Sheffield Irregulars is pleased to announce that Azalean Models will be sponsoring the Merit Award for our monthly painting challenges, starting with the February Challenge: Rubble.

Azalean Models is a small online retailer specialising in modelling tools & accessories for miniature and scale model hobbyists. Being quite a new company, they only carry a fairly small range of products at the moment, but are looking to expand as quickly as they can.

The people behind Azalean Models have been friends of Sheffield Irregulars for some time, so we’re delighted that they are keen to help us promote the monthly challenges which we run to help anyone, at any level of their painting ability, to challenge themselves and to improve their painting – but above all have more fun painting models!

Of course, Azalean Models would like you to have a quick look at their website, but more than that we’d all like you to consider entering the Rubble painting challenge this month, as well as entering future painting challenges!

Find out who will be receiving the Merit Award for Dec/Jan below.

The scores for theme and the scores for style are tallied, and then divided by the number of voters to create an average score out of 20.

In reverse order

• Entry A: Napoleonic Soldier 14.8
• Entry B: Last Chancer 16.8  (1st)

Entry B: Last Chancer

Congratulations to Alan Morey! Please get in touch so we can post out the Merit Award to you.

The breakdown of results for Theme:

• Entry A: Napoleonic Solider 8.36
• Entry B: Last Chancer 8.81

The breakdown of results for Style:

• Entry A: Napoleonic Solider 6.45
• Entry B: Last Chancer 8

Get involved!

We’ve just posted the details of our upcoming February challenge, so why not give it a go yourself? If we continue to get low entries, then the challenges will stop, so please get involved and keep them running.

Challenges are all about personal improvement, trying new things and pushing yourself. They are not a competition.

The theme for February is: Rubble.

Rubble by Joanna Paterson on Flickr used with Creative Commons license

It doesn’t matter if your model is sci-fi, fantasy or historical, it’s most likely a wargames mini (but it doesn’t have to be!) and in war there is always rubble.

We thought it was about time to focus on basing for a bit, after all we’ve been running free basing workshops at shows for a couple of years now, but we still see people with models that don’t look finished, because the base is just plain.

Start date: Tuesday 1st Feb

Deadline: Sunday 27th Feb

The rules recap:

• Any figure, vehicle, unit, diorama, bust, etc can be entered.
• Any genre can be entered, and it can be from any manufacturer.
• It must be PAINTED during the challenge month – in this case, February 2011
• You can build it in advance if you wish.

Don’t panic about doing something really elaborate, simple is often best.

We’ll dig out some tutorials and inspiration over the coming weeks – you won’t be stuck for ideas.

Entry A: Napoleonic Solider

• I like the gritty, dirty wounded style of the 19th century soldier.  Reds are a little bit bright perhaps, but otherwise very good!
• Great choice of model.  The whole pose gives an air of fatigue. Nice details like the powder burns on the right side of the face as well.  For me, the flesh tones could be a little lighter as it’s a little lost against the body, but that’s a minor quibble, would work just as well as a tanned face.
• great model choice, and some good highlighting
• Very convincing entry that makes the character appear willing to fight on but he’s not certain of where he is. My only critique is that the red on his head is too similar to the red on his uniform.
• Bit of a dark photo, so couldn’t see all the detail clearly. Poor soldier didn’t look too happy, that’s for certain. The base is good – adds a lot to the model.

Entry B: Last Chancer

• Good work with shading and highlighting, they brought out a lot of the model’s detail.
• Neatly painted and a good colour scheme. Although you can tell he’s wounded, his uniform appears too clean in light of the wounds he has suffered.
• Nicely painted miniature.
• great job, my only suggestion is a wash on the skin, but otherwise very nice!
• Lovely work on the wounding and combat damage. The rest of the uniform seems a little bit clean, given that it is damaged as well, but great paintwork nevertheless!

Good comments all round!

The two entries we have are real crackers though, I think they’ve both nailed the theme – but what do you think?

Entry A: Napoleonic Soldier

Entry A: Napoleonic Solider

Entry B: Last Chancer

Entry B: Last Chancer

Click each photo to see a larger  version.

After checking out both entries, go to our voting form to score each entry.

We’ll have another painting challenge starting on the 1st of February, but if the number of entries stays low they will stop altogether.

Remember challenges are a great way to push yourself and try something new or different, and the highest scoring entry will get the Merit Award trophy!

Details of the Feb challenge will be posted on this soon very soon!

Bluey's new bandage by adria.richards on Flickr

Post a comment below including:

• Title of your entry (keep it short please!)
• Link to photo of your entry (can be more than one)
• Details of what you did for this entry, any new techniques you tried etc.

But maybe we can do something different this time… make some hobby resolutions.

Sydney New Years Eve Fireworks by Christopher Chan on Flickr

Here are some ideas to inject new life into your hobby in 2011.

Try a new manufacturer

It’s easy to get stuck in a rut, always building, painting and playing with the same models, always buying more of the same.

You don’t have to dive into an entire army or anything crazy, just find a single figure from a manufacturer you’ve not tried before.

There are so many out there – have a browse online or in your LGS, ask people you know – maybe you can do a miniature swap!

You’ve probably walked past blisters from a different company many times and not spared them a glance, but why not? Why not have a closer look – there’s bound to be something that catches your eye. So why not give it a go. Try it out, see what you think. You can always Ebay it when you’re finished with it.

Try a new scale

You could go larger as well as smaller. Miniatures can be easily found from 6mm to 54mm, and for those with deeper pockets, there are some stunning 70mm – 120mm pieces available to grace your display cabinets.

An easy change could be switching from 28mm to 35mm – it still counts!

Different scales require different approaches to painting, and it can make you rethink how you work at your usual scale. Visit a good show to see a wide selection of scales.

Visit a show

If you normally go to shows, try one you haven’t been to before. Shows can really open your eyes to the breadth of the hobby. Take the time to look at the stalls, instead of just storming past in search of your favourite products. There are some really interesting scenery products out there, even if some of the models don’t interest you, remember it’s good to chat to the traders! Consider arranging to meet other hobbyists in the area at the show. Share a coffee and have a chat about what you have in common!

Meet other hobbyists

It’s all too easy to stay in the safe boundaries of your favourite LGS, or gaming club – but if you don’t go to either, they’re probably the easiest way to meet other gamers. If you’re more of a painter/sculptor than a gamer, try a painters meet up. Websites like Coolminiornot, WAMP, Platoon Britannica and The Basement all have events areas on their forums, and people often arrange to meet at a time/place at a show or event and say hello. Yes, it can sometimes feel a bit weird, but actually it’s a really great opportunity. People often bring finished work, as well as things they’re working on so you can see pieces up close and personal, which is always better than any photograph. If a show has a painting competition it’s fairly obvious that there will be painters present, and this is an easy way to meet people and also to get feedback on your work if you want.

Paint a model that scares you

I don’t mean creepy models – although it’s ok if they scare you. What I mean is a model you think is too difficult to paint, you know the ones that sit at the back of the cupboard longing for their day on your desk. Go on – pick one out and tell yourself that this is GOING to get painted this year, and then make sure you do it at some point before the summer is over (or you probably won’t get around to it). Challenging yourself is not only a good way to get some of your grey horde painted, but it pushes you to be a painter painter/constructor/sculptor. You’ll feel better at the end, and the worse scenario is you have to strip it. Big deal!

Take  a step into the unknown, it’s not that scary, and it could open up a whole new world for you.

Whatever you do, enjoy the coming year – and don’t forget to enter our painting challenges!

15% discount at our store!

It’s not just SI branded gear, there’s clothing for all kinds of painters, gamers, sculptors and hobbyists.

http://sheffield-irregulars.spreadshirt.co.uk/

Our cheapest branded shirt is just £6.90 (before discount, but also before p&p).

To claim your discount, you need the voucher code: YOUMADEIT
Enter the code at the checkout between now and December 29th 2010.

We’d like to wish all our members a happy holiday, and remind you all to paint up your December/January challenge entries while you’re off. The theme is Wounded, and we can’t wait to see what you come up with. The extended deadline on this challenge should mean you have plenty of time to fit it in around family, food and festivities.

See you in the new year.

Each entry was score out of 10 for how well it suited the theme (Red) and out of 10 for style – so a maximum 20 points.

The total is then divided by the number of votes to create an average score per entry.

In reverse order:

• Entry F: Archers   10.92
• Entry G: Lord Chompy Bits   11.84
• Entry A: Kakra   12.23
• Entry E: Roman Optio   12.53
• Entry C: Osric  12.69 (3rd place)
• Entry D: Tech Priest 13.15 (2nd place)
• Entry B: Deneghra 14.38 (1st place)

So congratulations to Ricalope Jesson for his entry, Deneghra. Please get in touch as we’d love to send you a Merit Award for your achievement.

Entry B: Deneghra

Here are the breakdown of scores for theme and style separately.

Theme:

• Entry F: Archers 4.92
• Entry A: Kakra 6.07
• Entry C: Osric 6.38
• Entry G: Lord Chompy Bits 6.46
• Entry E: Roman Option 6.53
• Entry B: Deneghra 6.92
• Entry D: Tech Priest 7

Style:

• Entry G: Lord Chompy Bits 5.38
• Entry F: Archers  6
• Entry E: Roman Option 6
• Entry D: Tech Priest 6.15
• Entry A: Kakra 6.15
• Entry C: Osric 6.3
• Entry B: Deneghra 7.46

Thank you to everyone who took part. Remember, the December painting challenge: Wounded has just started, and there’s an extra long deadline to tide you over the festive period.

While you’re waiting to find out who gets the Merit Award this month, why not check out the feedback left for our entrants.

Thanks to all those who voted and took the time to comment.

Entry A: Kakra the red seeker

• Love the blue cats, reminds me of He-man for some reason…
• A dark wash would help bring out the details on those bones on the basing.
• Kakra!
• more red would have been more themed.
• I like this one. Nice conversion (I hope its a conversion, or I’m gonna look real silly!) and some lovely freehand on both the demonette and the lion.
  I think it could have been a touch better if a little more attention had been given to the bones on the base, and a little more highlighting had been on the skin of the demonette itself.  Still, she’s pretty good without that!
• Interesting conversion and striking choice of colours, particularly like the tiger stripes.  The red doesn’t feel that strong compared to the blue though, which is why I’ve not scored as high for the theme.
• Could do with more visable highlights.

Entry B: Deneghra

• It was to see clearly from the photo, but looks good.
• Although there’s not a huge amount of red, its been well used as a contrast in just the right amount and places to make the model really stand out.  Nice work!
• A nicely painted entry. I like the stark highlighting on her (?) skin and the reds are rather nicely done.  The corrosion on the metals and the base are both rather nice, too! Could have been a touch better if the highlighting on her (?) skin had been just a little smoother; and the entry could have been more “red” if different reds had been used on the model, rather than just the same red used as an accessory colour in different places. Very good work, though, and a great paintjob overall!
• the red eyes and blue skin is what does it for me on this model
• Shmexy ^.=.^
• Nice use of red as an accent colour.

Entry C: Osric

• the flag is pretty cool
• i really like the pose, the cloak could use another contrasting color
• Nice dark reds, some dark red on the banner would have tied them together more.
• A really lovely red skin colour on this beast. Entry could be improved slightly with a little more attention to some of the detail on the model that has been left black
• Really like how the red theme has been handled subtly through the skin tones, which are really convincing.  Nice texture work on the armour, although I’d have liked to see some more of the details picked out (like the straps holding the sword in place or the patches on the clothes)?
• I found this a little dark for my taste.

Entry D: Tech Priest

• Nice base
• really lovely highlighting on this proper old school Rogue Trader mini and that stark base realy compliments this mini!  Very well done!
• well done, an extra highlight would really make it stand out.
• the tubular face is great
• You might make use of some dark brown/black washes to add depth to your metallics.
• Neat and creepy
• Nice clean job – like the basing, too.

Entry E: Roman Optio

• Nicely executed Roman. Finished to a good standard, but a little bit more needs to be done with the base, and the mini would be much improved if the eyes were picked out and suitable detail added to the shield – even if the shield detail were to come from a transfer.
• Nice, classic use of red, makes me think of Sunday afternoons watching old films on telly!  Could be a bit more shade/highlight on the red (it’s well handled on other parts of the mini) and I’d have loved to see you tackle a pattern on the shield!
• Nice work, though needs stronger highlights.

Entry F: Archers

• Nice to see a whole unit submitted, that’s dedication!  Good choice to use a green and red together, the two colours bring each other out.  Hope to see more of these.
• Well, they’ve got some red on them, but apart from that doesn’t really meet the theme very well for me. But they’re a well panted unit of minis.  Photograhy lets them down a little – I think it would have been a better picture if the unit was further back on the shelf so that more light fell on the front of the miniatures.
• more red! (but great bases)
• Excellent job on that basing; really love the varied turf and long grass, and it really unites them as a unit.

Entry G: Lord Chompy Bits

• love the stomach teeth, needs an awesome base.
• nice belly-problems, boring base
• Red gore on a monster! What more red could you want on a mini!? A simple, but nicely executed paintjob that is complemented with good gore!
  The lack of anything happening with the base does let the miniature down, unfortunately.  I think this will be an awesome looking mini when the base is done!
• Great mini and name! Not sure the red comes out that strongly and there could be a bit more shade and highlight (although it could be that the photo is not doing it justice).  Nice work on the teeth, that face has a real snarl to it.