At the finishing post

Ha!

Well, Challenge IX is over - an exhausting, rewarding, compelling and productive activity. I've done pretty much nothing else for three months, but I've enjoyed myself immensely. I also managed to paint much more than I'd expected, and climbed to top of the table, which was really pleasing.

A consequence of so much focus, though, has been that I gave no energy to this blog at all, even though the intent was to support work on the Challenge through this blog. Because the support activities associated with submission are themselves time consuming (taking photos, editing them, writing a post, commenting on other people's posts) there seemed no luxury time to pursue my own blog. Here's the summative photo, in any case:

Impressive for three months work, isn't it? However, a careful examination (which I don't recommend) will show that, despite my best intentions, not every figure laid out in my December post was actually completed. On the other hand, there's quite a few additional figures here which I hadn't contemplated at the start. Here's what I managed of what I planned:

In 28mm:
120 Imperial Romans: YES
48 Caesarean Romans: YES
120 Celts: Only 36
50 Zulus: YES
60 War of the Roses, foot and mounted: YES
100 HYW, foot and a few mounted: About 40 foot, and no mounted
500 Austrian Naps 15mm: YES
100 French SYW 15mm: YES
15 Sudanese: YES
6 British MTBs (1/300 from Warlord's new Cruel Seas): 5, in fact
Sarissa's Hougoumont: NO

Additionally, I completed
Frostgrave: 10 figs
SYW: 3 regiments of Reichsarmee and two Prussian cavalry regiments
Roman: cavalry unit, 2 scorpions, unit of auxiliaries, three commanders
Terrain: one terrace of houses, 20 palm trees, desert gaming board, cricket pavilion, three desert houses, 3 pill boxes
Walmington on Sea: 6 cricketers, 9 canal personnel
WW2: 1 armoured car, 6 italians, 6 SAS
Carthaginians: 1 unit of veterans, 1 of Libyans
LOTR: 90 Orcs, 4 barrow wights, 13 warg riders
Napoleonic: 6 officers, 4 Ottomans
Crusades: 7 arab archers
Animals: penguins and dinosaur for EMP, elephants, snowcat, gorilla, goat
Victorian gentlemen: 5
Curtgeld: 2 Afghan wounded
Natal Native Contingent: 9

I'm really pleased with what I've managed, even though the lead mountain still looms far too large. What I'm hoping, therefore, is that I can use this personal blog a little bit like my own AHPChallenge (in a much lower key way, of course) to keep me motivated in a similar way and get more figures completed.

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?