From SimonG: Death to George Clooney -- the Revenge of the Goats (36.5 points)

For our final stop in the AHPC XIII Challenge Studios we're stopping off at tha Art House for a remake/revision of George Clooney's 2009 black comedy "The Men Who Stare at Goats" -- but this time it's "The Goats Who Stare at Men"!

The Stars of this epic are six thespian bovidae who in real life will be populating the slopes of the temple mount when I finish my Jewish Wars monster scenery (which should be with you next week). So in the mean time to fill things in I’m submitting these six 28mm Eureka miniatures goats -- which are really nice figures.

They are very well sculpted with individual character in each face -- well deserving a bit of time and attention with my new OptiVISOR offering a great close up view for detail work (going all the way with the 3.5x magnification)

However the goats need something to eat (while they're waiting for the arrival of all the promised turnips) so what better then some nice pear trees?

These are MP pear trees in IronGate scenery 3D printed planters. While the trees are lovely I'm no great fan of 3D printing -- the layer marks to me are unsightly and the way they take paint is peculiar -- still at a distance they work out pretty well.

Also from IronGate are a couple of Roman braziers -- again 3D and the bowl really shows the limitations of this approach. Apologies for the poor effort at a marble finish 🤪.

The braziers are actually wired for LED candle lights so I of course had to install that! Not sure how often this will get used -- maybe for the interior of my Roman temple?

The final piece you might have seen in the background is a small water feature I made out of remnants from the eight Sarissa aqueducts I had to purchase to construct two large walkways as part of the temple complex (which you'll see next week). The trailing flower detailing is again from MP (and is a bear to work with) and I also experimented with resin water effects for the first time -- although kicking myself for not including a mosaic underneath the water, I'll do that on another water feature when I make it.

And to give a feel for it all together here they are along with some of my 28mm Jewish fighters

* * * * * * * * * * *

Points wise my reckoning is 36.5 points

• 6 goats at 2 points each (they're about 10mm tall and 15mm long) - 12 points
• 4.5 points for terrain -- 48.7 cubic inches or 22.5% of a cube
• Water feature is 12"x1.5"x1.75" for 31.5 cubic inches
• Small planters are 0.75"x0.75"x2" for 1.125 each or 4.5 for four
• Large planters are 1.6" diameter by 4" tall or 8.0 cubic inches for two
• Braziers at 1.25" square by 1.5" tall or 4.7 cubic inches for two
• 20 points for the Art House bonus

And with this being my third location on the Blue Sector I have completed enough to ask for the Snow Lord's suggestion -- although given where we are on time not sure I'll get to it!

I look forward to giving you 16 square feet of terrain across multiple levels next week -- so until then happy painting!

Those goats are so cute, I'm going to let you shoehorn them in for "Arthouse". Nice work on the terrain.
Quick tip that I've recently discovered for hiding layer lines on 3D prints - apply a coat or two of matt Mod Podge before priming; it's self-leveling so will fill the recesses on its own. This tip can also be used for filling gaps in models - much cheaper and easier than using greenstuff and its ilk.

Tamsin

From MattW: Lady Sarah Limousine, ART House studio (55 points)

 Lady Sarah Limousine, Medieval, Book studio

First up is a ride from Casting Couch to the Art House studio  in Lady Sarahs Limousine as my offering I offer a late medieval milking maid. 

28mm miniature @ 5 points = 5 points

Lady Sarah Limousine 20 points

Art House Studio

The short film “The Merchant of Maine”, like all arthouse written for the stage, a play then a movie, retold many times the merchant comes from rags to riches, despised by the rich he tries to win over a noble widow, but one day glances the milkmaid and a love trist is born. 

Whoa Milk maid 

28mm miniatures x 2 @ 5 points = 10 points 

Art House Studio = 20 points

Total 55 points 

cheers

Matt

Nice set of figures, Matt! 

Tamsin

From RayR - A Tour of the Challenge Studios. 135pts

For today's first post I'm taking you all on a tour of the Challenge Studio, my first stop is my first Blue Security Pass.

Swords & Sandals: The gladiatorial arenas of Hyboria. Chariot racing in the Colosseum of Rome. Battling strange gorgons on white-sand Greek beaches. Or climbing into the Wooden Horse of Troy. Whatever you’re painting in this studio, we’d love to see the shifting sands of ancient adventure, scimitars flashing in the dark, and maybe a few sandals too.

A Col Bill's Belt Fed Girl fits perfectly in for his round. 

A very healthy Gladiatrix, named Acca Volsa

For the next stop we cross the Yellow brick Road and end up in Western's

Westerns: Anything goes, as long as its ‘Way Out West’. Your chance to Paint Gary Cooper, Sitting Bull, or - for the more lateral thinkers - Toshiro Mifune, Darth Vader or Luke Skywalker. Wagons roll !!

This very cheeky young lady is Doll Face Kitty and is another of Col Bill's Belt Fed Girls.

Last time I spoke to the Colonel, he said he gets a few complaints about some of the Belt Fed range, can't think why???

I thought I had a few Cowboy figures laying in my draw, but alas, I didn't so it was Col Bill to the rescue!

Next up, we have the only chap in this post and what a mighty chap he is too!

For my next stop on my tour I've headed for Books.

Books: Time to paint something from a famous book. It can be any book, as long as you think it would make a great subject for a film.

I've already posted a few figures from the famous book by Homer, but this figure is the King of Kings in The Illiad.

Here's my copy of the Iliad, what a great book it is too.

So who is this bearded hero, from Wargames Foundry?

Its King Agamemnon, who was the king of Mycenae who commanded the Greeks during the Trojan War. He was the son, or grandson, of King Artreus and Queen Aerope, the brother of Menelaus, the husband of Clytemnestra and the father of Iphigenia, Electa, Laodike, Orestes and Chrothemis. Legends make him the king of Mycenae or Argos, thought to be different names for the same area. Agamemnon was killed upon his return from Troy, either by his wife's lover Aegisthus or by his wife herself.

Next up, its Limo time, a quick call to Lady Sarah and I hop in her limo and get dropped off at Arthouse.

For payment may I present Morag MacEwan, wife and Mother to the three figures in a previous post.

She is from Col Bills once again, this time from their Border Reiver range.

pack Border Farming Family

When I saw the word Cabaret on the description for the Arthouse stop on the map, I knew immediately what figures I could use.

Arthouse: Darling! Come in, relax at the Cabaret, and enjoy the show! From cold-war European drama, to adventures conducted solely in 8th Century Mayan dialect. From miniatures created out of bottle-tops, to hair-roller armies. Everything artistic is welcome here - whether the art is visual, or just a pose. Want to paint a miniature in just pink paint? Obsessed with Carroburg Crimson ink? This is the Studio for you! Welcome to the location for the quirky, arty and the downright strange.

These luvvly ladies are once again from Col Bill's Belt Fed Girls range (I sense a theme here?)

The wonderfully titled Ella, Bella & Marcella!!

Can Can Dancers

So with this entry I shall try and get myself a Red Security pass from the SnowLord himself.

Red Security Pass:

If you have completed at least four Green locations and four Blue locations, well done! You’ll now be welcomed into the Studio of the Great Show-Lord himself to collect your Red Security pass. The Show-Lord will give you one task to complete. If you succeed, you’ll have earned the chance to sit in the Producer's Chair. Everyone… please be quiet…… shhh!! ….Lights. Camera. Action!

Here's my very neat and tidy map of all proceedings!

 

As for the points

Swords & Sandles - Gladiatorix 5pts Bonus 20 pts =25pts

Westerns - Cowgirl 5pts Bonus 20 pts =25pts

Books - Agamemnon 5pts, Bonus 20 pts = 25pts

Sarah's Limousine -  Morag 5pts Limo Ride 20pts = 25pts

Art House - Can Can Girls 15pts Bonus 20pts

For a Grand total of 135 pts!

So its over to you Curt.

Be gentle with me.

I think this post should probably come with an NSFW advisory notice, there seems to be a complete lack of modesty among some of the models you have painted. For the swords and sandals entry, I'm not sure your entry meets the minimum clothing requirements of sandals, let alone anything else. Also, that cowgirl is going to get the worst saddle-sores possible. I can see why the colonel gets complaints. At least Mrs. MacEwan seems to be a decent, upstanding member of society.  

Nice work on all of these Ray, and well done on clearing the blue stage in one fell swoop. Hopefully the Show Lord assigns you some clothed figures for your challenge.

From ChrisW odds and sods [451 points]

Another trip to a couple of studios and yet another mix of genres.

Limo ride

 For this ride the mad gardener can grant us passage.

A visit to the Art house studio

So I went all abstract artsy fartsy with this, but in the end I do actually think it sort of works. Basically I grabbed 1/2 dozen Contrast paints and a spritzer, and liberally applied the paints in a random manner to the tall ans squat monster. The other four monsters were painted in a more conventional way with overlapping layers while the paints were all still wet.

Cthulhu monsters [6 large monsters][+1 skull]

The two pairs of monsters on either end are from the board game Mansions of Madness. The tall one in the center is by RAFM, a Flying Polyp, while the other squat one is a bones figure. (BTW there is a skull and skeletal torso rotting inside of it) 

Scale shot, figure does not count

Point wise not certain. These guys are at least as big as the Minotaur and bull that I posted a while back, so maybe at least 7 points each.

 

Dr and his patients (We all go a little mad sometimes) [7 figures]

 Figures by Statuesque miniatures, Three male and three female patients. All seem to have been experimented on at sometime (judging by the metal staples on some of their heads) 

Mad gardeners [60points for the set?][+50 skulls]

Not really certain what I am doing with these, but they are a continuation of a Flora gone bad theme that I seem to have collected. On the plus side, I believe these are the last ones that I have.

The mad gardener herself is a Pulp Figure miniature, her companion is by  Footsore, not certain about the rest. Those trees really pack a lot of skulls, 25 skulls each, insane for a non GW model! In my story line the two gardeners raise a very unhealthy crop mobile flora, The Birnum trees are active participants in the macabre activities and their offspring are also mobile and more agile. The slugs, originally a bane are now herded by pops as another method to cultivate their schemes.

Point wise I have no idea, I just kind of averaged out the figures the trees are big, the slugs smallish. Please feel free to adjust as required.

On to the fantasy studio via another limo ride.

Limo ride 

Jane will allow us to ride the limo this time.

Visit to the Fantasy Studio

Some of the earliest fantasy stories that I remember were the various Greek mythology tales.

The Gorgon sisters (& their cousin Jane & victims) [6 figures]

These are Foundry miniatures with the addition of a Reaper Bones (reaching for an arrow) figure. This is all part of a Greek mythology project that that I am slowly working on during this challenge. 

Jason and the Argonauts [25 x 28mm figures]

 

This was the big project for this week, 25 Foundry figures. These have been worked on for the last few weeks, for some reason I just could not stay focused on them I have 29 sailors that I am also unable to finish, maybe next week) Anyways, nothing special here just followed the pictures on the Foundry site with some variations.

Mechanical Spiders from Mars [5 x 28mm figures]

These are old Parroom Station figures that have long been OOP, but are soon to make a reappearance. I was originally going to paint them in a fairly plain manner but the opted to go crazy. (something of a  theme in this posting) They are weapons used by Rouge Noir (the purple terror) in his quest to conquer Mars, and ultimately Earth (circa 1899)

Scale shot - Rouge Noir does not count towards points

Pulp mummies [6 x 28mm figures]

Fairly certain these are Reaper metal figures, at least they resemble some reaper bones figures that I have. They came with separate heads, weapons and shields. These will soon go up against some tomb raiding adventurers in a Pulp Alley game.

Pulp Mummy rulers [2 x 28mm figures]

 

 Crooked dice figure on the left Reaper(?) on the right

Pulp Egyptian skeletons [25 points][+5 skulls]

Really fragile Eureka figures, these guys bend and warp just by looking at them! They are good old fashioned lead, no pewter here and I believe they were trying to get 'proper' proportions which makes the limbs very thin.

Points total this time

• 40 points for two Limo ride
• 40 points for two Studios
  
• 280 points for 56 x 28mm foot
•  42 points for 6 large monsters?
• 60 points for the gardener vignette
  

Total of  462 points

This also means I have now done 5 blue studios. 

Skulls this week +56.  

Squirrels this time around [8]

1. Mechanical spiders from Mars 
2. The Gorgons
   
3. Cthulhu creatures
4. Mad gardeners and their plants
5. Pulp mummies
6. Pulp Egyptian skeletons
7. Jason and the Argonauts
8. Asylum residents
   

 New squirrel total 32.

 Previous squirrels

1. Back of Beyond
   
2. Mad figures (Top hat toffs and companions)
3. Greek skeletons
4. Sisters of Sigmar
5. Ancient Germanic women
6. ECW cuirassiers
   
7. Monsters large
8. Post apocalypse
9. Tekumel Palanquin
10. Empire Pike
11. Jazz Band
    
12. French Cuirassiers on Mars
13. Court of Dr Koo
14. Movie makers
15. Gothic/movie Vampires 
16. Gladiators
17. Women rocket corp
18. Supers
    
19. Forest scenery
20. Robin Hood
21. Gorillas 
22. Dr and his pets
    
23. Nuns
24. The flying squad 

 As always, there is so much going on in your posts it is hard to keep track. We have Egyption undead, ancient greeks, mad doctors (seems to be a theme given Squirrels number 13 and 22, do you have an issue with health care professionals?), gorgons, gribbly beasts and strange flora. I love the purple mechanical spiders, they look hi-tech and creepy at the same time.

I am scoring the Cthulu Monsters and the skull trees as 40mm models, basically 7 points a shot. The Greeks, gorgons, Egyptians, doctor, patients, gardeners, spiders and plants as 28mm minis and the slugs as 15mm as they are pretty small. This gives you a final score of 451 Points