Rather late in January, I have chosen to enter the new Reaper Challenge League on Discord. This is an open group hosted by Reaper Miniatures, and the participants get points for posting pictures of freshly painted Reaper minis according to some set criteria each month, such as “A player character” or “A monster”, but also challenges such as “use only these three colours + black and white to paint a mini”. In addition there are cooperative challenges such as duo or trio, where participants get together to paint the same model each and post at the same time for extra points. There are quarterly challenges such as diorama, groups of 4+ with a different model each set to a theme, make a “heavy conversion”, busts and such, and semiannual challenges such as “set a scene from a book”, and a yearly challenge to paint a model early in the year and the same model late in the year to compare and see progress in painting skill. And of course pop-up challenges “paint these specific models” every now and then.

It’s all in good fun even though the points are entered into a quarterly raffle for some store credit at reapers online shop.

As I have several drawers and boxes full of Reaper minis from the various Bones kickstartes that are yet to be painted, I am spoilt for choice for what to paint at any given time.
Both for myself, and seemingly for a lot of other painters on the Reaper discord, the RCL has turned out to be a fun way to select what to paint, and to maybe even go outside the comfort zone a bit. Seeing as there are (wide) deadlines, it also puts a bit of pressure into getting things done, especially for the cooperative challenges.
Trying to find common unpainted minis with more or less random other participants so as to get that last minute duo or trio in has also proven to select for minis that otherwise would have languished, unloved, in the drawers.


Here are my January entries. I will be taking more pics of the previously unblogged minis and counting them for a roundup post later.

Limited Palette “blue pink green”

Player Character

Monster

Quarterly challenges:

Seasonal Model -any holiday that fits in the quarter.

Celebrating Burns Night on the 25th of January.

Address to a Haggis
By Robert Burns. (1786)

Fair fa’ your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o the puddin’-race!
Aboon them a’ ye tak your place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm:
Weel are ye wordy o’ a grace
As lang’s my arm.

The groaning trencher there ye fill,
Your hurdies like a distant hill,
Your pin wad help to mend a mill
In time o need,
While thro your pores the dews distil
Like amber bead.

His knife see rustic Labour dight,
An cut you up wi ready slight,
Trenching your gushing entrails bright,
Like onie ditch;
And then, O what a glorious sight,
Warm-reekin, rich!

Then, horn for horn, they stretch an strive:
Deil tak the hindmost, on they drive,
Till a’ their weel-swall’d kytes belyve
Are bent like drums;
The auld Guidman, maist like to rive,
‘Bethankit’ hums.

Is there that owre his French ragout,
Or olio that wad staw a sow,
Or fricassee wad mak her spew
Wi perfect scunner,
Looks down wi sneering, scornfu view
On sic a dinner?

Poor devil! see him owre his trash,
As feckless as a wither’d rash,
His spindle shank a guid whip-lash,
His nieve a nit;
Thro bloody flood or field to dash,
O how unfit!

But mark the Rustic, haggis-fed,
The trembling earth resounds his tread,
Clap in his walie nieve a blade,
He’ll make it whissle;
An legs an arms, an heads will sned,
Like taps o thrissle.

Ye Pow’rs, wha mak mankind your care,
And dish them out their bill o fare,
Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware
That jaups in luggies:
But, if ye wish her gratefu prayer,
Gie her a Haggis

And the Pop-up challenge to paint this specific pair of fishies: