Middlehammer Legacy Project 2019 - Warhamer 40,000 Super Villains!

I'm very proud to announce the Middlehammer Legacy Project 2019: WH40K Super Villains!

The idea of a Legacy Project is that each person paints and contributes one miniature to a themed/colour schemed group of miniatures, and then there is a lottery to decide who wins the group as a legacy of the project.
All are welcome to get involved and all you have to do is contribute one of the models for the project, painted, and if desired converted, complete with a short back story and Warhammer 40,000 stat line.

If you want to see what we have done in previous years you check out the 40k Mercenary Strikeforce from 2017, and the Warbands of the Weird and Wonderful from 2018, but as this is shamelessly stolen from inspired by the Oldhammer Legacy Warband competition that Axiom, from the most excellent Magpie and Old Lead, ran a few years back, even down to me nicking the format for the rules below (thanks again to Axiom for his advice on putting it together), I strongly recommend you check out their previous projects too.

So here are the key facts for this year's challenge:

1) Theme for the project - Warhammer 40,000 Super Villains

Hell yeah! The bad guys of WH40K rule! This year's theme picks up on a suggestion from previous years to focus on the bad guys. More specifically the them would be 40K super villains, or as a fellow admin put it - a WH40K Suicide Squad!

Any race from the Warhammer 40K universe can be included, provided the overall finished mini ties into the WH40k Super Villains theme and fits the colour scheme.

2) A main colour and a secondary colour that will tie each model together in the finished group.

This is still to be decided in discussion with participants, although I do have a suggestion that I think is in keeping with the Middlehammer period ;)

Here are some key questions and answers about how the project will run:

How does this Legacy War Band thing work anyway?
All participants agree to paint and contribute one model to the pre-agreed theme (decided via the Middlehammer facebook page) of Warhammer 40,000 Super Villains. You paint the model and post it to your friendly neighbourhood organiser (me - Paul/StuntCat). All contributors are entered into a draw, and the winner out of the hat wins the whole squad for their collection!

NB: I am going to contribute a mini, but I won't be putting my name in the draw.

If we are really lucky and get loads of entries then we may split the minis into two squads and have two different winners like we did last year :)

What's the time frame involved?

The project starts as of Sunday 10th February and painting/modelling time lasts two and half months so you should have your model completed by end of April 2019. Models to be with me (in Bristol, UK) by Friday 10th May 2019, with the draw taking place as soon as possible once I have all the entries in.

What models can I contribute?

Anything that you think fits with the theme of Warhammer 40,000 Super Villains/Suicide Squad. All Warhammer 40,000 races are permissible, as are Demons and Mutants. The basic idea is that it is inspired by the Middlehammer period of 40,000 (whatever that means to you!)

It doesn't even have to be Games Workshop really, if you have something from another range or manufacturer then all good as long as you can make it fit the theme. Metal, plastic, or resin minis are all acceptable. Conversions are definitely welcome, but again, not essential. If people want to branch out into small vehicle or animal mounts, or some random chaos spawn, then that is all good too!

How will this squad of space faring psycopaths look coherent?

Firstly, the colour scheme will be decided via the Middlehammer Facebook group by the people participating. Secondly, and again taking our lead from those who have gone before us, the winner does the basing for the squad. This will ensure that a) the Strikeforce is coherently based and b) the squad fits into their own collection.

Primary colour =  BLACK
Secondary colour = ANYTHING BRIGHT AND BOLD/NEON

Colours/finishes of armour, weapons, skin colour, straps, gear and so on are all up to the individual painter to select.

What about Basing?Please use a plain black round base of the appropriate size for your model. The winner can then finish the basing to their liking once they get there lucky hand on them!

How do I take part?

You can register by responding to the post in the Middlehammer facebook group, or in the comments below this blog post
 
How will the project work?

1.Participants need to register what model they will be contributing via the Middlehammer page as above. This blog will be updated with details as we go along.
2. Completed models, with a plain black round base of appropriate size, need to be sent to me (Bristol, UK) at the participants expense, and received by Friday by Friday 31st May 2019 (postal address to be supplied privately to participants).
3. Each model to be accompanied by a name, short back story (200 words max), and a Warhammer 40,000 stat line (via email or facebook message).
4. The draw will take hopefully take place before the end of May.
5. The winner will be announced here and on the Middlehammer facebook group as soon as the draw has taken place. I will send the completed Squad to the winner via recorded delivery (at my expense), hopefully to arrive by end of May 2019.
6. The winner posts a picture of them enjoying their new minis on the Middlehammer facebook page with a massive cheesy grin and a big thank you to everyone who took part! 
7. It would be great if the winner would also be up for writing a short post to go with said pictures and cheesy grin, saying how they are going to use and enjoy the minis, but not if they really don't want to.

If you have any other questions please feel free to ask in the comments below, or on the Middlehammer face book group - Cheers!

2018 Yearly review... Yes, I know, I know it's late!

I feel like I can't get the blogging monkey off my back until I do this, so here goes, even though it is now February.

1. Add at least 2000 points spread across both my High Elf and Orc and Goblin armies by the end of the year. No, but I don't mind because I played more games of WFB in 2018 than I ever have before with the painted Orc and Goblins and High Elves that I do have. This included 4 games of WFB5 in 2 days at the excellently enjoyable Middlehammer meet up at BIG in Bristol back in September 2018.

I did get some minis painted towards this goal but nowhere near the 2000 pt total.

Eltharion on 'Storm Wing' drew the ire of Chris from Macrocosm by wiping out his Chaos Dwarf artillery :)

2. Finish the main Rogue Quest Project and any associated side projects currently planned.Yes! This goal was achieved back in XXX although it took me until XXX to write the blog post. I do now have more Rogue Quest side projects, some already completed some pending, but that is all good and a sign of a happily expanding project.

More to come from Inquisitor Halleck and his crew of dangerous misfits in the year ahead

3. Complete an all metal (or primarily metal) conversion. 

"This should involve actually cutting into lead! Drilling and pinning, and filling with green stuff. All things which any hobbyist worth their salt should be proficient in, and which I've never had a huge amount of success with, prior to a half a decent fix on a broken Trolls leg earlier this year. I'm reasonably confident, though not very skilled with converting plastic, but working with metal will be pushing my modelling skills."

Although I'm not sure I completed an 'all metal' conversion (plastic will have been involved) I'm very proud to say metal work including cutting, drilling, pinning and filling is now becoming a standard part of my hobby practice, and one I enjoy far more than I ever thought I would. The salvaged War-bot I put together for my Star Bastards project is probably my favourite example of drilling and pinning style conversions. What has become clear however is my green stuff/sculpting skills need A LOT of work.

A teaser for a future post about my Star Bastards project, completed last spring so you should see it around 2021 at this rate

4. Run the Middlehammer Legacy Project for a second year.
Yes! The Warband of the Weird and Wonderful was a great success and as I sit here now writing this in February it reminds me that we should do another one... soon!

Two warbands worth of chaotic craziness from the Middlehammer community - let's do it again!

5. Sell or trade more minis, games, and rule books....Listen, I'm just going to let this pledge quietly die in the corner after four straight years of being unfulfilled. Hush now... It will be better for everyone if it just goes quietly.

So what did I get done?
Well, loads of gaming for one thing, and a fair bit of painting not already shown here, but not much blogging. Here's a list of blog posts either in draft or yet to be started:

Crisis in Caledor parts 3 and 4
Star Bastards
Middlefest
Orktober 2018
Kit-bash Challenge
Rogue Quest - level 7

Hopefully sorting this post out will help me kick start the blogging action again and some of those posts will actually get published!

And what are the plans for 2019?

Well first and foremost, more gaming! Fellow Middlehammerer Ben and I have just launched the St Valentine's World Massacre WH40K campaign and we will be playing our first game next week in Bristol. I'm also signed up for a game of WH40K 2nd ED at BOYL this year so that ambition finally looks like becoming a reality. Then there is the meet up planned in Exeter in September with some of the same crowd from the WFB5 event in Bristol last year, so that should be a good craic too!

Phlegm Greyhorn and his raiding party with two 'Beasts of  Nurgle' (from the Grenadier 1983 Call of Cthulu line)

Apart from carrying on with the monthly painting challenges on the Middlehammer group I'm also taking part in the very excellent Old World Army Challenge with my Nurgle Beastman Warband. It's going to be quite a challenge but I'm already really enjoying it and thee is some absolutely fantastic looking work from the other challengers. I heartily encourage you to check it out!

Well, that's the plan anyway. Now let's see how the hobby muses distract me this year :)