From MilesR: The Last Round Up - A bit more Frostgrave and Old Favorite (100 points)

 This will be my last post of this year's Challenge "Seis Grandes".  A group shot of the Frostgrave stuff that was completed today including 12 new figures added this afternoon.

The new additions include 5 more adventurers from the Frostgrave Soldiers plastic set and...

 5 skeleton warriors, a zombie bursting from the ground and a giant rate skeleton.  While packages as "Frostgrave" minatures these are really just old Mantic sprue that are being repurposed.  While cheap, they really aren't that good and I don't recommend them.  Still the painted up pretty quick and will serve well as random encounter foes.

 My usual mainstay for challenge painting is the American Civil War and I haven't submitted anything this year.  I thought it would be nice to end the challenge with a ACW entry for my final submission and here it is a Confederate artillery piece with crew.

 The figures are from the wonderful Perry plastic ACW artillery box set, which I highly recommend - you get three different gun barrels, enough fig to make 4 guns, 18 crew and 3 caissons for either side.  Not a bad deal indeed.

 I painted these a little earlier this week.  This final submission should net me 100 points (18 figures and one gun).  My total for the week including the previous two submissions in 462 points which is not a bad way to finish out the Challenge.

It's time to step away from the painting desk for a bit (and make some terrain!!!!!!)

I do have some thanks to give.

- First to all the participants who make this such a special hobby event.  I am inspired by your creativity and artistic skills and thank you for your indulgence of letting me display my shabby wares alongside your shiny art.  I am also grateful for your camaraderie and feel I've made true friends through this little escapade.

- Next I'd like to thank my fellow minions who managed to wade through the spreadsheet and allow us to keep track of this crazy thing.  It was a pleasure working with you and I had a blast.

- Lastly, I'd like to thank Curt and Sarah for putting on the show and giving all of us goals to shoot in a hobby that has been known to meander.  Even with the minions, I'm sure this is a bit of a thankless task and I greatly appreciate your efforts in putting on what has become my favorite hobby activity each year.

It's been a grand ride - thank you very much!

Oh and don't worry, I'll be doing a big statistical-like wrap up of this years challenge in the coming days and,yes, it will have graphs - sigh.

Stonking stuff Miles and congratulations on being on top of the heap this year! The amount of figures/models/SHIPS(!) you managed to do this year is just bewildering. It just blows my mind.  

I love that we got to see some of your tried-and-true ACW magic - that gun and crew look ready to give the Bluebellies hell. BUT where is the 1:1 wargaming furniture?! I thought for sure we'd be treated to a 'tactical trolly' or 'blitzkrieg battle board' in our final hours of the Challenge. Hmm, I suppose my previously giving you negative points for your efforts wasn't much of an incentive... Maybe next year, eh? Hope springs eternal.

It's always a pleasure Miles! Your spreadsheet-fu saved my bacon BIG TIME this year, and your creative cooking, er, manipulation of the stats is always a wonder to behold. Please keep tuned for your Tribute figure which should be coming up in the next week or so. Until then, I look forward to seeing you sooner rather than later ('Partizan' anyone?).

From KyleC - Reinforcements... (190 Points)

Down to the wire, and I have had a bit of time to paint recently. Still much slower than I had anticipated, and no where near what I had hoped for this competition, but still a good start all the same.

Above shows the original 5 infanty, plus 15 additions painted up. Giving me now 2 full units of Infantry ready for gaming.

Next up is 8 SAS Infantry again for my Canadians. These guys did great in their first game out considering that they are full of SMGs. Great for both shooting and close combat in Bolt Action! Now they have paint, and should be doing even better!

I have also painted up 4 more HQ like models from a variety of ranges. Gives me a bit more range to play with now for some of the selectors available.

In a switch of things to do, and with fear that I might not have a game of bolt action up on Tuesday, I painted up some Cowboys and Cowgirls. Was given an opportunity for some Dead Mans Hand if no opponent for BA showed, but seems I painted these folks up lastnight for nothing.. well.. not nothing, just that I could have focused on more SAS troops instead. All the models are from Black Scorpion miniatures.

And last, but not least, the entry model for the competition. Something for Curt to receive for running this great competition. He is my version of a risk taker.. someone who likes his Martini's shaken, and not stirred. Someone with a license to kill...

So there you have it.. 35 more models at the end of the line here.. not enough to get me to my target for the competition, but I think enough to get me back into the game a bit here.

Thanks again to Curt for running this, and hopefully in the next one I don't move house and can participate more properly!

Lovely work Kyle. I'm still really enjoying your diffused colours for the SAS and Canadians - it's subtle but quite eye-catching. 

Thank you very much for 007! He is a perfect example of both a gambler and risk taker. The sculpt is amazing as it even looks like Mr. Craig, and again I really like your minimalist approach to painting him. Lovely.

Here's to next time Kyle. With you in your new digs you should be able to come out swinging! :)

From BrettM - US Civil War (320 Points)

The end of the competition has arrived! I guess I was more of a cram session painter this year. Hopefully next time I will have more time to paint through the competition instead of going all out the last few weeks. This competition helped me put a dent in the battle in a box civil war set from Perry Brothers. First up is a pic of 2 units of Confederates and 1 Union total of 64 minis

One set of 22 Confederates, 1 set of 20 Confederates and finally 1 set of 22 Union

 A close up of the back unit

close up of the back right unit

 A close up can see the commander toward the right

Flag bearer on this one towards the left of the photo...currently without flat :(

 Union left side

Union Right side

 Finally a close up of the Confederate commander with flag bearer

Union commander with flag bearer

Can't wait to finish the cavalry, drummers, cannons etc. that are left in the battle in a box. Not to mention the house and fence terrain that came with it. Box has a TON of stuff and hopefully will be able to get some battles in before to long. 

Paint job on these was straight up rank and file.If there weren't 170 minis I was needing to paint I might spend a bit more time on them instead of just getting them tabletop ready. I am new to the historical gaming. If anyone could help me out with how they do flags please leave a comment. I would be MUCH appreciated!

Point wise I count 64 minis at 5 points a mini for a total of  320 points. Finishing just over my goal. I had much higher hopes however there's always next year! Again great competition and for sure helped push me to get stuff painted! 

Wow, nice paint bomb here! You're really tearing through the Battle in a Box and I must say they're looking very good. In regards to the regimental colours, I'm sure there is someone in the group that can help you out but in the interim you may want to check out some sites like this.

I'm delighted that the Challenge provided good motivation for you Brett. Keep an eye open when the snow flies next year for the next edition. :)

JamieM - The last of the Wordbearers (50 Points)

As the title says, these are the last of my 30k Wordbearers legion infantry that I own (at the moment).

These are the Ashen Circle, winner of the most zealous zealots for the last 573 years. They are the chaps sent forward to  wreck the cathedrals and holy places of the worlds the legion has been sent to "bring into compliance".

Fairly simple paint job, which was nice, as the detail is all etched into the armour, so no need for decals.

It's been a blast being in the Challenge. I've got a metric tonne of painting done (that's the correct measurement gauge for painting, right?) and have seen some great paintwork from others and learned a great deal about what miniatures are out there to tempt me..... Bizarrely, I've spent less in the last three months than normal on figures, almost nothing in fact. I think it's mainly due to me actually taking a really good look at the stuff in my pile to work out what to paint and that reminded me about all the good things I previously bought to paint.

Thanks to Curt and his faithful minions for running this again as I can only imagine how much hard work it is and I hope to be back next year to dig into all the new things I'm now going to go out and buy!

Wow, those are a LOT of turbofans! There's probably not a pidgeon within miles with these guys around. Seriously, these guys look fantastic Jamie. I really like the bare metallics against the deep red in your colour scheme. 

It was super to have you with us Jamie. I really enjoyed your 30K duel with Greg (I know he did as well) and I look forward to us getting together for another bash at it next winter.

From TeemuL - Good Night Spiders (4 points)

It's getting late here in Finland and here is my last post. I tried to do more, but rough weekend was too much for an old man... So I only have these spider swarms ready. They are from Legend of Drizzt boardgame. Other minis from the game are still unpainted, these are test figures. Maybe 2 points per base?

Sure, 4 points it is Teemu. :)  Thanks for pushing to get these done. I hope to see you next winter!

From DavidL - Curtgeld & Farewell (20 points)

For this, my final entry, I present my Curtgeld. Coming into the Challenge, I honestly had no idea of what this was going to be, but when David Bowie ascended to the stars back in January I suddenly had a notion of who I wanted to represent a risk-taker and gambler.

As many eulogies following his death pointed out, Bowie was a consummate risk-taker, constantly shedding his pop identity in favor of new realms of exploration, dabbling in the latest frontiers of a variety of musical genres and forms of expression, never sure if his next move would spell the end of his popularity or career. Yet time and time again, he proved his doubters wrong. Even his failures and wrong-turns were interesting and edifying in their own way.

His public devil-may-care image inspired countless fans from all walks of life and identities to be themselves, to revel in their weirdness. His impact on the generations that grew up with the image of Ziggy or the Thin White Duke or, yes, Jareth the Goblin King is incalculable. And he went out like a true artiste with a brilliant final album musing on the nature of death and dying and immortality.

This figure, originally a Ral Partha and now available via Iron Wind and amusingly titled "Androgynous Rocker with Microphone", fit the bill nicely to provide a 28mm tribute to the man.

And his tush.

As I've bemoaned in previous entries, I wasn't able to participate in this year's Challenge to nearly the degree I would've liked. In particular, I'm especially saddened I was unable to keep up with everyone else's great work beyond the occasional brief perusal of the front page of the blog. And I'll end up falling a couple hundred points short of my goal. Still, 600-plus points is nothing to sneeze at, and I will continue the projects I started with this Challenge.

If anyone would like to keep up with my Black Templars, or further ventures into WWII (and other) historicals, WarmaHordes, Malifaux, or sundry other projects, please feel free to follow me over at The Miniatures Corner.

Congrats to all the folks who hit their goals, and many thanks once again to Curt (and his minions!) for organizing and running this whole crazy venture! Assuming I don't get saddled with another big deadline for a 150,000-word book next winter I will return again!

Oh wow, this is absolutely brilliant David, thank you so much. I am a huge David Bowie fan (the Serious Moonlight Tour was one of the first concerts I went to) and was quite gutted when he passed away. In regards to the figure, the paintwork is excellent but I think my favourite aspect is his hair - you completely nailed the colour which, for anything with David Bowie, you need to do.

Your work was always a pleasure to see David and I was delighted to have you with us. I hope we can join up again for Challenge VII. Regards, Curt

From MarkG - Final submission - Irish and Coldstream Guards' tanks, and PIAT team (75 Points)

So my final submission begins with a troop of 3 Sherman tanks. These represent the Irish Guards during Operation Market Garden. All are plastic kits from Warlord games, and are very nice indeed, easy to assemble and a joy to paint.

Next up is a Churchill Mark VII Infantry tank. Painted to represent the Coldstream Guards. The kit is resin from Warlord games. A bit fiddly to put together, but again it paints up very well. 

Finally a PIAT team from Warlord Games' late war British. Again the figures are well cast and paint up nicely.

All figures and tanks are 28mm. This ends the Challenge for me. I've fallen a fair bit before my target total, though I did think a few days back that I might not actually get anything done this year.

Below you can see the carnage of half finished Japanese and British for the Burma Campaign (soon to be finished, but too late for the Challenge).

Hopefully I can make a bigger effort if I participate next year. Anyway, it's been fun.

Your Shermans look very nice and the Churchill does as well. I've heard some hit and miss reviews on the WWII stuff from Warlord so it's good to read that you've had a good experience with them. 

I'm delighted you managed to carve out some time to join us, Mark, as it's always a pleasure to see your work. Also, thank you for your prize support this year - your generosity is very much appreciated. Until next year!

From EmilioA - 6mm Italian Risorgimento, 1860 & Plains War Indians (194 Points)

They're coming out of the woodwork now!

Emilio sent me an brief note today with his 11th hour, but very welcome, submission to the Challenge.

First up: 220 figures of 6mm Italian Risorgimento, 1860.

'This is the Plain War Indian as promised. My performance was not the best and I considered this nine fig not at all completed. But free time for me is very very hard to have.'

Thank very much for this challenge and hope next time to be more effective. 

Best regards Emilio

They look terrific Emilio. I love the piebald horses - they seem so iconic for the Plains Wars.  Your 6mm Italian Risorgimento figures are brilliant as well. Certainly not something you see everyday. 

I know you came in just under the wire, but I'm glad you made the effort. I hope you can join us next year and enjoy a less hurried run of it.

From TamsinP - Things That Go Bump In The Mexicagrave (100 points)

For my 24th entry in the main event, I present these:

Well, for Frostgrave (even when transported to Aztec era Mexico) you need hordes of undead to terrorise (or at least hinder) the scavenging exploring bands of looters wizards. With that in mind I ordered a pack of ghouls from Mantic Games.

I assembled these and added the basing gunk on Friday; primed them early afternoon yesterday, did the first stages last night and finished them today.

I did try to give them a blue glaze, but it doesn't seem to have done a great deal over the Aztec flesh colours. It might work better over Caucasian flesh. The most painful thing with these was having to dirty up the nicely highlighted tattered clothing. But ghouls aren't likely to be doing their laundry when they're not feasting on living human flesh, are they?

These twenty 28mm figures should give me a boost of 100 points to my tally. Although, technically, they are for my Mexicagrave project and therefore Native American, I'm not going to ask for them to be included in that side-challenge as I conceded defeat a few weeks ago.

I haven't added the herb scatter to their bases in case I decide to use them for other games. They have been painted and drybrushed though.

Okay, now they're done it's time for me to hit the brushes and try to finish off my 25th entry!

Love them. (This entry reminds me that I have to pick up a box of these fellows to serve as Zone Shamblers for my apocalyptic collection... ) Great work Tamsin! I really like the icky skin tone you came up for these - it's monstrously good.

BTW, The points field is so tight between 12th and 4th that you just jumped 4 positions with this entry!

See you in an hour or two! (...you madwoman...) :)