'Fellowship' from MichaelA: Hoth Fellowship

 Whilst I may not have been the most prolific contributor in the last couple of years, I have always enjoyed the camaraderie, nay fellowship, of the Annual Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge.  I considered giving it a miss this year, purely because I was concerned that I wouldn’t do the event justice, but the level of support and consideration has been such that it has positively lifted my spirits, thank you one and all.  I can think of no finer example of fellowship than the level of support that is offered by all throughout the challenge months and here we are at the final bonus round with an opportunity to represent that very phenomenon with our own creations. 

To that end let me present my efforts, a selection for miniatures and ships for Star Wars: Legion, loosely arranged to give a sense of the battle that raged on the frozen planet of Hoth during the Empire Strikes Back.  The concept, such that it was, is the idea of never leaving someone behind, here transported to a galaxy far, far away.  As the stricken pilot fumbles with the emergency radio controls, his co-pilot bravely strides towards the towering behemoth that is threatening to crush everything in its path.  Then, and just in the nick of time, air support arrives to halt the advance.

The T-47 Airspeeder, will always be a Snowspeeder to me and even though I have a hankering for a Tatooine themed board, I was struggling to see past the ice fields of Hoth.  I decided that there was only one thing for it and that was to create a second flight stand, so that I could deploy the ship in both climates.  I sourced some acrylic rod and attached a rare earth magnet to the top and fixing another to the speeder; this will mean, I can simply swap out the ship and fix it to another base.  I had tried to get it to tilt, but had to settle for just swivel at the moment.  The obliterated Probe Droid was sadly not an original idea, but one that I had seen on an Instagram account that I follow and was just too cool not to try and replicate.  I couldn’t bring myself to cut up one of my original probe droids, but managed to cast the head of one using insta-mold and some Greenstuff.  A few foam rocks and some pumice gel, completed the illusion. 

The basing technique was repeated with the downed Snowspeeder.  The craft itself is a Revell plastic kit, that I assembled, then broke!  There are available at Amazon for a few pounds and although slightly smaller than the Fantasy Flight model it is not so small to prevent it being used as a terrain piece.  Finally then to the miniatures and again these are 3D prints from Skull Forge studios.  I don’t know how often young Skywalker will be used in battle given the incredibly delicate lightsabre, but again both were exquisitely designed and make really interesting additions to the collection.

When it came to the photography, some fake snow was used and eagled eyed viewers may have spotted the probe droid from my first bonus round, lurking in the distance.  The AT-AT leg, is actually just the leg, I haven’t yet completed the whole Revell 1:53 scale model.  That said it was enough to sell the illusion and I gave it a little shake when the shutter was open to create the effect of movement.  Finally the special effects used for the blizzard, laser fire and lightsabre are all created using LenFX; thank you Barks for the heads up on such a fun app.

'Mercenary' from MichaelA: The Doctor will see you now

The Doctor will see you now.

Maligning the galaxy’s favourite, but oh so rogue, Archaeologist as a mercenary, might be considered unjust, but when none other than Lord Vader hires you to assist with acquiring his own droid army, following the disastrous battle of Yavin, then it is surely a difficult epithet to dislodge?

For those that are perhaps unfamiliar with the good Doctor’s work, Aphra is an expanded universe character that shares a time line with Darth Vader and was introduced through Marvel Comic’s Darth Vader publications. I am quite a recent convert to the Expanded Universe, I used to like my Star Wars unadulterated, as pure as the driven snow on the ice fields of Hoth, if you will, but have found Dr. Aphra to be one of the more entertaining additions. Ably assisted by two homicidal droids, BT-1 and 0-0-0, Dr. Aphra has an unnerving habit of being in all the wrong places with all the wrong people, at always the wrong time. In short, Aphra’s exploits are often hugely entertaining, if a little bit silly.

So in keeping with my self imposed Star Wars theme for the challenge, I present Vader’s Mercenaries, Dr. Aphra, BT-1 and 0-0-0. The droids, BT-1 and 0-0-0, are plastic sculpts from Imperial Assault by ‘Fantasy Flight Games’, and were relatively straightforward, lots of metallic paint and washes, but that in itself can often present its own challenges. Dr. Aphra, however, was a completely different experience. She is a custom print from Skull Forge Studios, released under the alias Professor Moxi, and I had mine 3D Printed by those good people at Shapeways in the Netherlands.

Now from the start, let’s be clear about this, having one’s armies printed in this matter is economically unviable at this point. The individual pieces are breathtakingly expensive, but I have long been curious as to process and it is interesting to see just how far this technology has come and just what it is already capable of. You only need look at the pieces produced by our own Snowlord, Curt to witness its potential. 

The availability of software means that creative chaps can produce truly unique or previously unavailable items that can then be delivered to your door. A word of warning though, as what started as a curious investigation has soon developed into a fully fledge obsession, with new ‘must have’ designs appearing all the time!

Some of the more reasonably priced elements that can be found on eBay have the tell tale lines as each layer of printed material is built up. Shapeways however are using the latest industry standard machines and with their grand prix ‘smoothest fine detail’ can produce prints that are really starting to hold their own against cast versions.

Back to my entry and given that Aphra has been scaled for the more heroic Star Wars: Legion in mind there was quite a height discrepancy between Aphra and her loyal bodyguards. At present, I have resorted to doubling up the droids bases to try and sell the illusion, not perfect, but I am quite forgiving when it comes to such matters.

When it came to painting Dr. Aphra, I simply resorted to the comic book colours, but couldn’t bring myself to attempt the circuit board tattoo that she sports. There was very little difference painting a 3D print as opposed to cast sculpt and so expect more impulse buys I the near future.

'Sport' from MichaelA: Private Dancer

Private Dancer

Since the introduction of the themed bonus rounds, I have always felt drawn to take part in as many as possible.  This might have something to do with the hefty 50 points awarded just for entering, but regardless they have been a happy hunting ground for me in the past, with additional points occasionally awarded for podium finishes.  This year, however, I have vowed to keep things simple and try to resist the urge to saunter off on flights of fancy.  Whilst this may come as a disappointment to some, it will allow me to keep from spending all my allocated hobby pocket money in the first quarter of the year!  The difficulty, however, with such a standpoint is trying to shoehorn your existing hobby focus into the often bizarrely titled rounds.  True to form, this year is no exception with some wonderfully, thought provoking titles, ‘Sport’ being a case in point.

Nothing immediately leapt to the fore as I scanned the line of planned projects, but my eyes fell upon a group of bespoke sculpts representing the dancers from Jabba the Hutt’s throne room in Return of the Jedi.  Is dance a sport?  I don’t feel that I am best placed to judge, but given the athletic prowess of the professional dancers on the recent series of ‘Strictly Come Dancing’, a guilty pleasure of mine, it would seem churlish not to consider it.  So I started in on Oola, the hapless Twi’lek slave who ultimately falls foul of the vile Jabba and is fed to the fearsome Rancor.

I should, at this point, pause, to mention that Oola, and indeed the rest of the dance troupe, are an incredibly kind gift from Dave Stone of Wargames Terrain Workshop. They are cast in resin and although the extremities are delicate, they take paint rather well.  So it was that whilst painting Oola, and considering her grisly fate, that I happened upon my ‘concept’ for the round – Blood Sport!  Now without wishing to become overtly political about such things it struck me that Jabba would consider the feeding of those who displeased him to the Rancor, sport.  Obviously not a balanced contest, but a memorable passage in the film, particularly for one so impressionable, as I was in 1982.  So then, a change of plan and a frantic search for a Rancor!

As luck would have it the Imperial Assault core box from Fantasy Flight Games comes with such a beastie.  It is a multi Part plastic model standing a whopping 100mm high.  Safely assembled and any gaps willed with Greenstuff, I found myself frozen in terror; how to paint it?  Fortunately for me, the genius that is Sorastro has produced a handy YouTube tutorial.  I am now becoming more au fait with his process of applying base colours and then shading these with washes, bur even so they often require a certain leap of faith when covering your carefully applied undercoat.  That said, he has yet to let me down and before long the slavering abomination was brought to life.  I had considered the idea of creating the creature’s pit as a scenic backdrop, but sadly this idea has been shelved and I have had to content myself with littering the supplied base with an assortment of previous victims’ body parts.

And so another bonus round safely negotiated, albeit with a slightly tenuous link, but who is to say that in an alternative universe, Oola didn’t best the Rancor!

'Reconnaissance' from MichaelA: We Have a Visitor

GENERAL RIEEKAN

We've picked up something outside the base in zone twelve, moving east.

SENIOR CONTROLLER

It's metal.

The Empire Strikes Back had me transfixed from its opening scene as the adventures from a galaxy far, far away unfolded for a second instalment.  Perhaps it was the fact that I was a little older or that the three year wait had whetted my appetite, but whatever the reason, ‘Empire’ has long been my favourite film of the Star Wars franchise .

So as my entry for the Reconnaissance Bonus Round of the Annual Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge, I present three Imperial Probe Droids as seen in that opening sequence.  Dispatched by the dark lord, Darth Vader to the far reaches of space, the probe droids were an efficient way to track down the remnants of the rebel alliance without committing troops on the ground, their findings beamed back in code to the Imperial Star Fleet.

My Imperial Droids are from the core set of Imperial Assault by Fantasy Flight Games and are 28mm scaled plastic models.

More recently Star Wars: Legion, again by Fantasy Flight Games, has demanded much of my time, but I have been revisiting my Imperial Assault models and looking at which ones could possibly be incorporated into a ‘Legion’ game.  Much has been made of the scale discrepancies between the two systems and yes these are a tad small for 'Legion', but I am more forgiving than most and felt that these might be used, in some small way, as scenic elements.

Painting wise they were a relatively simple win, guided as I was by another of the excellent Sorastro YouTube tutorials.  I have based two for the ice planet Hoth and one as for a more arid climate, in the vain hope that I might get round to devising my Jawa Scavenger game – don’t hold your breath!

Thanks to Barks for the tip regarding LensFX used in the last photograph. 

'Monstrous' from MichaelA: Monster Mash

I can’t believe that we have reached the final bonus round of the ‘VIII Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge’ already!  A sure sign that the winter months are abating, not that it has felt like that this past week here in Blighty. 

Monstrous, what a theme, what a challenge, I have thoroughly enjoyed both and, with a couple of exceptions, have managed to paint miniatures that had been left languishing on the periphery of the painting queue for an age, waiting for just such an incentive to galvanise me into action.  As a result, allow me to present to you a veritable cornucopia of monstrous beings – the legendary Universal Monsters!

From the silver screen’s infancy there has been a desire to shock and scare the audience out of their seats.  Drawing inspiration from literary greats such as H.G. Wells, Victor Hugo and Mary Shelley, Universal Studios created a stable of monsters that would terrify and delight in equal measure.  Such was their popularity that the long running franchises are still revisited today.

My tribute to this golden age of cinema hail from ‘Studio Miniatures’ and were yet another of their Kickstarters that I supported.  A couple of them required assembly, namely ‘Frank’ and his wife, but the rest were lovely, crisp, single piece castings and an absolute joy to paint; although the preponderance of black did strain my eyes a little!  I had, albeit briefly considered painting these in greyscale, but my experience of this is rather limited and if memory serves me correctly it is a lot harder to pull off than you might imagine. 

The question now is what to do with them?  Well these may yet prove the perfect villains for a certain crew of mystery solving teenage detectives, perhaps just the ticket for a 7TV crew?  Either way, I am thrilled to have them completed and a fitting final theme for the challenge. 

'Childhood' from MichaelA: "Would you like a Jelly Baby?"

Tom Baker, as the fourth incarnation of the alien Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey, was my Doctor.  His tenure, lasting longer than any other, ran from 1974 - 1981, just when young Master Awdry was starting to take an interest in all things Science Fiction.  Whilst I wouldn't call myself the must die hard of Whovians, the series did, and still does, hold a special place in my heart.  So when it came to conjuring up ideas for the 'Childhood' round, I found myself instantly transported back in space and time.
  

There is a misconception that we spent the 70s hiding behind the settee, fearful of the monsters that sprang fourth from our television sets, but not I, I would rather be sat, front and centre, best placed to deal with whatever befell the Doctor and I.  This was the premise that I built my submission around and fortunately I had been quietly taking advantage of 'Black Tree Designs' regular sales to build up a small collection of Time Lords. 

With the Doctor and his robotic companion K-9 completed my attention turned to the most iconic of the Time Lord's adversaries, the Daleks!  Relatively simple in principle, I had been advised that using a small tube dipped into paint would speed the process up no end.  Sadly for me, the innards of a Bic biro proved just a little too wide in diameter, but some styrene tubing proved more suitable and so the initial setback was soon forgotten as I raced on to the Cybermen.
  

I knew that I wanted to allude to this being an important moment in my childhood and eventually hit upon the idea of having the Time Lord beaming into the front room from the television set.  Ready made doll's house furniture was proving a dead end, either too expensive or just not the right style, but fortunately I happened upon Jane Harrop's retro kits.  

I chose a couple of pieces of furniture and an iconic Decca television in 1/24 scale to 'sell' the idea that the miniatures had emanated from the screen.  The kits themselves are exquisite in their detail and the materials used, a real treat to assemble although fiddly in places - I even had to glue the buttons on to the television!  

Once completed the miniatures were suitably arranged on a 'Warbases' disc that I had covered in strips of felt to add to the lurid colour scheme of the decade and all was set, just in time, to sit back and enjoy another piece of sugary confectionary!

The final submission, Black Tree Designs Doctor Who and K-9, five Daleks and three Cybermen, with a Warlord Games Police Box (surely, I can't count that as a vehicle?) and a selection of doll's house furniture.

'Music/Musician' from MichaelA: Guinny & the Grail Seekers

It doesn’t seem that long ago that I was presenting my ‘Studio Miniatures’ Grail Knights as part of the ‘Armour’ bonus round, but here we are, over a year later, and I have finally managed to finish a few more from the Kickstarter to act as my ‘Musician’ submission.  I have to confess that this round had me stumped for a while and I was initially thinking along the lines of tartan clad pipers or drummers in bearskins, but fortunately I happened upon the minstrels and my direction was made clear.  The Medieval Mayhem range really are a joy to paint, beautifully sculpted and requiring very little in the way of preparation.  The likenesses are clearly inspired from the celluloid exploits of the Monty Python team and it was very hard, nigh impossible, not to hum the tune to, ‘Brave Sir Robin’!

Of course every band needs a front man, or in this case a front woman; I present the Queen Guinevere.  I had a little accident with her crown and so resorted to filing it down so that it was even, but I feel that her regalness is still preserved. 

Finally, then the Forest Knights, fabulous fun and based so that collectively they look like they are standing in a shrubbery.  I’m not sure how they fit into the band, monosyllabic backing singers perhaps?

So allow me to present Guinny & the Grail Seekers, my submission for the Musician bonus round. (9x28mm miniatures)

… and just because I couldn’t resist, I have taken a couple of shots with the various characters reunited with some of the Knights from last year.  Now off to enjoy my Christmas present from the ‘Provost Marshal’, cheers RichardC!

Brave Sir Robin ran away.

Bravely ran away away.

When danger reared it's ugly head,

He bravely turned his tail and fled.

Yes, brave Sir Robin turned about

And gallantly he chickened out.

Swiftly taking to his feet,

He beat a very brave retreat.

Bravest of the brave, Sir Robin!

'BFG' from MichaelA: What a Load of Bullocks!

The bonus rounds can often be an unwelcome distraction, I become obsessed with entering something for each one, creativity often getting the better of me, and buying all sorts of weird and wonderful miniatures just to realise my designs.  BFG, however, was one of those wonderful opportunities where the theme fell perfectly for the miniatures that I already had – well mostly!  I have always loved artillery on the table top, it just looks impressive and the Challenge has given me plenty of opportunities to indulge in this over the years, whether that be Russian Field Guns in the Crimea, the Naval Brigade seeing off the Mutiny or Māori Warriors with a captured Carronade.

Returning to the theme of BFG and I was instantly reminded of a piece of antiquated artillery from ‘Redoubt Miniatures’ Wellington in India range.  I had picked it up a couple of years ago with an idea that it could have been pressed into service during the Mutiny by a particularly brave, but desperate group of mutineers; I mean, just look at it!  I loved the chunky, solid wooden wheels of the bullock cart and the sheer improbability of the piece and decided that this was perfect for the round.  The difficulties started when it came to crewing the beastie.  I had some ‘Mutineer Miniatures’ Irregular Indian artillery crew that looked suitable and based them on card whilst I scratched around for an idea as to how to bring everything together.

I believe it was at this point in the project that I fell afoul of what they call mission creep!  You see, I also remembered that I had picked up an ‘Indus Miniatures’ (available through Wargames Emporium) Indian artillery piece, resplendent with its lion’s head muzzle ornamentation and what could be better than a BFG?  Well two BFGs of course!  The Indus piece was bought for exactly the same purpose as the Redoubt one, it just looked so cool!  I now had two guns and one crew, what to do?  In the end I decided that the Indus piece looked ready for firing and so would have the crew whilst the Redoubt piece needed some form of assistance in transportation.  A bullock cart needs bullocks and lo and behold the new ‘Iron Duke Miniatures’ range (available through Empress Miniatures) have a set of bullocks along with a couple of nicely sculpted Indian drivers.

So with bullocks in hand (not an expression to say out loud in polite company) and a bit of careful matching on the base widths, I was able to create a series of units that could, in theory, be interchanged.  Although pleased with my efforts. something wasn’t quite right, I needed a limber!  Back on to ‘Empress Miniatures’ and the missing item was ordered up, and what a fabulous piece of casting it was too.  The only down side was that I had already positioned the yoke spars on the original bullocks and didn’t have the heart to remove them so, for the time being, it will have to suffice until I am brave enough to do it properly.

So that’s two BFGs, six crew and drivers, four bullocks and a limber!  

P.S.

Purely as an aside the ruined walls and doors are from ‘4Ground’ and purchased as a set in one of the ‘North Star Military Figures’ clearance sales.  Although built especially for this presentation, I can’t claim any points for them as they come pre-painted!  What I will say is that they are very cleverly done as for what appears like random damaged brickwork can actually be slotted together in a number of different ways giving variety to your terrain building.