Hello everyone and hope everyone is safe and well. So we are back for season 2 and I have to say what I have seen in the group chat everyone has stepped up and there is some very cool projects underway. So month 1 for me got of to a great start working on both beastman and cultist units then like many hobbyists I hit a bit of a brick wall and had little motivation for much else. (ed. I sure know that feeling! Great that you get through it) Luckily, I managed to finish my champion of chaos to knock my points up. So here they are: 10x Cultist converted for Necromunda Orlocks, 1x Chaos champion converted from a wolf scout, 1x Beastman Champion. Hope everyone else had fun and look forward to seeing everyone’s work.  George. 

With this month’s entry I had great enjoyment in painting these classic RT plastics and as they are so limited in details, they painted up really fast and I had the 10 painted within a week. The multipart aspect of them really appeals to me also to create individual poses and make them all a little unique. Luckily I had a bag full of arms and weapons to choose from and I couldn’t resist the tubular rocket launcher and used that for one of the Eavy weapon boyz. Finally I painted the squig catapult which was fairly straight forward and again it painted itself almost after a yellow base and an orange wash in places. I just added the black sections and it was finished. Sadly looking through the catalogue I am missing the squig ammo pod that comes with it. (ed. But luckily the catapult, the boyz and everything else looks so awesome that no one will notice!) But it is positioned in a way that it looks like it has just launched the poor hapless squig swarms into the laps of the enemy. Painting yellow can be a real bugbear for people, but I will share my secret with you here as I never have any issues with yellow. First make sure your models are primed white. As white as snow preferably. Next get some Bad Moon Yellow from the Vallejo Game Color range and mix that in 50/50 with Yellow ink. Then apply that miz using a size 1 or 2 brush to the area that you want to color. Once that coat is dry I would layer another thin coat over the dried area before proceeding to the next stage. Once the yellow is dry I will use a VMA orange and thin it out with water.. And I use this airbrush paint as a wash of sorts as I like how thin the paint is and the color is so vibrant and warm in color. I carefully apply the thinned out orange at the base on the areas where there will be shading to create tone. Keep the paint thin and not wash over the whole model for best results. Pin point the areas where you need warmth and tone and Just brush on in lower areas like around the base of a shoulder pad for example. When the orange is dry you can highlight the raised areas of the yellow using VMC Ivory. Using a detail brush such as a 0 sized brush, line in the raised area and you can try feather blending the ivory if you feel confident. And for a final highlight you can use white to further embolden the edging. Hope that helps as painting yellow can be challenging to pull off for some painters out there. (ed. I really enjoyed this detailed description of your work!) Now on to next month which will entail a mob of gretchin, the runtherd and the warboss. Time to get cracking as I really want to start playing 2nd ed 40K again!

Second Lieutenant M.R. Harrigan stepped off the Devourer Dropship after it made landing on planet and worked his way through the busy beachhead to meet with Major Schaefer on the perimeter.  “Harrigan!! Damn good to see you!” Schaefer bellowed when Harrigan approached the command post.  Schaefer quickly filled Harrigan in with the sit-rep; Chaos forces were pushing back against the limited beachhead and the perimeter was slowly contracting.  Captain Hawk’s platoon landed on planet and was quickly assigned to shore up the perimeter in a location that had taken heavy casualties. “Harrigan, the situation is dire.  Hawk landed without much in the way of heavy support.  We were able to get some artillery fire from a Basilisk, and support from a Leman Russ, but besides them and our squad crewed weapons we have no heavy support.  I need you to scare up some heavy weapons.  I don’t care how you do it.  You’re the requisition king, make it happen!” Harrigan fired off a smart salute, turned out of the CP and started giving orders to Private Blaine, his radio operator.  Schaeffer smiled, secure in the knowledge if anyone could get the necessary equipment it would be Harrigan….

This months entry is a command squad weighing in at 88 points.  I could say I’ve added a few points of war gear but I’ll stick with what I wrote in my initial write up. I came close to finishing a squad but figured rather than crushing myself to get it done “on-time” and having to go back and touch it up I’ll just do all the highlighting and see if I can get back on track next month.I also decided to write up a little flavor text in true old school style!  Don’t worry though, I’m still at the very edge of the deadline! (ed. Haha! We expected nothing less of you! Time Master)

-Wachtmeister

Check out Wachtmeister’s blog here

Wow. First time in one of these challenges and I’m already experiencing the dread of the looming deadline. My first idea for this month was painting 6 tactical marines, my cheapest unit, to start the challenge with the most miniatures per month. But my plan clashed with reality when I realised I only had 4 days left and 3 marines done… 99 points out of 200. What can I say? Real Life got in the way. (ed. We all know that feeling I am sure! I like your fighting spirit getting these guys to the finish line. Kudos!) Then I realised I could salvage this mess if I managed to paint one more miniature: a terminator with an assault cannon valued at 104 points. That would allow me to reach 203 points and avoid the embarrassment of a first-month mulligan. Phew. For the painting itself, I’m trying something new for this month: using a wet palette and a more “painterly” look, with many layers of lightning with diluted paint, trying to make the red pop. I’m not a very good painter, but I hope this style will make my imprecise brushstrokes feel intentional rather than accidental. I don’t think I managed to explain myself, but that’s for the better; it will make everything sound more mysterious than it really is. All in all, I’m happy with the result. For the red, I’m using Citadel Mephiston Red, Coat d’Arms Blood Red and Coat d’Arms Angel Red. BR, Rodrigo.

I selected this first squad as my initial entry because I felt it is the back bone of the space marines squad, it only seemed right to start with them. I’ve been meaning to paint these guys for years and I’m glad to finally have a reason to do it. (ed. I am really glad to give you a reason then. They look splendid!)

Phew… A close call ! Pledge done by the 25th ! =D But it was expected. As a super low output painter, I chose to go with the highest number of figures to paint on the first month. That is going to make things easier for the rest of the Challenge. Also after one month in this challenge, I discovered it is A GOOD THING to enjoy painting gems since I had to pull 184 of them on just 10 models ! XD Overall, I’m rather happy with the Striking Scorpions. (ed. They are striking! I must say. Even if they’re Eldar. Well done!) Less so with the Guardians. (ed. Well as they are Eldar I can see where you are coming from. But painting wise I can’t – they look good to me) The white is too dirty and I need to change a few things here and there. Both squads will definetely need touch ups anyway. I intend to do that over the course of the month of April since (spoiler alert) I settled for one model to paint only. See you next month ! 

It was tough but I made it! My plan was to get 20 boyz ready and 10 got done quite quickly. But then things got in the way and the last day I realized I’ll just do the warboss instead as painting one model is a quicker project. It took a few hours but I got him done! But then I didn’t have any glue for the Citadel flock! Could I use super glue? No, surely not! Could I leave the dogs to go shopping? No, surely not! But finally! In the evening I could drive to the store, get the wood glue and get him done! (ed. LOL that is dedication!) With a few hours to spare before 23:59. Lucky I’m in the same time zone as the good Doctor! (ed. Hey! Don’t assume my time zone!) So one Warboss and 10 Bad Moon Boyz with Boltguns ready to go!”

Hi all , Well it’s definitely been a month,it turns out I am a verrrry slow painter lol. I think starting with 14 Gretchen was a bit ambitious as I’ve got four almost finished. (ed. true to the Gretchin trope of being small and getting in the way, they still managed to show for the photo I see!) Considering it’s the largest unit I’ve ever begun in one go ,most are to highlight stage on the clothes.  I also managed to drop Naz down the stairs twice (ed. Wot? First time didn’t kill him propa?) so he has had quite a bit of attention work commitments really scuppered my attempts but it’s the largest of the units I have to do so I should be able to finish the unit and some heavy support units  next month . Hope you’re all well and stay safe 

Scout Squad Rhellion will provide much needed infiltration skills to add to their mature battle brother’s of the 4th company that I painted in the first iteration of the challenge.   I have many memories from old White Dwarf battle reports of stealthy squads (ed. typically wearing brightly coloured armour and red bolters) that deployed anywhere on the board after both opponents had set up.   A quick check of the 2nd Edition Battle Bible verified that this squad can perform such a manoeuvre making me excited to get them on the battlefield.  The only other American in this painting challenge lives only thirty minutes away from me so hopefully a #40k2ndAC battle report will be coming in the future.  (ed. Oooh! Now you have my attention! Can’t wait! Will bring popcorn) As much as I enjoyed painting those plastic 2nd edition marines in the first go around, these scouts have been my favorite miniatures to paint in the challenge so far.   The scouts have so much detail to pick out but not too much that it becomes overwhelming (see Techmarine from last season)  This was the first time I painted a squad of miniatures where every model felt like painting a character model and it was challenging but rewarding.  I’m glad I started this minis early since they took about 4 weeks total for me to finish.  Next month I’m attempting to tackle the Terminators of the Deathwing.  Follow along with my efforts in the challenge or my other painting projects at 1st Legion Chronicles

Well that was quite a lot of effort, but it’s done! Spent most of the month (once I got started) doing couple of test Guardsmen to get the scheme down. The white was too bright and clean at first but once I got the dark trim and blue down I think it works, A little bit of rust helped with this as well. (ed. Extremely well! The WWII connotations are strong with this lot. I love it!) My apologies for the heresy of no Goblin Green on the bases but I’m pretty happy with the winter theme. (ed. As a Viking, Winter bases overrule Goblin Green I say!) It’s not very 2nd edition though but I think the wonderful Perry sculpts make up for that. My pledge is an Autocannon Heavy Squad and due to the fact that they are made up of 2 sets of identical triplets they have the veteran skill ‘Slick Crew’ coming in at 128 points! The Sentinel adds another 75 taking the total to 203. I really must get a better backdrop for the next photoshoot, I’ve been using the same ratty sheet of A3 for ages…

So, the first month came and went. (ed. Preach!) I was off for a flying start, but ground to a halt quite fast due to problems with my back and neck, resulting in headaches, making it hard to sit and paint. (ed. Maybe Stand and Paint or Lie down and paint? I have more advice of this kind if you need it… no? OK!) I powered through it though, and although I feel I could’ve done better, I’m quite pleased with the result, but I think I’ll go back and polish the turd a little, when time allows. (ed. I admire your powering through! Well done!!! And It looks marvellous. Nothing to polish.) Add decals perhaps, a small banner for he lord, and clean up a highlight or two. But overall I’ll call them done. Next up is the Rune Priest, as I’m still waiting for arms and weapons to properly assemble my Blood Claws. ’till next time /D

Well! It seems I actually managed to get some traction with my first unit. 337 points is a pretty nice start. Even for Chaos. Unlike many units this one did not feel like cheating… rather I almost threw up because it felt like no matter how much I painted there were still more details, and stuff I had missed. These sculpts are quite excessive. I went for my standard Blood Skulls (TM) pattern and added in the occasional bit of hazard stripes and leopard print. Sometimes it is best just to close the eyes and truck on through. Looking at my challenge I think this was “the big one” with regards to getting through it. So now that it is out of the way, I can just lean back and relax. Yeehaaw! Did I mention that after varnishing them I dropped two of them on the floor… the sand and dust stuck to them like glue. Oh dear. Now looking ahead, I think I will try something new for the coming months – I will work a bit on everything and then when we get close to deadline I will throw in the finishing touches and write it up. Till next month suckers – Viking out!