Ben's Blood Drinkers - OWAC IX - Wrap-up post

Phew and done!  I've tried to put all the minis I've painted this OWAC into a battle scene somewhat like the 40K 2nd Ed cover that has been an inspiration:

Needing a bit of a break from painting red armour, for a change this month I painted a handful of Orks and Gretchin to be the antagonists in the battle pic:

Plus I 3d-printed some more Dr. Spork Cathedral ruins - after some digital flipping and chopping - to provide a backdrop.

Overall this season I've painted 3,171 points of Space Marines:

Intro
Rank and File Month 1: 431 pts
Rank and File Month 2: 751 pts
Rank and File Month 3: 849 pts
Rank and File Month 4: 487 pts
HQ Month: 176 pts
Wildcard Month: 477 pts

It doesn't half add up when you keep chipping away!

And, of course, I still have more to paint - vehicles, bikes, Scouts, Assault Marines, Tactical Marines, Chaplains - probably enough (assuming I switch to an Epic project next time) for OWAC XI...

Valtteri's Undead Legion - July Wrap-up Post

 

Well here we are, my first OWAC done and dusted! And it was just great! I painted a lot, pretty much every day for six months and still it felt like fun.

I managed to paint a respectable Undead army, more than 4000 points worth of models. This should be more than enough for all my gaming needs, allowing me to field multiple different army compositions.

I painted two units as a test before the challenge proper, the archers and the Skeletons with spears. Even though they're not part of the challenge and are not included in the points and model count, I still wanted to include them in the overall army picture.

My phone camera sort of failed me though. I just couldn't get the lighting, colours and focus right for the whole army shot. Luckily the previous posts contain better pics of all the models.

The eagle-eyed among you might have noticed that I managed to paint one new model on July:
the mighty 4th edition Ghost. The model was quite silly back in the day and time hasn't really done him favours either. Be that as it may, I still wanted to include one in my army.

The highlight of July for me was entering the Vampire Lord to painting competition (The Cold North Open at Ropecon, Finland's biggest gaming convention, ran entirely by volunteers) and coming away with Bronze! Finland may be a small country but the judges certainly weren't: there were two recent Golden Demon winners and Louise Sugden (savage_ork_guy) as the judges. I'm amazed that a mini from -93 and painted in the style of that era could compete with modern styles and techniques.

Plan vs reality

Like I said in my first post, I was fairly sure I could finish the big skeleton units easily, thanks to using enamel washes and a simple but strong color scheme (bone, metals, red as a spot color). 

I decided to do all of the core units first and tackle the more exotic units and characters afterwards. Just like those old army collecting articles in White Dwarf. I stuck to my plan, even though it was a bit of a chore at times, and it paid off.
I even had enough time to add some extra units and terrain. I've meant to do proper hills for ages and I'm so happy I finally did, they'll help me in pretty much all of my games!

The initial plan. 

Originally I meant to just paint the characters from the Armybook cover, not do a full recreation of it. I'm really happy I did though, it was my favorite part of the challenge! I also planned to build the magnificent piece of scenery below but realized fairly soon that I just wouldn't have the time. Maybe someday.

Statistics

My total for OWAC9 is 4507 points and 138 models.
If I counted the 2 test units it would be a whopping 5089 points and 186 models.

It is at this point that I feel that I must apologize. Even though my army definitely looks like it came straight from 90s, most of it didn't.
I only have 20 old metal models, if I counted correctly.
All of my core units are new models, both plastic kits and prints with an old aesthetic and I even included two 3D printed scans of the old Chariots. I hope I didn't break the spirit of OWAC too much. In my defense I think the proxy models I included are really cool and I hope that more hobbyists find them!

That being said, consider this lovely Zombie Dragon from the 80s as my apology:

I bought this old chap midway through the challenge and just barely managed to paint him before the end of July (that's why he's not in the army shot).
I haven't put together big old metal minis in a long time and boy was it a blast from the past. I think assembling him and filling the gaps took as much time as the actual paint job. Lovely sculpt nevertheless and I admired the way the pieces were designed - all the joints are strong without any pinning. My other Dragon is painted in a bright 'Eavy Metalesque way so this one is just muted naturalistic tones, as a befits an old Dragon.
I doubt I'll ever use 2 Zombie Dragons in a game so I'm not including this one in the final tally.

Final Words

I really don't think I could've pulled this off without the added pressure of the Old World Challenge. Like most hobbyist I tend to get bored after a few units and gravitate towards different projects. But thanks to OWAC and all the other participants I powered through and now I have the Undead army I've always dreamed off. I couldn't be happier! And to top it off I've played a few games of 4th/5th ed. Warhammer which I never did as a kid, even though I really wanted to. 

I'll sign off with a pic of the happy Necromancer and his tiny minions. Thanks to the everyone who's followed my ramblings and who knows, maybe I'll write some more blog posts in the future. I cerrtainly have enough old minis in my cabinet for that!

Previous posts:

Intro
January - Rank&File

February - Rank&File

March - Rank&File

April - Leader

May - Wild Card

June - Leader

Tom's Goblins and Orcs: Wrap Up

 

Ahh, the wrap up. Most usually a great time to add that extra model or two to round out the army...

No such bonuses from me I'm afraid! 

Above ☝️ is my army pic for this years OWAC. A fantastic one this year - I really did enjoy painting it all (and by enjoy, I mean: really like looking at it after its painted!)

I did make a little 2'x2' board to display everything on, with maybe the aim of entering it into Armies on Parade this year. Naturally I'd have to make a hill, maybe some walls and fences etcetc, but I totally lost my mojo after I found out that AoP is not happening this year.

Anyhow, here's the underside of the board, which is a 3mm hardboard, framed with some wood that was nearby in the shop to stop it warping. I glued the baton onto the hardboard and then hammered in some tacks to really solidify it. If I were to do this again, I'd put another baton brace in the middle of the board to REALLY REALLY solidify it, and I'd also glue some bits of paper over the tack heads so that they wouldn't show through the paint and flock...

Anyway, after creating the board, I painted it a light green (using a mix of craft acrylic paint and PVA).

I then covered it in the same mixture (after it had dried of course), but with the addition of more PVA, and then sprinkled the flock all over (Javis Light Green Fine Turf - link). 

Pro tip: put a huge bit of paper or some sheeting down  to catch the overspill. I didn't and the flock has gone   e v e r y w h e r e !

I left it overnight to dry, and then re-flocked.

After a full day drying outside, I added watered down PVA dabbed over everything to seal - poorly I might add. Probably needs another two coats! The edges were sanded down to get rid of any overspill and then painted a mix of PVA and black acrylic paint.

... 

Another pic of my OWAC VIIII

And here's how the horde looks when combined with last years OWAC : link

I'm immensely pleased, and even more pleased to find that I'm thinking of adding more monopose to it at some point! The only downside is that I've not finished the planned Black Orc unit from last year. Maybe it can be my own challenge to add it before Christmas...

Waaargh!

Here's my original army list as outlined in my Intro post, plus the extras I've managed to add at the end.

110... 1x Orc Warlord

72...   1 x Orc Big Boss

57...   1 x Orc Shaman

30...   10 x Goblins w/ short bows

24...   8 x Goblins w/ short bows

30...   10 x Goblins w/ slings

45...   5 x Goblin Wolf Riders

93.5... 17 x Orc Boys

11...     1 x Orc Standard Bearer

11...     1 x Orc Musician

53...     1 x Orc Boss

81...    1 x Orc Chariot

66.5... 1 x Small Rock Lobba (w/ three crew)

46.5... 1 x Bolt Throwa (w/ three crew)

80...    2 x Ogres

200...  1 x Giant

TOTAL:  1010.5

How it started

How it went

ADDITIONS

30...     2 x Snotling bases

200...   1 x Hill Giant

33...     1 x Night Goblin Big Boss (Grom)

15...     1 x Night Goblin Boss

28...     1 x Night Goblin Shaman

16...     2 x Night Goblin Squig Hunter Teams

120...   6 x Squigs

30...     1 x Night Goblin Fanatic

40...     1 x Ogre

120...   3 x Ogres (Dark World)

483...   1 x Goblin Big Boss riding White Dragon

TOTAL POINTS ADDITIONS: 1115

FREE... 7 x Farmyard animals

GRAND TOTAL: 2125.5

MODEL COUNT: 116

(Models are counted as 40mm base or over = 2models. War machines = 1model + crew)

Here are all the extra models 👇

And now, the obligatory links back through the Challenge...

Intro: link

January: Rank and File - link

February: Rank and File - link

March: Rank and File - link

April: Leaders - link

May: Rank and File - link

June: Wildcard - link

An ogre protects his lunch...

And I thought you'd like to see the unedited army shots... 👇

And that's about it! It's snuck up on me - the end of the month. I wish I had more pictures to share, but time has run out... It's only left to say:

✨All accolades to the OWAC finishers - congratulations! A painted army is a rare and wonderful thing ✨

Many thanks again to Iannick who founded the OWAC nearly a decade ago, and praise be heaped upon the overlords, the admins, and people behind the scenes who make this challenge Happen. Lead and plastic would not accrue the memories it holds now, if not for all your hard work. Thank you!

Last, but not least, thanks to you Reader! May your luck never fail 👊

Ian's Goblin Army (part II) - OWAC IX - Wrap up

This is it, the wrap up post for another successful OWAC.

I achieved all my initial goals with this one : painting all the Goblin Wolf Riders I had left, a total of 43 (ok, I might have a few more hidden somewhere...), 5 Goblin Doom Divers and a few extras. After spending the first 3 weeks of July in Mexico, I even had the time to finish two more miniatures that I'm very proud of, especially the giant, which I've wanted to get for a long time and finally bought 2 months ago.

OWAC IX

OWAC IX Goblin Army (4th edition)

January 2026

10 Goblin Wolf Riders with spear, light armour and shield - 130 points

February 2026

10 Goblin Wolf Riders with spear, light armour and shield - 130 points

March 2026

18 Goblin Wolf Riders with spear, light armour and shield - 234 points

April 2026

5 Goblin Doom Divers - 500 points

May 2026

5 Goblin Wolf Riders with stuff - 65 points

2 Trolls - 130 points

3 Wolves - extra, no points

June 2026

Skarsnik and Gobba - 205 points

July 2026

Giant - 200 points

Stone Troll - 65 points

Total : 1659 points

OWAC V

OWAC V & IX

What's next ? OWAC X might be a special edition. As always, I have many options because I have many many miniatures (who doesn't?).

Big Hat Chaos Dwarfs?

Mercenary?

Undead (again)?

Goblins (again)?

Grim Dark Bretonnia or Empire?

Chaos?

Mordheim?

Heroquest?

Until then, enjoy life !

Ian

James WRR’s Wrap Up: The battle at the end of time

 We are the edge of the sword, the tip of the spear, the hammer of the immaterium and we will suffer not the daemon to exist. The Daemonhunters of the Ordo Malleus are coming for you.

Mighty, Dark-Winged, Avenging Inquisitor, James, with his Might, Avenging Ordo Malleus Army.

That’s it! My second OWAC attempt completed and another (nearly) 4,000 points worth of models painted for Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader.

Now I can try get a game in.

The experience of painting this Ordo Malleus army has been markedly different to that of painting my Emperor’s Children. Not that I’ve not had a great time with the project, just that I’ve found myself a bit less… absorbed in it.

That might be because I’ve been decorating a new flat at the same time as ploughing through this batch, and navigating a whole host of new responsibilities. It might also be because I’m a Chaos guy deep down, and painting “holy” warriors goes against my instincts.

But I am proud of this army, just as I am of every project I manage to complete. It’s not every Warhammer player who can say they’ve painted thousands of points in just a couple months. God knows I’ve got so much more waiting in the wings, but that’s a problem for another day… another OWAC, perhaps. 

Collecting this force was a joy and putting it all together was a real education. I’ve got a whole new appreciation for those who managed to construct and paint armies of RTB-01 marines back before we had so many modern tools and paints. I’ve also been surprised, even blown away, by the quality and charm of many of these models — the Terminators and Daemonhunters being obvious stand outs.

This challenge attempt hasn’t been without its, well, challenges. I’ve been rushed at times, uninspired in others and very distractible. But seeing my challenge companions and friends build such amazing armies of their own has really pushed me towards this success. 

Once again, I'm also impressed at how well deadlines work for my brain and my workflow. Having the structure of monthly quotas and small goals really helps make a big project manageable. If you've got your own major army project to get done, I can't suggest enough following along with the next OWAC, or even just make your own mini challenge to motivate yourself.

I think my next project is going to have to be a colourful one. Painting an all-metallic, largely monochrome force has been great for speed and efficiency, and they do look as mean and brutally efficient as I was hoping they would, but I need a bit of whimsy back in my life.

I think that might call for a Second Edition-era force of some kind. Oh, I know a Death World that’s lovely this time of year! How about we visit Catachan next OWAC?

And with that, I reckon I can close the book on this project. I can’t wait to see these guys on the tabletop, burning away the corruption and naivety of a doomed galaxy. As always, please do join me on my ongoing hobby journey on Instagram at @Illuminator_Hobby.

Until next time, keep watching the skies. 

Army list

Inquisitor Halfthor
Daemonhunter
Tactical Dreadnought Armour, Bio-Scanner, Displacer Field

Plasma Gun, Power Glove, Digital Weapons, Psyk-Out Grenade

Bionic Leg

Psychic Mastery Level 3
201 points

Inquisitor Clavicus
Daemonhunter
Tactical Dreadnought Armour, Bio-Scanner, Displacer Field

Psycannon, Force Rod, Scare Gas

Psychic Mastery Level 4
454 points

Captain Torkamadus
Grey Knight Terminator Captain | Hero
Tactical Dreadnought Armour
Nemesis Force Weapon

Psychic Mastery Level 4
450 points

Techmarine Tarantus
Techmarine
Basic equipment
Vincent Black Shadow motorcycle
97 points

Squad Deza
Grey Knight Terminator Tactical Squad
1 Sergeant and 4 Marines in Tactical Dreadnought Armour

5 Nemesis Force Weapons

Psychic Mastery Level 4
1,200 points

Brother Bethor
Deredeo Dreadnought
Missile Launcher, Heavy Plasma Gun
Standard Sensor Package, 2 Power Fields, Power Field Synchroniser
270 points

Squad Heliod
Tactical Squad
Sergeant with Bolt Gun, Bioscanner and Power Glove
1 Marine with Missile Launcher
1 Marine with Flamer

7 Marines with Bolt Guns
275 points

Bright Sword
Rhino APC with Techmarine Pilot, assigned to Squad Heliod
2 Bolt Guns
387 points

Riot Corps
Adeptus Arbites Squad
1 Magister with Bolt Pistol and basic equipment

5 Judges with Bolt Pistols and basic equipment
102 points

Squad Apollo
Devastator Squad
Sergeant with Bolt Gun
2 Marines with Beamers
2 Marines with Heavy Bolters

5 Marines with Bolt Guns
379 points

Grand Total: 3,815 points

Ben D's Skellibobs - OWAC IX WRAP UP

It had to happen eventually folks.

We got to the end of OWAC IX.

For those of you just tuning in, I’ve been painting an army of Undead Gnomes with paint schemes inspired by works from David Gallagher and Ian Miller, as per the prompt of this season’s challenge.

Ian Miller

David Gallagher

I began OWAC IX reflecting on what the challenge would be to me, or to be clearer which aspects of the project would be the challenging part. I think in previous years I have made volume the focus of my challenge, since I delight in surprising the readers of this blog with oddball filler or kooky units, but this year was different. There had been rumblings of doubt about people finishing their projects this year given the stresses of the world, and recognizing those concerns in myself as well, I made the army compositionally something I was confident I could paint in all of 6 months. With that fear quenched, I decided to paint not just with the palettes of these artists (which was already the challenge,) but to also paint more fantastically. 

What does that mean? 

I feel that for a long time my sensibilities were drawn from earthier and more naturalistic color groups, like how Frog and Toad is illustrated with a small range of colors, but all of them are drawn from the nature that Arnold Lobel translates into the aromantic amphibian adventures. Gnomes don’t exist, but assuming the fantasy realism and lowness of fantasy, they’d have only so much dye for their clothes, and maybe a homogenized skin-tone depending on how much contact they keep with communities outside their own. Since I didn’t imagine the undead gnomes as having a culture they actively engaged in (I am unsure of skeleton sentience,) their material culture would be a stagnation of the culture they were harvested from the graves of, while their current continence would be a reflection of the magic that raised them from the tomb. My goal was to paint as much of the magic onto the miniatures as I could, hence the extra high saturation of colors, and the decision to paint the skellibobs’ bones like they were enchanted instead of fresh out the dirt.

Here is the army, as originally proposed

Undead Lord - Vampire Lord on Dragon - 825 pts

2 Necromancers - 68 pts/each

20 Skeleton Warriors - Full Command and Halberds - 257 pts

20 Skeleton Warriors - Full Command and Halberds - 257 pts

10 Wights - Full Command, Spears, Shields, Heavy Armor, Skeletal Steeds - 528 pts

Total - 2003 pts

Hmm, actually there is one addition that I failed to mention. Last month I revealed that my second necromancer was actually Heinrich Kemmler the Lichemaster, but as many oldheads know, where there’s a Kemmler, a Krell is sure to follow.

Unfortunately I couldn’t find a Krell in budget and in time for my OWAC deadlines, but I did place a last minute Ral Partha Europe order that happened to include a powerful looking skeleton champion with an iconic helmet. Although it’s not an exact 1:1 I was reminded of the named equipment of Fafrd and Grey Mouser; their weapons have names, but the physical objects are replaced time and time again. This is a Krell with a Black Axe of Krell. Is it the Boneripper of Theseus? Maybe. In later editions, Krell’s Axe is a magical equipment your Vampire Counts characters can take, meaning that Krell and his axe are not attached at the hip, and it could be that if there is a singular magical Black Axe of Krell, it could be one of Krell’s goals (he is likely on the more sentient side of skeleton) to be reunited with his iconic item.

Anyhow, Krell isn’t the only extracurricular model of my army.

As mentioned previously, I do like my detours and surprises, and so while I don’t have 5e points for all of these figures, the army has grown beyond its original footprint. This delights me to no end. 

The full roster is actually

Heinrich Kemmler and Krell

Necromancer

Vampire Count on Dragon

40 skeletons

10 mounted wights

3 ghosts

3 stands of crow swarms

15 zombies

10 mummies

And judging by my recent acquisitions, we’re likely to see more before this army is put to rest.

Congratulations to all of my fellow OWAC IX conquerors; I hope you’re proud of what you’ve accomplished, and that you’re taking a well deserved rest.

If you aren’t though… I hope you’re having fun planning for next year’s OWAC project!

The Artist Gets a Hat

That's all I've got to say from this side of the keyboard. Thanks for all the fun, and see you next year!