Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge

So in a fit of wild optimism I signed up for the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge. I missed the boat last year but just about managed to catch one of the few open spots in time this year.

It may have been a slightly unwise choice as I'm also trying to complete my masters thesis by summer. I've signed up for what is effectively the lowest possible points option, but I'm already starting to feel stressed. On the other hand I really, really need to get stuck into the lead pile.

The challenge starts tomorrow and I'm not even done with the prep. In fact there are still bases for some of the models in the post.

Here's a sample of what we're working with

Also some gaming roundup

Our trial game of Necromunda (with zombies!) gets off to a good start as my gang are driven off on turn 2

TwiceLord Jadhak and co fight a sentient pinata from another dimension

Gaming Roundup

The whole damn army (minus newly supercilious command teams)

Plus the French

TwiceLord Jadhak and company take care of a rogue druid (while accidentally leaving a man to die)

A weird collection of ancient people gather for a scrap on a ping-pong table

 

The Welsh make things tasty after spending the entire game frustrating their opponents

A mammoth leads a hoard of barbarians against the wastes' favourite drinking establishment

 

But is more or less instantly killed by a floating octopus robot

 

Sinister gunmen await the horde

 

Crush your foes, drive them before you, and hear the bitching of their women :P

After action look at the control board for Urban Nightmare in Chipenham (the giant green blob in the lower is my massive troop buildup)

Jono's super huge Soviet tank spam rocks up to Tanksgiving

My force from round 1 of out de-escalation tournament.

Things get weird for the Desert Rats as Soviet armour dashes down the board to protect them from Axis aligned Hungarians

Operation Goulash - Offensive Bogs Down In Central Hungary

This'll probably be more of a photo dump than a play by play. In the end the game came down a single random objective card that could have gone either way. It was a very fraught game all in all.

2000pts of paras face off against 2000pts of combined Germans and Hungarians

17pdrs set up to control the high street

German artillery and mechanised prepare while Hungarian fascists advance.

75mm howitzers begin to take damage while the center reaches stalemate

...while the RAF bombs advancing infantry

Para MGs lay down a barrage of suppressing fire

A worrying amount of Hungarians pour through the back gardens of the town

Before being cut apart by re-positioning paras and machineguns

While the RAF strike again

Flanking assault paratroopers hole up in a two story house, to prevent the Hungarians getting easy victory points

The ballsy Hungarian infantry push is wiped out, quite literally, to a man.

The Hungarian assault pancakes begin the Axis counterattack.

British armour and paras return the favour

Axis artillery hits the 6pdrs holding the right flank

The British reserves advance cautiously

Assaults against the German infantry are costlier and hoped

The Hungarian reserves make their presence felt

Paras push on to the rear objective

While Hungarians arrive on the other flank in force.