Ah-Cahulka, the Golden (Lucid Eye Publications)

 Over on Instagram I'm participating in a "Deadcember" painting challenge this month, and posted my finished piece today. My undead of choice was "Ah-Cahulka, the Golden" from Lucid Eye Publications, a Mesoamerican-style liche from their "Savage Core" line, part of the "Maxzan" faction. 

The base is a couple layers of cork board, torn into irregular shapes and stacked on top of each other, painted in shades of gray (there was a green wash in there as well, for the humid, mossy stone look, but I think it got lost in the gray to some extent), then splodged with thinned white glue and dipped in a couple different shades and grades of flocking. I topped that off with a couple of green foam shrubbery bits. 

I had a really good time painting this figure; I'd originally thought he'd be a gaming piece but honestly, I might keep him as a display figure.

OWAC IV Preparation: The Waaagh Kev'adumz (the Heavy Hitters)

I've posted recently about Project Greenskins, my ongoing plan to build a big, old school Warhammer Fantasy Battles army of orcs and goblins, complete with Goblin Green bases and all metal figures, the majority of which being Kev Adams sculpts.  I've joined Iannick Martin's excellent Old World Army Challenge for their fourth iteration, using it as impetus to build out at least the core of an army, and in so doing, given my project its "official" name: the Waaagh Kev'adumz.

I'd posted an initial army list with my introductory post at the OWAC blog, but after finding and repainting my Barnorsk Great Orcs, I realized they really covered the Black Orcs I'd originally planned on including in my army. Some revision was in order, along with double-checking my math, especially once I realized the default Orc chariot in the Warhammer Armies book was drawn by Wolves, not Boars. I ended up going to the "Chariots" section of the main rulebook for WHFB 3rd edition and calculating out exactly what the model I'm using would end up costing points-wise.

What I ended up with could be considered, along with the Black Orcs painted earlier this month, the "heavy hitters" of the army - the orcs, especially the Big'uns, and the trolls providing a lot of the muscle for the army, with the drawback of not being as mobile. Maybe OWAC V will see the speedy, shooty side of the Waaagh Kev'adumz!

Here's what I'll be painting over the next six months:

Yorzolg the Conquerer, Level 25 Orc Hero, Light Armor and Shield (146), riding in a Boar Cart* with 2 Crew armed with hand weapons (86): 232

Bogloaf, Level 15 Orc Hero, Shield, Army Standard Bearer: 139

The Black Fire Boyz, 14 Orc Big'uns, Spears, Standard and Musician (168), accompanied by Grubrot, Level 15 Orc Hero, Double-Handed Weapon (92): 260

Dem Lads Ova Dere, 11 Orcs Boyz, Standard and Musician (110.5), accompanied by Arzenut, Level 5 Orc Hero, Light Armor and Shield (36): 146.5

Dese Lads Ova Here, 11 Orcs Boyz, Standard and Musician (110.5), accompanied by Zartanesh, Level 5 Orc Hero, Light Armor and Shield (36): 146.5

Cannon Fodda, 12 Goblins, Standard and Musician: 56

 The Big Lads, 4 Trolls: 260

Total: 1,240

Rank and File: 705 (56%)

Characters: 535 (44%)

*As a four-wheeled vehicle, Yorzolg's ride is technically a "Wagon" in WHFB, slower and less maneuverable than a regular chariot but able to carry a larger complement of crewmembers. I'm picturing something akin to an Orcish version of the ceremonial chariot used to parade Julius Caesar during his Triumph in HBO's Rome. It might not be the best use of points in an army, or make the most tactical sense, but it'll be a showy centerpiece and look really cool on the table and that's what counts.

Challenge X Entry 1

I'm off and running with the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge, with my first entry satisfying the requirements of the "Douglas Shallows" locale on the Challenge Map.

First up, a Fishing Boat that I got as part of Reaper Miniatures' "Dreadmere" expansion from the Bones 4 Kickstarter.

I was aiming for a "whitewashed, but not maintained well" look for the interior, via a basecoat of "Misty Gray," a wash of "Seraphim Sepia" and a drybrushed highlight of "Pure White." I think I achieved what I was looking for. 

Next up is the "Dire Crab," painted as a Chesapeake Blue Crab.  Legs and underbelly were base-coated in "Yellowed Bone" and washed with "Seraphim Sepia," while the back of the shell was a 1:1 mix of "Deep Ocean" and "Olive Shadow" drybrushed with "Olive Drab." The blue on the legs was picked out in "Surf Aqua" and glazed with "Gulliman Blue," before highlighting the center of each blue patch with Surf Aqua again.  The claws were done with multiple glazes of "Bloodletter Red" with each subsequent layer of glazing being smaller and more concentrated towards the tips of the claws. 

Gearing Up for Challenge X

As previously mentioned, I'll be taking part in the 10th annual Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge.  There are a few changes this year, not the least of which is the introduction of Challenge Island - participants can move from location to location on the island by completing specific challenges.  Once 5 challenges are completed, participants can advance to "Snowlord's Peak," for a final challenge.  I've done some mapping and planning, and figured out my route around the island. 

Going to start off in Douglas Shallows, and move from there to Cook's Crevase, Hawkins Hill, and then jump across to O'Grady's Gulch before taking Sarah's Balloon to Snowlord's Peak.  That should give me my five before the Peak.  Most of my figures for these challenges are going to be Reaper Bones for ease of painting since I'm not going to be able to spray prime anything until almost the end of the Painting Challenge. 

Clearing the Painting Desk

In preparation for the Painting Challenge, I'm trying to get some partially-finished stuff off my work bench (aka, the side of the kitchen table my partner and I don't eat on) since nothing begun before December 21st can qualify for the Challenge. 

First up, a pair of Giant Leeches from the Reaper Bones 4 Kickstarter, part of the "Dreadmere" expansion:

These were base-coated in Reaper "Uniform Brown," given two heavy washes of GW "Athonian Camoshade" and then a light drybrushing of "Green Ochre" before picking out the jaws and tongues.  Nothing fancy but they came out pretty well I think.

Next up is the beginnings of a project I'm very excited for.  First, a bit of back-story: I first came into miniature painting and wargaming in the early 2000s, probably 2001 - in fact, looking at White Dwarf back-issues, I'm thinking I must have made my first foray into a Games Workshop store in August of 2001.  6th Edition Warhammer Fantasy Battles was in full swing, and the helpful clerk at the GW store asked me a few questions and determined that Orcs and Goblins were the force for me.  A few models in particular really caught my eye, but I'd never end up buying them.  These included the Stone Trolls, the Orc Warboss on Wyvern, and "Grom the Paunch," a morbidly obese goblin warlord in a chariot (that required an extra wolf to pull due to Grom's bulk). 

With the announcement of "Warhammer: The Old World," and with both "Dragon Rampant" and "Warlords of Erehwon" sitting on my shelf as alternatives, I decided it was finally time to build the Greenskin army I'd always dreamed of.  I've read enough Oldhammer blogs, and recognized that more than anything I love Kev Adams-sculpted orcs and goblins.  So I knew I wanted to focus on Kev Adams sculpts, from a variety of lines and manufacturers, and build an army that I could use across multiple rulesets.  This is going to be an ongoing project throughout 2020 and beyond. 

I am now the proud owner of an unbuilt Grom's chariot, and also got a spare Grom off eBay that I based on foot, and got a couple packs of Kev-sculpted goblins, originally by Harlequin Miniatures that have since been rereleased by Black Tree Designs, giving me the beginnings of a regiment as well as a shaman.  I got these glued to 20mm bases, primed, and painted to test my color scheme.  I still have to flock the bases, but I'll let you judge the results so far:

Challenge Accepted

I will be taking part in the annual Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge again this winter - the 10th showing overall and my 4th if I'm not mistaken.  I've set myself a slightly higher goal than usual of 600 points, because I've recently hit a point in my life where if I don't put everything with a screen - phone, laptop, TV - away at 7pm and spend two hours doing something non-electronic, I wake up every two hours throughout the night.  I'm also taking a bit of a hiatus from writing Call of Cthulhu scenarios so that I don't burn out on it, which should free me up for even more painting. 

Mostly I'm going to be working through my lead-pile, which has grown alarmingly over the last year.  Some things I'll be working on:

• My haul from the Reaper Bones 4 Kickstarter; while I didn't back extravagantly I've got plenty of figures here that are crying out for a paint job.
• Sci-Fi Civilians from Crooked Dice and Lead Adventure Miniatures: About two dozen cleaned, based and primed metal figures awaiting paint...and being innocent bystanders in future games of Galactic Heroes.
• Pulp Figures: I've got about 20 or 25 figures from Bob Murch's "Pulp Figures" line primed and awaiting paint.  One of my regular wargaming buddies, Tom, is interested in adding Pulp Alley to our rotation of skirmish games so these will be useful for that.  
• Kev Adams Greenskins: Inspired by the announcement of "Warhammer: The Old World," and the fact that I have Dragon Rampant and Warlords of Erehwon sitting on my shelf, I decided I wanted to build a square-based fantasy army, and I've always loved the look of Kev Adams' Orcs and Goblins, so that's what I'm basing the army around.  I've got a few figures already mostly painted that I'll be finishing off later today to clear my workbench prior to the start of the Challenge.  

Challenge Catch-Up

I'm so bad at cross-posting my uploads to the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge to my own blog, so here's a photo dump version.

First up, a unit of Bidowers/Scouts for Lion/Dragon Rampant.  Figures by Crusader Miniatures, I'm not in love with the autumn flock as is.  I should have put down a layer of my usual basing grit and then layered the autumn flock over it. 

Next, a set of undead hounds, painted for the "Reconnaissance" bonus round, with the idea that these would be a unit of Lesser Warbeasts in my undead Dragon Rampant army, sniffing out the living wherever they might try to hide.  Figures by Reaper Miniatures. 

And finally, Reaper's "Abraxus the Dire-Dead," who when I saw him I just had to paint up as Skeletor from "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe."

Painting Challenge Opening Salvo: An Undead Quartet

I painted four older Reaper undead figures, all sculpted by Bob Ridolfi, a few days ago as my opening burst for the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge.  Here's another look at them:

Speed Painted Gladiator

Today, my friendly local game store held a speed-painting miniatures event, encouraging participants to bring some paint and a primed miniature and see what they could accomplish in 45 minutes.  Unfortunately they didn't get quite the turnout they were hoping for (I always assume, whenever someone marks themselves "Interested" in a Facebook event, they are actually politely saying "no.") but the event went on as planned regardless.  Here was what I accomplished:

I think this is one of the last of the Secutores I had in my Sons of Mars project pile, and after him I only have sixteen more gladiators left to go before I put this project to bed. 

I placed first in the speed painting competition, and my prize was $10 worth of paint; I picked up "Scorched Metal," "Gunmetal Blue" and "Coppery Orange" from the Reaper rack.  Granted, I don't know how great an accomplishment placing first was; I was one of only two participants, and the other guy had come into painting miniatures from traditional painting, and was using high-end artists' acrylics and mixing each shade he used by hand.  By his own admission he was not a "speed painter" of any sort.  I feel a little bad that I didn't pick a more intricate figure (I almost selected a Reaper samurai that's been on my primed pile of shame for a couple years now) to challenge myself with, though both my fellow competitor and the judge have made it clear I should not feel that way. 

I'll tackle his shield tonight and work on getting his base coated with Vallejo Sandy Paste tonight and then I think that's it for me as far as painting goes until the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge begins on the 20th. 

An Internal Conversation

Bill's Shoulder Devil: "Hey, you kind of regret missing out on Da Boyz GT tournament earlier this month.  Since you're not going to go back to Age of Sigmar or jump on the Warhammer 40K bandwagon, you should build a Kings of War army for next year's tournament."

Bill's Shoulder Angel: "But you hate the idea of painting hundreds of figures for an army."

Bill's Shoulder Devil: "Sure, so why not build a small model count army, like Ogres?"

Bill's Shoulder Angel: "But you don't like Mantic's Ogre sculpts, and Kings of War tournaments tend to have a minimum Mantic model requirement."

Bill's Shoulder Devil: "Hey, says here in the rules for this year's Da Boyz show that there's no minimum number of Mantic models required for their Kings of War tournament.  You should find some ogre models you do like."

Bill's Shoulder Angel: "Well, you have been really admiring the ogres that Bob Olley sculpted for Ral Partha back in 1991, and they are available again from Iron Wind Metals..."

Bill's Shoulder Devil: "We could do an army of under 40 figures total."

Bill's Shoulder Angel: "Yeah, I don't have a counterpoint."

Bill's Shoulder Devil: "Just to make it interesting, you should paint tartans on them all.  Make each unit it's own ogre clan, and give each unit a different patterned tartan on their cloaks or kilts."

***

So I guess I'm adding this to my project list for the 9th Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge and beyond.  I've got an army list drawn up that I like and am happy with, figured out which figures I'll need, and emailed Jacob Fathbruckner of Ral Partha/IWM about getting the ones that aren't currently in the IWM online store. 

Painting Gods have mercy on me. 

Challenge Accepted

The Ninth Annual Analogue Hobbies Winter Painting Challenge has been announced, with a theme of "Fellowship." This will be my third year participating (would be fourth, but a loss of mojo took me out just before the Challenge began last year), and I'm eager to take part again.  I've got a loose bit of a plan:

• Finish off my current collection of based and primed gladiators from Wargames Foundry and Crusader Miniatures.  I think there's between 12 and 18 of those to go.  
• Paint a retinue for Lion Rampant.  I have some "Later Crusaders" figures on order from Crusader Miniatures (and hopefully more will be appearing under the tree come Christmas morning) that I'm planning to paint up as Simon de Montfort and his supporters in the 2nd Baron's War.  Some nice bright heraldry (that isn't stupidly complicated) to paint after all the bronze and bare skin of these gladiators.  
• A few odds and ends, especially for the bonus rounds.

Saturday Night Speed Paint - Wargames Foundry Dimachaerus Gladiator

I needed to unwind a bit tonight, and there is a speed-painting competition coming up at my FLGS that I want to practice for.  So, I grabbed a primed figure - in this case, a Dimachaerus ("Two Knives") from Wargames Foundry's Gladiators range - and set to work, seeing how quickly I could arrive at an acceptably finished figure.  In this case, it took me just shy of an hour.  Some of the Crusader Games gladiators are nice hefty, chunky sculpts that might lend themselves better to a 45-minute speed paint. 

I should go back and paint the studs on his belt and armor straps before I varnish him.  

Olleytoberfest (and possibly Zomtober as well!)

Sean over at Sean's Wargames Corner has proposed a fun little project for the month of October - honoring sculptor Bob Olley by showcasing figures he's sculpted that we've painted, and painting new figures that he's sculpted.  Now, sadly, I don't have any painted Bob Olley sculpts in my collection at the moment, though I've admired his dwarves and ogre sculpts for years.  So I decided I would try to mark this occasion by painting a small collection of Bob Olley sculpts - and, since it is October and it's time to get spooky, I opted for a half-dozen undead figures Olley sculpted for Reaper Miniatures.  Placed my order this morning, they should be arriving sometime early next week and then I can get crackalackin' on them. 

Here are the figures I ordered, presented unpainted, from Reaper's site:

As you can see, lots of tattered cloaks and flowing robes to work on my blending with, some armor, and a good mix of bare skulls and rotten flesh to keep things interesting.  If I wanted to, I could field these six as a unit with my Dragon Rampant undead army, should I ever get a game going of that.  Either way, I'm looking forward to them being an enjoyable project for the month.

Challenge Prep - Clearing Out the Project Box

In preparation for this year's Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge, first things first I needed to work on clear partially-finished figures out of my work-queue.  Which meant, tonight, finishing off three units for Dragon Rampant. 

First up, a Reduced Model Unit of Heavy Foot with an accompanying Wizardling for my "Men of the West" retinue for Dragon Rampant.  Spearmen are Conquest Games' plastic Norman infantry, while the Wizardling is the cleric "Diva, the Blessed," a special edition figure released by Reaper Miniatures for their 25th anniversary this year.

Second, a unit of Lesser Warbeasts (hounds, in this case) accompanied by a handler, again for the "Men of the West." Dogs are Reaper Bones (and far from my best work) while the handler is a Crusader Warlord that I received as a free bonus figure in my most recent order from Gripping Beast - who, I just realized, I managed to miss painting the strap holding his shield in place.  I'll fix that tomorrow.

Finally, Reaper Miniatures #03109 "Kouraneth, Evil Knight," who will be serving as the general of my "Coalition of Evil" retinue for Dragon Rampant.  Accompanying him is his beloved pet, "Lil' Pinchums," a metal scorpion, also by Reaper, that I dug out of my bits box to fill some empty space on Kouraneth's base.