PaulM - They think it's all Ogre...it is now! (264pts)

Rank and File #3

Hello youse.

After lest month's no-show I figured I should try and pull my finger out and at least paint what I had promised. Unfortunately I wasted my Wildcard month on being lazy, so there's no deamonic tree terrain to go with the army as was originally planned. But at least I've decreased the leadpile ever so fractionally.

This month I completed the 3 mercenary Ogres of Korrag's Kompany. I umm'd and ah'd over how I was going to do these, going backwards and forwards over whether I wanted to make them clearly Chaotic, mercenary or something in between. I plumped for the latter in the end figuring that Ogres are supposedly resistant to the mutating effects of Chaos but their pallid skin shows they are on their way. Models are by the inimitable Bob Olley and sold by RPE. My favourite is probably the standard bearer, I became less and less keen on the other two as time passed. I have another 3 for an abortive attempt at starting an Oathmark army that are much more in line with the standard and am looking forward to painting (in about 2047 at this point).



I also took the opportunity to paint up the Alan Perry Beastman Command (including my Lvl-10 Hero - Frak'gor Brakentusk) very graciously provided by Graeme Pettigrew. These are great models and though not my finest work, painted up really nicely. They were topped off by a printed banner from the 6th edition Beasts of Chaos army book.

So, points for this month:

Three Ogres - 114pts

One Lvl-10 Beastman Hero - 110pts

Four Beastmen - 40pts

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Month three/four total - 264pts

Running total - 912pts

Next month I am planning on getting my Leader Month out of the way, with Kagan the Hollow and his equerry and ensign. Also looking to paint Filthbite, Kagan's pet Jabberwock, as he will actually be the general of this force when it sees its eventual use in 6th Edit

Mustafa’s Engineers Guild Expeditionary Force (345 points)

 Skin of my teeth, but the bastards are done!

While they may not be too exciting, the are the bread and butter of a squat biker force!

5 more bikers for your viewing pleasure :)

I need another 6 to make two 8-man squads, and then its onto the leader!

Merijn's Chaos Dwarf host (70 points)

Rank & File #3 

In touch with the ground, they're on the hunt. They're after yooooou.

I initially planned to add a unit of spider riders as a proxy for hobgoblin wolf boyz. Unfortunately, I found out I ran out of cavalry bases so I painted up some old marauder wolf boyz that I had already based. With a bit of luck, I'll receive my bases soon and the creepy crawlers will join next month.

Which is just fine because can you ever really have enough of those wonderfully nippy goblin fast cavalry? Racing across the table to thwart your enemy's plan before they run away giggling. Or screaming. It's usually screaming really.

This unit brings my points total up to 994 points.

Dustin's Dwarf General and Battle Standard Bearer (299 points)

Leader month

It's April, the middle of the challenge. That time when you start to lose momentum, maybe consider taking a mulligan. I know I thought of it, but I knew that if I took a mulligan, I would have that much more difficult of a time regaining my enthusiasm for the following month. So instead, I did the sensible thing and painted my general and army's battle standard bearer. A short (haha) and sweet painting commitment during a moment of weakness.

A couple of classic Marauder minis, to be sure!

Level 20 Dwarf Hero (168), with double-handed hammer (2), Mithril heavy armor (28) -- 198 points
Level 5 Dwarf Army Standard Bearer (98), with heavy armor (3) -- 101 points

That's all for April, now to get a head start on May's entry.

Bill's Greenskins - "Fling 'Em, Lads!" (180.5 pts)

 Wild Card Month

"Oi, you lot know wot we fergot ta pack? Tha bleedin' catty-pult! How's we s'posed ta be firin' a Stone Thrower if we's ain't got one?"

"Not ter worry, Boss - them gobbos got somefink over there we can borrow!"

"That's one a them newfangled Doom Divers, it can't be a stone thrower! No stones!"

"Gobbos is about as smart as stones though, right Boss?"

"Ya might be on ta somefink there..."

Somehow not as productive a month as I'd hoped for but nonetheless, no Field of Bones for me yet. For my Wild Card month, I present the very first piece of artillery I've ever built and painted. To me, this is a 6th Edition Doom Diver because that was the current edition when I entered the hobby and I remember reading about and loving the Doom Diver Catapult at the time, but I believe this model was first released in 5th edition - don't quote me, and if I'm wrong, please correct me. This also marks the very first official Games Workshop-produced Warhammer Fantasy Battles Orc & Goblin miniatures that I've painted for this army (and the goblins aren't sculpted by Kev Adams, I don't think, but I'll allow myself an exception here).

But wait! The Doom Diver does not exist in 3rd Edition WHFB, the edition I've been using for the OWAC. So, with the addition of three Orc crewmen from Warmonger Miniatures, it becomes an amusing proxy for an Orc Stone Thrower, on the principle enumerated above that "gobbos is about as smart as stones."

I might still go back in and letter "ACME" in big letters on the frame, because it reminds me so strongly of Wile E. Coyote and his endless, futile pursuit of the Roadrunner.

The high-flying (or at least, far-flung) Goblin will make a nice marker for where I'm targeting on the table.

And finally this month, I have my Battle Standard Bearer, Bogloaf Gunderstank, a Level 15 Orc Hero who can't keep from smiling at the fact that he's lucked into the cushy job of carrying this big stick around while everyone else gets trampled by horses or shot full of holes. Not the Army Standard I initially wanted, but Warmonger is retooling the mold of the other standard bearer I ordered (which is topped by a captive dwarf whose testicles are being played like a cowbell by a sadistic goblin) and I'm still awaiting shipment on that, but this will serve perfectly well in the interim.

So this month's points work out to:

• Orc Stone Thrower and Crew: 42.5
• Level 15 Orc Hero, Army Standard Bearer: 138

For an April total of 180.5 points, and a total score four months into the OWAC of 837.5 points. As of this writing my February points are still being counted twice on the scoreboard but I know Iannick's getting that sorted for me :)

Adrian's eldars - Like a Rainbow in the Dark (166 points)

Rank and File month #4 

A tired Dire Avengers exarch is helping some guardians to retreat in the last line of the Forest.

- It won't be possible for all our forces can withdraw to the warpgate without getting catch in the open, they're too close. Ymir prepare your fire dragons again, we will have to stand and fight one last tim...

Suddendly several detonations were felt coming from the Forest and the roaring engines of a Phoenix bomber squadron.

Behind came several grav-transports and landing craft of various colours. The emblem of the Eldritch Raiders could be spotted in all of them. From a door it came a figure.

- Fast exarch, come with me if you want to live.

The corsairs started the evac with the newly arrived transports.

- Wait, even with your ships at our disposal, there are still more troops fleeing from the forests up ahead. And they will be catch by the swarm... we must hold them here so they can reach the city safely.

- Fear not exarch, we will hold the line. When the enemy surround us thinking they have an easy prey, but our targeters will guide the phoenixes so they rain down fire and death upon them...

We may see you in the warpgate. Soon.

And the pirates entered the deep forest, armed to the teeth. Walking into an endless darkness.

No sign of the morning coming.

Now they've been left on their own

Like a rainbow in the dark

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Fourth month, the pressure starts to feel and I painted the minimum. But with a little twist. 

At first I didn't know what colour should I choose. Do I paint an inverted scheme from Iyanden for the Eldritch Raiders? Combined with black? Add additional colours or the purple + blue variant of this warband?.

So the solution was obvious: Paint in all the available colours.

You guys give me also an excelent idea, "paint them like pirates", and pirates wear strips... I opened my galery of Chris Foss illustrations and started doing whatever I felt that suits each pirate.

In the end, even the disciplined eldars may wear whatever they bring into a corsair force, rather than a uniform pattern. Or atleast it suits the unit quite well, with the arrange of different weapons.

9x Pirates (yarrr!) - 135 points

1x Veteran Pirate Captain - 31 points

They also have cool makeup because I listened to heavy metal while painting but they're more into glam rock.

(The pirate captain's helmet is a Dave Perry unscrupulous copy..err tribute)

It was one the funniest unit I've ever painted in my entire eldar collection. Each model admits lots of different details and motifs. Jes Goodwin early designs are simply put, amazing.

Double inspiration: I just remembered that Stargrave is coming, so this unit will be my warband of space adventurers. With some additional rt eldar and a pair of surprises I've in my desk. Still no murderbots sadly (I envy those of you who have one!).

For whatever reason, the music app started repeating Dio's discography. Which I think it is not a bug, it is a feature! And with such variation of colours came the idea for this month chapter.

A yes, the gemstone count: 168 gemstones if I am not mistaken.

#GoTeamEldar

Adrian's out.

Mariano´s Wood Elves - Warrior kinbands (156 pts)

 RANK & FILE IV

SHAMEN ON ME!!! (some of them are unpaintd)

On my personal planning I  shoud have done 16 warriors plus a sprite but life smashed me into reality. 

The non valid excuses are very clear, I started to feel the tireness of the challenge (too many infantery miniatures), I was really blocked with the golden nmm, shields took me more time...

In my defense, some of my excuses are valid: back pain, neck pain and dizziness. Getting better once I'm not painting.

After the excuses, what have I done this month...?

11 Warrior kinbands with light armour - 121 points

1 sprite - Free

• 13 Warrior kinbands with light armour - 121 points
• 1 Sprite - Free 

156 on the month.

688 for the total.

Every time I see mostly of the oldhammer wood elves miniatures my feelings is they are "historically" setted on the first ages of the colonization of Athel Loren. Think about it, some of them are "really" wood elves, probably the young ones, but a big bunch of them are pretty close to a High Elves.

Lets see a couple of examples:

image from solegends.com

Mostly of them are pretty solid wood elves but the rest, well, it is reallt obvious they are taking more time than expected to integrate themself to the new traditions (and the new way of dress, of course!)

One more...

image from solegends.com

9 of 16 are closer to High Elves than to Wood elves!!!

Why I´m so philosophical on this post? I want to explain why I painted them the way I did. Teh answer: I want to use them as the Eternal Guard. For me, these ones are the begining of what latter was called the Eternal Guard. The finest of the finest, all caming from the noblest families but still attached to the old fashion from the mother country. 

Nobody wants to leave his precious chainmail because it is defined as old fashion...

Ok, time to see some close pics...

I tryed to add them as much green as possible so I changed the way I use to paint the chainmail and I think it works and relationated well with the nmm gold. I wanted to give them a special touch with the shields and I found some from last edition and I added to them, so more green and gold.

At the end I'm really really happy with the result but still have the Itchy for not finish all of them. Anyway, I hope I'm able to advance on them before the end of the month.

Hope you like them.

Bye!

Brendan - Hero Entry (50 points)

Just Like Bonnie Tyler, "I need a hero!"

"I need a hero

I'm holding out for a hero 'till the end of the night

He's gotta be strong, and he's gotta be fast

And he's gotta be fresh from the fight

I need a hero"

I was initially just going to have one warlock be the hero for the competition, but I kind of find those models a bit dull. My friend had a bunch of the old Phoenix Lord models and I asked if I could paint those up for him too, because they are just amazing sculpts. So to get out of the way my compulsory HQ choice, here is my warlock entry for this month:

1 Warlock: 50 points, and totally boring.
Bonus Heroes
First up is a harlequin model. I don't know if he is 2nd edition or later so I'm not counting. plus I was too chicken to try and paint diamonds all over him so he should be disqualified anyways! :) Regardless, he came out looking nice.

I actually owned this Swooping Hawk Phoenix Lord when I was 14. I gave it to a friend who was playing Eldar, who then gave it to my friend whom army I am currently painting, so that is a weird circle of life situation. I just love how he came out:

The next Phoenix Lord is the Dire Avenger one. I thought the dire avengers were a bit dull, but the Phoenix lord one was pretty cool. I tried my best to represent the rainbow on the helmet crest to mixed results.

My absolute favorite has to be the Striking Scorpion Phoenix Lord. He just screams alpha predator to me and I loved painting every minute of him. I wouldn't want to meet him in a dark alley.

All those models completed and I'll just claim 50 points for the Warlock. But this was an enjoyable month to paint!