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Time for another round of voting in the Unofficial Painting Challenge! This month, entrants were given the theme ‘Heavy Metal’ and certainly didn’t disappoint in the range of interpretations. From lumbering warjacks and clanking ork contraptions to Gromril-clad Dwarf Lords and brutal Super Mutants, and even a cameo from guitar legend Tony Iommi (scroll down to see for yourself!), this month’s entries cover a great array of games, scales and themes.

But as always, it’s down to the community to pick their favourites, and there’s no lack of choice this month! Please cast as many votes as you like, and for any reason, and feel free to leave feedback for the entrants in this thread or on their own blogs and gallery pages, I’m sure it’s appreciated!

Finally, December’s challenge is an open round, meaning anything goes and there’s no theme, so it’s a great time to get involved! Link in my signature!

Without further ado, the entrants!

SirDonald: Thanatar-Cynis Battle-Automata



Nevelon: Ultramarine Champion


Bottle: Aspiring Deathbringer of Khorne


Possumcraft: Sons of Horus Armoured Group


ZoBo: Ork Stompa


Kustomer D: Kustom Trukk


Whittlesey40k: Rogue Trader Land Raider



Zergsmasher: Blood Ravens Centurions



rollawaythestone: Super Mutant Behemoth


Vejut: Dropfleet Commander Ships



Modock: Meka



Verviedi: Ork Dakkawagon



Midget Gems: Tony Orkommi of Black Squiggoth!


Elbows: Fire Prism


GulGog Tuftoof: Ork Big Mek


Guildenstern: CAV Dingo Tanks


Lazzamore: Ork Mek-Boss


Ratius: Tesseract Vault


feltmonkey: Deathwing Dreadnought



Farseer Anath'lan: Vindicator and Warjacks


Dakkamakka: Killa Kan


Paradigm: Mighty Lord of Khorne


Manalishi: Iron Warriors Contemptor Dreadnought


RageQuitRabbit: Dwarf Lord


methebest: Blood Bowl Orcs


moodster95: Death Guard


keezus: Warjack

Zobo/Pozzum/Felt/Keezus got my votes. As per usual I simply click on the pictures and vote solely with my "wow" factor upon clicking.

A lot of entries this month.

Zobo, Paradigm and Bottle got my votes - excellent work you three!

I'm particularly fond of Bottle's work, you can tell a lot of skill and effort went into it!

Great work everyone!

Some of my votes went to:

@Possumcraft: Great work getting 3 finished in the month! I really like the weathering, especially the radar on that Rhino.
@ZoBo: There are a few guys I'm now only voting for when it's something really exceptional, because their work is always top notch . You're one of them, but this stompa totally deserves my vote. The belly moon is fantastic. And again, great work getting it done on time!
@Kustomer D: Love the conversion! A classic looted Ork vehicle
@Modock: I really like the colour scheme, and it's a lovely smooth clean finish. Also a great base!
@Verviedi: Another looted Ork vehicle - always more Dakka!!! And always great to see an old school Rhino
@Guildenstern: I don't really know what those little tanks are, but I like them! Great detail!
@feltmonkey: The detail you've put into that dread is superb!

 Whittlesey40k wrote:
Great work everyone!


@Modock: I really like the colour scheme, and it's a lovely smooth clean finish. Also a great base!

Thank you for the comment.

How many are we allowed to vote for?

 Whittlesey40k wrote:

@Verviedi: Another looted Ork vehicle - always more Dakka!!! And always great to see an old school Rhino

Thanks, I appreciate it!

 JNAProductions wrote:
How many are we allowed to vote for?

Three to five-ish I think is the recommendation.

But if you can’t decide between more, feel free to vote your conscience.

 JNAProductions wrote:
How many are we allowed to vote for?

As many as you like! If you feel all the entries deserve a vote them vote for all of them, if just one stands out then just vote for that, it's entirely up to you. I usually suggest 3-5, but then end up doing more than that myself!

 JNAProductions wrote:
How many are we allowed to vote for?

As many as you like! most people try to keep it to around 5 votes from what I've seen, but there's nothing stopping you from voting for everyone if you want.

Edit: Ninja'd by Para

 Whittlesey40k wrote:
Great work everyone!

Some of my votes went to:

@Possumcraft: Great work getting 3 finished in the month! I really like the weathering, especially the radar on that Rhino.

Thanks!

Should I mention that I painted 6 of those, 6 javelin speeders and 45 various SoH infantry in that month?

...And was done on the 16th

Awesome entries this month! I really had to think to keep it down to 5 votes this time! Here are my votes:
Bottle: Those AoS Khorne Bloodbound models are so awesome, and you did an amazing job on this one!
ZoBo: You did a Stompa in a month and made it look good. 'nuff said! Awesome work!
Verviedi: Now dat looks ded killy! Only fing I kan fink ov ta say is "Needs MOAR DAKKA!!!"
Midget Gems: I'm not too familiar with Black Sabbath (heresy I know) outside of one of their songs (Iron Man) but I looked up more stuff about them and I have to say, you knocked this out of the park!
feltmonkey: As a fellow Son of the Lion, I just cannot praise this thing enough. You did a truly fantastic job on that dread!

I think everyone who entered can feel good about their entries (I know I do), as they are all pretty good. Special shout out as always to Paradigm for taking time out of his busy college schedule to run these little challenges. It's really inspiring to see everyone's entries, so keep it up everybody!

Thanks, Zerg!

PossumCraft wrote:

 Whittlesey40k wrote:
Great work everyone!

Some of my votes went to:

@Possumcraft: Great work getting 3 finished in the month! I really like the weathering, especially the radar on that Rhino.

Thanks!

Should I mention that I painted 6 of those, 6 javelin speeders and 45 various SoH infantry in that month?

...And was done on the 16th

No, no you shouldn't mention it. It just makes the rest of us look lazy

The weathering on PossumCraft's tanks was really well done and definitely got my attention with his attention to detail.
The Deathwing Dread was a step away from the many garish colors of other dreads, and was excellently detailed with scratches and chips.
And, of course the DG models made my day solely due to my love of the XIV.#CounttheSeventh
But of course, a well fought competition to all, I finally have the time to enter next month, and this has got me a tad nervous!

 JNAProductions wrote:
How many are we allowed to vote for?

I think the minimum number I've voted for is around 7-8 and the max is 15, I vote for all those I feel deserve a vote based on my own little system e.g. best newcomer, most improved, best interpretation of the theme so not just the best painter gets a vote.

 ZergSmasher wrote:

Midget Gems: I'm not too familiar with Black Sabbath (heresy I know) outside of one of their songs (Iron Man) but I looked up more stuff about them and I have to say, you knocked this out of the park!

Thanks Zerg, I do try to put a lot of research into my entries, I create a reference folder for each months entry and try to find all the relevant info/pics for my ideas.

Noticeable mentions for
Possumcraft: - brilliant weathering and replicated 3 times too boot!
Zobo - The Artwork, and it is Art, on the Stompa Belly is outstanding, I'm so glad you dusted this beast off and finished him this month
Kustomer D - Really liked your idea and the flames look very good.
Feltmonkey - Fantastic battle damage, I tend to do a few scrapes on my guys but you have taken it to a extreme, which fits the model perfectly.
Verviedi: - because you can never have too much Dakka.

@ GulGog Tuftoof, Lazzamore and Farseer Anath'lan, would have loved to have seen better pictures of your entries, they look very interesting but had to make out any of the detail.

Great work everyone, thanks for any votes that are throw my way, looking forward to the next month

Great work everyone!

I voted for my top 3:

Zobo: the Freehand emblem takes me straight back to being 10 years old and flicking through Codex Imperalis looking at the different Ork clans and the John Blanche logos. Fantastic stuff.

Feltmonkey: I wish my battle damage looked that good!

Modock: really smooth paint blends. Brilliant. This deserves a lot more votes! :-)

 Bottle wrote:


Modock: really smooth paint blends. Brilliant. This deserves a lot more votes! :-)

Thanks mate. I gotta say blending on a large surface with a brush is quite difficult, well at least for me.
Congrats on another great paint job, Bottle.


Great work everyone!
My votes went to:

Bottle: I can see you're very skilled with a brush. Good, really good.
Feltmonkey: Very convincing battle damage. Bravo!! Your camera work is also great. Very natural and crisp photos. I would be happy to get some tips from you. :-)
Possumcraft: Good work all around. I like the weathered look. Maybe the red/orange rust is a bit too intense.

Allrighty, so, as usual, I put in my votes just after the poll went up...and as usual, I didn't bother leaving any comments...because I'm a lazy git

...I really should though, so about time I quit putting it off...I put down about a dozen votes though (I usually find myself voting for about half the entries each month)...so I probably won't comment for all my votes, just my favourites

@Bottle - nice work as always...love the base, and some of that highlighting is gorgeous, specifically on the shoulder skull!

@Possumcraft - impressive quality and quantity there man!...love the weathering, specifically on the radar dish..works so well there on the white

@Kustomer D - I love everything about that trukk man!...the build and the paintjob all just works together so well in my opinion! love the big muddy tyres and the flames

@Modock - I love the bright, vibrant colours, and those perfect, smooth blended highlights!

@Midget Gems - yet another excellent, fun conversion from you mate!...it takes a considerable amount of skill to take a tired old blackreach nob, and give it so much character!

@Keezus - you seemed unsure of that camo paintjob, I dunno man, I think I actually really like it! it works, it's different, and it looks well done


...righto, those were my favourites...I know I voted for about twice that many, but I have to get up in 6 hours and I'm sick of typing

oh, thankyou to those who have commented on my entry...there was some high praise indeed in some of those comments, and it means a lot!

Thanks to everyone who's voted for me, and for all the comments in the thread. Every kind comment is very much appreciated.

I notice a few people recommending that we vote for around 3-5 a month. I don't stick anywhere near that, generally. I voted for about a dozen this month again!

In no particular order,
Bottle - Your stuff is always a really high quality, you clearly take painting seriously, and I think you have improved a fair bit over the past few months as well.
Possumcraft - Those tanks are spectacular! I actually like the red rust/dust contrasting with the green.
Zobo - A very good paintjob generally, elevated by a really great bit of freehand on the belly. Amazing job!
Kustomer D - Just a great idea, leading to a really characterful model.
rollawaythestone - Love that green skintone. The bloody bones in the cage gross me out, but they look so much like the grim corpse parts Super Mutants carry around with them.
Modock - Super-smooth blends of absolutely bizarre colour schemes seem to already be your calling card! Love the base, and the heat marks on the gun barrel.
Midget Gems - As usual, great character and humour.
Paradigm - Nice muted grimdarkery.
Moodster95 - I like the muddy bases and the osl. The shot of the three of them there has a nice atmospheric feel to it.

Apologies to anyone who is outraged that I didn't vote for them. To be honest, I probably did and forgot to report it! I really should write down who I'm voting for so these posts make a bit more sense.

Funny enough, the 3-5 was my idea and I don't think I've ever once stuck to it! There's just too much good stuff every month!

Mine this time are going to...

Bottle, Possumcraft, feltmonkey and ZoBo for top notch paintwork, Midget Gems because it's just bloody awesome and to Kustomer D, Verviedi and Dakkamakka for sheer converty Orky goodness!

Ah thanks for your kind words Zobo, Felt and Para.

You know me now, I try to make things a bit fun and put my own ideas into the models, its how I stay interested. I was thinking I'm starting to get quite the collection of "unique" models now

If I ever played a game I can imagine my opponents face as Ork versions of Indiana Jones, Hans Solo, Chewbecca and Highlander supported by a flying Santa on a sleigh charge towards his troops

 Midget Gems wrote:

If I every played a game I can imagine my opponents face as Ork versions of Indiana Jones, Hans Solo, Chewbecca and Highlander supported by a flying Santa on a sleigh charge towards his troops

Battle Report. NOW!

Seriously, though, your work is always inspirational, so many ideas that most of us wouldn't even think of. Keep it all coming!

I reckon that would give you a tactical advantage, Midget. I'd certainly think twice about firing a plasma cannon at a unit containing so many of my childhood heroes.

lol, hadn't thought of that one. I'll have to pick more of peoples childhood hero's to have an army no one wants to attack

Cheers Para and Felt, its always a pleasure to be in the comp with talented people such as your self, and thanks for running it again. I'm looking forward to the challenge turning 2 now

 Midget Gems wrote:
lol, hadn't thought of that one. I'll have to pick more of peoples childhood hero's to have an army no one wants to attack

Cheers Para and Felt, its always a pleasure to be in the comp with talented people such as your self, and thanks for running it again. I'm looking forward to the challenge turning 2 now

I had to check myself. When I finished my entry this month, I was about to do a year-end composite of all my entries. Then I had a head-smack moment and realized we still had January and February to go. Getting close to 2 years though.

Been a lot of fun painting with all you guys.

Thank you guys. Lots of great entries again. The level of this competition is really awesome.

@Midget: there re a few childhood heroes you could think about: He-Man and his friends/foes, Transformers, M.A.S.K. ...

All the best

K D

So are we gonna crown Zobo the winner or what? :-p

My one regret is that I didn't give my stompa a tophat. like I was thinking of doing...which I feel would've been quite appropriate about now