Monster March 6 - Final!

 

Greetings!

I need to start with apologies for a delay in posting the final update. Some real life interference pushed my planned update from the previous weekend. I hoped to catch up during the week but work related things said "no". And the fact that my computer has just decided to die, did not help. 

However, I hope you will enjoy this post regardless! It was another fantastic experience for me personally, as I am always amazed and inspired by all the contributions the participants submitted.

To begin with, I always learn about new models I did not even know exist! Then there are some very creative ways the participants approach their respective projects in terms of modelling and/or painting. 

And of course, it is a great pleasure to meet new participants and welcome back the returning ones, who contributed in the previous years. 

So, let's have a look at the final update, where I am going to show the works of all the participants with their most recent update after the whole month!

Azazel

In the last week of the challenge, Azazel completed two more projects. The first one was a classic duo for the Blood Bowl fans, especially those who like Big Hats!

Chaos Dwarfs Bull Centaurs! That definitely brings back some memories of Warhammer Fantasy world :) Check out Azazel's blog post about these great, old school models:

Azazel's Bitz Box - Blood Bowl 3e: Chaos Dwarf Team

The second project was about Yetis from Shieldwolf Miniatures, another great choice to support the theme of Monster March!

Azazel's Bitz Box - Krumvaal Lower Yetis

I would like to thank Azazel for sharing so many interesting projects with us! He often had 2 projects completed every week, which in itself is quite amazing. All of them were very nicely documented with dedicated blog posts so if you have not checked them yet, do it now!

Special thanks to Marouda as well for the fantastic project completed for Part 3 of the Monster March challenge!

 I am really happy Azazel and Marouda joined us this year and I am sure everyone got a lot of inspiration from their projects!

 

Ben

Ben chose a project that brings him closer to completion of an entire Herd army for game of the Kings of War. The aim is to have every single model in the army converted to fit a special theme. I have already seen some examples of other units for that army. So when Ben announced he is going to model and paint his own version of the Avatar of the Father, I was really excited to see what kind of excellent idea he is going to have this time! 

Ben has just completed his Monster March project and here are the final photos he sent me:

  

I think Ben did a fantastic job in choosing the model, converting it and painting it to a great overall effect! I am sure it will draw attention, even among other great looking units in the army. Those who are going to have the privilege to play against this army in the future are very lucky indeed!

Well done Ben and thank you very much for your amazing contribution this year!

Chris

You can always count on Chris to choose a classic, old school model that brings back lots of memories! His choice for a Reanimated Behemoth for his Empire of Dust army for the Kings of War was excellent! Chris has just finished painting his model!

 

 

I think it looks perfect! Can't wait to see it among his "friends" in your army Chris! You did great and thanks a lot for joining us this year!

coOk_pAss_BaBtridge

CoOk joined us in Part 2 of the challenge with his Bone Giant! CoOk is a member of KoW Forum so I hope he is going to contribute more of his works there, perhaps in one of the monthly painting topics!

Many thanks for joining CoOk! I hope to see you next year as well! And in the meantime, see you on KoW Forum!

DAM

DAM took on an ambitious project of assembling and painting two Titans this year! He progressed steadily and methodically and he has almost completed both of the War Engines!

The amount of time and effort put into this projects is enormous! Especially, when you consider how detailed blog posts DAM prepared every week to document the progress and share his excellent techniques. 

No matter what models you paint, you will do yourself a favor by visiting DAM's blog. He has three new posts since the last update for his projects!

262nd Death Korps of Krieg - Week Four Progress

262nd Death Korps of Krieg - Brushes Down! 

262nd Death Korps of Krieg - The Continuing Saga

Thank you very much for your amazing contributions DAM! It is always a great pleasure having you! On behalf of the participants and spectators, many thanks for the series of excellent tutorials. If they ever release Eldar Titans, I may not resist the temptation anymore. But I must say that every update you submitted makes resisting very tough already! :)

DanKennedy

Dan from KoW Forum was quietly busy in March and completed painting a few of new units for his Varangur army for Kings of War!

  

Great looking models, very nice colour scheme and an excellent idea for a proxy for Tundra Wolves. And all in a single month! Well done indeed, Dan! 

Check out more photos Dan posted on KoW Forum:

KoW Forum - DanKennedy

Thanks a lot for joining Monster March and sharing the photos of your models Dan!

 

DreadNort

DreadNort is an inspiration for many. His super clean painting is a huge motivation for me and I hope that I will be able to achieve his level one day :) He painted a regiment of Paladins and a Flame Priest for his Kings of War armies. 

   

More photos on KoW Forum!

KoW Forum - DreadNort

Thanks a lot for joining and please, keep those photos coming! 

 

Duncan and Matilda

Dad and Daughter team did very well indeed! I can already tell you that I shared their method of using contrast paints to other Dads to try out with their kids :) I absolutely love the vibrant colours Matilda chose for their monsters!

 

Thank you both for joining us this year and I do hope you will be back next time too! Keep up the fantastic work and enjoy painting together! :)

Ed O'Malley

Ed is one of the veterans of Monster March painting challenges and it was great to have him joining again!

That Hive Tyrant looks awesome and I am really happy Ed shared this project with us. Hopefully, real life is not going to interfere that much next year and Ed will join us for 7th season! 

Eddie Bar

Eddie seems to have some secret, underground lab somewhere as he is spawning Ratkin units and monsters on regular basis. Most recent creation is this Mutant Rat Fiend!

Thanks a lot for joining Monster March Eddie! I am looking forward to seeing more great photos of your units and armies on Twitter! :)

Erasmus

Night Stalkes for Kings of War is one of the armies Erasmus collects and is regularly adding new units. The army allows for some very interesting ideas to represent its various regiments and Erasmus uses that to a great effect!

His most recent addition is the horde of Fiends and Erasmus cleverly used the models of spiders to represent it!

 

I think the effect is great and the unit will fit into the whole theme of the army very nicely! Thanks a lot for joining Monster March and I hope to see you next year!

Findol

Findol posts on KoW Forum and he joined Monster March with a very interesting model to represent a Greater Air Elemental for his Sylvan Kin army for Kings of War.

Fantastic idea Findol! It will look amazing in your army and I think it is great to have a unique model to represent this Elemental in Sylvan Kin army that matches the theme beautifully. Well done indeed!

Thanks a lot for sharing and joining Monster March!

HouseElf

HouseElf had his project completed in the first half of the month already! He painted three models that to me look like some sort of Swamp Horrors :) He did a fantastic job and the models are brilliant!

If you have not done so already, you should definitely check more photos on KoW Forum!

KoW Forum - HouseElf

Many thanks for sharing this excellent project with us! 

 

John-Paul (JP)

JP also chose a model for the army for Kings of War. He decided on a project to paint a model of the Abyssal Archfiend, that can be assembled with or without wings. It was a great idea and JP sent the following photos of his project.

 

JP was also kind to provide the following description of what he has done so far and what are the remaining steps:

The skin started off with a basecoat spray of Macragge Blue. Next I covered it all with the Shyish Purple contrast paint, aiming to get some real darkness into all the muscular crevices. I came back with multiple thin coats of Macragge Blue to eventually get the skin tone back to the previous blue. By this point I was bit over painting layers and turned to my Artis Opus drybrushes to apply some Caledor Sky and then some Caledor Sky mixed with Dead White. This final light dry brush was applied only in a downward motion to hopefully simulate some light, and very gently because this light blue really could ruin everything. I think it worked!

The wings were also Macragge Blue to begin with, but to get them quickly onto the red side of the colour wheel I directly applied Flesh Tearers Red contrast paint. This didn't quite look how I wanted, but at least I was on the way there. Next it was many layers of Khorne Red, and then it was time for drybrushing again (ah my reliable ally). I grabbed some Bright Red paint (Army Painter), and then with minute additions of orange to the layers managed to get the wings looking quite bright.

What remains? The black horns protruding from his body need attention, and then the dentures need to get some grit and grime. The last step will be the flames, which will be bright green-yellow. In the end, it will be a true centerpiece for my army!

Many thanks for joining Monster march this year JP! The project was definitely an inspiration. Many thanks for taking time to provide some descriptions too!

Kristoffer/Hektor/Gottfrid

Kristoffer and his two sons, Hektor and Gottfrid, did an amazing job working on their respective models very consistently. It was a pleasure to observe how each of them progressed with their unique monsters and how each of them approached the challenge. I would like to thank Kristoffer for taking time and providing very nice descriptions of the projects' progress every week! 

Let's see what did they achieve in the final week of the challenge! Here is the update in Kristoffer's own words:

I did the base this week for the big troll. It turned out quite heavy on vegetation with some bushes I hadn’t tried before. In style it matches the rest of my army so it’s okay, but next time I might think a bit more before chunking out a rock like that and have more of a plan than just covering it in flock and tufts.

Hektor have kept on working. He took on a mouthful and have learned a great deal in the process I think. The model isn’t finished and he’s now on to the challenge of the “skin” and the OSL-aspect of it. He’s also worked on the base and I personally love the little red imp that’s standing beneath. It’s at great contrast piece. Hektor will however finish the model outside of Monster March. It’s going to turn out great I think.

 

Gottfrid was done already last week. I think the cliff and terrain turned out really nice and I also particularly like the colour of the wings. It’s a solid good looking model.

 

Well done and great thank you to Kristoffer, Hektor and Gottfrid for joining Monster March this year! Awesome models all and fantastic results indeed! Keep up the great work and I hope to hear about your new projects soon!

Luca

Luca chose a project where he combined some cool, classic models with modern 3d printed ones. I think the idea is brilliant! I see more and more people using 3d printing in general, so I assume we are going to see more of such models now.

Luca has just completed his Drakon Lord for his army for Kings of War:

And the final comment from Luca:

The drakon lord is done and I'm happy with how it turned out. For this project I did a lot of experimentation with oil washes and although I am still relatively new to the techniques the results were impressive.

There is definitely a lot of potential for oil paints in combination with acrylics and I look forward to more experiments in the future. 

I've still got the drakons troops to finish up which should be done by next week. 

Many thanks to Luca for great contributions to this year's Monster March!

Marc

Marc is a representative of the "Old Scholl" of painting and gaming and it is always great to see his works. The classic looking models bring back fond memories when I was only starting with the miniatures hobby!

Marc often participated with a model from Tyranids for the Warhammer 40k and this year was no different! Check out this great 

Many thanks to Marc for joining Monster March again! As always, it is a pleasure to see his great models! And if you re interested in the Old School, check up Marc's blog:

Old School Gaming

Michael C.

Michael has been experimenting with 3d printing for some time as well. He is now very good at it and is creating some really great models and units for his armies. He joined the challenge with this fantastic model to represent a Living Legend Hero for his Salamanders army for Kings of War.

I think the model is gorgeous and can't wait to see it in real life. Hopefully sooner than later! Considering the fact that real life threw a few challenges at Michael last month, including but not limited to moving houses, I think he has made an excellent progress! 

Keep up the good work, Michael and thanks for joining Monster March!

Michael S.

Michael joined the challenge with a great model of a Rhino to represent a Mammoth for his Ogre army. He completed his project in the previous week. 

It makes a great addition to Michael's Ogre army for Kings of War! Michael tells me he started painting this force at the beginning of the year. I promised to post the photos of it as well in the final update of Monster March!

Michael aims to complete this army to be ready for Briscon tournament. I am sure it will look awesome and it will be an absolute pleasure to play against such wonderfully looking force! 

All the best and thanks a lot for joining Monster March!

Mikes

Mikes surprised himself in a very nice way as he completed his initial project, 2nd Tree Herder for his Kings of War army, quite early! 

He could then move to a stretch goal and started painting a Dragon and a Drakon Lord! Here is the most recent update from Mikes:

I think it is simply a sign that with practice, you can increase the speed without losing the quality! Well done indeed, especially knowing how little spare time you have at the moment :)

Keep up the great wok!

PageNeo

Page is very well known among Kings of War players for his battle reports he posts on his YouTube channel. If you are playing KoW and like video battle reports, you should definitely check Newbie Dice!

Newbie Dice - Battle Reports

However, Page likes modelling and painting as well and I have already seen some of his great ideas for the models for his Bortherhood army. 

This time Page shared something a bit different - Manifestation of Bael Jafar!

In case you wondered what may be an inspiration for the name and the model, Page provided a bit of a hint :)

Many thanks for the photos Page! It is great to have you joining Monster March and it is certainly a very good idea and execution for the model. I love the new name too!

Sceleris

I believe we have already established that Sceleris is an absolute machine in terms of how many projects and models he can complete within a single month!

Here are his most recent updates:

And some group photos to show all that was accomplished in March alone!

Thank you very much for your fantastic contributions, Sceleris! You are an inspiration for many, I think I mentioned that before but it is worth repeating :)

Snapfit

Snapfit had two projects during Monster March, the first one was Boglar War Tortoise and the second was Gorgrim Bloodjaw, Orruk Megaboss.

Both are most recent additions to the ever growing Da Green Horde! If you like green colour, then Snapfits blog is the place you should visit!

Da Green Horde

Many thanks to Snapfit for joining Monster March!

Telchar

Telchar posted photos of the most recently completed project at KoW Forum. It is a great idea to use a very well known plastic gryphon to represent Exemplar Redeemer on Winged Unicorn for Kings of War army. 

Thanks for joining us this year, Telchar! I hope we will see more of your work on KoW Forum and that you are going to return next year!

Vince

Vince did very well with his huge unit for Kings of War. The horde of Knights is one of the largest units you can field in that game and I think Vince did great with his idea for it!

Vince was also posting regularly about each stage of his project so you should check it for more details!

Vince on all things Kings of War

Wilberforce

Wilberforce worked diligently on his Halfling Harvester for Kings of War army! It is a very interesting and new model for this range so it was great to see it being assembled and painted!

Many thanks to Wilberforce for joining Monster March! Please, check his blog as well!

The Joy of Painting Badly

Zac

Zac chose another awesome model for an iconic character, Krq-Gar for his Lizardmen army:

I hope all is well on your side Zac and many thanks for joining Monster March!

Summary

This concludes this year's edition of Monster March! Once again, I was really inspired by the creativity of all participants! Incredible models, really cool ideas for modelling and painting, some awesome tips on how to achieve the effect presented etc.

It is my great pleasure hosting this challenge every year and I do hope you enjoyed it as well. Also those of you who may have checked the works of others but did not participate this time. 

My only wish is that next year I will be more organized and even with some unexpected real life interferences, I will be able to contribute something as well!

With that, I would like to thank you all again, apologize for the delay in preparing and posting last update and I hope to see you all next year for Monster March 7!