from RayR - Planet Curt - The Centre of the Challenge Universe. 140 points

  

From GregB
"Ray has successfully navigated the perilous interstellar shoals of the Challenge 12 Quadrant, arriving at the very core of this complex set of worlds. Thus he has earned a final Challenge from the Snowlord!"

"Ray, I love your Siege of Vienna project, and I think it needs a further boost! We know what prodigious, sandbag-levels of painting you are capable of...therefore, to appease the Great and All-Knowing Snowlord, you shall paint TWO more units for this project - one for the Ottoman side, and one for the defenders of Vienna!
Good luck Ray!"

GregB

After a lot of thought I decided on the two units I'd paint up for my trip to the centre of the Challenge Universe. I've been painting up loads of Poles, for my Siege of Vienna project, BUT , the Poles came to the recue of the Austrians holed up in Vienna and did not defend the walls.

So I chose a unit of Austrian's, I do have a unit of infantry I want to paint up, but there's at least 20 figures in that unit, so I chose a smaller unit of Austrian town Militia. A small 8 figure unit with 4 command figures, all from Dixon Miniatures.

The Austrians loved their grey, so the only colour other than grey is their red neckerchief.

Officers could wear whatever they fancied!

So I painted him up in the same kinda blue as is on the flag, which I found online.

Rear shot!

I do like that flag!

And now for the Ottomans!

I didn't actually have any Ottomans ready or planned to paint anymore during this Challenge.

I did have the artillery, previously posted, but I'd already started painting them at the time.

So I delved into the big box of figures I bought from fellow blogger Dave Crook, he was selling them as part of a collection of his friend Eric who passed away.

In said box were 8 Old Glory archers and 8 Dixon archers.

So I mixed them together, to make a unit of 12 archers to represent some of the lighter Seyman Peasant Militia conscripted by the Ottomans from their provinces such as Anatolia, Judea, Egypt, Armenia or Capadocia, where these fine fellow are from.

The Dixon figures are pretty small up against the Old Glory figures and are not that animated either

.

But double basing them brings them up to roughly the same height..

So there we have it...

2 units one for each side for the Siege of Vienna 1683!!!

Austrians x 12 figures 60 points

Ottoman x 12 figures 60 points

& a bonus  for making it to the centre.

From DaveD - hey Ray , you managed to squeeze some Donnybrook into the centre of the universe good lad. A fine job has been completed indeed - but where are the sandbags my friend . I will go with a 20 point centre bonus for you Ray. Thanks for your company on the chats this year too Ray . 

From Barks: Sisters of Battle (Challenge Star)(115 points)

Oh, boy. What a Challenge from the Snowlord. I knew there was a reason I had let these figures gather dust for a few years. My miniatures are never finished, just blogged about- so here they are:

Sisters of Battle, or Adepta Sororitas, are militant nuns in 40K. I used to have the 1997 Sisters of Battle Codex (but no sisters), and sold it for a song many years ago. When GW released plastic Sisters in 2019 I was sucked back in and got a few squads. I liked the classic clean and vibrant look of the red, white and black triad, so these Sisters are from the Order of the Sacred Rose.

I first painted the Sisters Repentia, to get a feel for the strong themes in the detailing. Repentia are Sisters who seek absolution in battle for their transgressions. They have the famed Eviscerator chainswords. I don't like the sado-masochistic or mortification aspects of the Sororitas, but here we are.

Sisters Repentia

They are governed by a Repentia Superior who dual-wields neural whips. She allowed me to get to grips with the main power-armour technique I would use on the rest.

Repentia Superior

With my approach nailed down, I got to grips with the squad. The white armour was surprisingly easy with Contrast Apothecary White- highly recommended. Note the gloves and corsets are a warm white leather in tonal contrast to the cool white armour (why put a corset on power armour?!). I struggled with consistent outcomes for the black and red robes. I also struggled with blue-black silver. I like having blue tone for raven-black hair, and it stands out well against the black robes. I would like to highlight it up a bit more. I painted the heads and backpacks separately. I used 1mm plastic rod and sprue to make a painting support. Finally, I used transfers for some of the scrolls, books and robes.

I put nuns' heads on sticks so I can make them pretty.

Sister Superior

Flamer

Stormbolter

Battle Sisters with bolters

More Battle Sisters

"Behold! My skullz."

I also painted a Canoness with a power sword, Rod of Office, and bionic leg:

Canoness

The centrepiece of these ladies is this Sister, based on art by Anna Steinbauer. I did some light kitbashing to give her a tome and a combi-bolter-plasmagun. She's got this "Excuse me, some of us. Are. Trying. To. Read!" vibe. I really like this model. What do you think she is reading?

Battle Sisters. Anna Steinbauer (2013)

I'm glad they're done, but I have another 30 or so yet to do- maybe next year? They came out almost exactly as I foresaw, which was nice. But it took a lot of effort to get there. The effort-to-points ratio should not be examined...

17x 28mm figure: 85 points

Challenge XII Star: 30 points

Very efficient course, Captain.
I have donated to LSWR to celebrate

Skull-o-meter™: 80 (total 88)

Slowpainter's ABC: N is for Nunsploitation

Finally, here's a sister showing how brave she is with my huntsman lodger. 'Straya!

________________________________

Okay, full disclosure here, that last picture made me squeal in terror. You know, when I see images like that I'm okay with the nothing-can-survive-minus-a-zillion temperatures we have here. Good gravy, what a scary beastie.

Okay! Back to the task at hand! Your battle Sisters look terrific. I'm a big fan of GW's Apothecary White too, and was wondering when we were chatting about this challenge whether you'd make use of it. Great brushwork with this tricky colour combination. I also really like the extra time you spent on their faces as the models are so expressive (the blue-black hair is a nice counterpoint to the white as well).

As to the Sister with the book. I think she's reading Nosrat's 'Salt, Fat Acid, Heat' . 

Great work, Barks, and congratulations on making it to the center of the Challenge XII system!

- Curt

From StuartL - Oldhammer Lizardmen - The Challenge Star - 115 Points

Hello all,

My minion set me the challenge of painting up a unit of Lizardmen for the Challenge Star, based on my post for Noel's Comet.

Before I get to the actual models, I would just like to say one small thing. Warhammer Fantasy Battles was a terrible game. 

Don't get me wrong, the lore, the minis and the concept were all fantastic, but the game itself was (IMHO) terrible. For what was supposed to be a mass battle game, you had skirmish style individual model removal coupled with incredibly complex and restrictive movement rules. So you got a game where a unit of 5 goblins could send a regiment of heavy cavalry charging off in the wrong direction and as the game went on, you wound up with units of 3-4 guys taking their flags for a walk. When GW decided to nuke the Old World setting, I didn't lament the death of WFB as a game, but rather the fact that the company got rid of all the good parts of the setting along with it.

For fantasy games there are now a lot of clones, homages and fan-made versions of WFB, not to mention AoS. Having read through numerous sets of rules looking for that one game that could replace and improve upon WFB and sadly I haven't found one that really fits. Kings of War comes close, but I like a lot of interaction in my games and KoW doesn't seem to have much. Oathmark has some great minis, but it's another skirmish game wearing a mass battle hat.

As I mentioned in the Noel's Comet post, I was able to mix and match rules that I liked from a variety of game systems to put together a game that I (and my friend) wanted to play. We managed a few games of it and came up with a couple of rules tweaks that we were happy with in between Corona lockdowns. 

With my challenge decided, I dug out my old Lizardman army and got to work. As this is the first unit for the newly repainted force, it seemed best to lead from the front. Commanding the army will be a Slann Mage-Priest, being borne into battle by his Temple Guard. Any old school WFB players who haven't already closed this post in disgust will probably be frothing at the mouth at the addition of the most vile heresy of a round base. The Slann's original sceptre sadly broke off long ago, so I replaced it with a plastic part from another kit. 

One of the things I am aiming for in my own ruleset is having characters be more integral to units. So, I need a unit for the Slann to be integral with.

In my collection I have a bunch of old Temple Guard. Sadly I didn't have a unit champion, and I had to convert a standard bearer from some leftover plastic parts, but these 11 models will form the Slann's Honour Guard. 

I purchased a bunch of 150mm x 100mm bases from Warbases when I started this project and I plan to use them as multibase movement trays. I used Vallejo basing material to texture the base, leaving slots for the models to be put into. I also added a couple of little lizards as decoration, (In the bottom left of the pictures above and below), but I think I need to brighten them up a bit as they are kind of lost among the flock.

All of the models are based individually so that I can use them for skirmish games (Saga: Age of Magic primarily), but for my own rule set the unit will always be deployed in full, representing a larger regiment in the same way as most historical big battle games. When the unit takes enough hits or fails a morale check, all of the models will be removed at once. No more finishing the game with units consisting of one or two stragglers. Warbases also supplied me with some dice frames so that I can track the hits on a unit using standard GW dice. If GW does reboot WFB and IF I want to try it, I can use the dice on the tray to indicate ranks and files.

So, before the Oldhammer lynch mob catches up with me, I'd better check the points here. 

There are 15 Lizardmen warriors including the litter bearers. There is also the Slann atop the litter and the litter itself. If the litter is counted as equivalent to a 28mm mini, then there are a total of 17 figures in this entry.

17x 28mm minis = 85 points.

Challenge Star = 30 points??? I am not 100% sure about this, hopefully my minion can check it.

Grand total 115 points.

There are also several skulls here as the Lizardmen are all wearing skull helms, plus three other skulls dotted about for a total of 18 skulls.

Skullz Total 128

And that means that I have covered all of the planets in the Challenge XII Quadrant and the star itself. I still haven't taken a trip on Lady Sarah's Star Yacht yet, plus there are still a couple of weeks to go in the challenge. Provided that I can stay one step ahead of the square base fanatics I should still be able to reach my target of 2000 points.

A fearsome unit of Lizardmen and I love that blue Slaan.  I also really like that you're home brewing your own rules to suit you views and needs.  Perhaps you'll share them when you've got them fermented properly.

I'll let others take up the Oldhammer banner, but I will say that it's a matter of taste.  Historically WHFB was basically warmed over old school ancients rules such as feature in Donald Featherstone books (if you're as old as I that's where you started this hobby).  WHFB was never my thing, but the old school toy soldier rules were.  I've manoeuvred 48 man battalions of Airfix Napoleonics, played with 54mms, guessed ranges in 1:1200 scale Fletcher Pratt naval games and fired spring loaded cannons at toy tanks.  It's all good fun, but it requires the right mind set and has its limitations. 

Anyway, great work on completing your final challenge and stopping at everyone planet in the system along the way.  I am surprised that you've not taken a star Yacht ride yet, but since you've haven't skipped over anything you haven't needed to.  

 

RayR's Challenge

Ray has successfully navigated the perilous interstellar shoals of the Challenge 12 Quadrant, arriving at the very core of this complex set of worlds. Thus he has earned a final Challenge from the Snowlord!

Now what Challenge might be suitable for Ray? We could just banish him to shed, I suppose - but that appears to happen regularly already - hardly a real challenge. We could send him on some errand or another related to badgers, but that would simply prompt tiresome legal action on by the Badgers Rights Association, and not get any more figures painted. Deciding on this called for careful analysis...

Acting on the Snowlord's benevolent behalf, I have consulted carefully with an assortment of astro-navigational aids, studied and analyzed assorted data and ephemera, and evaluated the options. Based on this studiously careful assessment, I have determined Ray's Challenge shall be thus:

Ray, I love your Siege of Vienna project, and I think it needs a further boost! We know what prodigious, sandbag-levels of painting you are capable of...therefore, to appease the Great and All-Knowing Snowlord, you shall paint TWO more units for this project - one for the Ottoman side, and one for the defenders of Vienna!

Good luck Ray!

GregB

GeoffreyT's Challenge

 Geoff has visited four planets in each ring, and is eligible for the Snowlord's Challenge.

From deep inside your lead mountain you will rescue and paint your Champions of Chaos- and you will amuse the Snowlord with tasteful photos of their escapades.

Good luck and happy painting!

Barks

From Peter B: Stargrave 28mm and Epic Trolls - Challenge XII star - (59 Points)

Well, greetings all, from the centre of the galaxy. I seem to have made my way to the challenge star already. Don't think I shall be complacent though, I still have plenty of painting to come for the rest of the challenge. The leadpile never diminishes.

Millsy challenged me to paint some more Stargrave or Epic 40k for access to the Challenge star, so why not do both? 

First three Stargrave crew. I have waxed lyrical about how I love these plastic kits on my own blog here. They are a delight to put together and if you mix them with just a smattering of other spare bits from other plastic kits you can make some awesome characters.

Very briefly, the lady on the left has some arms from Frostgrave and I think a Mantic halfling head. The chap in the middle has all the spare backpack parts I could find and a bit of paperclip for an antenna (if you don't have bits of paperclip floating around your modelling desk who are you?) The chap on the right has a Frostgrave head. I can imagine him staggering through a blizzard then trying to decide which of his colleagues is actually a shapeshifting gribbly monster from another planet.

Then I have a little bit more for my Chaos Epic 6mm army. I originally rejected these trolls as a bit silly and not really a good fit for a Chaos army, but they are part of the original battle force sprue. After painting some I decided I love them after all. I've fully embraced the old school 40k vibe. Those were the days when half of 40k was populated with characters from fantasy. (shock horror, you could save money by using models for more than one thing!) So I embraced the old school look and although their skin is painted in new fangled contrast paint, I went for shocking orange hair.

Only a small amount this week, there is a hell of a lot still half done on my painting table though.

Points tally

• 14 x 6mm trolls = 7 points [Millsy - scored as 10mm infantry = ]
• 3 x 28mm Stargrave crew = 15 points

Total 22 points (although do I get something for the Challenge star, I couldn't find anywhere how much?)

From Millsy:

I like a man who sees the word "either" and decides it reads "both". It speaks to a proper state of hobby investment, a level of belief that you can never have enough projects or enough miniatures for those projects. He/she/they who dies with the most wins!

Cracking work all around Peter, especially the kitbashing of fantasy and sci-fi minis together. If only a certain Skywalker chap had only had a decent woolly hat he'd likely not have ended up shoved inside something that had it's own insides on the outside.

In terms of points I cannot find anything specific for achieving galactic nirvana so I'm going to make an executive decision and call it 30 points. It can't be worth less than a warp maelstrom now can it?

Well done mate, another 59 points all up.

PS. Nice to see an epic troll somewhere other than the comments section :-P