diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 1f4b237cf7e..e2ee588a11b 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -81,3 +81,5 @@ cover/
 # Conda files #
 ###############
 __conda_version__.txt
+lib/png.lib
+lib/z.lib
diff --git a/README.win.md b/README.win.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..6eab53d343c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/README.win.md
@@ -0,0 +1,64 @@
+# Building on Windows
+
+There are a few possibilities to build matplotlib on Windows:
+
+* Wheels via [matplotlib-winbuild](https://github.com/jbmohler/matplotlib-winbuild)
+* Wheels by using conda packages
+* Conda packages
+
+## Wheel builds using conda packages
+
+This is a wheel build, but we use conda packages to get all the requirements. The binary
+requirements (png, freetype,...) are statically linked and therefore not needed during the wheel
+install.
+
+The commands below assume that you can compile a native python lib for the python version of your
+choice. See [this howto](http://blog.ionelmc.ro/2014/12/21/compiling-python-extensions-on-windows/)
+how to install and setup such environments. If in doubt: use python 3.5 as it mostly works
+without fiddling with environment variables.
+
+``` sh
+# create a new environment with the required packages
+conda create  -n "matplotlib_build" python=3.4 numpy python-dateutil pyparsing pytz tornado pyqt cycler tk libpng zlib freetype
+activate matplotlib_build
+# this package is only available in the conda-forge channel
+conda install -c conda-forge msinttypes
+# for python 2.7
+conda install -c conda-forge functools32
+
+# copy the libs which have "wrong" names
+set LIBRARY_LIB=%CONDA_DEFAULT_ENV%\Library\lib
+mkdir lib || cmd /c "exit /b 0"
+copy %LIBRARY_LIB%\zlibstatic.lib lib\z.lib
+copy %LIBRARY_LIB%\libpng_static.lib lib\png.lib
+
+# Make the header files and the rest of the static libs available during the build
+# CONDA_DEFAULT_ENV is a env variable which is set to the currently active environment path
+set MPLBASEDIRLIST=%CONDA_DEFAULT_ENV%\Library\;.
+
+# build the wheel
+python setup.py bdist_wheel
+```
+
+The `build_alllocal.cmd` script automates these steps if you already created and activated the conda environment.
+
+
+## Conda packages
+
+This needs a [working installed C compiler](http://blog.ionelmc.ro/2014/12/21/compiling-python-extensions-on-windows/)
+for the version of python you are compiling the package for but you don't need to setup the
+environment variables.
+
+```sh
+# only the first time...
+conda install conda-build
+
+# the python version you want a package for...
+set CONDA_PY=3.5
+
+# builds the package, using a clean build environment
+conda build ci\conda_recipe
+
+# install the new package
+conda install --use-local matplotlib
+```
diff --git a/appveyor.yml b/appveyor.yml
index 202e26cb4d2..8f67174b668 100644
--- a/appveyor.yml
+++ b/appveyor.yml
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# With infos from 
+# With infos from
 # http://tjelvarolsson.com/blog/how-to-continuously-test-your-python-code-on-windows-using-appveyor/
 # https://packaging.python.org/en/latest/appveyor/
 # https://github.com/rmcgibbo/python-appveyor-conda-example
@@ -11,33 +11,31 @@ environment:
     # SDK v7.0 MSVC Express 2008's SetEnv.cmd script will fail if the
     # /E:ON and /V:ON options are not enabled in the batch script intepreter
     # See: http://stackoverflow.com/a/13751649/163740
-    CMD_IN_ENV: "cmd /E:ON /V:ON /C .\\ci\\appveyor\\run_with_env.cmd"
+    CMD_IN_ENV: "cmd /E:ON /V:ON /C obvci_appveyor_python_build_env.cmd"
+    CONDA_INSTALL_LOCN: "C:\\conda"
+    # Workaround for https://github.com/conda/conda-build/issues/636
+    PYTHONIOENCODING: "UTF-8"
 
   matrix:
-    - PYTHON: "C:\\Python34_64"
-      PYTHON_VERSION: "3.4"
-      PYTHON_ARCH: "64"
-      CONDA_PY: "34"
-      CONDA_NPY: "110"
-
-    - PYTHON: "C:\\Python35_64"
-      PYTHON_VERSION: "3.5"
-      PYTHON_ARCH: "64"
-      CONDA_PY: "35"
-      CONDA_NPY: "110"
-
-    - PYTHON: "C:\\Python27_64"
-      PYTHON_VERSION: "2.7"
-      PYTHON_ARCH: "64"
+    # for testing purpose: numpy 1.8 on py2.7, for the rest use 1.10/latest
+    - TARGET_ARCH: "x86"
       CONDA_PY: "27"
       CONDA_NPY: "18"
-    
-    - PYTHON: "C:\\Python27_32"
       PYTHON_VERSION: "2.7"
-      PYTHON_ARCH: "32"
+    - TARGET_ARCH: "x64"
       CONDA_PY: "27"
       CONDA_NPY: "18"
-      
+      PYTHON_VERSION: "2.7"
+    - TARGET_ARCH: "x64"
+      CONDA_PY: "34"
+      CONDA_NPY: "110"
+      PYTHON_VERSION: "3.4"
+    - TARGET_ARCH: "x64"
+      CONDA_PY: "35"
+      CONDA_NPY: "110"
+      PYTHON_VERSION: "3.5"
+
+
 # We always use a 64-bit machine, but can build x86 distributions
 # with the PYTHON_ARCH variable (which is used by CMD_IN_ENV).
 platform:
@@ -47,25 +45,42 @@ platform:
 build: false
 
 init:
-  - "ECHO %PYTHON_VERSION% %PYTHON%"
+  - cmd: "ECHO %PYTHON_VERSION% %CONDA_INSTALL_LOCN%"
 
 install:
-  - powershell .\ci\appveyor\install.ps1
-  - SET PATH=%PYTHON%;%PYTHON%\Scripts;%PATH%
+  - appveyor DownloadFile "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/pelson/Obvious-CI/master/bootstrap-obvious-ci-and-miniconda.py"
+  - cmd: python bootstrap-obvious-ci-and-miniconda.py %CONDA_INSTALL_LOCN% %TARGET_ARCH% %CONDA_PY:~0,1% --without-obvci
+  - cmd: set PATH=%CONDA_INSTALL_LOCN%;%CONDA_INSTALL_LOCN%\scripts;%PATH%;
+  - cmd: set PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1
+  - cmd: conda install -c http://conda.anaconda.org/pelson/channel/development --yes --quiet obvious-ci
+  - cmd: obvci_install_conda_build_tools.py
   - cmd: conda config --set show_channel_urls yes
   # for msinttypes
   - cmd: conda config --add channels conda-forge
   # this is now the downloaded conda...
   - conda info -a
-  # same things as in tools/conda_recipe
-  - cmd: conda create -y -q -n test-environment python=%PYTHON_VERSION% pip setuptools numpy python-dateutil freetype=2.5 msinttypes tk pyparsing pytz tornado libpng zlib pyqt cycler nose mock
+
+  # Fix the appveyor build environment to work with conda build
+  # workaround for missing vcvars64.bat in py34 64bit
+  - cmd: copy ci\appveyor\vcvars64.bat "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 10.0\VC\bin\amd64"
+  # workaround for conda build on py27 prefering the normal installed
+  # VS tools instead of the also installed Py27 VS compiler (which wouldn't need this workarounds...)
+  - cmd: copy "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0\VC\bin\vcvars64.bat" "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0\VC\bin\amd64\vcvarsamd64.bat"
+
+  # same things as the requirements in ci/conda_recipe/meta.yaml
+  - cmd: conda create -y -q -n test-environment python=%PYTHON_VERSION% pip setuptools numpy python-dateutil freetype msinttypes tk pyparsing pytz tornado libpng zlib pyqt cycler nose mock
   - activate test-environment
-  # This is needed for the installer to find the dlls...
+  - cmd: echo %PYTHON_VERSION% %TARGET_ARCH%
+  - cmd: IF %PYTHON_VERSION% == 2.7 conda install -y functools32
+
+  # Let the install prefer the static builds of the libs
   - set LIBRARY_LIB=%CONDA_DEFAULT_ENV%\Library\lib
   - cmd: 'mkdir lib || cmd /c "exit /b 0"'
-  - copy %LIBRARY_LIB%\zlibstatic.lib lib\z.lib 
+  - copy %LIBRARY_LIB%\zlibstatic.lib lib\z.lib
   - copy %LIBRARY_LIB%\libpng_static.lib lib\png.lib
   - set MPLBASEDIRLIST=%CONDA_DEFAULT_ENV%\Library\;.
+  # enables the local freetype build
+  - copy ci\travis\setup.cfg .
   # Show the installed packages + versions
   - conda list
 
@@ -78,27 +93,39 @@ test_script:
 
 after_test:
   # After the tests were a success, build packages (wheels and conda)
-  
-  # There is a bug in wheels which prevents building wheels when the package uses namespaces
-  - cmd: '%CMD_IN_ENV% python setup.py bdist_wheel'
-  # Note also that our setup.py script, which is called by conda-build, writes
-  # a __conda_version__.txt file, so the version number on the binary package
-  # is set dynamically. This unfortunately mean that conda build --output
-  # doesn't really work.
+
+  # Build the wheel
+  # Hide the output, the copied files really clutter the build log...
+  - cmd: '%CMD_IN_ENV% python setup.py bdist_wheel > NUL:'
+
+  # And now the conda build after a cleanup...
+  # cleanup build files so that they don't pollute the conda build but keep the wheel in dist...
+  - cmd: git clean -d -x -f -e dist/
+  # cleanup the environment so that the test-environment does not leak into the conda build...
+  - cmd: set MPLBASEDIRLIST=
+  - cmd: set LIBRARY_LIB=
+  - cmd: deactivate
+  - cmd: path
+  - cmd: where python
   - cmd: '%CMD_IN_ENV% conda config --get channels'
-  # we can't build conda packages on 27 due to missing functools32, which is a recent 
-  # additional dependency for matplotlib
-  - cmd: if [%CONDA_PY%] NEQ [27] %CMD_IN_ENV% conda build .\ci\conda_recipe
+  - cmd: '%CMD_IN_ENV% conda build .\ci\conda_recipe'
+
   # Move the conda package into the dist directory, to register it
-  # as an "artifact" for Appveyor. 
-  - cmd: 'copy /Y %PYTHON%\conda-bld\win-32\*.bz2 dist || cmd /c "exit /b 0"'
-  - cmd: 'copy /Y %PYTHON%\conda-bld\win-64\*.bz2 dist || cmd /c "exit /b 0"'
-  - cmd: dir .\dist\
+  # as an "artifact" for Appveyor.
+  - cmd: 'copy /Y %CONDA_INSTALL_LOCN%\conda-bld\win-32\*.bz2 dist || cmd /c "exit /b 0"'
+  - cmd: 'copy /Y %CONDA_INSTALL_LOCN%\conda-bld\win-64\*.bz2 dist || cmd /c "exit /b 0"'
+  - cmd: dir dist\
+  - cmd: echo finished...
 
 artifacts:
   - path: dist\*
     name: packages
-    
+
   - path: result_images\*
-    name: test result images
+    name: result_images
     type: zip
+
+on_failure:
+  - echo zipping images after a failure...
+  - 7z a result_images.zip result_images\ >NUL:
+  - appveyor PushArtifact result_images.zip
diff --git a/build_alllocal.cmd b/build_alllocal.cmd
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..37560d1830d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/build_alllocal.cmd
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+:: This assumes you have installed all the dependencies via conda packages:
+:: # create a new environment with the required packages
+:: conda create  -n "matplotlib_build" python=3.4 numpy python-dateutil pyparsing pytz tornado pyqt cycler tk libpng zlib freetype
+:: activate matplotlib_build
+:: # this package is only available in the conda-forge channel
+:: conda install -c conda-forge msinttypes
+:: if you build on py2.7:
+:: conda install -c conda-forge functools32
+
+set TARGET=bdist_wheel
+IF [%1]==[] (
+    echo Using default target: %TARGET%
+) else (
+    set TARGET=%1
+    echo Using user supplied target: %TARGET%
+)
+
+IF NOT DEFINED CONDA_DEFAULT_ENV (
+    echo No Conda env activated: you need to create a conda env with the right packages and activate it!
+    GOTO:eof
+)
+
+:: copy the libs which have "wrong" names
+set LIBRARY_LIB=%CONDA_DEFAULT_ENV%\Library\lib
+mkdir lib || cmd /c "exit /b 0"
+copy %LIBRARY_LIB%\zlibstatic.lib lib\z.lib
+copy %LIBRARY_LIB%\libpng_static.lib lib\png.lib
+
+:: Make the header files and the rest of the static libs available during the build
+:: CONDA_DEFAULT_ENV is a env variable which is set to the currently active environment path
+set MPLBASEDIRLIST=%CONDA_DEFAULT_ENV%\Library\;.
+
+:: build the target
+python setup.py %TARGET%
diff --git a/ci/appveyor/install.ps1 b/ci/appveyor/install.ps1
deleted file mode 100644
index c964973c676..00000000000
--- a/ci/appveyor/install.ps1
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,96 +0,0 @@
-# Sample script to install Miniconda under Windows
-# Authors: Olivier Grisel, Jonathan Helmus and Kyle Kastner, Robert McGibbon
-# License: CC0 1.0 Universal: http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
-
-$MINICONDA_URL = "http://repo.continuum.io/miniconda/"
-
-
-function DownloadMiniconda ($python_version, $platform_suffix) {
-    $webclient = New-Object System.Net.WebClient
-    if ($python_version -match "3.4") {
-        $filename = "Miniconda3-latest-Windows-" + $platform_suffix + ".exe"
-    } else {
-        $filename = "Miniconda-latest-Windows-" + $platform_suffix + ".exe"
-    }
-    $url = $MINICONDA_URL + $filename
-
-    $basedir = $pwd.Path + "\"
-    $filepath = $basedir + $filename
-    if (Test-Path $filename) {
-        Write-Host "Reusing" $filepath
-        return $filepath
-    }
-
-    # Download and retry up to 3 times in case of network transient errors.
-    Write-Host "Downloading" $filename "from" $url
-    $retry_attempts = 2
-    for($i=0; $i -lt $retry_attempts; $i++){
-        try {
-            $webclient.DownloadFile($url, $filepath)
-            break
-        }
-        Catch [Exception]{
-            Start-Sleep 1
-        }
-   }
-   if (Test-Path $filepath) {
-       Write-Host "File saved at" $filepath
-   } else {
-       # Retry once to get the error message if any at the last try
-       $webclient.DownloadFile($url, $filepath)
-   }
-   return $filepath
-}
-
-
-function InstallMiniconda ($python_version, $architecture, $python_home) {
-    Write-Host "Installing Python" $python_version "for" $architecture "bit architecture to" $python_home
-    if (Test-Path $python_home) {
-        Write-Host $python_home "already exists, skipping."
-        return $false
-    }
-    if ($architecture -match "32") {
-        $platform_suffix = "x86"
-    } else {
-        $platform_suffix = "x86_64"
-    }
-
-    $filepath = DownloadMiniconda $python_version $platform_suffix
-    Write-Host "Installing" $filepath "to" $python_home
-    $install_log = $python_home + ".log"
-    $args = "/S /D=$python_home"
-    Write-Host $filepath $args
-    Start-Process -FilePath $filepath -ArgumentList $args -Wait -Passthru
-    if (Test-Path $python_home) {
-        Write-Host "Python $python_version ($architecture) installation complete"
-    } else {
-        Write-Host "Failed to install Python in $python_home"
-        Get-Content -Path $install_log
-        Exit 1
-    }
-}
-
-
-function InstallCondaPackages ($python_home, $spec) {
-    $conda_path = $python_home + "\Scripts\conda.exe"
-    $args = "install --yes " + $spec
-    Write-Host ("conda " + $args)
-    Start-Process -FilePath "$conda_path" -ArgumentList $args -Wait -Passthru
-}
-
-function UpdateConda ($python_home) {
-    $conda_path = $python_home + "\Scripts\conda.exe"
-    Write-Host "Updating conda..."
-    $args = "update --yes conda"
-    Write-Host $conda_path $args
-    Start-Process -FilePath "$conda_path" -ArgumentList $args -Wait -Passthru
-}
-
-
-function main () {
-    InstallMiniconda $env:PYTHON_VERSION $env:PYTHON_ARCH $env:PYTHON
-    UpdateConda $env:PYTHON
-    InstallCondaPackages $env:PYTHON "conda-build jinja2 anaconda-client"
-}
-
-main
diff --git a/ci/appveyor/run_with_env.cmd b/ci/appveyor/run_with_env.cmd
deleted file mode 100644
index 848f4608c86..00000000000
--- a/ci/appveyor/run_with_env.cmd
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,95 +0,0 @@
-:: EXPECTED ENV VARS: PYTHON_ARCH (either x86 or x64)
-::                    CONDA_PY (either 27, 33, 35 etc. - only major version is extracted)
-::
-::
-:: To build extensions for 64 bit Python 3, we need to configure environment
-:: variables to use the MSVC 2010 C++ compilers from GRMSDKX_EN_DVD.iso of:
-:: MS Windows SDK for Windows 7 and .NET Framework 4 (SDK v7.1)
-::
-:: To build extensions for 64 bit Python 2, we need to configure environment
-:: variables to use the MSVC 2008 C++ compilers from GRMSDKX_EN_DVD.iso of:
-:: MS Windows SDK for Windows 7 and .NET Framework 3.5 (SDK v7.0)
-::
-:: 32 bit builds, and 64-bit builds for 3.5 and beyond, do not require specific
-:: environment configurations.
-::
-:: Note: this script needs to be run with the /E:ON and /V:ON flags for the
-:: cmd interpreter, at least for (SDK v7.0)
-::
-:: More details at:
-:: https://github.com/cython/cython/wiki/64BitCythonExtensionsOnWindows
-:: http://stackoverflow.com/a/13751649/163740
-::
-:: Author: Phil Elson
-:: Original Author: Olivier Grisel (https://github.com/ogrisel/python-appveyor-demo)
-:: License: CC0 1.0 Universal: http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
-::
-:: Notes about batch files for Python people:
-::
-:: Quotes in values are literally part of the values:
-::      SET FOO="bar"
-:: FOO is now five characters long: " b a r "
-:: If you don't want quotes, don't include them on the right-hand side.
-::
-:: The CALL lines at the end of this file look redundant, but if you move them
-:: outside of the IF clauses, they do not run properly in the SET_SDK_64==Y
-:: case, I don't know why.
-:: originally from https://github.com/pelson/Obvious-CI/blob/master/scripts/obvci_appveyor_python_build_env.cmd
-@ECHO OFF
-
-SET COMMAND_TO_RUN=%*
-SET WIN_SDK_ROOT=C:\Program Files\Microsoft SDKs\Windows
-
-:: Extract the major and minor versions, and allow for the minor version to be
-:: more than 9.  This requires the version number to have two dots in it.
-SET MAJOR_PYTHON_VERSION=%CONDA_PY:~0,1%
-
-IF "%CONDA_PY:~2,1%" == "" (
-    :: CONDA_PY style, such as 27, 34 etc.
-    SET MINOR_PYTHON_VERSION=%CONDA_PY:~1,1%
-) ELSE (
-    IF "%CONDA_PY:~3,1%" == "." (
-     SET MINOR_PYTHON_VERSION=%CONDA_PY:~2,1%
-    ) ELSE (
-     SET MINOR_PYTHON_VERSION=%CONDA_PY:~2,2%
-    )
-)
-
-:: Based on the Python version, determine what SDK version to use, and whether
-:: to set the SDK for 64-bit.
-IF %MAJOR_PYTHON_VERSION% == 2 (
-    SET WINDOWS_SDK_VERSION="v7.0"
-    SET SET_SDK_64=Y
-) ELSE (
-    IF %MAJOR_PYTHON_VERSION% == 3 (
-        SET WINDOWS_SDK_VERSION="v7.1"
-        IF %MINOR_PYTHON_VERSION% LEQ 4 (
-            SET SET_SDK_64=Y
-        ) ELSE (
-            SET SET_SDK_64=N
-        )
-    ) ELSE (
-        ECHO Unsupported Python version: "%MAJOR_PYTHON_VERSION%"
-        EXIT /B 1
-    )
-)
-
-IF "%PYTHON_ARCH%"=="64" (
-    IF %SET_SDK_64% == Y (
-        ECHO Configuring Windows SDK %WINDOWS_SDK_VERSION% for Python %MAJOR_PYTHON_VERSION% on a 64 bit architecture
-        SET DISTUTILS_USE_SDK=1
-        SET MSSdk=1
-        "%WIN_SDK_ROOT%\%WINDOWS_SDK_VERSION%\Setup\WindowsSdkVer.exe" -q -version:%WINDOWS_SDK_VERSION%
-        "%WIN_SDK_ROOT%\%WINDOWS_SDK_VERSION%\Bin\SetEnv.cmd" /x64 /release
-        ECHO Executing: %COMMAND_TO_RUN%
-        call %COMMAND_TO_RUN% || EXIT /B 1
-    ) ELSE (
-        ECHO Using default MSVC build environment for 64 bit architecture
-        ECHO Executing: %COMMAND_TO_RUN%
-        call %COMMAND_TO_RUN% || EXIT /B 1
-    )
-) ELSE (
-    ECHO Using default MSVC build environment for 32 bit architecture
-    ECHO Executing: %COMMAND_TO_RUN%
-    call %COMMAND_TO_RUN% || EXIT /B 1
-)
diff --git a/ci/appveyor/vcvars64.bat b/ci/appveyor/vcvars64.bat
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..c4659becc3a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ci/appveyor/vcvars64.bat
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+CALL "C:\Program Files\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v7.1\Bin\SetEnv.cmd" /x64
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/ci/conda_recipe/bld.bat b/ci/conda_recipe/bld.bat
index fb7909de336..bd38d0bb372 100644
--- a/ci/conda_recipe/bld.bat
+++ b/ci/conda_recipe/bld.bat
@@ -1,19 +1,12 @@
-mkdir lib
-copy %LIBRARY_LIB%\zlibstatic.lib lib\z.lib
-if errorlevel 1 exit 1
-copy %LIBRARY_LIB%\libpng_static.lib lib\png.lib
-if errorlevel 1 exit 1
-
-set MPLBASEDIRLIST=%LIBRARY_PREFIX%;.
+set LIBPATH=%LIBRARY_LIB%;
+set INCLUDE=%INCLUDE%;%PREFIX%\Library\include\freetype2
 
-:: debug...
-set
+ECHO [directories] > setup.cfg
+ECHO basedirlist = %LIBRARY_PREFIX% >> setup.cfg
+ECHO [packages] >> setup.cfg
+ECHO tests = False >> setup.cfg
+ECHO sample_data = False >> setup.cfg
+ECHO toolkits_tests = False >> setup.cfg
 
-copy setup.cfg.template setup.cfg
+%PYTHON% setup.py install
 if errorlevel 1 exit 1
-
-python setup.py install
-if errorlevel 1 exit 1
-
-rd /s /q %SP_DIR%\dateutil
-rd /s /q %SP_DIR%\numpy
diff --git a/ci/conda_recipe/build.sh b/ci/conda_recipe/build.sh
index c9ff280da80..d4d2f60fab2 100644
--- a/ci/conda_recipe/build.sh
+++ b/ci/conda_recipe/build.sh
@@ -7,17 +7,31 @@ if [ `uname` == Linux ]; then
     popd
 fi
 
+cat <<EOF > setup.cfg
+[directories]
+basedirlist = $PREFIX
+
+[packages]
+tests = False
+toolkit_tests = False
+sample_data = False
+
+EOF
+
+# The macosx backend isn't building with conda at this stage.
 if [ `uname` == Darwin ]; then
-    sed s:'#ifdef WITH_NEXT_FRAMEWORK':'#if 1':g -i src/_macosx.m
+cat << EOF >> setup.cfg
+
+[gui_support]
+tkagg = true
+macosx = false
+
+EOF
 fi
 
-cp setup.cfg.template setup.cfg || exit 1
+cat setup.cfg
+sed -i.bak "s|/usr/local|$PREFIX|" setupext.py
 
-sed s:/usr/local:$PREFIX:g -i setupext.py
 
 $PYTHON setup.py install
 
-rm -rf $SP_DIR/PySide
-rm -rf $SP_DIR/__pycache__
-rm -rf $PREFIX/bin/nose*
-
diff --git a/ci/conda_recipe/cfg_notests.patch b/ci/conda_recipe/cfg_notests.patch
deleted file mode 100644
index e47f9d1619d..00000000000
--- a/ci/conda_recipe/cfg_notests.patch
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,13 +0,0 @@
-diff --git setup.cfg.template setup.cfg.template
-index 09fd92f..2085832 100644
---- setup.cfg.template
-+++ setup.cfg.template
-@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@
- # optional.  They are all installed by default, but they may be turned
- # off here.
- #
--#tests = True
-+tests = False
- #sample_data = True
- #toolkits = True
- # Tests for the toolkits are only automatically installed
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/ci/conda_recipe/cfg_qt4agg.patch b/ci/conda_recipe/cfg_qt4agg.patch
index 2403b9149fd..16e6fc6c393 100644
--- a/ci/conda_recipe/cfg_qt4agg.patch
+++ b/ci/conda_recipe/cfg_qt4agg.patch
@@ -1,11 +1,13 @@
 diff --git setup.cfg.template setup.cfg.template
-index 8af8b6d..4e4f9d2 100644
+index cae6f67..fd11c79 100644
 --- setup.cfg.template
 +++ setup.cfg.template
-@@ -78,5 +78,5 @@
+@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@
  # if you have disabled the relevent extension modules.  Agg will be used
  # by default.
  #
 -#backend = Agg
 +backend = Qt4Agg
  #
+ 
+ [package_data]
diff --git a/ci/conda_recipe/meta.yaml b/ci/conda_recipe/meta.yaml
index 16101f30131..21f275de3da 100644
--- a/ci/conda_recipe/meta.yaml
+++ b/ci/conda_recipe/meta.yaml
@@ -1,61 +1,73 @@
-# stolen from https://github.com/conda/conda-recipes/tree/master/matplotlib
-# selectors [py27] and comments need to be `# [selector] comment` not `[sel] # comment`
+# Full credit goes to https://github.com/conda/conda-recipes for providing this recipe.
+# It has been subsequently adapted for automated building with conda-forge and matplotlib.
 
 package:
-  name: matplotlib-test
-  version: 1.5.0.9
+  name: matplotlib
+  version: 1.5.1.9
 
 source:
   path: ../../
 
   patches:
-    # don't run nosetest
-    - cfg_notests.patch
-    # nake Qt4Agg the default backend
-    - cfg_qt4agg.patch    [not osx]
-    - rctmp_pyside.patch  [not osx]
-    # tk work on OSX
-    - osx-tk.patch        [osx]
+    # A patch to make Qt4Agg the default backend.
+    - cfg_qt4agg.patch    # [linux]
+    # Patches the matplotlibrc template to default to Qt4.
+    - rctmp_pyside.patch  # [not osx]
+    # Patches setupext to look in PREFIX for the tcl/tk headers.
+    - osx-tk.patch        # [osx]
     # dynamic version from git
+    # we can't use condas usual dynamic versions as setup.py uses a guard
+    # around the setup call against importing, which is done internaly
+    # by conda build to get the version.
+    # https://github.com/matplotlib/matplotlib/pull/5629#issuecomment-167243654
     - condaversion.patch
 
 requirements:
   build:
     - python
     - setuptools
-    - numpy
+    - numpy x.x
     - python-dateutil
-    - freetype >=2.5,<2.6
+    - freetype
+    - msinttypes          # [win]
+    - cycler
+    - nose
     - pyparsing
     - pytz
-    - py2cairo            [linux and py2k]
+#    - py2cairo            # [linux and py2k]
     - tornado
     - libpng
-    - zlib                [win]
-    - msinttypes          # this package is from the conda-forge channel!
-    - pyqt                [not osx]
-    - cycler
-    - tk
-    #- functools32         [py27] # this is currently not available
+    - zlib                # [win]
+    - pyqt                # [not osx]
+    - tk                  # [linux and win]
+    - functools32         # [py2k]
 
   run:
     - python
-    - numpy
+    - numpy x.x
+    - cycler
     - python-dateutil
-    - freetype            [unix]
+    - freetype
     - pytz
     - pyparsing
-    - py2cairo            [linux and py2k]
-    - libpng              [unix]
-    - pyqt                [not osx]
-    - cycler
-    - tk
+#    - py2cairo            # [linux and py2k]
+    - libpng              # [unix]
+    - pyqt                # [not osx]
+    - tk                  # [linux and win]
+    - functools32         # [py2k]
 
 test:
-  requires:
-    - nose
-    - mock
+    imports:
+        - matplotlib
+        - matplotlib.pyplot
 
 about:
-  home: http://matplotlib.sourceforge.net/
-  license: PSF-based (http://matplotlib.sourceforge.net/users/license.html)
+  home: http://matplotlib.org/
+  license: PSF-based (http://matplotlib.org/users/license.html)
+  summary: Publication quality figures in Python
+
+extra:
+  recipe-maintainers:
+    - pelson
+    - tacaswell
+    - JanSchulz
diff --git a/ci/conda_recipe/osx-tk.patch b/ci/conda_recipe/osx-tk.patch
index e950b328482..1411225550e 100644
--- a/ci/conda_recipe/osx-tk.patch
+++ b/ci/conda_recipe/osx-tk.patch
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 diff --git setupext.py setupext.py
-index 9219c88..e3a9653 100644
+index ddf2ca1..b9e0729 100755
 --- setupext.py
 +++ setupext.py
-@@ -1334,52 +1334,11 @@ class BackendTkAgg(OptionalBackendPackage):
-             ext.library_dirs.extend([os.path.join(sys.prefix, 'dlls')])
+@@ -1659,52 +1659,11 @@ class BackendTkAgg(OptionalBackendPackage):
+                 ext.library_dirs.extend([os.path.join(sys.prefix, 'dlls')])
  
          elif sys.platform == 'darwin':
 -            # this config section lifted directly from Imaging - thanks to
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ index 9219c88..e3a9653 100644
 -                '/Library/Frameworks',
 -                '/System/Library/Frameworks/',
 -            ]
--
+ 
 -            # Find the directory that contains the Tcl.framework and
 -            # Tk.framework bundles.
 -            tk_framework_found = 0
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ index 9219c88..e3a9653 100644
 -                # than include a complicated search, this is a
 -                # hard-coded path. It could bail out if X11 libs are
 -                # not found...
- 
+-
 -                # tk_include_dirs.append('/usr/X11R6/include')
 -                frameworks = ['-framework', 'Tcl', '-framework', 'Tk']
 -                ext.include_dirs.extend(tk_include_dirs)
diff --git a/ci/conda_recipe/rctmp_pyside.patch b/ci/conda_recipe/rctmp_pyside.patch
index 15e97de6454..906803575a9 100644
--- a/ci/conda_recipe/rctmp_pyside.patch
+++ b/ci/conda_recipe/rctmp_pyside.patch
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ index fdbbf26..6902fe9 100644
  # You can also deploy your own backend outside of matplotlib by
  # referring to the module name (which must be in the PYTHONPATH) as
  # 'module://my_backend'.
--backend      : %(backend)s
+-backend      : $TEMPLATE_BACKEND
 +backend      : Qt4Agg
  
  # If you are using the Qt4Agg backend, you can choose here
diff --git a/ci/conda_recipe/run_test.py b/ci/conda_recipe/run_test.py
index 37c11af85bf..fba57d981e5 100644
--- a/ci/conda_recipe/run_test.py
+++ b/ci/conda_recipe/run_test.py
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import os
+import platform 
 import sys
 
 import matplotlib
@@ -12,7 +13,8 @@
 import matplotlib.backends._backend_agg
 import matplotlib.ft2font
 import matplotlib.ttconv
-import matplotlib.backends._tkagg
+if platform.system() not in ['Windows']:
+    import matplotlib.backends._tkagg
 
 import pylab
 import mpl_toolkits
diff --git a/setup_external_compile.py b/setup_external_compile.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..c6a13c86829
--- /dev/null
+++ b/setup_external_compile.py
@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+# This file is coppied from https://github.com/jbmohler/matplotlib-winbuild
+# Only the needed functions were kept.
+"""
+This file extracts and builds library dependencies libpng, zlib, & freetype2 on
+MS Windows.  It also extract tcl/tk for the header files.
+
+There are four possible build targets -- one for each permutation of VS 2008,
+2010 and 32/64 bit.  This builds the configuration that matches the Python
+install that is executing.
+
+For Python 2.6, 2.7, 3.2:
+
+- VS 2008, 32 bit -- Windows SDK v7.0
+- VS 2008, 64 bit -- Windows SDK v7.0
+
+For Python 3.3, 3.4:
+
+- VS 2010, 32 bit -- Windows SDK v7.1
+- VS 2010, 64 bit -- Windows SDK v7.1
+"""
+
+from __future__ import print_function, absolute_import
+import sys
+import platform
+import os
+import glob
+import shutil
+import zipfile
+import tarfile
+import distutils.msvc9compiler as msvc
+
+def fixproj(project_file, bit_target):
+    """
+    :param bit_target: one of 'Win32' or 'x64'
+    """
+    with open(project_file, 'r') as fd:
+        content = '\n'.join(line.strip() for line in fd if line.strip())
+    content = content.replace('Win32', bit_target).replace('x64', bit_target)
+    with open(project_file, 'w') as fd:
+        fd.write(content)
+
+def tar_extract(tar_file, target):
+    with tarfile.open(tar_file, 'r:gz') as tgz:
+        tgz.extractall(target)
+
+def zip_extract(zip_file, target):
+    with zipfile.ZipFile(zip_file) as zf:
+        zf.extractall(target)
+
+# Configuration selection & declaration:
+DEPSSRC = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.path.normpath(__file__)), 'deps_source')
+DEPSBUILD = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.path.normpath(__file__)), 'build')
+X64 = platform.architecture()[0] == '64bit'
+PYVER = sys.version_info[:2]
+VS2010 = PYVER >= (3, 3)
+# If not VS2010, then use VS2008
+
+VCVARSALL = None
+
+def prepare_build_cmd(build_cmd, **kwargs):
+    global VCVARSALL
+    if VCVARSALL == None:
+        candidate = msvc.find_vcvarsall(10.0 if VS2010 else 9.0)
+        if candidate == None:
+            raise RuntimeError('Microsoft VS {} required'.format('2010' if VS2010 else '2008'))
+        else:
+            VCVARSALL = candidate
+
+    return build_cmd.format(vcvarsall=VCVARSALL, xXX='x64' if X64 else 'x86', **kwargs)
diff --git a/setupext.py b/setupext.py
index bf97b7e8253..b130679ce9f 100755
--- a/setupext.py
+++ b/setupext.py
@@ -23,7 +23,8 @@
 
 # This is the version of FreeType to use when building a local
 # version.  It must match the value in
-# lib/matplotlib.__init__.py
+# lib/matplotlib.__init__.py and also needs to be changed below in the
+# embedded windows build script (grep for "REMINDER" in this file)
 LOCAL_FREETYPE_VERSION = '2.6.1'
 # md5 hash of the freetype tarball
 LOCAL_FREETYPE_HASH = '348e667d728c597360e4a87c16556597'
@@ -130,16 +131,16 @@ def get_base_dirs():
     """
     if options['basedirlist']:
         return options['basedirlist']
-    
+
     if os.environ.get('MPLBASEDIRLIST'):
         return os.environ.get('MPLBASEDIRLIST').split(os.pathsep)
 
     win_bases = ['win32_static', ]
-    # on conda windows, we also add the <installdir>\Library of the local interperter, 
+    # on conda windows, we also add the <installdir>\Library of the local interperter,
     # as conda installs libs/includes there
     if os.getenv('CONDA_DEFAULT_ENV'):
         win_bases.append(os.path.join(os.getenv('CONDA_DEFAULT_ENV'), "Library"))
-    
+
     basedir_map = {
         'win32': win_bases,
         'darwin': ['/usr/local/', '/usr', '/usr/X11',
@@ -157,7 +158,7 @@ def get_include_dirs():
     """
     include_dirs = [os.path.join(d, 'include') for d in get_base_dirs()]
     if sys.platform != 'win32':
-        # gcc includes this dir automatically, so also look for headers in 
+        # gcc includes this dir automatically, so also look for headers in
         # these dirs
         include_dirs.extend(
             os.environ.get('CPLUS_INCLUDE_PATH', '').split(os.pathsep))
@@ -969,8 +970,12 @@ def add_flags(self, ext):
             # Statically link to the locally-built freetype.
             # This is certainly broken on Windows.
             ext.include_dirs.insert(0, os.path.join(src_path, 'include'))
+            if sys.platform == 'win32':
+                libfreetype = 'libfreetype.lib'
+            else:
+                libfreetype = 'libfreetype.a'
             ext.extra_objects.insert(
-                0, os.path.join(src_path, 'objs', '.libs', 'libfreetype.a'))
+                0, os.path.join(src_path, 'objs', '.libs', libfreetype))
             ext.define_macros.append(('FREETYPE_BUILD_TYPE', 'local'))
         else:
             pkg_config.setup_extension(
@@ -993,7 +998,12 @@ def do_custom_build(self):
             'build', 'freetype-{0}'.format(LOCAL_FREETYPE_VERSION))
 
         # We've already built freetype
-        if os.path.isfile(os.path.join(src_path, 'objs', '.libs', 'libfreetype.a')):
+        if sys.platform == 'win32':
+            libfreetype = 'libfreetype.lib'
+        else:
+            libfreetype = 'libfreetype.a'
+
+        if os.path.isfile(os.path.join(src_path, 'objs', '.libs', libfreetype)):
             return
 
         tarball = 'freetype-{0}.tar.gz'.format(LOCAL_FREETYPE_VERSION)
@@ -1015,15 +1025,52 @@ def do_custom_build(self):
                 raise IOError("{0} does not match expected hash.".format(tarball))
 
         print("Building {0}".format(tarball))
-        cflags = 'CFLAGS="{0} -fPIC" '.format(os.environ.get('CFLAGS', ''))
-
-        subprocess.check_call(
-            ['tar', 'zxf', tarball], cwd='build')
-        subprocess.check_call(
-            [cflags + './configure --with-zlib=no --with-bzip2=no '
-             '--with-png=no --with-harfbuzz=no'], shell=True, cwd=src_path)
-        subprocess.check_call(
-            [cflags + 'make'], shell=True, cwd=src_path)
+        if sys.platform != 'win32':
+            # compilation on all other platforms than windows
+            cflags = 'CFLAGS="{0} -fPIC" '.format(os.environ.get('CFLAGS', ''))
+
+            subprocess.check_call(
+                ['tar', 'zxf', tarball], cwd='build')
+            subprocess.check_call(
+                [cflags + './configure --with-zlib=no --with-bzip2=no '
+                 '--with-png=no --with-harfbuzz=no'], shell=True, cwd=src_path)
+            subprocess.check_call(
+                [cflags + 'make'], shell=True, cwd=src_path)
+        else:
+            # compilation on windows
+            FREETYPE_BUILD_CMD = """\
+call "%ProgramFiles%\\Microsoft SDKs\\Windows\\v7.0\\Bin\\SetEnv.Cmd" /Release /{xXX} /xp
+call "{vcvarsall}" {xXX}
+set MSBUILD=C:\\Windows\\Microsoft.NET\\Framework\\v4.0.30319\\MSBuild.exe
+rd /S /Q %FREETYPE%\\objs
+%MSBUILD% %FREETYPE%\\builds\\windows\\{vc20xx}\\freetype.sln /t:Clean;Build /p:Configuration="{config}";Platform={WinXX}
+echo Build completed, moving result"
+:: move to the "normal" path for the unix builds...
+mkdir %FREETYPE%\\objs\\.libs
+:: REMINDER: fix when changing the version
+copy %FREETYPE%\\objs\\{vc20xx}\\{xXX}\\freetype261.lib %FREETYPE%\\objs\\.libs\\libfreetype.lib 
+if errorlevel 1 (
+  rem This is a py27 version, which has a different location for the lib file :-/
+  copy %FREETYPE%\\objs\\win32\\{vc20xx}\\freetype261.lib %FREETYPE%\\objs\\.libs\\libfreetype.lib
+)
+"""
+            from setup_external_compile import fixproj, prepare_build_cmd, VS2010, X64, tar_extract
+            # Note: freetype has no build profile for 2014, so we don't bother...
+            vc = 'vc2010' if VS2010 else 'vc2008'
+            WinXX = 'x64' if X64 else 'Win32'
+            tar_extract(tarball_path, "build")
+            # This is only false for py2.7, even on py3.5...
+            if not VS2010:
+                fixproj(os.path.join(src_path, 'builds', 'windows', vc, 'freetype.sln'), WinXX)
+                fixproj(os.path.join(src_path, 'builds', 'windows', vc, 'freetype.vcproj'), WinXX)
+
+            cmdfile = os.path.join("build", 'build_freetype.cmd')
+            with open(cmdfile, 'w') as cmd:
+                cmd.write(prepare_build_cmd(FREETYPE_BUILD_CMD, vc20xx=vc, WinXX=WinXX,
+                                            config='Release' if VS2010 else 'LIB Release'))
+
+            os.environ['FREETYPE'] = src_path
+            subprocess.check_call([cmdfile], shell=True)
 
 
 class FT2Font(SetupPackage):
@@ -1597,7 +1644,7 @@ def add_flags(self, ext):
             if os.getenv('CONDA_DEFAULT_ENV'):
                 # We are in conda and conda builds against tcl85 for all versions
                 # includes are directly in the conda\library\include dir and
-                # libs in DLL or lib 
+                # libs in DLL or lib
                 ext.include_dirs.extend(['include'])
                 ext.libraries.extend(['tk85', 'tcl85'])
                 ext.library_dirs.extend(['dlls']) # or lib?