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Time to pick some winners for September! The theme 'That's not a gun... THIS is a gun' challenged entrants to put forth the biggest and best in sheer firepower, and as a result we have everything from heavy weapons that are only barely man-portable to huge artillery pieces raining death frombeyond the horizon.

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.

The entrants:

KidCthulhu: Commissar with Lasgun


theCrowe: Goblin DoomDiver



Daia T'Nara: Chaos Obliterators



Skinflint Games: Allied Sky Vessel "Dauntless"


inmygravenimage: Skurge


Lovejoy: Vindicator


JoshInJapan: Jotuun Heavy Cannon


Captain Brown: Escher Gunners



Mr Nobody: Tau Hammerhead


Pariah Press: Menfish

Great work everyone. Dakka was in full production mode for September.

Top for me are Midget’s amazing ork monstrosity, and 401st’s Kratos. Nice work guys!

Man, I really need to learn to take some bitter photos...

Anways, lots great entries again this month. In no particular order I went for:

Yo7: That Master Chief is really well done, especially for a model that size. Nice to see something different, and the wear looks really good.

401st: Impressive work on that Kratos, and it goes really well with that piece of terrain. Also, good job on the rust effects, even if I would have loved some more shots and different angles.

Midget Gems: Definitely the biggest gun out here. A very "Orky" piece and a great centrepiece.

Voted.

A really fun range of submissions! I'm quite partial to the Commisar with the Lasgun, Master Chief, Kratos, the Spider Mech and of course that incredible Ork Artillery.

Bravo!!

Great work this month, y'all! The percentage of entries that received votes from me was much higher than normal.

 Pariah Press wrote:
Great work this month, y'all! The percentage of entries that received votes from me was much higher than normal.

Me too! Great month, lots of super entries.

Flinty, Tallandra, The Red Hobbit, thank you for the kind comments

A wonderful section to choose from this month.

My comments

KidCthulhu - Nice complimentary colours with the blue and purple and good detail on the glasses
theCrowe - I always have a soft spot for happily suicidal greenskins, photo makes it look like hes about to be launched into my face, solid paintjob and basing all round
Daia T'Nara - the purple adds a nice bit of colour to the model and the white looks good and not flat.
Skinflint Games - An inventive and unique creation, well done Skinflint
inmygravenimage - A wonderful combination of different things, the moped and skin look especially good.
Lovejoy - great weathering and battle damage, really looks like a dusty battle veteran tank.
JoshInJapan - Very nice chipping effect on the paint.
Captain Brown - Colourful as Eschars are meant to be, plasma gun looks ready to cause damage.
Mr Nobody - Very bright scheme, more photos please
Pariah Press - its like angler fish have grown legs, cool models not seen anything like them before.
Vejut - Nice colour combo across the models, model on the right of the photo is my fav.
Nevelon - well done highlights on the black and red.
SirOllox - good old Leman Rush with some nice OSL on the plasma coils.
Yo7 - Lots of nice details and scratching across what seems to be quite a large model.
Geifer - A fun and well painted combo of axe and gun.
ZergSmasher - Very clean painting job Zerg, well done
401st - The weathering on this is fantastic, I think this is the best painted entry of the month.
Jadenim - I like your heat stress painting on the barrels
Tallandra - Green, black and red go well together and good effort on the little detail like the purity seals.
Maharg - You have added interest to the models well with the stripped and weathering/shadows
SirDonald - rather a unique paint scheme, I had to do double takes of the tank to see it all.
Flinty - very nice contrasting orange and green, colour transition and the pattern effects.
Midget Gems - One of my best creations for long time, put a lot of effort into it and happy it came out quite well
CancelledApocalypse - good highlighting, flame effects, and overall model composition, its was definitely high up on my voting list.

Good Luck everyone

That was a really fun theme.

 Midget Gems wrote:
Daia T'Nara - the purple adds a nice bit of colour to the model and the white looks good and not flat.

Thanks! The white's a bit of a process, but half-assed enough that it's not a chore to do on the regular - bone primer, blue wash (partly to pick out the detail, partly so I can actually tell what the detail is), then drybrush grey, pale grey, and white, using my 'special' technique of not being patient enough to properly dry the bristles so it gets kind of messy, but I feel like chaos is allowed to be messy. I did give the current pale grey contrast paint a try (Apothecary, maybe? I'm hazy on the names) on the heavy bolter enthusiast, and it wound up looking very neat, but too neat - didn't repaint it entirely, but I put some blue ink in to darken the crevices around the trim to better match the existing warband, came out close enough.

Now then, everyone-

KidCthulhu: Great colour scheme on a classic style of mini, and the blue on the glasses really gives him personality.
theCrowe: I love this, the materials - wood, canvas etc. - look suitably real, but the highlights go bright enough to complement the zaniness of the 'weapon'.
Daia T'Nara: Oh look, female heads on space marines, quelle surprise.
Skinflint Games: Very striking contraption, and the metal finish and weathering is really nice.
inmygravenimage: He looks great, and I love all the individual details on his 'stuff'.
Lovejoy: Oh that's a classic, great beaten-to-hell battle damage and wear, and while the base is quite modest and suitable for practical use it really tells a story of this beast hunkering down in the ruins.
JoshInJapan: That's a mean looking heavy gun, I like the bare metal of the tracks and barrels against the earthy hull colour, even without bold colours that gives it vitality to look at.
Captain Brown: Great classic Escher look, and the heavy plasma really stands out as powerful.
Mr Nobody: Damn that's a long barrel, and the clean, bold colours really complement the futuristic design.
Pariah Press: Love the luminous eyes and those maws full of teeth.
Vejut: Great bright colours on the clothes, and I particularly like the fur on the face of the duelling pistols guy too.
Nevelon: Nice smooth black armour, and the symbol on the big backpack (warp spider unit?) looks especially amazing.
SirOllox: One of the most dependable big guns in the game, and the aged rust-flecked paint job really gives the tank a sense of weight and reality.
Yo7: Great finish on the armour, it's worn but not 'dirty' worn, if you get what I mean.
Geifer: Okay the guns are elsewhere but I love the look of the axe head, and the weathering on the yellow on his outfit.
ZergSmasher: Classic Wolves, the blue grey looks great on him.
401st: Love all the heavy weathering on the hull, really feels like a tank that charges into the heaviest fighting.
Jadenim: I really like the paint job on the heavy metal, really nice highlighting.
Tallandra: Nice highlighting on the black/dark green armour on the bike and riders, really makes them interesting without forcing them to become too bright.
Maharg: More great bare metal, and the subtle orange shading in the hazard stripes is really impressive.
SirDonald: Very eye-catching camouflage pattern, set against the matching backdrop it's amazing how well it breaks up the outline of the tank.
Flinty: I love the hull colour, and the hex patterns blending in and out of it.
Midget Gems: Gork (or Mork) would be proud, the sheer scale of the cannon combined with its scrapyard-challenge paint scheme really makes it a truly Orky middle finger to the enemy.
CancelledApocalypse: He came out great, and going back and looking at the photo of your Guardians I think you really pulled off giving him his Fire Dragon colours while also making something that looks of a piece with the army.

This month’s challenge will mark the completion of a full year of monthly painting challenges for me! Thanks to everyone who’s been taking part, organising, voting, and commenting. I’m really enjoying being in this ride with you all and hope to keep it up for another year to come.

So in celebration here’s a round of comments for all the entries.

KidCthulhu - love those shades. This guy has so much character. Great pick and a very worthy paint job. Not often you see a commissar with a lasgun. It gives you the feeling that this fella leads by example.
theCrowe - Not for the first time the painting challenge has had me reaching for some goblins who otherwise would have remained unloved and unpainted in a box in the attic. Thanks to everyone taking part for your collective kick in the arse to get this lot painted at last.
Daia T'Nara - I was never a big fan of obliterators, (nothing to do with my guards being obliterated by them of course) but you’re having so much fun with these it’s hard to hold a grudge. Im enjoying the contrast of the Smokey greys and the goldy gold on gold look. Very fancy.
Skinflint Games - always nice to see the real thing on display. Modelling of old junk into things of imagination and wonder is the stuff that hobby dreams are made of. Keeping it real in style.
inmygravenimage - who is this Skurge fella anyway. And why does he collect guns when the giant double bladed battle axe is clearly his weapon of choice? Very nice take on the theme of “if you want it back just try and take it!”
Lovejoy - that you found time to do this between posting KS orders is impressive enough but you went and based it as well. I like the red and green thing going on. Feels like hasty battlefield markings of some sort and helps to give the old space marine gun box a bit more character. Great work as ever.
JoshInJapan - this thing is right enough a pretty big GUN. Or is the fella in the seat a bit smaller than usual? Nice work on the weathering. It really helps add interest to a realistic military drab scheme.
Captain Brown - really classic look on these girls. I like that juve with the comically oversized auto-pistol. Did you replace a missing autopistol with a bigger one?
Mr Nobody - your Tau Clownfish scheme is so good! I thought your pathfinder was sharp but this is just wonderful. I have gathered a small collection of ragtag rescue shelter tau that I thought I might revive some day. You’re inspiring me to think way beyond some desert drab.
Pariah Press - totally bonkers and named too. There was never any chance of someone else pulling these guys out for the September challenge. Nice choice and a very suitably classic look.
Vejut - nice unified colour scheme to tie the warband together. Great selection of gunners too. I often forget about guns in B&B because it’s so magical. Nice to be reminded.
Nevelon - oh yes! A very Autarchratic entry, and that is indeed a gun. I feel like this guy invests a lot of authority in those shoulder pads.
SirOllox - this is quite a nicely understated vehicle. Just a big dark hunk of a thing with glowy sponson plasmas. The orange light is a good touch too and I’m glad you didn’t go overboard on the OSL for it. Overall nicely imposing as any good Russ should be.
Yo7 - Hail to the chief. Makes me want to grab a pistol and head-shot my brother from the other side of the map! Maybe that’s just me showing my age. Super skilled weathering and really nice tone on the armour too.
Geifer - Sometimes no matter how many actual guns you have at your disposal there’s no substitute for a dirty great battle axe! Fun stuff.
ZergSmasher - Shame you had basing issues with your snow on this one. The mini itself is a great looking piece. A bit leggy for a dread to my old eyes but very nicely and cleanly painted. Great job.
401st - Orange dust on White! On a massive scale! You mentalist! Not only did you hit the white up to a crispy panel lined perfection but then you somehow weathered it to a chaotic degree in considerable amounts of Martian dusty Orange! And it looks so legit. Like really real. Spectacular!
Jadenim - I feel like maybe the photography is letting you down more than anything else. The painting looks pretty sharp and I’ll bet it looks great IRL.
Tallandra - Getting some strong 90s vibes with those red weapons. Feels like this how the original raven wing attack bike was intended to be. Solid paint job.
Maharg - Last month I said your marines were quietly brilliant and their brilliance continues. Some of the sharpest and smoothest hazard stripes out there. You make it look easy.
SirDonald -it’s one of my favourite camo schemes and I’ve done some tiny 6mm hover tanks like this before but I’d honestly say it looks unfinished. You’ve got the pattern in the blocks of colour down perfectly but IMO the whole thing needs a unifying dirty wash and a dusting of grime just to pull it all together and bring it to life.
Flinty - very nice airbrush work. The glowy green eyes on the orange could almost fit this month too. Spooky enough.
Midget Gems - Gorkdamned Spectacular build. What a great green triumph or orkdom you have created!
CancelledApocalypse - the scheme came out alright in the end. I’m glad you put so much black back into the body. The yellow head is a strong focal point and the touch of flames on the end of the gun is a nice tie-in too. Overall very smooth finish to a complex scheme.

Great work everyone and thanks for a year of (mostly) serious painting challenges.

 theCrowe wrote:
Daia T'Nara - I was never a big fan of obliterators, (nothing to do with my guards being obliterated by them of course) but you’re having so much fun with these it’s hard to hold a grudge. Im enjoying the contrast of the Smokey greys and the goldy gold on gold look. Very fancy.

Thanks! I'd actually noticed not long before the topic came up in the poll the month before that I hadn't really done much in the way of Havocs, so it was the perfect time to get stuck into all the options I had on the table; actually jumped the gun and started painting a conversion beamer before the topic came up, but it's fine, that was another two-mini scene so it'd have cut down the entry even more if I'd kept it for the contest. Technically only the metal Obliterator is an actual Obliterator (my fault for burying their description in a paragraph of rambling), although I get the sense the Terminator's on the way there - I feel like the heavy bolter one is too focused on just bolter gunnery rather than the whole panoply of weapons, and the missile one doesn't get her hands dirty handling the actual launchers, that'd never fly in the Obliterator clubhouse.

Midget Gems wrote:ZergSmasher - Very clean painting job Zerg, well done

Thank you kind sir!

Daia T'Nara wrote:ZergSmasher: Classic Wolves, the blue grey looks great on him.

What can I say, I'm a sucker for the classic Space Wolves scheme. I'm glad you like it!

theCrowe wrote:ZergSmasher - Shame you had basing issues with your snow on this one. The mini itself is a great looking piece. A bit leggy for a dread to my old eyes but very nicely and cleanly painted. Great job.

Yeah, I was devastated when I opened my jar of snow basing stuff and it was all bone dry and rock hard. I know not having snow on the base leaves it really plain and is probably costing me a few votes (basically, to me the model doesn't look quite finished). I'm happy with how the model itself looks and I'm glad to get some positive feedback on it; I really enjoyed painting it. I do fully intend to get some of that Woodland Scenics snow basing stuff; it won't go bad and dry out on me like the Vallejo stuff did, so it should work for all the rest of my Wolves army.

Thanks for taking time to comment, guys, I really appreciate it. I would do the same if I had time; maybe next month. I voted for (in no particular order): Nevelon, inmygravenimage, Yo7, Midget Gems, and CancelledApocalypse. And believe me, it was tough to keep it down to just five votes, there were a lot of really awesome entries in there! Shout out as always to Paradigm for taking time out to run this thing; here's hoping you can get back to submitting entries of your own!

401st I absolutely love that tank. Its glorious and the base frames it so well. I hope I can do a tank that well some day.
Cancelled you got your colours sorted and it looks great now. Glad to see it worked out.
Pariah, those models have so much personality and needed more pics. Best subject choice this month and need showing off more.


Thank you for the kind words everyone. The models ten inches tall midget gums. I can't remember if it's 11 with the base or not but he's a chunker.

Thank you for the comments Daia T'Nara, theCrowe, Yo7
Yeah its big, was trying to find something to fit it in for transport and a shoebox was too small. I took it to the local GW painting comp so don't have it atm to actually measure its size.

Bonus pics here it is in my local GW store (was the first entry in, the entry deadline is this week)

Loads of awesome stuff this month! And a massive range of entries too - character minis, infantry, artillery, tanks, bikes, walkers, all sorts of different takes on the theme. Really helps with hobby inspiration.
Fantastic work, everyone!

Some high scores across the top three this month, let's get right to it!

In third place, CancelledApocalypse with a colourful, fiery and excellently converted Fire Dragon Aspect Wraithlord


In second, 401st stakes their claim to a podium finish by rocking up in a World Eaters Kratos, blasting away almost all competition with a fearsome array of firepower




But taking the win, with what must be the biggest gun of the lot among this month's entries, it's Midget Gems returning to his classic kitbashing ways in explosive style with this Orky artillery piece, claiming an impressively high 38 votes!


Thanks for taking part, everyone, see you next month!

Great job, everyone!

 KidCthulhu wrote:
Great job, everyone!

Seconded. Them's some worthy big boomers.

Great job everyone, and congrats to the winners!

3 absolute stonkers! Worthy winners. Salutes and glory to you all.

I'm way late to this, but superb work everyone! I wanted to do a response to everyone's individual work, but I just haven't had the time. I'm so far behind I haven't even started painting for this month's contest.

Thanks for all the kind comments, I'm not 100% happy with the wraithlord, but I'm still pleased to have it in my collection. Hopefully it will still stand up okay, once I've painted the other aspect wraithlords, as part of the total group.

My top picks this month were 401st, Midget Gems and Lovejoy with special mentions for Yo7, KidCthulhu, Mr Nobody, ZergSmasher, Maharg and Flinty, but everyone entered something well worthy of being proud of.

But taking the win, with what must be the biggest gun of the lot among this month's entries, it's Midget Gems returning to his classic kitbashing ways in explosive style with this Orky artillery piece, claiming an impressively high 38 votes!

Wow thank you guys this is awesome, as you said, its been quite a while since I've won a month and this did take me back to the days when I would do something like this almost every month. I had fun

Congrats 401st, CancelledApocalypse and everyone that entered, it was a very good month.

Will get the league table updated this weekend.

Ah result! Congrats to Midget Gems and CancelledApocalypse.

Well done to everyone who entered. Some amazing models there.

Cheers 401st

For everyone the league table is updated

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