LPL Final Results

   The Lead Painters' League, Season Nine, ended last weekend, after ten weeks of painting frenzy. And the results are in...

   My record at the end was five wins, five losses, no ties. I came in strong at the end and managed 21st place in a field of 32. I'm quite happy with my overall record, though I do wish I had placed a little better. Perhaps next year, if I am mad enough to attempt it.

   As usual, Round 10 was a bonus theme round, the theme being "female." I had some minis on loan, nice 28mm ones, from Zach that are all female. Didn't make much of a team, but that's beside the point, because I didn't get them painted. What I did get painted were five 15mm M3 Stuart light tanks, known in British service as the "Honey."

"Five Desert Honeys"

   I titled this entry as "Five Desert Honeys." I was hoping that the clever (I thought) title would garner me a few votes. I'm pretty sure it did, and I won the round. So while I missed out on the ten bonus points for having actual female figures, I think the thirty points for winning the round more than made up for it.

Two Wins! LPL Rounds 8 and 9

   I finally got a couple of more wins in the Lead Painter's League, in Rounds 8 and 9.

Road Hogs: Round 8

   The Road Hogs entry was inspired of course by Fury Road, the latest "Mad Max" film. I put the Mad Max in quotes, because, well... Max isn't the main character. It is, however, a two hour long car chase. Which is pretty cool. The cars are repainted Matchbox, the motorcycles come from Games Workshops' Dark Future game from the 80s. I added some antennas, grill-work armor, and a few wheel blades, a head on a pole, that sort of thing.

FSA Fleet: Round 9

   These are the capital ships of my Federated States fleet for Dystopian Wars. One dreadnought, a battleship, a 'heavy' battleship, and two carriers - one a double-decker!

   So that puts me in at, to date, a total of four wins, five losses, with one week remaining. Out of 32 contestants, I am in 21st place. I think I may win this week as well, with my final entry. That would put me at a respectable 5-5 record. I'll take it!

LPL Round 5, 6, and 7...

Strike...
Strike...
Strike...

Dammit.

Round 5: Red Sun Boyz

   I was up against a very strong entry this round, I admit. But the final score was downright humiliating. A friend tried to console me by mentioning there might be an anti-Games Workshop bias. Which is true, that almost certainly did cost me a few votes. But still. The only thing I can think to have done better on the painting of this one would be to have made the red sun on the banner larger. As it is, it kinda looks like an afro. I did at least get the bonus points for non-horse animals and riders.

Loss: 427 - 17.

Round 6: Mechanized Chuhuac, 15mm

   These are more of the 15mm Chuhuac from Loud Ninja Games. This time it's a trio of scouts on grav bikes and two support units in the form of heavy armored walkers. In the background is their dropship, which bears an uncanny resemblance to a Firefly-class transport.

Loss: 364 - 105


Round 7: The Orcland Raiders (15mm)

   These are figures from the Portaball 15mm fantasy football Kickstarter. The Orc team, obviously. I know that one mistake was that the background overwhelmed the minis. I got killed in the voting, too. Not a strong entry, to be honest, so I'm not as upset about losing this one as some of the others where I thought I had done better.

Loss: 398 - 50

At last check in, I was winning Round 8 by a narrow margin. Wish me luck...

Round 4 - Another Loss

Here is the entry I made for Round 4 of the Lead Painter's League, finished two weeks ago. We are currently in Week 6, and Week 7 is due Thursday night - I gotta get painting!

The figures are Khurasan 15mm, called "Control Battalion" by the manufacturer. I painted them up as an elite troop for one human faction. They are known as "Redcaps" for a rather nasty and murderous mythical figure.

I lost 343 - 117.

Here's the winner:

  I think in this case it was a matter of style and subject rather than quality of paint job which won the round. That is, I think my paint job was pretty well as good as his, for the subject painted. Although the pattern on the pants of the peasant fellow carrying the rice bundle is quite well done. The painter, "Drachenklinge," has offered a variety of samurai in the course of the competition. Nice work, and a gracious winner.

Lead Painter's League Has Begun!

   Over in Germany, there's a little miniatures forum known as the Lead Adventure Forum. In this wonderful place, to which all good little gaming boys and girls should belong since it's free and all, there is an annual competition to determine the Greatest Painter of All Time and Space. Or something like that. If you limit time and space to Earth, in the present day. And if you only consider the painting of groups of small figurines, typically metal, plastic, or resin. But you get my drift...

   The competition is a weekly head-to-head matchup that lasts for ten weeks. Forum members (did I mention it's free?) can vote on each pairing. This season there are 32 gladiators in the arena, and I, your humble blogger, am one amongst their number.

   Last season, I came in a disappointing 34th out of 40, with only two wins. Most of my losses were well-deserved, but I felt like I could have done better on a few pairings. I hope to improve my record to five wins this season. I'm off to a good start this week (the entries are posted newly every Sunday, voting is open until the following Saturday).

   So, if you are interested in little toy soldiers of varying sorts being painted by a variety of painters - some of whom are incredibly skilled - you should certainly check it out. I won't share my username in order to avoid seeming as if I am trolling for votes. I'm not. I just want to broadcast the knowledge about the contest far and wide.

LEAD PAINTER'S LEAGUE

Season 9

Things are happening around here...

...I promise!

   Working on several projects. Lots of Dystopian Wars Federated States ships. Got a good bit of 15mm sci-fi in hand, working on painting it up now.

   I promise I will start putting more pictures up.

   But first I have to get set for the Lead Painters' League competition. It's on the Lead Adventurers' Forum. I entered last year but didn't do very well. This year I hope to improve on my somewhat sad finish. The first three entries are submitted, and the competition officially starts next Saturday. Please go check it out. Lots of great painting, and mine is there too.

   I need to consider what to paint for the Round 5 bonus and Round 10 bonus. Round 5 I need to have some sort of non-equine animal. Five of them. That earns me bonus points. Putting five riders on them gets me an additional batch of bonus points. So I am thinking riders. I have:

• 25mm gashants for Space: 1889
• 15mm Savannah Lords (crocodiles) on woolly rhinos (Khurasan)
• 15mm Salamen on terror birds (also Khurasan)
• 25mm frog warriors on giant toads (Eureka)
• 28mm savage orc boar boyz - need to purchase

   For Round 10 the bonus theme is women. I have very few female figures, and what I have got, don't make a cohesive 'team' as required by the rules. So my thoughts are these:

• 25mm Amazon types.
• 15mm Sisters of Battle proxies
• 25mm frogs (from Eureka), painted in feminine colors.
• Maybe some kind of Warmachine female unit? Cygnar by preference.

What is the collective wisdom of the tribe?

LPL Final Results

   Well, the Lead Painters League is over for another year. I managed to win in the last round, bringing my record to 3 wins, 7 losses. Overall, I placed 34th of 40. I am quite disappointed by this.

   The photo above was my final entry, and stood for two weeks, (9 and 10) because I was simply too busy to get anything else put together and photographed. In it you can see some Epic 40K Termites in service to the Imperial German Aetherbattalions. The infantry are 6mm Baccus colonial British with a Teutonic paint job. I lost Round 9, won Round 10 with this one.

Son of Lead Painter's League

A tale of Woe, in Rounds Four through Eight...

   So, as it stands on the brink of the end of Round 9, I am in 35th place out of 40. This is, you can imagine, quite a blow to my painting ego. To be honest, some of the rounds I knew that I was up against a better painter, and it didn't bother me to lose those rounds. However, some of the rounds I think I am a better painter than the winner, but that the winner did a better job of "telling a story" with their photo. Not happy about losing those rounds.

   My record right now, is 2 wins, 7 losses. I expect to lose Round 10, as I have not had a chance to paint anything new, and I shan't be getting any bonus points (for theme, new team, or big thing). I expect to drop down to about 37 or 38 in the contest. I am honestly bothered by that performance. More crushed than inspired, to be truthful. So I guess I learned something about myself and my painting skills (or apparent lack thereof).

   At any rate, here are the entries for Rounds 4 through 7. I repeated Round 7 in Round 8, again, having had no time to prep something new that week either.

"Ogre and Babies" - Round 4

Lost round.

"Roman Legion, 15mm" - Round 5

Bonus: Ancients

Those shields are not transfers, by the way. I hand painted those laurels.

Still lost the round.

"Maton's Mannikins" - Round 6

Lost.

Positioned them to show more than one aspect of the figure. Maybe because it was a single pose?

"Werewolves of London" - Round 7 and 8

Lost both.

Not a great photo, to be honest. Lighting problems.

LPL Rounds Two and Three!

  My Round 2 entry consisted of five Empress Miniatures Zulu Wars British figures. The title was Canal Patrol on Mars, or something similar. It lost, sadly. I think partly because the photo isn't the greatest, but a lot of it had to do with the other guy's entry telling a better story, as well. Painting skill wise, I thought we were fairly evenly matched. Dropped from #7 to #20 - I got my butt kicked, real hard.

"Blimey, sir, but it's 'ot out 'ere!"

  Round 3 was another winner for me. Some older  Warhammer Fantasy battle figures, circa the late 1990s if I remember correctly. Maybe as recent as the early 2000s though. At the end of Round 3, I am in 16th place. If I am forecasting properly, I believe I will lose this next round, and will probably drop to about 22-23 of 40.

Old School Bases - Green!

Lead Painters League, Week One

   For those of you who are not familiar with the Lead Painters' League, it is a ten week competition held by Lead Adventure Forum (LAF) every year, starting in the spring. Each week the contestants submit a photograph of a group of painted miniatures, and the team is pitted head to head against a randomly selected opponent. On Sunday morning, the new round is unveiled. Forum members then have a week to vote on each matchup. Points are accumulated for winning a round (30), losing a round (10), or a draw (20), plus bonus points for 'new' teams (10), certain themed rounds (10 or 25), and number of votes garnered (1/50 votes). The highest point total at the end of the ten weeks is declared the winner. This is the 8th 'Season' of LPL, and the first time I have entered.

   As of this writing (I am scheduling this to post after the round ends on Saturday, but writing early Wednesday morning), I am winning my first round matchup with a comfortable lead. The photo above is the team I entered, titled "Bottom of the Dungeon Food Chain." One of the rules is that you can not post photos of an active team, but it is okay to do so afterwards. This is why you haven't seen many photos of newly painted minis lately on Scattergun Gamer - most of my painting time has been devoted to getting teams ready for the LPL! I have already delivered 3 teams, and have two more awaiting photography (Rounds 4 and 6, respectively). My Round 5 team is on order (special bonus theme: Ancients), and my Round 7 team is almost finished on the paint table (no hints).

   Anyway, wish me luck, and go check out the entries. I'm not going to win it all, because while I think I am reasonably skilled, some of the competitors are amazing. But there is a lot of really inspiring work to be seen in the entries. Sign up (it's free, and no spam) and you can vote, too! Wish me luck!

Voting begins today!

  Today is the start of Season 8 of the world-famous and highly prestigious Lead Painters' League competition! {pause for wild applause and cheering}

   So everyone be sure to go and vote! {more cheering}

   Each week, a new set of matchups will be ready to vote upon. All you have to do is register (it's free) and get voting! {more applause}

   Where do you go to vote? Well, right here. Thank you, and God Bless 'Merica! {wild cheering and applause}

LPL Update

   So, a brief progress report, for those of you interested. I have finished two of my first three teams to enter the Lead Painter's League painting contest. The third team, which is actually the First Round team, is almost done. I just need to do a bit of touch up and finish their bases. Quite exciting stuff.

  Unfortunately, one of the rules is that I am not allowed to show pictures until after the team has had their round. So, although I have gotten about twenty 25mm minis painted (minimum team size is 5, but I painted some extras, too) in the past week or so, I can't show them to you. I can show you one big thing that is not going in the competition, or I could if I had taken a photo already. Tomorrow, okay?

Lead Painter's League, Pt. 2

   Okay, I have decided to go for it.

   I have everything but Round 9 at least partially planned out. I intend to go for all the bonus points, too, which means I am hitting up friends for some bare lead in the Ancients category. I have nothing, and don't really need anything, so I am reluctant to buy any. Well, maybe a few Egyptians to act as Nubian Guard for my Servants of Ra Company. If you have any Ancients you want painted (essentially Sumer to Fall of Rome), please let me know as soon as possible. I need at least five to make a 'team'. Maybe an artillery piece and crew?

   I am not going to spill the beans directly about what I am painting up, and the rules state that I can't share any pictures of my entries until after the contest, so there will be about 50 minis that I will paint that I can't display to you here until late in May. Please be patient. Better yet, please go to the Lead Adventure Forum and vote on the Lead Painter's League! Caveat: I think you have to sign up for a free account. Pretty painless, and they don't send you a lot of drivel in the mail. I think everyone ought to be on LAF as much as TMP, honestly.

LEAD PAINTER'S LEAGUE

Lead Painters' League

   I am thinking of entering this year's Lead Painter's League competition on Lead Adventure Forum. I think the experience would be good for me, pushing me to paint more, plus getting some feedback on my painting skills from a wide variety of folks. Also, I would have to paint some unfamiliar genres to get the bonus points, and that's always good for progressing my skills as a painter.

   I'm just worried that my heavy schoolwork load will keep me from completing teams on time. I think I need to get working now so that I can get ahead of the curve.