Number of models painted:	3	Number of points :	685
Hours spent painting:	9	Crisis level (1-5):	1

Exocrine, 1, N/A, 165 points 

Dactylis, 1, N/A, 200 points 

Trygon, 1, N/A, 320 points

This month I decided to switch it up from the horde of smaller minis and batch painting to the very different task of painting up some of my Monstrous Creatures. I really love this side of the Tyrainds in Epic and was always a little upset that the horde didn’t get some of these bigger bugs to play with in 40K back in the 90’s. So, after getting back into the hobby, I was very pleasantly surprised to discover the Inquisitor Magazine which came out in the US back in the day and the Armourcast models that they produced alongside it. Here are two of the four made by armourcast  that I am painting for the challenge, aiming for as close to the old Epic paint schemes as possible.  Also in this picture is something a little rarer (as in currently one of a kind), in the form of the Trygon. This recently got rules made by one of the hardest working 2nd Edition fanatics – Philip Prentis who does great work creating new rules for this old system, and the model was scaled and printed out for me by another hard working fanatic -Tom Boyd, who under the moniker Oldhammer30k works equally as hard creating models for those that missed out first time around. Im really pleased to have painted up something that both of them worked on as I love that this old system, can through their hard work, still get new content all these years on! 

Number of models painted:	11	Number of points :	389
Hours spent painting:	12	Crisis level (1-5):	0

Army entry:  

 3 Tyranid Warriors 165  Boneswords 

8 Genestealers (bonus) 224

I went hard in the first month and got a lot of my troops done.  I have several future months that I have already started.  I decided that I had to break into bonus material.  I have put my chrisis level at 0.  I know the scale is 1-5 but I’m really barely ticking over.  Going to spend the rest of this month getting a couple more tactical squads done for my rogue trader guard.

These genestealers are quite recent sculpts.  I got them cheap to use some parts for repair of my ‘classic’ figures but didn’t end up using any of this 8.  I’ve painted them with the same scheme as the rest of the army rather than the blue/purple traditional scheme of my genestealer cult and they came out beautifully.  I did break one at the ankle and reattached with an appropriate squig for additional support.

I was going to paint some 3d printed gargoyles but have been having trouble with them – fragile and finiky.  I’ve bought some newer gargoyles (I know – but I am doing a nice 2nd ed paint job on them) and they will be a future bonus addition.

I have been magnetizing all my figures and have found the perfect sized magnet to fit under the 25mm standard bases.  This is letting me store figures easily and not horde packaging materials.  I have not completed any bingos this month but have several in the works in the background.

Number of models painted:	30	Number of points :	421
Hours spent painting:	13	Crisis level (1-5):	2

Army entry:

Greater Demon (280), Champion of Khorne riding Juggernaut of Khorne (141), 28 spiders, 421 pts Midnight has come 

And the leather’s strapped on,

Evil is at our command.

• Evil Has No Boundries, Slayer (1983)

The Mark07 playlist continues to shred. My models this month flew off the table – stress-free and enjoyable. I’ve wanted to paint the skanky Keeper of Secrets for so long, there was no sitting and staring, trying to decide upon a plan of attack. Just a very quick evening of painting the model to match the Keeper in my head. The Juggernaut – Chungus Bloodfart – took some reflection to determine the right color palette, but was overall a quick task. I did add unneeded complexity to my life by painting 28 unplanned minis, but I was so inspired by the Uluru campaign that I went right to the hobby store to buy a bunch of Wargames Atlantic spider miniatures. Despite the awkwardness of assembling the large spiders, they were painter-friendly, detailed, and enjoyable to paint.

You can find more photos of my models at my blog, http://www.giantpygmy.com and on Instagram @PygmyHippo.

Number of models painted: 5		Number of points :	235
Hours spent painting: 15		Crisis level (1-5):	1

Army entry:
5 Orgryns – 235 points

Snippet (250 words): Month 2! Ogryn time!! These beasts were a really nice change of pace after cranking out 30 infantry last month. The colour scheme was exactly the same as the regular guardsmen, so no stress there. I haven’t painted any medium-large metal models like this for a long time – it’s easy to forget how huge they are until you place them next to some normal sized infantry (which they absolutely dwarf). Having extra space on the base allowed me to place some decent size skulls and logs. Overall I’m very happy with them!

Next month I’m planning on doing the Command Squad, plus one or two characters, and maybe some tests for how I’ll paint those three tanks..! Very inspired by all the great armies seen in the first month, onwards!

Number of models painted:	1	Number of points :	205
Hours spent painting:	10	Crisis level (1-5):	3

 Leman Russ, 1, No wargear, 205 points

This month was a big change from the previous one, where I painted 18 models. My friend Dave kindly provided an old Leman Russ kit that had seen better days. I stripped it down as best I could to give it more of a streamlined appearance, and then painted it. I’ve never painted this kit before, or done this kind of Imperial Guard paint job — all my RT Guard vehicles are in very simple mono-colour schemes – so this was a little bit of a challenge for me. I did the camo scheme with two coloured primers and masking tape: a first for me!

For the most part, the kit is original, although I have added a few miscellaneous bits on the back, as well as some new vent covers on the engine deck, since the old ones had some plastic-cement melting. If you look closely, I think you’ll see a fair bit of missed detail and damage, but for the tabletop I’m not too unhappy with it.

The idea behind the paint scheme was to do a pretty traditional Guard colour scheme and then “vandalise” it to represent the fact that the converts who deserted with the vehicle just went at it with some white and red paint. Thus the crossed-out unit markings and defaced aquilas. The runes of Chaos are on the dozer blade simply because it’s the largest flat surface on the model!

Number of models painted:	6	Number of points :	205
Hours spent painting:	8	Crisis level (1-5):	2

6 Chaos Marines with Modern Heavy Plasma Gun and 5 Bolters

Well, Month 2 and getting in the swing now. I decided to paint up some recent recruits to the cause of Lord Huron, but made sure they were watched…

I have painted five Chaos Marines with bolters that are in a half/half scheme. It was tricky trying to work out how to show that some Marines used to belong to other Chapters before their eyes were opened to the hypocrisy of the Imperium, before they fully joined the Corsairs. Inspired by Graham McNeill’s Ultramarines books, and the Corsair Lore, I decided to paint them in a half/half scheme with their old Chapter Badges obliterated by red paint. I will put on the Corsair fist symbol when they turn up.. The “recruits” are monitored by a full-fledged Red Corsair, who happens to be toting a (liberated) Heavy Plasma Gun and is ready to vaporise any displays of cowardice or treachery.

I have checked off some Bingo objectives, which I should have noticed earlier – most of these models have been stripped of their old paint jobs and restored. I have tried some OSL on the Heavy Plasma, but feel I might revisit it later and improve on it. The same model is also a fun combination of parts I had from other peoples junk piles – Tactical Rock is essential for the proper posing!

Anyway, onto next month! FOR HURON!

Number of models painted:	5	Number of points :	203
Hours spent painting:	30	Crisis level (1-5):	5

Squad Arcturus, 5 Veteran Assault Marines, Power Fist & Plasma Pistol; 3x Bolt Pistol & Chainsword; Flamer 

Short and sweet this month because I’m about to leave for our family spring break trip.  This month I finished the Veteran Assault squad I painted half of last month.  After having my standard marines get bogged down in melee too often, I am excited to get these guys on the table to hopefully hack and slash their way to rapid victory.  Crisis level was at the max this month since I was losing a week of painting time and the organizers will tell you I’m the kind of participant who uses every single minute available for the challenge.  At the start of the week I thought for sure I would have to use my mulligan but some marathon paint sessions this week helped me get this unit finished just in time.  I will be literally editing the photos and sending my entry while standing in line at the airport.  Thanks to all those who work to make this happen and hats off to my fellow participants who are all turning in amazing work.  We are headed to the Caribbean for the first time and I’m going to learn to windsurf (or crash many times trying).  What could be more Cowabunga than that?  See you all next month!

Number of models painted:	6	Number of points :	391
Hours spent painting:	20	Crisis level (1-5):	4

 Gurdian Squad, 5 models, 2 Shuriken catapult, Power Sword, 71 pointsTempest Grav Tank, 1 model, 320 points

Ok the crisis level was dialed up for this 2nd month. I got really distracted by a reaver titan project for the better part of the month and in the end had only 9 days to finish the pledge. I switched around  and opted for the characterful RT guardian squad instead of the planned aspect warriors that I think would take more effort to complete. I had already begun and was halfway finished with the mighty tempest gravtank so that was actually less stressful to complete than the guardians.

Going in to the third month I recon the problem with distracting side projects will continue, I have some plague marines waiting to be touched up before getting them on the battlefield so the crisis level will most likely stay high!

/ Relentlessbarrage

Number of models painted: 10		Number of points : 368
Hours spent painting: 15 (approx.)		Crisis level (1-5): 3

Unit 01: Swooping Hawk Squad [112 pts]: 4x Swooping Hawk [28 pts] (Lasgun, Laspistol, Swooping Hawk Grenade Pack, Swooping Hawk Wings)

Unit 02: Swooping Hawk Squad [112 pts]: 4x Swooping Hawk [28 pts] (Lasgun, Laspistol, Swooping Hawk Grenade Pack, Swooping Hawk Wings)

Unit 03: Swooping Hawk Exarch [72 pts]: Exarch (Lasgun, Laspistol, Swooping Hawk Grenade Pack, Swooping Hawk Wings)

Unit 04: Swooping Hawk Exarch [72 pts]: Exarch (Lasgun, Laspistol, Swooping Hawk Grenade Pack, Swooping Hawk Wings)

Month two came and went in a flash. Despite fewer models than last month, it fell much more stressful – spring has come and nature waits for no man with its yardwork demands! I finished my second slice of a unit of Swooping Hawks plus Exarch and then decided to add in a second, bonus unit and Exarch to wrap up all the ‘Hawks in my collection. I painted these a little differently than my original squad from a few challenges ago. Instead of doing edge highlighting, I attempted to do some down and dirty volume highlights – which I’ve never tried before – and I did a simpler drybrush on the wings. I was a bit pressed for time and the thought of edge highlighting all those feathers defeated me before I even started. I think it turned out pretty decent, even if the result is a bit more subdued than my original squad. I was glad to get some new paint on these fellows – the original models were blue and white blobs, slapped in the traditional “two thick coats” technique. Even if these guys aren’t perfect, they are leaps and bounds better than where they used to be!

On the gaming front, the kid and I have continued racking up our second edition games. Among the games this month, we pitted some freshly painted Dark Reapers against last challenge’s Tyranids. In a memorable moment, a detonating Wraithguard sucked a lictor into the warp and Maugan Ra stood strong in the flames of multiple Gargoyle models. Ultimately, the Tyranids were destroyed, but they took a good number of Space Elves with them!

Till next month!