From RobinF: 28mm Gnome Undead : 45 points

This week I painted a selection of Fantasy 28mm models. Most are undead dwarf or gnome models from Midlam games and the rat wizard is a 3d print I bought on Etsy and mounted on a sewer cover base.

I use 30mm round lipped for all my bases and for the undead dwarf I was going for a bog-like green style with the base miniatures. The three skeleton Dwarf models were mixed in to look like bog mummies that have not aged as well! 

Everything happened in a bit of a rush this week, I already had a plan to paint some Orlock for Necromunda but had a sudden blast of a requirement for the weekly roleplaying game I run on a Tuesday.  The players were just about to explore a level of a dungeon in a published adventure called the Abomination vaults. On the latest dungeon floor it was populated by Gnomish bog mummies which had been rotting away for 500 years. They are following the instructions of major non-player character that had asked them to tend a fungus farm to feed an army but their master was long dead and they simply continued the task whilst becoming one with boggy environment.   

With a stroke of luck I discovered Midlam games do a range of gnomes and dwarf undead models, so I placed an order and the fresh metal has been painted with three days of arrival.   

The Rat Mage model has been in the roleplaying game for the best part of ten Months as a player character.  Julie the player of the Rat Mage was happy to play it unpainted but I decided it was time to give it a coat of paint and as with the other models I painted it quickly using glazes. 

I used the under shading technique with my airbrush first spraying a dark grey and then highlighting with a near white from the top. I then applied thin washes of Liquitex soft-body acrylic mixed with water and Liquitex glazing medium.  This was done in one 3 hour sitting and finally I added some Mig Europe base dust to the bases along with Lifecolor vegetable damp origin green.  A small amount of UV resin was dotted on the bases to make them look like they were inhabitants of a bog-like location. 

Points break-down: 9x 28mm miniatures. 36points. 

These are lovely, top work. I almost missed this post as it still said draft on it. Also your maths is terrible, 9x5 = 45😀

From SidneyR: Paris Nightwatch 1622 (Caprica) (140 points)

Owing to various work-and-life-related 'bumps in the road', this sadly is only my second post of the Challenge.  But I've tried to assemble a fairly disparate collection of figures as some form of ambushing party, all of which are inspired by the ambush-y treachery of the planet of Caprica.

First of all, though, I need to get there.  Enter (stage left) a swashbuckling lady with a fancy  sword, accompanying (or being pestered by) a dubious night-stalker of the Paris alleyways.  

She's a really nice and versatile swashbuckling female figure from Brigade Games, in 28mm.  The male figure is from Midlam Miniatures in the UK, also in 28mm.  I had fun painting his skin in a unhealthy pallor, based on a purple base coat.  Plenty of opportunities arise with a figure like this in a game - Has he been over-doing the mercury powder?  Or is there a hint of plague about Monsieur Descartes?  Or... maybe he's just a cultist of Slaanesh...

Next, there are some more 28mm figures from my forces for “...with Flashing Blades”, a set of rules set in the historical Paris of 1622, which is very much inspired by Dumas’ novels of “The Three Musketeers”. During the course of last summer and autumn I painted forces for the Musketeers themselves and the Cardinal’s Guards. 

So what was left for the ‘Paris Collection’ (... see what I did there!...) was this group of figures which I have painted for use as the Paris Nightwatch.

There are ten figures for the Nightwatch in various stages of patrolling, guarding, commanding, directing and promenading - all with a suitably martial air (regardless of their actual ability). I tried to collect the figures as a group which would fit together well and could form a small detachment to prevent law-breaking, fisticuffs and general mayhem breaking out in the fair city of Paris.

The figures are collected from various ranges, mainly from Wargames Foundry’s ECW range which fit together perfectly, size-wise, with the Brigade Games musketeers and Cardinal's Guard. I converted some of the figures, adding green-stuff feather, and lace - but nothing too dramatic.  The fashionable Dalmatian is a hound produced by Simon Chick, which he kindly sent to me after the Salute show in 2018.  Of course, this shamelessly plays to our dear Snow-Lord’s love of dogs, but also reflects the seventeenth century fashion for Dalmatians in 1622 Paris (true...fact-checked!!...).

As for painting, I have again left the bases as plain as possible to allow the figures to be used in any environment, urban or rural. I painted the colours of the figures in muted tones - trying to distinguish the Nightwatch from the red of the Cardinal’s Guard and the blue of the Musketeers. I thought browns and greys would make good Nightwatch colours, and also added some green which might look suitably faded and worn on the table.

I also painted up a collection of ECW 'doctors' which can serve as medical practitioners in our games.  I have no idea if these chaps have any medical training, but that musket ball is in the patient's leg....somewhere.  Maybe one more poke around with the chirurgeon's knife will find it!

I added a head-swap for the 'helping' figure, and added some Green-Stuff feathers to his hat (the head being from Bicorne Miniatures).

I added a few small "terrain" bases as well.  I needed some for a game, but I wonder if they really qualify as Challenge XII-worthy "terrain" according to our scoring system?  There's a Hovels barrel with a cockerel (Parisian, of course), some hens and some bottles of Medoc in various stages of consumption.  And there's some scratch-built hay-piles and/or dung-heaps for Characters and citizens to jump, fall and slip into.  

And, because I'm British, and our culture celebrates the hilarity of people treading in horse poo, I made up some small piles of horse manure to add to the table as a "random event".  No sniggering at the back, please, ladies and gentlemen.

So, with the points:

20 for Caprica, and 20 for the female swashbuckler to get me there = 40 points

15 x 28mm figures = 75 points

One Dalmatian = 2 points (not 101 points, obviously)

Bits of scratch-built terrain, including fluffy chickens, noisy cockerel, bottles and a barrel = 20 points all-in?

Which, with a slight squint at the terrain point-age, would give the entry a total = 137 points

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Great to have the opportunity to enjoy more of your outstanding brushwork Sidney! All of this is amazingly well done, as we have come to expect from you, and the lovely figures are accompanied by entertaining text and explanations. 

 

There are a lot great figures here, but my favourite has to be the purple-tinged fellow, with unhealthy intentions to likely match an unhealthy internal condition...much as I can see him causing problems in Paris, your mention of Slaanesh makes me nostalgic for the lost "Old World" of Warhammer Fantasy Battle (even though I know that is not the intent of this lot overall)...and he looks like he would fit right in that setting too. Great work. 

It is irritating when one-to-one scale gets in the way of the work we wish to do on the more important scales. My dogs always help me keep things in perspective, and so even though you were pandering to the Snow Lord (wisely), the effect of including the dog (fact-checked!) on me is inspiring such as to force me to include a few extra bonus points, and round things up to 140 points. Cheers.

GregB

From SidneyR: The Spider Demon for "The Lair of the Great Beast (35 points)

 

"Come into my parlour...."

So, dear Challengers, I have finally arrived at the Altar of the Snowlord, with just the final  Chamber to go.  When Curt suggested a creepy-crawly for the Chambers of Challenge XI map, I had in mind to paint a guardian spider-demon as my last Challenge to face before arriving at the final Chamber in the dungeon.

Maybe that's because I have had this magnificent sculpt in my lead mountain since I bought it in 2006.  I had originally purchased Him/She/It to complement my Japanese fantasy collection, but somehow - why oh why? - I'd left it until just about the last piece to paint in that collection. 

With the result that, as no collection is ever finished, I never painted it!  Not until now, that is... 

It is a wonderful sculpt, from Citadel Miniatures.  It comes in two parts, the body and legs as one casting and then a separate, malevolent head.  And its just incredibly.... brrrrr.... I don't now but it looks just - poised and ready.

Spiders are incredible creatures, and I have no problem in seeing this spider-demon as a fitting and cunning adversary for any brave adventurer getting this far into the dungeon. 

This Challenge I have loved painting ...pink.  What with the pink Book Golem leading the way, the pink Demon facing down the adventurers, and the pink Turtle Dragon all being painted, there was only one colour for this creepy dungeon dweller.  

A truly Slaanesh spider, then - enticing, cunning, exotic and chaotic - in the lurid pink shades of the Prince of Pleasure.   

As with so much in this Challenge, the non-historical sculpts have taken me back to the Village of Hommlet, to Starstone, to Cirith Ungol and to the adventurers in hundreds of dungeons of my youth in the Realms of Chaos.

Somehow, giant spiders seem so very AD&D - which to me, is another way of saying "they're so 1981"!

I'd painted up this female bard for a teleport within the Challenge, but I've not needed her in the end.  So, it's long overdue that she now is able to join her fellow adventurers in fighting their way into the Altar of the Snowlord.

She's a Midlam Miniatures sculpt, and - like all of the Midlam figures - is very cleanly cast and sculpted.  

I've had a thing for bards of all kinds for decades.  No, not the ludicrously over-blown bards of 1st Edition D&D, but the far more useful, rogues of later editions.  I always was entranced by their fighter/ thief/ magic-user/ Swiss Army Penknife skill-set - which is all a bit silly, but is the kind of thing which fits into so many fantasy settings.  

So here she is, plucking her lute and charming the spider-demon - well, at least she hopes so...

I added some additional green-stuff tresses to her hair.  I have no idea why I did this!  She had enough hair to start with, but now has lots more.  No doubt that strange fashion detail can come to the fore in some adventure.  Maybe she uses her hair to string her lute...?

And, because every adventure is better with friends, here's both the spider demon, the bard and her fellow adventurers from the Second Level, finally arrived at (nearly) Journey's End!

And for the points, there's one 25mm figure - the female bard - for 5 points, and then there's the sipder-demon.  He/She/It is quite large, so can I claim 10 points for the spider as a cavalry figure?  Miles can set me straight if that's 5 points too many (although, Miles, dear friend, be careful before you start any argument with a giant pink spider!!)  

And then there's 20 points for "The Lair of the Great Beast", totalling 35 points for this entry.

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It is a very nice pink spider but ten points well.... oh hell I'm feeling generous but you'll need to let me interview you on the LWTV podcast sometime!  35 Points it shall be!

Miles

From SidneyR: "The Snowlord's Treasury" (34 points)

 

I have a confession to make, dear Challengers.  This Chamber was one which I was excited about right from the start of the Challenge.  I started thinking about the possibility of a sedan chair carrying a box of secret Imperial papers, or a collection of tulip sellers and purchasers at the height of the "Tulip Bubble" in 17th century Amsterdam... 

Some of these might even be ready and waiting for painting, but they'll not be making an appearance in this Challenge, sadly.

No, the ticking clock of Challenge XI waits for no woman or man, my friends.  Like many Challengers, I'm running short of time, so my entry for this Chamber is a little less impressive that what I'd originally anticipated.

But still, I hope, my offering for "The Snowlord's Treasury" passes muster - and includes a couple of forgotten miniatures from my lead mountain of the type which our dear Snowlord loves so much.  Please, dear Challengers, allow me to explain...

The treasure chests are a real mix.  The one on the right is vintage 2021, from Midlam miniatures.  A very clean and pleasant sculpt, which I strongly recommend.  

The one on the left, though, is vintage 1981.  Gosh yes, it is that old.  It was originally owned by a great friend of mind at school, Michael, who sold me all of his Lamming medieval figures sometime around 1983 (when he moved to Sheffield).  

Mike was (and still is) an incredible artist.  He was always streets ahead of everyone in the art class at school with an amazing natural talent.  He painted the treasure chest very well (using Humbrol enamels!) back in the 80s, but after decades of regular use in various wargames and hundreds of roleplaying sessions the treasure chest was looking very battered and worn.

So much so that I felt it needed a complete repaint, and basing properly (instead of the beer-mat cardboard it was based on).  Here it is, repainted, and hopefully ready for decades more use in many dungeons and wilderness campaigns to come.

As befitting any Treasury, there are two loyal guardians of the treasure chests.  I tried to mirror the chests by choosing a Midlam Miniatures fighter (with the beard and chainmail hauberk) and an Oldhammer warrior (yes, he's the chap with the bulging muscles).

The Midlam fighter is a real pleasure to paint.  It's very versatile, gesturing for some unknown adversary - whether kobold, orc, thief or assassin - to "get some".  The OldHammer warrior, sporting a steel "bucket-helm", has been knocking around the lead-mountain for years.  Like many of my other OldHammer Challenge XI painting contributions, painting the figure was such a joy that I felt genuinely ashamed to have left it unpainted for so long.

Anyway, here they are, with many wonderful battles to come in the future to defend their treasure chests...

And for the points, two guardians of the Treasury, in 28mm, at 5 points each (10 points), and can I suggest 2 points for each of the Treasure Chests (4 points)?  Then there's the 20 points for "The Snowlord's Treasury", adding to a total of 34 points.

And the Snowlord's Altar is starting to loom much nearer.  At last.... I'm almost there...!  Just one Chamber to go... 

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From SidneyR: SHAZZAMM for "The Laboratory" (30 points)

 

"Shazz-AMMMMM..... A-LA-kazooom......  Oh, another disappointing spell.  What's the next one in the spell-book?"

For my "Laboratory", I've painted a couple of slightly insane Colour-Wizards from way back in the mists of wargaming time.  A long time back, when I used to play Warhammer Fantasy Battles, colour-magic and the colleges of Colour Wizards were all the rage.  I remember being a bit bemused by the rules, but always liked the idea of wizards belonging to different schools of magic - especially with that slightly mad link between the colleges of magic and the colours of magical winds.

I had a couple of wizards planned for this Chamber, and it's been great to get them finally finished.  One of the wizards is from Midlam Miniatures and is described as being a "Dwarven Mage" (he's the smaller one).  The other is Saruman - well, more accurately, he's the Saruman miniature from the 1980s Citadel Miniatures "Lord of the Rings" range.   I thought both would make perfect Wizards for the "Celestial Magic" school... which, looking at my Oldhammer books, is the Blue School of Colour Magic.

So, out with the Vallejo Dark Blue and Vallejo Prussian Blue, then, dear Challengers!

Both miniatures are very nice sculpts. The facial expressions on both are very 'wizard-ly', and the (no doubt) magical rings on both wizards' fingers are well sculpted in both cases.

I particularly liked the palantir for Sarum... errr, the larger Blue wizard.  I'm not sure i've painted it as well as I might have done, but - hey - it's blue!

So, for the points - 5 points each for a wizard (10 points), plus 20 for "The Laboratory", gives a total of 30 points as I finally start to approach the Snow Lord's Altar!

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Lovely work there with the rich blues Sidney - always great to see some older sculpts getting some love!

Cap'n Wednesday

From LeeH - The Snowlords Treasury - Different Treasures

Two adventurers have found a pile of unguarded treasure in The Snowlords Treasury and each feels their hearts skip a beat. But while one gathers up the spellbooks and tomes of ancient knowledge, for the other it is the glint of gold that mesmerises him. Each to their own, and at least they aren't fighting over their reward for making it this far! 

I had several models I could use for this room but in the end, I decided to use two of them and make a special base to hold them. As before I based the figures separately so they can be used in games and modelled the base from milliput on a large round MDF base. 

Both figures are from Midlam Miniatures, so they are about 25mm rather than 28mm, but the quality of the sculpting is wonderful. They were fun to paint up and I'm sure I can find plenty of use for them in my games. 

Where I go from here (backtrack to the Laboratory or teleport to the Hall of Heroes) depends entirely on the Postman. Sadly the local postie seems to have got lost and who knows where my parcels are going. I wouldn't be surprised if my models have been delivered to the wrong address, I've received other peoples mail on more than one occasion. I would have thought the ability to read the address would be a basic requirement of a Postman, but apparently not!

(Scoring: 2x28mm Figures + Chamber Bonus = 30 Points)

From SidneyR: The Tomb of Sint Jacobus for "The Tomb" (57 points)

 

For my visit to "The Tomb", I've painted a jumble of figures from various manufacturers.  They all have something to do with dead things, however....

The first thing I thought of for the Tomb was a praying guardian, perhaps one of the Brothers of Sint Jacobus from my fictional Laarden project for the late seventeenth century.  A member of a monastic order tasked with the sacred duty of guarding and observing the relics of Laarden's greatest saint - just in case, on the off-chance, a miracle might just... you know... happen.

The Brothers missed out on being in my Challenge for last year, so it's been good for my soul to add one of the Brothers to this Challenge XI.

The Brother is a Bicorne Miniatures monk, from their 'War Correspondents" range.  It's a venerable sculpt, in the Peter Gilder/ Connoisseur style.  While it didn't look great out of the packet, like many older figures it's a joy to paint and starts to very effective on the table at the three foot range or more.  Striking, highly contoured, and with a 'mannered' style, I can see Prior Willem adding a touch of ecclesiastical pedigree to many of our games from the Dark Ages to the Napoleonic era.  

I added the same Milliput cobbles with my fancy greenstuff roller which I'd used for my "Armoury" submission earlier in this Challenge.  I also placed the Brother alongside a really strange miniature - something from Games Workshop which might best be described as a box of body parts.

There's a skull, a lot of bones, a non-decayed head (which is quite handsome for a severed head) and a steel gauntlet.  Could these be the Sacred relics of Sint Jacobus himself, dear Challengers?  

Perhaps so, which explains the Brother's dedication in committing his prayers to parchment.  I was taken by the idea, and I thought the Holy Saint needed a more striking and expensive velvet cover for his once-mortal remains. I made the 'velvet' covering with some wine-bottle foil and a greenstuff fringe, painted the velvet in deep scarlet and the fringe in Venetian Gold.  Fancy stuff indeed.  Nothing but the best for Sint Jacobus, my friends.

A few tufts of grass weeds, poking through the cobbled paving of the Tomb, completed the base.  I liked the slightly creeping feel of decay in the miniatures, even down to the rickety old wooden box which Sint Jacobus' remains are resting in, contrasted with the miraculous preservation of the Saint's hands and handsome head.  I doubt the bottle of herbal liqueur, warming Prior Willem in his arduous duties, will have the same longevity - though it might have miraculous properties all of its own.

Here's Prior Willem's ludicrous Character Card from the "Enemies and Allies of Laarden, 1688" Collectible Card Collection for Challenge XI....

Alongside one of the Brothers of Sint Jacobus, there's a Banshee.  I thought this went well with the Tomb, and she is also a female banshee - to transport me back, with the intercession of the good Lady Sarah, to the 'Hall of Ancestors' on the Second Level of the Challenge Chambers.

It's been a while since I painted a ghost (or a wraith or banshee).  But with a mix of dry-brushing (light grey) and washes (mainly blue, green and grey), the details picked out fairly easily on the Games Workshop miniature.

Finally, as this is "The Tomb", I thought I better add one.  Midlam Miniatures make a very fine tomb with a noble knight on the outer covering and a tiny skeleton inside.  Just the thing for placing in a spooky temple, church or monastery.

So, for the points, there's a 28mm Brother, and a Banshee (5 points each, adding to 10 points).  I hope to claim 5 points for the tomb (half points for the prone knight and the prone skeleton inside!), and then a couple of points for the bones of Sint Jacobus.  All of the bones in Sint Jacobus' box do, I think, complete an entire person, but he is prone - so just two points, dear Challengers.  That would collect 17 points, and with the 20 points for "The Tomb" gives a total of 37 points, and adding in the extra 20 points for a Lady Sarah Bonus (back to Hall of the Ancestors), brings that to 57 points.

I'm praying that's correct. (Yup.  Sorry.  That was a pun). If its not... the flagellation can commence in the discrete surroundings of the Brothers' dormitory...

So how am I doing with my creation of Character Cards for the "Enemies and Allies of Laarden, 1688" Collectible Card Collection for Challenge XI?    I am sure with whatever is happening in the real world, it's the question everyone is really asking this Friday morning.  So far, there's now seven cards with the addition of the Brothers of Sint Jacobus, with three more scheduled to appear.  

Maybe, just maybe, there might be even one more after that, if my prayers to Sint Jacobus are answered.  I better stare at his remains for another hour.  That'll help.  Can someone pass me the herbal liqueur, please?

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