From BenF: Aaaaand we're off and painting... (48 Points)

Any of you who frequented my blog (littletinmen.blogspot.com) will know that over the past year I've been... well, shall we say less than prolific - with my online presence of late.
Real life has taken hold, but while I've not been posting much online (apart from twitter), I've been busily painting away, and particularly working on speeding up my methods so that I can get some armies painted. I must say, it's been working well for me, as over the past 12 months i've completed I've a 15mm Roman army, a 20mm Chain of Command Waffen SS platoon, a load of 6mm Cold War Soviets, as well as 28mm French and British Peninsular War forces for Sharp Practice 2.

So, this challenge is just perfect for me to try to push myself a little. My goals for this are to get a shed-load of 15mm Forged in Battle ancients painted up for Sword and Spear/Impetus/To The Strongest. I'll start with some bits and pieces to complete my Republican Romans, then on to Alexandrian Macedonians, Carthaginians, Achaemenid Persians, and possibly some 3rd century Romans and Sassanid Persians.. I've also got some WW2 20mm odds and ends that I need for my Chain of command forces, some of the lovely 28mm Fantasy Flight Star Wars figures, and will also be starting on some 28mm AWI forces for Sharp Practice 2.

My goal is 400 points, which i'm relatively confident I should be able to meet. As a teacher, I've just begun 5 and a half weeks of holidays, and other than some work around the house and a week away, I don't have much planned, sop should have heaps of time for painting.

First off, here are three elements (12 mounted figures) of 15mm Numidian light horse. I used to paint everything in the 'Dallimore' style, layering up. Looks great, but takes ages, particularly if you actually want to get an army completed. These are base/wash/highlight, which to my eye looks quite similar, and takes much, much, much, less time to complete.

While the Numidians can serve with my S&S Romans, I've based them to tie in with my planned Carthaginian army, so have gone for a southern Mediterranean feel. These are the gorgeous Forged in Battle figures. Next off the bat for my 15mm ancients are some war elephants and Italian allies.

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First, welcome aboard Ben! It's great that ypu're using the Challenge to get a project off the table - many (including myself) have done amazing things during this three months of madness.

These Numidians look wonderful - very neat and tidy. I really like the decorated hide shields and the chunky bases. Very, very nice work.

I look forward to seeing your upcoming nellies and Italians.  I have a suspicion you will get a LOT done in the next five weeks.

From MartinC: At last, I've started (75 points)

I had such grand plans for a nice early points bomb, but I've had a streaming cold for the last 3 days and kept sneezing on the figures. Much better now, it was only a cold. I have managed to finish these 15 figures.

The are Perry Plastic Colonial British and are fantastic figures that were sent to me as a secret Santa present, organised by Ian and Cath .  I opened it in error (I was slightly drunk - OK quite drunk) so I made them once I'd sobered up and the plan was to paint them all by Christmas. I'll have to make do with 15 for now.

I changed my painting style a little. Normally I start with flesh and work out but this time I painted the uniforms and then added a shade wash and then dry brushed the highlights before painting the rest. This has worked OK but needed a slightly darker shade. 

Good to have started before Christmas. Happy Christmas one and all.

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Martin, you sound a mess. First drunk and then a head cold? Well, at least you're sober and healthy now. Well, healthy anyway. :)

These are very nice, Mr. Cooke. You did quite well with the flesh. Like you normally do, I paint the flesh first, so I know how difficult it can be to go in later, especially with cowled or armoured figures. Nonetheless you've done a great job with these lads.  How many do you have left of these to do? Is this a part of a larger project?

75 points to get you on the roster Martin - Well done!

From GregB: 28mm Legion Space Marines and Dreadnought (55 points)

Troops of the 12th Legion, ready for action in GW's Horus Heresy

Hello once again to all of the participants in the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge! It's great to be back in the madness again, and I'm hoping to sneak this first submission in just before Christmas. 

 

Unit officer, equipped with power claws/back scratchers

When it comes to painting I don't do well with plans, and I'm not much for focus, but I am hoping to come out on top of my 30k side duel, so that is where I am starting this year.  This is a unit of Space Marines and a Dreadnought from GW's Horus Heresy setting, known colloquially by nerds like me as "Warhammer 30k". 

 

These fellows are carrying small flame-throwers...tasty...

These troops are from the 12th Legion, known charmingly as the "World Eaters".  This Legion sided with the Warmaster Horus in his civil war against the Emperor, and as such are "bad guys". The World Eaters are meant to be scary, ominous and keen on brutal, in-your-face conflict.  Dark, but necessary implements of order in a terrible universe. But in the hands of the GW writers, however, the World Eaters come across instead as comically homicidal.  The supreme commander of this formation is a character called "Angron" - and guess what - he's angry!  Their special formations are generally troops who have received further psychological augmentation that make them unstable and a bit nuts.

 

Regular assault grunts

So, the World Eaters are kind of silly, but I still like them, as I'm not that mature. I can see the Sons of Horus hanging back while letting these guys go in first to absorb some damage before they swoop in to finish things off.

 

Some weathering and chips painted on to make them look a bit worn

The World Eaters are fun to paint and you can make them look a little rough and ready without spattering blood effects etc. on the models.  That is the effect I tried with this group.  White is tricky sometimes, and I had a few problems on some of the models, but they got some heavy weathering which helps the problems go away :) The Forge World decal sheet was extra handy for helping add little bits of character and customization to the models.

The infantry models are assault marines, sporting jet packs and equipped with heavy, short-range pistols and flamethrowers as well as the chainsword, the ubiquitous face-smashing device of the grim and dark future.  

 

Rotary cannons are always the best in any sci-fi situation

The models are resin castings from Forge World - you can tell, as some of the jump packs have some appalling mold lines.  Forge World has great sculptors, but their casting quality is often indifferent at best...

 

Power unit at the back...not carbon neutral

The larger model is a Dreadnought, a heavy armoured support unit for the Space Marines.  The Dreadnoughts can be configured with a wide assortment of different weapons for different purposes.  It is armed with a rotary cannon (rule: rotary cannons are always awesome) and a power fist to punch large obstructions rather directly in the face.  This is a plastic model from GW's "Betrayal at Calth" game - a bit of a disappointment in terms of how wooden it looks, not GW's best work, but certainly easier to assemble than the resin ones from Forge World.

 

Large power fist ready for large punching work

There are ten 28mm infantry models in this submission, but one of these models is a test model, painted prior to the Challenge, so the squad should be worth 45 points.  I can't remember what a Dreadnought counted for, so I'm thinking it's like an artillery piece - 10 points?  So that will be 55 points.  A small step toward my goal of 1000, and more importantly, a small step toward revenge against JamieM!

Merry Christmas to everyone, look forward to a few months of painting madness ahead.

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Awesome work Greg! I've been keenly waiting who will get the first salvo in with the 30K duel. I know you're out for vengeance this year, so I'm not surprised to see you quick off the mark. 

The World Eaters. Really. Really?! They are such a ridiculous cartoon legion even in a universe of over-the-top cartoon silliness. GW should have ordered the writer who dreampt-up these guys to disembowel himself with his keyboard. C'mon, as if the Emperor wouldn't have thought it was a bad idea to have a loon called 'Angron' create a force of jacked-up mutant sociopaths who wanted to call themselves 'The World Eaters'. The case for a genetic 'mulligan' would have been quite high, I think. 

This all being said, I've always liked the colour scheme of these pre-Heresy loons. The embossed shoulder pads and transverse crest on the officer are nice touches. I also like the chipping to the paint and general wear-and-tear.

I agree with you Greg about the blah pose of the Contemptor dreadnought, it's pretty darn boring, in fact it looks a bit stunned. He looks like he's waiting in line at Starbucks and has just remembered he forgot which guys from the Assault Squad wanted soy milk with their lattes. Oh boy, they're really going to be angry now...

But I digress... 45 points for you Greg. Now, we eagerly await the other 30K duelists to make their voices heard.
 

From SteveB: First Week (45 Points)

I finally joined the challenge this year. I've been wanting to join for the last few but never got around to it.

My goal is to get some of the model that have been collecting dust on my shelf done. This also include some half finished projects( I know they don't count, but gives me an incentive to get done).

First day I managed to get 3 tripods from 'All quiet on the Martian Front' done. Not sure how to score these I think they are 20 mm so about 12pts each (36pts total).

These were very fun to paint. Got to try out some candied red to add some color. Tried some OSL red ( not happy with). Also got to use some Vallejo air metals, ( very nice, smooth coverage).

The last couple of days I managed to get lot done on some guard vehicles, just putting the finishing touches on them, should have them done by Monday or tuesday as well some progress on my Necromunda gang.

For the rest of the challenge I have my shaven blood bowl team I would like to do, as well a lot of batman miniature game figs to do.

Best of luck to everyone.

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Great work Steve and welcome aboard! 

Those Tripods look terrific. I particularly like the airbrushed steel, and the red crest you put on them is quite sharp. Design-wise, I've always thought their Tripods look like ballet dancers walking 'en pointe' and their heads look like they should be the other way around - but that's just me. 

I quite like how those how those Chimeras are coming along but your 'shaven blood bowl' sounds painful. :p

45 points for you!

From PaulS: Tim the Enchanter (5 Points)

Follow. But! Follow only if ye be men of valor! For the entrance to this blog is guarded by a challenge so foul, so cruel, that no man yet has entered it... and lived! BRUSHES of full fifty painters lie *strewn* about this lair! So! Brave knights! If you do doubt your courage or your strength, come no further, for death awaits you all with nasty, big, pointy teeth... 

That is how it goes, isn't it? 

Tim the Enchanter is another Christmas present for another friend. The figure is one of the bonus characters from Zombicide: Black Plague and will be joining some other film and tv characters that I've painted up for him over the last few years. You'll have seen his other presents in previous challenges :)

I just wish I'd remembered to buy some 28mm rabbits at Warfare earlier in the year to add to the base as that would have been a touching addition. Touching... with big, pointy teeth!

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Oooh, terrific work Paul. I really like his grey and russet garb (and the horns are marve as well). 

Rabbits of Caerbannog beware the Holy Hand Grenade is being unpacked and prepared. 

'One. Two. Five!' (Points that is...)

From AdamC: Bess the Butcher's Wife (5 Points)

I'm off to a slow start but this year but here three days in is my first entry.  I've been collecting Civilian figures to serve as extras in games of En Garde! Bess the Butcher's wife (her husband is coming along) is one of the War Lord "Clubmen" set.

Bess is clearly not happy about the level of street violence and is ready to make sure the young rakes get off her lawn!

The colors for her outfit were taken from a my study of paintings from the 16th and 17th centuries and from colors used by reenactor friends of mine who I know know there stuff.  Paints don't necessarily mimic them identically but I think I got the look of a reasonably prosperous trades woman.

Clearly she's a tough middle age broad who isn't going to take any guff from some rapier wielding raskals.  If the Cleaver doesn't serve to put an end to the ruffians her husband and neighbors are on their way to help. This first entry should get me on the board with 5 points.  (1495 to go)

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A formidable lady to be sure, good work Adam and welcome back. Both her and her cleaver are definitely things to avoid.

From KenR: 15mm SYW Saxon Infantry (66 points)

So here it is, my first entry of the 7th Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge for the year, in fact it's my first entry to the challenge ever! After missing out on joining up for the last couple of years through basically being distracted and forgetting to sign up on time, it's good to be on board in the Challenge and now on THE board with some points (64 I think) for these bad boys.

Here we have 2 x 16 Figure Battalions for my 15mm SYW Saxon Army, based and ready to go into action.  The marching Private figures are custom made, this was done for Leeds Wargames Club about 25 years ago and has laid dormant ever since! The figures themselves are true 15mm and I have struggled to get a sui table Command  figure for them because of their size. I have ended up going with Mini Figs as their figures are slightly stooped and therefore about the right size. The flags are from Maverick.

The units are part of a 14 Battalion contingent which became part of the French Army for the Campaigns against the British and German troops. These two are part of a batch of 5 (I had finished the other 3 Pre Challenge) so I now have 10 done. I will do the other 4 over the coming weeks.

I am working on some 28mm WWI for our traditional WWI Mesopotamian game next whilst chipping away at a 12 Fig 28mm AWI Cavalry unit which is going to take for ever. Merry Xmas to one and all.

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Lovely work Ken and welcome aboard! 

It's great to see some 15mm Seven Years War figures and I must say, these are very fine. When you say they were custom done do you mean that you sculpted them or they were sculpted for the club?  I really like the marching pose and they're terrifically proportioned for 15mm. It's great seeing some Mini Figs getting some love as well. I look forward to seeing the other four battalions emerge over the coming weeks.

I've pipped you up a couple points for the flags. This is a great start to your painting challenge. Nice work!