From RayR: Sarah's Balloon Ride No2 (5pts)

Its time for my second ride on Sarah's Balloon, my fee is this Reiver Castings (I think) figure of a mother holding her baby. So in honour of fellow Challenger TomM, and his 

new arrival may I present 

Mrs M and Thorin.

My journey in Sarah's Balloon will hopefully  take me from Sander's Sandhill to Piper's Peak.

We've had no water at the brewery since Monday morning, which is bad news for a brewery, so no new beer and no Tea either, and certainly no Champagne, so I've had to put up with some good ol' Adam's Ale instead for my Balloon ride!

So a quick and easy 30 points for the Balloon ride and another 5 for the figure.

Nice try Ray, but you only get 30 points for your first balloon ride (and 10 points for your 3rd, 6th, 9th, etc) so just the five points for Mrs M and Thorin.

TamsinP

From LeeH - Normandy Farmhouse (5 Points)

Another day another unplanned entry. Actually, that's not strictly true this building was on my original challenge painting plan but I decided not to do it because I had plenty of other things to paint. However, with the upcoming Normandy demo game I'm going to be running this weekend I couldn't resist. This building is from Peter Pig and was part of a set of 3 buildings that I bought at Salute last year.

As far as possible I have tried to copy the painting style of the Landmark buildings I bought last year. Hopefully, this will mean all my buildings all have a similar feel about them and won't look incongruous when used next to each other. The building is cast in some sort of resin and was quite easy to base coat and paint. I block painted the majority of the model then gave the whole thing a wash with army painter soft tone and then dry brushed.

The pictures include one of my tiger tanks and a 15mm infantry figure just to show scale. I have a second farmhouse and a barn from the same manufacturer but these will definitely not be done during this challenge (I'm running out of time now!).

Points wise this isn't going to earn me loads. Its dimensions are 4"x5"x3" so the whole thing comes out at a little over a quarter of a terrain cube, so about five points worth. I'm happy with that and it's one more incremental step towards my target... Now I really really must get on with my snow lord's challenge!!


Nice little farmhouse Lee. And you've even included the farm's puddy-cat in the photos to show the scale! 

TamsinP

From TomM: Walking the dog (10 pts)

One of the games I am looking to (finally) get into, is Frostgrave.

Now, the angle I gave myself is that I am going to print all the models myself with the Ender 3.

To that end, I have this awesome link for you all to share, it's a Shapeways store, but all the files are free to download for the complete Dungeons and Dragons Monsters Manual.

As such, as I don't have the rulebook and such, but just some dribs and drabs on things one can include from seeing the game played at the club.

So my first two test prints I painted up are "safe shots", in the form of a Mastiff henchman a,d an Animated Armour which a wizard can conjure as a trooper before the battle.

Nothing fancy as such, just a small 10 points to the tally as such.


TamsinP stepping in for a few posts as Dave is caught up with Covid-19 planning stuff at work.

Nice work on these first two 3D prints from that set Tom - a great start to your Frostgrave adventures.

Mark Makes Snow Lord's Peak

Sarah's Balloon sets Mark gently down on the Snow Lord's summit.

The final week of Snow Lord's Peak brought to you by Mount Rundle, Alberta

He walks around the peak, searching for the Snow Lord, and after a while he finds him precariously perched upon a Bren Carrier, tilling the soil near a frozen pond. Mark waves to get the blue monstrosity's attention.

The Snow Lord waves back, switches off the little AFV and nimbly steps from it. The vehicle almost pops off the ground, it's tortured suspension squeaking in relief.

'Hiya Snow Lord. What are you up to?' 

'Oh, hey Mark. Sebastian kindly gave me this little contraption when he came up to visit last week. Isn't it swell?!  I'm so jazzed for the spring season that I thought I'd get in a little prep work for the vegetable garden.'

'Do you have enough soil for plants up here?' Mark asks skeptically.

'Oh yes! Especially with all the camels, horses and other creatures traipsing around the island these past few months. There'll be no shortage of manure for the flower and vegetable beds!'

'Well, good luck with hauling all that up to here. Say, while we're on the subject of the Peak, have you happened to see any treasure up here that nobody's using?' Mark makes a show of looking around the Snow Lord's shoulders and under the Bren Carrier.

The blue beast smiles knowingly, 'Ahh, the treasure. Yes, there is some of that up here, but I'll need something from you in return.'

Mark looks to him suspiciously, 'What do you have in mind?'

'As you say, I'll need some help hauling manure up here, so I'm thinking that it would be nice to have a  great mob of Orcs to lighten the labour. Can you help me out?'

Mark smiles, 'I think that can be arranged.' 

_______________________________________________

Alright Mark! We look forward to seeing some classic OldHammer Orcs for your Peak's Challenge.

Curt

From ScottM: Soviets at O'Grady's Gulch (315 Points)

My last stop on Challenge Island is at O'Grady's Gulch. A friend of mine is looking to get into Chain of Command. Unfortunately he doesn't have any capacity to actually paint figures so I volunteered my services to paint up his figs. So here is the bulk of his infantry force, a box of Russians in summer uniform. These 28mm figs are from Plastic Soldier Company.

Here's the entire lot of 57 figs.

The first group is a half dozen LMG teams.

I'm not a fan of the lying down poses but I can see the utility of them.

Next up are the command figs.

There's three senior officers (I've painted one of them up as a Commissar), three junior officers and three adjutants/medics etc.

Next are all the rifle figs.

And finally are all the SMG armed figs.

And that completes my last stop on the island.

So that should be: 57 x 28mm foot figs = 285 +30 (location bonus) = 315 points

From DaveD - a fine hump day points bombe Huzah!

From PeteF Douglas' Shallows - Raft Ranger Messing About with Boat (40 points?)

For the penultimate stop on Challenge Island I was going to do three 3-D printed rafts for use in the Rebels & Patriots river chase scenario. Unfortunately my friend's 3-D printer gave up the ghost after one raft, so for this location I have boat rather than boats to mess around with.

The 3-D file came free from Thingiverse and the designer did a great job with it. There's an alternate version with a small sail which I'll use for one of the other rafts when the printer is well again. The chest is integral to the print and adds some interest.

I tried a new technique for the wood using artists acrylic and a weathered wood medium. The whole thing was painted with a greyish driftwood colour, then the medium, then a burnt umber. As it dried it cracked - giving a more natural effect. I'm calling the result good enough for wargaming.

To make up for the lack of boats I painted a ranger to go on the raft. She is a Sisterhood Scout from Mantic's Kings of War/Vanguard Basilean's faction. I'm thinking of using this green/yellow colour scheme for a wood-elfy SAGA Age of Magic faction.  I tried more contrast/shading on the cloak than I usually manage - what do you think - could I go further? Should the final highlight be grey rather than lime green?

Not sure how to score the raft - if it's a vehicle it would be 20 points but if terrain then more like 5. 5 for the ranger and 30 for the new location - I'll leave final judgement to the minion of the day.

From DaveD - Thats a fine creation alright i will go with 40 points

From NoelW: My Assets are Frozen: Awdry’s Atoll: (5 points)

Landing from the balloon would’ve been nice but, in fact, plummeting headlong from it for twenty feet or so into a snowdrift is almost as pleasant.

We find we’ve landed on Awdry’s Atoll, miles to the South of Douglas’ Shallows, our intended destination. At least we know where to head now. Past Reidy’s Reef, with its nest of vampires, up the impossible cliffs of Burch’s Bluffs, if we can get between the armies unmolested, on to Murdry’s Mesa and then, then, the haven of Shallow Douglas.

The atoll is almost unrecognisable, an ancient ruin frozen in time and place. And, in fact, snow.

We make a snowwizard, a few snowangels, one snowangle (my sergeant can’t spell), and have a snowball fight (but the snowball is winning hands down, so we run valiantly away). 

Finding that fortunately the waves are frozen between here and the mainland, we cross quickly, ice creaking underfoot. Fish swim beneath us, nudging the underside of ice with their snouts, like staring up from an icequarium.

Becoming confident as we skim the ice, my sergeant attempts a toe loop. Then, with increasing cockiness, a double Axel and finally a triple Lutz. Unfortunately, on landing he discovers an unexpected rift opening in the ice exactly where he wanted to land. Luckily, only he falls foul of it, sinking into the deep, dark waters to be swallowed by a icy octopus, writhing in the blackness like a single vast snowflake.

Never mind, eh! Reidy’s Reef lies just over there.

---

My CD terrain is a small experiment in snowscaping for Frostgrave. I like some aspects of it, but it’s not really snowy enough, as some of the underlying “sculpture” showing through, and a little rough in overall appearance, so I’ll probably build up the snowiness of some parts of it, or else create a better piece using the lessons learned here. Even so, I think it’s interesting enough to use on the treasure-field.

Score: As the terrain is no more than a ruin about 5” high on a CD, I guess it scores somewhere between 2 and 5 points.

(No bonus for location, as this is my second visit here.)


From DaveD - Well i still reckon thats more than enough snow to bring the UK to a grinding halt - so lets call it 5 points!

From PhilH: Making Cement at Cook’s Crevasse (55 Points)

Fourth on my canter around the island, the geological task at Cook’s Crevasse.

For a game I hosted at the ‘Winter Wonder Lard’ games day, I needed terrain for the town of Quinto de Ebro in Aragon. The feature I chose to represent was a Cement Factory, assaulted by the Dimitrov Battalion and 3Co Lincoln Battalion of the XV International Brigade on the second day of the battle. And what better geology, than the kind that has so many useful applications: concrete for buildings, bridges, fortifications, in finest grade can all be supplied by Valderrivas Cementos (est.1909)

The battle of Quinto, August 1937

Both buildings are by Sarissa precision, textured with tile grout. The inner layer with doors and windows in thin ‘grey board’ caused me no end of trouble as I built and painted them, eventually all of the doors fell off. I got them painted for the day, but I will go back and figure out some repairs later.



The two signs are scratchbuilt, with the lettering printed on paper. They’re just blu-tacked on so I can reuse them elsewhere.





To make a complex for the game,  I also threw some paint on some Rubicon brick walls (and ran out of time to do some other miscellany), but it was such a rush job they need redoing so I won’t post them now.



The buildings come a little bigger then a standard reference points cube, so i suggest 25 plus the 30 point location bonus for 55.
















From Daved - Lovely job there Phil .. now I hope you didn't add too much sand to the mix as Dr Cooke is allergic to sand - not a great thing for a geologist!

55 points it is!

From SanderS: Humpday at Docherty's Docks (110 pts)

Hoi,

The dust clouds willow above Cook's Crevasse as a small caravan leaves this landmark on it's way to Docherty's Docks. It is accompanied by the braying of... camels!

"Corr Williams, how's Lord Campell doing?" the redcoated soldier supports his comrade who's looking a bit the worse for wear, as he takes a peak into the doolie carried by two carriers. His browncoated fellow raises his weary head and looks at the carrying bed as well: "well dear Millsy, he's going off his rocker for sure. He's babbling about climbing up Peaks in search for treasure, paragliding - whatever that may be-, arranging his garden and something with balloons and champaign." Williams raises his brow and shakes his head: "I can't stand balloons, awfull things really." Corporal Millsy nods symphatically and shrugs "I think Lord Campbell is groing a lot of white hairs lately and to be honest he seems a tinge blue to me too."

-

Their intellectual discussion is interrupted by some loud Bactrian noises and curses coming from the back of the caravan. "SODDIT! Millenium-hand-and-shrimp!" the sounds are coming from one of two rotan baskets hanging off the sides of a ship of the desert. From the other one a rather more coherent voice speaks up "Private Roussel mind the language you horrible little badger!" more whining emerges from the other basket "But Sergeant-Major Docherty, I got my arse stuck in this infernal contraption, I was only trying to get into a different pose, my budgie smuglers keep riding up!" The sergeant-major bristles with silent outrage at this un-soldierly behaviour. "You really are a disgrace you sorry excuse for a soldier, stop pretending to be a sandbag and stand to you daft..." more camel braying and dust clouds prevent us from hearing the sergeant's opinion of poor private Roussel.

In a crop of palmtrees a couple of locals anxiously watch the proceedings. "Da? Do you think the British have noticed us?" a young lad, he just could be 8 years old is carrying his father's sword and shield while the latter is pouring a tanker of arrack from a skin. "Well I think they're rather busy feeling sorry for themselves so no I don't think they did." His son doesn't seem to be put at ease. "Yeah, but dad, we did nick these camels from the British army, won't they be mad when they find out?" His dad smiles "Son, the real British army is hard as nails and would surely have our hides off our backs for taking these poor beasties, but that lad over there would be better off at home in their own cold lands, sitting in some dingy dark room painting toy soldiers..."

Off course DaveD would ask us to do something with camels and having loads of Indian Mutiny figures still in cue, I jumped at this opportunity. The two prone camels (nicked by Indian Arthur and Sander) are actually camels gifted to me by the great man himself during our Camel-duel last year, or was that two years ago Dave? Time flies when you're painting camels for sure.

Now as to scoring these, since none of the camels is actually mounted by just one figure I am going to score them all as single 28mm foot figures, including Curt in his doolie carrying bed. That amounts to:
- 11 figures + 3 camels = 14 x 5 =  70 points, which together with the 30 points of the Docks is a nice round 100 points for the total!

So now I am off painting stuff to hitch a ride in a Balloon: in real life I REALLY hate balloons, sorry dear lady Sarah. Oh and guess what I hate as well? Yup, champagne...

From DaveD - ah Sander that’s an excellent tale of camel skulduggery - and I am not not just talking  about Ray there. Very nicely executed camels there to. So a classic Docherty’s Dock entry on Hump day I reckon earns 110 points