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.

A hobby weekend

Last weekend was looking to be a tame, stay at home and not do much sort of affair.  That lasted until 5th Monday (sometimes known as Friday in places that aren't my work) kicked in and the work crew decided we needed beers to help ease the pain.  So far, a not uncommon tale for the end of a week.

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.

Gruntz Batrep - Rear guard action

This report is from a game Nick and I played a week ago.  Both of us were a little rusty, but the rules came back pretty quickly.

The Lt didn't like how this briefing was going.  By the look on his face, neither did Capt Al Tharki.  Things had been going great.  They'd fought the United Nebula Space Command (UNSC) peace keepers and pushed them back.  The Federation's own recon units were in other areas so they had been fighting mercenaries of one unit or another and more than holding their own.

The abandoned base.  Only the scouts and snipers are in residence.

Updated Online army builder page

I've not had energy for much of anything gaming the last month.  I've played a couple of games of Gruntz with Rhys as well as a few X-Wing games.  Nothing worth blogging about.  I've also not picked up a paint brush in so long I'm not sure I remember how.

I did update the online army builder page on my Manufacturer links page, however.

I've got a couple of games scheduled in the next week so I will hopefully have something worth posting soon.  Perhaps they'll even get my mojo back.

Gruntz Batrep - Patrol action on Malvee

Rhys played his first game of Gruntz the other day.  He has been collecting his army slowly over the last couple of months and I've been painting them for him.  He gets units or vehicles as rewards for being good at school.  As I've mentioned before, Rhys is special needs and having that goal helps.  I print out a picture of the model he's aiming for that week and put it in his folder so the teacher can remind him of his goal when necessary.

The buildings are from the Ion Age line.  I need to take a moment to gush here.  I've seen them online, and they look good, but I was not prepared for the quality of what I got.  These are on a par with the best in the business.  Sharp, clean and clever.  Buy some.  You will not regret it.  the turrets that come with these fit on their vehicles as well, giving you a huge number of options for both vics and buildings.

The following battle report is a squad level game between Rhys' Raiders and the 47th Infiltration Company.  We played on a single 2ft x 2ft table tile.

Star Wars Armada - Coming soon

Fantasy Flight Games has just announced another game off of their Star Wars license.  Star Wars Armada, scheduled for release in early 2015, will bring fleet battles to the table top.

Picture from Fantasy Flight Games.  

Captain Raouf Al-Tharki - 47th Infiltration Company

Captain Raouf Al-Tharki, recently promoted from command of the 47th Infiltration Company's infantry platoon, now commands the 47th Company, 12th Al-Thani Infiltration Battalion.

Rebel Minis Sahadeen officer.

A bit of Star Wars Silliness

I came across this awhile ago and forgot to post.

What's your Star Wars name?

15mm Sci/Fi - Rhys' Raiders Bug APC

The Raiders are well known on the battlefields of the Fury March.  They are masters at combined arms, using tanks, infantry and mechs in close cooperation.  They use a common hull for both tanks and APCs, simplifying their logistics and maintenance.

The Bug APC is the standard model APC for the Raiders.  Able to carry ten fully equipped infantry/scouts it is fast and nimble.  

Bug APC of Rhys' Raiders.

Gruntz 15mm - Earth Force APC

I buy a lot of stuff from Rebel Minis.  They are located in the US, so no extortion from the Royal Mail.  They have great service and good sculpts, including my favorites, the Viper mechs.  I've built quite a bit of my 15mm collection out of their models.  They boys both want their own models and due to all of the above factors I ordered theirs from Rebel.

Rhys got his first, which is what drove Owyn's "need" for models of his own.  They both earned infantry right off the bat.  They had to be good at school to get their rewards, and one bad day cancelled the whole week.  Rhys' infantry can be found in this post.  He wanted them to look like clones.

To sweeten the deal I also bought them each a couple of vics.  Just like the infantry I queued up all of the various vehicles on the web site and let them choose what they wanted.  Rhys chose the Earth Force APC.

Turtle Mk 1 tank.

In Her Majesty's Name - Manufacturers updated

I've been studying for a professional certification at work.  The kind where they fire you if you don't get it.  Pretty much all of my free time has been spent on that, oddly, however I did take a couple of minutes to update the links on my Manufacturers page, specifically for the Steam Punk / VSF sellers.

Please check it out, as well as all of the others.  If you have any to add that I have missed I'd be happy to throw them on there.

Bloggers for Charity

For anyone interested in the French and Indian War (FIW) or Queen Anne's war as it was known, this is a chance to pick up some very nice, painted, figures for a reasonable price.  Or, if you are awesome, to pay way too much for said figures as they are for charity.

Please go over to the Bloggers for Charity site and bid on one, (or more) of the lots and make this a success.

Here are some of the pictures on my painting table.

Edit:  Someone has bid 15 quid on my entry.  I'm pleased that they have been that well received.  I wish you well of them.

The XX Legion

I'm currently in the UK for a brief vacation.  We stopped in Bath a couple of days ago and one of the exhibits talked about the XX Legion.  Their symbol was the boar and there is the remains of a carving as well as a re-creation of what it would have looked like when it was created.

An actual boar of the XXth Legion, recovered at Bath.

The Police sketch artist version of the boar.

History - WWI Marine discharge papers

For Christmas my parents got me a discharge certificate for a Marine from WWI.  I just recently got it framed and mounted.

This is hand written, with the personal information added later.  It is signed by the Commandant, Major General George Barnett.

Major General George Barnett

I know nothing about Harry Haffner, other than that he served aboard Parris Island, so did not fight in France.  This is a fascinating piece of history and I'm pleased to have it.  Once the basement gets finished this will hang on one of the walls of the man cave.

Exeter or Bust!

In a week the family and I will be heading back to ol' Blighty for an eight day vacation.  It's hard to believe that we haven't been back in ten years now.  We'll be staying down around Exeter, except for two nights in London on the way home.  If any of my British readers have any "must see's" down in the South West, I'd love to have your recommendations.