From AdamC: Ancient Egyptian Horse Archers (100 Points)

 These are Old Glory miniatures a friend asked me to paint.  As he has put his 3D Printer at my disposal I was happy to paint for him. 

As far as I know (and I have a good layman's knowledge) the Ancient Egyptians never used horse archers. These are for a later period  where Horse archers were becoming fairly common in the Ancient Near East. These later era Egyptians liked to Cosplay as New Kingdom Egyptians. 

If I where to use them I would consider them a sort of ancient dragoons.  Archers who would ride to the battlefield (keeping up with the chariots perhaps) then dismounting to fight. 

Historical or not they look cool.  That Egyptian headdress is iconic and looks goods they can be a pain to paint but its worth it. There at 10 mounted 25/28mm scale miniatures for another 100 points that should put me comfortably over my goal!  

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Sylvain: Another excellent set of miniatures from your painting space. You really nailed the Egyptian palette of colors, one look and you know what ancient nation you are dealing with. I'm glad that you were able to reach your points goal, that's what we are all aiming for. It has been an honor to be your minion; "à la prochaine". 

 

 

From BillA: A Face Only A Mother Could Love (10 pts)

 I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting to get another post in this week. I wasn't expecting to finish another figure in time! So rather than delay it a week, I figured I better get it in. 

This is the "Babyface Abomination" from the board game "Zombicide: Invader." I don't know a whole lot about it - I know Zombicide is a cooperative game with players taking the role of zombie apocalypse survivors fending off endless hordes of zombies, and Invader replaces the zombies with aliens of varying types and abilities. There's a variety of these Abominations, and I guess some of them were exclusives you could only get through backing the Kickstarter for the game. I bought five different Abominations secondhand from a guy on social media that had spares for use with the game Majestic 13 (see my previous post for more on the game). I'm trying to get in a minimum of two games a month, solo or otherwise, and in determining what my next game of Majestic 13 will be, I realized I needed to paint an appropriate monster for it! 

I kept things pretty simple with this one; I primed white, and did some pre-shading around the larger folds of flesh with GW Druchii Violet. Once that was dry, I went over everything with "Guilliman Flesh" contrast paint. Once that was dry, I started drybrushing with Reaper "Tanned Skin" to smooth out any blotchiness. The guts, mouth and tendrils emerging from the hands were cleaned up with white, then washed with Druchii Violet and gone over with GW Baal Red contrast. 

Spiky bits and the armored shell on the head got two coats of Reaper "Midnight Blue" before drybrushing with "Twilight Blue." A little more Druchii Violet around the mouths and in the deepest folds of fat, and all that was left was picking out the teeth and nails. I think it turned out pretty good and gnarly.

And here's a shot of him with the 3-Card Monte Guy for scale; I'd say he qualifies as a 54mm figure.

"Sorry pal, them's the breaks. Play again?"

So that'll be another 10 points, and no new Squirrels.

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Sylvain: You monster is disgusting, but in a well painted way. I could almost hear and smell any gaseous emanations coming from the multiple orifices of this... thing. It has been an honor to be your minion; "à la prochaine".

From GregB: Leopold's Leopard Company (122 points)

"Leopold's Leopard Company" is ready to meet an opponent's charge...

I am super pleased to present another Regiment of Renown from GW's old "Dogs of War" collection - here is Leopold's Leopard Company, and they are ready to stand in your battle line - so long as the deposit is paid up front and on time. These battle-hardened pikemen are long-OOP metal castings from Games Workshop and the glorious before-times.

One of the front-rankers, pike set, ready for the clash.

A back ranker.

Leopold and his men started out as guards of the Temple of Lucan and Luccina in the Tilean city of Luccini. It was fancy, well-paid duty. The unit is resplendent in fine armour adorned with the symbols of the temple - in particular the visage of the leopard who had guarded the divine twins! They are further adorned with the pelts of leopards. As military units go, the Leopard Company dressed the part!

These chaps are ready for a fight too!

How did the Leopard Company end up as mercenaries? Well, let's just say "local Luccini politics" intervened. In the midst of some civil strife there may, or may not, have been a siege of the temple in which it may, or may not, have become necessary for Leopold and his men to, er, "borrow" the gold offerings stored within which in turn may, or may not, have brought down some kind of divine curse which can only be held at bay by traveling the Old World, fighting as mercenaries and sending a portion of the gold they earned back to the temple to, um, "repay" their "debt."

Leopold and the command group. He is carrying healthy-sized "sword" (more of a cleaver), and I love the pistol tucked into the belt.

Naturally the command group has the nicest collection of pelts!

It is a real thrill to get this unit over the line for a couple of reasons. First, this is a Dogs of War unit which I had not previously painted back when I owned my original collection. I had wanted to take a crack at them, but a) already had assembled a decent-size force and b) was kind of intimidated by all of the leopard-style pelts. Nearly every figure in the unit is wearing a pelt. The studio models in the army book looked amazing (of course), but painting those spotted pelts looked really tricky and beyond my brush skills at the time.

Another ranker.

25 years later wariness of painting the pelts was still holding me back, but I was determined to try...there was a lot of trial and error on the first couple of test figures, but I managed to work out an approach that seemed OK, and in particular looked pretty good when the troops were massed together. Even if the spot pattern is not exactly that of a leopard, I can always push the fantasy-escape-button. "Oh, you see, those are the pelts of the, er, 'Tilean Mountain Leopard', and the spots look...just like that..."

From this aspect you can see some of the assorted small details that add character. Like the chap at the rear with a portion of rope, the different types of packs etc. 

Each time I have completed one of these units, I have commented on how wonderful these old sculpts are. This time will be no exception - let it be said, again, that these old sculpts are just wonderful! So much character, brilliant metal sculpts from the Perry brothers. While there is, of course, broad similarity to the figures, there are a number of small little variants among the sculpts that add just enough difference, and a little touch of character, to let each figure be slightly unique while preserving the overall uniform look to the unit. It has been such a treat to paint these figures, with their crisp, proper metal lines and details. 

I love these big pike blocks!

So that is now three large, chonky pike blocks completed to serve as a solid backbone for my "Dogs of War" army, but this project is still not yet complete. The army will require some artillery support and a bit of cavalry to round things out. Time in this edition of the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge is running short, so those elements are likely to have to wait until the next one, but who knows what might be possible before things conclude? 

"Ready lads!"

Points-wise we have 24 figures, 28mm in size, which should be good for 120 points. That's all for now, but I hope to be back with more as the mad-dash to the AHPC finish line looms. 

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Sylvain: Another convincing demonstration of your talent both with the pigment and with the verb. As you said, despite their individuality and their personal details, the figurines, as a whole, contribute to the overall sumptuousness of their company. Your projects always come with a story that I always enjoy reading. I will add 2 points for the large flag. It has been an honor to be your minion; "à la prochaine". 

 

 

From BruceR: Al Mukhtar addition, raising of skeletons, Ogres, breaking from 10mm 28mm General (158 points)

When I took on the vampire counts, I was primarily focused on a force to put on the table to fight my other armies.  I also knew a couple of my gamer friends had played the undead in WHFB.  We played our first game I realized a prime component of the vampire counts is raise dead.  First few games and proxy of goblins.  To the etsy and perfect.  Skeletons rising from the ground.  So, 9 bases of raised/raising skeletons.  Hopefully enough for play when one of my compatriots can seem to roll endless amounts of 5-6s to cast raise dead.  I do enjoy like the coffin lid shields.  

Al Muktar's Desert Dogs x2:

My second submission of the Dog's of War desert raiders.  Here I simply spot painted over a black undercoat.  I feel it gives the figures some depth with the black lines showing.  This group had two standards; I gave them similar sword style banners to lead the way.  I did notice two missing sword arms and without any type of substitute I went ahead thinking casualties of war.     

Empire Captain/General TOW:

As I've stated previously the warmaster armies will be heading to Adepticon at the end of the month.  This has taken up most/all of my hobby and playing time.  One of the crew who has not gamed much in the past few years decided to play some Warhammer, The Old World with his son and invited me over.  I have extensive empire and greenskin armies.  After one game I thought, brings back some memories, so when I saw an escalation event at ACon 500/1000/1500 I decided why not break out  the old forces and let some youngsters put me in my place.  

In a break from 10mm I remembered I had a sweet empire general from the time of the end of WHFB.  It was finecast and I paid way too much for it.  I dug around a bit and found him. Here is my new empire army general Luigi Mario Fettuccini.    He also comes with 4 skulls (skull duel) like any good empire general should.  The hammer came separate and I snipped the block and pinned it in place.  The soft material worked fine and I didn't mind painting him.  I did mind the price tag I saw on the box (must be getting  old "get off my lawn")  

Golgfag's Mercenary Ogres:

I didn't think I would get to these, which are the last of my 10mm 3d printed warmaster miniatures (aside from a few characters that may come later).  Golgfag's Mercenary Ogres.

I remember having these fellows a long time ago.  In fact, they were actually a different sculpt originally.  They came in a hard plastic box from citadel if memory serves.  I remember painting the shields on their backs like jack-o-lanterns.    Sadly, one of the units sold into the world.  

These are the new rendition of the mercenary ogres.  A little bit more cartoony and being small I decided to liven them up with bold paints.  They are mercenaries and don't pay for food (eat their foes) so their coin must go to dress.  I did experiment with two bases using primarily speed paints with highlights.  The others were my standard 10mm blotch paint method.  

Points:

Skeletons:  108 10mm skeletons 

(many only half out of the ground so 1/2 points    =  54 (81)

Al Muktar's raiders 12 @ 3pts 10mm cavalry        = 36

28mm Luigi @ 5 pts                                               = 5

Ogres:  18 at 15mm @ 2pts per                            =36

Total:                                                                    =131 (158)

Skull Duel:  108 skulls in the skeleton horde 

                          4 on Luigi

                       1 on Al Muktar's leader

                       9 on Golgfags (4 on standards, 2 drummers, 3 on helmets of the Golgfag)

                      122 total Skulls.

Thanks for looking and hope you enjoy my 10mm madness.  May you roll good dice and stay well.

Bruce

 

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Sylvain: You have wowed me again. Your brushwork on these tiny figurines is just amazing. Your colors are vibrant and always spot on, like the bones of the skeletons. And General Fettucini looks like a sharp dress man, very suitable when you fight for the Empire. For points, I would say that your skeletons are, on average, at least 3/4 out of the ground, so 81 points instead of 54. It has been an honor to be your minion; "à la prochaine".

 

From BillA: Wanna Bet? (25 pts)

 I admit I'm starting to slow down a little in my painting; more due to needing to expand my storage options for painted miniatures than anything else! As such I'm likely nearing the end of my submissions for this year's AHPC, but I'm not counting myself out just yet. I do have a small submission this week. 

A lot of my home gaming involves modern, urban skirmishes; gang fights, escaping from zombies, big alien monsters trashing downtown. I've got a nice collection of buildings going, but I could stand to expand my urban scatter, especially cars and civilians to incorporate into scenarios. As such, I've got one of each today:

We've got "3 Card Monte Guy" and a 1980 Volkswagen Vanagon, both 3D prints. Our hustler is from Miniature Building Authority, and arrived in four pieces - the guy, his arms (gluing on at the sleeves) and the stack of boxes in front of him.

My urban tables tend towards seedy and rundown; inspired by the Rust Belt environs I've spent my entire life in, they're battlefields made of liquor stores, pawn shops, and off-track betting parlors, and as such the sort of place this con man fits right in. The details of the face took a wash and highlight beautifully, and I'm pretty proud of myself for doing the ace of spades on the card he's showing us using a brush instead of a pen. I did use a pen for the lettering on his boxes.

The Vanagon is from Miniature Tanks Company, who offer an incredibly wide variety of vehicles for 20th century conflicts in a number of scales. I included a couple options from them on a wishlist for a hobby Secret Santa I took part in last December, and I'm happy enough with the quality that I'll probably order more sooner or later; they're FDM prints rather than resin, and the print lines are visible, but for my purposes they're just fine and at $3-$6 per car in 28mm, the price is right. 

Looking at photos of various Vanagons for color ideas, I found a burnt orange one with a white roof that I really liked the look of; I added white trim around the windows for a little extra visual interest. Of course, now I'm tempted to get another and add an avocado green version to my collection as well! I've got a sports car and a pair of police Crown Victorias awaiting their turn; we'll see if I get those in before the end of the Challenge. 

One 28mm figure and one 28mm vehicle should net me 25 points.

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Sylvain: Just looking at his face, I wouldn't trust your hustler to bring me a glass of water. Great job on this shady character. And the Vanagon looks both cool and definitely from another decade. It has been an honor to be your minion; "à la prochaine".