; 'Open the Main Gate'; 'Secure Helen', 'Raid the Treasury'; etc. I see lots of characterful 'Screw Cards' with Gods intervening amongst the general mayhem. :)

Several of the sources say that 40 Greeks were hiding in the Horse, so I decided that each of the four players would control a hero along with nine companions.  The leading heroes would be Odysseus, Diomedes, Menelaus and Neoptolemus. In the rules I imagine that their companions will serve to assist in side task as well as serve as their bodyguards in critical fights. 

Now, first to find a suitable Horse. I did a good bit of investigating trying to source a suitable model for the Horse but it wasn't easy. In a bout of pique I even entertained making one out of foam core, but I knew that way lay madness and too much strife. Finally I came across a 3d design based on the 2004 movie set model. Perfect!

I quite like the Horse's rustic design as it actually looks like something that may have been built on a beach from repurposed ships planking, rope and smelted bronze. 

The original 3d design was made for 54mm figures which was way too HUGE, especially as I wanted something that could store away in a single banker's box. After a bit of head scratching and calculating, I settled on 20mm as an overarching scale and resized the Horse accordingly for the final print.

The printed model was fairly easy to assemble and paint. I kept the Horse's side panels unglued just in case things go pear-shaped for the Greeks right from the get-go. :)

I quite like that the horse is at a scale that works with the figures. It actually looks like fourty crazy Greeks could be crammed within it. To finish the piece, I made a 'drop hatch' from plasticard and a rope from wire.

The Greek heroes are 3d designs from Wargames Atlantic. I quite like the models, but I have to say that the multipart assembly strained my patience after a while. What you see here is only half of the full Greek contingent of forty. I have most of the other models assembled, but I just couldn't get them across the finish line in time.  Nonetheless, this provides a taste of what the whole group will look like. 

Odysseus' 'Red Group'

Diomedes 'Green Group'

Sometimes I like a scale variation for my 'Big Men' in skirmish games, so I scaled the named Heroes in 28mm so they are noticeably larger than their 20mm companions. I also based them on octagon bases to help them stand out a little more.

I also did a test stand of Trojan opponents, all geared-up in their formidable Dendra plate armour. 

I imagine there will be a whole contingent of these 'Trojan Terminators' at the Palace, protecting Helen and the rest of the Royal family.  They should be a tough nut to crack for the assaulting Greeks.

There is still a lot to do, but this group hopefully breaks the duck and helps me keep up the momentum to complete the project.

As to points for this lot.

21 x 20mm figures = 84 Points

2 x 28mm figures = 10 Points

1 x 20mm 'vehicle' = 15 Points

Literature Bonus = 20 Points

Total: 129 Points

This manages to squeak me into the top 10 point finishers, which is probably my best result to date. Gosh, I think I'll open a bottle in celebration! :)

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In closing I want to thank all our participants for their amazing work, support and kindness throughout the Challenge. As I often like to say, the Challenge is not characterized by me or the minions, but rather by all who participate in it. So again, thank you for the great experience. I really can't think of a better way to spend the winter months.

In a week or so I'll post a poll for 'Challenger's Choice', so please email me your top three nominations for that award. Also, we'll have an update from Skully McSkullface (Barks) and our Duels Wallah (Paul) on their respective tallies. We'll also have an awards wrap up which will include the Challenger's Choice, the Minions' Choice, my SnowLord's Choice and Sarah's Choice. Stay tuned for those announcements.

In the meantime, if you will indulge me, I ask that everyone submit a post featuring a picture of themselves along with their Challenge efforts this season.

Thanks again, and I hope to see you all next winter for Challenge XV!

- Curt

From RayR - High Adventure - 25mm Menelaus 45pts

  

Its time for another Challenge Studio adventure, I've already visited The Trojan War earlier in the Challenge with my Ajax figure and I'm going back there again in this post. 

High Adventure: Whether it’s battling mummies in a pyramid, or scaling the Himalayas in search of a Yeti, the entries for this studio all remind us of the spirit of High Adventure, daring and risk-taking. All that, and fighting a giant Gorilla on the Empire State Building.

I think you could definitely call Menelaus a High Adventurer, he and the Greek armies of the day set off to Troy to reclaim Helen, who had ran off with Paris. Luckily for us, all the adventures were written down by Homer fro us to read.

Menelaus was a king of Mycenaean (pre- Dorian) Sparta. According to the Iliad, Menelaus was a central figure in the Trojan War, leading the Spartan contingent of the Greek army, under his elder brother Agamemnon, king of Mycenae. Prominent in both the Iliad and Odyssey, Menelaus was also popular in Greek vase painting and Greek tragedy, the latter more as a hero of the Trojan War than as a member of the doomed House of Atreus.

Homer's Iliad is the most comprehensive source for Menelaus's exploits during the Trojan War. In Book 3, Menelaus challenges Paris to a duel for Helen's return. Menelaus soundly beats Paris, but before he can kill him and claim victory, Aphrodite spirits Paris away inside the walls of Troy. In Book 4, while the Greeks and Trojans squabble over the duel's winner, Athena inspires the Trojan Pandarus to shoot Menelaus with his bow and arrow. However, Athena never intended for Menelaus to die and she protects him from the arrow of Pandarus. Menelaus is wounded in the abdomen, and the fighting resumes. Later, in Book 17, Homer gives Menelaus an extended aristeia as the hero retrieves the corpse of Patroclus from the battlefield.

According to Hyginus, Menelaus killed eight men in the war, and was one of the Greeks hidden inside the Trojan Horse. During the sack of Troy, Menelaus killed Deiphobus, who had married Helen after the death of Paris.

So there we have my 4th entry into the Challenge and Menelaus will be joining Ajax on my Dad's shelf as he's part of my Dad's birthday present on the 27th Jan.

1 x 25mm figure 5 pts

Bonus round 20pts

Gift Store Bonus 20 pts

Total 45 pts!

This gives me a total of 126 points

I tried reading the Iliad a few years ago and I couldn't get through it, so thank you for providing the background for your adventurer, Ray. The simple armour and plain black shield add a slightly imposing quality to the figure, perfect for a king of Sparta. I hope your father enjoys his gift.

From RayR - 25mm Trojan Wars - Ajax the Great (25pts)

  

I'm late posting my first entry into this years challenge, this is the first chance I've had to get my laptop out and do the post, its pretty short and sweet though, but at least I've got some points up.

Every Christmas I paint my Dad up a figure for his display collection, last year he had Achilles and Odysseus, so I thought I'd carry on with the Trojan War hero theme. Here we have Ajax or Ajax the Great or Greater Ajax , whichever name you want to call him.

Ajax was the son of King Telamon of Aegina and the Grandson of Zeus.

As the Iliad comes to a close, Ajax and the majority of other Greek warriors are alive and well. When Achilles dies, killed by Paris (with help from Apollo), Ajax and Odysseus are the heroes who fight against the Trojans to get the body and bury it with his companion, Patroclus. Ajax, with his great shield and spear, manages to recover the body and carry it to the ships, while Odysseus fights off the Trojans. After the burial, each claims Achilles' magical armor, which had been forged on Mount Olympus by the smith-god Hephaestus, for himself as recognition for his heroic efforts. A competition is held to determine who deserves the armor. Ajax argues that because of his strength and the fighting he has done for the Greeks, including saving the ships from Hector, and driving him off with a massive rock, he deserves the armor. However, Odysseus proves to be more eloquent, and with the aid of Athena, the council gives him the armor. Ajax, distraught by this result and "conquered by his own grief", plunges his sword into his own chest, killing himself. In the Little Iliad, Ajax goes mad with rage at Odysseus' victory and slaughters the cattle of the Greeks. After returning to his senses, he kills himself out of shame

So my small start will give me a massive 5 points!

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First, welcome back to the Challenge, Ray!

Your Ajax looks brilliant, and I really enjoyed reading your background on him, but I have to say the best part is that you did him up for your dad as part of a recurring Christmas gift. I think that's just great.

I'm going to give you the Gift Shop bonus for a gifted figure. Well done.

Great to have you back, Ray!

- Curt