'Antihero' form RayR - 'Judge Dredd'

I've gone all Fantasy for my Anti-Hero bonus round, once again I hadn't a clue what to paint and left it to the last minute to slap some paint on. 

My entry is from Mongoose Miniatures and represents that King of Cool and No 1 Anti Hero Judge Dredd!! And as Curt wanted an anti-Hero figure as payment for entering this years Challenge, this will be mine.

Hope you like him Curt!

'Antihero' from RichardC - 'You Can't Park There!'

Now I have to start by saying that, as a born and bred Lancastrian, my choice of anti-hero is somewhat odd. I'€™ve chosen King Richard the Third of the House of York. For those who don't know, Lancaster and York were (and indeed are) rivals. This rivalry came to a head in a little disagreement back in the 15th Century which became known as the Wars of the Roses. The red rose of Lancaster was finally triumphant at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, where King Richard was killed. His body was buried in the grounds of Greyfriars Priory where it lay largely forgotten for more than 500 years.

Why is he an anti-hero? Well, you can blame William Shakespeare. Writing under a Tudor monarch, he followed the time-honoured tradition of flattering ones patrons whilst also rubbishing their opponents. Shakespeare'€™s Richard is a venal, scheming, murderous villain, whose physical disabilities are a mirror of his twisted morals. The reality is, of course, somewhat different. Richard'€™s reign actually saw a man who did what he thought was best for the stability of his country. That said, I was lucky enough to have front row seats for a performance last year with the fantastic Martin Freeman as Richard III, the first two rows were given old shirts to wear, as the final scenes saw a large amount of blood spurting across the stage!

In 2011, archaeologists started digging in the Council car park looking for the grave. A skeleton with severe spinal curvature was discovered, and, following DNA tests from Richard's descendents, was identified as the last Plantagenet monarch.

I also have a personal reason for choosing Richard (apart from sharing his name). My mother, whose family came from Sheffield in Yorkshire, suffered from scoliosis as did Richard. She felt a sense of empathy with him, and followed the story of his discovery with great interest. She told me that she wanted to send a white rose to the site of his re-burial (she also felt it should be York Minster rather than Leicester Cathedral). Sadly, she'€™s not able to do so, but I will fulfill her wish and send a tribute.

The figure is a wonderful casting by Perry Miniatures, and was a pleasure to paint. I'€™m eternally grateful that he isn't depicted in full heraldic splendour, as my painting skills (and eyesight) just wouldn't be up to it!

'Antihero' from RossM - 'Silk, Prince Kheldar of Drasnia'

The theme of the entry figure or Curtgeld posed some problems when first announced. Given that there have been a few Chaos Warriors painted by myself in this year's challenge the first thought was of Elric himself however, a suitable figure just couldn't be found.

So staying with a literary theme another character was brought out of the archives; this time Kheldar from David Eddings' The Belgariad. Kheldar or Silk as he was more commonly known was a small rat faced man who was a thief, trader, spy, assassin and heir to the throne (2nd in line) all in the one package. Silk was mostly a cynic who seemed an unlikely hero and yet a times proved to be more than worth of the title of hero. Of his early days little is known, so with some artistic license and no doublets or jaunty hats here is Silk, Prince Kheldar of Drasnia:

The figure is the Human Assassin from Otherworld Miniatures Dungeon Adventurers range and suited exactly what I was looking for. Kheldar was a knife fighter at heart and the figure shows this well along with other items of his darker trade.

Anyway enough of my ramblings here are the rest of the pictures and I hope that you like them.

As with last year's entry figure I have a second model to paint for my own collection. Safe to say there will be more Otherworld Miniatures joining him throughout the coming months. The points for this figure are over to Curt on this one as it sits in two categories.

That's all for now and please leave comments.

Cheers for now

'Antihero' from SanderS - 'Cobraaa!'

Dear Ladies and Gents,

For the last Bonus Round, I was never in doubt what figure to choose. I could have chosen any of my Micro Art Discworld mini's, most notably Rincewind and his luggage, but I knew from the start it had to be this one: "Not-Cobra-Commander".GIJOE's eternal nemesis will therefore be my entry. It's a Hasslefree sculpt, and a great one it is, supplied with two head options: the Cobra Commanderish helmet and a head with beret and eye-patch. Since both my brother and me have been fans of the 3,3/4" action figures (and my brother is actually an avid collector of the latter) it was a no-brainer for me to buy and enter this miniature.

The base is a plain MDF lasered base with some gravel and a garden rock to keep it simple.

As to why I gather him to be an Anti-hero: anyone having seen the '80s Sunbow cartoon will not need to ask and for everyone who hasn't check youtube for the cartoon and you'll see season upon season of anti-heroness. The comics are in my opinion far more balanced and cooler, but sadly I haven't actually read the whole series. Anyway that's my take on this Bonus Round!

Youtubecompilation!

'Antihero' form ScottB - 'Boromir, Son of Gondor'

After Curt's elaboration on what constitutes an Anti-hero, and me trying to keep to the LOTR theme of my overall entries... Boromir had to be the choice.

Proud and loyal son of his father; Denethor II, mighty warrior and brave leader of men, Captain of the White Tower...

He only wants to defend his people, and understandably so, against the armies of Mordor, that lies right on the border of his realm...

He valiantly accompanies Frodo as part of the Fellowship of the Ring,... but ever it seems the prescence of the Ring gnaws at him, until when chance comes, he cannot help but make a move for it...  though not I feel for personal gain or power but simply to be the strongest, he, or his father could be, to defeat their enemies and free the world of the threat of Mordor...

But that way can never work... even as mighty a man as Boromir would have fallen to its malevolence... but thankfully we never see this end... as thing go wildly wrong at Amon Hen, where the Fellowship is scattered during the attack of the Uruks from Isengard...

Boromir fights valiantly but in vain, redeeming his honour, in defence of the weakest members of the party, slaying many orcs, but eventually paying the ultimate price...

 The last words of Aragorn, at Boromirs Death... "Be at peace, son of Gondor"... always bring a misty eye...

'Antihero' from SteH - 'Smeagol'

Where would Middle Earth be without Gollum's sharp little teeth? After all the pain and hardship that the Fellowship go through, all the grief and loss and almost failing at the final hurdle its Gollum that saves the day. How perfect is he as a Antihero? You start off hating him, then pity him, then quite like him with his "master" this and "nasty fat hobbit" that.

But in the end its all for nought as he plunges to his doom clutching his precious (and chewing on a tasty snack at the same time). 

Great fun to paint, I went for a basic skintone in the end rather anything pasty or wasted looking. This is one of the better GW sculpts for the Lord of The Rings range, the pose is very dynamic and pretty much painted itself!

And so I present, a rogue, a ruffian and outright antihero - Gollum (aka Smeagol).

'Antihero' from StefanK - 'King Richard III'

 
Richard Plantagenet the Duke of Gloucester was the younger brother of King Edward IV. When Edward died in 1483 his marriage with Queen Elizabeth (Woodville) was declared invalid and his sons turned illegitimate as heirs. So Richard took the throne and reigned until his death during the battle of Bosworth in 1485.

This is only the very climax of the awesomely interesting life of the last Plantagenet king of England. He witnessed the Wars of the Roses, fought against the Lancastrians and saw the victory of the house of York. But in the very end Richard III. stayed in people’s mind as an usurper of the throne, a murderer and a sinister intriguer. Although some of those aspects might appear probable our picture of Richard III. is highly influenced by the play by William Shakespeare in which he describes the later years of this interesting monarch. Soaked by Tudor propaganda he shows Richard as a power-obsessed, ruthless villain who meets his fair end by the sword of Henry Tudor who will be King Henry VII. Rather soon. Anyway for me it’s one of Shakespeare’s best plays and I love the character he gives Richard. To my a perfect antihero which made him my favourite choice for this bonus round.

The figure:
It’s made by Alan and Michael Perry as a special miniature on occasion of the discovery of Richard’s remains in Leicester in 2012. Since they were found under a car park the twin converted the figure in a way that he rides right out of the street. A very nice three piece vignette which I had been waiting to paint for a long time.

The colours:
As usual I employed Vallejo Model Colors to paint Richard.

The base:
The vignette is mounted on a 60mm circular base from ever excellent Warbases. Because I wanted to underline the figure itself and its border I painted the base black and coated it with high closs varnish. Additionally I made two banderoles that I attached on the left and on the right. One of them describes Richard’s dates of birth and death while the other one quotes Shakespeare’s well-known play: “A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!” (Act 5, Scene 4).

Well… That’s it for my bonus entries then. It was once again real fun to join your challenge and to tackle all the bonus rounds. During the next two weeks I’ll do my very best  to finish the entry fee miniature and maybe I’ll finish a couple of knights as well. Unfortunately there’ll be no chance to reach my 750 points target but I hope you liked my humble entries anyway.

All the  best
Stefan

'Antihero' from TeemuL - 'Boromir and the taking of Merry & Pippin'

 Curt "stole" "my idea" of anti-hero on his very first post of the challenge, I had decided to paint this Boromir figure as my antihero entry as soon as the bonus themes were announced. LotR has been a popular choice this year, I wouldn't wonder if there are other entries from that range as well.

Boromir was a heroic captain of Gondor, who couldn't resist the Ring, tried to capture Frodo and steal the Ring, broke the fellowship, came to his senses and tried to save Merry and Pippin, but died.

I painted the Uruks carrying Merry and Pippin, too. What is the exact point amount for these figures, I don't know.

The last picture is a before picture, those three are painted years ago and I used them as reference to get the colors match.