From PeterA: 15mm Death Guard Tactical Marines & Dreadnaught (44 points)

Happy New Year to all!

Back to work after the hols means most painting gets done at the weekend now, but I am trying to squeeze in a bit during the week, even if it is just 30 minutes here or there. My latest entry was mostly done last weekend, with finishing touches the other night. These are more 3d printed Space Marines for the Horus Heresy in 15mm, this time a big tactical squad of 17 Death Guard Marines, led by a fancy character with a big power scythe, as befits one of Mortarian's sons. 

As before, they are all individually mounted but can be put on a magnetic base for ease of movement. I wanted something a bit duller than the usual white armour, so have used a heavy drybrush of Vallejo Splinter Camo base over a GW Contrast Skeleton Horde basecoat. Shoulder pads are GW Loren Forest. The character has a bit more bling, with GW Runelord Brass used on some of the armour details and shoulder pad trims, as well as a red cloak.

Accompanying the Marines is a Contemptor Dreadnaught with twin-lascannons. The paint scheme is essentially the same, although the larger model has allowed for a bit more detailing - in this case some 'chipped' armour using a dark brown and muzzle burn effects using various shades of GW washes. As you can see the ends of the muzzles unfortunately didn't fully print out, but it is not enough of an issue for me to get another one printed. I have since come across a different set of files for the Dreadnaught which give some more dynamic poses, so I might get one of those printed off this weekend.

Anyway, the Marines clock in at 36 points, but I am not quite sure what the Dreadnaught is worth points wise - I think classing it as 'artillery'  is probably best, but will abide by the Friday Minion's final decision! So that is 40(?) points to count towards my target and also to the Heresy Side Duel.

These are looking good , Peter! I know very little about Warhammer 40K or the Horus Heresy, but these Death Guard Marines look the part. I also like the dreadnought. Having them all in this very effective colour scheme brings a nice degree of uniformity, and not dull at all, says my somewhat autistic self.

Dreadnoughts have been traditionally classed as a vehicle, so this one will net you 8 points for a total of 44. Well done!

Martijn

PeterA: Last Post (229 points)

My progress, never that fast to start with, has well and truly ground to a halt as dealing with real life has had to take over. Today was the last day of school for who knows how long here in the UK and planning for this and its consequences has been rather time-consuming; a tip of the slipper to those intrepid souls who have taken this in their stride and continued to produce fabulous entries. For my part, I had planned a whistle-stop tour of a few more locations on Challenge Island, but alas, this was not meant to be. So, my last post for the 2020 Painting Challenge is a motley collection of what might have been.

First up are two figures which I had painted for O'Grady's Gulch - The Batman and The Joker from Knight Models. This is not a game I play but my son does and so these are for his collection. They are on plain bases as he wants to try putting them on clear acrylic bases. The models themselves are based on the characters as portrayed in Christopher Nolan's 'The Dark Knight' movie. 

I had then planned a quick trip in Sarah's Balloon to Docherty's Dock. For my fare, I intended to present this original GW Necromunda figure from House Escher. She is meant to represent a Warrior Acolyte in an Inquisitorial retinue. The original Codex Daemonhunters was a great supplement, full of ideas for narrative campaigns and thematic scenarios. One of the ideas was that having certain types of characters in the retinue gave the Inquisitor characteristic bonuses. The codex also encouraged you to delve into GW catalogue of figures to come up with weird and wonderful creations. So in my head, this figure represents Trinity (love the Matrix, just the first one), a ganger whose ferocity and combat skills (honed in the unforgiving environment of the Underhive) have attracted the attention of  Inquisitor Ademar, an unorthodox (i.e. radical a.k.a. heretical) member of the Ordo Malleus. Despite the age of the figure, it is a lovely sculpt with a host of finer details.

The plan for Docherty's Dock was to encounter a small camel train of two ships of the desert. They are from Copplestone Castings and will fit in nicely in the Back of Beyond.

As the engineers for Cook's Crevasse never even got primed, we jump ahead to what would have featured on Hawkins Hill. This is the aforementioned Inquisitor Ademar - a figure that comfortably exceeds the requirement of being from at least three years ago (it is actually about 17 years old!). Years ago there was an article in White Dwarf on the Relictors Chapter of Space Marines. They believe that the weapons of Chaos can be put to good use fighting it and one of those weapons was the Dark Blade - a jet black daemon weapon. Needless to say much of the Imperium takes a pretty dim view of this, so the back story is that Ademar has been entrusted with the weapon by the Relictors. I also tried to paint a glowing effect on his plasma pistol; not entirely satisfied, but at least the figure is finished!  

The final part of the plan was to take one last ride in Sarah's Balloon back to the Path of the New Shiny and Burch's Bluff,  the fare for which is this trio of Hasslefree females - they are lovely sculpts but I fear they look too small next to my Spectre Miniatures operators, as you can see in the second pic.

The theme at Burch's Bluff was The Horus Heresy. Now, whilst my enthusiasm for WH40K has gradually declined (apart from the odd game of Kill Team), I have always loved the WH30K setting and I particularly like how the VI Legion - the Rout, the Emperor's Executioners, the Vlka Fenryka - are portrayed. They are not the Wolfy McWolf charicatures they have become in 40K for me,  but something more nuanced and complex, whose sense of honour comes from being prepared to bear the suspicion, antipathy and disdain of their fellow Legions because they are prepared to do what others will not - hold their brethren to account and administer the ultimate sanction if necessary. The fact that they have an anti-authoritarian streak a mile wide doesn't hurt either! Sadly, progress on these has been really stymied by dealing with the impact of coronavirus at work, so I have only finished a few models - a Jarl in Terminator armour, one of his Thegn bodyguards in Tartaros Terminator armour, and a couple of Grey Slayers. They are a mixture of 40K and 30K bodies, with accessories from the 40K upgrade sprue and the 40K Terminators.

So that makes 55 points for the figures and I'm not sure how to score the camels - are they mounted figures? 7.5 each? That would make 70 all told. Either way, I won't make my target, but all things considered, I'm happy enough. Thanks once again to Curt for being such a splendid host and congratulations to all the other entrants - viewing your entries has been truly inspiring. Stay safe, stay healthy and best wishes to you all and your nearest and dearest.

Peter

________________________________

These are fabulous, Peter. So much to like in this submission. Superhero, check, SuperVillain, check, Inquisitor and retinue (loved that old Inquisitor codex), check, gumpy overworked camels, check, kick-ass ladies, check, proper Dan Abnett Space Wolves, check! All gloriously painted and all have the ingredients for a spectacular run about Challenge Island. Harumph!

You know what Peter, being the one who dreamt up this nonsense to begin with, I think I can bend a few rules in your case. I'm going to give you the location bonus for each of these and we'll call it square. How's that sound?

Sooo, with my socks and mittens off to help me count, the grand total comes out to... 229 points! Not quite to your target, but pretty darn close. :)

Well done Peter! I look forward to seeing you when the circus tent opens for another edition of the Challenge.

-Curt

From PeterA: Hailing Sarah's Balloon Service (5 points)

Having briefly stopped at Reidy's Reef I would like to return to the Path of History and O'Grady's Gulch and so am calling upon the services of the good Lady Sarah and her balloon. As payment, I am submitting another Task Force Operator from Spectre Miniatures. Like my previous Operator, she has also had a head swap from Statuesque Miniatures. I have tried to to give her red hair but am now wondering if the highlights are too stark. More practice required methinks. The miniature itself is up to Spectre's usual high standard and I must say I like the realistic proportions and detail of the kit, down to the pull tabs on the magazines for her rifle on the front of her chest rig.

This should net me 5 points for a single 28mm figure and a lovely flight across Challenge Island - up, up and away!

She is a great figure, and a redhead to boot. Excellent work.

TamsinP

PeterA: A Few More British Paras from FAA (78 points)

Earlier in the Challenge I painted up some old FAA British Paratroopers for Millsy's Millpond, which had languished deep in the lead pile for many years. I was quite pleased with how they turned out and last week I had a push to get the rest of them done.

These are intended to be used for gaming Market-Garden, hence the autumnal feel to the basing. First up is a HQ element for the platoon. Unfortunately, over the years some figures have gone MIA, so there should be a figure carrying a 2" mortar but he has long since disappeared. There are also a couple of Battlefield/Blitz figures in there to make up the numbers (lovely figures, just a shame so many of their ranges are no longer available). Leaders are on hexagonal bases as I also intend to use these figures with Chain of Command rules, so keeping them easily identified is a plus. To help identify different units on the tabletop, I experimented with painting the platoon leader's Denison smock a different base colour, but I wasn't happy with the look so went back to the previous colour scheme.

Then we have the second section:

The Bren team and rifle team:

I also had a firing PIAT and 2" mortar team. They would be allocated to a different platoon which has lighter webbing, so theirs is painted to match. Of course, once they were completed I read that many paratroopers avoided applying too much Blanco to their kit as it stood out too much - typical!

Points:

19 x 20mm figures = 76

1 x prone 20mm figure = 2

TOTAL: 78

Finally, a group shot of all the FAA figures done during the Challenge - the lead pile is now just a fraction smaller!

PeterD here, Miles has some family business today so we're going to have some pinch-hitters stepping in at the minion seat today.  Great looking red devils Peter, I really like the autumnal basing that you've used.  Your Para force is shaping up very nicely - thanks for the group shot.  I concur on your scoring- 78 points it is!

PeterA: Royal Marines at Reidy's Reef (64 points)

Progress has been slooow but last week I managed to get a bit more done. Sarah's Balloon has kindly taken me Reidy's Reef, where the challenge is to produce something with a nautical theme. Initially I had no idea of what to do but inspiration struck when flicking through 'Red Star, White Lights', a wargaming scenario booklet set in a Cold War gone hot setting. I had got hold of this as part of a project I started during last year's Challenge, set during a late-Cold War invasion of Norway (inspired by the TV series 'Occupied'). One of the scenarios has a small group of troops from the Royal Marines' Mountain & Arctic Warfare Cadre attacking a Soviet ammo dump. Perfect - this would be another unit for my Norway project and, being Marines, are suitably nautical for Reidy's Reef. It also allowed me to indulge in some nostalgia watching some old episodes of the BBC documentary 'Behind the Lines' (about a selection course for the M&AW Cadre) on YouTube - what's not to like about seeing big, hairy men running around in sub-zero temperatures in a pair of budgie-smugglers?

Anyway, on with the miniatures. These are all 20mm Liberation Miniatures and are from their range for the Falklands War, so have got kit like M16s, L4A4 LMG (aka Bren gun) and CAR 15 carbines - perfect for late-80s Cold War. They have been painted in a similar fashion to my figures from last year - mostly white snow suits with the odd DPM item for a bit of interest.

First up is the team leader, with obligatory moustache (very authentic - check out Behind the Lines!).

Then there are two 4-man sections:

Finally a couple of shots of the whole unit:

So I am slowly making my way around Challenge Island on Safari, but hopefully I will be able to finish off a few things that will see me tick off a few more locations. Progress so far:

So 8x20mm figures = 32 + another 2 for the prone GPMG gunner, plus the 30 points for the location, makes for a total of 64 points and gets me just over half-way to my target. I don't want to head on to Burch's Bluff just yet, so I think I shall be summoning the good Lady Sarah's aerial services shortly!

***

I don't know about the rest of you, but I could have gone without seeing that first picture or the attached reference to "budgie smugglers".... cringe....  Then again as the guy that keeps posting creepy Kingdom Death monsters, I don't know that I really have any valid right to complain about cringe worthy subject matter....

Onto the actual figures....  The figures themselves look good and have lots of cool little details to add interest.  I like how you have added mixed bits of camo and other colours in here to break up the white and add contrast and interest to what could otherwise be a pretty damn boring colour scheme (straight white).

-ByronM

From PeterA: WW2 Winter US Infantry & Romano-British - (96 Points)

Since the end of the Christmas holidays real life has resumed with a bang. I have tried to squeeze in a few minutes painting here and there during the week, but it has been slow going getting things completed. Finally, this weekend I have been able to put the finishing touches to a couple of things I have been working on.

First up is a platoon of US Infantry in winter gear i.e. greatcoats. These are all 15mm Battlefront figures that were released several years ago as part of their range to re-fight the Battle of the Bulge. They are very nice figures but unfortunately are no longer available due to the re-organisation of BF lines that accompanied the release of V4 of FoW. Hopefully, the range will be re-released in the future, as it had pretty much everything you could want for the Bulge.

I got a company box (actually two platoons' worth) when they were first released but, unlike my first platoon which uses multi-basing, these are all singly based, as I will use them for Chain of Command. Each section only has 11 figures as the twelfth figure is a prone rifleman and I have to figure out how to base them. All the others are based on 1 cent (Euro) coins - but these are too small for a prone figure and leave his legs floating in the air, and a larger coin base has an incongruously large footprint.

As well as the three sections, I have a small three man platoon HQ. To help identify leaders in the game, all NCOs plus the platoon CO are mounted on small hexagonal mdf bases from Warbases. I have also done some support weapons - a bazooka, 60mm mortar and a couple of .30cal MGs (The latter two should have more crew figures for Chain of Command; but this is enough to be getting on with).

Finally, I have done a two-man FOO team. In Chain of Command they will normally be calling in mortar fire; in larger games like IABSM and Battlegroup, they can double up as artillery FOO team and call in the big guns!

As well as finishing off this lot, I have done a couple of Footsore Romano-British figures (mainly as a diversion from all that Field Drab!). These are for my warband for Dux Britanniarum and are really there just to add a bit of colour. First up is a musician and he is joined by a standard bearer (flag is from LBMS - stunning quality as always). Footsore Miniatures are absolutely superb and these two are no exception - cleanly and crisply cast with virtually no clean-up required. It was only as I took the photos that i realised that I need to add some static grass/clump foliage to the standard bearer's base!

Points-wise, this is 43 x 15mm figures (I have counted the two-man prone teams as one figure each), for a total of 86 points, plus 10 points for the two 28mm figures - 96 in total.

***
Great work Peter.  Battlefront's now-lost 15mm WW2 winter ranges were indeed fabulous...I wish I had taken the chance to grab some US infantry from them back when I had the chance, before they debased themselves to the false gods of plastic 15mm infantry (ugh).  You have done excellent work here. 

And more Romans! Such nice Romans! Taunting me! Footsore do indeed look the part...lovely stuff. 

In terms of your score, we will add 96 points for now. I know you had asked about confirming your current tally - as we speak Challenge mathematical experts are sourcing the blood of a unicorn necessary to complete the blood rituals required carefully reviewing our spreadsheets and will advise this week if, indeed, there is any issue.  

GregB

From PeterA: Benito's Brook and Hailing Sarah's Balloon (65 points)

This entry is for next step on The Path of History - Benito's Brook. It has been a few weeks since my last post - clearly navigating the treacherous terrain of Challenge Island is no joke!

The theme for Benito's Brook is a brave feat of arms, almost hopeless against impossible odds. Now military history is littered with examples of such stories, but I did not need to look very far for my inspiration for this particular stop on the Safari. I have long admired a certain Mr C Campbell's 1812 Retreat From Moscow figures from the excellent range by Perry Miniatures, and given that we are currently in the midst of winter, this seemed a perfect match for the theme of Benito's Brook. What could be braver than fighting off both the Russian winter and the Wolves from the East as the tattered remnants of the Grande Armee make their way west; given that perhaps fewer than 25,000 soldiers crossed the Berezina River out of an an army of over half a million, the odds of making it out of Russia alive were pretty grim.

These 6 figures are skirmishing cavalry figures, forced to fight on foot since the demise of their mounts. The figures themselves are a joy to paint and really evoke the image of a tattered and dishevelled army, any semblance of uniformity gone as they desperately try to protect themselves from the deadly Russian weather.

I have shamelessly pilfered Curt's ideas for snow clinging to the boots and clothes of the troops, as well as his way of representing the build up of frost on the scarves and beards of the men. I am hoping to build up two small forces for games of Sharp Practice 2 by TooFatLardies (there are a couple of great scenarios in the 2019 Lard Annual for wargaming the retreat if you are looking for further inspiration).

Finally, I wish to summon Sarah's Balloon and charter a flight to Reidy's Reef - time for the Safari to take on a nautical theme! To pay for my ticket I present a Spectre Miniatures Task Force Operator. The figure has had her original head replaced with one from Statuesque Miniatures, as I wanted a bare-headed figure to fit in with my other Tier 1 Operators from Spectre. This is a very simple, cleanly cast figure. A notable feature of Spectre figures is that their weapons are scaled accurately and so are very fine. Whilst very realistic, one does worry about their robustness! Mind you, I haven't had any breakages...yet.

So, 7x 28mm figures = 35 points. Plus 2x entry fees = 60 points, making a grand total of 95 points I think. Right, time to crack open the in-flight bubbly!
------

By Paul:

There certainly is no greater tale of misery and desperation that the French retreat from Moscow, and these figs look great! In an appropriately miserable an desperate way of course...  The operative looks great too, but I do know what you mean about realistic proportions vs resilience!

Points wise that is 35 for the figs and 30 for Benito's Brook map location. The Balloon doesn't net you points but it will take you where you want to go - enjoy the ride!

From PeterA: Curtgeld and An Unexpected Diversion (60 Points)

Happy New Year to all!

First up is my figure for the price of entry into this year's Challenge. Many years ago GW released a supplement all about a Chaos assault on the Imperial planet of Cadia led by Abbadon (fittingly, the name means 'The Destroyer' or ruin, which pretty much sums up the primary objective of his Black Crusades). As the target was Cadia, the Cadian Shock Troops were front and centre and at the time I had several squads worth of the metal figures released by GW. I still like the look of those figures; however, they don't grace the table these days, as I haven't played 40K for many years (preferring instead the mayhem of the Horus Heresy setting). With GW experiencing something of a resurgence with the release of the 8th edition of WH40K, I thought I would resurrect one of these old figures, give it a new paint job and it would be a link between WH40K old and new. So my Curtgeld figure is a Cadian NCO, equipped with a pistol and a sword (reminds me of Lt George in Blackadder who, when reminded to pick up his stick, remarks that he wouldn't want to face a German machine gun without it):

The second part of my entry today was not part of my original plan for the Challenge, but rather is a an unexpected diversion (squirrel) brought about by getting a copy of the LOTR 'War in Rohan' supplement that has recently been released. The majority of the book covers familiar ground, largely looking at the conflict between Rohan and Isengard. However, there is a short history section and a couple of scenarios covering the story of Helm Hammerhand, an older king of Rohan. During Helm's reign, Middle Earth experienced The Long Winter and Helm was driven out of Meduseld by the Dunlendings, taking refuge in the Suthberg (aka Helm's Deep). During this time, Helm would don a white cloak and head out into the snowy landscapes, taking the war to the Dunlendings. This conjured up images of  Helm fighting in effect a guerrilla war in the snow-covered wilderness of Rohan, which seemed perfect for the small-scale Battle Companies supplement for LOTR. My reasoning is that Helm would not go out alone (at least, not always; he does seem rock hard!) on this raids and would be accompanied by a small band of warriors. So was born the idea of Helm's Whiteshields, seasoned soldiers who had all lost family, hearth, home and friends to the Dunlendings and who now live only for revenge:

With these figures, I wanted them to wear white cloaks as a unifying feature. I wasn't completely satisfied with the stark nature of my first attempt (the axe-wielding figure second from left) and so tried a more subtle layered approach with the other 5, involving a base coat of GW Celestra Grey layered over with heavily thinned  GW Ulthuan Grey, before adding light highlights of Ulthuan Grey alone. Not sure if it quite worked as intended, but I do prefer their cloaks, so might go back and redo the first effort.

GW don't yet have a specific figure for Helm, so I have been scouring the Internet for a suitable proxy and think I have found one. Hopefully Helm will be joining his Whiteshields in the not-too-distant future! Anyway, this lot should net me 60 points (7x5 points for the figures plus the 25 point bonus for the entry figure), and I can get back to the plan (probably...)!

***

Great work Peter - love that classic metal Cadian officer! The plastic Cadians were such a disappointment for me, but those old metals were excellent sculpts.  Like you, I am more fired up by 30k than 40k, but old metal 40k figures are always lovely to work on. 

I just love your story of the Whiteshields - very, very cool (and, I suppose, it was cold work fighting for their homeland during that winter...).  It's great to see that GW is continuing to give some attention to the Lord of The Rings figure line - probably only under legal threat or something, but still. Very neat. As for white, well, I think many of us struggle with an approach to painting white - I think both of your approaches are great - I'm a sort that prefers high contrast, but mixing it up looks even better. 

Your points calculation is deemed correct! 60 points for you, well done Peter. 

GregB