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Welcome all to this month's voting thread! In September, entrants were tasked with a battle for air superiority, producing all manner of aircraft, flying beasts and starfighters along with ghosts, pilots and jetpack-toting warriors.

As always, you can pick as many entries as you like to vote for, for any reason you like. So if it's the paintjob that catches your eye, the quality of the conversion, the effort on show, the choice of miniature or anything else. Likewise, any feedback you'd like to leave for the entrants is always appreciated, as are any gallery votes you want to throw the way of the many images that link through to the Dakka Gallery!

The entrants:

Rybrook: Blood Angels Assault Marines


Nevelon: Ultramarine Interceptors vs Eldar Jetbikes


Theophony: Sylvaneth Fastball Special!


Jamie Shred: Crow Swarms and Giant Moth


queen_annes_revenge: Sanguinis, Primarch of the Blood Angels


Captain Brown: Imperial Guard Valkrie


Midget Gems: Looted Raider Airship


Deadshot: Blood Ravens Assault Marines


Maharg: Chaos Fury


ZergSmasher: Dark Angels Surpressors


Vejut: Green Dragon


DV8: Chainghasts



Bellerophon: High Elf Prince on Griffon


Jadenim: Imperial Navy Thunderbolts


feltmonkey: T-47 Snowspeeder


Modock: Tau Piranha


dukeofbeer: Soviet Air Support


Chris56: Rebel TIE Fighter


JustALittleOrkish: Vulture Swarms


Paradigm: Luke Skywalker, Red Five

Well done everybody; it's always great to see people push and finish models in their collection, so even though I may not say it everytime, you're all winners.

My top 3 in no particular order:

Captain Brown - Valkyrie

I love how simply and functional this piece is, and the white Acquila just pops out so beautifully in contrast to all the black. I'm willing to overlook the technical simplicity of the work to consider the entire piece holistically.

Feltmonkey T-47 Snowspeeder

I mean you've drawn my attention already because this is guaranteed my favorite Star Wars vehicle. I love how clean the execution was, and the subtle damage focused on the front edges is just masterful.

Modock - Tau Piranha
Lovely translation of your clean style, and I love how sublime the weathering is. I think the only critique is I would brighten up the values on the pilot JUST a bit to focus attention on him, but that's purely based on a personal style/preference for how I control viewer attention. The base colors are excellent as well!

Thanks, DV8! Here are some comments for everyone -

Rybrook - Good solid tabletop standard work. The little details and the transfers, plus the golden helmets, finish them off nicely.

Nevelon - As I think you said yourself, the Inceptors are my favorites of the two squads. The eldar jetbikes are decent, but a model that shape really needs a highlight down the middle of the bonnet, but that would contrast with other units in your army as you've mentioned before. The inceptors are lovely though. I've been halfway through painting some myself and there's a lot of edge highlighting to get to. Yours look great.

Theophony - Funny idea, and the pose of the treelord is great. As a strategy, I'm not sure it would be hugely succesful. Did you use contrast paints for it all?

Jamie Shred - Properly weird models! Very nice work on the moth's wings in particular.

queen_annes_revenge - Very nice, there's a lot to like here. Sanguinius' face is great, and the wings are spectacular. I like the tones you've used on the base.

Captain Brown - This is really nice. I like the subtle, realistic weathering, and all the little details like the lenses and everything inside the cockpit.

Midget Gems - A nicely mad idea as usual from you! I love the use of actual cloth on the balloon, and the addition of wood for the plank.

Deadshot - Nice tabletop marines. Good details, and good use of black lining to define the armour panels.

Maharg - Really vivid and eyecatching work. Great work on the skin, and I like the deep red on the wings.

ZergSmasher - More Inceptors. Good clean, detailed painting. Good work resisting the temptation to model trampolines underneath them.

Vejut - I like the wings and the horn. There are a couple of areas that could maybe use a tiny bit of touching up, and you could go one step lighter on the highlights on the upper area of scales. The base is fantastic! An impressive model overall.

DV8 - Lovely colours, great use of light and contrast. I like it when you use this style where you can see the brushstrokes. It's a small thing, but I love those leaves on the bases, too.

Bellerophon - I love how clean and bold this is. Great work on the griffin's face, and the addition of the leopard's spots is just wonderful. Brilliant work.

Jadenim - Very cute little planes! Did you freehand the wing designs? If so, wow! I really like the radar bases, that's inspired.

Modock - Lovely stuff. I bet it's a nice change to be painting something that isn't infinity. I love the subtle weathering - you've painstakingly highlighted around every one of the larger chips, which is massively impressive. The weathering all streaking from front to back is a nice way of adding a bit of narrative and communicating how fast the flyer is.

dukeofbeer - Bright, vibrant, really nice. There's a lot of character in the human models (including the pilot!)

Chris56 - Pretty amazing how quickly you knocked this out, and it's a really distinctive looking model. I find myself almost physically unable to veer from the movie schemes when I'm painting Star Wars stuff.

JustALittleOrkish - I like how you've added so much colour to a swarm of vultures. The bases are great.

Paradigm - Nice job. Instantly recognisable. The little bits of dirt and weathering are wonderfully subtle and realistic.

Great work all! I don't say this often enough, but thanks for running this every month, Paradigm. It is greatly appreciated. I wonder if you realise, but working on something for this challenge doesn't just keep me motivated to paint and to improve, it's also a big highlight of my month.

My votes went to:
Midget gems - Your work reminded me of a similar project I did with my brother, when we scratch built an ork zepelin, especialy the cloth. Your turned out much better than ours, it was our first and only attempt at scratch building.
Captian Brown - I just generaly liked the look of this one
Modock - I can tell that this is a bit out of your comfort zone compared to your usual infinity models, but a great painter adapts

I hope you don't mind me saying this, but I feel that a lot of the usual "heavy hitters" were out of their comfort zone on this one. Or maybe I just don't like flyers that much, idk.

Thanks feltmonkey, if you think these are weird you should see my entry for this month :-)

 feltmonkey wrote:


queen_annes_revenge - Very nice, there's a lot to like here. Sanguinius' face is great, and the wings are spectacular. I like the tones you've used on the base.

Thanks. It was an absolute effort trying to finish sanguinius. There's so many elements to the model. I actually used a lot of drybrushing and stippling to finish the model. There will be touch ups to do if I want to enter him into golden demon.

I wasn't looking forward to the wings, but all I did was use apothecary white and aethermatic blue contrast colours over a white basecoat, followed by some pure white touch ups, all in all they took me maybe 2 evenings work, as opposed to the wings on my GD entry which took about 2 weeks.

First off @Para: my entry is Suppressors, not Inceptors. @felt: Thanks for the comment, and I don't even have any bits that remotely resemble a trampoline, so no temptation there!

Next, some comments for everyone:

Rybrook: Assault Marines fit the theme perfectly, and they look pretty solid. The plasma glow and the meltagun muzzle discoloration look particularly good.

Nevelon: While the Inceptors definitely turned out better than the jetbikes, both are well done. I gotta root for the Marines though. Purge the Xenos!

Theophony: The pose on that Treelord is perfect for what you were going for. I can hear his deep voice yelling "YEET!" as he pitches the little guy towards the enemy, who will surely not expect such an attack!

Jamie Shred: That entry would probably have worked for October's challenge as well. Very macabre.

queen_annes_revenge: While I'm not a huge fan of the sculpt on Sanguinius (that's FW's fault, not yours), you did a pretty good job on the model overall.

Captain Brown: Valkyries are cool looking aircraft, and I really like the weathering on yours.

Midget Gems: I love the whole concept of turning a Raider into an airship, and you executed it very well.

Deadshot: Solid work on those Blood Ravens. Decent tabletop quality for sure.

Maharg: That Fury looks a bit like a Pink Horror with that color palette. I guess he must also be a servant of the Changer of Ways!

ZergSmasher: I'm happy enough with how my entry turned out. The angles of the models ended up a bit janky, but that's because I struggled mightily to get them to stay on those flight stands!

Vejut: That dragon looks great, and I love the base with all the bones on it!

DV8: Wow...

Bellerophon: I was looking forward to seeing this one done ever since you announced that you were doing it. One of my all time favorite models from the old WHFB range (nearly got me to start a High Elves army back in the day), and you really did it proud.

Jadenim: The planes look pretty good, and the bases are especially well done!

feltmonkey: That snowspeeder turned out amazing. The weathering is what really sells it.

Modock: That's a pretty creative conversion for that Piranha. Paintjob looks good too.

dukeofbeer: I think the guys on the ground look even better than the plane, but all look good.

Chris56: I've never seen the show you based that scheme on, but it looks well executed.

JustALittleOrkish: Great job picking out the indiviual birds in slightly different colors. It really makes them look better.

Paradigm: Of all your challenge entries, this might be one of your more creative interpretations of the theme. The model turned out great, too!

While it doesn't seem like we've got as many entries as in months past, the overall quality seems to be superior this time around. Everyone should be proud of their entries. Shout out as always to Paradigm for running these things while doing college stuff. See you all in the spooky October challenge!

Thanks guys, @felt monkey, the markings are all transfers from the sheet in the box, but the Aquila wings were cut over the panel lines and around some of the gribblies, so there is some freehand over the top to neaten them back up and fill in the gaps.

Can I just share my one disappointment with AI so far is that you are given an extensive transfer sheet in the box, but there’s been no effort to size/shape the transfers to fit the models (which have a lot of surface detail and not may large clear areas) and it’s only got big, generic markings. It would have been great to have serial numbers, “no step”, ejection handle, etc. details. C-, must try harder GW.

Thanks zergsmasher I'm painting up some of their bigger brothers this month

Thanks Zerg/ Felt, they were done in contrast to test what it would look like on a figure in comparison to the tank I did last month. I think they turned out well enough,

 Jadenim wrote:
Thanks guys, @felt monkey, the markings are all transfers from the sheet in the box, but the Aquila wings were cut over the panel lines and around some of the gribblies, so there is some freehand over the top to neaten them back up and fill in the gaps.

Can I just share my one disappointment with AI so far is that you are given an extensive transfer sheet in the box, but there’s been no effort to size/shape the transfers to fit the models (which have a lot of surface detail and not may large clear areas) and it’s only got big, generic markings. It would have been great to have serial numbers, “no step”, ejection handle, etc. details. C-, must try harder GW.

I think the problem will be scale. How large would things like numbers, "no step", etc be beyond just a bunch of lines at the scale that AI is (which, correct me if I'm wrong, is 6mm, same scale as Titanicus).

GW's always been bad at covering every available surface up with panels, rivets, skulls and gems though.

Fewer entries this month but the quality didn't suffer also I like that the pieces are a bit different than usual (more fliers, myself included).

Thanks to DV8, Feltmonkey, Power Elephant and ZergSmasher for the feedback.

DV8, now that you mention it could benefit with a slightly different shade of green and it would add another interesting detail to the whole piece.
Feltmonkey, it was such a relief and joy to paint a vastly different model than Infinity minis, I could paint it without magnifying glasses...



let's get to it:
Captain Brown - impressive looking model...I like that you painted the belly in a different color cause it gives a more realistic vibe also the chips and the weathering add as well.

Midget Gems - ingenius conversion MG! Your pool of ideas is endless.

DV8 - top notch paintjob, clean and smoth and the color scheme works like a glove. I'm fond of your matt finish, do you use Scale paints or is the varnish? Also cool bases.

Bellerophon - extremely well painted. Smooth as a butter and precise as a sharpshooter but my favourite part is the jaguar, the subtle shadows, the head and the spots of course.

Jadenim - cool little fliers with nice bases. Great job!

feltmonkey - I think vehicles are your forte, not to dismiss your other minis but I really enjoy your machines. The AT-ST walker was amazing, the knight was stellar and the speeder
is no exception. I can see you make a great use of the airbrush and it shows. The atmosphere of the speeder is pure eye candy. I gives such a realistic vibe...love it Felt!

Chris - it looks really good for long you took to paint it. Very bold color scheme as well.


Well that's it from me and thank you Para for the monthly fix...

@DV8 I get what you mean, but they do check edging strips for the Orks which are about the same size as some of those things.

 Modock wrote:

DV8 - top notch paintjob, clean and smoth and the color scheme works like a glove. I'm fond of your matt finish, do you use Scale paints or is the varnish? Also cool bases.

Thanks! Both! I use Scale75 and Vallejo paints almost exclusively (although I have some legacy GW colors I use for the brown bases on my Nighthaunt). I varnish with GW Purity Seal, which is also a pretty matte finish (although nowhere near Testor's Dullcote).

Thank you for the reviews and suggestions...and to Paradigm for putting this on each month.

Jadenim, try to locate some old Epic transfers, they are really small and would fit smaller scale aircraft.

Cheers,

CB

Great work, Captain - that valkyrie is very cool.

Some great work from QAR, Modock, Midgetgems, DV8 and Para this month but I love felt's snowspeeder - your Legion set must be looking pretty awesome by now!

Thanks as always to Para and MG for running these inspiring challenges.

Thanks for the comments Felt, yeah took me a little while to find a piece of cloth that had a fine enough grainy texture to it but was still visible
Lol Power Elephant, thanks, Ork conversions are always fun no matter how thy turn out
Cheers Zerg, Modock, Chris for the comments

Rybrook: A good solid red and I like the lighter base.
Nevelon: An interesting combination of models, the Interceptors seem to have a lot more detail on than the Wind Ridiers
Theophony: A very big guy but the photos seem to have lost a lot of the detail which is a real shame
Jamie Shred: Very inventive Crow bases, i like that you searched lots of wIPs as you were building and painting them.
queen_annes_revenge: Really not sure why this hasnt got more votes, its awesome I like the bright greens to draw you in and contrast the red.
Captain Brown: Really excellent weathering on your Valkrie CB
Midget Gems: Getting frustrated with myself for not finishing things at the moment, had to cut this short missed some highlights, adding a few more bits to make it Orky and "looted" and also didn't finish the rear platform with a gunner so left that off. Turned out quite well in the end.
Deadshot: Good aggressive poses for assault troops and painted to a good standard.
Maharg: That a very vibrant pink, you always mange to get such vivid colours.
ZergSmasher: The look pretty cool, I do have images in my head of them trying to fire the big guns in mid flight and flying off backwards
Vejut: Its giant (compared) to some of your other entries. Well done for getting it done and a lovey base,
DV8: I honestly thought they where a drawing (thats good) Really like the bright leaves to contrast the duller cloth.
Bellerophon: great detail on the wings and body, must have taken ages.
Jadenim: Nice Aquilas on the wings and a good blue colour
feltmonkey: You have managed to get such detail into such a small model, amazing work mate.
Modock: Whoo a unique Madock masterpiece. It made be very happy you did a conversion
dukeofbeer:Well done for buying something new just of this challenge. I hope you enjoyed painting something different.
Chris56: I'm impressed how quickly you got that painted, very clean lines between the orange and other colours
JustALittleOrkish: They look rather cool and quite menacing
Paradigm: That looks like a really small model? you have got a to of detail on it congrats.

Good Job Everyone

It was a 54mm scale mini actually, though with very shallow details in places thanks to its origin as a toy, that could be why it looks small as it's not nearly as sharp as your average 28mm mini.

Once again I'm away for work and stuck on mobile through the voting period so I'm not going to be able to go into detailed comments on everybody's work, but I'll say a general well done to all. It's always great to see folks getting things painted up for this challenge and there's some really good stuff here, as ever.

Thanks for the comments on my griffon, I was glad to get it painted finally after so long sat in a box!

feltmonkey wrote:Nevelon - As I think you said yourself, the Inceptors are my favorites of the two squads. The eldar jetbikes are decent, but a model that shape really needs a highlight down the middle of the bonnet, but that would contrast with other units in your army as you've mentioned before. The inceptors are lovely though. I've been halfway through painting some myself and there's a lot of edge highlighting to get to. Yours look great.

ZergSmasher wrote:Nevelon: While the Inceptors definitely turned out better than the jetbikes, both are well done. I gotta root for the Marines though. Purge the Xenos!

Midget Gems wrote:Nevelon: An interesting combination of models, the Interceptors seem to have a lot more detail on than the Wind Ridiers

Thanks for the feedback guys.

I knew the bikes were not the best. Old models light on detail, and painted to a lower standard. But I wanted to help keep my volume up for the year and cary on the “duel” theme that’s been running through a number of my entries. While I’ve still got one old bike on the sprue, that should be the last of that era you see. And if it wasn’t for the challenge, they’s still be sitting in the primed pile.

Competitively, I should have cut them and just run the inceptors. But winning is not why I’m here. Obviously. They fit the theme, they needed paint, and I’ll take any motivational tool I can get.

We got winners, and this month, lots of 'em!

Sharing third place with 22 votes each, Midget Gems' looted airship:



And Modock's sleep Piranha:



In a very crowded second place, with 25 votes apiece, we have DV8's Chainghasts,





Bellerophon's Elf Prince:















and Feltmonkey's Snowspeeder:
















But taking the win, a full 10 points clear of the competition on 35, Captain Brown's impressive Valkyrie:









Congrats to everyone, see you next time for spooky shenanigans!

Grats to the winners. Pretty packed podium this month.

Wow, I am humbled and likely the recipient of some good luck (with a model that fit the theme) and with the split vote between some fantastically painted models.

Thank you to Paradigm for putting it on again each month and Midget Gems when Para is away.

Sincerely,

CB

Congratulations to all, especially Captain Brown - there were some really good models in this month, and it's a great achievement to come in 10 full votes ahead. Well done!

Sorry about the late response, but thanks for the votes, and congrats to everyone. Particular congrats to Captain Brown for a well-deserved first win!

Congrats on the winners, and a very crowded podium indeed!

As always, I think everybody who finished something is a winner. You get to flex your talent and put another dent into the gray legions (of which I hope grow slower than your painted legions do)

wow so many people up there this month (including me thank you very much) congrats everyone

and great job on your first win CB

will get the league table updated as soon as I can.

Sorry for the delay everyone had very little few time over the last few weeks/months

League table is now updated

https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/732117.page

Thanks, MidgetGems! Having done a bit of that a few years back, I know its a good bit to wrangle.

Echo that sentiment, big thank you Midget Gems.

Sincerely,

CB