Post Challenge Round Up

So there we have it, the conclusion of the ‘VII Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge’.  Spring has finally sprung and the hugely successful hobby juggernaut, so masterfully steered by Curtis Campbell and his merry band of minions can, once again, be parked up for another year.  This then is the obligatory personal review and more importantly an opportunity to thank those involved in the running of the event for their collective efforts.  Over the course of the challenge I took a series of work bench shots that I will publish here by way of accompaniment to my rather dry narrative.

I feel as if I have been a bit of a spectator this year, not able to find the time to comment on the challenge blog as much as I would have liked. Instead I have tried to show my support to my fellow challengers by commenting, where I can, on their personal blogs.  This has left me feeling slightly uncomfortable about the whole process as I’m not sure that it is really in the spirt of such a collaborative event.

The bonus rounds continue to prove to be a wonderful addition to the format.  After initially declaring that I wasn’t getting involved in them this year, I completely disregarded my own decree and set about planning something for each and every one.  In my defence, I did consciously scale down my ambition for a couple of the rounds, but the remaining three sapped a huge amount of time and effort, but were great fun nevertheless.

As for my own personal goals and tallies?  Well this year, I failed to reach my target score of a 1000 points. (892points 30/96) I had hoped that my cunning plan of priming larger (larger for me anyway) units in coloured undercoat, inspired by the likes of the ever productive Tamsin, would help to speed things along, but instead it would appear to have had the opposite effect.  I found that as I glanced over at the massed ranks of Guards, Cuirassiers and Mutineers that I would do anything rather than add to the already colourful start I had made to them, I even caught myself taking out new, unprimed miniatures and started to prepare them for next year - madness I tell you.

As the challenge went on, I soon realised that not sticking to my plan, no matter how convoluted, was going to leave me well short of my target.  After initially getting myself in a bit of a tizzy about this, I soon realised that the easiest solution was to stop, pack away anything that was proving to be of a distraction and concentrate on having fun – after all, when your hobby starts to become a chore, then it stops being a hobby!

Whilst I may have struggled to paint enough miniatures in the time permitted to reach my target score, others didn’t.  Some challengers went on to exceed their own expectations and the quality and sheer quantity of what has been produced this year is truly staggering, yes Dave Docherty, I am thinking of you.  A particular highlight for me was a collaborative project with Sander and Stefan, which proved not only successful, but a ringing endorsement of all that I have come to cherish from most wholesome of hobbies - thank you Gentlemen. 

I would just like to take this opportunity to congratulate all my fellow challengers for their often Herculean efforts over the winter months and to once again thank Curt for his tireless enthusiasm in continuing to run this event.