HEY VERN!

 Well, another Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge is in the books, and I didn't finish these in time to get them entered. C'est la vie; I did phenomenally well for myself this year in the AHPC, having painted 89 figures between December 21st 2025 and March 21st 2026 (and I'm realizing as I go over my spreadsheets that I've missed updating my tracker here on the blog somewhere along the line, so making sure that gets fixed!). I'm very proud of my work and am looking forward to participating again next year. That being said, on to what I've finished today!

If you're over a certain age, you might remember Ernest P. Worrell. A bumbling, accident-prone handyman played by actor Jim Varney, Ernest originated in a series of regional TV ads in the American South - promoting Sprite, Mello Yello, gas station coffee, car dealerships, dentists' offices, ice cream and more. Every ad was filmed from the perspective of Ernest's unseen neighbor "Vern" as Ernest addresses him with a sales pitch. The popularity of these ads was relayed into a series of films in the early 90s, seeing Ernest go to Camp, go to Jail, Save Christmas, and be Scared Stupid. Ernest Scared Stupid was a staple viewing in my childhood and my primary touchstone for the character. Since being reintroduced to Ernest a few years back, it's become a regular Halloween Night watch for me, with Ernest Saves Christmas being mandatory December viewing. 

Well wouldn't you know it, I found a miniature that's the spitting image of Ernest P. Worrell. This is "Skeeter" from Recreational Conflict's "Blitzkringle" line of Christmas-themed miniatures. The grin is a little uncanny, but is not a terrible effort at capturing Jim Varney's rubberfaced brand of comedy. 

And here's a clip for those unfamiliar.

Moving on...

Next up we've got three Boy Scouts from Reaper Miniatures' metal Chronoscope range. These are tiny sculpts! 

We've got a skinny kid in shorts, a fat kid in shorts and a skinny kid in slacks. I was never a Boy Scout, so I had to do some research on uniform colors. Hopefully I'm not on some watch list now for googling "Boy Scout Uniforms."

Finally, we have a 1973 Mustang Mach 1 from Miniature Tanks Company. This is a single piece 3D print, painted with "The Floor is Lava" colorshift paint from Turbodork for a bit of extra pizzazz. I'm really enjoying the modern vehicles I've gotten from them, and am looking forward to ordering more for my table.

So let's update the tracker and get it correct this time!

Miniatures Acquired: 57

Miniatures Painted: 86

Terrain Acquired: 0

Terrain Painted: 2

Scatter Acquired: 0

Scatter Painted: 2