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This month the topic was: Frugal - Your entry should be cheep. Could be in-universe penny-pinching, like troops equipped with bargain basement gear, or ruleswise, for miniatures with a low points value, or real-world, like making a character out of a regular trooper tarted up with accessories from the bits box and a fancy paint job instead of paying top dollar for the actual Captain/whatever miniature. Actual paymasters or misers would also work.

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 or 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 - Neurotyrant and Genestealers


Ezki - Deep Gnome Adventurer


inmygravenimage - Captain Terens of the Storm Lions


JoshInJapan - Temple Guardian


halfling84 - Chibi Darius


Pariah Press - Necromundan 8th Regiment, "The Spiders"


Mr Nobody - Kelermorph


theCrowe - The Root’s Own Twisted Rifle Corpse


Nevelon – Jump Chaplain


Syro_ - Termagants


ZergSmasher - Tomb Kings Skeleton Warriors


Captain Brown - Orlock with Heavy Bolter


KidCthulhu -Mordheim Captain And Henchmen


Geifer - B1 Battle Droid


Pursuit Of Happiness - Little Necromancer


XvArcanevX - Soul Drinker


Maharg - Night Goblins


Vejut - Light mech lance


blockade23 - Peasant Bowmen Command


Zambro – Atlacoya the Sunarcher


Jadenim - Tallarn


Mon-keigh – Godling


Gulgog TufToof - Fellgor Ravager


Midget Gems - Grot Cutter


youwashock - Black Ark of Naggaroth


CancelledApocalypse – Frugal


As always, if you notice I’ve missed something, let me know. Poll will run for 5 days

Time for some comments.

Daia T'Nara - These guys are a great use of a limited palette with little spots of color and light paint thrown in to make them look interesting.

Ezki - Great effort to give the grey skin a healthy glow.

inmygravenimage - The OSL from the sword adds a nice bit of interest to the blue armor.

JoshInJapan - Good use of colors on the guy himself that's complemented by the fancy paint the sword got.

halfling84 - Great job on the skin and eyes that work really well with the chibi dimensions.

Pariah Press - Nice job of balancing drab military pragmatism with interesting spots of color.

Mr Nobody - I like the effective choice of colors and the textured highlights quite a bit.

theCrowe - Good, earthy appearance on these guys. The low contrast look works very well on them.

Nevelon - Nice, effective Chaplain with just enough detail so as not to distract from the black armor.

Syro_ - The warm tones of the fleshborers, tongues and skin recesses are a nice touch.

ZergSmasher - The skeletons have an effective, no nonsense look that fits their rank and file status. Keeping the metal fairly dark is a nice touch next to the bright bones.

Captain Brown - Nice job on the restrained overall look in spite of the Orlock's gear overload.

KidCthulhu - Great combination of the cheerful blue, orange and white bits with muted leather and metal.

Pursuit Of Happiness - Fun model with very expressive highlights. I like that you went with a red robe.

XvArcanevX - Nice, clean paintjob with almost glowing highlights.

Maharg - Clean, classic look. The red on the bows rounds off the otherwise simple color scheme nicely.

Vejut - Good depth and use of spot colors on models that are mostly just green.

blockade23 - It's a really nice color scheme that balances the drab appearance of Bretonnian peasantry well with heraldic color.

Zambro - I really like the yellow lizard, which is probably a bit unfair because the bowman is supposed to be the main event.

Jadenim - Nice, drab look to these Tallarns with restrained white and red that doesn't detract from it.

Mon-keigh - I like the use of limited palette with strategically placed spots of color on this critter.

Gulgog TufToof - Good selection of colors that make the model pop, with equally good placement of yucky yellow stuff to give it a filthy appearance.

Midget Gems - Nice, dusty appearance of the cutter with a good selection of browns that lets the greenskins crewing it shine.

youwashock - A neat, very colorful take on Dark Elves that works surprisingly well.

CancelledApocalypse - These Marines have a nice, clean look complemented by well done, bright metal bits that make especially the purple one shine.

Thanks, Geifer! Always appreciate your comments

Last month was one of the strongest months I can recall (which is pretty galling, considering I didn't manage to finish an entry! ), but this month isn't far behind! I ended up giving everyone a vote, both last month and this, but my particular favourites were:

Ezki - As always, masterful use of paint, with beautiful highlights and nmm. I particularly like how you do cloth and leather, though. The controlled brushstrokes that make the fabric in particular actually feel like a weave is lovely.
JoshInJapan - That blade... wow! I can feel the time poured into achieving that look.
KidCthulhu - Still getting the flash shine on your photography (maybe you could use a matte varnish just on the clothing to mitigate that a bit?), but that's a really striking quartered colour scheme, contrasted perfectly with the metallics, painted neatly for an overall excellent look. Well done!
XvArcanevX - The scorch pattern on that metal flamer barrel is a thing of beauty! I can never get it that shiny, what's your secret?
youwasshock - Oh man, that model brings back happy memories. I had the official metal one back in the day, before I *sniff* stupidly sold it and all of my Man'O'War collection... Beautiful realisation of the old retro look on a 3D print, with a scheme that is your own, but feels like the classic version. Yours was my favourite this month. Top work!

Well done everyone and good luck in the vote.

Thanks for the comments, Heifer and CancelledApocalypse!

It was a blast from the past, for sure!

Thanks Geifer and Cancelled Apocalypse

CancelledApocalypse wrote:
XvArcanevX - The scorch pattern on that metal flamer barrel is a thing of beauty! I can never get it that shiny, what's your secret?

The secret is no more! I used inks. Thin layers applied progressively from the rear to front of the barrel; each overlapping the next. Hairdryer speeds up the insufferable drying times between layers and helps you resist the urge to mess it up by fiddling with layers that haven’t fully cured.

Don’t forget to ‘lowlight’ the business end of the barrel with a black edge line. Highlight the opposite edge with silver. Voila!

I share freely and of my own will… lol

 XvArcanevX wrote:
Thanks Geifer and Cancelled Apocalypse

CancelledApocalypse wrote:
XvArcanevX - The scorch pattern on that metal flamer barrel is a thing of beauty! I can never get it that shiny, what's your secret?

The secret is no more! I used inks. Thin layers applied progressively from the rear to front of the barrel; each overlapping the next. Hairdryer speeds up the insufferable drying times between layers and helps you resist the urge to mess it up by fiddling with layers that haven’t fully cured.

Don’t forget to ‘lowlight’ the business end of the barrel with a black edge line. Highlight the opposite edge with silver. Voila!

I share freely and of my own will… lol

Ah okay, cool. Which inks did you use? And what was your base/highlight metallic? Thanks!

 CancelledApocalypse wrote:

 XvArcanevX wrote:
Thanks Geifer and Cancelled Apocalypse

CancelledApocalypse wrote:
XvArcanevX - The scorch pattern on that metal flamer barrel is a thing of beauty! I can never get it that shiny, what's your secret?

The secret is no more! I used inks. Thin layers applied progressively from the rear to front of the barrel; each overlapping the next. Hairdryer speeds up the insufferable drying times between layers and helps you resist the urge to mess it up by fiddling with layers that haven’t fully cured.

Don’t forget to ‘lowlight’ the business end of the barrel with a black edge line. Highlight the opposite edge with silver. Voila!

I share freely and of my own will… lol

Ah okay, cool. Which inks did you use? And what was your base/highlight metallic? Thanks!

I used Liquitex Burnt Umber followed by INKtensity Violet and then Blue. Thinned with water. The undercoat metallic is Vallejo Metal Color Dark Aluminum.

I'm putting the time aside to write down some comments. Hopefully I'll make a better habit of it!

Daia T'Nara - Beautiful use of dark colours. The light gray highlights really makes the black stand out rather than being too drab. The fade from black to red is also very well done. Is that glazing or drybrushing?

Ezki - The NMM is suberly done, this feathery little striations. And on such a small model as well. Incredible detail.

inmygravenimage - I don't think the sword is quite there (not that I can do hot metal any better), but OSL on the shoulder and chest looks amazing. The warm yellows really stand out nicely against the sea green armour.

Gulgog TufToof - The bright greys and intense red was a nice colour choice, with the red really stand out against the overall desaturated pallet. The ighlights are cleanly done, especially on the gun. The muddy legs is a nice touch as well.

CancelledApocalypse - These marines all have beautiful and clean paintjobs, but the EC in particular stands out. The subtle highlight on the bracer implies that extra polish on the armour. And that sword is a spectaculr example of NMM.

 XvArcanevX wrote:

 CancelledApocalypse wrote:

 XvArcanevX wrote:
Thanks Geifer and Cancelled Apocalypse

CancelledApocalypse wrote:
XvArcanevX - The scorch pattern on that metal flamer barrel is a thing of beauty! I can never get it that shiny, what's your secret?

The secret is no more! I used inks. Thin layers applied progressively from the rear to front of the barrel; each overlapping the next. Hairdryer speeds up the insufferable drying times between layers and helps you resist the urge to mess it up by fiddling with layers that haven’t fully cured.

Don’t forget to ‘lowlight’ the business end of the barrel with a black edge line. Highlight the opposite edge with silver. Voila!

I share freely and of my own will… lol

Ah okay, cool. Which inks did you use? And what was your base/highlight metallic? Thanks!

I used Liquitex Burnt Umber followed by INKtensity Violet and then Blue. Thinned with water. The undercoat metallic is Vallejo Metal Color Dark Aluminum.

Cool, thanks!

And thanks for the nice comment Mr Nobody

And that should be out 5 days, time for some winners.

In 3rd, with 17 votes, is CancelledApocalypse’s trio of marines.


We have a 3 way tie for second, at 19 votes each.

Jumping out of the bits box and onto the podium, my Chaplain


Bringing the heat we also have XvArcanevX's Soul Drinker








And last but not least, Midget Gems’s Grot Cutter sets sail for sprue and plunder!


And taking the gold, like the frugal miner he is, is Ezki's Deep Gnome Adventurer with 22 votes







--

As always, a lot of fun entries and excellent work from everyone! And more personally, thanks for those who voted for my Chaplain. Next stop is to actually win one of these. At this rate I should be sharing the gold with someone around mid 2027. I’d have to plot out my placeings to get an exact date. Or, you know, improve my painting...

Now everyone get working on your surprise endings for this competition cycle!

Congrats to the winners!

 Nevelon wrote:
As always, a lot of fun entries and excellent work from everyone! And more personally, thanks for those who voted for my Chaplain. Next stop is to actually win one of these. At this rate I should be sharing the gold with someone around mid 2027. I’d have to plot out my placeings to get an exact date. Or, you know, improve my painting...

Hey, at least you've made the podium a couple of times now. I have yet to do that despite really putting my heart and soul into my work on several occasions (the closest I ever got was when my Sisters of Battle Exorcist missed third place by a mere 3 votes in its month ). It's nearly impossible to stand out enough given the level of talent on display in here most months. My entry this month definitely wasn't going to get much and I knew that, and next month's probably won't either, given I'm doing a fairly low effort scheme. Well done to you on (shared) second place!

Congratulations to the winners and good job everyone getting something painted.

Congratulations to the winners! Well done y’all!

Really wasn't expecting to end up on the podium with so many people ahead of me. Three way ties are the best! lol

Well done to everyone, really strong month and so many models I loved from all of you. Good luck to all for this month's Surprise, and then on into a new cycle of comps.

Congratulations to the winners and everyone who finished something.

Thanks to those who added some feedback.

Thank you Nevelon for running this.

Cheers,

CB

Congratulations to the winners, and to everyone who entered.

Congratulations to all the winners! Thanks to everyone who sent a vote my way too, tied for fifth is the closest I've ever gotten to the podium in one of these things. I was tied for third for a while there, really got my hopes up. And to think that all I had to do was turn to the ruinous powers of chaos for inspiration just this once. Surely there can't be any consequences for doing so, right? Right?

Thank you for the comments Geifer, Cancelled Apocalypse and Mr Nobody.

Did not have time to write any comments earlier, but managed to cast my votes!
A few late comments in no particular order.


Cancelled Apocalypse: Great Variation of color. Good examples of NMM and TMM. Especially liking the blue guy (don't know my marines haha).

Nevelon: Good detail and sharp, clean highlights. Nice. Podium worthy paint job!

XvArcaneXv: Simple but effective. The heated metal effect is hella cool!

Youwashock: Just all around beautiful work. The sails are definitely an eye catcher!

 ZergSmasher wrote:

Hey, at least you've made the podium a couple of times now. I have yet to do that despite really putting my heart and soul into my work on several occasions (the closest I ever got was when my Sisters of Battle Exorcist missed third place by a mere 3 votes in its month ). It's nearly impossible to stand out enough given the level of talent on display in here most months. My entry this month definitely wasn't going to get much and I knew that, and next month's probably won't either, given I'm doing a fairly low effort scheme. Well done to you on (shared) second place!

I sincerely hope that the higher and higher standard each month works as a source of inspiration rather than discouragement. That being said, I understand what you mean.
When I first joined these challenges years ago, I thought it would be nearly impossible to reach the podium. I felt the same a few months ago when taking part into the "Miniature Painting Open 2024" feeling very confident, but did not place with a single entry.

If you put your heart and soul into your pieces, you have already won. No matter the placement. Creating a piece you have enjoyed working on and are proud of is a win in itself, that cannot be determined by votes nor medals.
Knowing the dedication behind each entry is one of the many things that makes these challenges such great events and it's lovely to see all the pieces each time.


See you in the next one.

Thanks, Ezki!

 Ezki wrote:
Creating a piece you have enjoyed working on and are proud of is a win in itself

Couldn't agree more

 ZergSmasher wrote:

 Nevelon wrote:
As always, a lot of fun entries and excellent work from everyone! And more personally, thanks for those who voted for my Chaplain. Next stop is to actually win one of these. At this rate I should be sharing the gold with someone around mid 2027. I’d have to plot out my placeings to get an exact date. Or, you know, improve my painting...

Hey, at least you've made the podium a couple of times now. I have yet to do that despite really putting my heart and soul into my work on several occasions (the closest I ever got was when my Sisters of Battle Exorcist missed third place by a mere 3 votes in its month ). It's nearly impossible to stand out enough given the level of talent on display in here most months. My entry this month definitely wasn't going to get much and I knew that, and next month's probably won't either, given I'm doing a fairly low effort scheme. Well done to you on (shared) second place!

Ezki's statement (that painting a little bit better every time is a win) is 100% correct. That said, one key to moving up in the ranks seems to be pushing outside of your comfort zone. I have improved both my ranking in these comps and my painting in general by trying new techniques, specifically NMM, weathering, and freehand. Pretty much every month, I see what other hobbyists have done and say "I want to try that myself!", particularly on models painted in very different styles from my own.

 JoshInJapan wrote:

 ZergSmasher wrote:

 Nevelon wrote:
As always, a lot of fun entries and excellent work from everyone! And more personally, thanks for those who voted for my Chaplain. Next stop is to actually win one of these. At this rate I should be sharing the gold with someone around mid 2027. I’d have to plot out my placeings to get an exact date. Or, you know, improve my painting...

Hey, at least you've made the podium a couple of times now. I have yet to do that despite really putting my heart and soul into my work on several occasions (the closest I ever got was when my Sisters of Battle Exorcist missed third place by a mere 3 votes in its month ). It's nearly impossible to stand out enough given the level of talent on display in here most months. My entry this month definitely wasn't going to get much and I knew that, and next month's probably won't either, given I'm doing a fairly low effort scheme. Well done to you on (shared) second place!

Ezki's statement (that painting a little bit better every time is a win) is 100% correct. That said, one key to moving up in the ranks seems to be pushing outside of your comfort zone. I have improved both my ranking in these comps and my painting in general by trying new techniques, specifically NMM, weathering, and freehand. Pretty much every month, I see what other hobbyists have done and say "I want to try that myself!", particularly on models painted in very different styles from my own.

The real treasure is not the spot on the podium, but the minis we made along the way...

I just wanted to second what others have said, Ezki and JoshInJapan have the right of it. Keep pushing, keep painting. Be persistent.

Other things that help:

Engage in the community, post WIP pics if you can. Ask for help, give help and opinions to others. Every month a score of entries get tossed into a vote thread. What differentiates yours? Sometimes it’s just you. We are human, no soulless robots. Votes are entirely subjective. If people know you, and are more vested in the mini by being there alongside you as you paint it, that will separate you from the pack. Obviously not going to catapult you to the gold alone, but I know I am personally more prone to vote for people who are talk about trying new techniques and pushing themselves.

Tight adherence to the theme is more likely to get votes then something that just kinda fits. The topic can be manipulated. When I ask for suggestions feel free to toss an idea out that fits with what you have waiting on the bench. And do my work for me. Give it a short paragraph like you’d see in the poll/at the top of the comp thread. If I can just C/P something into the poll instead of having to flesh out the idea, it’s more likely to make the cut.

Quality photos. Not just a good set up, clean lighting etc. But framing, getting the good side, etc. One of the reason I’m down on my chaplain this month is that I’ve seen all his bad angles, and he has quite a few. Have you seen them? Nope! That’s the power of photography. You don’t need photoshop or filters to edit out flaws (which people should not be doing here) but just some awareness of the camera’s eye, and realizing that it’s as much an art as painting and modeling.

Retro models if you can. Nostalgia is usually good for a few votes.

Kit-bashing if pulled off well is another thing. People reward well done conversions with votes. Again, it’s something that separates you from the pack.

Persistence. Honestly, luck has played a big part on my 2 trips to the podium. Some months we are not just putting the top 3 up there, but the top 4-8 entries. It’s a lot easier to get to the top if there are a few ties. Also, the Big Guns don't all show up every month. And even they have off months. AFAIK we’ve never has someone enter every month and podium 12/12 (although a few have come close). There is no way to tell if a given month is going to be the one, but you can only win by playing.

Skill. Get good! Let’s be honest, amazing paintjobs win more often then not. How do we get those skills? Practice, practice, practice. Or selling your soul/firstborn to the ruinous powers. We don’t judge. Push yourself, try new things, see what’s holding you back. Watch tutorials, ask questions, explore new tools, sacrifice a goat. Just keep moving forward.

 Nevelon wrote:
Or selling your soul/firstborn to the ruinous powers. We don’t judge.

Wait, is that what he mumbled just before we shook hands? Crap, I knew there had to be a catch!

Congrats to this month's penny-pinching winners

 Geifer wrote:
Daia T'Nara - These guys are a great use of a limited palette with little spots of color and light paint thrown in to make them look interesting.

Thanks The limited palette was something I always wanted to see in the back of my mind, so I made it a rule when I (accidentally) started the army - no different colours on different kinds of bugs, they're all Tyranids (even the weapons) so they all get exactly the same treatment. Of course the sculpts set them apart, both in their overall shapes and how prominent certain biological features are - this Biovore for instance has those big mine sacs they get the 'soft skin' orange-brown colour - so they're still easily recognised, but the uniformity over all the sculpts is becoming quite satisfying to see as I add more minis to the collection.

 Mr Nobody wrote:
Daia T'Nara - Beautiful use of dark colours. The light gray highlights really makes the black stand out rather than being too drab. The fade from black to red is also very well done. Is that glazing or drybrushing?

Thanks That's just drybrushing - or rather 'dampbrushing' since it's Blood Angels contrast paint, wiping it on the drybrush napkin really just takes the edge off its density so the dark grey beneath keeps it dim, rather than hitting solid red. Having just said I wanted to keep all the colours uniform, that was a rule break for me, that 'crown' was looking quite plain in just grey, compared to how eye-catching the sculpt obviously wants it to be so I decided that leader types can have a little red; I've done the same on Deathleaper. I considered it for the similarly-shaped armour at the back of the Biovore's cannon, but I decided the model didn't really need it.

Just back from holiday and wow I was not expecting that result (for me).

Thank you very much for the votes, I'm really glad people liked this idea, I thought it was cool but painting wasn't quite up to podium standard. Ill take it all the same.

Very well done to everyone this month, was interesting to see the different interpretations of the theme.

I'll get the League table updated this weekend.

Evening all

League table updated going into the last week of painting, its all rather close.

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