'Resistance' by Barks: Merry Men

You will recall my very first AHPC post, for the AHPC VI 'Nostalgia' theme round. For some very meta theme nostalgia, I'm revisiting the subject ten years later.

These Merry Men are from Slave 2 Gaming. I did them quickly with Speedpaints, and they came out OK in the end. Absolution Green, Forest Sprite, Pallid Bone, Hardened Leather and Satchel Brown were staples, with a few other greens and browns for variety.

I asked the Antipodean chat what colour Maid Marion's dress should be, and blue was the answer. I painted Will Scarlet scarlet, but it's the sculpt for Alan-a-Dale with a lute on his back.

I also found the missing Bretonnian squire, and did a quick paint job on him. I really should have spent time doing highlights, he's a lovely Perry sculpt. Maybe later. You can buy these figures again now, $A15 each...

20x figures resisting the tyranny of King John, 100 points

+ 50 for the theme

'Toy Story' from Barks: Run and bare it

I was able to examine the archives for pics of your humble servant as a child with toys, and I found a few of me with bears. Also bare. Which was the perfect excuse to paint this bear from Great Escape Games, and this child from Gripping Beast.

A child, running, pursued by a zombie bear.

It's all downhill from here, Baby Barks.

Decades later, I traumatised myself by watching Game of Thrones S7E6 'Beyond the Wall' (2017), and also that scene from Annihilation (2018). I tried some UHU on the mouth and then Army Painter Glistening Blood. 

Two figures, shall we say 10 points?

+50 for Childhood trauma/ Toy Story theme

'Empire' From Barks: The Emperor of Mankind (60 points)

 "He says he's the Emperor Himself, off the Golden Throne to tour His Imperium and visit His subjects. He's touched in the head, of course, but harmless and we humour him for a laugh. Throne help him if the Redemption fails to see the funny side..."

For my Guards of Traitor's Toll... in Space idea, I need a lot of citizens from all walks of life and got some Wargames Atlantic fantasy townsfolk. This box has a load of figures and heads and accessories. I liked the idea of a beggar's body and a crowned head. The Emperor of Mankind can walk about the board giving sage advice. He's tolerated by other citizens, but can get caught up in crime.

I also painted this figure, the Archivist from Colony 87 by Crooked Dice. I ran out of room to write Provocatio (Latin for The Challenge) on the front, but there is a XVI and a skull on the rear monitor.

2x 28mm figures inspired by the stagnant Imperium of 40K (10+50 points)

+1 skull

'Fellowship' from Barks: Nine Adventurers

Nine legendary adventurers; men, halflings, an elf... it must be Blackstone Fortress. I've painted three of this Fellowship up for other Theme rounds here and here. Here's all my Nine Walkers:

And here's the remaining six for your review today:

The Rogue Trader

Janus Draik is a Rogue Trader. I've always seen them as a bit grubbier and more Han Solo-ish than GW's latest aristocratic incarnations, but hey. I thought he looked like a Napoleonic Russian general, and painted him up thus inspired. His pistol is an Eldar prize.

The Navigator

GW has gone 110% with a distinctive helm for Espern Locarno. The diamond-shaped third eye navigator icon is present front and back on this miniature. He's the support wizard for your group.

The Priest

Taddeus the Purifier, AKA The Tad, AKA Battle Pope. He's got a prominent belly, and I  like his gun-servo skull. As befits a member of the Ecclesiarchy, he's festooned in skullz (10).

The Zealot

His off-sider is Pious Vorne, whose therapy sessions start with firing up her flamethrowing chainsaw. She hits hard, but cannot sustain much damage herself. I'm really happy with how her flames, cloth, and armour came out.

The Robot

The most amusing character is UR-025. He's a 10 000 year old 'Man of Iron', an artificial intelligence looking to link with the AI of the Blackstone Fortress. AIs are anathema to the Imperium, so UR is pretending to be a dumb robot! I painted the sculpt in an industrial yellow, which I think I've now got the hang of. He's got lots of nice detailed hatches and access ports.

The Elf Ranger

I've always liked the aesthetic of the Biel Tan Eldar craftworld with their green and white scheme. Amallyn Shadowguide is a Biel Tan ranger, but I'm not a huge fan of her pose, unfortunately. I'm least happy with the pink knife, but her other gems came out fine. I wasn't going to paint the thorns on her cameleoline cloak, but I'm glad I did.

I've rather enjoyed painting these varied and colourful figures. BSF has allowed GW to dig into its history a bit, and is an excuse for weirder and more wonderful miniatures. The game really is a dungeon crawl in space, with archetypal elf rangers, clerics, wizards, thieves etc. It was a goal of mine to get this set done over the Challenge, which I'm glad to say I have done. It has, however, taken me longer than planned- which I really should have anticipated.

Skull-o-meter™: 12

5x28mm and 1x 40mm: 32 points

'Water Feature' from Barks: WWI Hex Battlefield

I've been pottering away on making a versatile modular hex-based WW1 battlefield, mostly for use with Commands and Colors: Great War. The Hext Kickstarter saw me get a 3D printer, with all the joys and troubles that brings.

15mm figures in no mans land

Each hex is ~3" across and 1" deep, allowing proper trenches and deeper craters, as well as a muddy streamlet.

Crater recessed into the surface

Muddy streamlet

I used Aqua Magic for the water, over Vallejo MC 70879 Green Brown.

It is a work a long way from completion, but the water round gives me a chance to share my vision.

Overhead view of work so far

Trial wood- I like it, but will go for taller trees. More in background.

Trial trench- matchstick posts and greenstuff sandbags. Needs duckboards. Labour intensive...

Future bunker and ruined village.

I've done 32 hexes so far. 24 of them fill a Standard Challenge Cube, so 25 points?

'Mercenary' from Barks: I am Kroot!

Dahyak Grekh is a Kroot mercenary who has found his way to the Blackstone Fortress. Kroot are half-bird half-lizard half-man hunter culture aliens, who were almost their own thing until they were bundled into Codex T'au in the late 90s. I'm pretty happy with the earthy tones and contrast on this figure. Being a Kroot, he's 40mm from toe to crown so I'm angling for a cheeky 7 points here.

'Sport' from Barks: Orc Cheer Skwad

Gimme a O! Gimme an R! Gimme a K... or is it a C?

Are there female orcs? Can you put lipstick on an orc? Do orcs have hair? Can they even spell?

So many important questions Professor Tolkien left unanswered. Luckily, Shadowforge (via Eureka) have attempted an answer with the Cheer Skwad for my embryonic Orc Blood Bowl team, the Green Streaks.

These lovely lasses need names- I was thinking Doris, Mabel, and Bernadette- other ideas welcomed!

'Reconnaissance' from Barks: Rein and Raus

One of my goals for this Challenge is to get through my shiny new Blackstone Fortress set. It is a a bit of a struggle as all the figures are hyperdetailed.

Here's two of the characters, the deserter ratling sniper twins Rein and Raus. I painted them like classic 'Eavy Metal/ 95th Rifles, which was fun. Fittingly, they're festooned with food including an apple, loaf of bread, sausages, and a small fridge!