Entry 6 - Vth Analogue Painting Challenge - 6 28mm Haradrim Riders

This is my entry for the mounts and riders bonus round for the Analogue Painting Challenge.  These are six 28mm Haradrim from Games Workshop, for Lord of the Rings.  They are led by Suladan the Serpent Lord.  Suladan was killed by Eomer on the Pelenor.

Suladan with two infantrymen

Entry 5 - Vth Analogue Painting Challenge - 8 Uruk-Hai

This is the final entry of Uruk-Hai for this challenge season, if for no other reason than the rest of my unpainted models have at least one color put on them already so are ineligible for inclusion in the challenge.

Entry 4 - Vth Annual Analogue Painting Challenge - 8 x 28mm Uruk-Hai pikes

This post is eight more Uruks for Isengard.  These are eight pikes, one of the stronger features of the army.  I actually don't play with them as much as they warrant because I hate the pikes in game.  I don't mean the rules are bad.  I hate that I am always stabbing myself with them or knocking them or other models over because of them.  The physical limitations are frustrating.

Entry 3 - Challenge - Bonus round: Cold

The first bonus round was themed: Cold.  These are each worth 50 points but, more importantly, are where you see some of the very best work in the challenge.  Competitors will often build dioramas and put extra love and attention into these entries.  I'm ahead of schedule this year so I had time to spend a bit more

This one was so obvious to me that I just had to go with it.  Villains and cold together made me think of a Dark Elf Cold One Knight.  The model is one of GW’s better efforts.  These are a huge improvement over the old models.  

Entry 2, Vth Painting Challenge - 8 Uruk-Hai swordsmen

"There were four goblin-soldiers of greater stature, swart, slant-eyed, with thick legs and large hands.  They were armed with short broad-bladed swords, not with the curved scimitars usual with Orcs; and they had bows of yew, in length and shape like the bows of Men.  Upon their shields they bore a strange device: a small white hand in the centre of a black field; on the front of their iron helms was set an S-rune, wrought of some white metal."

Eight swart, slant eyed gobin-soldiers.

Entry 1, Vth Annual Analogue Painting Challenge

This unit is six 28mm Romano-British levy from Gripping Beast.  I bought the starter army for Dux Brit from Too Fat Lardies and it includes 18 of these guys.  I had planned to paint the first six as my last entry in last year's challenge but ran out of time.  I finished them up after it was over, and haven't painted a thing since then other than some of my son's 15mm Sci/Fi.

Six levy from Gripping Beast.

It finally begins. The painting challenge is underway

The Vth annual challenge has begun and I'm off.  Having barely touched a brush in the last six months I am starting off with a small batch, just to get the juices flowing.  I've planned out my painting to reach my goal of 650 points.  Each entry is sitting in a group on the book shelf with an index card showing me when they have to be done.

WiP Romano Brits

This is the last time you will see these lads until they are displayed on the painting challenge blog.

In the mean time I've got quite the selection of models coming up.  Uruk-Hai, 15mm Sci/Fi, Celts, U.S. WWII GIs, Rohan, WW II German infantry, and a planned entry for each of the bonus rounds.  This year the majority of the painting will be the Celts since I want to get that army onto a good foundation.

It felt great to start putting paint to lead.  That first brush stroke was liberating.  I'm glad this has finally started.

All New! Painting Challenge gets its own page! Read all about it!

The Vth annual Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge is getting ready to kick off on December 5th.  As befits this pillar of the game community, Curt has given the Challenge its own blog.

The Painting Challenge page will now be located at its own address.  Curt is working on getting the first four year's content loaded into it as well so it will be the one stop shop for all things Challenge related.

The first post starts off in fine fashion by listing all of the participants (72!) as well as their stated goals and links to their blogs, if they have them.  Curt also provides some demographic data, which I always find interesting.

I love this idea.  It will give the Challenge a permanent space on the web which should really allow it to gain the attention it deserves.

Vth annual Analogue Painting Challenge

Based on my hobby activity over the last few months it would be insane of me to participate this year.  I've only gamed twice.  I haven't painted since the spring.  I haven't assembled a single model since last winter.  Of course I threw my hat in the ring.

Since there's no logical reason for me to think this is a good idea, I wend ahead and upped the bet and raised my goal by 50 points, to 650.  I barely cleared the 600 mark last year so this makes perfect sense.

The Challenge starts on December 5th.  Details can be found on Curt's blog, Analogue Hobbies.  The rules are the same as last year with a few added twists.  Curt is all sorts of clever, which makes my head hurt, but should make this the best challenge yet.

I'm madly assembling and prepping models this weekend.  I have tons of assembled and primed models already, so of course none of them will do.  We are headed into winter here so I need to get things primed while the weather is warm enough.  Once the cold sets in priming involves holding my breath in the basement.

Just the thought of the challenge has breathed new life into my hobby account.  Now I just need to keep it rolling for the next five months.  Should be easy enough.

The Analogue Painting Challenge Retrospective

The annual Analogue Painting Challenge is over.  It passed in a flash, and yet the beginning feels like it was years ago.  As is traditional, and true to my character, it's time for a quick retrospective of what I accomplished.

This year's banner.

Painting Challenge XVII - Entry fee model

The Fourth Annual Analogue Painting Challenge is wrapping up and I finally got my entry fee painted.  The theme this year was Sam Peckinpah movies and the entry fee was a model from one of those movies.

A French lancer in Maximillian's service.  About to die gloriously in a muddy river in Mexico.

Painting Challenge XVI - Bonus Round - Last Stand

  Here’s my entry for the Last Stand.  It’s Boudicca being done in by a Roman auxiliary all in 28mm.  Boudicca’s ultimate fate is not recorded, but I prefer to believe that she died fighting on the field of the Battle of Watling Street.

Top view showing all three models.

Painting Challenge XV

This entry is a 15mm Mech from Critical Mass Games.  It was part of their Kickstarter to expand the ZAS mercenaries.  It’s a big chunky resin walker with a nice few options.  They make two versions of this mech.  

Mech from CMG.

Painting Challenge XIV

This is another missed opportunity on my part.  These were intended for the casualty bonus round but then I had to go out of town at the last minute and didn’t have time to finish them.  I was also delayed because these are my first Celts and I vapor locked on doing patterns.  I just couldn’t picture what I wanted.  A few hours spent going through some of the great blogs I follow finally gelled it for me and I was off to the races.  I actually enjoyed painting these, so perhaps I should knock some more out while that feeling is strong.

Three dying Celts.  

Painting Challenge XIII - Favorite Character Bonus Round

I pondered for a few weeks trying to figure out what to paint for this round.  In the end I plumped for Aragorn.  As a teenager, reading the Lord of the Rings, Aragorn was a true heroic character.  His selflessness, courage, compassion and skill were all features that I found worthy of emulation, and in fact, influenced my development into the man I am today.  To this day, Aragorn is still one of my favorites.  Uncomplicated by any of the current fad for anti-heroes, he’s just a well developed character with widely admirable traits.  It seems fitting that Aragorn will take me above my challenge goal. 

Painting Challenge XII

Here’s my last WWII entry for the challenge.  This round consists of five more 28mm WWII GIs from Warlord.

All 25 GIs, ready to roll.

Painting Challenge XI

Another entry done for the Analog Painting Challenge.  They are ticking off like clockwork.  As long as your clock is broken and only works when you remember to wind it.

Another squad of brave GIs ready to take on the Hun.

Painting Challenge X

I finally got another entry done for the challenge.  I knew that my output would slow down once the holiday break was over and I had to return to work.  I was hoping to maintain a better pace than I have though.

One squad of GIs.  Ready for Bolt Action or Chain of Command.

Painting Challenge IX - Nazgul

The second bonus round of the annual Analogue Painting Challenge was for villains.  I painted up the Betrayer, from GW.  The two models have been sitting on my desk, primed, for over a year, so it seemed like it was time to get them done.

The Betrayer, foot and mounted.

Painting Challenge VIII - Roger's Rangers

I've hit a double on this one.  I finished eight more models for the Analogue Painting Challenge and they are also my contribution to Bloggers for Charity.  These eight models were French and Indian War Rangers, which I painted as Roger's Rangers.

Eight Roger's Rangers.