Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge XIV #9 - Special Themed Challenges

 In the three years in which I have participated in the painting challenge I have done quite a few of the themed challenges from the planets of the Challenge Quadrant in 2022, the movie lots of the Challenge Studio in 2023, or the book sections in the Challenge Library in 2024. They have been a good way to use up some of the oddball figures I have in my collection of unpainted minis, as well as giving me the impetus to complete projects that have long lingered in my storage boxes. During AHPC XIV I completed 19 special challenges, plus had two rides on 'Lady Sarah's book cart'.

I have already posted some of these in the earlier posts related to last year's challenge, so this post will be a summary, with pictures of those figures not already posted. 

Overdues & Returns - early WW2 German cavalry and wounded

History - early WW2 Polish 10th Motorized Brigade

New Acquisitions - early WW2 French Light Mechanized Division

Fantasy - Easterling Warriors and Command

Children's Books - Bunny Stormtrooper

Local History - Idols of Torment 

Romance - Han Solo and Leia Organa

Sci-Fi - Scotia Grendel Armoured Personnel Carriers and Tracked Vehicles 

Manga & Graphic Novels - Archive Star Wars miniatures

Lady Sarah's Book Cart - Ground Zero Games female militia troopers

Statue of a Famous Person - Free French commander General  Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque converted from a 54mm American tank crewman

 Maritime - a Royal Navy longboat converted from a plastic toy sailboat

Nature - some jungle terrain with Easter Island heads

Gift Shop - a Games Workshop Lord of the Rings figure of Gothmog that went to fellow Conscript, Dallas

DYI - some brick and wrought iron fencing for my Polish Post Office Danzig made from polystyrene, cardboard, and vintage toy parts

 

Literature - a figure of Viggo Mortensen as Captain Alatriste converted from a Games Workshop figure of Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn

 Travel - a 54mm Seven Years War Prussian musketeer associated with a visit to Sanssouci in Potsdam in 2001

Oversized Books - an 80mm Stadden figure of a British Bren gunner of 14th Army in Burma during the Second World War

Biography - in this case it was Autobiographical with a 54mm figure of a British grenadier of the 40th (Hopson's) Regiment of Foot, circa 1760 depicting me in one of my re-enactment uniforms

Rare & Antique Books - a hard plastic flat from the 1930s that belonged to my father when he was a boy, depicting a German infantryman on parade 

That concludes my retrospective of AHPC XIV. Thanks for reading. If you have any questions, or would like more information on any of these figures or terrain projects, please leave a comment, and I will do my best to reply.

 

Challenge Submission #13 - A Handful of Special Challenge Targets

 One of the features of this year's Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge is the Challenge Quadrant, consisting of three rings of planets surrounding a central star, each planet representing a special theme for the figures to be painted. Here are some of those special figures that I completed in late January and early February.

 The figures of Gandalf the White on foot and mounted on Shadowfax are the older Games Workshop Lord of the Rings castings. I have included Gandalf the Grey in the photos for the 'Before' and 'After' comparison.

A Canadian Churchill tank at Dieppe -Churchill Mk III T68696 'CAT' is a repainted 1/50 Solido diecast model I acquired from a friend. It was originally painted in a desert yellow/olive green striped camouflage pattern for service in Tunisia, but I wanted it to match another Solido Churchill that I had that depicted 'Cheetah' (shown in the background). So the 'tank from Tunisia' was repainted using Vallejo Dark Earth, and then the vehicle name, numbers, etc. painted on freehand.

 A legionary of early Imperial Rome, equipped with lorica segmentata, gladius, and scutum. This is a 28mm plastic figure that came as a sample years ago with an issue of Wargames Illustrated. I was never sure what to do with it, and thought I might use it as a gladiator in our 'local arena'. I'm glad I had it on hand for one of the stops on the Challenge Quadrant.

 A Eurasian Solar Union SAW gunner from Ground Zero Games and a Rebel Commando from West End Games. Both date from the mid to late 1990's. I have painted them up in the colour scheme for the Ral Partha Galactic Grenadiers figures I use as 'Planetary Militia'. In the past I have used both GZG and WEG minis to augment the variety of poses and weapons in my squads.

 

 A 54mm miniature from the Scale Link Ltd. WW1 Grand Guerre range, which depicts a British or Canadian infantryman advancing at the 'Trail Arms' position with fixed bayonet, and his Small Box Respirator worn at the 'Alert' position. He is identified as a member of the 27th Battalion CEF by the blue circle over a blue rectangle on his shoulder. The figure was painted using Vallejo acrylics, followed by some Games Workshop washes. Finally some AK Interactive Spattereffects 'Wet Mud' was applied to areas like knees and elbows. 

  Two 'old school' 25mm Star Wars figures from West End Games depicting Princess Leia Organa as she appeared in 'A New Hope' and 'Return of the Jedi'. Again, these are painted using Vallejo acrylics with GW washes on the faces and hands, and to produce the camouflage pattern on the poncho.

 These special challenges have been very useful in clearing out some of the miniatures that have been lingering in the 'PENDING' box for some time.

Thanks for reading.