Dakka (Unofficial) Painting Challenge Round 35 January 2018 Subject Poll

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**Paradigm**

Time to pick the first topic for 2018! (blimey, where did the time go?) This time, the options are:

A Few Good Men: Your entry must be at least 3 models that form a tight-knit group of individuals. From a underhive gang to a squad of hard-bitten veterans to a party of adventurers raiding a lost city.

Humble Beginnings: Every journey starts somewhere. Your entry should represent themes of new beginnings, fresh starts, aspirations to greatness. For example, raw recruits, youthful aspiring heroes, even a creature resurrected from death for a new start in unlife...

Carry A Big Stick: Sometimes, size matters a great deal. Whether it's a 9-foot greatsword or a tank-busting Lascannon, the bigger the weapon the better here!

Light Show: Torches, flares, glowing swords, lasers, arcane energies, your entry should have some kind of light-based element. No need for any fancy lighting techniques if you don't want to use them, but equally, this is a great opportunity to try them out!

**Nevelon**

I'm good for any of these, but voted for a few good men.

**Power Elephant**

A friend of mine got himself Kingdom death monster, and he wants me to paint it. Couldn't think of better models for Light show.

**ZoBo**

ooh...they're all pretty good...

gotta vote for "Light Show" though I think...sounds like it could produce some pretty cool entries

**ChaosDad**

All pretty good, I must say...
I have things that would fit for most of them:
A few good men - i have an alpha legion headhunter squad to paint
Humble beginnings - This is a bit trickier... although the "fresh start" could work with a Deathwatch Blackshield... Or maybe... basic troops like Eldar guardians or tau firewariors... I'd have to dig a bit to get a better idea I think...
Carry a big stick - I have a couple of Deathwatch Frag cannons to paint, or a squad of chaos havocs (or my Iron Man leviathan!)...
Light show - I have many sorcerers and psykers that are waiting for paint, as well as many plasma weapons, power blades, and many headlights, eyelenses and various gizmos on which I could try my hand at light effects...

All in all, I think I'll find something in my mountain of unpainted minis...

**ZergSmasher**

I voted Light Show, but ultimately I'll have to find something Chaos to paint as part of my preparation for Adepticon.
A Few Good Men: I've got some Cultists, united in the worship of the Ruinous Powers. Alternatively I could paint up some Noise Marines.
Humble beginnings: Again, cultists, or else I could do a few bases of Nurglings as they are the least of all of Nurgle's Daemons.
Carry a Big Stick: Either a Daemon Prince with an axe or some Autocannon Havocs.
Light Show: Sorcerer on a Jump Pack.

**CREEEEEEEEED**

Please all vote light show, plasma OSL is the only thing I can do above average.

**Peregrine**

Anything but light show, please. OSL should not be encouraged.

**CREEEEEEEEED**

Is it better that I do it with a fuzzy stick instead of an airbrush?

**ZoBo**

Peregrine wrote:
Anything but light show, please. OSL should not be encouraged.

why? there's a time and a place for it, sure, but in the right context, and done well, it can be bloody good...

in any case, this is not the place to be asserting any elitism...this is a casual, friendly little painting challenge, with the intent of getting stuff painted, trying new techniques, and hopefully improving a little along the way.

**EmberlordofFire8**

CREEEEEEEEED wrote:
Is it better that I do it with a fuzzy stick instead of an airbrush?

Oooh, could you do a tutorial on how you do your OSL? I'm a big fan of your plasma guns.

I, for one, really want Light Show. It gives me an excuse to paint brimstone horrors, which are literal

**Peregrine**

ZoBo wrote:
Anything but light show, please. OSL should not be encouraged.

why? there's a time and a place for it, sure, but in the right context, and done well, it can be bloody good...

Because 99% of the time OSL makes a model worse. Light just doesn't work the way people try to paint OSL, and the best you can possibly hope to do is "unrealistic but I guess it looks ok as a cartoon style". But most of the time it fails entirely and the model would be better off without it. Very, very few models do OSL even remotely accurately, and those few models involve a lot of careful planning and some very specific lighting conditions.

**Snail22**

Lol, loving the osl hate.

**ZoBo**

Peregrine wrote:
ZoBo wrote:
Anything but light show, please. OSL should not be encouraged.

why? there's a time and a place for it, sure, but in the right context, and done well, it can be bloody good...

Because 99% of the time OSL makes a model worse. Light just doesn't work the way people try to paint OSL, and the best you can possibly hope to do is "unrealistic but I guess it looks ok as a cartoon style". But most of the time it fails entirely and the model would be better off without it. Very, very few models do OSL even remotely accurately, and those few models involve a lot of careful planning and some very specific lighting conditions.

well, it doesn't look like that theme is going to win anyway, but I still think you're being too harsh on the technique in general...40k/AoS/etc are quite bombastic, fantastic settings, so a bit of slightly overblown effects fits in fairly well in my opinion.

...that said, yeah, ok, I have to admit I have seen a lot of overdone/inappropriate osl before...so like, let's just keep it to plasma guns and vehicle headlights and stuff - and not go too excessive there either...and put some proper thought and effort into it, not just quickly squirt out a spot of blue/orange/white/whatever through an airbrush in the general direction of the glowing object...

**Midget Gems**

I'd have been happy with any of them tbh my entry is going to be very limited since my 2nd child is due in Jan

**Nevelon**

Midget Gems wrote:
I'd have been happy with any of them tbh my entry is going to be very limited since my 2nd child is due in Jan

As long as the kid is only basecoated in the proof pic, you should be able to enter them. Sqiggoth? Bio-titan? Stompa?

**Guildenstern**

went with Carry a Big Stick as I have a model somewhere with a carrot

Don't really care for the others especially but it's not like I couldn't find something to cover for em!

**TheDraconicLord**

Hum, I honestly have no idea what I'd do for any of them. Pity I painted my megaboss for the December's contest, it would have been perfect for the "Carry a Big Stick" category

Probably the one I'd be most intered would be "A Few Good Men". I probably could create a semi-consistent party of adventurers.

**ZoBo**

oooh...that poll's looking awfully close!

**Paradigm**

About an hour left and it's a dead heat between A Few Good Men and Carry a Big Stick!

If it's a tie at the end, we'll just do them one after the other. AFGM will be up first in that case, since it was first an option back in October.

**Paradigm**

A tie it is. So Jan will be A Few Good Men, Feb will be Carry A Big Stick.

**Nevelon**

Paradigm wrote:
A tie it is. So Jan will be A Few Good Men, Feb will be Carry A Big Stick.

Which brings us to the end of the year's competition and back to March and space marines. Next three months are set; plenty of time to plan ahead. Or break one project up over all of them, like a tactical squad.

**TheDraconicLord**

Paradigm wrote:
A tie it is. So Jan will be A Few Good Men, Feb will be Carry A Big Stick.

Hum, perfect, I just got an early Christmas present, the Shadespire Ironjawz, they will be perfect for January's theme.

**ZergSmasher**

Okay, Alpha Legion cultists it is for January. I've got a few days left to come up with a workable paint scheme for them.

**Midget Gems**

Nevelon wrote:

As long as the kid is only basecoated in the proof pic, you should be able to enter them. Sqiggoth? Bio-titan? Stompa?

lol, I'm not sure a freshly base coated baby will go down well with the wife (or probably you all for that matter).

Well at least I can plan the next 3 months so should be able to get some basic models under coated and entered