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Once again, it’s time to pick the winners of last month’s Unofficial Painting Challenge! In May, the theme was, quite simply, ‘BOOM’, calling on entrants to bring out the ludicrously oversized guns, artillery pieces, monstrously big creatures and all manner of explosive devices.

As always, please feel free to cast as many votes as you like for the entries that you feel deserve them, whether that’s for the paintwork, the conversion, the concept or anything else that catches your eye. I also encourage you to leave a few words of feedback for the entries you vote for, it’s always greatly appreciated by everyone who enters!

The entrants:

Nevelon: Ultramarine Devastators


GiraffeX: Screaming Skull Catapult


ZoBo: Great Unclean One


ChaoticMind: Malifaux Neverborn



Modock: Nomads (Infinity)


n1ceguypaul: Contemptor Dreadnoughts


Yorkright: Eversor Assassin


Chris56: Al Fasid


Zergsmasher: Hammerhead Tank



ChaosDad: Broadside Battlesuit


Manalishi: Deathwatch Veterans




PossumCraft: Tau Missile Drone


Drummernathan: Ascended Plaguebearer


Midget Gems: ‘Doctor StrangeOrk, Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Loot The Bomb’



Jadenim: Tallarn Desert Raiders


SmallChanges: Ultramarine Devastators



Whittlesey40k: Space Marine Bikes


Moolet: Ork Loota


Bottle: Deathwatch Veteran


Vejut: Cat Sniper



Elbows: Predator Tank


GulGog Tuftoof: Grot Mortars


Verviedi: Tech Priest Dominus


EmberlordofFire8: Chosen of Slaneesh


Paradigm: Wolf Guard Terminator


keezus: Crazy Koala Bomb


feltmonkey: The Tyrant of Halpi

Voted. Only a couple really spoke to me this month. I must be in a sour mood.

Modock: Nomads (Infinity) for painting skills
Midget Gems: ‘Doctor StrangeOrk for creativity and conversion (and the paintjob aint bad).

Those are my favorites this month but voting for some more that are pretty cool too.

@Elbows: I like the chipping on your tank, but I think that the base coat is too uniform. It could really use some grime in all the seams.

Wow, this month is a real bumper crop of good entries! I absolutely could not hold to my usual 5 votes, I just had to do 10 instead! However, instead of telling who I voted for, I thought I might do what others have done in the past and say a little something about everyone's entry. There were none I absolutely didn't like, and it was a real struggle not to vote for everybody. To me, voting for everybody is counterproductive for this challenge, though, as it doesn't tell what everyone's favorites are. Anyway, here goes:
Nevelon: Those Devs are solid, with some very cool looking missile launchers and a neat, crisp paint job. Missiles certainly go BOOM!
GiraffeX: That catapult is really well done; the shading and highlights are really exceptional and serve to bring this monstrous thing to (un)life!
ZoBo: What can I possibly say that would do that masterpiece justice? The Glottkin is a really cool model, and you've really nailed that paint job. I can almost smell the rot and pestilence...
ChaoticMind: I don't know much about Malifaux or its factions and everything, but you did a good job on the models! If anything, the bases on a couple of them have a little too much leafy stuff, but that's a matter of personal taste and not a reflection on your skills.
Modock: These Infinity guys have some of the cleanest paintjobs I've ever seen! The color choices are pretty good, and the bases are nice without being too distracting.
n1ceguypaul: I love Contemptor dreads, and you've made yours look like they've seen a battle or two (or 100!). Dreads should look like that given their fluff, and you did well on them. Again, perhaps a bit much on the bases, but it's a matter of taste really.
Yorkright: I love the Assassin models from Execution Force, and you really made the Eversor look deadly! The bodysuit is probably the best part of your paintjob. The highlights make it really pop!
Chris56: Not sure who Al Fasid is (Infinity?), but you painted him well. The missile launcher definitely fits the BOOM! theme.
ZergSmasher: Dude, what were you thinking? Your freehand is sloppy, there's mold lines and joins visible everywhere, and you put in a reference to a Brad Pitt movie, for 's sake! Don't quit your day job buddy...
ChaosDad: I love Broadsides, and your weapon conversion is excellent! The paintjob isn't half bad, either!
Manalishi: Deathwatch always look good to me, and yours are no exception. You picked the two coolest weapons in their arsenal as well, plus you nailed the paintwork! I love them!
PossumCraft: That Tactical Turret looks great, although the first thing that came to mind with that paintjob was graffiti, for some reason. Very cool use of colors!
Drummernathan: Is that model a complete scratchbuild sculpt? I don't recognize it. Either way, it looks great, truly worthy of Grandfather Nurgle's affection!
Midget Gems: OMG I love it! From concept to completion, you absolutely nailed it! What will you think of next?
Jadenim: Tallarn always make me think of Lawrence of Arabia or something, and that's cool! You did well on them, giving them some variety while making them look like they belong together.
SmallChanges: Another set of excellent Smurf devastators! I love how you were able to pose some of the cannons to look like they're being fired from the hip. Gives a good variety for some models that would be very samey otherwise.
Whittlesey40k: I love Space Marine bikes, and you've done these well. It's cool seeing the older bike model side by side with the current ones!
Moolet: Dat Ork has definutly got some ded shiny dakka! Know wot 'e needs to 'elp 'im? MOAR DAKKA! Sorry, it's hard not to talk like an Ork when I see models like this. He looks great!
Bottle: Another amazing DW:OK guy from you! That's probably my favorite model from the set too! Well done!
Vejut: Not sure what game system the Cat is from, but he's a cool model. Not sure you didn't overdo it with the varnish though, as he looks kind of shiny. Other than that, he looks fine!
Elbows: This is a great conversion! I may have to echo keezus and say that the overall paint looks a little too uniform, but honestly the weathering kind of makes up for it as it is excellent!
GulGog Tuftoof: These guys came out well. Really clean paintwork, especially on those Grot gunners. I love how the one in the middle is covering his ears!
Verviedi: At first I wasn't sure how a Tech Priest fits the BOOM! theme, but then I took a look at his weapon. I love conversions, and this one is great!
EmberlordofFire8: I like the conversion of the model to have an ophidian body. Not sure he isn't a little tall for a Marine now, but he looks cool!
Paradigm: You made that Wolf Guard Termie look suitably dark, and that's great. I love the choice of weapon, too (Assault Cannons are my favorite!). BRRRRRT!
keezus: The concept is cool, as it looks like the Infinity equivalent of a Ork bomb squig. You made it look cool as well!
feltmonkey: Very cool dragon; not something I'd want to run into in a dungeon (or anywhere, for that matter!). The treasure chest on the base is a nice touch!

As always, I had fun doing my entry and watching everyone else post updates on theirs. Should be a good month for voting, as there were a lot of really good entries! Special shout out to Paradigm as always for taking the time to put these challenges together. I'll see you all in the June challenge!

Fewer entries this month, but still a lot of solid stuff! I must say with the theme, I'm surprised there wasn't more artillery and the like; I was kinda hoping someone would do a Basilisk or something. Although I definitely understand painting what you need for various reasons. That being said, I voted for the ones I thought fit the theme and had nice paintjobs. I voted for 8, but some that I think deserve special mention are:
GiraffeX - old school Boom! Well done differentiating the various components; this can be difficult when you're just using several shades of brown, but you nailed it.
NiceguyPaul - This was one of my favorites; cinematic, nice paintjob, and the 'nade in the hand of the marine making his last statement (BOOM!) seals the deal nicely.
Possumcraft - this caught my eye and I can't exactly put my finger on why, but I really like it. As Zergsmasher mentioned, it does bring to mind grafitti (in a very good way).
Midget Gems - another masterpiece from you; 'nuff said.
keezus - they're cute, aaand they go boom!? Tell me more!
Anyone who put a frag cannon on their mini - you know who you are; I'm a sucker for those things and I'm sure they make quite a boom! (speaking of which, I may have to loot a few for the lads one of these days).

See you all next month, and as usual, I'll try to send a few gallery votes here and there if your mini links directly to it.

Like others, I struggled to get my votes down. I had to be pretty harsh in order to get down to 8! So don't feel bad if you don't get many votes - all the entries were great!

@Nevelon - I can always rely on you for some nostalgia!

@GiraffeX - the bone all looks so authentic. A great technique.

@ZoBo - what can I say? A great paint job - a massive mini with loads of detail done in no time. Superb!

@Modock - the orange on these guys really stands out and is very nicely done. But more subtle is the black/grey of the bodysuits. A tough one to get looking that good.

@n1ceguypaul - 2 dreadnoughts in a month, and they look great. Great weathering and nicely modelled bases.

@Moolet - lots of character and I really like all the skull detailing!

@Bottle - as always, a wonderfully painted and detailed mini. I never get bored of seeing you models!

@feltmonkey - the whole model is great, but it's the eye that did it for me (I almost missed it!)

Well done everyone and as always, thanks to @Para.

There was one clear winner here and that was zobo none of the others even come close he should be entering professional painting competitions, well done sir.

Nice set of entries this month, even if it seems like more drops than normal, and I ran out of gumption and kinda half assed my entry.

Zergsmasher: Yeah, I'm pretty sure I did overdo the varnish, but kinda felt out of time on the pictures. There's two layers of gloss, and then I went over with a satin, but it didn't really take the shine off the way I wanted, and was feeling like a lot of stuff was already getting blobby with that. Probably should do a matte layer but, like I said, out of time, out of effort to give. Would also have helped if I'd gone to a higher highlight on the gun and the knife. Its not really for any specific game system, just a weapon swap on a reaper daughter of sekhmet I did for the heck of it for use if I ever do Rogue Stars.

When's the next painting comp?

well I wound up voting for a good 10-or-so entries again...too much quality on display as always

here's my top favourites...in no particular order though, as the order keeps changing in my head as I look at them all again

Midget Gems - as usual, exemplary imagination, execution, and interpretation of the theme...bloody brilliant!

Modock - man, your blending highlights are a real treat to the eyes...you may be the best orange-tones painter I've seen in recent memory, gorgeous

Chris56 - I'd like to see some bigger pics, but from what my feeble eyes can make out, that looks really well done all-round

Yorkright - caught my eye early on...love the blue highlights on the bodysuit, nice and smooth, and really makes the overall model pop

niceguypaul - couple of nice dreads there man...love the heat-stress on the barrels, and the bases are great!...I like the amount of weathering/damage on them too (something you may want to try for the chipping in the future though...do basically exactly what you did, but with a super-dark brown, burnt umber kinda colour, like gw's rhinox hide...and then do the silver over that, leaving a tiny amount of the dark brown visible around the edges - helps make the chipping stand out from the paintwork a little better )


@Megaknob - wow...that's a helluva compliment, thanks! ...also, the new comp is already up click here

I voted for a few, but Keezus is definitely my favourite this month.

@ZergSmasher: thanks man, it's actually a mish-mosh of old metal daemon prince legs and arms, a new daemon prince power armour torso front piece, a piece of a back plate off a not-the-newest-model carnifex, a full GS sculpted head save for the tongue(also from that same edition carnifex) and the horn(off some lizardnan thing), 3 sanguinary guard jump packs minus the wings, and a boatload of GS. Appreciate the comment. Feel bad I didn't really have the time to put into him as I had originally intended but it was still good to have the motivation to paint him up. He is now finished, base and all. I feel happy that I at least got him done!
Hopefully I have more time on this next month's project and can do something worthwhile and depictive of my skill set rather than a rush job. And I'll actually be able to get him photographed proper too, that would make a nice difference.

Moolet (Why do I always end up voting for him?) - Great idea, love the paint job especially the 'skull' coat. I'm not sure if it is a conversion or an older model but looks great!

Jadenim - Great conversions on the Desert Raiders! (There are a lot of gak ones out there). Also I love the painting, they look they have stepped out of the artwork which is what I guess you were using as inspiration.

feltmonkey - That dragon model is great, I have no idea of the source. The painting is just impeccable though, looks exactly as I imagine a fantasy dragon. (love the name as well)

Midget gems - Honourable mention for a great idea well executed.

Gotta give it to MidgetGems this month with a cheeky few votes for para, zobo and mana.
Super stuff!

 Gulgog TufToof wrote:

keezus - they're cute, aaand they go boom!? Tell me more!

For those who are wondering, Crazy Koalas are equipment that follow the equipped model around the table always ending their movement within 8" of the carrier (unless you spend actions to place it in standby to guard an area). If an enemy walks within 8" of a Koala, it will run at them using its full movement, climbing over obstacles or jumping over, up to 10", to end in base to base, then explode on them. A model getting attacked by a Koala may only declare dodge to avoid this.

(http://infinitythewiki.com/en/Perimeter)

Great work everyone!! Bottle, Modock, and Midget Gems took it for me this month!

Unfortunately I ran out of month for this challenge, but should be back in for Legendary!

Went for a top 10 this month!

In no order:

Zobo: Great paint job, and most importantly you hid all the joins (especially the one down it's front leg). Great work!
Modock: Fantasticly futuristic and bright. Love them!
Chris56: The other side of infinity. Gritty, realistic, like something out a hard sci-fi anime.
Zergsmasher: Fantastic camo scheme really well executed.
Midget Gems: Yeeeeaaahhhhh, this is all kinds of awesome and deserves that massive lead in the votes!
Jadenim: A very subdued but realistic paint job.
Elbows: It looks cartoony with how clean and smooth it is outside the chips, but I love it all the same!
Paradigm: Yeah, this guy is super bad-ass. Great work as always man!
Keezus: Cute and cool. Dunno what it is, but I like it!
feltmonkey: A classic looking dragon that is fantastically painted. What's not to like?

As for a favourite... I am struggling to choose... Chris56 I think!

 Bottle wrote:
Zobo: Great paint job, and most importantly you hid all the joins (especially the one down it's front leg). Great work!

cheers, but oh man...you just gave me flashbacks! ...that was a bloody nightmare filling and smoothing all those joins!...the model goes together like a patchwork quilt! - worth the effort though - join lines really stick out like a sore thumb on something that's supposed to look all organic and fleshy

Thanks for the kind comments guys; Taros Campaign has been my favourite 40k book for years and I eventually crumbled and treated myself to starting a Tallarn army with bits from a lot of different suppliers.

They're also turning out to be one of my easiest armies to paint, what you see there is basically base coats and washes

My votes this month were for:
Modock (favourite this month too), colourful but realistic and really crisp and clean.
Chris56, another really clean, even more realistic job.
Bottle, just a pro job, I can't say more than that!
Keezus, for the cutest little explosive.
Feltmonkey, for your first time wet blending that's a hell of a good job, looks like it stepped out of a classic fantasy artwork.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Also special credit to Zergsmasher for providing positive feedback to everybody!

@Bottle: Thanks for the feedback and the kind words!

@Jadenim: I was happy to do it. So many great entries, I wanted to comment on everybody!

Wow, 11 votes is a new personal best for me!

Thanks for the comments and mentions DanceOfSlaanesh, ZergSmasher, Gulgog TufToof, ZoBo, Kroem, Ratius, Bottle

I'm really glad you liked it since I thought this was one of my better ideas and was happy how it turned out . Thanks for any votes that come my way.

 ZergSmasher wrote:

Midget Gems: OMG I love it! From concept to completion, you absolutely nailed it! What will you think of next?

Thanks for taking the time to comment on everyone, you certainly deserver your votes this months, congrats
To give you an insight into my thought process. I keep a little book of ideas I fill in from time to time, this one has been in there from very early on, I could really imagine an Ork riding a bomb into a target.

The deluxe version of this scene that I had in my head would have been the Ork riding a different wider bomb (spoilered) above the ring of War room desks/chairs you see in the movie, complete with OSL downlights. However I don't have the time or skill to do that at the moment.


The stand out entries for me this month were:
Zobo - Epic piece of work, even more impressed when you remember that you Greenstuff the hands etc.
Felt - This entry seemed to come in right at the last minute and took me by surprise, the wet blending on the wings is particularly good and the eyes looks dangerously real
n1ceguypaul - good positions and battle damage, the heat marks on the guns look great.
Para - Some nice blood effects
Verviedi - Very interesting model
GulGog Tuftoof - Those definitely go boom and the photos seem a lot better that previous entries.
Moolet - Skull coat is cool
Nevelon - A good consistent paint job across the squad and a lot of boom from those guys

Another incredible bunch!
Thanks to Bottle, Jadenim, Zobo and Zergsmasher for the positive comments.

I voted for heaps this month - dunno if there is a limit but I think I may have hit it...Midgetgems, though....wow, great idea and great execution.

I also loved Modock's brights, Zobo's wonderfully gross awesomeness, Bottle's always excellent paintjob, n1ceguypaul's awesome weathering, Possumcraft's great colours and Paradigm's usual signature style....and a whole lot of others...
...and feltmonkey...one night!? Amazing. Love the model and your paint.

Now I have to try to think of what to do for Legendary...

Another month is behind us so another great competition. Let's just quick jump into it.
Big thanks to DanceOfSlaanesh, ZergSmasher, Whittlesey40k, ZoBo, NathanD298, Bottle, Jadenim and Chris56
for commenting on my entry.



OK, I voted for the following entries:

GiraffeX: Cool entry, spot on boom theme.

Zobo: How the f... do you finish such a big model so awesomely in one month. You picked the right colors for him/it.
It looks really rotten. Well done, well done mate.

Chris56: Great paint job all around. Also very precise. I can see you have a high brush control.

Zergsmasher: Really good job on the Hammerhead. The camo works great, the colors go well together I like it a lot.

Midget Gems: Extremely humorous and well executed. Lot's of small details which make this piece really special.
Bravo MG!

Bottle: The usual high standard paint job...I don't expect any less from you. Congratz.

Elbows: You did a great job mate. Cool conversion. The color scheme works well and nice chipped effect.



This is it for this month...one more thing...special thank you Paradigm for everything.

Hi all, just wanted to say how many great projects were finished this month. My favorite was Zobo's nurgle daemon prince and 2nd was Midget Games Ork on bomb.

Thanks to all who voted for my work, first try at Paras monthly challenge, and all the kind words. Hoping to find something for the next monthly challenge!

I voted days ago, but I can't remember who for, so I'm going to give feedback on everything, if that's okay!

Nevelon - A nice job, painted to a good tabletop standard. The red tips on the missiles make them stand out. The squad looks like it is ready to ruin some tank commander's day.

GiraffeX - This looks great! Neat but grimy, and the corpse tied to the pole is pretty gruesome.

ZoBo - You just get better and better, mate. Absolutely amazing. The tones on the horns are perfect, and made me feel a bit annoyed about how rubbish my dragon's horns look in comparison! The freehand on the loincloth is a nice touch. Easy to miss amongst all the other class touches, but very nicely done.

Chaotic Mind - These deserve more votes than they're getting. They're not bad at all. The basecoats are neat, the shading is decent, and the basing is good. With a touch of tidying up, a few more highlights, and maybe a matte varnish on one or two areas, they could be really special.

Modock - Really nice, really colourful stuff. Great blends as usual. I don't know if you actually play the games, but your stuff must look amazing on a table.

Niceguypaul - Great work getting twice as many dreadnoughts as promised done! What I really like about them is the weathering and, in particular, the bases. I love how you've put a bit of narrative in there with the Marine clutching the grenade.

Yorkright - A really nice job, particularly on the black suit. I like how sinister it looks in the second photo.

Chris56 - I wish I could see bigger pics of this, because I REALLY like it. The shading and highlighting on the green armour is exemplary, and the contrast of texture with the leather bag is beautifully done. And the little bits of freehand! It looks both cool sci-fi, and like realistic military gear. I can't understand why it isn't in the top three, to be honest.

Zergsmasher - Really nice job. The camo looks good, as do the bits of freehand. The guy popping up out the top is full of character, too.

ChaosDad - Another one that deserves more votes. The colour scheme is nice, and the basecoats are neatly applied. It looks like you've gone basecoat, wash, light drybrush. Perhaps it would be an idea to add the step of reapplying the basecoats after the wash, or just painting the wash into the recesses. I know that's a bit of a ballache! It would help you get a cleaner anime look, which is more what people expect from this type of mini. I don't know though, maybe that's not what you were going for. As I said, it does look good as it is.

Manalishi - Lovely clean, eye-catching paint job. The Metallics look fantastic.

Possumcraft - I really like this little drone thing! It's really bright any colourful. You've injected a lot of character into a model that is essentially a bin with missiles sticking out of it.


Drummernathon - Woah! Quite a gruesome model, in the way that I'm sure you intended. Some interesting conversation work in there. It's a shame you couldn't get the base done in time, but I'm looking forward to seeing you post it when you do finish it. One thought - the big wrinkly eyeball bag face combined with the horn sticking up above it... Hmm. It can't be just me seeing that as a touch phallic can it?

Midget Gems - It seems like this will win, and it's another worthy winner from Mr Gems. The paint job is really good, but maybe not the best on display, but the idea, the humour, and the modelling skill lift it deservedly into the top spot. It's another one of your entries that I and most people would love to have on a display shelf.

Jadenim - These are pretty cool. I like the understated desert colour scheme. I do think that the stark white background Isn't helping your photographs. The camera tries to correct for the white and the minis themselves end up looking under-exposed and too dark. Try a grey background if you can.

SmallChanges - I really like that blue. And the insignia look great. Are they transfers or freehand? Either way they're very nice. It's a good looking squad overall.

Whittlesey40k - Another nice looking squad. I like the details like the radar screens. Something has gone a bit weird with the photo though. It looks like the white-balance might be off. Nice work on the minis though.

Moolet - Now that is a big gun. I like the skull coat (bath robe?) and the gun looks fantastic. There's some really convincing rust weathering on there. I'm not sure what the ork is doing with his left hand, though.

Bottle - Very fine work as always. You've really developed an instantly recognisable style. I reckon I could pick a Bottle paint job out of a police line-up any time. Of course, this scenario implies that one of your miniatures has somehow committed some kind of crime, and I'm not sure how that would have happened. Surely anything with such excellent edge highlights would abide by the law?

Vejut - That is one weird miniature. What is it from? Nice simple paint job, but I think the gloss varnish doesn't help it. I'm not sure cats should be that shiny. A coat of matte varnish or some matte medium over the top should bring that shine down. As I say, I think the paint job itself is fine. You've got some good detailing on the face.

Elbows - Nice clean paintwork and cool weathering. I can't remember seeing you do weathering like that before. It looks great!


Gulgog - Those are great fun! I like the explosion insignia. Great job painting all the bolts silver, by the way! That must have been a pain in the arse. Worth it though, those kind of details add a lot.

Verviedi - Very cool techpriest. That's a nice tone of blue/purple on the robes. I reckon it might be worth really boosting up the brightness of the other spot colours like the red eye to give the mini more of a focal point.

EmberlordofFire - A very weird, very chaos mini. I like that metallic pink, and I like the weathered look. There are a couple of areas you could have tidied up a bit in order to turn it into something really great. It looks cool, though, nice conversion.

Paradigm - Fantastic grimy, grimdark, dripping with narrative work as usual from you. I'd love to know how you get the effect you do. Any chance of a tutorial?

Keezus - I love these quirky Infinity miniatures. Great paint job on such a small mini. The osl is nice, particularly on the left knee!

Before I go, thanks to everyone who has voted for me, and particularly those who have commented.

I love the shading on GiraffeX's model, it looks almost lifelike! I can't begin to imagine how long it took!

The corpse is a nice touch too

 feltmonkey wrote:
Modock - Really nice, really colourful stuff. Great blends as usual. I don't know if you actually play the games, but your stuff must look amazing on a table.

Thanks Felt.
I just started playing Infinity. A friend of mine lets me use his minis till I finish my army.
Great effort for commenting on all the entries. Kudos to you mate.

 feltmonkey wrote:

Whittlesey40k - Another nice looking squad. I like the details like the radar screens. Something has gone a bit weird with the photo though. It looks like the white-balance might be off. Nice work on the minis though

Thanks for the comments and good work commenting on everyone!

You're right about the white balance. I keep switching between my Galaxy S7 and a regular digital camera because I can't decide which I prefer, but I think I'll stick to the camera and play with the white balance.

Thanks for all the kind words, everyone. I'm very happy with how my Hammerhead turned out, and I'm thrilled that this is my all-time best month for votes! I do feel like some other entries have not gotten the votes they deserve, but I know how that feels, so keep it up and don't be discouraged, guys!