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Hello everyone, I am terribly sorry for the delay in voting this month, Para is super busy with his uni work (good luck to him) and I've been away for the last few days so not been able to get this done until now.

This month, the theme as selected by the community was 'Chain of Command'. The entries were based around models that have some manner of military or political rank (or equivalent for the faction/games where these things aren't present), whether that's a freshly promoted squad leader to the master of an entire army. And what a wonderful collection we have to vote for.

As usual, you are free to vote for as many entries as you like and for any reason they catch your eye, be that the technical quality of the paintjob, conversion work, choice of model, ambition and effort or anything else you like. You're also encouraged to leave some comments for the entrants, either here or on their own blogs and gallery pages. Many of the images also click through to the Dakka Gallery if you want to leave a vote there.

Without further ado, the entrants:

Nevelon: Three Space Marine Captains


lipsdapips: T'au Sept Coldstar Battlesuit Commander


Tyranid Horde: Dark Eldar Archon


Rybrook: Blood Angels Captain


Total: Iron Warriors Chaos Lord


Suzuteo: Belisarius Cawl


queen_annes_revenge: Kharn the Bloody 8th Captain of the World Eaters


Elbows: Space Marine Chaplain


ZoBo: Deathskulls Ork Warboss on Deffkilla Wartrike


Midget Gems: Evil Suns Ork Warboss on Deffkilla Wartrike


Mahrarg: Khorne Berzerker


DrGiggles: Carcharadon Space Marine Intercessor Sergeant


Captain Brown: Imperial Guard Command Section


Deadshot: Space Marine Heros


ZergSmasher: Space Wolf Primaris Battle Leader


SirOllox: Kill Team Grots/Gretchin


Jadenim: Ork Runtherd


Chris56: Pirate Captain Bust


phillv85: Plaguebearer command structure with a Herald


Hits_The_Spot: Chaos Kill Team space Marine


DV8: Daenarys of the House Targaryen, the Breaker of Chains and Mother of Dragons


Oppl: Imperial Guard Leman Russ Command Tank


feltmonkey: Darth Vader


Tikay Fortooun: Eldar Avatar Khaine


Vejut: Nagadra Captain


Power Elephant: Voronin and his dog


WishWarGaming: Foul BlightSpawn


Paradigm: Plague Centurion of the Corroded Brotherhood

Cheers for getting this set up, it's a great help.

Some nice work this month. As usual I just vote for stuff that speaks to me. Really like the Iron Warrior, the nice lighting effects on Darth Vader, the Space Wolf and the super crisp Tau suit.

A little miffed with my own entry, but...I'll cope!

Better late than never on getting the poll running! I voted for the following five entries:
lipsdapips: As a massive Tau fan (my own collection is decently big, though not as well painted as this masterpiece) I just had to vote for this. It's a great rendition of the classic T'au Sept scheme.
Total: I love how clean this Iron Warriors character is. The stripes on the bolter (probably my favorite feature of any Iron Warriors models) are particularly well done.
ZoBo: I love the model, and you made it look excellent! 'e looks reddy ta lead da WAAAGH! and krump any gitz 'oo getz in 'is way!
Chris56: Nice, err, bust! Seriously, it looks great, with or without the shirt on.
Power Elephant: I know I should know who Voronin is, but sadly I don't. The model looks amazing and full of character though, so it got a vote from me.

Seriously, some of the quality of these entries makes me want to just eat my brushes and drink my paints. We have such a talented painting community here on Dakka! Even if I won't measure up, I did have fun painting my own entry. Far from my best work, but I think it's a nice first attempt to paint a Son of Russ. Special shout out as always to Paradigm for taking time out of his busy schedule to run these challenges, and to Midget Gems for stepping in and helping when Paradigm gets too busy with his (much more important) RL stuff, and for organizing the ranking thing afterwards. See you all in the December challenge.

Fine work everyone.

I hope no-one finds me commenting on everything patronising or anything. I'm not trying to set myself up as the big expert marking everyone's work or anything like that. I'm far from an expert, in fact I have no idea what I'm doing. I just thing it's nice for everyone who has put the effort in to enter to get at least one comment. If anyone doesn't like it, please let me know.

And here are this months comments...

Nevelon - Bold, bright, colourful work. Good colour choices, and pretty clean painting. I like the spatters of snow on the models' feet.

lipsdapips - Extremely clean, neat painting. Very much a classic GW style, with all the edge highlighting, and you're very good at it.

Tyranid Horde - I like the pose, and the stepped base. Is that miniature one of the guys you get in the Raider kit, that clings to the side?

Rybrook - More good clean painting. I like the Blood Angels symbol on the loincloth. Also, the eagles on the backpack look like Sam Eagle from the muppets.

Total - Really good, neat painting. The face is terrific.

Suzuteo - Good work on a very busy model. Kudos for tackling Cawl in a month. I really like light blue Admech, and the blue is really well done here. It's a shame you can't see his face in the photo.

queen_annes_revenge - Quality work. It's great overall, but my favorite parts are the face and the base.

Elbows - Great colour choices, and fantastic sponge weathering.

ZoBo - Love it. I particularly like the subtle touches like the vein on the orc's shoulder, and the flames on the bike. Also, it's great that you've posed the bike doing a wheely.

Midget Gems - Another great orc bike. Bright and colourful, in contrast to ZoBo's moody effort. You're painting is getting really great - the edge highlighting is excellent throughout, and I like the blending on the flames, particularly on the orc's jacket.

Mahrarg - A classic Khorne guy. The axe looks great.

DrGiggles - Eery-looking marine. Is he a zombie? Good clean painting.

Captain Brown - Nice work, very clean and sharp. The camo is great, and the banner is really eye-catching.

Deadshot - Nice neat, detailed work. My favorite is the guy with a cloak and no helmet. Really great job on him in particular!

ZergSmasher - A pretty spectacular Space Wolf actually. Deserves more in the vote. You've got a really nice Space Wolf grey tone, and the fur on the cloak is excellent.

SirOllox - I really like the variation in skin tones on these gobbos, and I love the idea of a gretchin kill team.

Jadenim - That's a fun model. I like the bright red skintone on the squig, with a blue tongue. The base makes it look sort of unfinished, though.

Chris56 - As I said in the thread, an impressive bust. There's a couple of obvious things that draw the eye, but my favorite things about it are the fantastic skin tone and the sheer colourfulness of the whole thing. Fantastic work as always.

phillv85 - Good stuff, I like the painterly style you've used on the skin, and the touches of verdegris on the metal. That guy with his guts hanging out is really gross.

Hits_The_Spot - A really, really great shade of blue. The base is great, and the weathering fantastic. My only criticism would be that certain areas need to be a different colour than the same shade of blue, in my opinion - bits like the undersuit between the armour panels - painting these a dark grey or black might make the armour panels pop even more.

DV8 - Another nice bust. Really good painting overall, but my favorite part is the dragon's wings.

Oppl - Good stuff, nice streaks of oil from the joints. The same banner as Captain Brown!

Tikay Fortooun - The skin looks great, and the blue contrasts nicely with it. It needs basing to finish off what is an eye-catching, cool-looking model and paintjob.

Vejut - Nice variation of tone on the scales. Your pictures haven't come out right - your camera seems to have focussed on the background. You can see every stitch on the cloth. That's also what has made the miniature appear dark and silhouetted, as the white balance has adjusted itself to best reproduce the white cloth.

Power Elephant - That face is terrific. The dog looks nuts, but ironically it's own face could perhaps use a bit more work. Really good overall though. Where are you getting these STALKER miniatures?

WishWarGaming - This is great, really bright and colourful. The base is excellent, as is the tank of green fluid.

Paradigm - A great, atmosphere-filled Plague Marine. That purply-pink you use is oddly disturbing.

Great work everyone! Thanks for the votes, and thanks Elbows for the comment. See you next month! As usual, I need to get a move on and decide what to paint.

Wow, there seem to be a heap of entries this month and as always some really great ones.

Thanks to those who have said nice things about my model and congrats all round.

Nevelon - three nice SM captains, good clean painting;

lipsdapips - classic Tau, this clean paint style for Tau really suits your style; Voted;

Tyranid Horde - love the pose of this and I am definitely going to steal the idea for steps. He looks really threatening;

Rybrook - love the vibrant colours, they have a really classic 'Eavy Metal feel to them;

Total - another really clean paint job, well done: Iron Warriors can be really hard to make interesting;

Suzuteo - great metals on this model, feels very old and decayed;

queen_annes_revenge - Kharn's face looks really chracterful. I also love the back of the plasma pistol and the blending on the shoulder pad. Congrats on the pins - you deserve them!; Voted;

Elbows - great model. Fantastic weathering on the white especially;

ZoBo - great painting. Love the flames, the wheelie and the tracks in the base!;

Midget Gems - another great rendition of this awesome model. Great edge highlighting and the flames on the driver's mask are a great touch;

Mahrarg - classic and effective paintjob with a really great feature of the axe blade;

DrGiggles - one of my favourite chapters. The base acts as a great contrast as well;

Captain Brown - great eyes! These IG guys are very cool. Nice camo which is really hard, too. Well done;

Deadshot - Nice job on these guys. My favourite is the Tellion conversion;

Zergsmasher - strong colours on this Space Wolf model, very clean;

SirOllox - nice kill team idea - I want to do my own one now! Strong team cohesion on this group. Well done;

Jdenim - would like to see this guy finished. Strong basecoats;

phillv85 - these have some really fun poses and also some really strong colours;

Hits_The_Spot - noice! Really cool saturation on the colour and fantastic osl on the lenses;

DV8 - great and subtle job on the skin. The wings on the dragon and the hair from the back are my favourite bits; Voted;

Oppl - classic Leman Russ - the very best tank ever, great job on this model;

feltmonkey - Darth! Great job on a tough model. The lightsaber osl looks great and really makes the model work; Voted;

Tikay Fortooun - nice Eldar avatar. The back of the helm is really cool - looks like a carapace;

Vejut - great choice of colours on this model and top job on the scales;

Power Elephant - cool Cossack there. Top work on the face and jacket;

WishWarGaming - nice work on the plague marine - the cracks in the glass look especially good;

Paradigm - I love these push-fit plague marines and my own one is undercoated and waiting for some love...loving the extra colour on this model - great contrast bt greens and purples and a really awesome variation on your distinctive style. My favourite model this month.Voted.

Thanks to Para and everyone for their hard work. See you next month if I can think of something to paint!

@feltmonkey a) not patronising at all IMHO, it’s really useful to hear what other people think and it’s great that a few people take the time and effort to comment on everyone.

b) I was away from home last month and didn’t get to finish the base (or take decent photos), so your comment is completely correct!

Feltmonkey and Chris56 thanks both for the comments. I ran out of time in the UK so I couldn't finish the base but I have plans! I'll post something on here when its done.

To everyone who entered, wow, what a field! I ended up having to find really nitpicky reasons to trim my votes down. I need to raise my game.

I'll be coming back in the new year with some ideas for Rangers, Corsairs and Jet Bikes.

My laptop isn't acting up for a change so I'd like to sit down and give a little bit of feedback. Thank you very much Chris56 and Feltmonkey for the kind words. It is indeed one of the guys from the raider kit but I chopped her hand off for an open hand rather than the weird clinging one.

I'll preface this by saying I have no technical expertise but it's fun to talk about these great entries and seeing as this is my first time entering one of these it seems like a good way to get involved!

Nev: Clean painting as usual, I especially like Artemis' sword.

LDP: I love Tau battlesuits and you've done an amazing job on such a classic scheme. Jealous of your brush work!

Rybrook Cool looking Blood Angel, like the use of all the bits to add so much to the old SM captain model. Clean paint job too!

Total: Great looking Iron Warrior Lord. Really like how crisp those hazard stripes are and the pale flesh makes him really imposing!

Suzuteo: Love the blue on Cawl, makes a nice change from the usual Ad Mech reds and contrasts well with the metals you've picked.

queen_annes_revenge: Stellar paint job on a great model. I'm a fan of the helmeted version myself but the skin you've painted is excellent. I wonder at what point did Kharn decide to switch hands for his axe and pistol?

Elbows: Great paint job, like the colour choices and the weathering

ZoBo: Great colour scheme and executed really well. The dust on the wheels and the bottom of the trike is excellent. What I really liked was the tracks made into the base of the model. Nice touch.

Midget Gems: Your red is great and the skin tones of your Orks are really good. The goggles and the facemask on the driver is well done. Love the base too!

Mahrarg: Liking the Khorne Berserker, the standout for me is his axe, clean highlights really make it look good! A few more photos would have been nice but good job nonetheless!

DrGiggles: Good job on the Space Shark! I find grey really hard to paint and you've nailed it. Shame about the lack of transfers which I know you said didn't arrive on time but looking forward to seeing them on him!

Captain Brown: I think I've said this on your blog already but the browns really break up the models nicely. A good looking squad!

Deadshot: Cool selection of models, like the scout the most as he reminds me a good bit of Cyrus from DOWII.

Zergsmasher: Not a fan of Primaris but I like Space Puppies, good job on the colour scheme and the fur cloak is excellent!

SirOllox: Lots of character in these models and the range of skin tones is a great way to make them stand out. Should have done that on my own.

Jadenim: I like the runtherd model and you've done a good job, looking forward to seeing it based to call it fully done!

Chris56: Fantastic bust! The skin tones are great and the parrot is super cool. I really like the lines you've done on her removable top and how they shape around her breasts.

phillv85: Nicely painted selection of bearers, really like the gore spilling onto the ground from that one guy's gut!

Hits_The_Spot: Great marine, the green glow from the eyes is very nice. The only thing I could say is the piping could be a different colour, but that's nitpicking. Good job!

DV8: Great bust, the skin tones are lovely and the blending on the dragon's wings are excellent. Can't say any more other than it's great!

Oppl: A classic tank to paint, the weathering is spot on and doesn't dominate the model like you see with other tanks. Nice touch with the rust stains dripping from the rivets.

feltmonkey: Darth is such a great choice for this entry. The black you've painted is gorgeous and the osl from the saber makes me think of the final scene in Rogue One.

Tikay Fortooun: Great paintjob and I like the small changes to the original model to make it something unique. Giving me some inspiration for my own Avatar which sits on my shelf!

Vejut: You've done a great job on the scales. It's a shame about the photos, but a little work on that and I'd like to see him again.

Power Elephant: Your model's jacket is the standout for me, and the face is really cool too. Good job!

WishWarGaming: Your blightspawn is great! I like the bright colours and the touches of red really make the mode pop.

Paradigm: Wonderful looking Plague Marine, I like the palette you've used and it's suitably Nurgley.

Hope I didn't miss anyone! Thanks Paradigm and the rest of you for keeping this going!

-TH

Some fantastic entries. For the ones I voted:

Lipsadip:
- Super clean, and the crisp edging works really well for Tau. Plus IIRC you knocked this out super quick (within the first week of the month).

Chris56:
- I love the vibrant colors. My only issue is with the anatomy (re: highlighting/shading) of the collar bone area (and specifically how it connects with the neck and chest).

feltmonkey:
- The OSL alone sold me on your piece. Well done!

To everyone else, fantastic entries! Lots of ones I wish I could vote for, but then I'd basically be voting for everyone!

Power Elephant - That face is terrific. The dog looks nuts, but ironically it's own face could perhaps use a bit more work. Really good overall though. Where are you getting these STALKER miniatures?

My guy isn't a stalker miniature, he is from infinity. If you're talking about the one on my blog, he is from Taurus Miniatures. They also have what appears to be Artyom from Metro 2033. There really are a bunch of stalker models out there from multiple manufacturers, even a bloodsucker and a snork. I don't know when, but I'll definently paint another stalker, my FB page grew by at least 10% when I shared it in a stalker group, gotta keep those guys happy.

feltmonkey wrote:Deadshot - Nice neat, detailed work. My favorite is the guy with a cloak and no helmet. Really great job on him in particular!

Chris56 wrote:
Deadshot - Nice job on these guys. My favourite is the Tellion conversion;

Tyranid Horde wrote:Deadshot: Cool selection of models, like the scout the most as he reminds me a good bit of Cyrus from DOWII.

Thanks a lot for the feedback guys and really glad to hear you like the Telion conversion. Also really happy to hear that it reminds you of Cyrus, Tyranid Horde, as that's exactly who is supposed to be - an M42-Era, older and Lieutenant Cyrus! So the fact you picked up right away is a great sign!

As for my votes, I've gone for

Lipsdapips: A classic GW 'Eavy Metal Scheme elevated to artwork. Geuinely surprised GW hasn't sent you a cease and desist letter yet.

Queen Anne's Revenge: another great model this month, Everything looks smooth and natural and the white is sumptuously done.

ZoBo: I love the blue and the basing work, my only commet is that the background makes it hard to see how well you've done on this, and I almost didn't vote you because on my phone, it looks a little less impressive.

Chris56: Voted not for the obvious reasons, but this is a stunningly well painted model. The eyes, the skintone and the blues are ll perfectly blended and the freehand stripes on the shirt are just next level detail that take you over the top.


feltmonkey: With respect to the other competitors, by far and away the best entry this month. From the perfect highlights to the OSL, it looks like the real deal. My girlfriend spotted it and though the lightsabre was LED. Well down.


Near Misses

Midget Gems: Unfortunately the standard of the competition this month was extremely high and I skipped this one. Its excellently in 99% of the model but the headlights and the goggles on the boss just stand out a little to much for me to justify. Other than those its just epic in all regards, from the dirt in the tires to the flame designs.

Captain Brown: Like ZoBo your background doesn't lend well to your models and it was difficult to see how good they were. That said, the standard this month is so high and while I feel your models are excellent they weren't quite in my top 5.

Hits the Spot: While I think the model is overall excellent, there just seems to be too much blue-ness, with the chainsword, pistol and chest eagle all blending into the model instead of standing out. The skill is there just not enough colour variety.


Power Elephant: While the man is flawless, the dog's face stands out in a bad way and I felt that apart from this you did an excellent job.

WishWarGaming: Another excellent entry that just missed out due to the standard being so high. I love the liquid effect on the cannister.

Paradigm: Again, just missed my top 5 due to the high standard

@tyranid horde, he was an ebay bargain so I got what it came with, hence zhufors axe head ha. Although I would've made him unhelmed anyway as I like painting faces. I like to think he swaps his weapon hands each year to stay sharp.

 feltmonkey wrote:

I hope no-one finds me commenting on everything patronising or anything.

Definitely not, I think the effort you put into the comments is a great part of this challenge and the community around it

Thanks for the comments on mine and everyone's entry Felt, Chris56 and Tyranid Horde. Sinces its a new model I thought I'd give it a bright and mostly unweathered paint job. Whenever I do the next one it will have rust and scratches etc Doing some blog posts the other month has made me realise how far I've come painting wise (still a fair way to go )

Agree with you there Deadshot, I was disappointed with the Warbosses face in general, just ran out of time and couldn't add highlights as I would normally. TBH I completely forgot about the lights until you pointed them out, yeah they do need finishing, that is just base yellow with a wash, oops.

Hoping to emulate you 3 that have done posts on everyones entries I'll do one as well, just haven't had the time to do it yet.

A bit thanks to everyone who comment on all entries. I have only entered once so far and will never be at the top so these all entry comments are where my feedback comes from

 Deadshot wrote:
Captain Brown: Like ZoBo your background doesn't lend well to your models and it was difficult to see how good they were. That said, the standard this month is so high and while I feel your models are excellent they weren't quite in my top 5.

Curses, foiled by my lack of photography skills.

Seriously I am just happy to be mentioned...and someone even voted for me!

Cheers,

CB

I don't think anyone should feel bad about not getting votes. I occasionally get maybe 4-5%, but I only vote for maybe three or four each month. Just whatever I click on and immediately think "ooohh, yes...".

So even if you paint brilliantly, if it's a boring model, or something outside of my zone of interest I'm less likely to click a vote. Doesn't mean the stuff in here is sub-par, just looking for the pics or minis that elicit a genuine response. I'm more happy to simply see it motivate people to paint and finish stuff.

 Elbows wrote:
I don't think anyone should feel bad about not getting votes. I occasionally get maybe 4-5%, but I only vote for maybe three or four each month. Just whatever I click on and immediately think "ooohh, yes...".

So even if you paint brilliantly, if it's a boring model, or something outside of my zone of interest I'm less likely to click a vote. Doesn't mean the stuff in here is sub-par, just looking for the pics or minis that elicit a genuine response. I'm more happy to simply see it motivate people to paint and finish stuff.

Exactly! Great community involvement like this is more about motivating, inspiring, collaborating and learning. The only person anybody ever needs to compare themselves to is themselves. Paint better than you did before, and you're a winner.

What a cool month! Everyone's entries are great. I wanted to throw in a bunch of votes but felt like I should limit them a little. That said, a bunch had fantastic paintwork and a bunch had fantastic miniature builds and completed a impressive haul of work! Everyone deserves a pat on the back this month.

My votes went for:

Tyranid Horde - I was almost sold after I saw the poker chips an innovative basing technique and then you brought the mini together well afterwards.

Queen_Annes_Revenge - A really great execution of the pre-heresy scheme. That's a clean model!

Oppl: Something about his pose strikes me as so Cadian. I also love that he totes the standard and all the rest. It just feels like a leman russ that's true to the life of 40k



EDIT - Funny, my flag's changed to Greece I'm having a blast but I miss the paint desk.

It's nice to see such a diverse set of entries this month. Good work people.

Quickly off to votes:

Total
queen_annes_revenge
ZoBo
Midget Gems
Chris56
Hits_The_Spot
feltmonkey
DV8
Power Elephant
WishWarGaming
Paradigm

Till next month.

Nice entries all round. thanks for all the votes and comments guys. I can never seem to pip the top 3. maybe next time.

Results time!

Taking third place with 24 votes, DV8 with Daenarys of the House Targaryen:








Next up, an unprecedented 3-way tie for 2nd between Total's Iron Warriors Chaos Lord


Chris 65's (NSWF) pirate bust:


and Feltmonkey with the Dark Lord of the Sith, Vader himself






And finally, storming out ahead with a whopping 10% of the total votes cast, Lipsdapips with an awe-inspiring Tau Coldstar Battlesuit:





Thanks and congrats to all, and ta once again to Midget Gems for stepping in to run the poll while I was busy. See you all in the new year!

Grats to the winners and everyone who joined. Was another fun month.

A well deserved selection to round out the podium. Well done to them and all who entered.

Congratulations to everyone and thanks to Paradigm and Midget Gems for their work.

Cheers,

CB

Wow! I'm flattered. Thank you so much for all who sent a vote my way. I was feeling very FOMO about having to miss this month's open competition on account of my being away, but this does make some amends for that well done everybody! It was a packed comp this month. Three seconds is crazy too! It's lovely to see so many podium finishes, and more widely to see votes for so many varied pieces all over. All should be proud of themselves this month - what a blast it's been.

Congrats to everyone who entered, and particularly to everyone struggling to balance on the packed podium this month. Thanks to Para and Midget for the sterling work putting the challenge together. We really do appreciate it.

Congrats Lipsdapips

and all the podium placers + everyone that entered. A very good month with several entries that would normally have been very high battling for lower spots. Great quality work everyone.

Sorry I didn't get a chance to comment on everyone's entries, driven 1300 miles this week on top of normal working hours so not left much time for anything else .