Finish It Complete! All Painting competitions finished!

It is done!  All painting competitions are one hundred percent complete!

This has been a long time coming.  So many things to paint.  There were a lot of difficulties, like the tiny details on all the Legion minis, the colors on the Necromunda girls, and the sheer volume of the Orks.  But I worked hard and budgeted time, and it paid off.

Without further ado, here’s the final project: The Nicassar Dhows!

These Dhows are painted in the same color scheme as the “official” scheme shown back long ago when GW sold these, but elevated with Turbo Dork paints. They don’t photograph well, but let me assure you they are SHIMMERY.

Of course, these Dhows are magnetized to their bases to allow them to do… this!

Adding the Dhows to the Orbital I painted previously lets me field a Caravan if I wish.  Basically a much worse version of the Blackstone Fortress, but also cheaper.

With this, the Finish It competition is complete!

Here is the whole Finish It challenge.

Wait a minute… that’s not my normal work table.  That looks like…

WHOA!  That’s a lot of minis!  In fact, it’s ALL OF THE MINIS I PAINTED THIS YEAR!

Oh, yes, this is pretty far away.  Zoom and Enhance!  (or just take more pics)

Here’s Q1.  The Space Marines are: Chapter Master Perseus (painted BEFORE the competitions but during January), Captain Valerien, a unit of six Intercessors, and a Redemptor Dreadnought.  Above them, a Warboss in Mega Armour, five Meganobs, Ten Ork Boys, and a unit of Squighogs plus a Trukk that should have been in Q3 but looks better here.

Q2 starts in the middle with the Necrimunda Escher gangers and friends, then above with the Orks, a Beastboss, ten Beast snaggas, eight Lootas with two Spannas, a Deffkilla Wartrike, three Warbikers, and a Trukk.  Below, from Q2 orks, a Shokkjump Dragsta, 10 Nobs, a Big Mek with a Shokk Attack gun, 20 Gretchin with two Runtherds, and a Trukk.

This is Q3 with the first 1/2 year competition.  Above, 10 Flash Gitz, two units of 5 Stormboys, and 10 Kommandos.  In the middle, the All the Same competition Minotaur, the Color Competition Lieutenant from the Star Cyclones, and the Carthaginian Elephants.  Below that, the 1/2 year competition Legiones Astartes Sons of Horus, consisting of two sprues each of: Infantry, Support, Fast Attack, Rhinos, and Kratos tanks.

Finally, here’s Q4 and the 2nd 1/2 year competition.  The orks were seen better above.  The Finish It competition is eight Tau Wardens, two Tau Messengers, eight Tau Transports, a general purpose Orbital, an Air Caste city, an Orbital with four Gravitic Hooks which can be combined with four Nicassar Dhows to make a Nicassar Caravan, and of course the Dhows and their magnetic bases.  Below that, the 2nd 1/2 year Solar Auxilia, which consists of two sprues each of: Infantry, Support, Dracosans, Leman Russ, and Leman Russ Exterminators.

There you have it!  That’s a year of painting!  Slightly more if you count Perseus.  Am I done?

HAHAHAHAHAHA NOPE!

There’s a super secret project I’m working on! (don’t get hyped, it’s small, but it is secret!)  Additionally, I am planning out next year; this won’t be at AFK, as my pile of gray doesn’t line up with the competitions anymore.

Speaking of AFK, here are the minis due by the end of the year in the cases, ready for judging:

You’ll notice that the Orks are so numerous they don’t fit on one shelf!

Next, the Super Secret Project, and a timeline for 2026, in which we will celebrate the 15th anniversary of Fourstrandshobby.com!

2nd 6 Month Challenge Complete – Legion Imperialis Solar Auxilia Leman Russ

These little guys have taken a back seat as I attempted to get ahead on other projects, but they finally got onto the front burner.  The final entry for the 2nd 6 Month challenge – eight Leman Russ Battle Tanks!

…and here’s the whole 6 moth challenge!

Next: twenty Gretchin and two Runtherds, then four Nicassar Dhows and that will complete all challenges!  Plus, a surprise addition!

6 Month Painting Competition 2 – Solar Auxilia Support

This 1/2 year painting challenge is 80% done, just have to do 8 Leman Russes in three months!

Next: Ork Shokkjump Dragsta that I can hopefully finish before the end of the month so that my 4th quarter “Finish It” Tau will have some breathing room!

2nd Half Year Painting Competition – Legions Imperialis Solar Auxilia Dracosans

Two posts in one day?

Not exactly, the Flash Gitz have been done for a few days but I’ve been too busy to upload them.  However, I’ve had the Dracosans built for a while as prep for painting, and they are not very complicated models, though they are very detailed.

As I said, these models are detailed, the increase of surface area due to all of the gaps, creases, and other details makes these models…

T H I R S T Y !

As previously explained in my Solar Auxilia Paint Scheme, the surface of the mini is washed in 50/50 Nuln Oil / Lahmian Medium.  Each of these Dracosans, despite the fact that they are Epic Scale, took 10 drops from my eyedropper of both Nuln and Lahmian!  Much more than comparable models of the size.

Next: Ork Trukk to complete Q3, and coming in September… something?  The Random Challenge will be upon me!  Hopefully I can make progress on the Solar Auxilia as well, because Q4 is going to be packed!  The Q4 “Finish It” challenge will be to finish my unfinished Battlefleet Gothic Tau fleet, which will be around 26 separate minis!  Add to that Q4 of the Orks which will be just as packed as all the other quarters!

There’s still a lot on my plate, but I think I can “open a hollow leg” like my Grandma used to say!  Metaphorically of course.  Stay Tuned!

2nd Half Year Painting – Legion Imperialis Solar Auxilia Infantry

I’m getting ahead of schedule!  The hardest part of the 1/2 year painting competition for the Solar Auxilia was going to be the Infantry with all their fiddly little details, so I prioritized them.  Take a look!

Next: Lootas and the model chosen for the “Everyone paints the same model” challenge!

2nd 6 Month Painting Challenge – Legion Imperialis Solar Auxillia Leman Russ Exterminators

The second half of the year challenge has begun!  This challenge would normally be a Solar Auxilia Box Set.  However, for the Legion Imperialis teaching list that I played with Brian, I needed the Baneblades, but at the time no Baneblade box sets were available, so I raided the starter box.

To make up for this lack of one of the five included box sets within the starter box, I added the above: a seperate box of Leman Russ Exterminators.  I opted for these instead of the Annhilators because the Leman Russ Vanquishers I already have are exemplary anti-tank shots, but I needed more anti-infantry.  These fit the bill; they are cheap and effective.

With this, my obligations for July are taken care of more than TWO WEEKS EARLY!  This lets me get ahead, so the next painting priority is the hardest; the Solar Auxilia Infantry sprues.  These are full of tiny fiddly figures, so they’ll take extra time, but I’ve got it!  After that, we shall see what will be chosen as the “everyone paints the same model” challenge for August!

Half Year Half Army LI Legiones Astartes Rhinos – Challenge Complete!

With these 10 Rhinos, my Legiones Astartes box set that I am painting for the 1/2 year 1/2 Army painting competition is complete!

Here is the whole box set!

This not only finishes my obligations for June two weeks early, it lets me have some breathing room for the next 1/2 year!  Here’s the big board; look at all that GREEN!

Next: Stripping Ork Trukks, re-making an entire Nob squad, prepping Beast Snaggas and a Beastboss, and making a custom Lieutenant for August!  Then, I’ll start the 3rd quarter strong with a mystery model from AFK, the Beastboss, and the Leman Russ Exterminators which will replace the Baneblades that I already stole from the LI Solar Auxilia Box!

AFK 1/2 year challenge LI Astartes Fast Attack

May’s last obligation got done a bit late, but June will be a light month.  In truth these were done yesterday except for the clear plastic flying stands.

Next: the remaining Escher girls and plus two Bounty Hunters and an Imperial Agent, then a squad of Kommandos and 10 LI Rhinos and Q2 is done!

AFK 6 month Army Challenge – LI Legiones Astartes Support

That’s the Support frames from the Legiones Astartes box set, bringing me up to 3/5 done!  This fulfills my obligations for April, meaning any more painting I do this month is getting ahead!

Next: More Escher girls, an Ork Trukk, two squads of 5x Stormboyz with Nob, and the LI Astartes Fast Attack sprues!

Six Month Half Army Painting Challenge – Legiones Astartes Kratos Squadron

The 6 Month painting challenge of half an army is coming along smoothly.  This Kratos squadron and the two frames of Infantry I painted represent about 2/5 of the Legiones Astartes Box Set which is my goal.  All I need to do is paint one set of frames per month to stay on schedule.  Remaining frames are Fast Attack, Support, and Rhinos.

However, this completion marks the end of my necessary obligations for March!  Anything else I do is bonus!

Coming up next in March to prepare for the rest of the year:

• Take stock of Escher gang for Q2 Skirmish painting challenge, possibly adding on Hangers on or other models.
• Convert one Flash Git (the original Flash Gitz squad I converted from Nobs only had nine members because the tenth was a Painboy in 5th edition)
• Convert two Stormboyz Nobs from the old pewter Stormboyz
• Strip Trukks and write article about new stripping agent.
• “Loot” old Battlefoam Space Marine Case to make it worthy for the new foam I ordered for the Orks

And coming up next for painting:

• Escher Gang and Hangers on for Q2
• Finish Legiones Astartes box for Half Year
• Ork Year Long Army for Q2:
  • Deffkilla Wartrike
  • 3x Warbiker, Nob w/Power Klaw
  • Trukk
  • 5x Stormboyz, Nob w/ Power Klaw
  • 5x Stormboyz, Nob w/ Power Klaw
  • 10x Kommando, Nob w/ Power Klaw, Skorcha, Distraction Grot, Bomb Squig

That’s a lot of work for three months!  Hopefully I’m up to it!