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Time to vote!

This month the topic was: Sidekicks - Hirelings, henchmen, pets. Loyal butlers, assistants, minions. They support others, always ready to lend a hand in times of need.

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.

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tzurk - Ashlander Exodite Sidekicks


Daia T'Nara - Apothecary Cholet and Medi-CAT


KidCthulhu - Tzeentch Familiar


JoshInJapan - The Wasteland Weirdos


Pariah Press - Ogryn Bodyguard


Geifer - Nebula


Nevelon – Wight Kings


Captain Brown - Juve and Ganger


inmygravenimage – Gnoblars


Peterhausenn - Treasure Chest Markers


Ezki - Discipline


theCrowe - Samwise Gamgee


Maharg - Mole Blacksmith


Jadenim - Goblin Linemen


Mr Nobody - Entourage


Vejut - Cat Ranger and Rex:


bantha_beast – Gangers


Midget Gems -Makari



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

Lots of great models this time around. I ended up having to vote for everyone.

tzurk: Those are some interesting, insectoid models. Where are they from? I like they ash-waste palette you chose.

Daia T'Nara: It's a bit disorienting seeing you enter something SFW. I like the clean white, and the red cloak is really well done.

KidCthulhu: So, what do you think of the pink basecoat for yellow? I fell like the model would have benefited from deeper shading.

me: I was so happy with the white labcoat that I couldn't bring myself to add any blood spatter, which was my original plan.

Pariah Press: I'm not usually a fan of Bab Olley's models, but his Ogryns are an exception. You did a great job on the face and camo pants.

Geifer: Very movie-accurate colors on this model, but they seem a little dark. Is that a function of lighting in the photo, or did you keep it dark when you painted it?

Nevelon: The vibrant green bases make a nifty contrast with the more muted undead colors of the models themselves.

Captain Brown: Great job picking of the strands in the giant hair.

inmygravenimage : I love how all-in you went with the colors on these guys. Very bright and in-your-face.

More comments soon. Again, good work, everyone!

Great job everyone. Always loved clicking through these threads to find some inspiration and be impressed by the work people can get done in a month - feels good to finally take part

@Midget Gems, lovely little fella. The dirty white came out great as well as the muddy undertones in the flesh.

@Jadenim - very neat work at a very small scale - checks and fingernails all. Red rimmed bases are a nice touch - are all your teams colour-coded?

@Pariah Press, one of my favourite sculpts of all time - I've been keeping my eye out on the usual websites but haven't been able to justify the purchase (yet). You've done a great job on him, the pants and tattoos in particular.

@Maharg, love the contrast between the fur and the flesh. He feels super natural, like he's really just popped up out of the turf.

@bantha beast, a man after my own heart with these old metal models. A trio at a time gets a warband done in no time - the different cloth colours are the winner for me.

@Vejut nice bush bro have always liked your palette choices and they come together on the kitty. Striping on the t rex feels very natural.

@Geifer lovely smooth blends. The metallics on the crashed shuttle/rubble she's jumping off are maybe an odd thing to stand out but I really love your work on them.

@Mr Nobody these minis are new to me but I love them already. Great NMM on the skelly fella and some nice depth on all the robes.

@theCrowe the nostalgia is real on this one. Young tzurk was in love with the LOTR range when it first came out. Thank you for picking out his saucepan and giving it the love it deserves.

@Ezki gorgeous work in light and shadow. Red lips were a masterstroke, really nailed the neo noir vibe.

@Peterhausenn, neat work on some lovely characterful sculpts. Makes me want to get the DND campaign back on track.

@inmygravenimage, I bet these guys pop on the battlefield even from a distance. You've really brought them to life and I can't put my finger on why but I love the basing material. Looks like a soft layer of turf that'd rip up as you walk through it and soon you're dragging clods of mud everywhere.

@CB, strong work as always. Simple palette, by the book, eyes are amazing, they look great.

@Nevelon the flowers are a great touch and the blood splatter on the skulls really bring them to (un)life.

@JoshinJapan, beautiful work on all the cloth. I can't blame you for not wanting to tarnish the lab coat with blood spatter. Understated bases with the clean black rim bring them together. My nix hounds were old kroot hounds with the heads cut off and greebly bits and greenstuff added back on, and the crab is from Reaper.

@KidCthulhu, well done on a fun experiment. He looks great with his little inverse coloured buddy. I wonder if this technique would work with other colours?

@Daia T'nara I think I gave feedback on the finished model in the WIP thread, but the cape really pops on a second look. Still love the little robo buddy too. Great build and a paintjob that does it justice.

Well done to everyone who finished, see you in the next one!

 JoshInJapan wrote:
Geifer: Very movie-accurate colors on this model, but they seem a little dark. Is that a function of lighting in the photo, or did you keep it dark when you painted it?

The model did end up somewhat dark with the exception of the shiny metal bits. I went with movie Nebula for the skin and found that the most prominent blue parts of the head are fairly dark blue. I went with it and I'm happy with the result, but with little other skin it does leave a large focal area somewhat darkish.

Originally the outfit was also a little brighter and more vivid, but I didn't like the look until I toned the red down with a brown wash. I matched the yellow parts to the new look to give it a uniform appearance.

 tzurk wrote:
@Geifer lovely smooth blends. The metallics on the crashed shuttle/rubble she's jumping off are maybe an odd thing to stand out but I really love your work on them.

Thank you. I went with plain silver over some colorful plates because I didn't want the jet engine to draw too much attention away from Nebula. It appears I only partially succeeded.

Thanks Tzurk! Yes, I paint the rims on all my Blood Bowl teams, so that I can find them inside the big scrum in the middle of the pitch! Eventually I’ll get the position and number transfers on there too, but I don’t currently have a set for the Black Orc team.

tzurk wrote:
@JoshinJapan, beautiful work on all the cloth. I can't blame you for not wanting to tarnish the lab coat with blood spatter. Understated bases with the clean black rim bring them together. My nix hounds were old kroot hounds with the heads cut off and greebly bits and greenstuff added back on, and the crab is from Reaper.

I thought I recognized the dogs, but the heads threw me off. Very nice, clean conversions.

Geifer wrote:

 JoshInJapan wrote:
Geifer: Very movie-accurate colors on this model, but they seem a little dark. Is that a function of lighting in the photo, or did you keep it dark when you painted it?

The model did end up somewhat dark with the exception of the shiny metal bits. I went with movie Nebula for the skin and found that the most prominent blue parts of the head are fairly dark blue. I went with it and I'm happy with the result, but with little other skin it does leave a large focal area somewhat darkish.

Originally the outfit was also a little brighter and more vivid, but I didn't like the look until I toned the red down with a brown wash. I matched the yellow parts to the new look to give it a uniform appearance.

It may just be a function of my old-man eyes. Still and all, a nice model.

Peterhausenn: Those treasure markers are lovely. I like your shading on the coins.

Ezki : When did you start working on this? Did I miss some posts on your P&M Blog? I remember lots of WIP photos of your Last Rites diorama, but none of this bust. The shiny red lipstick is superlative, but I am equally impressed by your work on the lenses. Also, the very subtle browns in the skin areas really keeps the model from being fully monocrome.

theCrowe: Sam looks right out of the films. I like the green you added to the grey of the cloak-- it adds a lot of visual interest for me.

Maharg: Great work on the leather, and the two-tone pants are a fun little touch.

Jadenim: The sepia/brown shading on the green skin makes your gobbos feel a lot more realistic than one normally sees.

Mr Nobody: I admire your ability to go from inky-black shading to near white highlights without losing the midtone, especially on the dude with the big gun. I can never seem to pull that off to my own satisfaction.

Vejut: I like your color choices for the ranger, even if the tunic and pants are pretty close. Also, your dino-skin is superb!

bantha_beast: The blue-and-white on the cowls and such is great. A lot of your browns seem to run together, but that might be a function of lighting in the photo.

MIdget Gems: I didn't start playing Orks until after the 2ed silliness was banished, so I barely know of this character, but you really did him justice. I like the orange-to-black transition on the banners, and the light blue gem (is that a wristwatch?) adds a nice little point of interest, as well.

It's early yet, but the leaders are way out in front--deservedly so, I might add. Great work all around!

Yep, I experimented with a bunch of different combinations a while back and I really like this one. It’s just camo green with a flesh wash. I do the same thing with my Orcs (and Orks) now, but using a Knarloc green as the base, so it’s slightly darker.

 Jadenim wrote:
Yep, I experimented with a bunch of different combinations a while back and I really like this one. It’s just camo green with a flesh wash. I do the same thing with my Orcs (and Orks) now, but using a Knarloc green as the base, so it’s slightly darker.

I see-- a brownish green rather than the classic Goblin Green would take a brown wash better.

JoshinJapan - As usual, your highlighting is superb. I think the waste lander is the better of the two. The NMM and cool greys on the pistol helps it pop against all the browns of the rags.

Pariah Press - The old ogryns are so cartoony looking, but there's about them that looks cool nonetheless. Your more modern paint style I think really brings new life to this old metal model. Nice touch with the classic golbin green base trim.

Ezki - Your skill at blending is unmatched. Quite an impressive feat to keep all the various materials and textures distinct while limiting yourself to such a monochrome paint scheme. Reminds me of something out of Sin City.

Maharg - I don't know if it has been mentioned before, but I feel like your skill at basing is what really elevates your models. The textures and the tufts really makes it feel like they have stepped out of a world of fantasy.

Midget Gems - As sual, your green skin is great for greenskins. And I never realized how good orks look in orange. Those hand painted glyphs are also quite well done.

tzurk wrote:@Ezki gorgeous work in light and shadow. Red lips were a masterstroke, really nailed the neo noir vibe.

Thank you tzurk! Very much inspired by Sin City, especially the movies (as the comic style is very hard to pull of on a miniature). Glad it works!

JoshInJapan wrote:
Ezki : When did you start working on this? Did I miss some posts on your P&M Blog? I remember lots of WIP photos of your Last Rites diorama, but none of this bust. The shiny red lipstick is superlative, but I am equally impressed by your work on the lenses. Also, the very subtle browns in the skin areas really keeps the model from being fully monocrome.

Thank you so much JoshInJapan! I approached the lenses and the metallics with the mindset of "texture and contrast instead of smoothness". Much faster to do and yields interesting results.
There should not be any brown there, as I only used Khimera Black and Khimera White (plus inks respectively). I think the camera / light is doing some tricks there. Or my paint water was dirty haha.
You did not miss anything! I did not post any WIP pictures of this model to my blog nor instagram, as I wanted to keep it completely secret before revealing it here and in the Cold North Open event
It was painted within a week (though the nights were very long haha).

 Mr Nobody wrote:
Ezki - Your skill at blending is unmatched. Quite an impressive feat to keep all the various materials and textures distinct while limiting yourself to such a monochrome paint scheme. Reminds me of something out of Sin City.

Thank you Mr Nobody! Blending is something I'm obsessed in doing, even though I don't particularly enjoy it too much. Mentally I TRY to avoid overly smoothing everything, but it's hard to change one's habits.
Also, making differentiating all the textures and materials was a fun and useful challenge. Glad it works!


A few comments:

Daia T'Nara - Apothecary Cholet and Medi-CAT: Crisp work on the white armour! Maybe a little bit on pin washing would elevate and make it pop even more! Anyway, nice work.

JoshInJapan - The Wasteland Weirdos: Neat work as usual. Metal looks the part and I especially like the colors on the doctor(?) guy.

Nevelon – Wight Kings: Ah, good old Wight King! Good work on the metallics, especially the sword. Really liking the addition of the little familiars / critters!

Mr Nobody - Entourage: Gotta love Trench Crusade! Good colors and lovely earthy tones that fit the theme very well. Rust effects on point too!

Midget Gems -Makari: Prime example of a sidekick! Details on the banner are great!

Mr Nobody wrote:JoshinJapan - As usual, your highlighting is superb. I think the waste lander is the better of the two. The NMM and cool greys on the pistol helps it pop against all the browns of the rags.

Thank you! After all the colorful models I've painted in the last couple of months, it was fun to go back to my Paint Everything Brown technique for this model.

Ezki wrote:

JoshInJapan wrote:
Ezki : When did you start working on this? Did I miss some posts on your P&M Blog? I remember lots of WIP photos of your Last Rites diorama, but none of this bust. The shiny red lipstick is superlative, but I am equally impressed by your work on the lenses. Also, the very subtle browns in the skin areas really keeps the model from being fully monocrome.

Thank you so much JoshInJapan! I approached the lenses and the metallics with the mindset of "texture and contrast instead of smoothness". Much faster to do and yields interesting results.
There should not be any brown there, as I only used Khimera Black and Khimera White (plus inks respectively). I think the camera / light is doing some tricks there. Or my paint water was dirty haha.
You did not miss anything! I did not post any WIP pictures of this model to my blog nor instagram, as I wanted to keep it completely secret before revealing it here and in the Cold North Open event
It was painted within a week (though the nights were very long haha).

Well, this model was a wonderful surprise. I swear, though, that I'm seeing some brown around the left eye. It must be lighting or, as you suggest, dirty paint water. Also, "texture and contrast" is food for thought. I try to get smooth highlights, but roughening up and adding texture (as you do in so many of your entries) adds a lot of visual interest. I'll have to try something like that.

Ezki wrote:JoshInJapan - The Wasteland Weirdos: Neat work as usual. Metal looks the part and I especially like the colors on the doctor(?) guy.

Thanks! Back when I worked in a hospital, the sterile gloves we used were a light blue/teal, and when I paint doctors/medics, I try to integrate that into the models.

Let’s get some winners up on the podium!

In 3rd, with 17 votes is Mr Nobody's Entourage, an eclectic band of mysterious followers...







Ezki takes the silver with “Discipline” and 19 votes. Oozing classic noir/pulp vices, I’m sure she’d be a loyal sidekick until her inevitable betrayal.








Every boss needs a grot to proudly display their banner, and Midget Gems brings us the legendary sidekick Makari and 20 votes to take the win!




As always, incredeble work from everyone. Another fun month of progress down in the books.

Congratulations to Mr Nobody, Ezki, and Midget Gems for well-deserved wins! And good job to everyone who entered!

Congratulations to the winners, and thanks to everyone who posted feedback! Nice work y'all!

JoshInJapan wrote:
Well, this model was a wonderful surprise. I swear, though, that I'm seeing some brown around the left eye. It must be lighting or, as you suggest, dirty paint water. Also, "texture and contrast" is food for thought. I try to get smooth highlights, but roughening up and adding texture (as you do in so many of your entries) adds a lot of visual interest. I'll have to try something like that.

Now that you mention it, I'm seeing it too!
Had to check the model itself under my painting light and it's not present then, so it's an image issue.
I think it might be related to my phone's camera and the software shenanigans it has, which I used this time (usually I use my very old DSLR and Photoshop to adjust the white balance).

Congrats Midget Gems and Mr Nobody!

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

Great job, everyone! Congrats to the winners.

Congrats everyone

 JoshInJapan wrote:
Daia T'Nara: It's a bit disorienting seeing you enter something SFW. I like the clean white, and the red cloak is really well done.

Thanks If it makes things feel more normal, Brother Cholet may or may not be responsible for the Tau Waifu poster that the Dark Angels vehicle crew are insisting they had nothing to do with putting up in the crew bay of their Rhino.

 tzurk wrote:
@Daia T'nara I think I gave feedback on the finished model in the WIP thread, but the cape really pops on a second look. Still love the little robo buddy too. Great build and a paintjob that does it justice.

Thanks. The colour range for the cape's actually one I've been using for my Sororitas - on them it's fairly simple (I paint Sororitas when I'm not in the mood for a challenge, and just want to put paint on a mini without stressing), but I like the result so I did more intermediate colours and painted cleaner on this.

 Ezki wrote:
Daia T'Nara - Apothecary Cholet and Medi-CAT: Crisp work on the white armour! Maybe a little bit on pin washing would elevate and make it pop even more! Anyway, nice work.

Thanks. The white is kind of basic, yeah - after the Terminator squad from the previous month, and with Natalie the War Dog still to do (still haven't finished), I decided to give myself an easy run and didn't try anything fancy past 'table ready' on this one. Something for the future, there are other chapters with white in the armour I want to work on (Death Eagles come to mind).