Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge XV

 After missing out over the last few years, I entered the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge XV this year, an annual painting event run by Curt Campbell in Canada that starts on December 20th and ends on March 20th. There are many things to like about this event - it is not a competition, it is very welcoming of painters of all standards, the community is highly supportive and it is a great source of inspiration and motivation to get stuff painted to meet the points target you set yourself. 

Over the last few years Curt has also put together a special theme for the theme and you score bonus points if your entry fits with the theme. This year the theme is Dante's Divine Comedy, so you have The Abyss, where you can try and paint something to capture the theme of sins like Lust, Wrath or Heresy, and paradise where the challenge is to match the theme of the 'Spheres' like The Wise or The Warriors of Faith. 

As well as the theme, there are various Side Duels, where you can go up in friendly competition to see who can, for example, get the most points of painted Napoleonics or the most 'Skullz' in their entries! The Duels are entirely optional, like the Theme, so there is no pressure to get involved in them if you don't want to. For the first time, I have entered a Side Duel - to see who can paint the most (by points) stuff for the Horus Heresy setting.

So far I have had two entries (I have painted more stuff, but am holding them back for some of the Divine Comedy themes - you have to progress through these in a linear manner, and once you leave the Abyss you cannot return - probably a good thing!)

To kick things off, I did 7 Shoretroopers by Fantasy Flight Games (at least they were when I bought them, I think Atomic Mass Games produces the game now). These are part of the Star Wars Legion line but I am not a huge fan of the rules, so I am going to use them in games of 5 parsecs from Home, which I came across very recently.

The full squad. in front of a John Hodgson backdrop. The terrain and baseboard are from GW's Kill Team

The Squad Leader has blue markings and each member of the squad also has a red marking on their right arm

Squad Leader showing his blue rank markings

Specialist with a heavier weapon and a trooper with standard blaster

All the backdrops used in these pictures are from John Hodgson's new Backdrops Book - Sci-Fi Ruins and Interiors. The pics above all use one of the ruins backdrops; the next two use one of the interior backdrops form the book.

I also entered these into the first Circle of the Abyss - Limbo - as they are figures that have sat around unpainted for quite a while!

My second entry consisted of two very different genres and scales. First up was a 28mm figure of Medraut (Mordred). His lust for power led to the battle of Camlann and the ruination of Arthur's Britain, so he seemed like a perfect entry for the Second Circle of the Abyss - Lust! The figure is a Victrix plastic Early Saxon Armoured Warrior. Victrix do a Late Roman set which also works for Romano-British, but I liked the pose and wanted to use the 'Sutton Hoo' style that comes with the Saxon set! I also gave him a round rather than an oval shield to further mark him as making a break with the Romano-British tradition of Arthur. The shield is decorated with a Little Big Man Studios transfer (now owned by Victrix).

The second part of the entry is 20x 15mm Imperial Fists Breachers for the Horus Heresy. They are based individually but then mounted on a magnetic movement base like the Death Guard I posted previously. I have gone for a quick scheme using GW Contrast paints - white primer, Aggaros Dunes for shading and then Imperial Fists Yellow over the top. Not going to win any awards, but looks good enough on the tabletop en masse, which is the look I am going for. I did paint a muzzle burn effect on the meltaguns which I think you can see in the final pic.

Sergeants have been given red power fists to help them stand out

You can just see the muzzle burn effect on the meltagun trooper in the centre of the pic

These 20 Marines also got me up and running in the Horus Heresy Side Duel.

The next two pics are of the Primarch of the Space Wolves - Leman of the Russ, The Wolf King of Fenris, The Lord of Winter and Ruin! He is a 3d print from an stl file sourced online, scaled up to make him suitably imposing and epic! First shot shows him next to some Grey Slayers to give an idea of scale, and the second shot is Russ alone. These were done prior to the Challenge, so don't count for it, but I hadn't posted them before so thought I should pop them up.