Whew!
Holy smokes. I actually made it though all, eh!?
From my last count I posted 38 entries in the final twelve hours of the Challenge. It was an amazing, final-push by many of the participants that left me buzzing through the night, updating the blog every few minutes. Great fun.
First, I want to congratulate the top three finishers in the points roster. It was a UK sweep this year with DaveD, KevH and the unstoppable AndrewS showing the world what could be achieved in three months with a small brush, a few pots of paint and a bit of glue. Bravo to the three of you!!
I will be contacting each of you regarding your prizes which have been generously provided by the following sponsors:
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On that note I wish to take this opportunity to thank all of the Challenge sponsors for their incredibly generous support. Of course the event would proceed without prizes, but they do provide a nice sparkle to all the hard work, noise and glory! So, again, I thank you!
In the coming week I will be announcing voting and selection for Challenger's Choice, People's Choice, Sarah's Choice and Judge's Choice. So please stay tuned...
In the coming week I will be announcing voting and selection for Challenger's Choice, People's Choice, Sarah's Choice and Judge's Choice. So please stay tuned...
One of the great surprises to me was the overall success of the theme bonus rounds. I was really delighted by the response to them, both by the Challengers and from the viewing public. I received many emails from visitors who thought this to be one of the strongest elements of the event. I will take the lessons learned from the process and think of how to improve it for the next time.
And yes, there will be a next time, but with qualifications. Four years ago the Challenge started out as a very small affair, but it has gained support and greater interest over the intervening years. This year I have to admit I barely kept it all together. It was a hell of a lot of fun but I think I may have hit the limits of my meagre abilities. But don't worry, I have a few ideas for improvements for next time so rest assured, the show will go on.
Finally and most importantly, I wish to thank all the Challengers for their support, enthusiasm and tremendous good will during the event. The Challenge is all about you and your efforts, and in both of these things you put on an incredible show of talent, energy and good sportsmanship. Our hobby can often seem rather introverted and isolated so I delight that our little event allows us to reach across the world to meet new people and create new friendships.
In closing, I will take my usual prerogative by submitting the last Challenge entry.
I opened the event with 'The Long Walk of the Wild Bunch',
...and so I thought it fitting to close it with 'Pike's Peak' (thanks for the great title Miles!)
This is a 38mm figure from Onira Miniatures. Excellent sculpt and casting.
I adjusted the posing of the figure to shift Pike from a purely shooting pose to give him more of a sense of taking a pause amongst the furor of the moment, reflecting on the end - I think it gives an interesting introspective quality to the scene. In a sense it is an fitting figure for me to end the Challenge.
So, my 'Wild Bunch', there you have it. With this last entry I officially close the 4th Annual Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge. Thank you all for making it such a wonderful experience and a great success.
Awesome! A big thank you Curt.
ReplyDeleteIt's truly been an honour to be one of the wild bunch.
cheers
And it was a pleasure to have you join us!
DeleteThank you, Curt. This was a wonderful experience and I'm grateful to have been able to participate. For me it was all that I hoped it would be. I have to admit that I'm grateful that it's over so I can relax a little bit. Of course these ten Romano-Brits that I didn't get done are staring at me reproachfully, the little so-and-so's.
ReplyDeleteI'm delighted you enjoyed it Aaron, it was great having you with us.
DeleteIf you wish, put those ten Romans aside for next year's Challenge. ;)
This round was better than last year! Amazing entries and across many interesting periods and genres. Again, Kudos to all! And a Hearty Good Show to Curt for orchestrating the menageire of entries and entrants! I will be looking forward to the next challenge and the suprises forthcoming! ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks David. You should really kick in with us next time as I think you'd enjoy the madness.
DeleteThank you Loki! With participants like yourself the whole affair becomes a joy to manage.
ReplyDeleteThis just gets better every time. And I've only done two! Thanks again Curt for your monumental efforts. I know you enjoy it but it doesn't make that any less relevant. Thanks also to Sarah for putting up with three months of madness and "internet home invasions" by the Wild Bunch.
ReplyDeleteOnly nine month til we kick off again... :-)
Thank you Millsy. Now, get your Royalists ready for a rude awakening...
DeleteOo-er!
DeleteThank you for running such a smooth ship Curt! It's been a great challenge and I've enjoyed every minute.
ReplyDeleteYour hints about 'next time' are very tantalising - I hope to be along for the ride.
I hope so as well Edwin and I wish to say thanks again for providing support for the event - it's greatly appreciated.
DeleteThanks Curt for a wonderful event - I had a blast and it was a real pleasure to be a participant. I look forward to next year and will be happy to help in any way my meager skills can serve
ReplyDeleteGet some rest!
It's always a pleasure to have you in the ranks Miles. I hope, being on the same continent, our paths cross someday soon.
DeleteCongratulations Curt for giving so much to the hobby. I wanted to follow each and every post in this year's Challenge, but it just wasn't humanly possible for me. I very much enjoyed what I saw and congratulate the participants for their fine work.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind words Michael. With 60 on the roster it is hard to keep up - I know this for a fact!
DeleteCurt, it has been a wild ride - and eminently worth it.
ReplyDeletePre-Challenge, all my paints and miniatures has been in storage for seven months. While my own paint total (target and achieved) were minor compared ot many other challengers, this was just the kick in the butt I needed to get them back out again. Nor was the Challenge solely about painting - I learned quite a bit about how to photograph miniatures, and how to adjust the photos in Photoshop to account for bad lighting, to keep up with my fellow Challengers.
Curt, you've done a great service to the wargaming and modeling community, and I hope to participate next year as well.
I'm delighted that the Challenge provided you with the spark to pick up with your projects. I enjoyed all of your entries and hope to see you next time the madness starts.
DeleteThank you so much for allowing me to participate. It was a wild and strange ride for me, but one made in good company. Also, hats off to your wife for tolerating the time you have taken away from your lives together to make this event possible.
ReplyDeleteYou've chosen a lovely piece to end on. There is a solemnity about the piece that is both stately and graceful. Have yourself a nice sleep now pardner :)
Anne, it was a pleasure having you with us. I loved each and every one of your entries and I hope that the experience of this mad ride was helpful to you as a painter.
DeleteThank you so much Curt, for the amazing event that this has been. I have achieved more than I had hoped, and far more in that short space than I have in a long time. Along the way I've had a heck of a lot of fun too. I don't underestimate how much work it was for you - thank you indeed. This is really a hobby event you can be proud of.
ReplyDeleteAnd of course an event like this wouldn't be what it is without the challengers. But more than that, the welcoming, positive, constructive, and enthusiastic responses here have encouraged me to keep going when I'd really had about enough of denizen smock camo! This truly is a representation of the best part of the blogosphere. Thank you all.
Unfortunately, I cant be back for the next two events (though will watch and comment with great interest) but like General MacArthur "I shall return", if you'll have me that is :-)
I'm delighted that the Challenge left a good impression with you Paul. I really enjoyed all your entries and had a lot of fun watching your 'side duel' with Alan and James.
DeleteTwo years eh? I have a suspicion of what this could portend but I will keep it to myself. :) Best wishes in your future endeavours and let me know when you're 'back in circulation'.
Thank you Curt for the huge amount of work you have put in to running this challenge. I really don't know how you do it! It has been a great pleasure to take part for the first time, and I will certainly be back next year if you'll have me.
ReplyDeleteTo all the other challengers as well - thank you for making this such a positive and enjoyable event. I am in awe of the quality of entries I've seen over the past couple of months, and it has been great to see how generous everyone has been with their encouragement and praise. Thank you!
The pleasure was all mine Alan and I hope you will join us again when the madness begins anew. Until then I will make sure 'Alias' gets shot as many times as possible in our skirmish games... ;)
DeleteWell that has been a truly epic challenge to be apart of, well done to the challengers for the sheer range,diversity and sometime downright quirkiness of the entries. It really shows what a creative hobby we are in.
ReplyDeleteCurt you really do deserve some kind of medal for keeping all of this moving. It's an original idea that seems to have caught on, and is improving with each outing. The bonus rounds for me really provided an opportunity to do something out of the norm , and I found them particularly rewarding. I started in a bit of painting funk, but I am now well and truly rejuvenated - thanks.
Thanks as well to the Prize sponsors , a very generous act , I shall look forward to my prize!
Great last final entry Curt, very nicely done
Until next time! Better start stocking the lead mountain again. :-)
Thank you Dave. I'm delighted that the Challenge had something to do with you getting our of the painting trough. You had an epic run of it!
DeleteIndeed..and i shall see you on the mean streets of Serenity my firend
DeleteThank you Curt for such a marathon effort you put into this years challenge, it has grown into a monster.
ReplyDeleteIt's been a great ride and such a pleasure to paint amongst the ranks
Ian
It was wonderful to have you with us again Ian!
DeleteThank you very, very much Curt for the work you put into this year's challenge. I can hardly imagine how much time you must have spend to prepare all the post and paint your very own 1.000 points simultaneously!
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks to all challengers who provided such excellent pieces of work. I regretting very much that I haven't had the time to view all the entries now but I'll make good for it during the hard time before the next painting challenge.
It was incredibly enjoyable for me to enter your delicate circle for the first time and it was a great honour to see my humble work presented alongside your pieces of art!
The bonus round were one of the most inspiring aspect of this challenge to me. It was great to plunge into the themes, find suitable figures and bring a story to life with brushes and paint. Actually I realized during the last three months that this is a way of painting miniatures I enjoy much more than painting large units of figures. And I'm thankful that this new window opened for me.
I'm looking forward to the choices you'll present and the prices to be awarded. To be honest I haven't understood until now what's to win here but honestly I don't give a toss about it. The great time and the big fun I had is just priceless.
All the best
Stefan
It was great to have you join us this year Stefan. I'm very happy you liked the theme rounds. I think it will be a feature in the next one if it comes to pass. Also, it was wonderful to have another who was working on 1812 Retreat figures. Your work was excellent and Iearned a lot from seeing your figures.
DeleteYou Sir, are a legend. We are all so very grateful for your efforts and I, for one, am thrilled to have been part of such a ride.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much Michael, you're too kind. In fact if it were not for talented hobbyists such as yourself participating in the Challenge it would all be for nought. It was a pleasure and I hope we cross paths in the future.
DeleteWell done Curt you are amazing, you've run this comp like clockwork now put you feet up and rest up a bit, to the challengers well done everyone what amazing painting hope to see you all next year
ReplyDeleteCheers
Kent
Thank Kent! I really am sorry that you couldn't be with us crossing the finish line. I think you would have given these Yorkshiremen a good run for their money. Here's to next year!
DeleteRespect to you Curt, for organising and facilitating the Painting Challenge. Your hard work and immense effort helps bring our hobby to a larger audience and shows that it is more than just "painting toy soldiers."
ReplyDeleteTo the other challengers a salute to you all for your efforts, inspiration and varied interpretations of the figures painted and the themed bonus rounds. Rewarding and motivating to view and participate along side with.
Looking forward to next year!
Cheers, Ross
Thanks very much Ross!
DeleteCurt, you are a star. Thank you for running this and for the huge effort of keeping on top of all our entries.
ReplyDeleteWith participants like you Ms P. it's noting but a pleasure. Thank you.
DeleteWell!
ReplyDeleteIt's over, what a few weeks of mayhem.
A Yorkshire 1, 2, 3,
The rush to the finish as things were appearing was awesome.
The talent this year was soooooooo high and the entries were mind boggling.
The bonus rounds were great fun and did make it a little different.
I would like to say a big congrats to all who took part and made this something special and something to always remember.
I would also like to thank Curt for his, time, dedication and bloody hard work.
You made this happen Curt, you put this on the map and it has now grown into something you can be proud of.
A MASSIVE well done.
It was a honour to take part.
You ran an amazing Challenge this year Kev! I loved each an every one of your entries (even the cow pat one!). I hope our paths cross soon.
DeleteI am a little heart broken that it's ended. I am also a little relieved and grateful at the same time. I definitely have a feeling of emptiness. But mostly I have a feeling of Thankfulness.
ReplyDeleteThis Challenge has helped me through the winter months seeing something new and wonderful each day on your blog. I am very grateful to have been included and hope with your permission to be involved next year.
As with everyone else I want to recognise the huge sacrifice you and Sarah have made with your time, patience and dedication to this Fantastic event. All I can say is thank you and I mean that from deep inside me. So Once more Thank you.
Ah, Clint, my favourite camel jockey! You ran a brilliant Challenge and I very much appreciated your enthusiasm an support - you really made the work that much easier. I hope we have you along with us next time the madness starts.
Delete"Praise from the Praise worthy is above all rewards"
DeleteThanks Curt for hosting this. Even if you deem it fun, I am still amazed by your willingness to put all this effort into things and still manage to accumulate so many points!
ReplyDeleteAnd I would like to thank my fellow Challengers for their good natured comradiewhich made this whole affair lots of fun.
Really looking forward to the next installment and really hope that Curt will have me along again!
My points? Oh, well I cheated of course!
DeleteKidding.
It was people like you Burkhard that made it all seem so easy. Thanks for submitting so many quality entries. I think everyones eyes perked up when they saw your name come up for a submission. Well done.
Thank you for putting this whole show together! Great fun all around! You are definately a brave man for voluntarily doing this sort of thing.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to the next edition then!
Not as brave as wearing a pink jumpsuit I'm afraid! Seriously, it was great to have you a part of this year's event - thanks very much Samuli.
DeleteThanks for all your efforts Curt. Although very challenging it was quite a lot of fun. I really enjoyed seeing everyone's interpretation of the bonus round [spiders not withstanding ;) ]. It was great to be an active participant. I look forward to next year with anticipation (and a modicum of dread). I hope you can find some way to make it easier on yourself.
ReplyDeleteSean, it was a pleasure to have you gallop along with the rest of us. I have a few idea percolating for next year, don't you fret (or maybe you should!).
DeleteExcellent job once again Curt and no easy feat! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteChristopher
One of my Old Sweats! Thank you Christopher for all your support (and my apologies again for that annoying picture gaff). I hope we see you again next time out.
DeleteCurt, I can barely manage my blog and a post a week. As I followed along, I wondered how you were managing. It was a monstrous and superb effort. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThank you Monty! I won't deny it, it was a hell of a lot of work but it was made more than worth it for all the friendships made and renewed.
DeleteInspiring effort on your part sir!
ReplyDeleteThank you my friend, much appreciated!
DeleteThank you so much for running this even Curt, you are a star! I know how much effort putting this all together has been, and it is very much appreciated by all of us.
ReplyDeleteIt helped pass the winter, and helped motivate me to get through more painting in the last 3 months than I have in about the last 3 years! I would like to say it helped me reduce the pile of plastic and metal in my painting closet, but that would be a lie, since I have been distracted with gamer ADHD (the wifes word's) or Inspired (my words) to even more projects and probably collected just as much as I painted during the time of the challenge.
I for one can not wait until next year! Thanks again Curt!
Byron! You did a fabulous job these past three months from your amazing Great War project, your 40K entries and through to your stonking Napoleonic battalion. I really look forward to seeing some of these to the tabletop in the coming months.
DeleteWonderful stuff Curt. The bonus rounds certainly allowed everyone to be creative and display their talents. Some of the entries provided real food for thought and inspiration.
ReplyDeleteThanks you very much for your kind words Nigel. Like you, I quite enjoyed the bonus rounds as well and look forward to dreaming up the next set of themes (contemplation for the upcoming soaks in the summer hot tub I think!)
DeleteThanks for all the hard work! It's been great taking part.
ReplyDeleteDelighted you could be a part of it as well Andy! Thank you.
DeleteWell done to all involved and hats off to Curt, you're a mad man!!! Now have a rest!
ReplyDeleteThank you Ray! I do feel a bit frazzled. Thank goodness I took a few days off to recuperate!
DeleteI would very much like to test myself against the fine gents and ladies of the challenge! I have to ensure no deployments nor winter training occurs during the next outing.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty certain that my mountain of neglect is keeping this planet on it's proper orbital path though! ;)
We will have to test your theory next year then! Thanks for your support David, it's much appreciated.
DeleteSo my heartfelt respect for all the effort you put into shepherding the 'Wild Bunch' across the finish line! You're truly a maniac in the best meaining of the word. Now get yourself some well earned time off.
ReplyDeleteGreat painting on the figure by the way. I'm amazed how you managed to paint such beautiful figures while organizing the challenge.
ReplyDeleteThank you Nick. This year I vowed that I would give myself a bit of time each night to work on my own stuff and so I managed to chip away at my various projects and not feel too left behind.
DeleteA true pleasure to participate once again Curt - thanks so much for all your hard efforts. Cheers to all the challengers for their kind words and extraordinary output - extraordinary in quality, imagination and volume. That's what this hobby is all about in the dark winter months.
ReplyDeleteI called that figure featuring (thought it would be your last stand though)
Thanks for the kind word Phil - much appreciated.
DeleteYou DID call it out early so I had to be a contrarian and keep it for last.
Great job on the Challenge, Mr. Curt!
ReplyDeleteCheers Dal!
Delete