From TeemuL: The Last Ducks and Orcs (50 points)

My last post of the Challenge has elements of two of my favourite fantasy worlds, Glorantha and Middle-Earth. First Glorantha and heroic ducks. I recently painted first five of them here: Ducks from 2022. And now was the time to paint the rest and claim one more squirrel!

They being fantasy ducks and not real I was able to use varied colours - one of them is blue, another one is green, one yellow and light and dark grey pair to finish them off. I tried to again use a limited palette to tie them together, look unified, but not uniformed. So lots of greys, greens and browns, followed by wash and gentle drybrush. It is a miracle indeed how many colours you can shade with Reikland Fleshshade and drybrush with Caucasian Flesh and the end result is great! I give you hint, basically anything but blue and green on these ducks...

For those of you don't know, ducks from Glorantha are barbarians and live side by side with other barbarians following their Storm God called Orlanth. Ducks don't take criticism well, especially if it is targeted towards their height, size or skills with weapons. They are short tempered, I wonder if Donald Duck is related to them...

Times like these, Challenge coming to end, skull duel almost tied, every skull counting, it would be tempting to paint free hand skulls everywhere, for example on the shields of these ducks. But skull is not a symbol widely used in Glorantha, so one of them got a storm rune and other one got a luck rune. Whirling storm rune is also the mark of Orlanth. They are smallish minis, 20mm in height, but in 28mm scale and previously counted as 28mm so it would be 5 points per mini and total of 25 points and a "Glorantha Duck" squirrel.

<Enter some quack jokes here>

And lets move on. Here are five more Uruk-hais for my army. You might remember my earlier entry where I said these were surprisingly easy and fast to paint. So I primed five more and they were still easy and fast to paint. I need to remember that, because I have quite a lot of them waiting for paint.

The recipe is the same and since there are dozens of entries on the final hours, I'll save you from long rants. 5 minis for 25 points, no squirrels or skulls. 50 points total. Thank you and "See You In December!"

From Millsy:

One of my favourite aspects of Gloranthan lore is the quirkiness of it and the ducks are the epitome of that quirkiness. I would never have though to use such bright colours on them as you've done mate but it really works.

Lovely work Teemu and another 50 Lunars added to your tally.

PS. I tried to think of a duck joke that would quack you up but couldn't manage it.

Cheers,

Millsy

From TeemuL: Orclike creatures (70 points)

Couple of weeks ago I posted an entry about all things green. Today I'm not far off that subject, but this is more a study of orcs rather than of a green. And the "study" is created while typing, after I managed to create a topic which would gather all the models of this week. Orc is a tricky word, I believe, everyone knows what orcs are, but no-one really knows what orcs are or what they look. :) It is a specific but generic term with many different points of view, different lores and different authors/artists.

These are Uruk-Hai from Games Workshop Lord of the Rings range based on the movie trilogy by the same name. In the movies Uruk-Hai are creatures created by Saruman, in the books they come from Mordor, but Saruman just manages to enhance them to not be afraid of daylight.  Tolkien's orcs were originally corrupted elves, Jackson's version is mix of orcs and goblin.

I chose to paint 5 of these, just enough for another squirrel, but they were so quick to paint, that I primed another 5, which might get painted later in the Challenge. I have largish collection of painted Uruk-Hai, but only 3 with pikes before this. Definitely need for more, luckily I have lots to paint. These are 20 years old or so, gathered from here and there over the years. These "orclike creatures" are brown skinned and heavily armoured and have long pikes, which gives them unique fighting abilities in the game. Very quick to paint, like I told. brown skin and armour cover almost everything. The photos are quite bright, but there are two layers of black wash over the plate mail to give them darker and more industrial look. Brown bases to finish them off, green tufts to add some colour to all brown, black and metal.

The next one is a mean, green killing machine, so I'd say an orclike creature. For Toy Story bonus round I painted a Centurion tank for my Delmonteland project, but since Wars of Insurgency rules are not really about tanks, I thought the jungle troops would need another kind of vehicle. The answer came from the box of toy cars I bought Gaslands in mind, but this 4x4 Cherokee is claimed to be 1/64 scale, so the same as the Centurion, so it should be a perfect fit.

I painted the car green, then added lighter green highlights, painted the windows and tires black and bumpers brown. A little bit colour to the lights and then some muddying. The freehand palm tree and slogan on the roof were painted light grey and highlighted with white.

The trunk opens, so I painted the inside yellow, looks quite practical. Some thin lines to windows to mimic reflections. Not necessarily the best effect, but at least something to break the blackness.

In the photo below I have included two jungle warriors I painted before to better show the size and scale. Looks may be a bit big, but probably just big business... "Let's go Bananas" is something I invented tongue in the cheek, something eager mercenaries might think when going to fight in the jungle. Afterwards I learnt that there is a Canadian TV show for children with the same name, so salute to Canadians is included (unintentionally).

Another size comparison, this time with Warlord Games WW2 jeep. Again, looks a bit bigger, but clearly the design is not so Spartan, so not a problem for me. Someone might argue about the correct scale for 25/28 minis, but for me this is close enough - especially when this was supposed to be a cheap side project.

The following 3 photos show the Cherokee before my salvage job. I liked the red paint and "Mad Bull" text, may be I should have stick to that instead of "Let's go Bananas"?

It can clearly be seen that this toy car has seen lots of action and most likely love. I hope to field it for my games so it can enjoy the new life and love.

And the last photo shows the technical details, 4x4 Cherokee by Majorette, Made in France, 1/64 scale and No 256.

And then some actual orcs, at least the Games Workshop version of them. Games Workshop orcs in the Fantasy (or Grim Dark) setting are greenskinned. They are not evil as such, they just like a good fight and enjoy destruction. Back in the days orcs were considered brave warriors, nowadays they are cowards hiding inside armours, made of metal gone through pigs... This entry shows the more heroic orcs rather than those cowards. These are (or were) called Savage Orcs and as you can see, their equipment and weapons are from the lo-tech end of the technology tree.

Yes, good old metal orcs with goblin green bases and red weapon shafts! I guess I'm bit of a dwarf and savage orc inside me, dirstrusting pretty everything too new and modern...

I added some variety, each one has different coloured skin or fur and there are actually 5 different sculpts here, even though two pairs look quite the same - but not exact. Shields are quite modern, but they are rather rough, so they fit these savages better.

In general they were painted basecoat, highlights and gentle wash, but there are some variations here and there. The bone weapons of the boss guy have severel layers for example where as the red eyes have just the basecoat.

What might surprise you, there savage beasts (as some imperial scholar might call them) have zero skulls on them! Bone and stone weapons, feathers, severed head, all kinds of armbands, bracelets and nose rings, but not a single skull. Well, if you want skulls, you'll have them next week!

"28mm LotR Forces of Evil" squirrel, no robots or skulls, 25 points for 5 minis.

25mm vehicle for 20 points, no skulls or new squirrels.

"28mm Warhammer Fantasy Orcs" squirrel, no robots or skulls... 25 points for 5 minis.

Total 70 points, 2 squirrels.

With all these points I reach the halfway of my target with two weeks to go!

Oh boy Teemu, what a great mix of offerings you have for us today! I do like both the versions of that architypal enemy: the trusty Orc or Ork. Those Uruk Hai really look good, but I like the Savage Orcs better they are goofy and just ooze charakter! That Cherokee is the cream of the crop for me, what a nice rescue job, the banans theme does really work well indeed, so get those brushes started and try to paint some more we sure like to see more of these kinda posts!

Cheers Sander 

From FrederickC - Some Lord of the Rings Bits and Bobs (107 points)

 No big points bomb this week as I have been down with a cold for a few days. I decided to work on clearing away a lot of loose ends to make room on my desk for some large projects that are coming down the pipe. What we have today is a mix of Uruk-hai Berserkers, Mordor Uruk-hai, some Dwarf Heroes, a trio of Trolls, and a collection of Mines of Moria terrain and dead.

The three Uruk-hai Berserkers are metal figures from Games Workshop that were mixed in with the secondhand Uruk-hai Scout that I was given. The paint job left much to be desired, so they got stripped back down to raw metal and then were primed black with a rattle can. Vallejo acrylics were used for most of the colors - Cavalry Brown for the skin areas, Leather Brown for the loincloth, sandals, and gloves, and Gun Metal for the helmet and sword. They were then given a coat of Army Painter Strong Tone Quickshade.

 The three Mordor Uruk-hai were from another blister of metal figures from Games Workshop that I picked up years ago, and they have been sitting in the pending box ever since they got mounted on their bases and primed black. Again, I used primarily Vallejo acrylics, but also some craft store acrylics that I still have in my paint box. I used a colour called Hippo Grey for the skin areas, and Charcoal for the cloaks. The leather pieces got painted a mix of Leather Brown, Chocolate Brown, and Flat Earth, while helmets, greaves, gauntlets, and weapons were painted with Gun Metal. Finally I gave them a coat of Citadel Agrax Earthshade.

 

 Next up are four Dwarven Heroes consisting of a Shieldbearer, a King's Champion, and two Heralds.These are resin figures from Games Workshop that were available at one time as metal miniatures. Like the Dwarves I painted for last week's submission, these were mounted on their bases, some sand glued down to the base with PVA glue, and then primed black with an airbrush. I used mostly Vallejo acrylics, but also some Partha paints for the True Blue and Bronze Metallic.

King's Champion flanked by two Heralds

A side view to show off the banner designs

A Shieldbearer is a Minor Hero bodyguard

A view from another angle to show off the shield design

 The three trolls are a mix of two Games Workshop Cave Trolls, one in metal and the other in plastic, and a Reaper Miniatures Mountain Troll that I am going to use as a Mordor Troll. The metal Cave Troll I purchased years ago, and like the Mordor Uruk-hai, it was prepped and then gathered dust. The plastic Cave Troll is the one that comes with the Mines of Moria starter box. Somebody bought it, but was only interested in the Moria Goblins and the Fellowship figures, so I ended up with the Cave Troll and the terrain. The Reaper Mountain Troll is a massive metal figure that has since been replaced with a plastic version of the sculpt. Again, Vallejo acrylics were used, followed by a wash of Citadel Agrax Earthshade. I had used Medium Flesh on the Mountain Troll as a base colour, and with the Earthshade wash, it came out looking a bit more orange than I expected, but it still looks pretty menacing. These all stand 55-60mm tall.

Reaper Mountain Troll, plastic Cave Troll, and metal Cave Troll

 

The backside of the trio of trolls

 Lastly I have two sets of terrain pieces from the Mines of Moria starter box. I got one set from someone who only wanted the Fellowship figures and the Moria Goblins, and the other from someone who just wanted all the figures, including the Cave Troll. So I ended up being given a total of 8 pillars, 4 trapdoors, 2 chests, 2 wells, 2 sarcophagi, and 6 assorted skeleton/skull pieces. These were all primed black using a rattle can, and then dry brushed with progressively lighter shades of grey. I used Iraqi Sand on the skeletons and skulls, Stone Grey on all the pages, Chocolate Brown on the chests and book covers, with Bronze Metallic and Gun Metal painted on various other bits. I then used a fine tipped Sharpie to put lines of dots and dashes on the pages to look like writing. Finally everything got a wash with Citadel Agrax Earthshade. I am not quite sure how this should all be scored, either just based on volume, or counting the 6 supine skeletons and two seated dead as half figures. The points claimed are for the mix of the two methods, but I will accept whatever adjustment Minion Miles makes.

Two sets of Mines of Moria terrain

 

An elevated view

A closeup showing the dead and skeletons and the detail on the pages

The points being claimed are as follows:

10 x 28mm figures @ 5 points = 50 points

8 x 28mm half figures @ 2.5 points = 20 points

3 x 54mm figures @ 10 points = 30 points

0.35 of a terrain cube @ 20 points = 7 points

 

Minion Miles: WOW these are great - especially the banners - top notch stuff.

From FrederickC - Uruk-hai Scouts and Leaders (250 points)

As my second submission for the Challenge, I present 48 Uruk-hai scouts and 2 commanders. This is the first project on my Lord of the Rings "To Do" list, and it adds to the large Uruk-hai force that I completed in March 2021. It consists of two boxes of 24 plastic Uruk-hai Scouts and two different metal versions of Lurtz, all from Games Workshop. One of the boxes I had purchased new, while the other was a secondhand set that I was given. The gifted set needed a fair bit of cleaning, like removing the old paint that was "heavy on silver", trimming some of the rough areas where the figures had been attached to the sprues, and a bit of repair on some of the swords. One sword was missing completely, so I replaced it with some hammered florist wire. The Lurtz figure firing his bow came with the gifted box, and the other was an eBay purchase which came with the upper part of the bow missing. This was repaired with a bit of hammered copper wire.

Once everything was cleaned up and repaired, some small pebbles were glued to a few of the bases to get some variety, followed by some sand. All the miniatures were then primed black using a rattle can, and painted with acrylics, primarily Vallejo. I used three different browns, two different shades of grey, as well as gunmetal. As a final step I applied a coat of Army Painter Strong Tone Quickshade. While it leaves the miniatures rather glossy, it made all the browns seems richer, and made the swords and armour look appropriately grotty.

Uruk-hai scouts out scouting for Hobbits

 

Close-up of the left group

Close-up of the right group

"Find the Halflings!"

The points being claimed are as follows:

50 x 28mm figures @ 5 points each = 250 points.

 Next stop - Amon Hen.

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A very nice point bomb, Frederick! These refurbished fighting Uruk-hai scouts look excellent. With this 50 you're getting close to half the number that attacked the Fellowship at Amon Hen! 

Great work!

- Curt

From StefanK: Finally Curtgeld... and Thalia (55 Points)

Traditionally my final post of the challenge contains the Curtgeld. So here we go:

Here we have three figures the first of which is Thalia. She is a Zombicide: Black Plague survivor and I guess that any resemblance with Red Sonja is purely occasional:

Anyway I acquired this special kickstarter exclusive figure a while ago with the idea in mind to build a barbarian themed survivor party. Unfortunately we haven't played too much Black Plague since but Thalia remained a figure I wanted to paint anyway.

After our ACW project was done (for the moment...) I thought she might fit into this challenge to give Lady Sarah another female figure to choose from.

As usual for CMon figures Thalia was of great detail and good casting quality. That board game plastic isn't easy to clean but fortunately the figure didn't have too much flashing. As usual I used a choice of Wargames Foundry and Vallejo paints.

On the first picture Thalia is accompanied by the to Uruks I want to give Curt as his well deserved entry fee:

They are from the oldish Games Workshop game but nevertheless nice and characterful figures that show some evil warriors on their way to Amon Hen to hunt down the Fellowship of the Ring.

Since I sold all my LotR figures years ago I asked a friend to have a look at his spares and luckily he discovered these two fellows and supplied them gladly.

Again I used mostly Vallejo paints to bring them to live and I hope you - especially Curt - like my humble work. It was pretty fiddly to work out the skin colour for those Isengard breeds but finally I decided to use a scheme I employed for African skin a while ago.

Finally I based them on 30mm bases and applied a badge displaying the donor and the occasion those figures were given.

Well, that's it then. More or less. My final words shall not be about figures and painting. In fact I want to address our busy and tireless host and his loyal minions:

Many thanks to all of you for making this challenge possible again!

It was a great pleasure to follow all the fine entries and it was an honour to be a humble part of it!

Now spring is coming and summer will follow. But in autumn at the latest I'll keep my eyes open for the roll call for the Xth painting challenge which I'm yearning for already.

_______________________

Absolutely brilliant work Stefan. The Not-Red Sonja is terrific and I'm sure she is a brutal character to run in 'Black Plague' (a great game btw - one we actually liked more than Zombiecide). As to the Curtgeld, I can only give my deepest thanks - these two Uruks are wonderful and will have a place of honour amongst the growing warband. Of course the painting is up to your regular high standards, but I also want to give you the big thumbs-up on the bespoke labels - now, that's class! :)

Thanks again Stefan!

- Curt

From MattK: Uruk-Hai Scouts and more Goblins (125 points)

Ironically, the above Uruks were painted to squeeze in a third picture for this week but I'm super happy with how they turned out. I'm sure someday I'll grow tired of painting these models but so far 25 models in I'm still enjoying every part of the process. They're a little basic but they come together so nicely in my opinion.

The next picture requires a bit of an explanation. In addition to the Gloomspite army I'm working on, a friend and I ran a game at a local show (Flintcon) with some of the models. We decided to do a bit Goblin Squig Hunt game. Each player got a team of goblins (one netter, one herder and one "bait")

So to go with the models I already had I needed to actually paint some foot goblins. So presented below are 16 goblins with various kit.

Finally to go with these (and the several squigs from a few weeks ago) I painted five more metal squigs for the game and my collection. I think I may have finally hit the end of my pile of metal squigs and I think I'm down to just one box of the new plastic ones.

So all told 25 more 28mm infantry comes out to 125 points

_____________________________________________

Uruk-hai form columns, yes? So, clearly French!

Well done, otherwise! 125 points!

Edit: I have thoroughly enjoyed spending the Friday guest minion budget on the finest food and alcohol San Francisco can offer. Now that I have returned to Friday Follies HQ, I have updated your points total accordingly.