From ChrisF - The Hatchery entry OWLBEAR 15mm (22pts)

 So it's kind of a bird! This mini started out as a 15mm Twanax from Blue Moon , but since I had six of them I decided to modify one into an Owlbear. 

The body is the original sculpture, but I chopped off the head with a dremel and sculpted an owl head out of Aves epoxy sculpt.

I did about 10 practice sculpts with clay to get the patterning and process down before I mixed up the Aves.

I painted him in high flow acrylics and sealed with matte varnish. 

I am going to do one more but I may try to make a barn owl head and paint the body white. Kind of a snow owlbear. 

I'm off to paint a witch!

From StuartL - What do you get if you cross an Owl and a Bear? - 25 Points

With Christmas behind us and the New Year looming in front, it is time to delve deeper into the Chambers of Challenge. Descending to level 2, the first chamber is the Hatchery. Finding something that fit the Avian theme wasn't too difficult, deciding which model to paint was. In the end, I plumped for a staple of the D&D series, the classic Owlbear. 

Ferocious and able to see well in the dark, the Owlbear is a prime example of why wizards and alcohol are a poor combination. For some reason, this specimen also has bony protrusions jutting out from it's spine.

As with a lot of my recent entries, this mini is from Reaper's Bones range of minis and will no doubt see play with my D&D group as and when normal life resumes.

And for the third picture, the chef and his bestest buddy from my last post are back to create a bit of an action scene.

So this should net me 5 points for the mini, (he's a bulky looking critter, but was really fast to paint being largely brown) and 20 for the chamber. No Skullz, Squirrels or GW side duels here sadly, so those totals won't be changing... yet.

From Iannick : A Mother's Love at Mudry's Mesa (45 Points)

After finally joining the fun last week and enjoying a nice relaxing, although unfortunately dry, balloon ride, I land on Mudry's Mesa. I've been told of the wonders and dangers that awaits those who visit the Challenge Island, and I am not disappointed!

Barely 50 meters in front of me stands a female Owlbear. The animal, which populates large parts of Faerun, Allansia, Krynn, and many more worlds, is a stunning sight. Larger than a grizzly, usually foul tempered, this particular animal seems on the lookout, its head prowling left and right. For a moment I wonder why this beast seems so stressed. Is it hunting? But then the large creature turns, and I understand! And I feel so privileged to be able to witness such a wondrous scene, as two cubs prance and run around their mother without a care in the world. The cutest creatures you will ever see! And to think that, in barely a few years, these will transform into fearsome apex predators that will terrorize numerous party of adventurers!

As I hide in the bushes and take pictures of these marvelous creatures, I smile; this trip was definitely worth the price of entry.

A stop on Mudry's Mesa was an easy decision for me, since I've received around two weeks ago a little set of figures I was dying to paint! In the last two years or so I've been buying a lot less miniatures, mostly because I feel like I have to work on my leadpile a little (so many great projects, unfinished or often not even started) but here and there I get tempted. And Dark Sword miniatures is often one of those evil temptress. And that's how Iannick, on Christmas day, bought this fantastic little set. 

Nothing special or original about the painting scheme, but I am quite happy with the results. The Owlbear is obviously a RPG classic, and I'm looking forward to using these figures in a game. It's a lot easier to kill the big bad owlbear and gain the XP when you don't have to do it in front of its children, hey? Moral dilemmas are always loads of fun in RPGs.

Point wise, that would be :

• One Owlbear (lets call it a 40mm? It is a big one) for 7pts
• Two Owlbear cubs (small ones, 20mm?) for 8 pts
• Plus the points for the Mesa (30pts)

So 45 pts. Next up, I love the smell of Heresy in the morning...

***

Wow, another RPG classic here for us to enjoy! This is a great entry Iannick, very, very cool and I'm sure the many fantasy and RPG fans out there will enjoy this one!

45 points? Sure! Sounds right to me. Well done. 

GregB