Friday, February 28, 2014

Byron's Mad Plan - Update

A while back I published a listing of my Mad Plan for the Curt's 4th Annual Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge. Well, since it is almost at the end of the challenge, I thought I should give an update on how it has all gone, and show off some of the entries

My first goal was to get 8 infantry sections of Canadians and 3 infantry sections of Germans and 2 HMG's done for my WW1 force for Through the Mud and the Blood.  I currently have 5 Canadian Sections done, 3 German sections, and 1 HMG.  I will likely drop doing the second HMG as 1 has proved nasty enough to have to fight against, but we will see.  I have my doubts if I will finish more than 1 more Canadian section before the end, but I will still be happy with that and call it a win.

A section of riflemen from the CEF 16th Battalion.
A German HMG section with additional riflemen.
In total so far, counting casualty figures I have painted 93 WW1 figures since this started in December!  So if I miss the 8 sections, but get to 100 figures I will be happy.

Hey, we even played a game with them already: WW1 Take the Farm.

My second goal was to get one unit of 28mm French Napolionic figures done, so that I can actually contribute (in a VERY small way) to Napolionic games that Curt brings our way.  So far, and I started late on these, I have 1/2 the unit done, and am feeling good that the rest will be done on time.  16 down, 16 to go.
The first base of French done.  OMG, why did the french have to be so vain? 
Wouldn't monochromatic uniforms have been easier?

My third goal was to clean up a lot of the stuff sitting around gathering dust.  Kind of mixed results on this one, as I will explain later.  First the good news!  I did do a lot of little items that were sitting around.  I banged off a lot of 15mm germans that had been gathering dust for a long time, several solo figures that I kept meaning to get to, a Forgotten Seas fleet, some Warhammer 40k figures that I kept meaning to do, and even got a bunch of Dystopian Wars ships cleaned, assembled, primed and base coated.
A pair of 88's and transports I had sitting around primed for about 8 years!
A squad of Dark Angel Assault Troops, that sat primed for over 10 years!
Then the bad news, I got distracted by some new items like Rivet Wars and buying a laser cutter to play with.

Overall though, I got a lot done but collected even more new stuff to add to the pile!  Overall I got over 100 figures done and painted.  Unfortunately, in that time with Rivet Wars, Zombicide, some 15mm British for Chain of Command, and some Warhammer 30k figures, I have probably added 400 more figures to the painting pile.  Maybe I should talk to Curt about running another of these about a month after this one finishes to that I keep painting???


My Fourth goal was to submit at least 5 entries out of the 7 possible for the different bonus rounds.  I am glad to say, I managed a perfect 7/7 even if 2 are not posted yet, they are done in time to send off to Curt.  Better yet, I even won one of the rounds with my Old Woman.
My old lady entry for the non-combatant theme.  One of the figures I am most proud of ever painting,
I really like how this turned out, and I NEVER like how my own stuff turns out.
  • December 22: Non Combatant(s) – Old Woman 
  • January 5: Villain(s) - Nurgle Demon Prince
  • January 19: Vehicle – Some brand new and shiny Rivet Wars tanks
  • February 2: Hero or Heroic Group - Dark Angels Space Marine Hero
  • February 16: Casualty / Casualties - WW1 Canadian Casualties 
  • March 2: Favourite Character - James Richardson - Piper for the 16th Battalion
  • March 16: Last Stand - Zombicide in Grey Scale
A pair of "Vehicles" for the vehicle themed challenge.  Imagine that!

Overall, so far it has been a blast.  I have painted far more in the last 3 months than I have in the 18 before it.  It has motivated me to paint different items, different styles, and learn new techniques.  It has also led me to bug and harass both Greg and Curt far more than in the past with questions on "those damn Frenchies", as the Napoleonics are something completely new to me and I am trying to do them some small level of justice. 

Better yet, I have even completed my initial goal of 1000 points already, and have since raised it to 1300.  Given the bonus points still coming for the last two theme entries, I may even hit 1500!  When I went it, I only planned on about 750 points, so not bad.

You can find all my entries with this link: ByronM Entries for the 4th Annual Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge.

I will post a final roundup once the whole challenge is over with my final numbers and thoughts.  Thanks everyone, now back to painting.


7 comments:

Allison M. said...

A great bunch, but yes you should be proud of the old woman with the apple basket. You did an amazing job. Everything from the face to the patched gown to the little mushrooms on the tree trunk are just perfect.

Moiterei_1984 said...

Yes you painted some amazing figures during the course of the challenge. I enjoyed every single one of them.

DeanM said...

Impressive array of work you've accomplished in a few short months

Greg B said...

Great work on all of this Byron. You've really lit up the challenge.

That French battalion is coming along very nicely. But surely you will paint more than one unit, yes? :)

DaveV said...

I have seen your old woman with the apples up close. It is a very well painted fig.

Great work on your challenge!

ByronM said...

@Greg B... MAYBE.... I have several more in boxes as I got them cheap, after struggling through these though.... maybe it will be part of next years challenge. I can't see it before then though.

Curt said...

It has been great having you aboard Byron and I'm delighted that the Challenge helped you get a bite into some projects - that's what it's all about. Bravo!