From SimonM: Natalia, Xenomorphs & Gretchen Scout Contraptions (Lady Sarah's Star Yacht & LV426) (59 points)

For my penultimate post I thought I would take another trip on Lady Sarah's Star Yacht from Cybertron to LV426, and finally start working through the last few plastic bags of Xenomorphs I own. As a result my opening model is Natalia, Female Secret Agent by "Reaper Miniatures". This 28mm two-piece metal miniature comes from their Chronoscope range and can be purchased as code 50149.

Having assembled the disconcertingly fragile-looking figure, the model was undercoated with “Vallejo” Black Primer and subsequently treated to a couple of layers of “Citadel” Abaddon Black. The entire model was then dry-brushed with “Vallejo” Heavy Charcoal, before having her gun holster, leg strap and belt ‘picked out’ with Heavy Sienna.

I also applied some “Vallejo” Gunmetal to the deadly assassin’s pistol, before all of these areas were ‘drowned’ in “Citadel” Nuln Oil. The not-Black Widow’s belt buckle and thigh gadget were treated to a combination of “Vallejo” Gold and “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade. Finally, Natalia’s hair was given a lick of “Vallejo” Heavy Red, shaded with “Citadel” Agrax Earhshade, and carefully dry-brushed with (more) “Vallejo” Heavy Red.

Having landed on LV426 it only seemed fitting to pigment five 15mm scale metal miniatures Xenomorphs by “Ground Zero Games”. The figures are available as code SG15-X01 from their Stargrunt Infantry range, and come in packs of six figures (consisting of two alternative sculpts).

Due to using the models for some homemade rules, all of the models were super-glued onto a large-sized plastic “Flames Of War” stand by “Battlefront Miniatures”, and primed using two layers of “Citadel” Abaddon Black. The extra-terrestrials were then dry-brushed with “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey, before being given a double-helping of “Citadel” Nuln Oil in order to help tone down their highlights and better blend them in.

Finally, I have made a start on some of the smaller German Land Ironclads produced by “Brigade Models”. These eight Gretchen Scout Contraptions are approximately 8mm x 3mm in size, and had previously been super-glued in fours upon a 30mm x 40mm plastic rectangle. All the Small, nimble scout vehicles were primed with a couple of layers of “Vallejo” German Fieldgrey WWII, and shaded in “Citadel” Nuln Oil.

I then carefully dry-brushed them all with (more) “Vallejo” German Fieldgrey WWII, before patiently picking out all their guns with a combination of Gunmetal and “Citadel” Nuln Oil. As with my previously painted British Mk.I Armoured Gun Carriers the hardest (and most time-consuming) part in painting these little guys was tidying up the grit surrounding the vehicles so I could later dry-brush their bases and get them tabletop ready.

Hopefully this latest AHPC entry will provide:

1 x 28mm Figure = 5 points

Lady Sarah's Star Yacht (assuming you can claim the points every time you use the yacht) = 20 points..?

5 x 15mm Xenomorphs = 10 Points

LV426 = 20 Points

8 x 2mm (small) Vehicles = 4 Points (based on their size/painting time being similar to 6mm Infantry figures)..?

Total = 59 Points

I like your Natalia. I am getting tired of multi-part metal figures; they are a lot of effort and can be fragile. Your xenomorphs and scouts have come out well.

Barks

From DallasE: Churchill Tanks at Dieppe (LV426) (105 points)

So this is about as close as I get to a "points bomb"... four 28mm (1/50) vehicles combined with one planetary visit. Anyway it's four Churchill MkIII medium tanks, as seen (kind of) on the infamous Dieppe raid of 19 August 1942.

The four vehicles I've done are all Churchills of The Calgary Regiment (Calgary Tanks), aka 14 Canadian Armoured Tank Regiment (14 CATR). I had three of these painted already in a standard British armour green, but for Christmas was given another stock Corgi model by Challenger DaveV, which prompted me to revisit the three I'd already painted...

 

So I got the project underway in earnest, first re-priming all four models with flat black spray, researching the correct colour for the Canadian armour at Dieppe (turns out it was described as "dog sh!t brown" and I used GW Steel Legion Drab to replicate that), and sourcing decals for the tanks. I got these from Peddinghaus, a cottage supplier in Germany that makes a ton of very cool and obscure decals in 1/72 and 1/48 scale.

 

I also figured I may as well do some conversions on the tanks to better replicate their Dieppe configuration (because why not, right?) This involved scratch-building the exhaust pipe extensions that allowed the Churchills to deep-wade without allowing water into the engines. This was characteristic of the Dieppe Churchills and is seen on every photographed example. 

I made the extensions out of thick flexible wire (I think it's maybe soldering wire) bent to shape and superglued to the exhaust pipes of the tank. I then ran thread between the upper ends of the extensions as shown in photographs of the vehicles on the beach. The extensions were then heavily weathered with rust effect wash.

  

Unfortunately none of the Churchills at Dieppe were equipped with track guards for the upper runs, as seen on these Corgi models... sadly I don't think anyone makes appropriate models in 1/48 or 1/50 and taking a grinder to these models to remove the guards wasn't really in the project remit.

I decided to portray the three vehicles of 9 Troop, B Squadron - Bluebell, Blossom, and Buttercup, as well as the troop leader of 6 Troop, Bob (all four were Churchill MkIIIs). The decals from the Peddinghaus set are excellent and have great detail. However they did take a good deal of work to fit, as they are not "pre-cut" and need to be trimmed to size. There's also 15 decals for each vehicle!

I didn't do a ton of weathering on the vehicles as this would be the first time they were in action - just some light water streaking down the vertical panels, and dust along the lower part of the vehicles and suspension.

 

Here's a close-up of the exhaust extensions. Honestly they were a bit of a futz to build but I like the way they turned out - they really give the tanks the "Dieppe look":

I'm actually quite happy with the way these turned out. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the Dieppe raid and I am looking forward to setting up a game this summer to mark it. We've played Dieppe games a few times before (but not for years) but I think the new Churchills are really going to add to the vibe.

I'm visiting LV426 with this project as one of the planetary themes is "a really really bad idea." Now if you've read anything about the Dieppe raid, you know that it was pretty much universally considered to be a disaster, notwithstanding some really heroic conduct by some of the combatants, some isolated success by the Commandoes on the flanks, and the ex-post-facto justification (largely by Mountbatten) that Dieppe was vital practice contributing to the success of the Operation Overlord (D-Day). Having said all this - Operation Jubilee was a really really bad idea. Dieppe was essentially a fortress, the beach was almost purpose-designed to break tank tracks, and the plan didn't take into account the extensive German fortifications on the headlands overlooking the beach. A really really bad idea.  

Points:

4x 28mm vehicles:     80 points

LV426 bonus:             20 points

Total:                        100 points 
 

Cheers,

Dallas

I know less about Dieppe than I should. I look forwards to finding out more at the 80th anniversary! I've always found the Churchill to be an unattractive vehicle, but you've done great work on these vehicles. The colour alone is hard to describe! The light weathering is really nice, and your attention to detail with the conversions and decals is worth a few extra points.

Barks

From Paul O'G: Beastmen! (50 points) (LV426)

Due to work travel its been a good few weeks since I touched a brush. This gave me time to reflect on this year's Challenge and I realised I was missing something - I've painted no Beastmen - for shame! So this week I've rectified that with some characterful Beastmen models from the Underworlds "Grashrak's Despoilers" set.

BFFs Grashrak and Draknar are the bruisers of this warband

Grashrak Fellhook is a magical Bray-Shaman, and his buddies are Gor Draknar the Cruel and the Ungor Hunters Gnarl, Ushkor, Murgoth Half-Horn, and Korsh the Sneak. Together they 'hate all things pure with a bestial vehemence that knows neither reason nor restraint' - nice lads to gatecrash your forrest outing. With the idea that these would be a flavoursome raiding force for WHFB as well as a Warcry Warband, I lavished attention on their lovely details and tried some different flesh tone colours and shades.

That's 6 beastmen figs for 30 points plus the LV426 planetary bonus because its a really, really bad idea to wander into the Drakwald Forrest while these guys are lurking about..., for a total of 50 points.

From Millsy:

I knew something was missing from your efforts this year Paul, and now I know what it was! I have to say these are some of the best beastmen sculpts GW have ever produced IMHO and for an Oldhammer aficionado that's not an easy admission to make.

These are wonderfully painted mate, some of your best brushwork in all the challenges you have participated in from my POV. The palette is muted, and the contrast low-key but you have sacrificed nothing in terms of detail, character or interest. The bases are really top notch too and the lack of tufts or other staples we all use with impunity now really enhances your brushwork.

Smashing stuff all round!

From MikeF - Imperial Inquisitor [Arrakis] & Crawling Insectoid Alien [LV426] (50 points)

 As the end of the challenge looms, I've been trying to complete several projects at once which will probably take me down to the wire! I didn't want to go empty handed this Friday so managed to bang out a couple figures...and two planets as well.

First up is an Imperial Inquisitor from the Ordo Malleus (Daemon hunters). This model is based on a GW model, but modified. The original model was bareheaded and was holding a large eagle on his left arm. I replaced the eagle and arm with a bionic arm holding a bolt pistol. I also gave him a helmet and a larger hammer! I painted him for Arrakis which has the keyword, Machiavellian. I take this to mean "ends justify the means" which describes an inquisitor from the Ordo Malleus quite well. No atrocity is off limits if it serves their purpose. This includes the extermination of entire planets if they deem it necessary. This inquisitor must believe in a long use of force continuum, as he clearly plans to start with his gun and hammer, working his way up from there.

Second is a model from Knightmare Models called the Crawling Insectoid. It's directly inspired by Citadel Miniatures Ambull alien. It's a nice chunky pewter model reminiscent of the classic miniatures GW produced in the 90's and 2000's. It's an alien painted for LV426.

2 models for a whopping 50 points!

Thanks for visiting.

Nice conversion work on the Inquisitor and that alien looks particularly disgusting!

Tamsin

From DougM - A Badly Judged Operation - LV426 (92 points)

Nothing says badly judged like December 7th 1941...  'Awaken a Sleeping Giant'.

So yet more home printed aircraft, this time for 'Bag the Hun', WW2 from the Too Fat Lardies. The WW1 stuff I printed off in 1/144, but the larger aircraft  WW2... (watch this space!) I went for 1/200.

I also - for some ridiculous reason, thought it would be easy to paint Japanese insignia.. idiot that I am..

And as always it seems, waiting for my naval hex mat to arrive... 

Zeros!  - some sort of colour shift here, they are more Greenish in real life.

Escorting some Aichi Val

And the Kates.. 

Some Nates to keep them company...

Slow Progress...  I was hoping to have more done this week, but real life you know.

Points = 10mm vehicles (I think?) @3 x 24 = 72

Planet bonus = 20

Total 92 points... 

Those tiny planes look great, Doug!

Tamsin

From TashaH: Aliens! [LV426] (42 points)

 

 LV426 is a skeery place. I do not like it here! 

 

These figures are from WizKids. I bought them solely for this planet, because they represent to me exactly what creepy aliens should look like! 

 

 

I used Skeleton Horde, Plaguebearer Flesh and Terradon Turquoise Contrast paints. I finished off with a light swipe of Nuln Oil and there you have it!

 

 

The points:

35 mm figure - 6 points

26 mm figure - 4 points

Planet bonus - 20 points

All in … 30 points! 

Now, let’s get the heck out of here! Into the maelstrom, hoping to get tossed to the outer ring and wheee!!!

To those who were questioning my benevolence in sending you through the maelstrom to LV426, perhaps this post could indicate potential collusion, although I couldn't possibly comment!

Those aliens are definitely creepy, Tasha! I'm scoring them as 1 x 25/28mm and 1 x 40mm, so that's 2 extra points.

You want to get tossed back into the Outer Ring? Anyone suspicious might be tempted to think that you are trying to avoid the, errmm, challenge of Challenge XII...I think I'll dump you out at Skaro!

Tamsin

Edit: score adjusted - I'd forgotten that it was 30 points for the planet you get dumped out of the Malestrom onto!

From SimonG: Two Young Magicians Up to No Good! (60 points)

Quite a change of scene from the tragedy of the Jewish revolt my offering for this week is a brace of Black Rose War figures -- Dukas and Bella plus their "familars"

I think we can all recognise the inspiration for Dukas and the story that is being told here -- truly "a really, really bad idea"!

Surely another broom will get the job done sooner!

And we made it to LV426 via Lady Sarah's Star Yacht courtesy of young Bella and her magical cat

These are all Ludus Magnus Studios Black Rose Wars 40mm figures -- although as they are all on the small side (15mm for the cat, 20mm for Dukas and 28mm for Bella and the broom) I'll count them as 28mm on average. They are all plastic castings and pretty nicely detailed. It's a pity the two poses are so similar but the two characters are very distinct.

In particular it's clever how the Disney features have been reinterpreted in Dukas the young devling -- his name is of course a reference to the music featured in Fantasia.

My favourite is probably the cat -- painting a ginger was quite a challenge and I'm pleased with how it came out, and with the books he is sitting on.

With our quick stop on LV426 we get away promptly before the whole place floods and pop next door to Arrakis and back to First Century Judea.

My math suggests 60 points for this week -- 20 for the four 28mm figures and 20 each for the stop on LV426 and the ride with Lady Sarah.

_________________________________

Such wonderfully whimsical figures Simon, and your brushwork has really done them justice. I too really like the cat, but I think Bella is my favourite - her calm, contemplative face is so well rendered and I very much admire the rich blue of her dress. Lovely work. 

- Curt

From TeemuL: Alien [LV426] (55 points)

We quickly move to LV426, a much rumoured place, but we are disappointed. More of these black and green aliens...

This is Broodlord, largish genestealerish alien beast, painted with familiar colours. Not much to say, anything new, at least.

Happily we encounter a Dame with no Name, who helps us aboard the Sarah's Star Yacht and our way back to Great Abyssal, from where we travel inwards and step to the nearby planet Krypton. Dame with no name is a metal miniature from Knuckleduster Miniatures. I got her from YourModelBox some time ago. I like the mini, but of course she might have more practical clothes.

I'd like to score this monster as a 54mm miniature, so 10 points and 20 for planet LV426. Western girl is 28mm so 5 points and another 20 for Star Yacht. 55 in total.

From Millsy:

Another wonderful addition to your collection of not-Tyranids Teemu. The more I see of this black/green/yellow scheme the more I like it.

Large and horrifying as it is, it doesn't seem to be phasing the Dame with no Name in the slightest. She's suitably dusty, weathered and has clearly seen some stuff so, this is probably just another opponent who thinks it is more badass than it really is. I suspect this particular Broodlord is about to get a swift introduction to messers Smith and Wesson. Nice work!

From GeoffreyT: Multi-planet mayhem (Solaris)(LV-426)(Perelandra)(Krypton)(Gethen)(161 points)

From Vulcan, we leave pointy ears behind us and move onto its neighbour Solaris.

SOLARIS - Deception

These two chaps came from a second hand bulk lot.  I have identified them as Copplestone castings Spies.  Both are wearing nondescript suits to blend in where ever blending is needed.

They don't blend in particularly well with the green grass base.

That is now the last location in the outer-ring

Solaris is adjacent to LV-426 in the middle ring, so onwards and inwards we go.

LV-426 - Aliens

My Stargrave crew consisted of various Apeonauts from the USSS Fossey.  With the untimely death of their leader, they are now drifting in space somewhat directionless, as the most likely candidate for a new leader was Bubbles.  Unfortunately Bubbles lacks leadership qualities.  This is because Bubbles is a chimpanzee.

Therefore, it is time to build a new crew, and a new crew means new miniatures.  These three are the core of the next mob.  Three Alien Greys (reaper chronoscope metals).  The greys are nominally 28mm scale, although they are a bit weedy, 24mm to the eye.

The greys have different types of equipment, which will be great for identifying them as various skill types in game.  However, I'm not sure an anal probe is equipment used in Stargrave. (I will check rulebook just in case)

Of course, in Stargrave you need random monster antagonists.  This wooly rhino fits the in game description of a "Horat".  28mm model from Reaper Warlord metals.  The Horat is also an Alien.

For some reason, this Horat has two horns and one ear.  The missing ear is probably a casting defect, but I have added gore so it looks like it was bitten off by a space monster called Mike.

The Horat is big.  This is it compared to the greys.

Now from LV426 we jump over the already completed Noels comet, to Perelandra, the final uncompleted destination in the middle ring.

PERELANDRA - Oceanic

This sculpt is a mer-bloke on a sea-horse, trumpeting on a conch shell.  very oceanic indeed.  This is a 28mm Ral Partha miniature, from their Shadowrun line.

Here he is on the reverse.  I didnt have anything oceanic, so grabbed him from a bin of old stock at my local gaming store in Perth city to match the requirement.  Probably been in the store for 25 years, as it dates back that far.

Here is his muddy cousin, that came in same pack.  

Now the middle ring is done, and I zoom around in circles till I reach the great abyssal and begin my final assault on the inner ring at Krypton.

KRYPTON - Superhero

I didn't have anything suitable for this location either, so the same old stock bin at my local store produced this beauty.  This is a Reaper Chronoscope 28mm metal miniature labelled 'Torrent - Superhero".  Leaping out of the water, it is apparent her super-abilities include having dry hair after swimming.

I don't know anything about the super-hero genre, so I could safely paint her any colour I choose.  I chose a yellow bikini, because Y is for yellow Bikini in the alphabet soup challenge.

My wife said I picked this model because she had big tits, although there may be an element of truth in that, like a dutiful husband that I am, I denied it.

The yellow bikini is not so evident from the rear shot.

Next door we cool down after all that excitement, on a planet of ice and snow.

GETHEN - Ice and Snow

These two ferocious monsters are denizens of frostgrave, from the 28mm Northstar line, designed for the game.  First, a snow leopard.

I wasn't quite happy with the leopard spots, so I thought I might re-paint them.  Then I realised a leopard doesn't change its spots, so I left it as is.  You basically just get one shot at it.

Next is an ice toad.  These guys have a nasty bite.

I wasn't happy with spots on this one either, but since it wasn't a leopard, I could change them and they are now better.

Finally a widget I found in my box of unpainted things.  Spider eggs from Wizkids.  The eggs were translucent, I painted them with a translucent paint to keep the 'Nemo's doomed siblings' egg effect.

***

Not many miniatures for lots of bonus points this week.  However, there are not many planets left for me to claim now.

10 x 28mm foot = 50 points

1 x 28mm mounted fig

1 widget = 1 point

5 bonus planets = 100 points.

Total = 161 points

Y is for Yellow Bikini.

Cheers

GT

A good variety of figures here, Geoff. Nice work on all those labels! I think I've been to that Perth store you speak of and found some antique figures there myself. Keep an eye out for your Challenge!

Barks