The Analogue Painting Challenge
I must confess my painting regimen is usually very lax, unless I have a strong reason to get the paints out and start actually doing some painting. Typically there are a dozen distractions which will leave my brushes dry and my paint pots unopened. However, there is nothing like a deadline to concentrate your mind and get some members of the grey army done. In the past, the deadline has usually come in the form of a gaming competition or special event (such as my local group’s Ligny project).
Jasper recently suggested we both enter the Analogue Painting Challenge. The Challenge is a brilliant, yet simple concept. Set yourself a painting goal to complete in three months and off you go! You score points depending on the size of the miniature, so a single 15mm mini is worth two points, a 15mm Vehicle six points while a 28mm model is worth five points and a vehicle fifteen points. Simple huh? Jasper and I have set ourselves a modest target of 400 points each - which is still the points equivalent of eighty 28mm models. The best part: you do it all publicly, on the above mentioned blog, so you’re not just challenging yourself, but sort-of competing with others in the Challenge.
There are also optional bonus rounds, where you have to paint up models for a specific theme. For example the first is ‘Nostalgia’ (due January 3rd). For that I’m considering repainting some very old models of mine dating back to my first miniature purchases (which were for Dungeons and Dragons no less!). Sadly most of my painted models from this era were stolen (I fell out with a friend and he came over when he knew I was out, and took the lot!). A few survived however and there are those I collected soon after. All models must start unpainted, so I’ll be stripping the Dark Elf (which is an old Citadel figure) and the skellies (even older pre-slotta miniatures)..
There’s plenty for me to paint - I’ve loads of half finished projects I really need to knuckle down to. A painting challenge is just what I need to get my painting ‘mojo’ back. I’ll keep you informed on my progress - I’ve posted some pics of my proposed projects including some Antares transport and some US reinforcements for 1980’s Cold war clash. I’m a faster painter than Jasper, but then admittedly he’s a far more methodical and better painter than I, so expect to see some stunning results from his blogging.
