Welcome all to the 33rd round of the Unofficial Painting Challenge here on Dakka. For anyone who's unfamiliar with the format, this is a simple community challenge open to anyone on Dakka, the aim of the game being to paint a model or set of models relating to the month's theme and win points for doing so! This one is going up a day early as I'm not around tomorrow, so feel free to take a day's head start!

This month the theme is Hold The Line, we're looking for the resolute front-line troops that form the core of any army, standing firm, taking and holding ground, sacrificing their lives in the name of victory without a moment's hesitation. As this is likely going to see a lot of people painting up squads/regiments of troops, THE MODEL LIMIT HAS BEEN LIFTED THIS MONTH. ENTER AS MANY OR AS FEW MODELS AS YOU WISH. Please note all other rules regarding Proofs, allowed number of images ect still apply.

Without further ado... Toto, play us in!



How To Enter
- You may enter up to 5 MODELS as a SINGLE ENTRY, and are permitted one entry per member per month. If you enter multiple models, they should ideally be related in some way, such as part of the same squad, unit or scene if you are doing a diorama
- You MUST post a 'proof' picture of your entry in the thread of the state it was in before you started working on it; this must be either unassembled, unpainted, primed or coated a single colour. Entries that do not submit a valid Proof Picture will not be eligible for voting.
- After this, you may post WIP pictures in this thread and your own if you wish, and on completing the entry, you may post up to 6 final pictures IN THIS THREAD that will then be used for voting. Please note that pictures in a montage or collage picture will be considered individual images for this purpose, so while these types of presentation are certainly acceptable, please keep the image limit in mind when compiling them. For example, a collage of 5 images and one separate image would count as your 6 picture allowance.


So What Do I Win?
- Points... and points mean... bragging rights for the next month! Following the vote, points will be awarded to every entrant. This year, the Points you receive will be equal to the Percentage of Votes your entry receives in the final Voting thread; if you get 10%, you get 10 points, if you get 6% you get 6 points, so on and so forth.

These points will be used to form a league table, which will be updated month on month as the results come in.


How Long Do I Have?
This challenge begins 31st of October and will end at midnight GMT on the 30th of November. After this, I shall compile the finished entries into a new thread, and voting will run for 5 days.

List of Entrants:

u971: FINISHED


ChaosDad: FINISHED


Nevelon: FINISHED


Zergsmasher: FINISHED


HungryTaz: FINISHED


TheDraconicLord: FINAL


NinjaPirate:


Inquisitor Lord Bane:


Oppl: FINISHED


ZenBadger: FINISHED


Kavika0311: FINISHED


Power Elephant: FINISHED


DanceOfSlaneesh: FINISHED


n1ceguypaul: FINISHED


Chris56: FINISHED


Warboss ZanZag:


GulGog Tuftoof: FINISHED


Moolet: FINISHED


Januine: FINISHED


NathanD298: FINAL


Lovebeard: FINISHED


dsmith10:


Farseer Anath'lan


Supershandy: FINISHED


General Annoyance: FINISHED


Modock: FINISHED


Guildenstern: FINISHED


Midget Gems: FINISHED


EmberlordofFire8


Obispal:


CREEEEEEED: FINISHED


KernelTerror: FINISHED


Feltmonkey: FINAL


keezus: FINISHED


Elbows: FINISHED


Paradigm: FINISHED


Vejut: FINISHED

Sigh, I'm gonna have to paint my next tactical squad, aren't I...

Lol para nice theme tune! My entry hopefully a full squad of Necron warriors.

Needs a change to the rules: Wasn't it decided there would be no miniature limit this month because it's "Troop Month"?

See the bit in big green capitals in the OP...

 Paradigm wrote:
See the bit in big green capitals in the OP...

Can we add to the submission as the month advances? I mean, if I can finish my dudes ahead of time, can I add more? I'm aiming for as many of my Grey Knights as I can cram in a month, but I'm gonna start small to be sure I make it to the finish line... As a teaser, here is my Chaplain... Brother Tomas

Yeah, that's fine. So long as it fits the theme and obeys all the other rules, this is essentially an all-you-can-paint round.

That is, as they say, pretty awesome! Let the games begin!

That line is sure going to be held pretty solidly...

Going to enter a squad of intercessors. Also going to challenge The Boy to paint the same minis. Will edit in a proof pic when I get home.



The guys on the right. Although, oddly, the guys on the left were the other unit I was thinking of entering...

Just started my AoS Soulblight army, gonna convert some Black Knights into Blood Knights - but my camera just died due to low battery. So, gonna post the proof tomorrow after work

 Paradigm wrote:
...this is essentially an all-you-can-paint round.

It's always essentially an all-you -can-paint round for me,,,

I was going to have a break to paint some Bolt Action US Airborne but they should fit right in with the theme this month. Proof soon.

 ZenBadger wrote:

 Paradigm wrote:
...this is essentially an all-you-can-paint round.

It's always essentially an all-you -can-paint round for me,,,

Same, and that's usually one model.

 feltmonkey wrote:

 ZenBadger wrote:

 Paradigm wrote:
...this is essentially an all-you-can-paint round.

It's always essentially an all-you -can-paint round for me,,,

Same, and that's usually one model.

But in your case, your one model often outclasses a lot of people's squads, mine included.

I'm entering the Plague Marine squad from Dark Imperium as my entry. These guys can hold the line, and after they hold it no one else will likely want to touch it:

Lots of details on these guys, but that's why these sculpts are so cool! It'll be a worthy challenge for me; I just hope I'm up to it.

Well, here is my proof picture, my grey knight terminators, which include:

-A squad a termies
-A squad of paladins
-A chaplain
-Brother Captain Stern

And, still to build:
-An apothecary
-A paladin ancient

So fourteen terminators in total for phase one of this project...
(I then have two strike squads, three purgation squads and Venerable dread to round up this little GK force, but I doubt that I'll be getting those done before the end of the month...)

I need some motivation to work on my Marines. Going to put up a 10 man Tac squad, maybe even throwing a Chaplain in if I have time. Pics of sprues when I get home as my starting point.

the resolute front-line troops that form the core of any army, standing firm, taking and holding ground, sacrificing their lives in the name of victory without a moment's hesitation.

This sounds like my Black Orcs and Line Orcs who will be holding the line and looking for victory on the pitch!

Here is the assembled team. I'll be focusing on the "Line" for this challenge. I may add one or two more Black Orcs (starter box) to it tonight and I'll take a pic of the players in their "Line" and won't be painting the whole team for this challenge (though I have to get them done).

Oh boy, oh boy, here we go! I admit, I wasn't able to wait for the start of the challenge and already started one before the contest. I just couldn't wait

I'll get as far as I can in this pile of base-coated marines during the month...
The Terminators in front are my 'official' initial entry, the rest is bonus, all the way to the two sororitas incinerators in the back...

Am I right in saying entries don't need to be GW product? But it can be any model?

 Oppl wrote:
Am I right in saying entries don't need to be GW product? But it can be any model?

absolutely! this is a model painting challenge - not a GW painting challenge!

(well, aside from the March round, which is "Space Marine" themed - although even then, models from other lines can fit the theme )

Thread title still says October FYI. =P

Alright! Lets give it a go! Bunch of guardsmen with a slighty chubby sergeant.

 Oppl wrote:
Am I right in saying entries don't need to be GW product? But it can be any model?

Go nuts! Check my entrance, they are from the dark souls board game so as long as it fits the theme, it's more than OK

Had a slight delay, but here is what I'll be doing:



Tac Squad on its sprues, and a Chaplain to lead them into battle.

Ergh. Necromunda isn't out soon enough. Going to have to think of something else.

I'd like to enter just a single figure, though it is a larger one. I just do not have the time to do a whole squad of troops (it would be 10 models as I'm a Guard player) but one is more feasible.

Its a highlander of the Black Watch regiment during Quatre Bras battle of the Napoleonic times.

The Black Watch were one of a few British line regiments who faced a heavy French assault and took a serious beating during the fighting. I think a member of such a unit fits the 'hold the line' theme very well based on their participation in the battle.

Proof:

A WIP shot:



Still at the sloppy basecoat stage, but the first two are in motion. Actually doing shoulder trim on my primaris. Shocking.

 Oppl wrote:
I'd like to enter just a single figure, though it is a larger one. I just do not have the time to do a whole squad of troops (it would be 10 models as I'm a Guard player) but one is more feasible.

Its a highlander of the Black Watch regiment during Quatre Bras battle of the Napoleonic times.

The Black Watch were one of a few British line regiments who faced a heavy French assault and took a serious beating during the fighting. I think a member of such a unit fits the 'hold the line' theme very well based on their participation in the battle.

Proof:

This is awesome. Looking forward to it. This gives me an idea as I have a 70mm Queen's Ranger that needs paint.

My proof pic:

Warlord Games US Airborne Paratrooper Squad M1943 uniform.



I'm hoping for a squad of 10 but I'm going to start with a target of 5 and see how it goes. If it all goes to plan I should have a 2-man LMG team, NCO +2 with SMGs and the remaining five with carbines and rifles.

I’ll throw in with another super generic entry. I’ll be doing an Ultramarines Tactical Squad. This is my entry pic. I’m still building the special weapons and the Sergeant.

I'm going to try and re-paint at least two units of high elves.

I’ve challenged The Boy to join us for this competition. He’s been into 40k for a few months, and is painting, albeit slowly (like his old man). I figured we could both use the motivation to get a squad of guys on the table. Right now the only fully painted unit he has is a chaplain.

As there is no model limit this month, I’ll be expanding my entry into a joint Ultramarine/Salamander task force, and subcontracting half the work.

He’s already painted 2 of the guys, but the other three will be entered. (I just wanted to picture the squad together)

Proof pic.

Proof:

Heres my proof pic going with some skellies this month. Sepulchral guard for the win.

Cool choice, n1ceguypaul - I am wanting to do a set of those myself.

However, I'm going to do an Imperial Guard duo holding the line against marauding daemons.
It was originally going to be tyranids but I already kinda did that in space marine month.

Anyhow, good luck everyone, it looks like people are gonna be painting up a storm!

You know what, i think i am going to join in this time as well. Looks incredibly fun!

So i am putting up 20 Stormvermin , i think they can go for core infantry for my Skaven army.
I have to paint them this month anyway as my Path of Glory campaign starts in December, so this challenge suits me incredibly well.

Good luck everyone out there competing.

Progress pic,

I'm very very happy with the progress I've made this weekend. I recently got back a dedicated hobby space and it has done wonders for my work backlog...

I've got the silver and the gold on all of them (Thank Kaldor Draigo for leadbelcher spray paint!), and the red on most... From a distance they already look halfway decent. Once done they are finished they should be awesome...

I'm in... busy month, so not a very ambitious model, but it makes one more boy closer to having my Freebooterz Slugga Squad complete.
I wouldn't want to charge a line with this lad holding it.
Proof:

Hi
I've just spent the last month painting up 20 ork boyz and 5 hellblasters finishing the last of them a few days before the vote for this challenge's subject. So i thought to myself, hmm what to do next, well my Blood Angels force HQ options are quite limited at the moment so i should perhaps do a few of those.

Checking through a few facebook group deals i grab myself the bits to convert myself a generic BA captain (from artemis), the sanguinor (from Edryc Setorax) and Dante (Primaris captain), surely one of those will fit the challenge... heh.. no "we're looking for the resolute front-line troops that form the core of any army, standing firm, taking and holding ground" .

Hmm. Time for some lateral thinking if i dont want to have to go get something new.

So what do you think, would Dante fit the bill? In the current fluff apparently the BA are trapped alone on the other side of the big rifty thing from the gathering storm. They are alone out there and are holding the line. Is it a bit of a stretch?


In the foreground of the image below is my Dante to be, and in the back is the captain and sanguinor, who are doing anything but holding the line by running forward.



Anyhow, I'll wait for your collective judgment whether i need to weather the disapproving look of my wife as i arrive home with a fresh 40k purchase =)

Been a long long time since entered one of these! So we’ll have a go with a single model. Inq54 Inquisitor Covenant of the Ordo Malleus. Hopefully will have him done by months end.

Wooooo, Jan is back, and with an epic model to boot! Looking forward to seeing this one! (then promptly snapping at least half my brushes in half out of sheer inadequacy, if your previous Inq54 stuff is anything to go by! )


@Moolet: As always, the theme is as interpreted by the entrants. The description in the OP is more a guideline for anyone who's not sure what to enter (ie. it's the most obvious/literal version of the theme) so if you think Dante fits, go for it! A strong commander is as vital to holding the line as a mass of troops, and Dante definitely fits that bill!

Cheers Para. Only working on 2 models this month but hey are both big 'uns - Inq Covenant as I neeeeeeeeed to get back into my Inq54 stuff adn also working on Ciri from Witcher 3 - 75mm mini o.O Should be able to finish them but knowing my snail's pace of painting................ :/

75mm Witcher models? I might just need to know where one can get such things... Got a link?

Geralt is called 'The White Butcher' & Ciri is called 'The Witch Hunter' They were made by Scale75. Mine was bought for me - will try and find out where adn get back to you

Found 'em with a quick google of the names, cheers... Might have to get one at some point, they're impressive models.

Links, in case anyone else was looking:

Finished

Its one of my old minis i stripped of paint, not sure where the back piece went missing, if i find it i paint it later, but probably calling this finished.

Nice one, Dance of Slannesh... I have a couple of those hidden somewhere in my eldar bits box, you just gave me the notion of fishing them out to add to my forming Ynnari army...

Yes, I know, I have too many things on my plate at the same time...

Thanks I find old models are ussually a pleasure to paint, do it!

I've managed to start painting... anyhow, the Pur-peL Krush are starting to take color:

I figured out the Orc Flesh for the team and painted the first three:



And, I figured out my base colors for armor and clothing (purple will be much brighter).

Front:


Back:

After failing to finish TWICE in recent months (Although last month I did finish... and then went away without uploading the pics ) I'm going to do one of two things for this month!

I should really paint up this Start Collecting Skitarii box - the troops hitting the topic precisely, and the Dominus and 'Crawler being the models that will, when I get round to playing them, Hold the Line! for me at the back of the table.



Alternatively, I really REALLY have an urge to finally paint up some of the Primaris Marines I've had sat in a box since the summer! Either way, something will get painted... probably...



Good luck for this month everyone!

Update on my Stormvermin.

Ive primed them white and started to assemble them, just body and head.
Ive never painted Stormvermin before, so i was not sure on colour scheme or how to paint them, took one for a test run.

This is a great opportunity to try and finish my army, life caught up to me and i couldn't touch a brush for a few months.

My entry is a black templar crusader squad, if they're not resolute front-line troopers then i don't know what is
It is my first time entering a contest like this, I hope i'm doing this right.

proof:

I'll try this month, got a new army I'm working on if work gives me any time. Officially I'll enter the 5 halberdiers out front, but I'm gonna try for all forty along with their accompanying characters.

Not models per se, but my groups been building terrain lately.

So, given I just ripped a bunch of garden stakes out, I'll be building a stockade for Warmachine/Hordes.
Figures that counts for hold the line.

I might add some Pikemen and Riflemen afterwards.

A wee start on Covenant on stream this evening. Basic skinwork sketched in

First model assembled, took some cutting and grinding but im satisfied with the result.
I think I'll keep the remainder of the squad a surprise and only post the finished product, but expect some heavy customisations on most of them

Finished. Might paint more team members, but I dobut it. These take like 8 hours to complete. The paintjob is based on this flag,

and the coat of arms on this one. I would like to zoom in more so you can see the lamb, but the focus just won't allow it.

It is the coat of arms of the city knin, I chose it since the theme is "Hold the line" and Knin holds inside it the second largest perserved military fortification in Europe.

These my precious minis will hold the line with ease especially Kriza Borac ( my all-time favourite mini ) with two tsyklon remotes.
I'm super excited to paint them...so excited...

Moving faster this month - almost all models done thanks to a public holiday for a horse race...yet another reason why we have the most liveable city in the world...

So here is the proof for the set pieces...

A little blurry, but a WIP. Got some edge highlights down; not something I normally do.

An updated proof pic. The squad is completely built now. Time for some paint.

Didn't notice any Tau on the list and i'm pretty nervous entering in, but hey ho!

This is what i'll be painting, these were second hand but have been cleaned, scrubbed and reprimed.

My proof pic

I'm throwing in my hat for this one - always fancied doing the Challenge for realsies, and now I have the time to do so.

And here's the article in question - a Freebooter Painboy!



I like to think that he fits this month's theme since his constant botch jobbing is what will keep the Boyz holding the line in the first place!


I've already started work on him (I meant to put up my proof earlier this week) - I just put my paintbrush down at 4:15AM to find I had completed his trousers. Please forgive early morning photography

lookin good so far mate...your stripes have gotten a lot better since I last saw

Thanks bud! This latest striping has been a combination of changing the white and blue and using Nuln Oil to have a better shade for both of them; it definitely has been my best go at it so far!

Quick progress update, decided to call it a day for now until tomorrow morning

Ok here's mine:



Guessing Ima do these guys since it's what I'm working on

 Januine wrote:
Been a long long time since entered one of these! So we’ll have a go with a single model. Inq54 Inquisitor Covenant of the Ordo Malleus. Hopefully will have him done by months end.

Yay Jan, good to see you back again, I'm sure I saw one of your pieces for sale on ebay the other day.

Your colours on your model are very striking DanceOfSlaanesh, I like it.

Great work finishing those bloodbowl players so quickly Power Elephant, I like that you have based them on those flags.

General Annoyance - the stripes look great on the trousers. I had a good at doing that myself but painted over it because it was terrible.

I've been weighing up what to do for my entry. I had a fun idea but wasn't sure I could finish it. However after a few days internal debate and ordering items I'm going for it.

I have chosen to go for a very literal interpretation of "hold the line" so my entry will be based around grots fishing.......

Proof and WIP



Also the league table has been updated

https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/732117.page#9481149

Jan might be interested to know he still tops quite a few of the stats I've been working on.

Going to have to reduce my squad down to 5 figures due to time constraints, kids and work doesn't always leave you a lot of time

I'm going to paint this tactical squad, and a 5-man squad of veterans, and that custodes.

Well I’m going to be a damn fool and add another Tactical Squad to my entry this month. Here’s their proof.

Another fantastic idea, MidgetGems!
That is going to be awesome.

Hi, never done one of these so hopefully I'm doing this correctly. I'm finally getting around to painting my heresy models that I've had for almost a year, for this challenge I would like to enter a tactical squad plus a squad of 5 firedrake's.

Here is my proof Image

Look forward to seeing how these turn out

 Chris56 wrote:
Another fantastic idea, MidgetGems!
That is going to be awesome.

Cheers Chris, your part of the reason I went for that idea, I have been enjoying your self contained diorama entries these last few months so thought I'd do my own.

Welcome to the challenge Obispal, I do like the Fire drakes models so looking forward to seeing how you paint them.

I've had a productive night tonight, got my pre shading done and the first green on all of my models, highlighted the black shoulder pads for my tactical squad and firedrake's helmets. I also got around to priming the weapons and Shields as I forgot to do that with the rest of the models.

Hoping to get all of these done over the weekend so I can play a game with them on Monday.

Mostly just basing atm, I need to reinforce metal ones so they'll stand up ok. Base is just thicker plasticard so it's a bit thin to hold metal, I've found. Aslo need to touch up a couple bases where water effects came off (grumbles at tape).

I'm finally getting work done on my entry:

Just the green armor and the metallics basecoated right now, still lots of work to do on these guys. These are incredibly busy models, and I haven't even gotten to all the little tentacles and stuff yet!

Does the next month traditionally have a christmas theme like the previous has a halloween one? I hope not. I just did my first christmas mini and don't feel like making another one next month.

 Power Elephant wrote:
Does the next month traditionally have a christmas theme like the previous has a halloween one? I hope not. I just did my first christmas mini and don't feel like making another one next month.

December is traditionally a “wild card” month where we can paint what we want. Makes it easier for everyone due to the chaos of the season. Not that we don’t see holiday themed entries, but they are not required.

Yeah, December will be the traditional Open Round and regular voted-for themes will return in January.

I’m thinking one more weekend of painting and then the bases.

I was going to get in this month...but then painted a huge dreadnought instead. Maybe next month!

 Elbows wrote:
I was going to get in this month...but then painted a huge dreadnought instead. Maybe next month!

Why wouldn't a huge dreadnought hold the line? Seems pretty fitting to me.

I forgot to take pictures before I started highlighting the armour today but I had these guys lying around just basecoated for months so I'd like to enter them.

Theres a good amount of troops this months, We'll have to see how many we produce by the end of it.

Well done kavika0311, thats some good progress on your guys

A small WIP from me, I need to get the highlights on the fish done in the next few days so I can try out some water effects

Edit: Actually I'm going to withdraw my entry. This forum (as a whole) has grown way too salty and negative for my tastes and I'd rather just post my work elsewhere.

Thanks Midget Games! I’m excited to see how your entry will look with the water added. Painting up 20 guys at a time is actually going much faster than I expected.
There are a lot of good looking entries so far.

@ Midget Gems: Definitely looking forward to how your entry turns out. As usual, it will probably be the most creative entry of all.

Making some progress on my own entry:

Next thing to do will be picking out all the tentacles and stuff. Got just 9 days left to finish these guys off and there's a major holiday in there, so I'd better keep up the pace.

I have been busy slowly taking care of the Dark Souls "Troops" and boy oh boy, am I happy with the result:



I'll try taking better pictures later on, near the end of the month. I still want to paint the heroes.

I didn't have my troll in the original image. So... here he is getting started.


The first four models are finished. Here they are nearing completion:


Here are the completed first four:

Can creatures as vile and pathetic as chaos cultists be expected to hold the line ? Not likely, but maybe more likely than me finishing all 32 of them by the end of the month....Hopefully I'll paint enough to have a decent looking squad.

Anyway, here is my proof :

I was going to just paint one of these guys:



but I've already finished him and he was really quick to paint, so I'll see how many of these I can get finished.

Progress pictures, I'm quite happy with the progress with my terminators and my Dreadnought.

First a group shot. To my eyes at least they are already usable on the tabletop without embarassement:



My chaplain is coming along nicely:



The paladin ancient also:



I think that if I make it with all of them painted, based, finished to a satisfying level, I'll get my grubby little paws on a stormraven for them to ride in style...

I don't have a lot of time this month due to other commitments: I present to you:

1x Eldar Guardian. I'm going to paint him in the same scheme as my circa 1999 Eldar army (guy on right).

Looking forwards to see what the end result difference is!



I have a bunch more of these metal blokes, so maybe I'll add a few more if there is time.

Love that guardian - have several in my army. I really miss the variety and character of the old guardian metals.

Well that's slightly annoying, my brush decided to break during a session, just hope that the new set arrives in time for me to finish the last of the squad.

On another note, some of these minis look amazing on here!

Right.... let’s try this again as I posted the progress pics is someone else’s plog the first time round. Doh!!!!
Covenant is coming along nicely. Got him mostly assembled this evening. Good ol JB Weld - the only choice for 54mm solid white metal minis!!

More WIP:

Two guys basically done. Still need decals and basing, but that all gets done at the end.


The other 3 are getting close, need to do the second red on the trim, then the second blue pass and wash.


Great work from everyone this month. The line is going to hold!

 Januine wrote:
Right.... let’s try this again as I posted the progress pics is someone else’s plog the first time round. Doh!!!!
Covenant is coming along nicely. Got him mostly assembled this evening. Good ol JB Weld - the only choice for 54mm solid white metal minis!!

Did you shrink someones face?

That's some incredible detail there!

Cheers matey. It is a 54mm scale model. Jes Goodwin sculpt so lush detailing

Here is my progress. Need alot more done, but I should have them complete in time.

If this bends the definition of the month's entry, no worries. If not, by all means accept my humble entry.

Boagrius, Leviathan Dreadnought of the Wandering Sons.







And the final results:

Elbows, please tone it down, it's not fair.

Dips and sponge baby, all day. I struggled a bit though, tend to dislike things which take me more than one or two sittings.

I have complete lack of motivation paint anything at the moment. I got base colors pretty much done on 10 dudes, but cant find motivation to start highlighting and detailing. :( I'll try to make at oeast few of them so I can get something presentable.

I guess that's what guard army does to you at some point...

 CREEEEEEEEED wrote:
Elbows, please tone it down, it's not fair.

No chance of that!


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Four minis down, one left to go.

Not quite sure if it's up to the standards I'm seeing here but since I'm already commited and it's my first time entering, I might as well see it through!

I'am still in this...surprisingly.
Just finished 12 Necron Warriors just need to base them in the next day or two before posting the glowy gunned ancients.

I'm almost there, looks like I will finish after all:

Hope everyone else can get their stuff done too!

Getting there, first three done, two to go and some tidying up to do

Necron Warriors (Finished)
It's worth having a Zoom in to see the details properly,Enjoy!

Almost done with the first 5:


Just need to wait for the wash to dry on the arms and then edge highlight them. Plus the bases etc. They have been joined by one more guy, he’s my stretch goal. I kitbashed two AGLs, but didn’t finish the build until after what I thought was the last prime of the season. With surprisingly mild weather on Friday, I risked the rattle can and primed the few guys in the built pile.

Proof pic addendum:


Not sure if he’s be done in time, but I figure even if I miss the deadline, I want to get him ready for the squad anyway.

Finished, had to take pix w/ phone atm, having camera issues sigh












[spoiler][url=https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/917782-KillaKanz.html][img]https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2017/11/27/917782_sm-KillaKanz.jpg[/img][/url] [url=https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/917781-KillaKanz.html][img]https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2017/11/27/917781_sm-KillaKanz.jpg[/img][/url] [url=https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/917778-KillaKanz.html][img]https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2017/11/27/917778_sm-KillaKanz.jpg[/img][/url] [url=https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/917779-KillaKanz.html][img]https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2017/11/27/917779_sm-KillaKanz.jpg[/img][/url] [url=https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/917780-KillaKanz.html][img]https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2017/11/27/917780_sm-KillaKanz.jpg[/img][/url][/spoiler]

If i work at them for an hour a night and focus on speed rather than neatness I may well finish them. Plus I'm gonna just gonna ignore the armour joints, partly because I did on the first 5 assault marines, but mainly to save time.

I bring WIPs for the WIP God!


Twins!

Got a bit of work done on the weekend. This bloke was primed back in the day with some Grey Walmart surface primer that I haven't been able to find anymore, circa 1999. Prep-work was kind of gak. Back in those days, I wasn't too careful in removing mold lines (mostly tried to hide them with very thick paint). Some time was spent to re-prepare the surface and scrape away the mold lines. Also, bent his legs a bit to make him not lean so much to the front!



The original version was primed in grey, black washed then painted in Snot Green / Scorpion Green highlights. Both my pots of Snot Green and Scorpion Green have long since expired due to the absolutely rubbish GW screw tops in use at the time. I don't have a snot green analogue in my collection (P3 Iosan Green being the only analog I am aware of... as I'm a few product cycles behind with the new GW paint naming...) at the moment, just lots of cammo type green-browns and a few bright ones: The repaint was based in P3 Gnarls Green, with shade being a rough 50% VMC Hull Red / Gnarls Green mix. Highlights are Gnarls Green mixed up to P3 Necrotite Green.



Wasn't really popping enough: so I went back and did another highlight with GW Dorn Yellow faded back into Necrotite Green.



I've been running up against the deadline for the past few months... Hope to finish with time to spare this month!

Love that figure - can't wait to see the result.

I'm calling my entry in this challenge done, here are the final pics of my Death Guard Plague Marines:



I had a lot of fun painting these models. They are absolutely packed with detail, some of which I probably failed to pick out well. I think they can hold the line pretty well given that they are blessed by Grandfather Nurgle with unnatural (one might say disgusting...) resilience.

Looking forward to seeing how everyone else's stuff turns out. Should be a great month for voting with the best of everyone's basic line troops making an appearance.

Done! 1 Ork Skarboy (FInal Pics):









SInce last month's entry satisfied the minimum skull requirement, this month's boy has the minimum number of checkered panels for a standard GW ork boy (one on each cheek, the crest of the helmet, the back panel and sides of the chainsword, one on his belly, and one on his slugga).

I'm looking forward to voting, there's some great stuff this month!

Looks like I'll have some cultists to present on the 30th, 16 of them done, 16 more to go...

Back with my finished entry just in time!
I present you my black templar crusader squad.

Some individual models:








And finally, the full squad.

Just the bases to finish and mine will be up tomorrow!

I sadly cannot make it, and wont be able to finish my models. Sorry for that.
Hope i can take part of another painting challenge later when i have more time and actually have time to finish my project.

So cross out my 20 Storm Vermin.

Great models the rest of you, can't wait to vote

And I'm done!

Turns out that "as far as I can go in my pile of grey knight minis" was "as far as the Terminators"...

So, the initial image:


And the finished bunch (at least finished enough for now. I might go over some details later, but I'm happy to play them this way for now...





The Dreadnought fits right in with the terminators:



And the back scroll of the chaplain, I'm quite happy with that bit:



And just for good measure a "proper" shot of the dreadnought:



All in all it was a very busy month for me outside of the hobby, so I'm happy to have found the time to do these guys...
The lesson I learned is simple: undercoating with a spray can saves a lot more time and headache than the cost of said can. I guess that there will be other cans of spray paint in my near future to continue going through my unpainted minis...

Bit of a rushed entry for me as it's crunch time at uni, but here's an Ultramarine Veteran Sergeant!

Proof



Final

So that's me finished!

Final Images






Might take a little break now...

Three more units for my Nomads are done. These guys will be my Tunguska sectorial army when Corvus releases it. I hope it
will be early next year. Too bad I ran out of time to finish the two remotes, need a couple of days to complete them.
Well I painted my favourite mini it was such pleasure to paint him. Kriza Borac, such an awesome sculpt and great design, I just
love it.

I tried again at NMM, still I'm not 100% satisfied. The more I watch painting tutorials the more I realise how crucial the contrast is
so I pushed it even more. Overall I'm happy with the paint job.

Well this is as finished as they're going to get this month. Two Ultamarine Tactical Squads.

Just 1 day left to get those finished entries in. Eek.

Thanks for the support Zerg, you have done really well with the Death Guard Plague Marines, they have quite a good chunky nature to them.

Really good to have you back in the challenge and see you awesome painting again Jan I hope you get him finished.

Great work ChaosDad, you have managed to get loads done this month, I am very impressed.

Still a good entry para, a "rush" for you takes most of us about 2 weeks Hope uni is going well.

You should be very happy with that paint job Modock, just damn good all round really.

kavika0311 you have out produced my year in a month, the bases look and work really well with the Ultras. I like that you have given them a bit of mud splatter on the legs

My entry was going well until last weekend when I got quite sick on the Friday + Saturday then had to go to a wedding on the Sunday. I've been playing with the water effects the last few days and messed up with them but there's now not enough time to redo them properly so the splash effect in the final pics is actually still drying lol, It will go more translucent in a few days.
I'll add too the flurry of activity this evening. My finished model. Grot fishing. I hope you enjoy the very literal interpretation of "hold the line" it was a fun idea to model

Cheers MG!
Damn, that diorama is funny as hell. Really great execution. Nice touch with the strap, awesome teamwork!

Did'nt think I would paint the thirty two cultists in time, but I did ! Here are the final pics for my entry:







Amazing interpretation on Hold The line MG, and good job to you all !

Whoahh, that is a lot of cultists!

Top job again, Modock - great painting!

MG - that is freaking awesome, I love it.

Anyhow, here is my finished piece - a couple of Imperial Guardsmen trying to hold the line against a daemon incursion into a hospital...

Well, little late getting the proof up, but almost done, just gotta finish later this morning.
Proof

Wip as now:



Kinda a bit hectic, didn't get near as much done as I wanted, and the crap assembly I did didn't help.

Finished the bases last night, might not have time to to the decals, but I’ll get pics after work tonight.

Nice work everyone. Month’s end is always here before we know it.

OP up to date, I think I've got everyone! Let me know if I missed your entry.

Chris and Midget, lovely work! Both pieces oozing with character, Midget once again going above and beyond with the comedic conversion and Chris, it's great to see you really developing a unique style over the last few months, making use of the almost pastel tones without losing the element of realism or looking too cartoony is mighty impressive.

All done and just in time. Holding the line for humanity against the daemonic filth to the warp - Inquisitor Covenant of the Ordo Malleus. 54mm GW mini fromthe (sadly) now OOP game Inquisitor. Had a great time painting this guy up. As he’s pure white metal he weighs a ton!! Well 89gms actually lol. Proper camera is being a sod at the mo so iPad camera it has to be

Jup, amazing diorama Chris!

 Modock wrote:
Three more units for my Nomads are done. These guys will be my Tunguska sectorial army when Corvus releases it. I hope it
will be early next year. Too bad I ran out of time to finish the two remotes, need a couple of days to complete them.
Well I painted my favourite mini it was such pleasure to paint him. Kriza Borac, such an awesome sculpt and great design, I just
love it.

I tried again at NMM, still I'm not 100% satisfied. The more I watch painting tutorials the more I realise how crucial the contrast is
so I pushed it even more. Overall I'm happy with the paint job.

Damn those look nice. The blend are really good, whereas mine barely show (the lighting obscures it, I need a new lightbox).
Perhaps I could help you with the NMM. My guy is NMM, and while admittedly the gold on the eagle didn't turn out that good the silver is pretty good I think.

Hi,
Some lovely entries, truly stunning.
I've finished mine, I just need some time to take some piccies tonight.

Fantastic work from everyone this month! I'm happy to say that I managed to get something done this month - though not the full Start Collecting box, I managed the parts that will be holding the back line of my Mechanicus army; the Dunecrawler and Techpriest Dominus!



See you all next month guys!

Finished my 54mm Black Watch Highlander the other day and finally got some pics of him. Pretty fun to do, and the kilt was a first.

Really impressive to see such a quantity of work being completed for this month from everyone!



More Photos + Initial Proof:

Finished seven US Airborne in the end but there they are...









Managed to drop one while photographing so there is a somewhat droopy barrel in there.

To hold the line you must have a line to hold.





Not quite 100% finished with it, but I'm out of time and can't do the rest without another week of drying/curing time for the various weathering layers.

Here are my finished warriors that hit the pitch every week to either hold the line or advance past the enemy line:

I had hoped to get the whole line finished, but November proved to be a busy month.

Thrower:


Blitzer:


Black Orc Lineman:


Lineman:

Finished. A mildly converted Reaper Miniatures Daughter of Sehkmet, rallying her pike unit to hold. Sadly, back to really crappy photos, because my normal setup hasn't been unpacked yet, and I still haven't figured out my new phone's camera:

Wow, loads of awesome last-minute entries! I'm going to be getting home from work at eight, then desperately trying to do the small (but hugely important in my mind) bits and pieces to finish my entry off. Then I'll have to take photos as well. It might be a late night!

Same here, I just want to finish one more miniature and I'll be finished.

Also, amazing entries everyone!

Loads of entries now, I'll have to do a rally at the end to see how much has been produced this month

Thanks Modock, Chris56 and Para

I'm impressed you managed to get 30 done KernelTerror, they all look quite terrifying.

Chris56 - That scene is just wonderful. It really reminds me of some of the best dioramas in the Dakka gallery. The colour pallet is fantastic.

Good work NathanD298, you still managed to get a fair bit done to a very good standard

I really like the Tartan Oppl.

Well done on getting those 7 finished ZenBadger, the light shinning on them gives them quite a cool look.

Peregrine - Love the little details you have added like the knife and ammo boxes

HungryTaz - really like the bloodbowl models, you have painted them very well as a well matched team

Well done Vejut, that's a huge pike, you have been very creative

The quality of entries is great. I think midget you've knocked the ball out the park yet again, I'm a huge fan of Oppls entry and Januine has returned on stunning form.


This month I've converted up my own BA triumvirate (Commander Dante, a Captain yet to be named and the Sanguinor). My entry this month is Commander Dante.




I've also painted up Captain is painted but I've not finished my take on the Sanguinor yet =)

I've not really had chance to pop in and see what's been going on for the last few months. This is pretty much the first time I've seen anything from you guys since Sept. Great to see a lot of the usual names (and some new ones!) and all the same great paint jobs. MG, I'm particularly liking your usual comedy take on the theme - great job!

I'll try to get back in the next few days to vote this time around.

Heres my entry. Blooming life and illness got in the way this month. So its a bit of a rush job towards the end but gonna call them finished.

Calling it done. Still need to do the decals, but I recently picked up some micro sol/set and want to practice using them without rushing on competition models. Photos could probably be a little better, but that’s life.

Pushed for some edge highlighting on these guys. Might be subtle, but it’s consistently there. Need more practice, but then, I’ve got all the rest of the primaris guys to get better on. Got a squad ready for the table. The stretch goal guy with the GL didn’t make the photo cut, but I hope to have him done for this weekend. The Boy didn’t rise to the challenge as I hoped, but I think he got one or two done. I’ve asked for pics, we’ll see if he sends them.

So there was an issue with the Grot Orderly's Needle, and by issue, I mean it snapped clean off. Kinda scuppered my progress, so my entry isn't 100% complete; I worked too bloody hard to step out of the competition though!

So here he is completed (sorta)





Gotta say there was more detail on this than I was prepared for... I used over 50 different paints, and I still haven't finished him - that's certainly a record for me!

I'm calling these guys done (at least for the purposes of this), even though they've had a few steps skipped, have no jump packs and the bases aren't done.

Final images. Sheesh, 1:30am.













I don't know if everyone knows the lore of the Stormcast Eternals, so I'll give a little potted history to explain what my thinking was with these miniatures. The old Warhammer world was destroyed, taken over by chaos. Evil won. And for centuries hell reigned over the remaining people of the realms created in the place of the old world. I think that's roughly right. The important thing is it's hell, ruled by the likes of Khorne and Nurgle et al. The Stormcasts are crated by their god, Sigmar, hundreds of years later to try to fight back. They are the reforged souls of warriors from the old world, taken from that world and brought back to life and reformed into stronger bodies by Sigmar. When they die, Sigmar can raise them again to fight once more, but each time they are raised they lose more of their humanity, more of their memories, and they gradually become a bit perculiar. This seems to happen in a variety of ways, but for example one soldier might become quieter, have much less of an individual personality, but be more inclined to follow orders. They also don't actually know how many times they have been reforged, and how much they have changed.

To me, this is all pretty bleak. They are both the one shining beacon of hope in the darkness, but also represent something tragic. I didn't want to paint them as conquering heroes or golden angelic figures. I wanted to paint them to look cold, and used pretty much all cold tones. The gold is shaded with blue rather than brown or orange, for example. The only bit of heat I wanted to appear on the models was the blood of their enemies which covers them. I don't know if I achieved all that, but that was the thinking.

2:30 am, but here are the final pictures! Dark Souls goodness for everyone!

Royal Sentinel


Silver Knight


Silver Knight Archer


Hollow Soldier


Hollow Archer


Hollow Soldier w/ Greataxe


BONUS! The Heroes! They too must hold the line!

Assassin


Herald


Knight


Warrior

Here's my Guardian. I really love the character that they have, and surprisingly, with modern style paint jobs... they hold up well! I have about 60 metal guardians. Sadly, finding plastic arms / weapons from the same era is pretty hard these days, so I fear about a dozen of them will remain unfinished in perpetuity.

Eldar were my first army back in 1994. Under the spoiler, for the brave... there's a comparison shot between this bloke and one of his brothers from 1999... Its crazy to think that he was part of an army that was considered above average quality back then. The entire hobby has really moved forwards in terms of quality. The internet, when its powers are used for good, really is can be a great vehicle for sharing ideas / techniques. That and easy availability of hobby products like acrylic medium and washes really has raised the level of the entire hobby. The high quality of work in this thread is a testament to that! Back then, it was all drybrushing. Edge highlighting was uncommonly employed and static grass bases was state of the art. Wet blending was exclusively the domain of Grand Tournament armies and Golden Demon entries! Scorched brown bases were a radical departure from the usual goblin green rings of the era.



AVERT YOUR EYES... YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. The old guy doesn't look so good under the bright lights...

Yeah, I had a plumbing issue that ate up the last 3 days I had, so My squad isn't finished :(. Sorry gang.

Lord bane, that sucks. Hopefully next month you get better luck. Did you manage to sneak one or two of them out? Goodness knows i've done cut down entries before...
Keezus, your "avert your eyes" is my "wish I could manage that good", no shame there.

Wow, so much amazing entries, and funny ones too! You guys are filled to the brim with talent, I always enjoy seeing how everyone paints his own way, a bit like everybody has different writing. I can't wait to watch how the voting part goes.
Good luck everyone!

Calling things to a close here, poll will go up tomorrow as I'm very tight for time at the moment.

Was not able to get everything finished due to work but at least for the tactical squad I just need to drybrush the bases and glue them on. The firedrake's I didn't want to rush so they currently just have all the details blacked out. I plan on doing the flames and skulls on the firedrake's a bronze colour similar to the shoulder pads on the tactical squad

Vote is here, thanks to Midget Gems stepping in to set it up:
https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/745883.page