FROM: JohnB: Tuesday Terrors: The Garden Rescue Elf: Games Workshop: (5 points)

At last a squirrel NOT - still squirrelite! I was digging a lot in the garden last year and apart from the odd "green army" man I found this guy.

I took pity on him and later gave him a clean in the dishwasher.

Not sure if that was why his base warped or was it a garden accident?

Anyway I took to my contrast paint collection to test out some colour combinations.

TOTAL POINTS = 1 x 5 points for a single 28mm ELF.

Hilarious backstory John!  Lovely work on this rescue.  5 points it is.

From Aaron P: Surprise! Its the War of the Three Kingdoms! (275 pts)

Hello Hello!

The High Elves get some reinforcements and those hidden minis get revealed.

Its ECW/WTK, put your hands up if you guessed. 

Musketeers! Not much swashbuckling though.

These are the sleeves for an upcoming pike block. I based them in a Swedish Salve on two bases per sleeve. The kneeing and crouching fellas are on the front base and the standing fellas on the back with a couple of ranks lined up behind them for good measure. My thought was that I split the bases up and can place them around the pike block for some Hedgehog action and each side has a line of guns aiming. See below:

Ready for pikemen 

Unfortunately I was a little ambitious with the number of soldiers I could fit on these bases so I have another 8 ready for when I paint up the next battalion.

I am pretty happy with how the bases look. I wanted them to look full and I wanted them to have some animation. I think I achieved what I was after.

Next was the High Elf reinforcements. a Noble on Chariot and the Royal Guard.

These two round out the army a little more, giving me some smaller sized bases with some punch, but also something a bit different to paint. I only have one more unit (Silver Helms) left to fill out 1000 points for my High Elves, which is all I currently have printed. Unfortunately I am not sure when I will receive those reinforcements, my printer is currently dead. Hopefully those replacement  parts arrive soon. 

Prepare for lazy photo spam!

Ok so, 

40 x 28mm Musketeers (200pts)

9 x 28mm Royal Guard (45pts)

1 x 28mmChariot (30pts - yes, it's a vehicle + two infantry - Millsy) Does a chariot count as a vehicle?

So 275 points.

I need to make a start on the pikemen while I have this momentum. I am not sure I can sustain this for the full three months.

From Millsy:

Lovely brushwork Aaron!

Are those the Warlord Games ECW minis? I think so but I always thought they were a bit weedy and lifeless so if they are you've managed to add a level of animation I didn't think was there.

The Elf Chariot is a cracker and I live the teal/red combo, really striking mate. It is definitely a vehicle to worth 30 shekels when you include the crew.

Cracking work all round and 275 points well earned.

Cheers,
Millsy

From TeemuL: Elven Heroes (25 points)

My last entry for AHPC XV are these metal High Elf heroes from Games Workshop's LotR range.

There's Elladan and Elrohil (or vice versa), Erestor and then two different sculpts of Glorfindel. All painted with blue cloaks, golden armour with bluish mithril chainmail and green pieces of clothes to mark their nobility - my high elf infantry are coloured in similar way, but they don't have any greens.

They are bit rushed here and there, but on the other hand I'm very happy with some of the details or colours, the cloaks look quite like what I intended for example. The golden armour too, especially the helmets. They are all heroes, but they all from the same force, so limited palette was chosen. It might be easier to game with these if Elladan and Elrohir would have different colours for example, but not me!

Erestor and armoured Glorfindel are very similar, clearly sculpted at the same time, I assume. The newer Glorfindel is a different thing, very heroic and massive cloak compared to the other two. The cloaks of the brothers are similar to this one, probably from the same era. Although there are newer sculpts of the brothers, so I might be mistaken.

I believe 25 points is correct for 5 minis. Now I go to sleep and wake up tomorrow morning about an hour before the Challenge ends. I hope Curt and other minions can handle the barrage of remaining hours! 

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Lovely work Teemu. I really like saturated blues and greens you've used for these figures - it gives them a very regal air. As time passing from the release of the first LotR movies I am constantly astonished at the number and variety of models GW has created describing Tolkien's character, with some having many different models depicting them at different times in their lives. It's amazing. 

Teemu, thank you for your participation, your faithful and kind comments to others and your minioning of the Thursday crew. It's all very much appreciated by myself and others. I look forward to seeing you with us for the next edition of the Challenge.

- Curt

From QuinnM: Winged golden boy (Stormcast) and Elves (55 points)

For this week I have another batch of High Elves spearmen and a lone prosecutor. 

9x28mm footman = 45 points 

For this batch I got a little faster painting them by changing what order I painted the colors and made a few alterations to the washes I used to get a little more color variation from them. I am happy with the final result. 

As for the prosecutor I wanted something other then the elves for this post so I painted this guy. They are one of my favourite models in the Age of Sigmar line despite the tactical rock. they are a little hard for me to paint with the very small trim on there wings but it is worth the time to do. I am never happy with the "Flames' on there wings and fell like it is missing something any recommendations for the rest of the unit.  

 Sylvain: Good work on these models! The High Elves look neatly painted. I like the charm of old static Warhammer models. The Prosecutor looks impressive and you did the model justice with the wide palette of colors you used on him. You forgot to claim points for the latter, and I will give him 10 points, considering the wings are worth a mount. Nicely done!

Just a quick note: please don't forget to enter your labels. 

From TeemuL: Cirdan the Shipwright [Maritime] (25 points)

A quick post this week, because I was travelling last week. Happily I was a bit prepared and had this Cirdan half painted when I got home and finished him during the lunch break. He is a metal mini from GW for their Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game. A very small role in the movies, seen getting the ring Narya and then in the Grey Havens. Painted mostly with Contrast paints, seemed to work very well on all the elven robes, cloaks and other elven clothes.

Cirdan, or Cirdan the Shipwrigth, is my entry for the Maritime section. He was also the Lord of the Harbours of Falas and later Guardian of the Grey Havens.

In the book he has a beard, but in the movie he has not, and the mini is based on the movie, so no beard. I have not read his rules recently, but I have played against him once and if I remember correctly he was a powerful support hero when used correctly. I don't know if I field him, since he is not really a warrior and was not mentioned to take part in the wars in the books or movies. Might be nice to try in one scenario or other.

A simple entry, 5 points for a single mini and 20 points for the Library section. I think I visit couple of the finished sections next week before heading to the final section.

 Sylvain: You are just motoring through the library sections! Your justification for "Maritime" is well argued, so you can bag that extra 20 points. I like the effect you obtained with the contrast paint on the clothes of your figurine. I have not tried such a technique yet, but I'm getting more and more tempted. Nice entry for Monday.

From TeemuL: Bagration Germans [History] (158 points)

Instead of the lovely old metal miniatures, today I present rather new plastic miniatures. Here we have a German Panzergrenadier Company HQ and two Panzergrenadier Platoons with Panzerfausts and Panzerschrecks. Models are from Battlefront Miniatures Hit the Beach box for Flames of War. I painted the Panzer IVs and Tank Hunter teams before the Challenge, but here are the main components. You might also recall my last week's entry of 20mm WW2 Germans in winter uniform, this time this are 15mm WW2 Germans in summer uniform, ready to make a fighting retreat against Soviets during Operation Bagration or die trying. We have a small East Front campaign planned for the first months of this year and now I have the starter force ready. I'm planning to buy some mortars and more vehicles, but at the moment I have painted all my Germans for this project. Of course plans change when contacting reality and after a game or two I might want something else to bolster my forces.

The miniatures are painted following the Splinter Pattern Camouflage instructions provided in the Colours of War book. There are little bit different shades of green and brown, when I tried to find a proper compromise between "reality" and "looking good." Some of them look quite right, there's Reikland Flesh Shade painted over the camo to tie the colours together. The base colour is khaki. Pants and helmets are dark grey with a quick highlight of light grey. I painted the grenades dark yellow, but I guess I should have painted the Panzerschrecks yellow, too, instead of black. I guess I can live with that... And still claim history points for these. :)

The bases are rather simple, painted green and then some green sawdust and couple of tufts. It should look quite ok for summer in Ukraine and be generic enough to be usable on other theathers, too.

In the Library I have completed Sections 1 and 2, but before moving on, I'll get back to Section 1 and claim 20 points for History topic. What's next, we'll see.

I did say something about not posting old metal minis, but I finished the Germans during the week and I had then time to do something else during the weekend... I picked up a nice couple from the primed collection, going with the good old method of elf and dwarf. They were both on 25mm round bases, but then I realized, that the dwarf might actually see some action on the gaming table if he had a square base. The traditional 20mm base was too small (no scale creep here, dwarf if from 1988), so I decided to use the Old World base size of 25mm. Most likely these two won't see any adventures together, though...

The elf looks a bit odd, chain mail, sword, fancy poncho like cloak, and bare legs. It took me a while to find him and actually he is a half-elf fighter mage, which explains his odd equipment. He is Julie Guthrie's Personality 804 by Grenadier. Most of the colours on him are what I had on the palette, which gives him a little fantasy feeling. The red on his cloak is freehand, I wanted something looking magic there. White blue hat completes him.

The dwarf on the other hand is a no nonsense dude, heavy armour, heavy axe and bare head, some pouches to carry dwarf bread and tools to keep his axe sharp. He is completely business oriented and his business is chopping heads, I guess. This lovely character is from 1988, Grenadier A294 Dwarf Companion by Nick Lund, also sold in blister pack 906 Fighter and Companions. He is almost just chainmail and beard, but in true 80s spirit, I gave him a red axe shaft and colourful pouches and blue boots.

The green base is the wrong colour, I used my trusted Coat d'Arms Goblin Green while painting the bases of Germans and I didn't have the exact same colour anymore and was unable to mix the correct tone. So I went with Army Painter Greenskin.

64x 15mm minis (2 pts) = 128 points

History topic = 20 points

2x 28mm minis (5 pts) = 10 points.

Total = 158 points

Sylvain: Awesome work on these Germans, especially the camo pattern on their uniform. The two platoons look ready to assault (or die trying). And I also like your vintage metal figurines. Where do you get those? Is there a vintage miniatures mine in Finland? Keep the pace, the Monday Crew needs all available men to the front!

From Barks: Zombies & Galadriel & new Challenger (Science Fiction, Library Cart) (197 points)

I'm finishing off my whirlwind library trip.

Firstly, thirty Poxwalkers. These are GW's science fiction zombies, and as such are overly detailed. They have these quite nice grins, and are erupting with tentacles and horns. One is turning into a fly. There are maggots crawling in and on the figures. My main complaint with the miniatures is that there is no simple route for customisation. I'd prefer to be able to adjust the angles of the arms, try out different heads etc, but I'm stuck with repeats of the same ten distinct monopose figures. Sure, I could convert them, but it's a bit too much work for fodder. I stuck to a limited palette with yellow accents.

Thirty poxwalkers

That finishes off my library tasks- so I summon Lady Sarah's Library Cart to take me to the Snowlord's shelves. This is a 3D print of the lady Galadriel and her mirror (Printing Goes Ever On). I threw in a quick eye of Sauron, which stands out much more than I had anticipated! I wonder if I should make the edges darker. Should I give it a coat of gloss?

30x 28mm Poxwalkers (150 points)

Science Fiction (20 points)

Lady Galadriel and mirror (7 points)

Sarah's Library Cart (20 points)

Now I'm ready to face the Snowlord's Challenge!

Addendum: I've added a new Challenger! The Skirt-Swisher has used her in-built 3D printer for a long print, I've removed the supports and washed off the residue.

I'm looking for name suggestions:

• Boudica
• Hive Queen
• Montgomerina
• Rommelina
• Napoleonette
• ?

From Millsy: Firstly, congrats to the both of you on the new arrival mate! So good to see your latest creation healthy and happy with her Dad. Remember its never too soon to start them on the brushes. Might I suggest Skullzette for a name? It has a lovely feminine tone and just rolls off the tongue.

On to more important matters and you've got another great entry here. I second your thoughts on the customisation options (or lack thereof) for the poxwalkers but as you say they're just chaff.

Galadriel is wonderful The Eye of Sauron is just brilliant. My first thought is she's thinking "Bugger. I knew washing the palantir in this thing was a bad idea!" 

From Rhunt - A mixture of models (20 pts)

This is my second entry to the Challenge. I painted four different things this time. Some fantasy and some sci/fi. 

First up is the commander for my High Elves.

Very fancy model. I wanted him to stand out with gold.

I tried some dry brushing on the shield to bring out the designs. I think I need more practice but I liked it.

The next entry is another space marine. I love Ultra Marines so this is one of them.

The next thing is a fantasy fighter. He's a Bones model that Dad gave me.

The last model is a Chewbacca from Imperial Assault. He's not the right size or base for Legion but I still wanted to get him painted.

Those four models are my work for the last few days. I'll have more soon.

Score:

4 28-32mm models = 20pts

Total = 20 pts

Happy New Year!

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Great work Rhys! I really like your wonderfully ornate High Elf commander and dour Ultramarine and, really, who doesn't love a Wookie?  Keep them coming!

Best wishes for the New Year!

- Curt