These brave souls make up the first batch of introductions for the 5th installment of the 2nd Edition 40k Challenge. Participants who have successfully completed a previous challenge have a purity seal next to their name. Those rare veterans who have successfully completed every challenge bear the coveted crux terminatus. Lets give a warm welcome to these intrepid souls!

Niklas here, a newcomer to the 2nd edition challenge, currently living in New Zealand. I’ve been a fan of 40k since the 90s but I’ve never actually owned a fully painted army. I’m hoping to correct that and actually have a playable force by the end of this challenge.

Recently I’ve been collecting old Eldar models. I really like how colourful and diverse they can be with all the different aspects, and I’m hoping I can replicate some of the vibrant colours and classic schemes for this challenge.
@niklaspaintsminis

The List

Farseer – 170 (Singing Sword 25)
Warlock – 51 (Power Sword 6)
Warlock – 51 (Power Sword 6)
Exarch – 50 (Power Sword 6)
Dire Avengers x5 – 110
Dire Avengers x4 – 88
Howling Banshees x5 – 135
Striking Scorpions x5 – 130
Dreadnought – 160 (Flamer 15, Missile Launcher 30)

Total – 1033

While under new management we are back again to start on my 5th challenge.

Tyranids were my first army, so far back in fact that I had gotten rid of them by second edition. I did keep the genestealers. Not however, expecting to take 30 years to get them done. Some of these figures were definitely bought before 2nd edition was released, the majority are really new.

I have divided this into 200 point chunks as best I can. I have very few purestrains in this entry because most are mostly or fully painted.

Chunk one is a converted running patriarch for which I didn’t have arms. The arms are from resin copys of more recent purestrain kits with the claw arms being a set of legs with old claws added. The remainder is from macrocosms range of hybrids.

The List

Patriarch 72
10 Hybrid acolytes 80
8 lasguns, flamer, missile launcher 70
222

Chunk two is a magus and macrocosm brood bros:
Magus 107
10 brood bros 60
8 lasguns, flamer, plasma 33
200

Chunk three – all macrocosm brood bretheren.
10 brood bros 60
10 bolt pistols, power axe 27
10 brood bros 60
8 lasguns, missile launcher, flamer 70
217

Chunk 4
6 purestrain stealers 168
1 Neophyte Hybrid – flamer 19
187

Chunk 5 a mix of macrocosm and original.
10 acolyte hybrids 80
9 bolt pistols, flamer, power sword 33
1 Neophyte Hybrid, sword 11
1 Icon bearer, bolt pistol 47
171

Total
997

Still a lot of original hybrids to paint after this, and plenty more brood bros figures – especially if I dig into my rt guard. Also got a couple of limos to paint.

It is hard to believe we are at the threshold of my fifth consecutive 2nd edition Army Challenge. As is the nature of our chaotic existence, roles shift as real life tries to impose upon our hobby pacts. However the Army Challenge remains constant in its siren call to those who love 2nd Edition Warhammer 40K. We wish the right honorable Dr The Viking the best of luck in his hiatus, and raise a cheer for the Wachtmeister bravely stepping into the breach to coordinate the fifth season of the challenge.

Orks are on the menu again this season as I continue to expand the army I began in the previous season. Painting the ork army I had always wanted was even more fun than I expected last year, and the games I have been able to play with my fledgling greenskins have been pure orky enjoyment. This season my list will be a little over 1,000 points to make up for the fact that I will include wargear. Based on past experience if I don’t put wargear in my list, I show up at the Wachtmeister’s house to play a game and my forces are woefully lacking in any wargear for that sometimes needed extra punch. The rules for our homage season will return to the simpler days of challenges past, and I will be working on a mix of unpainted and partially painted models this season. The long in mothballs dream project of a hobby butterfly often has brushes (pun intended!) with attention over the years and now the jackhammer of the army challenge will put completed paint jobs to all models in its path, swelling the ranks of the Waagh!

Having established a boyz heavy core last season, I will start off this challenge with a classic ork buggy, splatta kannon, and traktor cannon for the first month. Month two will bring five roaring ork bikers, garishly red in tribute to their clan, the Evil Sunz. The ultimate Ork weapon, the Shokk Attak gun, plus bases of snotling ammo will make up the third month’s painting along with a dual heavy bolter wartrak. They will be followed by a classic Evil Sunz mob on foot and the always impressive Goff Dred. Finally I will conclude with painting a huge mass of 26 gretchin divided into 2 mobs, along with a runtherd to lead them , plus the Snakebite Warboss Grudbolg, Ork hero of the second war for Armageddon!

These forces will complement my existing army by adding bikes, a wartrak, and a buggy to the scorcher I painted last season. My personal Kult Of Speed will give me a large high speed force to threaten any portion of the battlefield. Additionally they can ensure that I have the potential to get a lot of units into the enemies deployment zone if the mission calls for it. The classic Goff Dred and Ork field artillery will add to my long range punch, with the Dred also able to be at the vanguard of my boyz mobs as they advance. Either in one big mob or two smaller mobs depending on the battlefield, my new gretchin will serve to soak up enemy fire as my boyz move up behind them in classic Ork fashion. Evil Sunz boyz will provide me with another solid chunk of infantry to advance alongside the Goffs from last season. An Evil Sunz Mekaniak wielding the Shokk Attak Gun and Grudbolg on a cyboar will give me two centerpiece characters to focus my painting skills on in addition to their sheer Ork lunacy on the tabletop.

Painting the large amount of Evil Sunz in this army will also connect to my hobby origins providing me with a lot of joy when they are completed. My first issue of White Dwarf was #122 wayyyy back in 1990. That issue featured huge, full color ads for the plastic space ork boyz box set and Waagh, Da Orks. Combined with the amazing Ork army photo on the back cover, those beautiful pictures of Evil Sunz clan Orks fired my imagination as a 12 year old like few other things did at the time. I spent many hours as a pre internet teen dreaming of painting an army of Orks in those vibrant colors from the end of RT/dawn of 2nd edition.

If I get any time for bonuses I want to add to the classic Ork hut I built last season. There are two more multi-building Ork huts I built in season four and now need to paint. I’ve always wanted an urban board to play on, and now that I have the hang of the ork structures I may just build myself a whole Ork city. You can follow along with my progress over at my blog, 1st Legion Chronicles (https://1stlegionchronicles.blogspot.com/) a refuge for all things Unforgiven (and now some foul smelling Orks too!) Thanks to Wachtmeister for putting together this great mutual project for the first time, and good luck to all the participants involved in challenges this time around. ‘Ere We Go! ‘Ere We Go! ‘Ere We Go! Waaagh!

The List

Warboss Gortslob – Snakebites Warboss mounted on a Cyboar, Flak Armor, Kustom Shoota, Kustom Force Field, Power Axe, Steel Skull 132 points

Tarbugg Domehackah – Bad Moons Painboy, Doc’s Tools, Flak Armor 26 points

Urord Grimsnappa – Snakebites Runtherd, Flak Armor 18 points

Ragnak Gutzsmashah – Evil Sunz Mekaniak, Shokk Attack Gun 43 points

Brazdram’s Boyz – 10 Evil Sunz Orks including Nobz champion, 8 boyz w/ Bolt Pistols and Axes, 1 boy w/ Heavy Plasma Cannon 160 points

Muzzleskar’s Biker Boyz – 5 Evil Sunz Boyz including Nobz champion on Warbikes 258 points

Wildspittah’s Mob – 12 Goff Gretchin w/ Autoguns 60 points

Krookslashah’s Mob – 13 Snakebite Gretchin w/ Auto Pistols and Knives 65 points

Rabidfang’s Stunties – Evil Sunz Snotlings, 3 x Snotling Bases 15 points

Da Brainkrusha – Goff Dred, Heavy Bolter Lascannon, 2 x Power Claw 145 points

Da Gloomkrakah – Evil Sunz War Buggy, Multi-Melta 65 points

Da Ragewhacka – Evil Sunz Wartrak, Twin-Linked Heavy Bolters 50 points

Da Eadrippa – Evil Sunz Splatta Kannon 60 points

Da Glumsmasha – Evil Sunz Traktor Kannon 40 points

Army Total 1,137 points

Hi folks,

For the challenge this year I will be adding to my Tyranid collection. In 2023 I designed a new Tyranid Hive Fleet, Hive Fleet Proteus, with the aim of creating an alternative to the classic red 2nd Edition paint scheme. The scheme wasn’t too hard to implement and I managed to complete some big slices during the challenge. Towards the end I ran out of steam, though, so I didn’t get as many models finished as I would have liked. I successfully completed the challenge, but was left with a sense that the overall project was incomplete. It is time to make amends and finish what I started!

In my list this year I have only one character model, a Lictor. I will probably have a go at painting this one in camouflage (…Goblin Green camouflage!). I have a Carnifex to add to the one I did last year as well. Backing them up will be 12 Genestealers and an Armorcast Malefactor transport. I have 8 Gargoyles primed and ready to paint, to provide some rapid response shenanigans. To provide some fire support I have 2 Biovores and 8 Spore Mines, as well as an Armorcast Exocrine. The total points for those models is 1068, just a little more than is required. I may even fit some bonus models and terrain in there, we’ll have to wait and see 😉

If you would like to follow the project in a little more detail, my blog can be found at https://oldschoolg4m1ng.blogspot.com/

Thank you for the opportunity to take part in another 2nd Edition painting challenge and I wish you well stepping into the mighty shoes of Dr.TV! I had a blast last year painting up my Catachan Jungle Fighters and am looking forwards to taking part again. For this challenge, I intend to paint up 1000 points of Orks which I will dovetail into the Bad Moon force I have recently been working on. This element of the force will be made up of Orks from the Goff, Evil Sunz and Deathskull clans.

Jake Thornton once said when asked how to command an Ork force “Just hit ‘em hard and hit ‘em fast”. This 1000 point element of my army is predominantly the hit ‘em fast element of the wider army, with a little hit ‘em hard mixed in!

I’ve got a mobile attack force in the form of A Nob biker, 3 ork boys on bikes, a Wartrack and Scorcha plus Gobsmasha. These Evil Sunz boys are backed up with a mob of boys on foot. The Goff contingent of the force is made up of two mobs, one of regular boys, and the other as Skarboys. There are some Deathskulls all armed with kustom-kombi weapons cruising around in a battlewagon (which has some extra punch armed with twin linked autocannons using the additional weapons rule from Dark Millennium) and finally some heavy ordinance with a Pulsa Rokkit and Splatta Kannon.

The models are a mixture of old Rogue Trader and 2nd edition classics, along with some more modern 3D prints that I feel fit well with this classic Ork look. Alongside these models, I also have the Special Character Nazdreg Ug Urdgrub and some Ork Speedsta’s which I will aim to paint up as bonus figures for the final month.

On reflection, I guess most of this force is designed to hit the enemy both hard and fast at the same time….which for Orks is just the way it should be!

Feel free to follow along with my journey as I post over on Instagram under @ad80_herohammer

Warboss Kor Sparktoof felt his raiders were lacking in speed, so he’s expanded his gang. Introducing “Kor’s Speedee Boyz!”

In the previous 2nd Edition Army Challenge (Mark IV) I was able to put a dent in my backlog of unpainted Rogue Trader orks in the form of “Kor’s Ork Raiders,” an up-and-coming Ork warboss and veteran of the Rynn’s World Campaign. This year I aim to surpass that amount of painting (at least in terms of sheer physical weight of models). I plan to paint 2128 points of metal space orks as part of the 2nd edition Warhammer 40k Army Challenge (Mark 5). This year I will expand on the army from the previous challenge, focusing almost entirely upon fast-attack vehicles, with a couple mobs of specialist heavy infantry for variety. This new project is comprised of 26 vehicles, 14 foot troops, and 4 bases of snotlings.

The list is legal, though I have no idea how playable it might be. After this challenge — assuming I make it to the end — I will be well over halfway through my ork stockpile. Besides 2 ork dreadnought stragglers, I will have painted all my ork vehicles. After this, all that remains are legions upon legions of ork boyz. But I don’t want to get ahead of myself.

Based upon my experience in the previous challenge, I’ve broken the painting into 6 blocks, 1 for each month. This assumes all goes well and I needn’t use a mulligan. I’ve indicated my planned painting blocks on the starting photo. I’m excited to see how much I’m able to accomplish of this list. At this point I feel it can be done, and at the minimum I should be able to make the 200 points/10 models per month requirement totaling 1000 points by the end of the challenge. But, like Kor Sparktoof, I’m aiming for the stars!

You can follow my hobby progress on Instagram @pygmyhippo and on my blog at giantpygmy.com

KOR’S SPEEDEE BOYZ

Warboss ———————————— 91
Boss – 65
Plasma Gun – 6
Nobz Bike – 20

Mekaniak ———————————— 43
Mek – 18
Shokk Attack Gun 25

Bad Moon Nobz Mob —————————- 433
Nobz (8 @ 15) – 120
Ork Mega-armour (8 @ 25) – 200
Plasma Guns (5 @ 6) – 30
Bolters (3 @ 1) – 3
Power Fist (8 @ 10) – 80

Evil Sunz Boyz Mob ————————— 329
Boyz (7 @ 12) – 84
Warbikes (7 @ 35) – 245

Evil Sunz Boyz Mob —————————- 282
Boyz (6 @ 12) – 72
Warbikes (6 @ 35) – 210

Snotling Herd ——————————— 20
Bases (4 @ 5)

Ogryn Mob ————————————– 235
Ogryns (5 @ 44) – 220
Ripper Guns (5 @ 3) – 15

2 War Buggies ———————————— 100
Buggy – (2 @ 45) 90
Heavy Plasma Gun – (2 @ 5) 10

3 War Buggies ———————————– 195
Buggy – (3 @ 45)135
Multi-melta – (3 @ 20) 60

2 Scorchers ————————————- 100

5 Wartraks ———————————— 300
Wartrak – (5 @ 50) 250
Lascannon – (5 @ 10) 50

TOTAL POINTS: 2128

Hi there, my name is Pete and I paint under the Instagram handle @stiff_bristle_minis. I’m excited to jump into my first attempt at the 40k 2nd Edition Army Challenge, so here goes!

Since returning to the hobby a year or so ago, I’ve wanted to collect & paint the army box that I coveted most as a child. This was the Space Marine Strike Force released towards the end of second edition, which 10-year-old me didn’t have the funds (or the talent) for at the time.

For the 5th iteration of the 2nd edition army challenge, my goal is to paint up half of the models from this army box to an ‘eavy metal standard (as well as I can), replicating the box art as closely as possible. The only change will be substituting in special characters in the place of the generic HQ models where I can.

Most of the minis are stripped ready to go, along with a finished marine that I painted as a test model a few months ago, (included in slice 1). A few other bodies have been base coated but given how slowly I normally paint, I’ll need all the help I can get!

Army List

Strikeforce Octavian of the Ultramarines 2nd Company 996 Points Total

Characters 232 Points

Marneus Calgar, Master of the Ultramarines
Gauntlets of Ultramar, Power Armour. 134 Points

Chaplain Elianu Trajan
Bolt Pistol, Crozius Arcanum, Rosarius, Power Armour. 55 Points

Techmarine Andronicus
Bolt Pistol, Servo Arm, Power Armour 43 Points

Squads 584 Points

Tactical Squad Octavian
Flamer, Missile Launcher, Sergeant with Power Fist 364 Points

Devastator (Combat) Squad Tirian
Heavy Bolter, Lascannon Sergeant with Power Fist 220 Points

Support 180 Points

Dreadnought Brother Agnathio
Assault Cannon, Power Fist with built-in Storm Bolter, Auto Launcher 180 Points

“‘Allo readerz! Owz da new grotz comin’ along? Stinkin’ an’ fick as dem piggy boyz out back I trust? Bluddy good, letz begin! WAAAAAAAAARGH!!!”

Ahem, excuse me! I appear to have come down a bit orky after this fungal infection. I’m sure I’ll be fine. The painboy – err I mean the doctor said my skin is supposed to be a greenish tinge and he assured me that the retractable spikes he put in my arm will stop firing off randomly once I get used to them.

Righto, well challenge number five and this time without the good Dr. Cowabunga himself, but this army will be in honour of him and so I’ve decided to have a nice range of models to let me do nice bright colours and to fit a few little jokes into. If you’re not having fun painting an army, why are you even doing it?!?

This format means we have five slices to complete all of roughly 200 points each with a mulligan month up our sleeves if need be but let’s try and push through some bonus bits if we can as well as this is me revisiting my very first boyhood army and I want to be sure I can get a lot more done than this 🙂 To the rest of the challengers, best of luck and let’s zoggin’ do this!

Slice 1:
9 Snakebite boyz with bolters and one with a heavy plasma gun (142pts)
Mekboy (18pts)
Mad Dok Kowabunga (18pts)
Tota: 178pts

Slice 2:
5 Blood Axe Kommandos with power axes (100pts)
Warboss on cyboar with eavy armour, plasma pistol, spike arm and power fist (106pts)
Total: 206pts

Slice 3:
5 Snakebite nobz on cyboars with eavy armour and power swords (215)
Total: 215pts

Slice 4:
Wartrak with Lascannon (60pts)
Scorcha (50pts)
2 Warbikes (90pts)
Total: 200pts

Slice 5:
Dreadnought with two power claws, heavy bolter and lascannon (145pts)
War Buggy with Multi Melta (65pts)
Total: 210pts

GRAND TOTAL: 1009 points.