BrendonW Mounted Kinghts and Mongols (120 Points)

On your horses, get set, GO! 

3 x Perry Plastic Knights and 9 x Fire Forge Plastic Mongols. What a crazy ride the Painting Challenge has been. Lots and lots of fun. This may be my last post but you just never know if something can get completed in the last few hours.

Thank you all participants, visitors and especially Curt. I have tried to comment on as many posts as I can but some I missed but I may go back and post something. Project Mongol will continue after the challenge on my Blog as will a few more additions to the 'Red & Black'.  Cheers all from BrendonW (The Kiwi).


From Curt:

Whoa, that is some lovely cavalry Brendon - well done! It's all so good but I especially like the black and red stripped lances on the WotR knights. 

Brendon, it's been a real pleasure to have you with us again this year. I really appreciate the support you've given to both me and all the Challengers. I monitor all the comments that roll into the blog and I know you're one of the most dedicated commentators of the event - again, thanks so much for that.

I look forward to seeing the forces of the 'Red and the Black' develop over on your own blog. Until next time.

From RayR - 2 Odd 25mm figures (10 Points)

Just two figures for this post, the first is a Civilian figure for my Donnybrook collection. I've no idea what make the figure is, my best guess would be Old Glory?? He's had a bit of conversion work, he did have a 18th century/7YW kinds hairstyle, which was too late for the 1690's so I sculpted on a rather dodgy looking wig. As of yet he's got no name, so I'll have to think of one before too long?

I've had this second figure for around 10 years, so thought it was about time he had a lick of paint. You may recognize him, its the same figure as Andrew from Loki's Greathall blog, uses for his avatar, so in honour  of Loki, he'll be called Loki Greathallson!

Hopefully this is not my last post, there may be a very large sandbag tomorrow????

From Curt:

Great to see Loki make it out this year after all!  That wig is a brilliant piece of conversion work (love his jowls - reminds me of the animation in Pink Floyd's 'The Wall').

We await your sandbag Mr. Rousell (why am I not surprised)....

From Millsy - 28mm British Napoleonic Hussars (60 points)

This second last post for my Challenge is a small Napoleonic commission in 28mm for a mate. And a VERY overdue one it is! We play a lot of skirmish games on Friday nights when the brain can't manage bigger games and these Front Rank 28mm Napoleonics are intended for use with Song of Drums and Shakos.

Firstly we have an officer and four men from the 1st Hussars, King's German Legion in a very stylish "French" blue. They look so natty they could well even BE French but they aren't and my Dragoons will have no hesitation in brushing them aside on the table. I very much like Front Rank's miniatures in general and their Naps whilst a little wooden are still loaded with crisp detail which paints up very nicely.

The last miniature is a Spanish officer of Don Julian Sanchez' regiment in "full dress" i.e. uniform he pinched from a deceased French cavalryman (the scoundrel!). There are no commercial figs representing this chap so my mate went with the next closest thing and I think it's a good compromise.

I'm rather pleased these are done as the guilt was almost too much to bear. :-) Even better, it's 60 points more to add to my tally...


From Curt:

Lovely work Millsy! Your friend will be more than compensated for his patience with these fine 'harse boys'.  Beautiful brushwork on the pelisse and that is a very snappy blue (even though they may say it's French). And to 'cap it off' you can't go wrong with a nice plumed busby. I have a copy of SoDaS and have been keen to give it a go. I assume you like the rules?

Again, great work Mr. Mills.

ClintB: Toppimg Out (28mm Viking!) (6 Points)

Well this really is my last entry this year and all praise to Curt for a brilliant job, well done! So ending on a highpoint. Here is a single 28mm female Viking. As no one objects to male topless berserker figures, as an equal opportunity painter I thought to do a female one.  The figure is from the "Belt-fed" range by Colonel Bills.

Great fun to paint. The shield is my own design but based on a re-enactors. So not historically accurate as far as I am aware but great fun. And as I intend to do some CONAN wargaming this year she will fit very nicely into that. Not sure which rules yet, maybe "Crom" maybe "Songs of blades and Heroes". Anyway here is the shield.

It is u to you to decide if it is a longship or a sea serpent. For me it is both and totally suitable for some Hyborian shenanigans.

Once again thanks to all involved in the challenge especially Curt and Sarah. I am already looking forward to the next one.


From Curt:

Lovely viking Clint! Wonderful work on the stripped trousers, shield and (ahem) other accoutrements.

From JamieM - Final pulp sci-fi figures (15 Points)

Have you ever watched the end of a marathon? Not in the Olympics or anywhere professional, just the type normal people run in to challenge themselves? If you have, you'll have seen that some people sprint full pelt when they can see the finish line, despite the fact that they were struggling for breath not a mile earlier. Well, that's kind of like how I feel now. After getting bogged down after a bright start, it feels like I have to get lots of the half finished stuff done in case I put down my paintbrush straight after the challenge, like the end of an exam!

Anyway, I'm glad you're still with me after my digression there.... So here it is, my third post in three days.  These are three more pulp sci-fi figures and comprise, from left to right, another member of the ships crew, the evil overlord lady and the right hand man of the overlord.

The ships crew lady I deliberately did bright, because it felt right. She's another great bombshell miniatures sculpt. The other two are relatively understated as the evil overlord and her hitman and they were from crooked dice miniatures. I thought after the bright yellow lady stormtroopers, they would provide a nice counterpoint.

All great fun to paint and the give me a full roster to use now as there was every chance that the lack of an evil overlord would have led to me shelving all the painted figures until I got round to it, which could have been months.....

Will I manage to get another post in? I'm certainly hoping to.....


From Curt:

Nice!  I like the vibrrant palette you went with for these three - it really reinforces that they are in a bright, sci-fi setting. Now that you're over the hump with these three you absolutely NEED to source that Evil Overlord!

Great work.

From DavidL - A Miscellaneous Retrospective (44 Points)

For this, my final entry in the Challenge, I present a miscellany of figures that, quite coincidentally, touch on some of my very first entries...

First up, we have what will be my third (and hopefully final) version of Malifaux's Taelor. Way back when I posted my "Hired Guns" crew, I talked about how dissatisfied I was with the "official" versions of this character - neither the plastic or metal sculpts did much for me. I found a suitable substitute in MicroArt's "Alice Tinkerly" but...I still wasn't completely satisfied. Her laid-back pose didn't match Taelor's fearsome combat abilities.

Then I spotted this excellent figure, part of a special edition boxed set from Bombshell Miniatures. The animation of the pose combined with the ludicrously huge industrial wrench told me at once that I'd found my version of Taelor:

The crazy eyes were a bit of a happy accident...

One of Taelor's signature moves is "Weclome to Malifaux!" Indeed.

This next piece is one that I don't plan on seeing featured in many games, but it was too cool not to pick up when I placed an order for my Ikko-Ikki from Kingsford: a giant taiko drum and a horagai player blowing on his conch shell.

This painted up in an evening and will make a fine centerpiece on display with my Ronin factions.

Lastly, we have the final figures for my 25-point Skorne army for Hordes. More Titans! First, the fearsome Bronzeback Titan.

In keeping with his name, I gave his central ridge of spiky hair a greenish cast, evoking a verdigris patina on bronze.

I believe this is the largest model for this base size in the whole WarmaHordes line. I could be wrong, but all I know is: you wouldn't want to see this guy bearing down on you in the middle of a battle!

"I heard they shaved a gorilla."

And here's another Titan, a Defender, to act as bodyguard for my caster.

Although not as large as the Bronzeback, he is at least as equally impressive, with his ornate armor and shield.

As before, I've left his back banner blank pending a decision on what sort of custom sigil to put on it.

Finally, we have the reason why everybody loves to hate the Skorne: the Agonizer. Not only are these guys a pain for any Skorne opponent mechanically, they're the living embodiment of the true depths of Skorne evil. It's a baby Titan (read: baby elephant!) kept in a state of perpetual pain and agony, which in turn is used to fuel the magic of nearby warcasters.

This is my second Agonizer in the list, and painting them never gets any easier. It's kind of funny to feel so ambivalent about one's own army. Everyone has to play the bad guy from time to time, I suppose...

All those hooks! Poor baby...

Inspired by a co-worker who is out sick this week with conjunctivitis, I gave this Agonizer infected eyes oozing with pus. Ewww!

The trio together.

I'll leave scoring for the taiko set up to Curt, but assuming I get 12 points each for the two Titans as was scored for my first Titan entry, this tally should put me just over my points goal, which is fantastic - I arrived at my target via the age old, time-tested method of pulling it out of thin air, so I'll be glad if my estimate worked out.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Curt for hosting this carnival yet again, and to extend a big thanks all the other participants for sharing their amazing projects and paint jobs. I entered into this contest with the intent of simply finishing off my existing collection of unpainted figures (a goal I succeeded in!), but through the course of following the other entries in the challenge, I've been inspired to start three new projects!

I intend to keep working away at the new projects over the course of the year, but I'd be surprised if I'm done with all of them by the time the next Challenge rolls around (should Curt so choose to favor us), and in that case I'll see you all again next year! It's been a wild ride and I can't wait to do it again...

From Curt:

Lovely figures David! Those two Titans are gorgeous (and a bit intimidating) and that Agonizer looks like it would work very nicely in a Cthulhu setting, but I must say my heart is taken with your taiko set - lovely character there.  

And yes! You've hit your target quite handily with this entry David - well done young man!!

It has been a pleasure Mr. L - I hope you join us the next time the Challenge rolls out.

From AdamC- Bergepanther Recovery Vehicle (8 points)

This is the tough and Ugly Berbpanther a German tow truck for tanks.  I picked it up for use with my German armor in Flames of War

Mine didn't have crew included but I has lots left over so I added two I also added the tow cable though I am not 100% sure that is were it should look up.

In addition to helping you armor get out of sticky situations in ditches, hedgerows and swamps this fellow actually has better armor than the StuGs and Panzer IVs I usually use so it might bounce a hit saving a tank that way form time to time

Its a 15mm model with two passengers so another 8 points.


From Curt:

I like seeing these support vehicles as they add another dimension to the tabletop force. Great work on the camo and the upper hoist Adam! 
 

From Curt - 'Johnny Turquoise' (5 Points)

It seems I'm on a bit of a Pulp Adventure kick lately.  No idea why.  I'm just going to settle in and roll with it.

This is 'Johnny Turquoise', a Cuban-born hitman from Florida. Johnny fancies himself quite a snappy dresser and an even better shot. Even though he's seen here with a Thompson he actually prefers to work with a .45 pistol. He'll do pretty much any job given him as he's saving money to get his family into the States and setup in Little Havana. 

Lately he's been doing a bit of wetwork for a group out in the Everglades. They call themselves 'The Esoteric Order of Dagon'.  Johnny's a hard, hard man but these people are really starting to give him the creeps...  

28mm Figure by Copplestone Castings.

From HeatherH(!) - Doug's 1991 Mini (5 Points)

I received this wonderful email today from HeatherH, Evan and Grant's mother. Heather is the sister of my most excellent friend Douglas, and is a great supporter of her sons' interest in the hobby. Anyway, I'll let Heather introduce herself to you all:

Hi Curt,

The boys were having so much fun painting miniatures that I could no longer resist the lure of challenge! As you can see from the inscription on the bottom of the Dungeon and Dragons miniature, it is a 1990 cast from Grenadier that Douglas purchased a couple of decades ago. He gave Grant and Evan his unpainted stash of figurines last year, and I think that Evan (who is home sick) will complete painting the other ones today. The boys are worried that I am now hooked!

Hugs, 

Heather

From Curt:

Heather, welcom to the Challenge! Is this truly your first go at painting miniatures? If so, you're a very quick study and really should keep it up - you have great brush control and a good eye. 

I particularly like the 'punch' of colour from the green and red buckler and the banding around the spearhead.  As a suggestion for the future, you might want to try a bit of diluted black or blown ink and lightly 'wash' the armour with a soft brush. The ink will settle in the creases and edges to better define the chainmail and armour plating - giving it more of a 3D look.

Finally, I find it awesome that this is one of Doug's D&D minis from the 90s - he'll be delighted to know that it outlasted his hairline (and mine for that matter) and is getting some airplay after all these years. (Be careful, he may want it back now!) 

Again, it was wonderful to get this from you Heather. Hey, you should join us next year - I know that Anne and Tamsin would love the company! 

Best regards.