Ev's Challenge - All Over (Or Is It?)

Greetings Paint Fans! The Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge has ended for another year, and even though I fell short of my target, I flatter myself that I was able to get some decent entries on the board.

Following the Fertility Goddess, I was able to submit an entry for Awdry's Atoll, a location which required Challengers to create a vignette on a CD base. Basing on CDs is something of a specialty for the estimable Sir Michael.

I give you The Riddle of the Sphinx;

"So, mortal, I ask you again; why did the chicken cross the road?"

Next up was a bit of scatter terrain for pre-industrial skirmish gaming, a dilapidated farm cart.

A couple of Pleistocene pussycats;

And more giants - two of them!

And finally, delivering on an earlier promise, some worshippers for the Green Goddess!

So that's all for the moment - but there's more around the corner...

Snowlord Curt has proposed a new Challenge to get us all through the COVID-19 lockdown; the Quarantine Challenge!

To quote the man himself, "With more and more people going into isolation, keeping safe and taking care of those around them, I thought it might be helpful to provide a space for people to keep in touch, post their hobby projects and to simply unwind."

This is a marvellous opportunity to support one another in our hobby, so I've signed up to paint some more - don't be too shocked, everybody!

More to come over the next few weeks, so keep your brushes sharp and stay tuned...

Ev

Ev's Challenge - Day 55 - The Journey Upcountry (and a Detour or Two)

Greetings Paint Fans, and welcome to my second round up of entries for The Tenth Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge!

I struck out from Sander's Sand Dunes, making my way inland to Millsy's Mill Pond, a deceptively calm stretch of water where old and forgotten figures were to be displayed, with provenance!

Well, they don't come much older than this chappie, a Daka Fal Adventurer from Citadel's line of RuneQuest figures, released in 1982. He's a member of the Sable Tribe of Prax (hence the horned helmet), and the priest of a cult of ancestor worshippers.

He netted me an excellent score, thanks to his extreme age, and so I felt emboldened to undertake a detour of sorts. I produced a Curtgeld entry, the price of admission to Challenge X.

This year, Curt asked us to produce a figure for someone else, not necessarily another Challenger. So, because my blolleague Millsy is sitting out this Challenge after having fought monster fires for the last couple of months, I decided he deserved a gesture of appreciation.

It's the old Warhammer Giant, a plastic model 110mm tall, and an imposing addition to Millsy's Orcs and Goblins, or Dogs of War armies. I really enjoyed painting this one; he's so characterful!

My most recent entry is this substantial lady, a Fertility Goddess from Reaper Miniatures.

Based on the Paleolithic Venus of Willendorf (only much, much bigger), she comes with a decorative base dotted with pots and baskets of offerings.

All I need to do is come up with some worshippers for the Green Goddess, and the vignette will be complete!

As she is an indisputably female figure, I was able to secure travel in Lady Sarah's Balloon, all the way to the other side of the island. This honour is vouchsafed only to those who have submitted a female figure as the price of passage.

I'm now at Awdry's Atoll, preparing a vignette based on an old CD. Hey, it's what Mr Awdry specified, and who am I to disagree?

What's up next?

Stay tuned...

Ev

Ev's Challenge - The One That Got Away

Greetings, paint fans! Here's what I was working on when time ran out and the 9th Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge came to an end. 

Reaper Bones again (keeping my hobby expenditure within reasonable bounds); it's a Blue Dragon, a stalwart of Old Skool AD&D monsterdom.

He stands 100mm from the base of his feet to the top of his head, and measures 160mm from wingtip to wingtip, so he really is a monster! Wish I'd gotten started on this one earlier, since he's a pretty impressive model, and would undoubtedly have put me over the line for the 500 point target I'd set myself.

The beast was base coated in GW Caledor Blue, and highlighted with increasing amounts of Vallejo Sky Blue. Blue ink was applied to the shaded recesses. The armour plates on the limbs and belly were worked up from a base of Vallejo Sombre Grey up to Wolf Grey, and inked in GW Asurmen Blue.

The wings were painted with the same set of greys as the armour plates, but without the blue ink.

He's been stuck to a 100mm Warbases MDF round, built up with white pumice paste to disguise the original moulded plastic base of the model. A bit of trimming was needed for it to fit on the MDF base.

The ancient scrolls (OK, the 1st Edition AD&D Monster Manual, but it's from 1977, so it counts) tell us that Blue Dragons live in arid or desert environments. With this in mind, I went for an appropriate basing combo.

The usual mix of slate chips, sand, and a couple of larger pebbles was painted with a basecoat of Vallejo Game Colour Leather Brown, and inked with GW Agrax Earthshade. Once this had dried, the base was worked up through Khaki and Desert Yellow, with a final drybrush of Citadel Bleached Bone to pick out the detail. Tajima Tufts Desert Diorama Elements put the icing on the desolate cake.

And just think, if I'd been better organised, this bad boy would have seen the light of day a couple of weeks ago!

I may not put my paints away just yet - there are other also-rans left over on the painting table, and it would be a shame to let them lie fallow for another year.

What's next then? Stay tuned...

Ev

Ev's Challenge - The Final Chapter

So the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge has come to an end for another year. And what a ride it's been! I've minioned for the first time (big shout-out to the Wednesday Warriors!), and I've produced a varied assembly of fantasy figures.

So what have I learned?

• Preparation, above all. While I could get away with doing things on the fly in previous years, work commitments plus the weekly minioning meant that I really should have gone in with a proper plan. I'm severely ADHD and a worrier by nature, so lack of preparation really is the enemy.

• Try and vary the subject matter. I have so many historical, 40K and horror figs still in the lead mountain, yet this time round it was almost all fantasy, and I think this got me in a bit of a rut. 

• Realistic targets. After last year, when I actually cracked 500 points, I thought I could do the same again. Not so, topped out at 479, worse luck! Time and resources are limited, and I have to take this into account next time.

Anyway, enough of the self-reproach, here's the last of my submissions for Challenge IX!

 An Oldhammer-ish Witch Hunter, a figure from the old Warhammer Quest boardgame. I have a lot of affection for these old sculpts.

A command section for a unit of Sun Dome Templars, the elite pikemen of RuneQuest's cult of Yelmalio. Aventine Miniatures Tarentine Phalanx, repurposed for Glorantha.

A terrain entry, a ruined Gloranthan temple to the River God Zola Fel. Despite its desolate and desert appearance, it was entered in the 'Water Feature' bonus round on the basis of its frescoes.

The remainder of the Sun Dome unit. I do like how they turned out!

A Reaper Bones Griffin - Reaper has given price-conscious gamers a cheap and easy way to get big flashy monsters onto the tabletop, and I am very happy with this big guy.

Here's the last of my Dwarven Blood Bowl team, the Durinhold Tectonics. Finally, they can compete in the big leagues! 1990s sculpts from Citadel's Gary Morley, loads of character.

Reaper Bones Brain-In-A-Jar™, aka Mr Akeley. This one, and the Mi-Go, were the only non-fantasy entries in my Challenge. Really have to mix things up a bit more next time...

Following up from the unfortunate Mr Akeley, my Curtgeld submission, Gazzzz, the Fungi From Gorgoroth. A cosplaying cosmic horror mashup from the pages of Lovecraft and Tolkien. In keeping with the Challenge's theme, 'Fellowship', he's a Tolkien villain as well as a constant trial to his long-suffering co-worker Bazzzz. Reaper Bones again, with some GW Black Orc and Gripping Beast add-ons!

And that's it from me for this year's Challenge. Will I still be painting and modelling outside Challenge times? I only produced one figure between Challenges VIII and IX; I think I should try and increase my output a bit and see if I can maintain some momentum. It's just wasteful having so many unpainted figs lying around!

So stay tuned...

Ev

Ev's Challenge - The Saga Continues

Day 49 of the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge, and we're past the halfway point.

I'm just past the halfway mark on my own 500 point target as well, so all going according to plan, I might just squeak through...

So what have I done since the last update? Let's take a look!

The brutish Manticore, a staple of the medieval bestiary - a Reaper Bones figure which will give any band of adventurers pause.

A Reaper Bones 'Avatar of Resilience', a humanoid rhino, now repurposed as a Broo with the addition of goat horns and weeping sores. Broos are the chaotic bringers of disease in Greg Stafford's world of Glorantha, the setting of the wonderful RPG RuneQuest.

The Durinhold Tectonics, a Blood Bowl Sevens team yet to make it to the top-flight leagues. But they're a plucky lot and will undoubtedly get some reinforcements soon! These were old Blood Bowl figs from the 1990's, so the basing scheme was an homage to the Oldhammer Era. A moment of silence, please, as we remember Citadel Goblin Green, the most popular basing colour of the good old days... (sniff)

Next up is a Deep Cuts Medium Fire Elemental from WizKids, a transparent plastic cast which was finished in yellow and red inks to preserve its translucent quality. I drybrushed the tips of the flames with black to suggest a smoky fire, and picked out a few areas in opaque yellows to keep it interesting. Quite pleased with the final effect, but don't ask about the water elemental I've been working on - that's proving to be a tricky one!

Three Bugbears, more Reaper Bones sculpts, and a lot of fun to paint. Lots of textures to keep the painter busy, and a unified colour palette really tied the group together, man.

Lastly, an entry for the 'Mercenary' bonus theme round. A Citadel Miniatures Ogre Maneater from the 2000's, he's been languishing on the north face of my Lead Mountain (which is situated in the Garage of Shame) for a good many years now.

He's actually made of metal - fancy that! Old metal Ogres appear to be undergoing a bit of a renaissance this round, with my blolleague, the estimable Mr Mills, submitting a corker of an entry. Call me old-fashioned, but you can't beat the satisfying heft of a large chunk of metal on the tabletop!

That's all for now, more updates to come!

Stay tuned...

Ev

AHPC VIII - Ev's Challenge; The Final Roundup

The Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge is over for another year, and what a roller coaster it's been!

Here are the final figures, the rest of my output for this (northern) winter's event.

First up, the Bonus Theme Round, "Childhood"; some Reaper Bones Mouslings to entertain my grandchildren. These were a lot of fun to paint, and the emphasis is on bright, eye-catching colours.

The next Bonus Round was '"Monstrous", and I put together a tribute to the man behind the Challenge, Curt Campbell, aka The Snowlord. This figure will soon be winging his way to Canada as my price of admission, the Curtgeld.

He's a Reaper Bones Frost Giant Jarl, and he was a pretty big subject. Of course, his sword has been swapped out for a paintbrush. I hope he finds favour in his new home in the frozen tundras of Saskatchewan!

My production ramped up marginally in the last week of the Challenge, and I was able to get a couple more of those Reaper Bones monsters out there. Gotta say, if you want a big impressive beastie for a reasonable price, then the Bones range is the way to go. Some of the detail can be a little soft in parts, but a black basecoat followed by a drybrush of grey at the start really helps highlight areas that need attention and ensures you don't miss anything.

The Marsh Troll was a fun figure, part stegosaur and part crocodile with a killer underbite. I really went for it with the basing, finally getting some use out of a bottle of model railway water effects for the ponds of stagnant water. I like him a lot.

Next up, the iconic fantasy monster, the Dragon.

Reaper Bones AGAIN (and no, I don't have shares in the company). I tend to go a little crazy with the basing on these stand-alone figs, but in this case a little extra height was called for to allow the tail of the monster to follow a more natural curve rather than get pushed upwards by resting on a flat base.

Lastly, some of the women warriors of the Dwarven Kingdoms, courtesy of Scibor Miniatures (see disclaimer above re shareholding).

They're so damned characterful and packed with detail that I think I'll be giving this company my custom for a good many years yet.

So let's review; the theme of the Challenge was, broadly speaking, 'Monstrous', and I managed to get at least five monsters completed, while dwarves, ogres, orcs and goblins also got a look in. But this year, no humans at all, despite a late stab at getting an Imagi-Nations regiment started.

Better clean and prep those pulp adventure figs for next time, to say nothing of the assorted Bronze Age figs left over from the Challenge before last, and of course, there's a bunch of ECW stuff as well, oh, and a shedload of 40K Orks still to assemble...

This may take a while, so I'll say my goodbyes and see you all again soon!

Stay tuned...

Ev

AHPC VIII - Ev's Challenge, Day 57

Greetings friends and followers!

It's been a while since I've delivered a progress report on what has been a moderately productive Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge (at least by my admittedly leisurely standards), so here goes.

I had a bit of a rest following the Flight Theme Round, but resolved to get back into the game while on holidays from work.

First off the table was my entry in the Theme Round, 'BFG', 'Shooting the Messenger', an insight into how Ogres handle battlefield parleys.

A concerted push to get some more terrain into the mix saw the long-neglected contents of my garage get turned over in quest of something suitable, and I lighted on an old kit from GW, 'Dreadstone Blight', a ruined wizard's tower.

I'm very pleased with how it turned out, though the designers do love them some skullz...

I was also able to return to a previous subject, Chaos Dwarf Admiral Thadrak Krakenbane, seen here at the height of his powers. This Scibor sculpt was a delight to paint.

A Reaper Bones Ettin rounded out Day 41's entries. I decided to go with a yellowy skin tone, and the large expanses of flesh on the beastie rewarded the extra effort.

The 'Music' Theme Round was upon me shortly afterwards, and I was pleased to be able to submit some old skool minis in the form of these Goff Rockerz, an Ork rock band from the early WH40K universe. Extra bright goblin green skin and gaudy costumes, and the tribute to the days of Rogue Trader was complete!

Finally, I finished some more Scibor Dwarves, the Salvage Crew. The colour scheme is meant to recall blue denim overalls and convey a sense of no-nonsense workers and craftsmen.

A wealth of detail on these sculpts, especially given their small size, but they really repay the extra effort.

Another bonus theme awaits, 'Childhood', so I'd better get cracking.

Stay tuned...

Ev

A Song of Frost and Gravy, Part the Third; Glacial Painting and Works in Progress (of a sort)

The thing about glaciers is that they move very slowly.

So you'll have to forgive me for emulating their progress when painting a subject as wintry as the ruins of Felstad... But Millsy has kept the blog fires burning admirably over winter!

Remember the Reaper Bones Ice Spider? Well, he's all based up and ready to go.

The usual baking soda and PVA snow mix, given a little shading here and there with some diluted blue ink, completes the basing. Can't play Frostgrave without monsters, so he'll join the Ice Toad, the Snow Leopard and the Golem in the menagerie of menace.

But what about adventurers? I have an Infantryman and a Ranger both finished, but without wizards to boss them around, they're not really doing anything much at all. So I bit the bullet and made a start on an Enchanter and his Apprentice last weekend. I've roughed in the main colour areas, but the detail still has to be finished off, so they really are works in progress (at last!).

Here's the Enchanter, Vaino,

and his determined young assistant, Ilmar.

Character names courtesy of the Finnish national epic, Kalevala, after the magician-heroes Väinämöinen and Ilmarinen; it's an homage to two of the great enchanters of legend. And what could be more appropriate for these two than a snowy landscape in which to perform their daring deeds?

The North Star Frostgrave figs are decked with a wealth of detail, and if your eyesight is a little hazy in the close-up department (like yours truly), you might miss a strap or bottle or whatever, but they certainly repay the effort.

I hope to have these lads completed next weekend, and then it'll be on to some more hirelings to bulk up the warband. Plus there's the prepping for the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge - cleaning and undercoating in advance this time!

That's all for now - stay tuned!

Ev