At the starting blocks

This post is simply to record the figures I've prepared for the challenge. There's quite a few, though not as many as I envisaged:

Not a very good picture, but I'm just learning how to use this camera.

At the rear left is almost an army of 15mm Austrians. Ahead of them Caesarean Romans, and the massive black block at the front Imperial Romans - yes, I'll be building two Roman armies at the same time - possibly even three.

The centre column is the Sudanese unit of the Egyptian army that I'll probably paint first. The reddish figures to the rear at the right are Perries' zulus - beautiful figures. Next to them, five MTBs. Ahead of them a few War of the Roses foot and six cavalry, with a few small terrain pieces, too.

Then ECW cornets, a small group of arabs for Napoleon in Egypt, nine bargemen and a couple of Walmington characters for Sealion. Then various fantasy: barbarians for Frostgrave, a few orcs and undead, and some miscellaneous creatures, and finally Fallout figures from the starter set (there are other Fallout figures waiting in the wings, but I might not get to them).

Certainly this sets me up for the Squirrel challenge, to make a virtue of this one of my vices, at least.

And so it begins

Painting Challenge IX is underway.

I’ve now prepared about half the figures I think I may attempt during the forthcoming three months. Undoubtedly I’ll change my mind as I progress, but at least I have my starting points.

I’ve just noticed that the Lardies are sponsoring a “What a Tanker!” challenge, so that’s immediately adding a new consideration: have I a tank I’d like to paint up in the next three months? Well, I do have a Panther to make up – but it has no instructions, so it’ll probably be badly assembled. Then I’ve a Humber scout car, but that’s unlikely to qualify as a “tank”. I’ll have to search around in the jungle of unfinished projects and see what might be found.

I think I’ll begin with the Sudanese for the Egyptian army, as these have been waiting for years, and should give me what my boss used to call a “quick win”. Meanwhile, there are over 500 15mm Austrians waiting quietly in the wings. And, as it was recently my birthday, I’m now two boxes of Gripping Beast Romans, plus some Praetorians, that weren’t in the pile three days ago.

I’m also using the Challenge as an excuse to buy a new camera. Not much of a photographer, I need a simple device, but it has to give me the best chance of decent photos of all the beautiful miniatures I’ll hopefully be creating.

So, no time for posting - got to undercoat Austrians, sort out Sudanese, assemble Romans, find a tank, visit the camera shop. Fortunately, it's not one of those busy times of year, is it?

Analogue Painting Challenge

Last year I had an enormous amount of fun on the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge. I'd begun with only a moderate points target, but found the desire to paint more and more figures, and zoom up the table of painters, gradually consumed me, till it was the only thing I paid attention to in pretty much all my spare time, between December 20th and the end of March.

This year I resolved to be more organised, working to a higher target, but with something like a plan and perhaps a bit more discipline. But, wouldn't you know it, my very first action almost scuppered me, as I misunderstood the arrangements for joining, and only crept into the Challenge through the kindness and courtesy of our glorious leader in this absurd project, Curt.

So I'm now on the Roster as NoelW with a target of 2500 points (that translates into "500 28mm figures in three months). But I want to exceed that target by some way, as last year I hit 4880 points, and I'd dearly love to make the 5000 point mark. I also know that the only way I'll succeed is by having lots of projects on the go at the same time. I get bored with any given project too easily, so need several things on the go, each being both a relief and a distraction from the other.

So my plan is to have as many figures prepped, ideally, well over target, in as many periods and theatres as I can get organised by start date (Dec 21st). So far, not even 100 figs ready to go. But on the stocks as potential, if I can get them sorted, are, in 28mm:
120 Imperial Romans
48 Caesarean Romans
120 Celts
50 Zulus
60 War of the Roses, foot and mounted
100 HYW, foot and a few mounted
Of smaller figures: 500 Austrian Naps 15mm, 100 French SYW 15mm and 6 British MTBs (1/300 from Warlord's new Cruel Seas).
And in terrain, I've Sarissa's Hougoumont which my wife wonderfully has put together for me, but has been sitting there waiting for paint for months.
As a rough estimate, if I managed all this (!) that'd be around 3200 points, so greater than target, but not close to ideal.

However, you can guarantee that by December 26th, following both birthday and Christmas, there'll be more new figures to take care of. Of course, I'll have to fit the prepping of them in. Somehow three months doesn't seem enough...

My main problem, and one I found a bit time consuming last year, is photographing the figures. I'm not much of a photographer, and I don't have a decent camera, so getting decent shots of many of the figures took time, and most of the results didn't please me. I'm hoping that maybe Santa will take pity on me.

Good luck to everyone taking part.

Why Adderphue?

Adderphue is a land I created for a novel I wrote. Chapter 2 began like this:

On the Creation of the World (Again)

Naturally there are other explanations for where this glorious world of ours came from. Some look to its name for clues: Adderphue.

In Tekmarada, seat of the most noble and idle of religious archivists, the Reverend Floppy Eared Bun-i argues that, in the Time before time, in a Space without space, in an Impossibility without impossibilities, they used to serve snake curry. The effects of such meals on daemons and the Frogs (praise be to the sticky-tongued!) was bound to leave a distinctive stench in the lower parts of Paradise. The Reverend Bun-i suggests that the Frogs, being tidy beings, decided to fumigate the place, so gathered all the errant whiffs of after-snake into one neat bundle and hung it somewhere obscure in the heavens where no-one was likely to look. Hence the name, adder-phew

Others disagree with the Reverend Floppy Eared Bun-i, notably the Right Mrs Reverend Floppy Eared Bun-i (divorced). She lays out an interesting hypothesis. Summarised, (and we apologise for any oversimplification which might result from this summary), she states that a concept as complex as snake curry could not have existed before there was a world in which such a thing was possible, so arguing that the smells of snake curry gave us Adderphue is therefore an argument a posteriori, without fundament, a logical absurdity and just plain silly (but, wouldn't you know it, absolutely typical of the Reverend Floppy Eared Bun-i, who couldn't even starch his thurible without an illustrated manual).

Much more likely is the argument a fortiori, namely that the Frogs downed forty or more double scotches and, inspired to see things they'd never seen before, decided to tinker with reality just for the hell of it and bring their visions to life. It follows from this perfectly tenable assumption that the world was created when they'd adderphue, but obviously well before they got to the curry stage.

Others in Tekmarada prefer not to be involved in family squabbles, especially when one of the family concerned has been champion hippo flounderer three times on the trot.

It must be said, however, that whilst the theory of the Reverend Floppy Eared Bun-i (that the world is the redolence of spiced reptile) accounts for quite a lot (such as the smell of the River Zitsphil), that of the Right Mrs Reverend Floppy Eared Bun-i, (that the world is the incomplete ravings of a few drunken adolescent Frogs), accounts for everything. And a whole lot more besides.

From The Book Of Contradictions to The Book Of Commotions, Hexaglint vs 93 - 93. © His Leaklessness, Philosophus of Arlene.