From TashaH: Last Minute Planet Scramble [Babylon5][Xanth][Lady Sarah’s Star Yacht] (75 points)

Well. 

Here we are on Babylon5. This figure is the first one I assembled myself. Yikes! When I got it in the mail, I contemplated putting it in a drawer and just forgetting about it! 

 

Overall, it was easy to assemble. I should have paid a little closer attention, as I clipped the pegs off on his legs, so he is just sitting precariously on his shoes! 

This is Zo! - a Starfinder Miniature. As with most of the figures in the Challenge, I know nothing about him. I chose him for this planet for his microphone. He will be given a place of honour in my husband’s music room, where many a song is sung and while perhaps not quite operatic, he can hit some pretty amazing notes!  

 

As I’ve completed 4 planets on the outer and middle rings, I understand I can drop directly to the inner ring. I’m going to head to the planet Xanth. 

Here I have another Elf Cleric from WizKids. As you can see, he clearly has the unique talent of being able to conjure fire in the palm of his hand!

 

I had planned to have a figure completed for Lune, but I do not. I would like to call on Lady Sarah’s Star Yacht to take us to Terra. 

This is the last of the Heroclix figures I have from WizKids (thank goodness).  Psylocke is from the Xmen and that is about all I know about her. I do know I didn’t paint her outfit properly, but I did use four different shades of black to try to make her look cool. 

 

I ordered my new 3D printer today and I am soooo excited. I just wish I had some more time to use it before the end of the Challenge. 

The points:

3 - 32 mm figures - 15 points

2 Planet Bonuses + Star Yacht - 60 points

Total - 75 points

(I redid all the photos with a lighter background as the originals were incredibly dark)

That's a lovely trio of figures, Tasha! 

Tamsin

From GeoffreyT: The last one (Xanth)(60 points)

At last I have reached the last of the pre-defined planet based objectives, Xanth.  I was going to use the theme of never ending to cover the issue of scale creep, but felt better of it, and have gone for the key phrase "Unique Talent".

Cacofonix the Bards musical skills are indeed unique, unfortunately they are not appreciated by all.

This miniature did not get painted with the previous batch of Asterix figures I posted for Noel's Comet, because he was a poor casting, with the front foot and half the base missing.  Therefore he was delayed as I took time to sculpt in the missing parts with green stuff.

I decided to build this planet on a theme of the miniature left behind.  For various reasons, good and bad, one or more miniatures from a batch seems left behind to habitate the bottom of cardboard box.  

So I scraped around in boxes and found some projects where I had left one behind for a reason.  Some recent, some older.

Next we have a Copplestone Castings Spy, from the same set of the two spies I posted for Solaris.  This guy came in a second hand lot with the others, but his base tab was cut off.  I was undecided how I would base him, on a flat or raised base, so he got delayed.  The plunge was made and here he is.

The next chap is one of Beowulf retinue that I posted for Glorantha.  28mm from Eureka miniatures.

I lost his shield and spear, so he was put aside.  I found some spare stuff for him and here he is.

An old plastic shield by Citadel, and a bronze wire spear.

Next I have an AWI British Officer (28mm Crusader miniatures).  When I got a my first AWI stuff, I had no idea why some blokes were randomly holding a spear, when their mates had guns.  Did he just point it and shout BANG.  I just didn't see a need to paint them all.

I have since learned these random spear guys are the Officer's and quite useful for Sharp Practice, so I dug him back out for painting.

This 'last one' is also the 'first one'.  The first Dr Who, William Hartnell by Citadel Miniatures.  This miniature was quite venerable, and appears to have suffered for having been stripped down and repainted too often, with a loss of detail on his head, like it had been scrubbed too hard with a toothbrush.  So wasn't one I was inspired to paint.

I painted him nonetheless, specifically for this post.

Next is some Gallic casualties.  These guys were duplicates of others I had.  They are very useful for things like clue markers in "Rangers of Shadow Deep", so here are the last three painted.  Brand unknown, in 28mm scale.

Next is a lady in a bath tub.  Why did I leave this one.  Well she is the third I have, and how many do you need; probably none.  For a wild west scenario maybe one.  Brand unknown.  25mm scale.

Finally I have an Epic Eldar Wave Serpent by Citadel Miniatures.  I was given a painted second hand force of Epic Eldar (Space Elfs in 6mm scale) and got enthused and purchased some bits to supplement it.  I acquired two used 'Wave Serpent' hovering troop transporters.  One painted and one unpainted.  I have now belatedly painted this one to match the other.

Here it is next to the one I copied.  Close enough I say.

There are plenty more examples where I have left one or more behind, you could say I have a 'never ending' supply (Xanth theme again!).  I probably should have finished this post with some Mohicans, but that is enough for today.

***

Cacofonix (about 20mm, he is quite small) = 4 points + 20 point Xanth bonus.

5 x 28mm foot = 25 points

3 x 28mm prone and no base = 9 points

1 x 6mm vehicle = 2 points.

A grand total of 60 points.

With all the planets now done, now it is time to crash my spaceship into the Challenge XII Star in a fit of ecstasy, just like the Fire Clown in Moorcroft's book 'The Winds of Limbo'.

Geoff.

I, too, find that the Challenge inspires me to slap paint on those neglected oddities we all have floating around. Good work salvaging the bard, and his tunic looks great as well. He's a great choice for a Unique Talent. The eclectic collection you've thrown in here is wonderful. Congratulations on completing all the locations!

Barks

From StuartL - Jumping To Lightspeed - Xanth to Krypton - 142 Points

Hello all.

For my second post today, I present the last five planets in the Challenge XII sector before my final approach to the Challenge XII Star.

Unlike previous years where I blitzed through the Challenge areas to reach the centre as quickly as possible, this year I have tried to take my time completing each section. However with just four weeks left on the clock and no idea what herculean task my minion might set me, I figured that I should get cracking and finish off the outstanding planets. I still need to submit an entry for Lady Sarah's Star Yacht too. 

So, without further ado, the next port of call after Lune is Xanth, where I have looked at the Unique Talent part of the conditions. Most of the models I have for most of the games I play are generally focussed around killing the enemy with bullets, blades or bombs, so finding something unique was not so easy. Luckily for me, I play a game called Malifaux, a Weird Wild West skirmish game, and a lot of the minis for that game have some downright bonkers abilities. In my collection for the game, I have a faction of Performers. Essentially can-can dancers, singers and the like who use their stage shows and props as cover for a smuggling operation. Within than faction, there are a set of models called Ice Dancers. However, unlike more traditional figure skaters, these dancers are able to form ice themselves and then use it to move around the tabletop. The models come two to a box, but are generally considered to not be all that great, one usually being more than enough should you wish to use them.

 I imagine that skating through a desert on a pillar of ice should count as a fairly unique talent.

From Xanth I head off to Mars (surely that should have been after Lune??), and a meeting with a mysterious neighbour. For this mini, I head back to the Warhammer 40,000 universe where Mars is synonymous with the machine worshipping Adeptus Mechanicus. In the setting, the Ad-Mech have very strict doctrines and beliefs about what technology they can use and what is tech-heresy. However, there are also rumours that an ancient, evil, alien star-god is trapped deep within the planet and that it is tied in with the mysterious Necron race of sentient robots. So what would happen if one of these Mechanicus priests were to stumble upon some crypt of hidden alien tech while exploring the depths of Mars? Why he'd immediately report it to his superiors and they'd destro.... 

...Oops.

One of the problems with the Ad-Mech box sets is that you can quickly end up with duplicate Tech-Priest models that you don't really need if you aren't careful. Having a couple of these guys spare, I decided to convert one up as a Heretek using a bunch of spare Necron parts I had lying around. The head, shield, upper torso and right arms all got added to create this monstrous fusion of Martian and Alien technology gone awry. 

I usually paint my Necrons with green power cores, so to show that this guy was different, I went for an orange colour scheme along with paler colours for his robes instead of the standard Mechanicum Red.

Speaking of Necrons, Altair IV is my next stop with the theme of Old Robots. 

This lanky fellow is a Canoptek Reanimator, a giant machine that strides across the battlefield reanimating fallen Necron Warriors as it goes. The model is mounted on a 60mm base to give you some idea of it's scale.

The model came in the Indomitus set that was launched at the start of 40K 9th edition. I have no intention of ever playing 9th, but the Necron models in that set were all fantastic. This one was quite fiddly to paint with all the hanging wires and pipes, but I'm happy with the end result.

Onwards we go to Gethen were things are Icy and Cold. My next model fits both of those, (but I think I can't claim the Androgyny part). As I mentioned above the Malifaux Ice Dancers come two to a box, but you only really need one. Luckily?? they can work in 2 different factions in the game, the Performers and the Cult of December, both of which I collect. 

The Cult are a bunch of cannibals who live high up in the snowy peaks of Malifaux's mountains. So, it seemed like a good idea to paint up the second dancer to match that faction.

And finally, we come to the last planet before the big finale. Krypton. Way back in the 90's I got into comics, particularly the various X-Men series. At that time, one of the more well known artists was a guy called Rob Liefeld. He is generally considered to be a source of division among comic book fans. He was involved in creating the very popular characters of Deadpool and Cable and his comics generally sold very well. However, his art style was unpopular among a lot of readers (he has no idea how perspective and anatomy really work) and he tended to draw a lot of pouches and equipment on all of his characters. So in homage to the comics I started out reading, I found a model with strange anatomy from my Reaper Bones stash and some glue....

Rather than my usual method of Paint>Wash>Highlight, I went for a different approach. The model was base coated black then given two coats of each colour, leaving some of the original black showing through to give it a more 'comic book' feel. The original model had no pouches on it, these all come from various 40K kits.

So, that's the final five planets done. Points wise, I have 3x 28m minis, 1x 40mm mini and a 28mm vehicle for a total of 42 points, along with 5 planets for a 100 point bonus and a grand total of 142 points.

The necron walker has 3 skulls on it's base to add to my Skull Duel tally. 

Skullz Total: 108

Before I finish, I would like to add the Ice Dancers to the Sarah's Choice category. I usually have a hard time choosing colour schemes for individual figures, so for these two, I based their colours on two popular characters from a Disney movie with a very similar theme to the models. While their clothing doesn't exactly match up, I think I captured the colours.

Next stop, the heart of the challenge sector!

Congrats Stuart on being the first of the Monday crew to the centre of the system.  I'm not sure if there are other challengers who have hit every planet in this years' challenge.  Most of us are opting for the faster (sic?) 4 planets and on the the next ring method.    I'll be in touch to discuss your FINAL CHALLENGE!!!  

I like the ice dancers lasses, nice blue palatte that you've used.  I would wouldn't know the difference between the Ad-Mech stuff and a Necron if one nipped me on the backside with a claw, but those are fine looking buckets of bolts your've assembled.  I also really like the effects that you've achieved on the Big Red guy, is he named Clifford perhaps?

From MikeF - World Eater Terminators and Imperial Assassins - Klendathu - Great Abyssal - Terra - Lune - Xanth - Mars (145 points)

I missed the last couple Fridays due to my work schedule, but I was able to paint up a few things. I'll also try to shamelessly mine various planets for some much needed points.

First up is a squad of World Eater Terminators in Cataphractii armor for Horus Heresy. These have shoulder pads from Pop Goes the Monkey and they fit on as one piece. They work really well on the GW kit and they make similar pads for any marine chapter you can think of. 

These guys will be invading Klendathu, for an invasion gone bad. In the fluff, Terminators are written as unstoppable killing machines who drop into the midst of the enemy either by transport or teleporting. They then manage to kill everything with few to no losses. For most editions of Warhammer 40k, Terminator squads routinely failed to live up to their reputation, often dying without making their points back. Keeping in line with this theme, these Terminators will boldly teleport onto Klendathu at which point they will realize they were the victims of a deceitful marketing campaign by GW and die horribly!

The World Eaters badge is integrated into the shoulder pads.

Next I'm taking the Great Abyssal to Terra, home of the Vindicare Assassin Temple. Imperial Assassins come in several forms and do different things on the battlefield. All their temples are on Terra, Throne world of the Imperium in 40K. This one is obviously a sniper and was probably the most useful in the game. I've had this model for close to 25 years and this was probably it's second or third paint job. That's some heavy lifting!

Lune will be represented by the Culexus Assassin. These specialize in hunting and eliminating psykers and other practitioners of witchcraft. I've had this model about as long as the Vindicare, but never managed to paint him. He was just far too specialized to be of use in a game.

Xanth requires a unique talent. The Callidus Assassin certainly has one. They can shapeshift thanks to an assortment of crazy drugs, allowing them to slip into the enemy HQ, issue some ill conceived orders and then eliminate the HQ with their sword which phases in and out of reality. This model was a recent purchase from Ebay and was missing the end of her pony tail which I had to replace with greenstuff.

Finally comes Mars, the God of War. The final Imperial Assassin is the Eversor. There's nothing subtle about this guy and he likely won't survive the mission. He's for when you absolutely have to kill an entire bunker full of people. He's loaded with combat drugs and armed with his bolter/needle gun combo, his Neuro Gauntlet and power sword. Once he finally is killed, the chemicals in his blood become unstable and react explosively, killing anyone who managed to survive up to that point. He was also a recent Ebay purchase and I only had to replace the barrel of the needle gun.

Team Photo - "Gooooo EMPEROR!"

For points that should be 9x 28mm models for 45 points + 100 points for 5 planets = 145

Thanks for reading!

***

Your Friday Minion is a bit tied up today, and has asked some of us to pitch in while he is away. I thought I would step in between work demands this morning to start with this submission, not only because Mike is a friend, but because his shameless strip-mining of bonus points would fit right in with the scrapers who otherwise appear on Wednesdays...

Very nice work here Mike, as always. Yes, the Terminators are quite useless in the game (although, I must say, the problem is not so pronounced in 30k in my experience) but they just look so darn cool and ominous. These fellows really look the part, and I really like the embossed Legion emblem on their heavy-duty shoulder plating. 

The collection of classic assassin figures is great, and that is some very nice work with the greenstuff. These old models are classics - it is a shame the newer versions of these figures come with such absurd/overwrought/unworkable scenery-diorama-style bases. But who needs those, when you have the classics available - and ones that have been waiting for years and years for some paint. 

145 points for you...for nine figures...not quite Wednesday-level squeezing, but you are on your way...

GregB