AHPC XI - Week Six - Guardians of Felstad

Week Six of the Painting Challenge and we are almost at the halfway mark. My painting output has slowed a little because I have diverted some time to prepare a couple of Solo games for the coming weeks. The rules I am using required a bit of tweaking for the game I want to play (top-secret for the time being!) and I needed to relabel some bases to match the historical units...all time consuming but enjoyable work that has distracted me from the painting table. Another reason for the reduced painting is that I have ordered some resin terrain and 3D printed models and was still waiting for them to arrive. The Terrain has now been delivered and I have started work on it, and if the models arrive I should have the whole thing completed by next week. Fingers crossed! 

Chambers of Challenge - The Orcs Pit - Orc Hero

I bought this model three years ago and its been looking at me accusingly ever since. At first glance, he looked quite simple to paint but as I worked on him I found all sorts of little details that demanded to be painted, such as a tiny gold ring in his lip or the various charms and amulets hanging from his belt. I went for a deliberately dark theme as it seems appropriate and matches the dark look in his eyes... I certainly wouldn't want to encounter him while exploring the ruins of Felstead. 

The model is mostly cast in a yellow resin that must be unique to this manufacturer. The axe hand and shield hand (and their contents) are cast in metal. Combining the parts was trickier than I had hoped, not because they were ill-fitting but simply because they needed to be pinned and supported while the Epoxy I used to join the set. Then both of the legs broke at the ankle! This required yet more pinning and repair work before I could even prime the figure. The sculpting is wonderful, but the choice of material lets this particular figure down. 

Standing at 35mm tall this guy is very imposing and will make a significant presence on the games table. The implied threat in his expression will also leave little to the imagination for any that face him!  

Chambers of Challenge - The Shrine - Cult Priest

Paint something religious said the brief, so I rummaged through my lead mountain and ended up buying two figures from Ebay instead. But the postal service being what it is (or more specifically Royal Mail being what it is) the models still hadn't arrived when it came time to start on this chamber. So I had another rummage in the lead mountain and found this guy/thing. "He looks fairly religious" I thought, so I give you a cult priest raising the dead. 

The not so sharped eyed will notice that the pages of the book are completely blank. Somehow I managed to overlook that until right now when adding the pictures to this post! I'm going to plead tiredness and the fact I allowed myself to be sidetracked by work projects (something I never normally do). I guess it is one of the hazards of working from home... those lines between work and home life become very blurred. I will add a few arcane letters and symbols at a later date. 

The model is from Grenadier I think, although I'd happily be corrected if I'm wrong. The tab on the base had been filed flat and this is usually where the manufacturer and date are located. I decided to go with a simple but bold red and green colour scheme and I'm happy with the result. 

Rogue Trooper

Another entry to the Winter Painting Challenge and again I have taken inspiration from the pages of the British Comic 2000AD. 

I bought this excellent figure of Rogue Trooper from Foundry a few weeks ago along with the Judge Dredd model I have already entered into the Challenge. As with Dredd it stands 32mm foot to eye and 36mm overall so its quite a large model. The casting was excellent with virtually no mould lines or flash needing to be removed and all the details were crisp and finely sculpted, all of which made it easier to paint. 

I have tried to stick to the colour scheme from the origional comics but as with most of these long runnning characters some of the colours changed over time and with different illustrators. I have gone with a slightly darker interpretation of the blue skined genetic warrior. 

This was a fun model to paint and will join Dredd in my modest (ie far too small) display cabinet. So all that remians is for Rogue to scour Nu-earth for the Traitor General and avenge the Quartz Zone Massacre! 

Judge Dredd opens my Challenge

Well the Winter Painting Challenge has been chugging along for the best part of a week now and while I have been working on lots of models, most are still unfinished. In most cases all that remains is for me to do is apply varnish and add grass or other groundwork, and this is a stage that just can't be rushed. Once - a long time ago - I tried applying static grass to the base of a model whose varnish hadn't fully dried and I ended up with a furry green knight... I won't make that same mistake again, no matter how much pressure there is to rush submissions to the Challenge.

So, for now, here is my opening entry: Judge Dredd by Wargames Foundry. 

I bought this model a few weeks ago when I visited the Foundry factory/shop during Blog-Con. As a kid I was always more into British Comics like 2000AD rather than the DC or Marvel variety and so I am much more familiar with characters like Dredd or Rouge Trooper than I am with Spiderman or the Avengers. So when I saw this model I just had to buy it for inclusion in the Challenge. 

The figure is quite large, standing 32mm from foot to eye and 36mm overall. This larger scale combined with the fact that it is made from white metal give this model a nice hefty feel when you pick it up. Frankly casting Dredd cast in plastic or resin would just be wrong.

I went for strong highlights and bright colours rather than the subdued hues that are seen in some illustrations. While I loved the new Dredd film that came out last year, you just can't beat the original look of the uniform from the comic, complete with gold plated body armour.

Because the figure is significantly larger than 28mm Curt classed this as a 40mm figure and awarded me 7 points for it.