Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge XVI Wraps Up, Reigniting Painter Momentum

Challenge XVI closed with 743 entries submitted across 13 weeks, but PeterA's April 6 wrap-up on the Painting Challenge blog cuts to the most compelling part of that number: a painter who produced almost nothing in 2025 not only returned to the desk but cleared his own target by nearly 50 percent.

PeterA entered the challenge with a self-set goal of 1,200 points, a figure he calibrated to actually push output after what he called "a pretty barren 2025 painting-wise." He finished with 1,749 points and 13th place overall. The total stands as his fifth-best across sixteen editions of the challenge and his highest since Challenge XI in 2020/21, when he scored 2,260 and placed eighth. His peak remains Challenge II, where he took first with 4,940 points. "Long gone are the days when I could push for top spot," he wrote in the closing post. "I just don't have the time." That kind of candor, paired with a 549-point overshoot on a deliberately modest goal, is exactly what gives AHPC wrap-ups their signal value.

The projects driving those points covered two distinct historical fronts. His English Civil War Dragoons, sourced from Bloody Miniatures and finished in blue coats, were the headline entry. He also broke ground on an Irish War of Independence project using figures from Footsore Miniatures and Gripping Beast, though he acknowledged being "sidetracked" from more ambitious plans along the way. Both manufacturers are in active production, and both ranges are starting to appear with regularity across challengers' submission logs, making PeterA's queue a useful early read on where historically-minded painters are pointing their brushes.

The challenge itself was founded and is run by Canadian gamer Curt Campbell, who PeterA credited directly in his closing remarks. PeterA also announced a donation to the Bradford Burns Unit Trust, the specialist medical facility established after the 1985 Bradford City fire that killed 56 people and injured nearly 300. The charity tie is a personal one for PeterA, who has supported the club for decades.

For anyone who missed XVI, AHPC XVII will open registration ahead of a December start. Entry is handled through the Painting Challenge blog, where Curt takes submissions by email with three pieces of information: name, country, blog address, and a personal points target. There is no entry fee. The challenge runs through the Northern hemisphere winter, with each participant assigned a scheduled submission day to keep the queue of entries manageable. The points system is transparent and the leaderboard is live throughout, but most returners, PeterA included, will tell you the real product is the pile of finished miniatures sitting on the other side of March.