Tuesday 10 January 2017

"I am Arthur, King of the Britons."

Never one to be tied down by convention or the obvious* I thought that I would stretch the interpretation of this year's 'Annual Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge' opening bonus round entry.  Armour had instantly conjured up squadrons of tanks and whilst I had been looking for an excuse to purchase 'Warlord Games' fabulous version of Oddball's Sherman, I resisted and went in search of a suitable alternative from the lead pile.
*who am I trying to kid, I was wracked with guilt every time I considered an alternative to a side parting, I still am and that is after the parting has long since departed!
Having given the matter a little more thought, I decided that Knights in Armour would work, but not any old knights, this called for Grail knights!  'Studio Miniatures' wonderful 'not' Monty Python homage proved another irresistible Kickstarter** and just the ticket for my opening gambit in the Challenge.  Having made all manner of protestations that I wouldn't get caught up with the Bonus Rounds this year it would appear that I have fallen at the first, becoming so focussed on this entry that I have singularly failed to complete anything else.
**Of which there have far too many of late.
Once again great sculpts from 'Studio Miniatures' that really were a joy to paint although I stopped short of depicting their respective heraldic devices on the surcoats, simply running out of time.  I did, however have a go at using some water slide transfers from 'Flags of War'.  These were going rather well until I rushed the final coat of varnish resulting in a crumpling effect, which I then exacerbated by trying to smooth them out, perhaps something that I will need to revisit in due course. 
With the Grail Knights completed, I turned my attention to the cavalry or at least one of them in the shape of trusty servant, Patsy.  Once again fabulous detail, but requiring a little filling here and there. It was at this point that I let things rather spiralled out of control and before I knew what was happening I succumbed to the foul taunting of the French Knights, this time mounted on some rather useful 'Sally 4th' MDF Flagstone bases.  Once completed a little voice in my head kept saying, "Now go away or I will taunt you a second time."  Try as I might I couldn't get off this rollercoaster of a ride and before I knew what was happening I was painting a tower for my Knights to shout down from.
Sadly there are no points for terrain pieces in the challenge, but this was one of those distractions that just needed to be done to complete the entry.  Of course the scene would not be complete without the infamous Trojan Rabbit.  Again part of the Kickstarter, I get the feeling that this was one of those additions that was added late on in the campaign without necessarily giving much thought as to how it would be constructed.  In the end it was a multi-part resin kit, but the body of which was so badly cast that I couldn't bring myself to do anything with it when it first arrived.  Now buoyed with the enthusiasm that came as a result of finishing the Knights, I revisited the project and set about the troublesome areas with filler.  A base coat and some liberal dry brushing and the piece was complete and  unlike the tower eligible for a few additional points.
As with last year the bonus rounds have really caught the imagination of my fellow challengers and I urge you, if you can, to pay a visit to the main page and perhaps cast a vote for your favourites.  Just follow the link here.
"I fart in your general direction!"

86 comments:

  1. Superb painting standard as per. I enjoy the output of Studio Miniatures (I have a pile of their Sikh war figures lurking in a corner somewhere).

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    1. That you Matt, Studio Miniatures are certainly going to get a few more pennies from me this year.

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  2. Awesome models - I think I've just found what I was looking for, albeit they're expensive! - We need to make use of these heroes ;)

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    1. Thank you Mike and of course they already have Black Plague stat cards - we just need some coconuts.

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  3. Truly stunning !!!

    Looking forward to the killen Bunny and Holt handgrenade 😄

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  4. Holy moly. That's hilarious. Very well done squire.

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  5. Excellent work Micheal and very fun as well!

    Christopher

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  6. Absolutely brilliant Michael!

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  7. Wonderful madness Sir!
    Next up: The Beast of Aaaarrrrgggghhhh.....

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  8. simply stunning you brilliant english kniggit!

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  9. That's just so much awesomness here Michael! Great to see your engines are running on an all time high for the challenge.

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    1. Thank you Nick, there is something about the Challenge that seems to fire up the creative juices.

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  10. Nice diversion pieces done with your usual aplomb.

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  11. Priceless! I mean, worth zillions of fartings. Sorry, farthings... Silver farthings, of course. Amazing, stunning... this is absolutely marvellous work, Sir Michael! Cheers and thanks for sharing! :)

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    1. Thank you so much, it is always so lovely to receive such wonderful feedback.

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  12. The rabbit!!...peed myself laughing :-) I didn´t know anyone made Python kniggits.

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  13. I am speechless...Thanks for this!

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  14. I enjoyed this a lot Michael. Great entry!

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  15. Love the Rabbit! I'm sure you'll get a top 3 place for this Sir Michael!

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    1. Thank you Ray and that would be nice, I could do with the points.

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    2. He's gonna win Ray, that's for sure! his composition is brilliant, the backstory is hilarious and the figures are droolingly good...we're all done for we, elderberry-smelling son's of silly people.

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  16. We are satisfied. But now you must bring us a shrubbery!

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  17. Wonderful on many levels.....painting, inspiration, hobby for the shear love of it and I think it is great to just let your enjoyment run away with you bravo.

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    1. Thank you so much Matt, it is good to sometimes just do things because they make you happy.

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  18. Excellent modeling that put a world class smile on my face.

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  19. Inspired...and absolutely brilliant! Beautifully painted and lots of fun!

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  20. One word....superb!

    Cheers Roger.

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  21. Fantastic! I can't believe I missed this Kickstarter! I am a huge Python fan! The Large Wooden Rabbit is the icing on the cake & no I wait with bated breath for the Large Wooden Badger...Ugghhh!

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    1. Thank you Terry, this was such a fun Kickstarter and yes, you could have had a Trojan Badger!

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  22. Absolutely brilliant all round!!

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  23. Wonderful! Love the way you painted the knights. Karl

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  24. Holy heck, those are fantastic! Why don't I own a set of these amazing sculpts????

    Superb painting Michael! The transfers must have made the details so much easier to get right on those shields.

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    1. Thank you Dai, I had high hopes for the shield transfers and will need to revisit them again, but being more patient!

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  25. Lovely stuff! I can hear in my head, "Your father was a hamster and your mother smelt of elderberries!" Perhaps it's time for a lie-down. ;)

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    1. Thank you A.J. There are so many ridiculous quotes that I find it difficult to stop once you start.

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  26. These are fantastic ,really made me smile. Castle Anthrax next?

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    1. Thank you Dave and what a spankingly good idea!

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  27. Michael, I can only reiterate what others have said before me - simply magnificent!

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    1. Well that is incredibly kind of you Ev, thank you.

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  28. Excellent! :)
    Very nice rendition of Monty Python characters!

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  29. Rewelacja! Ps. I chyba nowy wygląd bloga? :)

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  30. Wow! Wow and wow! Wow to the sculpts of the men. Wow as always to your painting skills, and wow to the way you have put it all together. Brilliant and inspiring as always.

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    1. You are incredibly kind, thank you. There really were great fun to work on.

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  31. The more I see these, the more I want them. Just great painting on great miniatures.

    Cheers, Ross

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  32. Loved this one Sir Michael. It's well on par with your usual excellent Bonus Round entries - It got a vote from me anyway!! :-)

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    1. Well what more could a chap want? Thank you Simon.

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  33. very very awesome work!!! One great movie get his own bods and equipment.

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  34. Brilliant stuff now 'go and boil your bottoms, you sons of a silly person.';0)

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  35. Hahaha, priceless.
    Seriously, these models are great.
    Well painted and their facial expressions are spot on.

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  36. Now I was tempted by these, but missed out on the Kickstarter and felt that the full price figures were a little out of my price range. Another wonderful 'bonus round' entry. Whilst i don't get involved with the AHPC, i do enjoy watching others take part and it's always a pleasure to see what you come up with.
    Now, if Studio decided to do the cast of 'Jabberwocky' too, i might indulge.
    "Monster? Monster? I see no monster..."

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  37. Super super stuff. On that third photo, I mean the expression you manage to bring out through paint in the mini ... priceless. Great work Michael!

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