In 2023 I hosted the 5th running of Dr. The Viking’s 40k 2nd Edition Challenge which he hosted on the wonderful The Cowabunga Journal. Being a glutton for punishment I have decided to once run the 6th iteration of the challenge starting in January 2025! If you are interested in joining those who have gone before you can leave your email in the comments!  I’ll be limiting the challenge to 20 participants so if you are interested get planning!

THE RULES

Once again I’m stealing the Doctors rules straight from his website. The Doctor challenged everyone to “work smart-not hard” and if you go back to the beginning of this blog and read my rules for the 5th running of the challange you’ll see I’m making cut and paste earn it’s money! So without further ado, the rules:

The idea is of course to use miniatures from 2nd edition 40k or earlier. This style of miniatures is not for everyone, but if you sign up for a 2nd edition painting challenge, you probably have a soft spot for anything from monopose plastic marines to the Imperial Guard by the Perry twins and perhaps even some of the Gary Morley sculpts. Of course you are free to use whatever you would like in this challenge. No one will judge your choice of miniatures or bases.

The goal of the challenge is to paint 1,000 points of 2^nd Edition goodness in 6 months.  Each month the participants will paint about 200 points of models.  The challenge then runs for 6 months. Now the mathematically inclined will insist that 6 x 200 pts equals 1200 pts. This might be correct, but in any case, the additional month is meant as a buffer – we all know that life happens… and sometimes having a bit of a buffer to complete your goals is all that is needed.  Each participant is allowed one “mulligan” month.

Of course even with provisions like these, some of the participants are bound to bite the dust and drop out. Don’t be alarmed though – this is completely normal.  The end goal here is to get you to complete 1000 pts in ½ a year.

Before we all get huddled up in our piles of lead and plastic let’s go over the ground rules:

Each participant must:

1) Write a short introduction about their personal challenge: This introduction should include a 1000 pts Warhammer 40,000 2nd edition army list made using the Codex of your choice. Together with the army list it is OK (cool even) to include some background or motivation and even a bit about yourself if you care.

2) Take a photo of the starting point and subdivide it into the chunks you plan on painting each month. This is important and will go along with the army list in the initial presentation of the project. The photo will be used again at the conclusion of the project, to show the starting point and wherever it ends up. You might not paint the whole chunk in a given month, but that is ok, we just like to see the plan and if it survives first contact with the enemy!

3) No later than December 7, 2024: Send both the introduction and the photo to me and label the topic “Name, army, starting point”.  Please also provide the name you’d like me to use on the blog, and the country you currently live in.  If you’ve entered any of the previous five challenges please let me know how many you’ve entered, and how many you’ve completed.   

How it is going to run:

The monthly digests will be broadcast far and wide on Facebook, my blog and so on. Participants should feel free to blog on their own behalf as well. I will post the introductions and army lists online January 1, 2025. The first compiled summary will go online the first week of February.  (So the actual painting begins January 1.)

The important bit:

No later than the last day of every month the participants must send an e-mail to me  with the following information:

1. Each time you must include in the topic: Name, army and month – e.g. “Wachtmeister, Dark Angels, February”. This will help the sorting and work on this end.
2. A picture (as nice as possible) of the progress of the month. The models may be placed in terrain, on a white backdrop, or even on your workbench. The set dressing is all up to you. Please try and limit yourself to one picture, I’m already killing my storage!
3. In addition to the picture, you must specify how the models fit within the context of the army. How many points are they, what are they, how are they armed.
4. Submit the attached sheet to provide statistical information, such as model count, and points every month.
5. Lastly, if the participant keeps a blog, page, or similar where the thoughts regarding the project are expanded – please provide a direct link for it.

Every month in the first week of the month I will post a summary of how the participants are doing, including the images, the descriptions and any links for further information.

If you are posting on Instagram or similar please use the tag #40k2ndAC.

A bit of Q&A:

With regards to the “rules” I think we should go like Led Zeppelin and do it “loose but tight”: The army list should be 1000 points but doesn’t have to adhere to the percentage requirements (we are all going to expand it inevitably).

If you have a half-painted army – yes that army is eligible. It is not the starting point that is important, but rather it is the drive and motivation to finish something… whether it start from 0% done or 80%. Just remember the starting picture so people can appreciate the work you put in at the end.

Can I use this or that model that isn’t specifically 2nd ed. I say why not? If you only have latest edition plastic GW models, maybe it is a bit of barking up the wrong tree – to me the nostalgia is definitely part of it, and I will use 2nd ed. exclusive models. But if you feel it is worth your time participating, don’t let me decide for you.

When creating my list should I count wargear and other upgrades?  Sort of.  If a character is mandated wargear include that in your points value.  If they are mandated some wargear plus extra cards of your choosing don’t include the optional cards.  Don’t include things like veteran upgrades, or Exarch powers, or optional wargear cards.  Do include weapon options you have included on your models.  For example, if you upgrade your Assault Marines to have jet packs and hand flamers add in those points. Can I paint up all my models in a month or two and call it quits?  If you are that motivated then maybe you don’t need this challenge, but crazier things have happened.  Still, you need to enter something five out of six months to complete the challenge so if you do finish everything quick you better dig around for some bonus material!