The 15th Annual Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge

 

It's time!

Head over to the Challenge blog to see the full announcement for Challenge XV.

It's going to be hellishly good fun! :)

Curt

The 14th Annual Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge

It's that time of year again! 

Feel free to head over to the Challenge blog to see the full announcement for Challenge XIV.

It's going to be great!

Curt

The Thirteenth Annual Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge

 

Hi All!

It is November 20th, and with the coming of winter it is also time to plan for the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge!   

For this season, our 13th, we'll be making our way through the film lot of 'AHPC Studios, GmbH', a loose cluster of stages, workshops, offices and film sets. It is here that we will offer participants to partake various Silver Screen themes. More on the Challenge here. 

Opening Entry for the 12th Annual Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge - Marvin the Martian

Hello All!

Well here we are. After weeks of journeying we find ourselves on the outskirts of the Challenge XII Quadrant. 

I've decided to land on the planet of Klendathu, and discovered I was not alone in my explorations. A hostile alien, calling himself Marvin, is bound and determined on invasion and subjugation. Knowing the history of this planet, I tried to talk sense into the little fella, but he will have none of it, being bound and determined to claim this world for Mars.  I think it will all end in tears (if not disintegration), so I decided to beat a hasty retreat to my lander.

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For our first entry I thought it apropos to start with the character featured on this year's Challenge poster, the persistently pugnacious 'Marvin the Martian'.

Marvin is a 3D print I came across while browsing through Thingiverse (thank you Amandasubic). Since he's sort of a wee chap, I scaled him up to around 40mm so he'll be noticed in the display cabinet. As you can see, I've kept it fairly simple for his paintjob. I wanted to keep true to how he was depicted in Looney Tunes, so I stuck to blocky, vibrant colours, with just a bit of edge highlighting. 

Next up: A Femme Fatale

- Curt

The Twelfth Annual Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge

  

Hey y'all, it's November 20th, and you know what that means. Yes! It's time for the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge!   Head over to the Challenge blog to get the details.

See you there!

Curt

Noel Williams

Yesterday I received the very sad news that our friend Noel Williams had passed away this August.

Fellow participants of the Painting Challenge know Noel well from his wonderfully creative, loquacious and hilarious submissions to our little event (he was a poet after all).  I always knew, that when a Noel entry was posted, that I'd be entertained by his great wit, impressed by his furious industry and invigorated by his ebullient enthusiasm. 

He will be greatly missed.

Wishing you smooth sailing and open skies, Noel.

-Curt

The Eleventh Annual Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge Begins in One Month!

Let's get old school.

Hey, it's November 20th.  Here in the Canadian prairies that means that the snow is in the air, the frost is on the trees and this hobbyist is ready to take solace in the warm indoors, his hobby desk and some good company. 

Welcome to the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge!

For our 11th edition of the Challenge we'll be adventuring through the dark vaults and dim passageways of... 'The Chambers of Challenge'. <cue ominous organ music>

For more information, head over to the Challenge Blog.

Curt Actual Out.

The Analogue Hobbies Quarantine Challenge

Hi All!

A few weeks ago, when the world was realising that the Covid-19 outbreak was escalating to be a VERY serious thing, we were just beginning to wrap-up the 10th Annual Painting Challenge. With more and more people going into isolation, keeping safe and taking care of those around them I thought it might be helpful to provide a space for people to keep in touch, post their hobby projects and to simply unwind. So here I present 'The Analogue Hobbies Quarantine Challenge'.

- Curt

'For Joshua' - Red Dragon and Knights at O'Grady's Gulch

O'Grady's Gulch asks us to paint a figure for a friend and so I thought this was a suitable spot for me to offer my submission to James' poignant and very worthy 'For Joshua' project.

I excavated through my Lead Shed to see if I had something suitable, and was delighted to come across this old chestnut. Here we have a very OOP Imperial Dragon from GW's venerable, but excellent 10mm Warmaster range.

A nice lump of metal and suitably imposing on the battlefield. 

Also included is a unit of Bretonnian knights, ready to charge and get gloriously char broiled in their plate armour. 'Off you go, good lads. I hope you put on your SPF 1 Billion...'

As GW also made a 10mm  'Battle of the Five Armie's boxed set years ago, I think, in a pinch, he'd also make a spiffing (smoking? smoldering?) Smaug.

I hope you like them James.

Curt

Agnes Baker - Entry #2 to AHPCX

Hi All!

As I need to traverse Challenge Island for a future entry I've prepared this lass as my transit fee on Sarah's Balloon. 

This is Agnes Baker, one of our favourite characters in Fantasy Flight Games' series of Cthulhu-themed games. As a backdrop I've included Agnes' character card from 'Mansions of Madness', but she is also featured in 'Eldritch Horror', 'Arkham Horror', 'Elder Sign' and the 'Arkham Horror - The Card Game' (Yes, I am a bit of a Cthulhu fanboi, er, cultist).

To many, Agnes is just a simple waitress, working shifts at Thelma's Diner in Arkham, but little do they know that behind that placid demeanour Agnes is in fact a powerful reincarnated witch from ancient times. In the game Agnes is quite kick-ass, using all sorts of nasty arcane magic, and with the right 'build' can be quite the combat monster.

This figure is from the 'Mansions of Madness' boxed set, which produces its characters and monsters in a semi-soft plastic. They can be a little hit-or-miss in definition and mold quality, but Anges is one of the better ones. I painted her to resemble the art on her character card and chose to use a fairly punchy colour palette to help players spot her on the tabletop.

I have few other ladies from Arkham waiting in the painting queue, but I'll need to be judicious in doling them out for my anticipated air travel (sort of like AirMiles).

Where will I be going for this balloon journey? Hmm, I think 'Bromley's Butte' looks quite interesting and is reportedly supposed to have great views of the Island - I'll have to do a... reconnaissance. See you when I land!

-Curt

Hook - Entry #1 for AHPCX

The Captain twirls his moustache and glowers at the headland. Another blasted reef! He wanted to make landfall at the shallows. He'll have to have a few choice words with that fathead First Mate of his, Smee.  That git's navigation is for the birds. Oh well, at least they were here, they were here before anybody else AND, better yet, there was not a cursed crocodile in sight.  

He draws his cutlass and points to the distant shore and roars to the crew, 'There it is mateys! Challenge Island! The land of all our hearts' desires. Prepare the jolly boats, we make for shore within the glass. We camp inland tonight and then make for our next waypoint tomorrow. I want US to be the first to find where... X MARKS THE SPOT!!'

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This year for the 10th edition of the Painting Challenge we have a new addition to our regular programming in the form of 'Challenge Island'. On the Island participants are invited to travel to various named locations, completing a variety of hobby challenges, as they make their way to the summit of Snow Lord's Peak, where 'X Marks the Spot'. Once there they have to complete a final nefarious unique hobby task in order to claim their prize. 

Now, how fun is that?! I'll tell ya: Heaps of fun. It's going to be a blast.

So, to kick off the event I made landfall at 'Reidy's Reef' on The Path of the New Shiny. 

The hobby challenge at this location asks us: to 'paint up a miniature with a nautical theme, be it boat, fish, sailor/pirate or aquatic terrain. Bonus points will be awarded if this is a new project for you, or that the motive power of the model(s) is provided by sails.' 

Fair enough. I managed to dig up a figure from the 'On the Seven Seas' Nickstarter from a few years ago and found this excellent casting of a childhood favourite of mine, 'Hook'. 

Granted, it's a fast job, but Citadel's new(ish) Contrast Paints came to the rescue and helped me streamline a few steps.

My plan is to award the Captain to another worthy adventurer who makes the summit and finds where X marks the spot.

Thanks for dropping in and Happy Holidays everyone!

-Curt

'X Marks the Spot!' The 10th Annual Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge

It's that time of year again! If you're interested in participating in the event, head over to the Painting Challenge blog to see what shenanigans are being planned this year.

Opening Entry to AHPC IX: Frodo & Sam - The Beginning of the Fellowship

In keeping with tradition, I try to open the show with the first entry of the Painting Challenge. 

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This past summer I began reading through the Tolkien canon following the chronological order of the stories. As I've not read the core books since my childhood the process has largely been a study in nostalgia. 

In working through the books what really impressed me was the tremendous importance Tolkien placed on value of allies, friends and companionship. This made me reflect that I'm very thankful for all the great friends I've made over the past eight years of the Challenge, and I resolved to make 'Fellowship' serve as the overarching theme for this edition.

Right, enough faffing about. 

Here we have the starting pair of the 'Fellowship of the Ring', Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee. 

These are from the original metal range offered by Games Workshop at the start of the Peter Jackson trilogy. I have some of the more recent plastics, and while the animation and quality is quite good I find they still lack the crispness and definition of the earlier metal sculpts. 

Of course source material for the painting was easy to come by, with loads of books and movie stills available both in the home library and on the net.

The big base is a limited edition resin cast of Balin's Tomb which was offered by GW after the release of the first film. I actually forgot I had it, being it was buried in the shadowy depths of the Lead Shed. I only discovered when I was looking for some LotR figures after  being inspired re-reading the books.  

It's a nicely crafted piece, with loads of detail and nifty labeled base-slots for each of the nine companions of The Fellowship. I did a quick series of layered coats with the airbrush, a few washes and then picked out the details with a fine brush. I wasn't wild about the GW branding so I just left it black, but I did a bit of ink blending with 'The Fellowship' raised label and the character names to give them a graduated red-gold effect.

My plan is to add the remaining members to the Fellowship over the duration of the Painting Challenge, hopefully completing it before it wraps-up in March.

To paraphrase Bilbo, every great adventure begins with a first step. :)

Next Up: Some WWII Coastal Ships from 'Cruel Seas'

'Fellowship': Challenge IX Begins December 21st

The Ninth Annual Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge has just been annonced. Head over to the Challenge blog to get the details. 

Entry #2 to AHPC VIII: Four Heroes from 'Mansions of Madness'

Just a small entry (sorry, still no Ortona yet). This time it's four investigator/heroes from 'Mansions of Madness'. 

The 2nd edition of Fantasy Flight Games' 'Mansions of Madness' has become a well-enjoyed staple within our group since it was released almost two years ago. The first edition used a One-Against-Many game mechanic, where one player played the nasties of the 'Mansion', while the rest of the players worked cooperatively to uncover the mysteries and survive. This mechanism has worked well with many other FFG games (Descent, Imperial Assault, etc.) but its implementation was flawed in MoM to the extent that whoever played the 'Mansion' could quite easily overwhelm the investigators in fairly quick order. 

The publishers, to their credit, addressed this with their 2nd edition by using an app to run the Mansion, thereby allowing the players to work together as a cohesive team. It's been an unqualified success with our group, with us being able to enjoy not only all the old expansions, but the new content as well. I've even used it at work as a team building exercise (nothing like avoiding being eaten by a Shoggoth to bring a group of people together)!

The base game comes with a load of plastic miniatures to represent both the investigators and the various eldritch horrors they encounter. The minis are roughly 28mm in scale and for the most part are rendered quite well. My main criticism is with the quality of the plastic  itself, as the early releases were a somewhat soft, making them an absolute swine to remove mold lines and clean-up flash. Thankfully, the more recent models use a harder plastic which is much easier to work with.

Anyway, until now I've been using other miniatures from my collection to represent the heroes, but thought it'd be fun I'd try to get a bunch of the stock ones done-up during the Challenge. So, here are four heroes from the core set: Mandy Thompson, Ashcan Pete  and his K9 companion 'Duke' and Gloria Goldberg. 

Fairly basic paintjobs on the whole. I tried to keep the colours punchy and as close to the game art as possible. After the hassle of preparing the figures they were actually pretty fun to paint.

I trimmed away the original plastic bases and replaced them with clear acrylic ones. I quite like the look of them, especially with tile-based games. 

I'll see if I can get a few more done over the Challenge and perhaps I'll try to do-up one or two of the beasties as well. 

Thanks for dropping in folks. I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas!

Curt