Welcome all to the 96th round of the Dakka Painting challenge. For the unfamiliar, this is a friendly painting competition open to members of all skill levels and experience, whether your entry is your first or you thousand-and-first time painting miniatures. Each month, finished entries are collected into a thread where the community can vote on their favorite pieces, and those votes go towards an annual overall League that runs for 12 rounds (of which this is the fina round!).
This month, the theme is Location, Location, Location: The ground on which you fight, and the means by which you use it, can be the key ti victory. Be it camoflauge gear, environmental protection or simply adapting to a master a particular habitat, your entry should feature models suited to fighting in unusual environments, ideally accentuated by basing work or specialist gear on the mini itself.
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 1st of February and will end at midnight GMT on 28th February. After this, I shall compile the finished entries into a new thread, and voting will run for 5 days.
List of entrants:
Daia T'Nara: The Twisted Sisters, Slaaneshi Sororitas Rock Band (NSFW)
The problem with good locations is that they are often already taken. When this old lictor wants to head to his favorite hiding spot for a nap, there are some marine interlopers perched there looking for targets.
I have too many options for this month: eldar striking scorpions and rangers, primaris eliminators, exodite lords from homebrew forest, plains, desert and mountain clans, more homebrew exodite waywatchers, squats...
But I think I'll paint this chap up and see how I go with him first before deciding whether or not to add more models.
Flinty wrote: If only we could all go house hunting on a grumpy dinosaur and armed with a laser Lance
If there's anything you need an angry dinosaur for, it's house hunting... Maybe job hunting, too.
"Give me the job or my dinosaur will eat you," is the perfect response to "why do you think you're right for Dunning, Wilhelm and Stapler?"!
That and: "My giant carnivore dinosaur-horse has deep seated anger issues..." to the question "What are your weaknesses?"...
KidCthulhu wrote: I'm really impressed with how much the WIP Exodite looks like the drawing from the 2nd Ed Eldar Codex. I did a double-take looking at the helmet!
Thanks! Like a lot of my conversions, it's heavily based on someone else's conversion, but the 2nd ed codex was obviously a big influence on both counts. I have so many nostalgic memories of that codex...
It took some doing, but I think I've got an appropriate entry for this. Proof:
Firestrike Servo Turrets. I figure a pair of gun emplacements defending a fixed position kind of fits the theme. Yes, technically these guns can move, but not quickly, and so would only be useful for defending a certain location as opposed to something like a tank that can also be used offensively.
It's a bit tenuous, but I'm going to enter the Twisted Sisters, who've decided the middle of a battlefield is the perfect spot for some hard rock - hopefully I'll also build up the ground on the shared base with some putty and paint it to match so they all slot in and make it a mini-diorama, otherwise just the gals themselves (or as many as I get finished), because that's like having a location-based entry, and honestly I don't have any better ideas.
I actually had put some skin tones and a bit of gold on some of them, but I wasn't feeling it - the plan had been to put them on techy Necromunda bases so they'd look at home all posed on a Rhino as their mobile battle-stage, but I just don't have any enthusiasm for painting vehicles larger than a bike, so they've been sitting around without much progress for quite some time. So the bases now have the same terrain as the rest of the warband, and I resprayed them to start fresh - hopefully the contest deadline will motivate me to get working on them in a timely fashion.
Model limit with terrain? That's a good question! I purposely limited my own entry to bartender and four terrain elements so I wouldn't exceed 5 models. Just in case...
Sorry but it appears that I can whine pretty well for someone with plenty of good options.
Spoiler:
I had wracked my unpainted collection for something location-worthy and come up with, *shudder* a unit of wood elf archers. So before I clawed my own eyes out in despair I thought I’d come on here and see what you’re all up to. But apparently this is quickly becoming something of a terrain challenge. I have a few cowboys and lasers underground bits but I’m not that fussed.
I don’t really want to skip this month, I just don’t have any sneaky infiltrator types. (That I want to paint.) (I have a couple of Tau sneaky suit thingies… that make me yawn.)
I have some lovely B&B characters that could apparently fit any theme but this.
And there are always more camo-patterned WW2 planes. The location being the the airfield they’re parked on presumably. But I did planes last month…
I could sculpt a location based thingy and paint it up…
I noticed that it's changed into a terrain challenge of sorts too, which scuppers my gondolieri idea. I might tackle the Hydra tank for MCP as that's a terrain piece and a playable character (Hail Hydra!)
I've always been meaning to sign up to a painting challenge but I've always left it too late. This time though I have the perfect thing in mind. So I hope I can sling in this entry. I've had zero motivation at the mo so I'm hoping for the deadline to kick me up the old proverbial.
What better for Location Location Location than a strange icy planet inhabited by hideous aliens in the galactic core? One that also has delicious minerals and ores for my Votann.
I spent last night fiddling about with the base so they are finally ready to get sprayed and painted.
I really just want to get a model done for one of these challenges, so I’m going to try to make this easy on myself and just build and paint up a couple of Skitarii. Location has a lot to do with how the Skitarii look, as their robes’ red color is used as camouflage on Mars and a lot of their augmentations help them perform better in different environments. If I get these two done quick enough, I may post more proofs and do some more.
Okay, so I've finished everything but the bartender...
In retrospect, I should have primed her black instead of relying in Wizkids pre-primed model. It really hard to see details and the paint wasn't very cooperative. I thought a lighter primer would have made the pink and the teal pop more. I think I can finish her to look decent. but not good enough to honor how well she's actually sculpted.
If I wasn't afraid of melting the plastic, I'd strip the paint, prime black, and start over.
I’m just done sculpting this one having plastered it in barnacles.
Behold an undead Parrot. The location being number 14 on the Burrows & Badgers Wanderings Chart where the Necromancer went diving on a Shipwreck and found himself something worth bringing back to the warband.
I wouldn't want to run into an undead parrot on a dark night! He'll have someone's hand off with that beak...
Can't wait to see him painted!
I'm a bit unsure what to go for this month... it's going to be another busy month at work, so not a lot of modelling/painting time. I've got a blister of Ratling snipers, and I'm tempted to do one of those, with a scenic display base or something. But I'll have to dig out the putty and Krieg him up a bit to fit in to my Vet Guardsmen Kill Team. I could add a spotter or something if I get time.
Or, I've got some old dolly parts from when I tried making scifi minis years ago. I did a bad job of them then, but I'd like to have another go, and bulk one up, going for a MaK/SF3D style, maybe. Again, scenic base or similar. Then maybe add more models if time allows.
Proof pics for those two options:
Unless I decide to do something else instead... we'll see!
I've got the Ratling sniper all 'Death Korps'ed up now. I've not had time to do anything to the scifi trooper yet though, so no decision on which I'm actually going to enter this month.
Plus, I've just heard from our moldmaker that the Burrows & Badgers Tunneljacks I sculpted have been moulded, and I'll have casts later this week. They fit the 'Location' theme pretty well too, so I may end up entering them instead!
KidCthulhu wrote:That's some impressive sculpting!
Thank you both!
CancelledApocalypse wrote: And love the model Lovejoy! Are you just painting that one, or are you going to do a full squad?
Not sure, TBH - I may do him on his own, with a display base. He's going to be the sniper for my Vet Guardsmen Kill Team, so I might do a few of those to go with him. I won't do any more Kriegy Ratlings, because a) I only need one, and b) the rest would be pretty much impossible to do, because of the poses.
But then I might not be painting him at all! I've done the putty work on the power armour / environment suit dude, and I quite fancy painting him. Lots of weathering to play about with.
Also, I should have casts of these, which I might do instead:
I finally managed to get the chupacabras assembled:
They each come in six pieces-- both legs, both arms, faces, and tails are all separate, and my superglue is acting weird (bonds instantly to skin, reluctantly to everything else). Even with more than 24 hours of drying time, parts kept popping off, even with light handling. In retrospect, the parts probably needed drilling, but everything is so thin and the metal so soft that I'm afraid they would snap apart willy-nilly. Hopefully the putty I used to fill the gaps will make the joins strong enough.
Whew, be glad to pick those guys up next kickstarter Lovejoy, and to see them painted--love the flamethrower most. I think I like the hazard suit more for the challenge, but they all look solid.
JoshinJapan, sounds like old stale CA to me, had some that did that back in the day when I still got the big bottles not the single serve tubes. Guessing it smells bad too?
Love the Kriegling sniper, and of course the tunneljacks back from the caster is great news and I’m looking forward to seeing them painted. Not sure I really see where you’re going with the powerarmour dude but then I know you have a magic wand for a paintbrush sooo that could be amazing.
I don’t know about you but I feel like I do my best painting work when it’s for this monthly challenge so if you want to push the boat out on your tunneljacks this might be a great opportunity, though you’ve said before you like to do this to get a break from work.
JoshinJapan, those chupacabras are very cool - seriously creepy looking! They sound like a nightmare to assemble though...looking forward to seeing what colour scheme you go with!
Vejut, those Tunneljacks will probably be a 'straight to the webstore' thing, rather than in the Kickstarter. They're part of my Salute demo game. And yep, I think the hazard suit's better for this challenge too!
thCrowe, I'm honestly not sure about painting the Tunneljacks - I'm having to do two sets anyway, as one will be 'normal' levels of contrast/OSL, but the other will be for my Salute game, which is set at night time, so they'll be very heavy on the dark/light contrast. So I'll probably do either the Ratling or the scifi dude.
He's an attempt to get me interested in re-starting an old project. I did some scifi minis for a range called '2107' before I started Oathsworn. But I messed up various aspects of them, due to being very new at the whole thing! Stuff like all of them have horribly dislocated hips, for example. All that remains of the project now is a short video on the website, which I now realise I'm still paying for, 11 years later...
I'm still not sure what to do for this round but in the absence of anything else I have my Pulcinella for Carnevale, all of which are on some custom made Venetian street bases
I've done most of the basecoats. I'm struggling a little with the cloak and totally unsure what colour to paint the genestealer. Well I have sort of a good idea but depends if it can pay off! Will add pictures soon.
Looks everyone has some great progress, love the chupacabras and the sculpts!
This thread needs something… more orks in gas masks perhaps? I finally got Action Jackson base coated and I think I’ll be able to finish him in time, so count me in!
Proof:
And WIP:
My Battletech reinforcements just turned up. If you’re in the middle of a battlefield, a battlemech is probably a good location to be in, provided you’re in the Battletech universe, otherwise you’re probably not quite so safe.
I will choose 5 of these for this month’s challenge!
Done - The Twisted Sisters, Slaaneshi Sororitas Rock Band (because the battlefield is the perfect location for a concert... look it's the best I could come up with for 'using the terrain', you ever seen a Slaaneshi wearing camouflage?):
Spoiler:
Most of them, anyway - I realised after I'd taken the proof photo that the band's over the five mini limit, so I'm omitting the pianist, since she looks kind of weird without her daemonic keyboard and that's pretty much a whole seventh miniature by itself, so it's just simpler this way. It may look a bit messy, but I'm pretty proud of freehanding the original Emperor's Children 'Slaves to Pleasure' banner from Realm of Chaos vol. 1 on the side of the drum.
Doing 2 in parade colours of teal and red, two in my version of some kind of MTP camo, and one as a merc who thinks the best way not to be seen is to be painted up like a copse of trees (a stand of larches, perhaps)
Parade team starting next to a couple of mechs I printed yesterday. The size is about right I think. The catapult is perhaps a little bulky.
Once Ive finished the camo pattern, a wash of Agrax will tone it all toward brown.
Not had much time to do much painting but I got a fair amount of progress done yesterday.
Need to blend the cloak a little more and I still have the base and the stealer to go. I should take WiP shots more often because I notice things I want to fix (like that bloody mould line on the genestealer for instance).
People are flying through this challenge - loads of great looking paintwork already, and it's only the 12th!
I haven't got as far as picking up a brush yet, but I have at least made a final decision on what to enter. I've added a few more models to the sci-fi power armour / environment suit guy. These are all made from bits I did for a project about 12 years ago; the setting is the year 2107, where mercs are fighting small actions in climate and nuclear fallout ravaged parts of the world. Lots of semi-autonomous robots and bulky suits, and lots of painful death if your suit is breached.
Opps got my Months Mixed up with the original post of this.....
I thought I would go for a combination of models that need good locations to work and also a cool display board/diorama hopefully I can get it all done. My entry Proof and progress so far
A bit of proof of progress
9 Pulcinella, though it'll be 5 with the most Location relevant bases that'll go in ultimately; probably the Brewer, Ostrich Rider, King, female Pulcinella at the back and... One other. Maybe the bruiser with the smashed up planks.
The chupacabras are finished, but as predicted, one of them lost their tail due to my use of expired superglue (as an aside; I had just opened the bottle specifically for these models). Here are the two that haven't fallen apart, in a grainy photo that one would expect when photographing cryptids. I'll share more, hopefully better, photos after I patch up the third.
I'm really unhappy with how my bartender is coming out and I don't know how to strip the model without ruining it. So here's a proof pic of bartender attempt # 2.
All the terrain bits (and then some!) for the bar is done, but I still need someone to sling suds
So, pretty much finished here on my Kahl. Still got a bit of time left on the clock so I won't say I'm totally done when I still have some time to fiddle about. But I'm fairly pleased with how they turned out.
EDIT: this is my final entry just so everyone knows. Cheers.
First of the three portions I glued together and mounted on a base. I added some flying buttresses (Made by one of the gamers in my group) as there is no longer a roof.
The started a ruined floor made from chipboard.
The Pulcinella Pub Crawl! The 5 models I intend for this month's contest. All are on custom bases to capture the sense of the Venetian streets and docks.
And couple of detail shots:
King for a Day, the Leader. Enjoyed his custom base. Tried to have elements of everything - the stone, the canal, wood and rusty metal.
Particularly happy with the ripples that the tentacle's making.
The stonework detailing on the front and the chain hanging off the base are both GS, just to keep the whole thing looking consistent.
Another two mounted on a new base, which I have cut in two so that it can be a single piece or split in two. Then I added tiles. Next is the rubble and the remnants of the roof.
Great work on that beastie, theCrowe!
'E's kicked the bucket, 'e's shuffled off 'is mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisible!!
I've finally got some paint on my minis. The location is somewhere in Europe, in the year 2107, after nuclear war, comet impact, a Carrington event, climate disasters and lots of disease pandemics... it's a rough place to be, and the private military contractors who work there need heavy duty protective gear. Which sometimes works. They use a lot of robotic support too. Which also sometimes works. For a while, at least.
Rest of the pics behind spoiler tags to avoid thread bloat:
Thanks Michael, and thanks for writing the game that inspired it.
Your heavy duty PPE crew are looking pretty rugged. Have you imagined any other factions in this setting? Semi-sentient wolf-packs, steampunk bio-engineer types or horribly mutated survivor scavengers?
theCrowe wrote:.... Have you imagined any other factions in this setting? Semi-sentient wolf-packs, steampunk bio-engineer types or horribly mutated survivor scavengers?
Not really - I see it as a hard scifi setting, so all stuff that's either already viable or already being developed. So the less science based stuff doesn't really fit in, TBH...
Olthannon wrote:The mech and co look excellent in the blue and white, like the scratches and battle damage on them.
Not the best pic, but almost done with the Lictor.
Going for a mottled camo/blending effect, but still keeping the hive fleet colors. Will be interesting to see how he fits in with the rest of the swarm. I think the base will be real important there.
Snipers are going slow, they might not make it across the line.
Hey folks, just dropping in amidst all these great entries with a quick update on the future of the challenge. The short version is that from March and the start of the 2023-24 rotation, Nevelon will be taking over my duties in terms of running proceedings, including the monthly challenge/vote/subject poll threads, fielding rules questions and generally being the go-to guy for anything related to the Monthly Painting Challenge.
Having managed this whole thing for most of the 96 rounds to date, I'll be stepping aside as it's become harder and harder for me to find the time and motivation to keep things running smoothly (as you can probably tell from the somewhat delayed voting threads in recent months)
The start of a new annual rotation feels like a good time to hand things over, and in Nevelon's capable hands I'm sure the Challenge will continue to grow, inspire and retain the fantastic, supportive and creative community that has sprung up around it over the last 8(!) years. I will still be dropping by to be inspired and encouraged by the superb work and effort on show every month, and might even get back to throwing my own entries into the ring every now and then!
I'll be doing one last bit of admin in setting up February's voting thread, but for now I'll sign off with a huge thanks to the people who've kept this fantastic thing going, and those who will continue to do so in the days ahead! To Midget Gems (and TP-DC before him) for keeping the League running and updated and to Nevelon for stepping in when I needed breaks and agreeing to take over now. To the absolute heroes that spend time every month providing thoughtful, constructive feedback to every entry, to the regulars that show up round after round and keep this Challenge rolling, and to everyone who's dropped in for a round or two, left some feedback. offered advice or suggestions, and who just painted cool stuff for us to feast our eyes on! Bravo!
Thanks for all your hard work and dedication running this Challenge. I do hope you can enter in the future-- your unique style has actually inspired me to try some new techniques in my own painting!
First of all, I'll echo the sentiments in the posts immediately above; a sincere thank you Paradigm for starting and running this thing for as long as you have. This competition has been the primary driver for me to complete dozens of miniatures even during the months when I didn't enter. Something about the word competition has pushed me to paint to a higher standard than I would have otherwise and also try new techniques. In creating the competition, you inadvertently (or maybe intentionally?) created a community of good folks who provide motivation, constructive critique, and invaluable advice.
In painting related news, since my last WIP post here, I made a to do list on my current mini that goes a little something like this:
nails, brown highlights, camo shirt, landmine, hammer block, grenades, black washes, silver cleanup, brass highlights, skin highlights, skin wash, base
I got a three hour straight painting session in last night (a true rarity for me) and now everything is done but the base which is drying overnight tonight. I skipped the skin wash too since I finished the highlights and it looked good enough that I didn't want to screw it up.
I've also got this ork kommando thing down to a science now and am planning to do a batch of three next month to finish out the squad. If I were really clever (clearly I'm not), I would have done three this month instead for "location, location, location" but oh well.
Many thanks Paradigm, looking back at the entries I've done since I got here the majority of them I wouldn't have thought of, or had the motivation to finish, without these contests.
A) Thanks to Paradigm; as others have said, this competition has been a great motivation to get something painted every month. My pile of shame cannot express it’s happiness!
B) I suggest “salute” as a theme for next month
C) @Gulgog, if it’s going well, you can always add some models to this month?
Next month is going to be the traditional “Space Marine” start of the year, but I can put “Salute” into the topic bin for April. Which I should start gathering notes for... Business as usual is the plan for the competition. I’ve got big shoes to fill, but will do my best to keep us trucking along. The only change planned to to reset the stop time to Eastern, but that’s always been a fuzzy deadline anyway. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, and we seem to be doing well. If people have any ideas for changes, I think the year end summery thread might be a good place to talk about stuff. It’s a little early, but I’ll try to get that running with a state of the union and some rambling this weekend.
As a reminder, Feb is a short month, so we have less then a week to go. Get painting!
Speaking of which:
Lictor is waiting for the snipers to get done so he can join them getting based. Marines are getting there. A couple of washes and some cleanup needed. Oh, and all the camo. So still a chunk of work, but most of the fiddly stuff is done.
Gulgog TufToof wrote: This competition has been the primary driver for me to complete dozens of miniatures even during the months when I didn't enter. Something about the word competition has pushed me to paint to a higher standard than I would have otherwise and also try new techniques. In creating the competition, you inadvertently (or maybe intentionally?) created a community of good folks who provide motivation, constructive critique, and invaluable advice.
This was 100% the intention when we started up, but it almost immediately expanded beyond what I had imagined when a few of us were kicking the initial idea around! I think we were expecting maybe a dozen or so entries on a good month, not the regular 30+, and the sense of community that's grown up around it is wonderful (especially on an increasingly cynical and critical internet, it's an island of positivity and inspiration for me!). If people were pushed via friendly competition to up their game, try new things, or just get in the regualr habit of painting a mini or two a month, then mission accomplished!
Thanks for all your excellent work over the years Paradigm, although this is my first time entering I've watched these for some time and it's always fantastic to see everyone's work. Good luck to Nevelon taking on the mantle!
Paradigm, you and this yearly challenge you've created have definitely inspired me to get better at painting. Looking back at some of my first entries and then comparing them to my most recent ones has been a real eye-opener for me as to just how far I've come as a painter, and I mainly have these comps to thank for it. I'm sorry to see you go as the person running it as it was always obvious how much of a labor of love it was for you, but I totally understand your reasons for stepping down. I do hope you'll get some more entries into the challenge in the future, as your style was always very different and interesting. Nevelon's got some big shoes to fill, for sure, but I'm confident he's more than equal to the challenge (I think he's the only person who has entered every single challenge thus far).
Just wanted to echo the general sentiment, and say a big thank you to Paradigm for your efforts! I've only managed to actually get stuck in to this challenge over the last 9 months, but it's been a fantastic way to get me doing random, fun hobby stuff, and I'd been really missing out on that for some years... so, thank you!
Nevelon wrote: Next month is going to be the traditional “Space Marine” start of the year
.
So, this is official? There was some talk earlier in the year about changing this. If it really will be Space Marines, I'll have to figure out what I have that fits
Nevelon wrote: Next month is going to be the traditional “Space Marine” start of the year
.
So, this is official? There was some talk earlier in the year about changing this. If it really will be Space Marines, I'll have to figure out what I have that fits
I do recall there being some rebels and pushback, but don’t remember if a decision was made. But then again, it’s national margarita day, so I’m not trusting my memory much at this point in the evening.
I’m a big fan of tradition, and it’s one less poll I’d need to set up, but we’ll switch this from “definitely” down to “probably” until I am sober enough to dredge through the old threads with sober eyes. Things might change to a slight broader category, but space marines should still be included in whatever we run with.
Even if March ends up being Space Marine month again, I've no doubt that I can find something. Heck, I might even paint an actual Space Marine for the first time in years...
Looking at the last March challenge, there was a bit of “If I remember next year” going on. Obviously, not so much with the remembering. I’ve tossed together a quick poll to get things rolling. I would have liked to ramble longer on all the aspects of the challenge, but it’s a workday and I need to do stuff like drink coffee and eat breakfast as well.
So the poll question right now is about the Space Marine challenge of March. I wanted to get that rolling early, so we can get votes in with time to spare before the new month. If we do want to go to a more open month with a poll, that will also need time to run. I didn’t put a timer on the poll, but we’ll see where it’s at in a couple days.
I’ll also use that space to ramble about the hows and whys of the challenge, some behind the scenes stuff, and take opinions on if we should change things up.
Welp I actually finished up early this month, despite waiting on the delivery to get here lol.
I present to you, Lord Felthius & his Retinue, These guys were a blast to paint, and since I'm working myself back into it (ordered a Votann Army Box, already managed to knock 2 out with a Tran Hyperion Scheme! while working on these guys). With the monthly being Location, I tried to emphasize on the basing, the pure rot aura of these Nurgle as they move about, while also keeping them within the same scheme as the DG I painted last month!(Thank you for all the feedback & compliments, much appreciated to all!).
Warning, I am terrible at Photography lol. - Updated Pics
Thanks and cheers!
@Jadenim: I'm getting "faster", I'm still not "fast" lol.
Three orks will take me at least a month, so I'll be calling my next three kommandos "space marines" for March. They're kinda like recon marines, right?
Also, (where are my manners?) thanks to all the others who have played supporting roles in keeping this thing running and a special shout out to Nevelon for taking up the torch going forward. Clearly from the feedback here, this comp means a lot to a lot of us.
Nice load of completion coming now. And I'm glad to say I can join it
The next set of demi-lances are done. One in parade colours, one in camo, and one poor confused Merc, who doesn't really know how camo works (didn't come out as I had hoped, but is at least done)
I tried to capture the feel of the American Southwest in their bases, but it didn't feel like enough, so I took the plunge and made a display base for them. The grass is static grass and tufts, and the cacti are (somewhat amateurishly) hand-scultped. The rabbit came with some Bad Squiddo minis that I have lying around waiting to be painted. As predicted, their tails are prone to snapping off, but I think they'll hold as long as I don't touch the models.
Paradigm wrote: Hey folks, just dropping in amidst all these great entries with a quick update on the future of the challenge. The short version is that from March and the start of the 2023-24 rotation, Nevelon will be taking over my duties in terms of running proceedings, including the monthly challenge/vote/subject poll threads, fielding rules questions and generally being the go-to guy for anything related to the Monthly Painting Challenge.
Having managed this whole thing for most of the 96 rounds to date, I'll be stepping aside as it's become harder and harder for me to find the time and motivation to keep things running smoothly (as you can probably tell from the somewhat delayed voting threads in recent months)
The start of a new annual rotation feels like a good time to hand things over, and in Nevelon's capable hands I'm sure the Challenge will continue to grow, inspire and retain the fantastic, supportive and creative community that has sprung up around it over the last 8(!) years. I will still be dropping by to be inspired and encouraged by the superb work and effort on show every month, and might even get back to throwing my own entries into the ring every now and then!
I'll be doing one last bit of admin in setting up February's voting thread, but for now I'll sign off with a huge thanks to the people who've kept this fantastic thing going, and those who will continue to do so in the days ahead! To Midget Gems (and TP-DC before him) for keeping the League running and updated and to Nevelon for stepping in when I needed breaks and agreeing to take over now. To the absolute heroes that spend time every month providing thoughtful, constructive feedback to every entry, to the regulars that show up round after round and keep this Challenge rolling, and to everyone who's dropped in for a round or two, left some feedback. offered advice or suggestions, and who just painted cool stuff for us to feast our eyes on! Bravo!
A sad day Para but who knew it would come this far when we first started, our lives have changed a lot over the last few years and I have tremendous respect for how long you have keep this challenge going, I hope you are proud of what you have achieved and the community you have helped build
Will send you a PM with some more stuff in as well
There are the three pieces together.
The two whose bases join.
Another angle.
One that shows the interior destruction.
Here was a case where the kit did not have an even number of column sides, so I filled with one with chicken wire to create the illusion of rebar in the core.
@CB: Those buildings are truly a thing of beauty, the rebar and rubble are brilliant. Good luck with the painting of it all!
I've got photos of my lad done. He's the alternate build of the breacha boy from the Kill Team Octarius Kommandos set and is easily one of my favorite minis in the bunch now, I call him Action Jackson because he's locked and loaded and just looks so ready to go. For his location, location, location, he's brought along everything a sneaky Deffskull could ever need; he's got his gasmask, his trusty rusty slugga and choppa, a landmine to keep out the riff-raff at night, a sledgehammer since some doors need a little persuadin', and dynamite with a plunger since sometimes you have to make your own doors! I tried a stippling effect to weather the landmine that turned out really nicely so I'll be using more of that technique in the future. I hope you like him:
Coming down to the wire. Just finished the last assembly, so I have to do a clean-up pass, decals for 2 marines, and then base everyone. Should be able to do that tomorrow, and get pics. We’ll see how Monday feels like treating me.
Thanks Flinty and Gulgog. Good luck to both of you.
Afraid I have just run out of time and will have to call these finished for the Round.
Location, Location, Location - Ramparts Eternal Cathedral Core Set.
Maybe they were born with it, maybe it’s camoline...
Whoever is hunting who, good location-appropriate camouflage is important. For the marines, this is the same basic pattern I’ve used on my other phobos units. Loose tiger stripe/blotch camo over a white base. For the Lictor I wanted to try something new. I wanted him to fit in with the rest of the hivefleet, but still be a distinctive ambush predator. I decided to leave his claws and maw in the same bright patterns as the rest of my nid. Much the same way my scouts still polish their brightwork and use vibrant power cables. Real camo is dull to look at, and these are game pieces. For the carapace and the skin I used the same paints I normally do but watered them way down. I applied them a few layers, and when I did I took my time and let them partially dry, and then going back and wicking up the remaining pools. Basically leaning into the tide lines you get when you don’t put washes down in a smooth coat, or go over them before they are dry. As a finish, I went back with the full strength paints and did the chips in the armor and vents/joints in the skin. Pretty happy how he turned out. Hopefully he will blend in with the rest of the hive (heh..)
I probably should have paired the Lictor with my pistols out panic squad of eliminators on the paint bench, but really wanted to get the las-fusils done. They will get their time one of these days.
And that’s a wrap for Year 8. See you over in the retrospective thread and next month for Space Marines!
Heres my finished Entry for my Ork Kill Team Display Board/diorama, looks a little empty but will hold twice that number of models for the full team team, pretty happy with it overall, some of the details didn't get painted on the models but that was because there was rather a lot to paint
It's an exodite dragon knight (lord) from a plains clan. The clan is specifically adapted to their location and to fighting invaders and herding their draken and megadons on the plains of their maiden worlds.
Oops, was going to say I might have something done tomorrow, but the tree is definitely not getting finished. I have not had much spare time this month. :(
So before I clawed my own eyes out in despair I thought I’d come on here and see what you’re all up to. But apparently this is quickly becoming something of a terrain challenge. I have a few cowboys and lasers underground bits but I’m not that fussed. 
(That I want to paint.) (I have a couple of Tau sneaky suit thingies… that make me yawn.) 
