From StephenS: Fraud and Treachery! (66 points)

G'day,

I am clearing the final circles of Hell with an entry for Fraud and Treachery.

First, for fraud, I present Count Dooku of Star Wars fame. Deceiving everyone as the Leader of the Separatist forces, while secretly being a Sith, and fraudulently ordering an army of clones and charging it to the Republic earn him the title of Fraudster. This Count Dooku is a 40mm plastic model from Atomic Mass Games from their Star Wars: Shatterpoint line. He is accompanied by two 40mm B2 - Super Battle Droids, also in plastic.

My entry for treachery is a 25mm plastic Skaven model from Games Workshop. Skaven is almost a by-word for treachery in the Old World (presumably in AOS too), and was a nice quick paint job. My 8 year-old son picked up two Skaven for free from our local GW as part of their model of the month program, and decided we should paint one each. Unfortunately, at time of printing, what would have been his second painted mini ever was not quite ready to be shown off.

Here are the finished models together for a nice group shot.

Points:

3 x 40mm figures for 21 points, 5 points for the Skaven and 40 points for two locations should net me 66 points and put me 2 points over my target.

I doubt anything else on the painting table will make the finish line, so I want to sign off with a big thank you to Curt, Sarah and the Minions (especially my Monday Minion, Millsy), for another brilliant Painting Challenge. I have thoroughly enjoyed being part of this community once again.

Best wishes,

Steve

A fine finale, Steve! The Skaven is really nice, suitably dark and dirty, and fitting for the theme too. It's a pity we don't get to see your son's Skaven, but it is great that he is joining you in your hobby! Cou nty Dooku is a fantastic figure, I like the painted huim up. Very crisp and neat painting, resulting in a very vivid figure. Great job! And to top it all off the battle droids. The metal is very good, and putting them together on one base is a great idea! Thanks for your participation in this year's Challenge and showing us your fantastic work.  And of course, congratulations on reaching your target. Well done!

Martijn

From BrianC: Zombicide, Halfling Wrestlers, Werewolves, Chicks and cloaks, and a BIG Baddie! (Heresy, Violence, Fraud, Treachery) (130pts)

 Hello all! There's still hope of making my goal! Ha! Awesome painted minis from everyone! Keep at it! Well, more of this and that again. Let's begin with the Dante's circles. 

The 6th Circle: Heresy

It was considered heresy to believe in witches and werewolves because only God can be the source of supernatural powers. So, this resin werewolf miniature from Next Level Miniatures will fit perfectly in this circle.

Next, my entry for the Seventh Circle: Violence is the Dungeons and Dragons 54mm miniature, Grey Render. I can't wait to add this Big Baddy to my fantasy tabletop miniature games!

The Eighth Circle: Fraud. Well, can't go wrong with the Reaper Metal Miniature Big Bad Wolf of Little Red Riding Hood story. "Grandma, my what big teeth you have."

The Ninth Circle: Treachery. One of my favorite backstabbers of all time is Walter White of the TV series, Breaking Bad! This is a Zombicide Promo Survivor miniature.

That will complete my Dante's The Abyss entries. Now, I must figure out what minis to paint for Dante's Paradise entries. Hmm. Ok, next are a couple of pesky Halfling wrestlers from the game, Rumbleslam.

Ok, I only painted one more Zombicide Black Plague Fattie/Brute. Ugh. I'm hoping to have more zombies soon!

Next, are some old plastic Reaper Bones Miniatures. Oof! 

Here is Nightslip:

Human Ranger, Mi-Sher

That wraps this turn-in up.

8 x 28mm = 40pts.

1 x 54mm = 10pts.

4 Circles   = 80pts.

TOTAL     = 130pts.

Why, hello Brian! That's quite a run through the Circles of Hell! You have chosen your entries well. The werewolf is great, I love his blood-stained paws, and the Big Bad Wolf hiding the head of its victim behind its back is rather hilarious, in a funny sort of way. I had never heard of halfling wrestlers before, but you have done a fine job with them. My favourite is the ranger though, I like the colour palette you have chosen and the dynamic pose. All these goodies bring you 130 points further towards your total, which I am sure you will achieve before the Challenge ends. Good luck!

Martijn

From QuinnM: Trench Crusade (New Antioch Red Brigade) - Treachery and Fraud (101 points)

I didn't post anything last week as I was not done with the full unit for my Trench Crusade war band and decided to wait till they were all painted. 

 I spent a lot of time painting each model as I quite enjoy panting in the dark and gritty style. I took a lot of inspiration from the official art when painting them with the darker greens and red accents. 

I like the designs but the models have a few issues. Some of the details are too small or not designed for 3d printing. 

The models I am most proud of are the lieutenant and the combat medic. If they were not for Trench Crusade I would say I did too much blood splatter on the combat medic and I feel I really got the grim and mud right on their dress. 

Now onto the model I painted up for Fraud, we have a “Dragon born” adventurer for DND made by Sordane Publishing. To the untrained eye it may look like this “Dragon born” adventurer is in fact three Kobolds in a trench coat. But that is a lie propagated by the guards. I'm not sold on my color choice. I initially painted the cloak a bright yellow but couldn't get the shading down right and decided to paint over with a thinned out Brown as I was just trying to experiment with actually getting yellow to have any form of Highlights (I hate yellow paints with a passion).

For my last circle of hell treachery, I painted up my two favorite space Marine legions Alpha Legion and the Salamanders and I fit it all in one model. This is actually a paint scheme I have wanted to do since I started painting inspired by a painting video by heresy for heretics. I didn't do mine nearly as well as his but I think if I would paint more models like this I would have a much better plan. I did try layering several glazes to get a green and blue shift effect over metallic so I'm not 100% happy with the final result but it made me do some experimentation and that was good in the end.

 

 

 

 

8x 28mm-footman@ 5 points = 40 points

3x 40mm footman@ 7 points= 21 points 

Fraud 20 points 

Treachery 20 points 

TOTAL = 101

Sylvain: Wow, you were not inactive since two weeks ago. Your Trench Crusade war band looks great and your paint job really brings out the despair and constant suffering of the setting. I wish you could have provided us with close-up pictures of all the miniatures you painted as they look terrific in the group photo. Fraud and Treachery are spot on and the colors you chose are definitely in line with the grimdark ambiance of your whole entry. Great job!

From AdamW: A little tank for Lt Gruber (Treachery) (28pts)

I initially struggled to come up with an idea for the Treachery circle.  The few I thought of involved way to much time making and painting things I would never use. Although I enjoy the distraction of these side challenges, I did join the challenge with the intent of painting some useful things!

Then I decided the description of the 'back stabber, the turncoat, the faithless friend' could apply to a once cherished piece of military hardware that had been captured and pressed into service by the other side.

A hunt through the spares drawers and I found the below.  A ww2 Dutch pantserwagen M38 armoured car.

I had already painted up three of these beauties complete with orange triangles, when I picked up an unfinished army that included this one. This made this one a spare, so it has been languishing ever since.

So, an hour or so with a paint brush, this afternoon, some decals and a base and here we are. I'm sure it can be pressed into service at some point.

Quickest and simplest entry so far!

Points

1 x 15mm vehicle = 8pts

Treachery bonus = 20pts

Total 28pts

Although it breaks my heart to see one of the few Dutch armoured vehicles being taken over by the oppressor, I cannot fault your logic, Adam. Nice to see one more of these fairly rare vehicles, and a good choice for the theme. 28 points more!

Martijn

From PeterB: Leaving the Abyss (Treachery, The Inconstant, The Ambitious, The Lovers, the Wise)(135 points)

Another week, another fast paced dash through the challenge map. Last time I left off at Fraud with a Mimic disguised as a treasure chest. So next stop Treachery.

In the world of Warhammer, there are no more treacherous than the Skaven race. Ratmen scurrying about in tunnels under the world, the sneakiest of them being Clan Eshin, the Assassins.

Not a hugely complicated paint job, especially due to most of the model being black cloak. You can barely see it in the photo, but there is actually some green in the cloak to avoid just being a grey drybrush on black that tends to look more like leather than black cotton. 

So, we leave the Abyss having visited all stops and head over to Paradise. First stop Inconstant, or falling short.

“Fool of a Took!” Gandalf growls at Pippin. “This is a serious journey, not a hobbit walking-party. Throw yourself in next time, and then you will be no further nuisance. Now be quiet!” And poor Pippin is given the first watch, “as a reward”. - Lord of the Rings. Fellowship of the Ring

The hobbits in the Lord of the Rings are mostly quite heroic, there is one of my favourite moments in the first book though, when they are in the Mines of Moria when Pippin throws a rock into a well, possibly being responsible for awaking the Balrog. (In the movie he accidently knocks a dwarf skeleton down the well.) From this point on Pippin grows as a character, leaving behind his mischievous reputation as a member of the Took family.

Here I have painted Merry and Pippin, Pippin is on the right. (Like Ant and Dec they tend to stand in alphabetical order) The models are from the GW range, the original metal sculpts. Last years challenge I started with Legolas and Boromir. This challenge I am hopefully finishing the fellowship.

Next stop, Ambitious. So, over to the 40K universe and to arguably the most ambitious of races, the humble Ork.

This particular Ork is particularly talented at building weapons and has been so ambitious his gun seems to be bigger than he is. The Shokk Attack gun is a very traditional weapon, dating right back to Rogue Trader days (not this model though). The technology relies on vacuuming up unsuspecting snotlings, then teleporting them in the distance at a location the weapon is pointing at. With any luck the snotling is teleported inside the armour of an unsuspecting Space Marine and thus calamity ensues.

I presume the bit at the front rotates when it fires and it makes lots of noise

The gun has been built using natural talent and natural instinct. The Ork doesn't really know how it works, he just knows it does and enjoys using it. (Until it malfunctions and blows up)

Next stop, the Lovers. So back to the Fellowship. The greatest friendship and some might say the deepest platonic love in the book is between Frodo and his gardener Sam. I don't think the film quite makes it as clear that their relationship starts out as a Master and Employee dynamic (albeit with friendship as well). They bond together in their adventure like an officer and his batman during the first world war. The following quote could be describing the trenches of the war.

Sam struggled with his own weariness, and he took Frodo’s hand; and there he sat silent till deep night fell. Then at last, to keep himself awake, he crawled from the hiding-place and looked out. The land seemed full of creaking and cracking and sly noises, but there was no sound of voice or of foot. - Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King

Last stop this week, The Wise. Well, no prizes for guessing what I chose to paint for this category. Staying with the Fellowship, we can only choose Gandalf the Grey. Again, the metal model from the first wave from GW, Gandalf seems to have lost his hat, possibly he is about to confront the mighty Balrog. (Luckily I painted the Balrog last challenge.)

 

And there we shall leave it for this week. To total up:

5 locations = 100 points

7 x 28mm models = 35 points

Total = 135 points.

As a devoted Tolkien fan I heartily approve of this entry, Peter! An excellent choice for these themes. The hobbits are well done, with their gaudy clothes. Great photos of Pippin and Merry in Moria, and of Frodo and Sam with Mount Doom in the background! I must say that I really appreciate your Gandalf, the cloak and his beard came out very nicely. The ratling is also good, it may be a simple colour scheme but it is very effective. And the ork is quite hilarious, I could never dream up such a weapon! You have achieved a very good result with the almost fluorescent parts of the gun, and the metal is very lifelike. I'm not sure if carrying such a device is brave or simply stupid, but I would not really want to be an the receiving end of it. Nor would I care to be pulling the trigger, now I come to think of it, actually. This powerful stride to the end of the Abyss nets you 135 points.

Martijn