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This topic this month was the Finish It! We will lift the “must start primed/basecoated” limit so people can wrap up projects and clear out stuff from the back of the bench. Or use the time to start and finish the last few models for a project. If you don’t have something that fits, you can also go with minis putting in the final shots into their target, swordsmen delivering a coup de grace, Mortal Kombat fighters performing fatalities, ending duels, climatic battles, or singing nordic psalms.

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. Images in the Dakka gallery are less compressed then the ones in the vote thread, so can get you a better look at details.

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Mothsniper - Archeonem


inmygravenimage – Space Ork Raiders


halfling84 - toon t-34 tanks


Nevelon – End of the Swarm


Daia T'Nara - Stormy the Jump Lord


Pariah Press - Adeptus Mechanicus


JoshInJapan - Snakemen


Geifer - Kaboom Girl - Reductus Saboteur


Turaxa - 'Zock' mecha


Vejut - Hen Harrier


XvArcanevX - Ushoran


Maharg - Boar Boyz


straken619 – Ghouls


Mr Nobody – The Beast



Gulgog TufToof – Ratling Sniper


JordySteve – Ultramarine Veterans


KidCthulhu - Xenos Inquisitor Artemesia Gabs & Henchmen


Jadenim - Tau’nar


Midget Gems - Fortified Manor


Captain Brown - HMCS Chilliwack 1944 1/72 Scale Flower Class Corvette


theCrowe - Orlocks



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Poll will run 5 days. As alway, if I’ve missed something please let me know.

Good job, everyone, on getting something finished. This is a great theme, and I look forward to being inspired to finish off at least some of the projects I abandon.

Hope to get some time to comment on all entries, but that is a lot for work done, was a good month! Glad to be here.

Ok, I’m going to take some comfort in not finishing that I wouldn’t be close to a podium, because holy crap guys, the quality of entries this month is ludicrous!

Quality entries again everyone, it is quite amazing to see what people can manage in a month!

 JordySteve wrote:
Quality entries again everyone, it is quite amazing to see what people can manage in a month!

Hey. Can’t speak for anyone else but my entry was more like 7 weeks work all in…

Lol

It's been a while, so it's comments for everyone!

Mothsniper: I love how aggressively your color choices clash, and yet still go together so well.

inmygravenimage: Great work on some truly classic models. I particularly like the flames on the mega-armoured dude, and the checked shoulder pad. Real Old Skool RT!

halfling84: I'm not much of a tank modeller, so it's fun to see work by someone who knows what they are doing. You got just the right amount of grime--the tanks look like they've seen some action, but not so much that they're ready for the scrapheap.

Nevelon: It's been a blast watching this army come together over the years (how long has it been since you started?) I admire the way you've kept the colors unified since the beginning of this project.

Daia T'Nara: Your grey armor turned out really well, especially the rough edge highlighting. All the vivid spot colors really pop against that simple background.

Pariah Press: I sense several generations of AdMech models in your entry. The script on the scrolls turned out really well.

me: The casting on these models was a lot rougher than I remembered, and they were something of a challenge. I'm still not sure I got the lighting on the bronze armor right.

Geifer: The design on the cape is awesome. I'm amazed you got such great freehand on a curved surface like that.

Turaxa: Where do you keep getting these SD mecha? This guy is a lot of fun.

Vejut: I missed your proof pictures somehow, so I'm not wholly certain what this model is. You did a great job on it, especially the blend from light to dark on the feathers.

XvArcanevX: It looks like this model took longer than seven weeks to finish. Did you get those dark-to-light transistions on the limbs and cape with a hairy brush?

Maharg: All that red really sets these guys in the classic WHFB style.

straken619: I like your greay-green skin tones. What was your recipe?

Mr Nobody: Beast describes this model perfectly. I appreciate the models for scale in the photo.

Gulgog TufToof: I'm impressed that you managed to paint the hair on his hands and feet so well-- that sort of detail usually blends in with the skin tones, but yours really pops.

JordySteve: You achieved a remarkably clean white. This pops against the blue, but I wonder if details like the shouder studs on the beakies and the rivets on the shield wouldn't benefit from a pin wash or something to make them stand out a little more.

KidCthulhu: What a groovy warband. Using blue instead of red as a spot color is more than a little rebellious for 40K models.

Jadenim: That's one heck of a big model. I find myself wondering about the panel lines on the body and legs. Are they deliberately lighter than on the arms, or was that a deliberate choice?

Midget Gems: One doesn't often see a whole battlefield being entered in this comp. I would love to play a game in this setting.

Captain Brown: I remember this boat from the summer side quest. It's good to see it finished. At a distance, it looks really simple, but once you notice all the detail work you did, everything really jumps out.

theCrowe: I absolutely love the 80's glam rock colors on these dudes.

Another month of stellar work. Well worth the wait!

There are many strong examples of painting and modeling skills in this contest. It is difficult to choose.

 UR-025 wrote:
There are many strong examples of painting and modeling skills in this contest. It is difficult to choose.

There have been months when I voted for everyone, except myself, of course.

@JoshInJapan that’s the difference between the finished and unfinished parts!

JoshInJapan: This figure and the Zaku II that I entered earlier in this year's Challenge are from the not-kinder-egg Chocosapu Mobile Suit Gundam blind-box shokugan series. I picked them up in various supermarkets. The release schedule for all of Bandai's Gundam shokugan products can be found here.

 JoshInJapan wrote:
KidCthulhu: What a groovy warband. Using blue instead of red as a spot color is more than a little rebellious for 40K models.

Thank you! My Inquisitor warbands have color-coded purity seals so I know which henchman belongs to which Inquisitor


I'm still working on my 4E Inquisitor Soup army

 JoshInJapan wrote:

Nevelon: It's been a blast watching this army come together over the years (how long has it been since you started?) I admire the way you've kept the colors unified since the beginning of this project.

The Hive Fleet as an army started back in 2020, so about 6 years in the making. And luckily there have not been any paint range revisions during that time. Which is not something that can be said for my other armies, Eldar and Ultras were hit pretty hard.

If I had it to do over again, I’d go with a lighter purple. One of the reasons I pulled the trigger to get started was the introduction of contrast paints. But there was only one purple in the first wave, Shysh Purple, which was a bit dark. The second wave of paints introduced Leviathan Purple, which not surprisingly, is a better match for the Nids. But I was halfway done at that point.

With few exceptions (the stealth nids like Lictors and VRLs, and the exposed brains) everything is straight out of the pot, and only a dozen pots for the whole army. No mixing. That and the fairly simple scheme makes it easy to keep uniform.

 JoshInJapan wrote:
Geifer: The design on the cape is awesome. I'm amazed you got such great freehand on a curved surface like that.

Thank you. There's a ridge between the outer and center stripe that I could follow. I had plenty of opportunity to practice my freehands in recent times, but I'll gladly take the extra help if it so conveniently presents itself.

A lot of great entries this month! My 3 favorites in no particular order are:

XvArcanevX: Fantastic model and very well painted. Especially the skin and the cape. It looks like too much work and that's why I have avoided painting him so far.
Midget Gems: It might be just terrain but there's a lot of it and it's beautifully painted.
Captain Brown: A lot of details on that thing! It shows that you have put the work and attention it needs and the result is excellent!

Honorable mention because it's not finished yet.
Mr Nobody: Wow that is a HUGE model. Keep working on it bit by bit and I'm sure it will be finished and looking amazing soon!

 JoshInJapan wrote:
It's been a while, so it's comments for everyone!
straken619: I like your greay-green skin tones. What was your recipe?

I was just trying stuff here so I don't have an exact recipe but for the most part is offwhite basecoat with a little of white drybrush. And then a 50:50 mix of Vallejo Xpress zombie flesh and Lahmian Medium for my base with a little of either Mortarion Grime or Gryph-Charger Grey. I probably used other shade colors as well to make the different variations. Maybe Athonian Camoshade.

Turaxa wrote:JoshInJapan: This figure and the Zaku II that I entered earlier in this year's Challenge are from the not-kinder-egg Chocosapu Mobile Suit Gundam blind-box shokugan series. I picked them up in various supermarkets. The release schedule for all of Bandai's Gundam shokugan products can be found here.

I haven't been through the supermarket toy/snack aisles since my son entered junior high school. I'll take a look next time I go shopping.

KidCthulhu wrote:

 JoshInJapan wrote:
KidCthulhu: What a groovy warband. Using blue instead of red as a spot color is more than a little rebellious for 40K models.

Thank you! My Inquisitor warbands have color-coded purity seals so I know which henchman belongs to which Inquisitor

Spoiler:

I'm still working on my 4E Inquisitor Soup army

Cool! Thanks for sharing those group shots. Your warbands look really cool.

Nevelon wrote:

 JoshInJapan wrote:

Nevelon: It's been a blast watching this army come together over the years (how long has it been since you started?) I admire the way you've kept the colors unified since the beginning of this project.

The Hive Fleet as an army started back in 2020, so about 6 years in the making. And luckily there have not been any paint range revisions during that time. Which is not something that can be said for my other armies, Eldar and Ultras were hit pretty hard.

If I had it to do over again, I’d go with a lighter purple. One of the reasons I pulled the trigger to get started was the introduction of contrast paints. But there was only one purple in the first wave, Shysh Purple, which was a bit dark. The second wave of paints introduced Leviathan Purple, which not surprisingly, is a better match for the Nids. But I was halfway done at that point.

With few exceptions (the stealth nids like Lictors and VRLs, and the exposed brains) everything is straight out of the pot, and only a dozen pots for the whole army. No mixing. That and the fairly simple scheme makes it easy to keep uniform.

Simple and uniform= striking on the tabletop, especially win 'nids. Are you sad to see the project coming to an end?

Geifer wrote:

 JoshInJapan wrote:
Geifer: The design on the cape is awesome. I'm amazed you got such great freehand on a curved surface like that.

Thank you. There's a ridge between the outer and center stripe that I could follow. I had plenty of opportunity to practice my freehands in recent times, but I'll gladly take the extra help if it so conveniently presents itself.

Every little bit helps. I pretty much never paint freehand on any cloth because I can't deal with the folds.

straken619 wrote:

 JoshInJapan wrote:
It's been a while, so it's comments for everyone!
straken619: I like your greay-green skin tones. What was your recipe?

I was just trying stuff here so I don't have an exact recipe but for the most part is offwhite basecoat with a little of white drybrush. And then a 50:50 mix of Vallejo Xpress zombie flesh and Lahmian Medium for my base with a little of either Mortarion Grime or Gryph-Charger Grey. I probably used other shade colors as well to make the different variations. Maybe Athonian Camoshade.

Wow, that's a lot of steps. I usually just do a burnt-umber glaze over AP necrotic flesh.

Time for some winners!

In third with 17 votes we have Geifer with Kaboom Girl - Reductus Saboteur. Ready to blow things up to clear the way for a brighter future.



And a blast from the past, looking for a farm to raid, are inmygravenimage’s Space Ork Raiders, straight out of the late 80s to take silver with 18 votes.








And tied for first, with 24 votes each are

XvArcanevX with Ushoran, A noble king protecting his land and people for the horrors of the relms
















and Captain Brown's HMCS Chilliwack 1944 1/72 Scale Flower Class Corvette, protecting the convoys of the north Atlantic from the horrors of the deep.















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Amazing month everyone. Good to see projects get wrapped up as we finish up another year of the comp. Thank you for everyone who’s been painting with us this month, and over the course of the whole year. If you have the time, post some thoughts in the retrospective thread. Or get to painting your space marines to start off the new year!

Wow! Really didn't expect that, very worthy winners and honoured to be in such fine company. Thanks Nevelon for continuing to run, cajole and challenge us all! And of course midget gems for running the table!

Congratulations to Geifer, inmygravenimage, XvArcanevX, and Captain Brown for well-deserved wins. Good job to everyone for getting stuff painted!

Well done everyone who participated and finished a model.

Great stuff all round. Thanks to all who left comments

Well, I did not see that coming. Thanks for all the votes, guys!

And congratulations to my fellow winners as well.

Awesome work everyone, another month and another year of challenges finished.

Thank you for the comments straken619, JoshInJapan.

I'll try to get the final table up this weekend for everyone

Congrats everyone!

 JoshInJapan wrote:
Your grey armor turned out really well, especially the rough edge highlighting. All the vivid spot colors really pop against that simple background.

Thanks If we're being honest, I struggled to muster enthusiasm about this one - probably why it'd been sitting around long enough to qualify for 'finish it' to begin with, something about it just doesn't come together for me - so the 'rough' highlighting is mainly a case of 'eh, good enough'. I did find satisfaction in those little bits of colour and detail though, when I got to them, like the fur and the cape. It often happens that even when I'm starting to find a mini a bit monotonous, working on small details like pouches or purity seals or what have you puts me back in the mood.

Congratulations for everyone, especially for the winners Especially the ship is great, I imagine just the railings must have taken a few days to be made.

Thank you for the votes, but I think that XvArcanevX's Ushoran was a better paint job and more in theme with Dakka.

Thank you to Nev for the hosting (and all the work that goes with it), Midget Gems for the tables, folks who gave feedback, and everyone who finished a model (or models) to shrink that pile of shame.

Sincerely,

CB

Another year done

Go have a look and see your position in the league table, I hope you all enjoyed painting and the challenged helped get some models done

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

Congratulations to winners!

Such good work guys.
XvArcanevX that cape! BeezNeez
Absolutely crushed it.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 JoshInJapan wrote:
It's been a while, so it's comments for everyone!
Mothsniper: I love how aggressively your color choices clash, and yet still go together so well.

It did work out, thank you sir! Contrast is king.