The Old World Army Challenge Part VI; The Special Edition

And we are back at it again for the 6th edition of the Old World Army Challenge (OWAC), which will officially start on January 1st 2023.

There is, however, a twist this season :

This edition, the OWAC allows (and welcomes) specialist games, (GW) board games, etc. Provided of course they are from the right(ish) period. The rules are quite similar, in the sense that there is a minimum of figures per month, etc. 

You read that right, for this year and this year only, challengers will be allowed to work on :

Blood Bowl

Space Hulk

Space Crusade 

Warmaster 

Epic 

Man O War 

Mordheim

Necromunda 

Heroquest Warhammer Ancient Battles

Battle Masters

This should make for all kinds of fun and different projects.

Although the classic army building is still available, and we know many of our more purist challengers are keeping it old school (we would not expect anything else from a group of Oldhammerers!).

LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

OWAC IV Overlord Offerings

The first two OWAC's, I encouraged members to "Pay the piper", i.e. to paint one figure for the Challenge's founder and administrator, me, AKA the Challenge Overlord. This was a way for me to be able to see "in the flesh" the painting style of each challenger, and a small payment for my work on the challenge (I love administering the OWAC but it is very time consuming). 

With time these came to be known by the challengers as "Overlord offerings". Now, last year was a bit different as the Offerings were mandatory, and had to be be painted as admission fees and submitted in the intro post. It makes for a great and fun intro post, and I've started working some themes into them (this year will be everything pink and baby blue, my favourites colours!")

So as the OWAC V is about to start, here's last year's offerings!

Lots of great painting in there, and I truly enjoy everyone of them! It's so fun receiving them through the year! I got one that says "Vive le Québec libre" on the base, some contestants sent me hand written notes and postcards. It was great! And then there's Byron who actually custom sculpted a figure just for me, based on my one of my all time favourite book cover, Fighting Fantasy' Temple of Terror. How freakin' awesome is that?! I am ashamed I haven't painted it yet, and I promise to do so before the end of the challenge!

So thanks to all the challengers. I cannot wait to see the next crop of offerings!

A bevy of Overlord Offerings

The last two OWAC's, I encouraged members to "Pay the piper", i.e. to paint one figure for the Challenge's founder and administrator, me, AKA the Challenge Overlord. This was a way for me to be able to see "in the flesh" the painting style of each challenger, and a small payment for my work on the challenge (I love administering the OWAC but it is very time consuming). 

With time these came to be known by the challengers as "Overlord offerings". It's always a lot of fun for me to receive all these in the mail, and I figured it was time for me to share the work of the challengers on this blog, for all to see! And with the first introduction post only a few days away from publishing, it seems like a good way to start this OWAC season!

Now, this year things are a bit different as the Offerings are now mandatory, and must be painted as a prize of admission. A bit more work for the challenger, but it should make for some fantastic pictures next year!

Without further ado, here are the OWAC II and OWAC III Overlord offerings. Enjoy!

Thanks to all the challengers who took the time to paint all these, I really appreciate every single offering!

Closing words : 3rd edition of the OWAC

Another great edition of the OWAC is over! And it was a fantastic year! The enthusiasm shown by all the challengers was exceptionnal, as was not only the quality of the entry but also the productivity. Quite simply, challengers have outdone themselves this years! On my side of things, it was the first time I did not participate in my own challenge (I had an Epic project to work on) and I have to say it was difficult at times! I am SO ready to join OWAC Part IV! This however allowed me time to work on updated rules for next year's edition, to promote the challenge, etc. Btw, if you look at the bottom of the Blog you can see how many challengers completed one, two or three challenges.

As the challenge administrator (i.e. Overlord) this year was a resounding success. Not only did we only lost 5 members to the Field of Bones, by far our lowest number, but the members have been especially organized this year; post posted within deadlines, blog post edited, etc. It's immensely rewarding to notice massive improvements for everyone between the first OWAC and this edition. Kudos to all!

Now, the most important part is the painting, and we had an amazing crop of painters with a stunning variety of armies, including our first Gnomes and Norses! We also had not one, not two but three challengers complete a Skaven force, a feat which was only done once in our history!

A few stats :

48 335 : That is the total number of points painted this year by the victors! 

13 : Only 13 members used a mulligan this year, which is incredibly low.

28 : That is the number of victors for this year, each now a painted army richer than they were 6 months ago!

If it wasn't obvious from reading the challenger's wrap-up, there will be a 4th edition of the OWAC starting on January 1st, 2021. Big changes are coming, as we will shake things up with some changes to the rules, and more importantly OPENING THE DOOR TO THE FAR FUTURE OF THE 41ST MILLENIUM! Yes, Rogue Trader and 2nd edition 40K army will be allowed.

Comment here or contact me through the blog if you are interested in joining our waiting list for the OWAC, Part IV.

We are always looking for sponsors to hand out prizes to our valiant challengers, contact me through the Blog or comment below if you'd like to sponsor the challenge.

Until 2021, have a great Fall everyone!

One month left...

May is done!! One month left to the third edition of the OWAC! Keep at it guys!!

Challenge mid-point

With March done, the challenge is half-over!!! Congratulations to those still standing!

On to April!

The OWAC II starts with a BANG

January, the first month of the OWAC II, is officially over, and wow what a way to start this Challenge! I am really impressed by both the quantity and quality of miniatures submitted. If this is any indication of what's to come, I think we are in for a treat!

Also of note, we only lost one member to the Field of Bones, which is a vast improvement over last year!

So a big congratulations to all standing Challengers, it was an awesome start.

Get ready for February bitches, the hardest month of the Challenge, with only 28 days! 

And btw, Mulligan are now fair game. Just remember you only get one, just it wisely.

OWAC II

The OWAC II is scheduled to start on January 1st, 2019!! Challengers have been picked, miniatures are being prepped, and excitement is slowly building.

See y'all in 2019!

Your benevolent Overlord

Iannick