From DaveV: 28mm Flame Drake (a.k.a. 4-hex Dragon): 40 points

Dragons are traditionally known for their Greed. One series of fantasy novels assigns differently  coloured dragons to all of the Seven Sins. The Violet Dragon of Lust is a YA novel, an allegorical tale of a knight fighting an undying violet dragon. This WIZKIDS model, though not using that novel as its inspiration, caught my eye immediately when I saw it sitting on the shelf at GameKnight Games, here in Winnipeg.

The plastic model came pre-assembled and primed in white primer. Not my usual undercoat, but I forged ahead to paint it in a purpley-red scheme. I sketched in the basic colours in acrylics, adding shading with various GW and Army Painter washes, emphasizing the shapes of the scaly hide and picking out all the myriad claws, horns, and teeth. I then used tube oil paints both as washes and for some wet-on-wet blending. I tried to render the thin, leathery wings differently from the scales.

I based the model on a diamond shaped piece of thick plastic card. Below, the finished model compared with a cardboard counter from the Wizard microgame, one of the components of The Fantasy Trip:

As with my previous entry, it is based specifically for use with Steve Jackson Games' system, The Fantasy Trip ("TFT"). Such a large model takes up four hexes on the gaming surface; centaurs and horses take up two hexes, and humans, elves, or dwarves only one hex. So, this is a "4-hex Dragon". Larger in-game dragons cover 7 or even 14 hexes. (Note, the grey-edged parts of the base correspond to the model's 4 front facing hexes.)

I ended up super gluing on the groundwork; white glue just contracted as it dried and pulled away in a thin film from the plastic surface. 

Giants in TFT are 3-hex creatures. Below I have another couple of such monsters, pre-painted models from em4, ready for basing and groundwork. Also on the cutting mat can be seen the next 6 Talisman figures in my painting queue (the Sorceress, Assassin, Thief, Halfling, Druid, and Ghoul).

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Painting Challenge Total:

The Flame Drake is larger than a 28mm cavalry figure, about the size of a small vehicle or walker.

(1 x 28mm vehicle) + (Lust) = 20 + 20 = 40 points

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Hey Dave!

Beautiful Greedy Dragon! I love your attention to all the details of the scales, teeth, claws etc. The dragons pose is really dynamic and I think your colour choices have really helped emphasized a dragon in motion.

Well done!

40 points to your scoreboard

-Sarah

From GeoffreyT: Last Hurrah (185 points)

Hello Challengers,

Having completed each of the studio challenges, it is now time to mop up and try and hit the backlog of forgotten projects.

This first model is a classic Citadel miniatures Eldar dreadnought from the late 80's.  I don't have any other Eldar and no real interest in 40K, but liked the model so grabbed it when I saw it second hand.  Since a dreadnaught is a brain stem in a shell, I reckon 28mm mounted would be the correct classification for points.

Next up I have a dystopian wars fleet. I liked this game, but was a flash in the pan (twice). It left me with an unpainted fleet I picked up. Now it is painted and awaiting a revival for the game.

These guys are The Ottoman Naval Battle group by Spartan games.  Excuse the background.

This bad boy is a foam ball with tissue paper glued to it. It represents in game a "The Great Maw" from Forbidden Psalm.  It is big, about 100mm, (so about size of 28mm vehicle). I'm not entirely convinced by it myself, it is a bit too round.  Nevertheless as it will likely only hit the game table once it is fit for purpose.

I have an aircraft carrier for Starmada.  I painted it in colours to match my NSL Full Thrust ships. Cant remember the brand.

Last of all is a few chaps I collected for Forbidden Psalm monsters.  Two boars by Wizkids represent Morka-Porka and a demon thing from Slave2Gaming as 'The Nagl".

This I feel are the worst photo effort in the challenge to date.  By anyone.  But they are last minute and on the scoreboard.

For scale, the boars are on 25mm bases, so the Nagl is a big guy.

So what we have here is a pile of disparate miniatures, some of which are uncertain points value.

Eldar dreadnaught (28mm mounted) = 10 points

Ottoman Fleet Total = 112 points

    1 x Battleship = 15 points

    4 x Cruisers at 10 each = 40

    6 x Frigates at 5 each = 30

    3 x Bombers at 3 each = 9 points

    8 Mines at 1 each = 8 points

    10 Bases of small flyers at 1 each = 10 points

The Great Maw (28mm vehicle, it can swallow people whole) = 20 points

Starmada total = 20.5 points

    1 carrier = 10 points

    21 small fliers at 0.5 each = 10.5 points

2 x Morka-porka (28mm foot) = 10 points

1 x Nagl (54mm foot) = 10 points

Estimated total = 182.5 points

I really don't know what the ships should be, I kind of estimated them on basis of size and effort needed.  Has this post reached the official threshold to be classified "a points bomb"?  I don't think so, but is probably as close as I will get.

For those who have commented on my posts so far, thank you for your kindness.  I read and appreciate them all, although I usually don't reply.  Special thanks to Teemu for being an excellent minion, for Sidney for the outstanding challenge studio tasks, for Curt for running such a terrific event and for their partners for tolerating such dedication to hobbying.

However, the hobbying never ends, next after the challenge is beta testing of upcoming game "Torch and Shield", written by some friends of mine who have an upcoming kickstarter, check it out.

https://www.grimskald.com/

Kind Regards

Geoff.

From TeemuL: You are not making it too easy for Minions, Geoffrey! All kinds of self sculpted minis on strange scales and now this - all kind of space ships in strage scales. Dystopian Wars have been published in the past and given the average size of the ships, I think you are roughly in the ball park. I'll round it up to 185 in total for all the sculpting and overall amazeness during the Challenge. It has been a pleasure to minion you, I never knew what was coming, but luckily I was most likely the first one to see them while minioning and scheduling them. Have a nice off-Challenge time with Torch and Shield (and painting)!

From SimonM: Various Figures by "Papsikels Miniatures" (50 Points), Crimson Cowl by “Wizkids” (5 Points) & Lady Sarah’s Limousine (20 Points)

This 32mm Colonist Marine Cyborg Hero E-900 Exterminator is produced by "Papsikels Miniatures" and was sent to me as a free STL (Standard Triangle Language) file as part of their PAPSIPACK Welcome Models subscription set on "Patreon". The miniature was produced using "Elegoo" Water Washable Resin on a Mars 3 Pro 3D Printer and is clearly inspired by the “less-advanced, reprogrammed Terminator” played by Arnold Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1991 science-fiction film “Terminator 2: Judgment Day”.

Pigmented using “Duncan Rhodes' Two Thin Coats” paint range, the cyborg assassin was undercoated in Doom Death Black, dry-brushed using “Vallejo” Heavy Charcoal”, had his T-shirt ‘picked out’ in Cold Corpse Blue and drenched in Oblivion Black Wash. I next applied a little Sir Coates Silver and splash of (more) Oblivion Black Wash to his belt buckle and pistol, before using a combination of Glistening Gold and Battle Mud Wash on the killing machine’s cartridge belt.

The Terminator’s hair and boots were treated to some Cuirass Leather and (more) Battle Mud Wash, and his remaining skin picked out with a little Elven Flesh and watered-down “Citadel” Reikland Fleshshade. His exposed exo-skeleton was given a layer of Sir Coates Silver and Oblivion Black Wash, before I dotted his robotic eye with a drop of Demon Red and a dab of "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson. Lastly, to try and break up the all-black colour scheme, I gave his jacket a light dry-brush of more Cuirass Leather and blended this in with some additional Oblivion Black Wash.

Sticking with “Papsikels Miniatures”, I have also finished three 32mm Yurneyan Golem Exofist Mask figures using "Elegoo" Water Washable Resin on a Mars 3 Pro 3D Printer. Like “Arnie”, these were downloaded for free as part of a set of STL (Standard Triangle Language) files from their PAPSIPACK Welcome Models subscription set on "Patreon” and were originally a quartet. However, one of the model’s arms failed to print – probably due to my overloading the build plate.

The 55mm tall sculpts are recognisably inspired by Ridley Scott’s 2012 science fiction film “Prometheus” and were predominantly painted using “Duncan Rhodes' Two Thin Coats paint” range. They were all primed with a double helping of Gravestone Blue, shaded using Oblivion Black Wash and dry-brushed with (more) Gravestone Blue. This really helped bring out all the partly organic looking details of their survival suits.

However, I thought the “Space Jockeys” looked a little bland so decided to pick out their stomachs, fingers and throats using a combination of Sir Coates Silver and Oblivion Black Wash. This somewhat tied into some of the pictures I have seen of the alien’s costumes for the movies, which appear to have a somewhat silvery/fleshy sheen to them. As a final step I applied Ivory Tusk to their heads, washed these areas with watered-down “Citadel” Carroburg Crimson, and dotted their eyes with Doom Death Black.

Alongside my (not) Terminator and (not) Engineers I have also pigmented seven more 32mm scale E-800 Exterminators by "Papsikels Miniatures". These could be downloaded for free as part of a set of STL (Standard Triangle Language) files from their "Patreon" The Exterminator December 2022 subscription service and are clearly based upon James Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd's science-fiction "Terminator" franchise.

Produced using "Elegoo" Water Washable Resin on a Mars 3 Pro 3D Printer, I undercoated the figures with some "Citadel" Abaddon Black, then gave each killer robot a double-helping of Sir Coates Silver from “Duncan Rhodes' Two Thin Coats” paint range and a generous splash of Oblivion Black Wash. Each android was then carefully dry-brushed with (more) Sir Coates Silver and had their eyes picked out with a spot of Demon Red and a dab of "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson.

Lastly, due to wanting their metallic hand-weapons to stand out a little bit from the rest of the E-800 Exterminators, I applied a second shade of Oblivion Black Wash to all the firearms and any ammunition feeds they were carrying.

My last figure for this week’s submission was pigmented simply to let me take Lady Sarah’s Limousine from the Super-Heroes studio to the Books studio. It is a 28mm scale pre-painted plastic model of the Crimson Cowl which was produced by “Wizkids” and is miniature number 091 from their old Marvel “Heroclix” Ultimates range. “The mysterious boss of the Masters of Evil” Justine Hammer’s alter-ego was created by Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley for the April 1997 issue of "Thunderbolts" by "Marvel Comics".

Removed from the figure's flying 'clicky' base and super-glued upon a plastic 25mm circular base, the super-villain was treated to a double-coat of “Duncan Rhodes' Two Thin Coats” Sanguine Scarlet and shaded in "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson. She was then heavily dry-brushed with (more) Sanguine Scarlet, before having her eye slits spotted with a smidgeon of Skulker Yellow and “Citadel” Reikland Fleshshade.

Nine x 32mm scale foot figure = 45 Points

One x 28mm scale foot figure = 5 Points

Two x 32mm scale half foot figure = 5 Points

Lady Sarah’s Limousine = 20 Points

Total = 75 Points

From SimonM: Sauron by "Wizkids" (5 Points) + Super-Hero Bonus (20 Points) + Xeno Brood Sentry by "Papsikels Miniatures" (5 Points)

This 28mm scale pre-painted plastic model of Sauron was produced by “Wizkids” and is miniature number 029 from their Marvel “Heroclix” Wolverine & The X-Men range. After being bitten by mutant pterodactyls, physician Doctor Karl Lykos was transformed into a humanoid Pteranodon, who was "able to absorb the life force of others through touch." Created by Roy Thomas and Neal Adams, the Savage Lands mutate made its first appearance in the September 1969 issue of "The X-Men by "Marvel Comics".

Clipped from the figure's 'clicky' base and super-glued upon a plastic 25mm circular base, the super-villain was treated to a double-coat of Ethereal Green from "Duncan Rhodes Two Thin Coats" paint range so as to cover up its previous paint-job, shaded in Battle Mud Wash, and thoroughly dry-brushed with (more) Ethereal Green. I then 'picked out' his tongue using a combination of Sanguine Scarlet and "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson, before dotting in the energy vampire's mesmerising eyes with a smidgeon of "Duncan Rhodes Two Thin Coats" Skulker Yellow over a "Citadel" Abaddon Black base layer.

Finally, I applied two layers of Sorceror's Cloak from "Duncan Rhodes Two Thin Coats" over Lykos' torn loin-cloth and shaded it with "Citadel" Druchii Violet. To be honest I had originally intended to pigment the garment in yellow, as per the miniature's 'official' paint scheme. But having recently played quite a bit the computer game Marvel Snap, I decided to go with the colour he wears on his digital card.

Having previously completed four Green Pass studio tasks (Sci-Fi, 1980's, Casting Couch & World Cinema), I decided to travel back the way I came so as to use Sauron as the perfect piece to bag my first Blue Pass at the Superheroes studio. Sure, the character has been a lifelong foe of the X-Men, but like so many classic villians, he's also been a hero at times - befriending the Lord of the Hidden Jungle, Ka-Zar, and ultimately sacrificing himself (by hurling himself off of a cliff) when he realised what a threat to Humanity he had become.

Alongside Doctor Karl Lykos' alter-ego, I have also pigmented a rather large 32mm scale Xeno Brood Sentry produced by "Papsikels Miniatures". The model can be downloaded for free as an STL (Standard Triangle Language) file from their PAPSIPACK Welcome Models subscription set on "Patreon", and is based upon a species of H.R.Giger's infamous deadly xenomorphs.

Produced using "Elegoo" Water Washable Resin on a Mars 3 Pro 3D Printer, the monster was super-glued to a "Citadel" 60mm circular base and primed in Doom Death Black by "Duncan Rhodes Two Thin Coats". I next gave the model an enthusiastic dry-brush of Scorched Earth and shaded it with Oblivion Black Wash to help make the creature's base layer look very dark indeed.

I next much more delicately (re)dry-brushed the models with (more) Scorched Earth, before applying a light highlight of Dust Bowl across all the prominent raised areas. Finally, to help better blend this all together, I gave the fearsome fiend an absolute drowning in Battle Mud Wash. This just left me needing to 'pick out' all the alien's metal teeth with a combination of Sir Coates Silver and Oblivion Black Wash, as well as apply a coat of Doom Death Black across its forehead and scorpion-like stinger tail.

One x 28mm scale foot figure = 5 Points

One x 32mm scale foot figure = 5 Points

Superheroes Studio Bonus = 20 Points

Total = 30 Points

From PeterD: Limo to Black and White (46 points)

I've been largely ignoring the Studio lot themes, but thought I'd try and pickup a few theme points using stuff at hand.

First up I need to take a Limo using this figure to secure my ride. This is a RAFM Call of Cthulhu figure that I picked up 20 years ago. She came in a pack of nurses, most of which ended up in may Colonial collection. I also think she bears a resemblance to Tamsin when a new Challenge member prematurely hits the "Publish" button before getting his or her minion to vet the post.

I'll have the Limo drop me off at the Black and White Studio and claim this greyscale bat and stalagmite (or is it a stalactite?  I await Dr Cook's rebuke.). The bat came in a pack of familiars sold by WizKids. I painted it as a shameless grab for points but it could prove useful in a dungeon crawl etc.

We live in a Bat friendly house, with each of our vehicles having a colour coordinated guard bat on duty. Better yet we had a Biology grad student set up a Bat Monitor in our back yard and we turned out to be in a high Bat Traffic Area. It took a lot of self control not to refer to the young lady as the Batgirl (at least not to her face).

Elizabat on duty (our Forester is blue). Other members of our colony are Zippy and Batsmeralda while former member Batrick went to live with the Batgirl Bat Researcher because she drove a green car.

Here's my updated studio map.

Points wise it 5 for the 28mm figure and maybe 1 terrain point (1/20 of a cube) for the bat plus 20 each for the Limo and Lot location.

From TeemuL: That nurse is terrific! A tiny bit of white in the eyes and teeth would probably crank up the emotion, but understandably those tiny details are usually a hit or miss. The rock looks a bit blurred in the photos, but it might be just me. The Batman in the last photo looks very sharp, though. ;)

From SamuliS: Swamp Hags (14 points)

Time for my final post in the challenge! My output and participation slowed down quite significantly for the last third of the challenge as work has been very busy and fitting the normal family life into that has really proven why here in Finland these are called your "traffic jam years" with your schedule jam packed. It's a shame that I haven't had the time to keep up with all the amazing entries in the last weeks.

Anyways I hadn't really painted anything in the last couple of weeks and with the final day of the challenge coming up I figured I need to come up with one more quick entry as I definitely was not going to be able to finish any of the things that were half painted on my desk. I still had a few unpainted DnD monsters prepped so I picked a couple suitable ones to have a nice speedpainting project that I could finish within my kids naptime. The models are Wizkids Hags that I painted with mostly Contrast paints and a couple of details picked out with regular paints. I gave them a sickly greenish skintone to go for a Swamp Hag aesthetic.

 

The minis are around 50mm tall so 7 points per model netting me a quick 14 points to add to my tally. I ended up doing much better than I anticipated this year. Especially as the first month and a half of the challenge was quite productive for me thanks to a slower start in my new position at work and being able to paint during several online meetings while I was working from home. 853 points is far from my best in the challenge, but still quite a nice tally especially when I originally thought even getting to my goal of 500 might be a bit tricky.

Thanks to Curt for organizing this madness! It's been the highlight of the hobby year for me ever since I participated the first time during the third challenge. And thank you to Barks for keeping us honest in the Thurday crew! And for allowing some of my more liberal interpretations of quadrant goals ;) Can't wait for the next challenge to start!

From Millsy:

A couple of cracking miniatures to finish your Challenge Samuli. I feel like I have a bit of "Swamp Hag aesthetic" going on myself this morning , although my basing is nowhere near as well executed. Well done on a great Challenge effort and thank you for sharing your creative efforts with us mate!

From PeterD - The Shelf Soup Post (60 points)

Last weekend of the Challenge and time to clear off anything on the workbench that is close to done. It's kinda like shelf soup or leftover day, a mix of everything.

First up a trip of nominally 28mm Wizkids monsters for my Beowulf RPG.  These have been sitting around finished or nearly so in some cases since January, but weren't as satisfactory as some of my other beowulf baddies.  We have a troll, an earth elemental and a Sea Hag,

I tried to get a different green effect on this troll from his skinnier compadre posted earlier. I'm not quite happy with the results but he's big green and ugly, and I'm pretty sure I've seen him pushing Chaos Space Marines around a 40K battlefield.  The earth elemental is a nice figure but I kinda whiffed on my attempted morph into a elemental from the sea bed for a Beowulf adventure.  I had ambitions of sculpting the base with modelling gel so that the broken rocks looked more wave like but in the end went for a paint conversion.  I gave him a green wash to represent marine growths and overdid the gloss medium applied over top.  The Se Hag came in the same pack as the Bheur Hag posted earlier.  Unlike her sister (which has a Disney villainous vibe) the Sea Hag lacks character and has more of a Zombie Luau dancer vibe. 

Next up a set of 28mm Bad Squiddo Women of WW2 ATA members with rifles, and an NCO from attached to a Highland regiment.  They are great figures, but not as colourful as the other packs in the Kickstarter I back (i.e Lumberjills and Pig ladies).  I am not sure of the uniform colours but am unlikely to ever field them on table and they look ok.

And finally a Wizkids 28mm well and Bad Suiddo Land Girls Rat catcher.  Yes she is proudly showing off her collection of dead rats which have been strung together and are draped over her shoulders.  I am not sure what to make of a woman who smiles so broadly while wearing a lei of dead rodents, but this sculpt is based on a period photo.  Lots of character but kind of disturbing, particularly as in the Miss Marple rural England universe she might be your Great Aunt Sally or Mrs Jones from down the lane.

So that's 7 regular 28mm figures (the 6 Bad Squiddo ladies and the Hag) for 35 points plus the well (5 points as being about the size of a 28mm figure or maybe 1-2 points as terrain.) and 2 two bigger figures.  My previous troll was counted as a 54mm figure so I suggest the same for these two.   The hag, troll and elemental would count towards the fantasy duel.

From Millsy:

A cracking little pot of soup you have here Peter! I particularly like the ATA NCO in her fetching side cap and who doesn't like / need a rat catcher? We're very lucky to have Bad Squiddo who produce such a wonderfully diverse and characterful range. It's great to see them getting some love!

I've scored the well as a 54mm mini given the size, totally 60 points for you to round out your Challenge. Well done mate, it's been great having you on the team.

From TashaH Middle Ring Sprint [Arrakis][Star Yacht][Noel’s Comet] (70 Points)

Hello Wednesday! I am here to steal earn as many points as possible with the fewest possible figures. I had hoped to make Greg twitch a smidge and mumble incoherently about no-good point grabbers. I’m certain he’d prefer all the point siphoning today to his household emergency!

 Here we are on Arrakis. Dreadfully dry planet. What is that? A tornado? 

 

 

This little wonder was a pain in the derrière to make. It is a print from Thingiverse. The file is an all in one with the base and swirl attached, but the twister is quite fragile and broke off from the base. It also cracked. Thank goodness I have an assortment of glues at the ready. I also had full intentions of covering this bad boy with sand, so no harm. 

 

 

I added an ivory craft paint to some white glue and mixed that into some sand and thinned it a bit with water. I applied the concoction over the twister, which I’d applied a beige base coat to as well. After that dried to a tacky finish, I sprinkled fine pumice on top to give it a fine sand look. I wanted the pumice to sit on top, rather than sink into the glue, which is why I waited. After everything dried, I went in with a few shades of brown and just did some light dry-brushing. 

 

 

That’s enough of this dusty place. I need to get aboard Lady Sarah’s Star Yacht. This Halfling (that’s right… a Halfling- not even a whole figure!) from WizKids is going to pay my toll for some well deserved libations on my way to Noel’s Comet. 

 

 

Hmm… this looks remarkably familiar. I seem to recall being here before. I won’t bore you with another of my rambling soliloquies… although from what I’ve read of Noel, he would approve. If you missed my previous ramblings, they are here… Tasha's Tribute on Noel's Comet

My last visit did not net any bonus points, as I did not provide a suitable figure. I have returned to rectify that. I give to you all a humble squirrel. No explanation needed as to its lore.

 

The points…

One 1x1x1.5 terrain - .138 point (using Tamsin's formula but math is not my strong suit!)

2 20mm figures - 8 points

2 planet bonuses - 40 points

Star Yacht Bonus - 20 points

Total points - 68.138 or 68 to keep the spreadsheet happy :)

Now... I could be really egregious with my points grabbing and jump into the maelstrom, but I will just scoot to the planet Lune, to initiate my final flight plans. 

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Well done Natasha - perhaps not quite the true "Enron" level of points-accounting achieved by such luminaries as Ray (or Teemu!), but still worthy of an internship in the Finance Advisory Firm "AHPC Value Consulting". 

The work here is all lovely (and it is always hilarious to see a squirrel - I'm surprised my dogs did not start to bark). I've added a couple of extra bonus points in recognition of all of the nonsense you endured trying to paint a Tornado! Now do you understand why only insane people/PeterD squander their precious life force to paint terrain?

Thanks for posting on Wednesday, safe travels for the rest of your Challenge Journey!

GregB