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Time to pick some winners for February! This month sthe theme was Location, Location, Location, so entrants were given the task off evoking the many varied landscapes over which our miniatures battle in their entries! We've got some ambush predators, some hardy troopers in specialist gear, monsters perfectly adapted to their environments and some absolutely fantastic terrain pieces to boot!

As always, you're free to hand out as many votes as you like, and for any entry you feel deserves recognition, based on anything from technical proficiency ro model choice, a neat conversion or a cool take on the theme, or anything else! You're also very welcome to leave some feedback here for the entrants, and many of the images click through to the Dakka gallery if you'd like to give out a vote or two there as well.

Daia T'Nara: The Twisted Sisters, Slaaneshi Sororitas Rock Band (NSFW)



Mr Nobody: Tau Hazard Suit


Geifer: Glowing One


Olthannon: Leagues of Votaan Kahl



inmygravenimage: The Pulcinella Pub Crawl!



KidCthulhu: Fantasy Tavern


theCrowe: Undead Parrot


Lovejoy: Post-apocalpytic Military Contractors


urbanevil: Lord Felthius & Retinue



Flinty: Mechs


JoshInJapan: Chupacabras:


Gulgog TufToof: Breacha Boy


Captain Brown: Ramparts Eternal Cathedral


Jadenim: The Last Drop


Nevelon: Lictor and Eliminators


Midget Gems: Ork Kill Team and Display Board


Maharg: Yhetee


Pariah Press: Necromunda Market Folk


CancelledApocalypse: Exodite Dragon Knight


Vejut: Mechs

No Vejut?

You're right! Vejut's Mechs are missing...

Their camouflage was obviously too effective

 Flinty wrote:
Their camouflage was obviously too effective

It's funny you mention that; I had a friend that played BT and he painted two mechs to perfectly match the table terrain, he would put them in position on the first round and not touch them all game. The other players legitimately forgot they were there and then they'd spring out of hiding

Apologies, they weren't marked as final pics, fixed now.

 Paradigm wrote:
Apologies, they weren't marked as final pics, fixed now.

Yeah, I'd noticed that... Did Vejut just forget? Anyone heard from them recently?

 CancelledApocalypse wrote:

 Paradigm wrote:
Apologies, they weren't marked as final pics, fixed now.

Yeah, I'd noticed that... Did Vejut just forget? Anyone heard from them recently?

Vejut's still around. There was a new post in the P&M blog just a couple of days ago.

There were so many great entries that I ended up giving everyone a vote (except for myself, of course). I'll try to write individual comments in the next day or two.

I voted

Nevelon, Midget and Apocalypse'
Although I really liked the T'nara one too.. forgot to vote on it when I did -_-

Sorry..

Still here, and yeah, meant to take better ones that ddin't blend with the desk, things got busy, and I did forget until the 2nd, by which point things were closed up.

I failed to finish (another) month, but I've voted for my favourites by those who are more motivated than me!

There is some seriously stiff competition this month!

Daia T'Nara: This band rocks! I love how the rich golds stand out against the paler pinks and purples.

Mr Nobody: The crisp lining between the armor panels is great against the orange and white. The Tau "runes" on the chest are nice little touch as well.

Geifer: The skin on this beastie looks truly translucent. It's an amazing effect.

Olthannon: The darker red and gold contrast nicely against the more colorful Genestealer, while still remaining ostentatious.

inmygravenimage: All the little bottles really add some visual interest to what otherwise might have been very samey models. I like the icky sewer bases as well.

KidCthulhu: What a great set of terrain! It looks like it would be a great place for a barfight scenario. You achieved a great wood effect on the furniture.

theCrowe: I love all the little barnacles-- they really sell the age and decay of the model.

Lovejoy: You did a great job on all that chipping/weathering. I like the tracked gundrones-- I think I have a couple of those.

urbanevil: The green slime is great. I would like to see some more photos lit from the front.

Flinty: I like your splotchy camo effect-- I can't seem to get that to work when I try it.

me: There isn't much going on with the chupacabras themselves-- just bare pinking skin with some spikes on their spines. The cacti were fun to sculpt.

Gulgog TufToof: This guy looks like he means business! I really like the drab green skin tone you use on your orks.

Captain Brown: These are some pretty impressive terrain pieces. Be sure to share some photos when you get them totally finished!

Jadenim: A very characterful piece of terrain. I like the cups and the spilled drink on the table.

Nevelon: It looks like your experiment with the the carapace worked well-- it's realistically splotchy.

Midget Gems: Your display board looks like it could be the basis of a whole table. The green goo really draws the eye, but I find all the corrosion to be much more impressive.

Maharg: The warm bone stands out nicely against the cool grey fur. The ice blade is really well done.

Pariah Press: Another set of very characterful, er, characters. I especially like all the boils on the Barth's skin.

CancelledApocalypse: Way back in the 2ed days, I dreamed of making my own exodites, but never got around to it. I love the blue-to-green fade on the shield, and you really nailed the shading on the metallics.

Vejut: Those are some really big trees! I like your two-tone camo and your glass-effect on the cockpit windows.

This is a great batch of entries all around!

 JoshInJapan wrote:
KidCthulhu: What a great set of terrain! It looks like it would be a great place for a barfight scenario. You achieved a great wood effect on the furniture.

Thank you!

Thank you for getting your last voting thread up Para

and thank you all for the votes, and comments from Leopold Helveine, JoshInJapan, the green goo is a bit more suitable and transparent in RL but still bold, worked out well enough considering I left that until the last 48 hours and almost didn't do it.

Some comments
Daia T'Nara - good combo of purple, flesh and gold across all parts of the model and base
Mr Nobody - Looks like a solid paint job, would like to see a few more angles/photos
Geifer - Its certainly got green glowing bits to him well done.
Olthannon- Very well painted with some bright colours on the base.
inmygravenimage - Cool models and nice white colour, I like the Bird (Ostrich?) rider the best
KidCthulhu - You have made a great setting for some fun stories to start (or end)
theCrowe - awesome model, made me laugh
Lovejoy - Well done with sinking them into the base and the weather is great.
urbanevil - Nice slime and very nurgley colour Platte
Flinty - Very good Camo on those mechs
JoshInJapan - Nice scene with sunken bases again which is good to see
Gulgog TufToof - Continuation for your good camo scheme well done
Captain Brown - You can tell you have put a lot of effort into that, great location to fight on/over/for.
Jadenim - Very cool scene and lots of lovely details to absorb, posters are very good.
Nevelon - Love the snipers/scouts winter camo scheme, its come our really well
Midget Gems - Worked well i think, I am planning to put some Perspex on the open sides and magnetise it to make a little carry case for a kill team.
Maharg - the ice weapons are very well done and you have picked out his face well.
Pariah Press - Awesome miniatures you have chosen, they make a nice team.
CancelledApocalypse - Rather good painting on the Mounts skin and an awesome base as well.
vejut - The Mechs crashing through trees is a fun idea and gives them some scale.

My top three this month are:

Jadenim - love the grimy watering hole you've come up with, the glowing screens are great and the oily looking spilled drink (recaf?) on the table. Where does the scenery come from? Yours was my top pick this month.
Lovejoy - superb painting technique as always, the weathering/chipping on the armour looks great, though if I'm being critical I think maybe the colour choices here aren't quite as effective as for past entries? Still my second fave entry, though.
Maharg - beautiful work on the blue/black skin, the contrast between the skin, the fur and the bone works really well.

With honourable mentions for JoshInJapan, Olthannon, Midget Gems, Daia T'Nara, Pariah Press and KidCthulhu. As usual, everyone entered something they can be proud of.

There were also one or two (or more) that I feel were a little let down by the photos, whether the angle of shot was too high, they were a little overexposed, or the final image was just too small to make out details easily. UrbanEvil, your models look like they're really good, but it was difficult to tell as the photos were a touch blurry and not very well lit. My advice: ditch the light box, they're a false economy (I used to use one, too). Trovarion has a really good miniature photography video that really helped me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpHYU7O48as

 Midget Gems wrote:
CancelledApocalypse - Rather good painting on the Mounts skin and an awesome base as well.

Thanks MG! I didn't really think much of the base as I was doing it, maybe it's better than I thought it was I think everything on my entry could have been just a bit more refined, but I was really struggling for time towards the end of the month.

 JoshInJapan wrote:
CancelledApocalypse: Way back in the 2ed days, I dreamed of making my own exodites, but never got around to it. I love the blue-to-green fade on the shield, and you really nailed the shading on the metallics.

Thanks Josh! That dream can still live, you know Especially given the number of suitable models to kitbash with, these days... though there are rumblings that an official exodite army might be on the way in the not too distant future. But then, there have been rumblings about official exodites for years and they're still yet to appear. I'll keep kitbashing my own until they do! Got to update/restart my exodite thread soonish and get back to work on my codex and lore.

Final thank you to Paradigm for all the work keeping this competition going over the years. You da real MVD! (most valuable dakkanaut) And thanks to Nevelon for taking the responsibility on! Cheers all!

Thanks CancelledApocalypse; the main body is a Munitorum container, the awning and “table” are from the Necromunda market kit, along with a lot of the “set dressing” bits (mugs, buckets, etc.) and most of the add-ons to the container are screens, tanks and other bits from the Zone Mortalis walls and columns kit. Plus a liberal sprinkling of stuff from the bits box (Kroot meat hooks, for example).

The only thing not from an actual GW kit is the paper clips I used to make the neon sign!


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Oh, and the posters, which I printed off from Yaktribe and then pasted on with watered down PVA (exactly how a real poster would).

Voted Lovejoy.

 Jadenim wrote:

The only thing not from an actual GW kit is the paper clips I used to make the neon sign!

Oh, wow, I was so busy admiring the spilled drink that I didn't even notice that! What a nifty idea, superbly executed!

Agreed, brilliant idea, Jadenim!

Thanks everyone

 JoshInJapan wrote:
Daia T'Nara: This band rocks! I love how the rich golds stand out against the paler pinks and purples.

 Midget Gems wrote:
Daia T'Nara - good combo of purple, flesh and gold across all parts of the model and base

Thanks - I kind of stumbled into that colour scheme by accident, the original plan was white armour with gold trim like my marines, but I was having trouble deciding what colour to paint the various bits of cloth that wouldn't overshadow the armour (I wanted their hair to stand out as big vibrant colours), and eventually thought white cloth, gold armour. The flesh weapons/instruments were also a fluke, just the contrast I put over the whole minis to be able to see the sculpts properly - while doing the elaborate lead base I started thinking it was a shame they didn't all have something like that, hence flesh guitars to match.

And now everyone else:

Daia T'Nara: We've had this discussion before, Million Year Girl is not '40k music'.
Mr Nobody: Love the dramatic pose, and the bold orange in contrast to the Sentinel wreck, really sells that they're manufactured by two very different cultures.
Geifer: Great luminous green, very gloopy and viscous-looking.
Olthannon: I like the contrast between the muted armour and its decorations and the vivid colours on the corpse.
inmygravenimage: A very characterful bunch, the kegbearer's my favourite.
KidCthulhu: Great work, lovely natural-materials look on the wood and stone, and the bottles have a great shine to them.
theCrowe: Oh he looks wonderful, well judged use of colour, plenty of interest without losing the overall weathered feel.
Lovejoy: Great base terrain, and I love how battered the armour looks.
urbanevil: Very viscous-looking slime and decaying-matter texture on them.
Flinty: Sharp colours on the blue mechs, but I especially love the camo ones, very intricate and convincing pattern.
JoshInJapan: The minis are great but it's so much more than the sum of its parts as a complete scene.
Gulgog TufToof: Great work picking out all the details but I'm really drawn to how rich his skin tone is.
Captain Brown: Lovely weathering, those pieces will make any table they're put on look great.
Jadenim: Wonderful scene, there's something to discover everywhere you look on it.
Nevelon: The camouflage job on those scouts is next level, really convincing.
Midget Gems: Great combination of minis and terrain, I like all the weathering effects - and the rampaging squig of course.
Maharg: Very well done fur, and I love how luminous the ice hammerhead and blade are.
Pariah Press: That's some classic Necromunda, lovely mix of urban-decay grotesque and slightly-cartoony fun.
CancelledApocalypse: He looks wonderful, great painting on the stone on the base, and everything from the scales to the metalwork on the dragon and rider is super sharp.
Vejut: Love the camo paint, and the trees on the bases are great at showing the scale of the mechs.

Midget Gems wrote:
JoshInJapan - Nice scene with sunken bases again which is good to see

Thanks. It was a bigger hassle that I thought it would be to cut out those little circles by hand.

CancelledApocalypse wrote:

 JoshInJapan wrote:
CancelledApocalypse: Way back in the 2ed days, I dreamed of making my own exodites, but never got around to it. I love the blue-to-green fade on the shield, and you really nailed the shading on the metallics.

Thanks Josh! That dream can still live, you know Especially given the number of suitable models to kitbash with, these days... though there are rumblings that an official exodite army might be on the way in the not too distant future. But then, there have been rumblings about official exodites for years and they're still yet to appear. I'll keep kitbashing my own until they do! Got to update/restart my exodite thread soonish and get back to work on my codex and lore.

Sadly, I don't play 40K anymore, so I don't have much reason to put in that much effort. For now, I think I'll live vicariously through you.

Daia T'Nara wrote:
JoshInJapan: The minis are great but it's so much more than the sum of its parts as a complete scene.

Thanks! The models themselves are pretty plain, and the bases were too small to add too much interest to. I'm pleased that the diorama worked as well as it did.

Thanks for the feedback guys. I used a small bit of sponge to get the pattern, so super quick to do.

Alrighy then, the final round winners of the 2022/3 rotation!

In third place, Midget Gems' Ork Kommandos sneak into position!


Outpacing the competition before settling in for a refreshing (perhaps?) drink at The Last Drop, the underhive's premier watering hole, it's Jadenim!












And leaping ahead with raptor-like speed, CancelledApocalypse's Exodite Dragon Knight!



That's a wrap for the round, the 2022/3 rotation and my tenure as manager of this challenge! Thanks for all the entries, comments and feedback from everyone as ever, and well done all! Best of luck for the rounds to come, and I'll see you all next month as a keen observer to the fantastic hobbying therein!

Holy crap, I got on the podium?!

Thanks everyone for the votes and comments, I was really pleased with how this kitbash came together and so relieved I was able to give it a paint job to do it justice!

 Jadenim wrote:
Holy crap, I got on the podium?!

Thanks everyone for the votes and comments, I was really pleased with how this kitbash came together and so relieved I was able to give it a paint job to do it justice!

Of course, it was a very good entry, congrats mate

Well done to CancelledApocalypse for the win and thank you for the votes to get me on the podium too

Great month, great years work everyone and thank you once again for everything Para, ill get on the league table updates asap

 Jadenim wrote:
Holy crap, I got on the podium?

Well deserved, too! There were some great entries, but yours was my favourite - looks like it could be straight out of a Necromunda rulebook!

Congrats to all the winners, and all the entrants generally - fantastic month, loads of cool stuff, and such a wide variety. Lots of inspiration for new projects...

League table updated

Congrats everyone on another year done

https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/732117.page#9481149

Congratulations to all the winners-- and to everyone who entered.

Thanks to MidgetGems for keeping the league table updated.

And a very special thanks to Paradigm for keeping this Challenge going for so long. It has really inspired me to improve my painting.

Great job, everyone! The winners' laurels are well deserved. Also, I don't think I've ever gotten so many votes on an entry before.

Congratulations to everyone on the podium and everyone who entered! Absolutely well deserved CancelledApocalypse I thought your entry was just terrific, such a cool model and a fantastic paint job to boot. Cheers Paradigm for all your hard work putting things together.

Was very fun to enter the comp and I hope I have more time next month to paint something!