\Comp topics:


Tanks for the Memory
conversion
-Giants, only big single units allowed, and make them more giantsy if you can. (I don't mean gargants obviously, but anything bigger than a trooper)
-On steroids (stronger than usual versions of whatever you make)
-Out of place/standout (a unit that would probably get shot first for standing out so much in a crowd)
-Wrecked (a unit that will not survive the battle but may still pop a few shots)
The Naked Truth - Any model that has some form of nudity, weather it be a humanoid or a monstrous creature, anything with little to no clothing is allowed.

Down but not Out - Any model (or models) that are damaged or dying but will still continue to fight till the end. Acceptable models include healers, people that are injured, or even a model you have that is damaged or broken. Blood and gore effects are not a must, but are appreciated!

BFG - Any model or models that either have big fricken' guns or are big friendly giants. Big ferocious giants are also acceptable.

Feel the Fire - Models that are equipped with flamers, flame throwers or any type of fiery weapon. Models with flames (such as the Dark Apostle with his flaming lava book) are also acceptable.

Spaced Marines - Not all warriors fight sober. Drunken masters, alchemists, or any type of dope fiend model is allowed.

Technical round - try out a new technique. Blending, slap chop, airbrush, OSL, speed painting, dipping, or just using one more colour than usual.

Doomthumbs special. Paint something with your bodily fluids… actually, maybe not tue last one…

"Paint it again, Sam," in which we paint something we have already painted sometime in the past. This can show improvement, or allow a different take on the same model using different techniques. Models that have been updated by their manufacturer would also fit.


April Fools! Jokes, puns, clowns, shenanigans. Pranks, deceptions, and misdirections. Tricksters, rouges and scoundrels. Embrace your inner mischief and join the fun.


Fabulous: you can have your over-the-top Noise Marines, or just a Legionary with a really nice mohawk on his helmet, an Imperial Guard officer in a spotless uniform, Astartes with all their purity seals and whatnot or a Space Wolf with a freshly-washed wolf cloak (if Space Wolves know about washing), Orks with brightly-coloured hair squigs, or any Evil Sunz by default, Eldar just being Eldar, heck even Tyranids might not have done it on purpose but they've eaten a bunch of brightly-coloured biomass and are looking stunning now they've absorbed its DNA, and plenty of similar options for fantasy and other lines.)

That Guy - the one (hopefully it's only one) member of the army nobody else really wants to be around. A Commissar with a habit of reaching for his pistol whenever he sees a poorly-polished boot, a Haemonculus who doesn't really distinguish between friend and foe when he needs somebody to 'help' with a medical experiment, a Weirdboy who's liable to belch warp flame without warning and if you're lucky it's out of his mouth, a trooper with a bulge under his jacket he swears isn't a third arm, Khârn the Betrayer (and their various counterparts from outside of 40k, That Guy is a constant throughout the multiverse) - comedic sociopathy, callous indifference, poor hygiene, whatever the reason, the mini that may well be tactically vital, but the rank and file are praying to their god of choice not to be assigned to their unit.

mercenaries

Mastermind

Triumphant Return: Characters who disappeared for a time and have come back to save the day.

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!: Various animals, or people who take on such aspects or are named for them.

The Awakened: Sort of like my first suggestion, but characters who have been asleep for a while instead of missing.

Bean Counters: Have you submitted your TPS reports? It’s a new fiscal year for many organizations. Entries should be record keepers, loremasters, scribes, administrators, accountants. Keepers of tomes and wisdom, and grudges. Focus is bureaucracy, logistics, and counting. Vampires allowed (One miniature painted, ah, ah, ah...)


*** Nov ***- Small but deadly.
- Ew that’s gross!
-She may not look like much but she’s got it where it counts.
*** Nov ***"If it bleeds, we can kill it"

"Ancient Curses"

"Behind enemy lines"

"Concrete Jungle"
Might means right
Don’t Tread On Me
"Good things/small packages" - gives a bit more scope than just having epic scale and runts, maybe? You can have paladins, too!

"Get to da choppa!" - Orks, Imperial Guard (especially Catachan?), Predators, flying vehicles (especially helicopters and gyrocopters), or just transport vehicles in general, perhaps?


"Remember, remember..." - I have no idea what models this could inspire, but it fits with the month. Something to do with big explosions, or the things that cause big explosions, maybe? Or things to do with fire and/or secret plots? Assassinations? Sneaky sneaks?
1 - Squats in space
2 - Futuristic miners
3 - Squad of scifi very short highlanders
Early Retirement
its snowing
November Rain
Half Height, Full Power

Locked in Combat - pinning fire or being pinned, binding swords, feinting spears, reloading, magdumping
Born to Fight - ranging from Spacemarines to Skaven

Jam-uary as next month's theme. Noise Marines, regimental musicians, catfolk bards or sugary goodness. Stuff like that.
*** Jan***Rip and Tear’
‘Shot Caller’
‘Unwavering Faith’

·Eww, gross! I have a few models in the pipeline that would work for this one.

Topic idea: Mean Machines. Vehicles, war machines, robots, rollerskaters, etc.
Topic idea: Get to the point! Paint something that is pointing at something. Can be pointed like a tank turret or is inherently pointy. Or in army list represents too many points for all it is
** Jan** Stay Frosty


But.. then there is less chance for "the real new year", "april showers" and "lets go ape..ril!"

Random ideas for April: "A Heroic Journey" and "It's party time!"
Cuddly and Fluffy. Because Easter bunnies and stuff.
Birds of a feather, flock together. Can cover all sorts of beasties, plus anything that's a coherent unit.


Wild Things

Teamwork makes the dream work

Winter is Coming

"Time for a change" - paint something different than usual, build converted or kitbashed model, or simply daemon of Tzeentzh

Glow Up. Paint an updated sculpt of an older model (lots of choices there)-- bonus points if you paint the older one as well. Alternatively, start with a low level character, and convert or kitbash a more experienced version. Maybe something like an old Ral Partha three-stage character, of a Frostgrave wizard and apprentice, as they're basically the same in game. If you want to be more literal, something featuring OSL or other lighting effects. If you want to go meta, paint or re-paint something you have done previously, to show off how much you've improved as a hobbyist.

'Eavy Metal could work too - Dreadnoughts, mechs, full plate armour, massive swords, stuff like that.

Line in the Sand - literal sand, holding a bulwark, stopping something inevitable

Don't Lose Your Head - a swordsman, an immortal, or calm and collected

Back in Black - a paint challenge that emphasises monochrome

Favour the Bold - courage, inspiration or similar

The Naked Truth - An entry that is in someway nude - weather it be a scantily clad barbarian warrior or a big alien monster.

Green With Envy - An entry that is green or mostly green.

Dread Not - An entry that in some way has overcome fear. It could be a hero that fights against all odds or someone who has become the embodiment of terror itself. Imperial Dreadnoughts are also welcome.

All Your Base Are Belong to Us - Warriors don't just fight in a vacuum. Entries should have a detailed scenic base that depicts a story of battle.

Punching above your weight

Let’s Finish This 2: For Real this Time!

Waiting in vain

From the Vault - Some armies like necrons have reserves of warriors waiting to be awoken, or chambers of stomcast. Chapters of marines will only break out fabled relics for special battles. Fantasy adventures will pillage ancient treasures from forgotten depths. Honor guards protect valuables. And beneath the wasteland survivors dwell. There are a number of ways to interpret this theme, but entries should either be locked and protected, in reserves, looting, or related to those activities. (I assure you, me watching the new Fallout show, noticing we are on challenge 111, and having played a ton of Fallout 4 back in the day are completely unrelated to this topic)

Welcome to the World of Tomorrow - Paint something technologically advanced compared to the level of its faction, peers or contemporaries.

They mostly come at night…

Force of nature

Ice and Fire (Model must be based around either of the two or both)

Dress For Success - Models with extravagant, over-the-top, or just plain fabulous outfits and/or accoutrements. Break out the fancy hats with feathers, poofy sleeves, and ball gowns. Or blinged-out power armor. People should know at a glance you are a rising star, or have already archived the highest positions. Your entry should be dressed for victory in whatever field they are on, be it the battle field or in court.

Knife To A Gunfight: Models armed inappropriately for their setting. Barbarians with guns, hulking power-armored troopers armed with daggers, dudes marching into battle with musical instruments...

Somebody Set Up Us the Bomb: An entry that deals in explosives.

All Your Base Are Belong to Us: An entry with an extravagant base.

For Great Justice: An entry surrounding the theme of justice. A peace officer, or a soldier fighting for the greater good fit the bill.

Junebug; either a machine or computer full of bugs causing malfunctioning equiment, a buggy vehicle (literally even), an insectoid creature, someone cute or someone that keeps bugging the hell out of everything (something annoying).

Gamechanger; anything that when entering the battlefield will pull aggro like a magnet due to its threat with an aura of "o shid".

Personification of evil; To make more bright the light, lets contrast it with a mini that is so evil our eyes will bleed witnessing the results.

"Homefield Advantage”, “Home Base”, or “Headquarters” could either be the kind of troops that hang out back at camp, or the camp itself.


Slow and Steady

The Last Drop - This one is a little more abstract and open to interpretation. Drop of liquid? Supply drop? Drop from orbit? What is the last drop and why is it important? Empty wine bottle for a drunkard, vampires drained victim? Last drop of courage, or the bitter dregs of fate? Needed supplies floating down to besieged defenders? Loyalists on their way to Isstvan V? Take the topic and run with it, and let's see what we get!

Taste (Paint?) the Rainbow - whatever you paint, it should be colourful.
Sun, Sea & Sand - in honour of the summer holidays, paint something that features one or more of those themes.

I Understood That Reference! - Something about this mini and/or how it's painted is a nod to something else. It might be built in from the start like Sly Marbo or Mad Donna, homemade like an Ork Flyboy wearing aviators because he feels da need fer speed, or just take your word for it like a scout with a shotgun he calls his Boomstick or a Wych with blond hair because this Barbie is queen of the fighting pits. Dakkadakka, their brushes ready.

Magical Mystery Tour?
The Hidden Blade?
On Wings of Fire? (have we had that before?)

No Instructions, Off the Rails" - That's not where the backpack goes- pikemen are meant to wield pikes not rats- that head's on backwards- are you even looking at the instruction booklet? Each multi-part miniature has a proper way of being put together, and it can go to hell. Conversions, but not just swapping one head for another or tweaking the pose - we're doing things the way they weren't intended, hammering square pegs into round holes, and whether the results are cool, comical, glorious or never-to-be-spoken-of-again, the one thing they're not is off-the-shelf.

"One of these things is not like the other"? You could paint something well outside your wheelhouse-- fasntasy for an SF hobbyist, or a bust rather than a gaming miniature. Another option is a squad with one member who doesn't fit-- think team of pistol/CCW Scouts, but one member has a heavy bolter, or alternatively a shooty squad with a CC oriented leader. This topic would also alllow wild kitbashes of the type Daia is suggesting.

This Time It's Personal - A lot of miniatures get painted to round out the numbers in a squad, or add the latest fancy weapon to your army, or to fill in a capability gap in your list so you won't get your backside handed to you again like you did last game. Not this one. This is the new version of one of the first minis you ever owned (or if your pile of shame goes back far enough, maybe it is one of the first minis you own). Or the colour scheme is based on your favourite sports team, or your school, or whatever. Or you always wanted an insert-name-here back in the day, and now you've finally got one off ebay. Or Christopher Walken gave you this miniature after hiding it for years in his- you get the idea. It may be a one-of-a-kind custom conversion/sculpt, or it may be a regular trooper just like those in who knows how many thousands of armies all over the world, but there's a specific reason this mini is special to you. And you could just make that reason up and paint whatever was next on your desk anyway, but we'll take your word for it.

Just straight “retro” is pretty open, and can cover anything from oldhammer minis, to retro-pulp sci-fi.

"Futures of days past” I think would be more focused on retro sci-fi. It get the concept of doing something that was futuristic 20-100 years ago. Rockets to the moon, tripod walkers, sci-fi/post apocalyptical stuff set in the distant year 2000. Problem is it’s a little too focused (I like to keep the option for people who only paint fantasy to have a place) and that technically all of 40k fits.

“80’s cartoon” Would probably need a better name. Paint something that would not look out of place in a cheesy 80s Saturday morning cartoon. One that probably had a toy line associated with it. Do a re-paint of one of the actual toy, or a modern mini from a game based on the franchise.Would defiantly cover robot dinosaurs


Fanatics

In and out of the ground (zombified); paint whatever in its resurrected form, pale or green with bulging eyes and looking for some brains.
- nuts (either something feral that eats nuts like a monster-squirrel or a crazy professor, maniacal berserker or apocethary who drank the wrong potion)

Sticky notes
Post-it notes
Bannermen
Posted warning
Message on a Stick - Flags, banners, boss poles, or a lance with an explosive tip. Anything goes as long as there's a clear message delivered at the end of a pole.

“Over there!”
Points for trying

Victory points

Generals, wizards, psykers, every Devastator squad's sergeant, they also serve who only stand and point - miniatures whose impact doesn't really involve physical effort on their part. Maybe they've got a holstered pistol on their hip, but it's their index finger that matters to the course of the battle. Sure mages say they're expending tremendous effort, but they're just standing there muttering and waggling their hands around really. The polar opposite of "Don't call me 'sir', I work for a living," judge them not by the perspiration of their skin but by the content of their cranium.

I know 'officers and wizards and stuff' has probably been done a bunch of times already, I was just having fun thinking up ways to phrase it.


New & Shiny : Apprentices, new recruits, factory-fresh tanks etc. Could also be painting a mini with glossy/metallic paintwork, or painting a newly released/purchased mini.
Slow & Steady : Shambling hordes, lumbering vehicles, tortoises winning against Hares. Slow and inexorable. Or perhaps the subject looks like they are taking it easy, and are living life in the slow lane.
The Squad : Paint at least two minis which are from the same unit, group etc (or look like they could be). This might be one to relax the "number of models" rule for.
(Saturday Morning) Cartoons : Paint a mini which is from an IP which has appeared in animation, or paint one as if it had done. Or, paint something using an 'animated' style, eg cell-shading. [This is not my idea. Some-one else suggested it in a previous month, but I like it so I'm suggesting it again.]

For themes, what about Motley Crew?

I would propose "Leftover" as well. Maybe you built a unit, but one or two models more than you needed to fill the movement tray. It could also be the last survivor of an otherwise defeated unit. Alternatively, you could kitbash something from the remnants of a sprue or two.


Maybe "Two-Faced" in honor of the ancient Roman god Janus. So, Models that seem sneaky, lying, likely to betray, physically have two faces built into the model like D&D ettins, models where both head swaps will be painted and swap-able, a certain Batman villain, etc.


Have you thought of limiting the color pallette for a painting challenge?

Perhaps making a challenge focus on a specific spot color, such as blue or yellow?

If you wanted to up the difficulty, you could incorporate a flag or banner into the contest.

Return Of Let’s Finish This!, Revenge Of Let’s Finish This! and Let’s Finish This! - The Reckoning. In that specific order, because that's how sequels work.

The Future is Now