From NoelW: Clearing the desk (well, almost) (215 points)

Travelling round Challenge Island has really helped me with my main aim of creating some command groups and small vignettes to enhance the battlefield. With luck, I might manage a couple more before Saturday, too.

However, I also wanted to develop some of my more neglected armies, I've tried to keep some of these ticking over a few figures at a time whilst trekking round the island. None would easily fit the agenda of an island location, so I'm trying to complete as many as possible in these last, sad days.

The oddments I've been amassing suggest one further challenge: how close can I get to 5000 points by the end of this final week? I've reviewed all that's in progress, and I'm pretty sure I can reach 4,500  - but how much higher can I scramble to?

So here's the first offering. I've been working on Punic forces, and on Crusaders. For the Republican Roman army, I've completed 24 Velites - the light infantry, skirmishing in front of the main battle lines, or occasionally on the flanks. The figures are mainly Victrix, whose models I really like, though they're sometimes a little fiddly to assemble. The contingent also includes a couple of slingers, which I think are Essex, and one or two others of unknown origin acquired at a Bring and Buy.

For the Crusaders I've been working on the military orders. My favourite are the Templars, so they're done first. I expect there will be some mounted knights at some point, but for the moment only foot:

These are all Fireforge miniatures - very easy to assemble, and very dynamic poses, though sometimes a bit improbable. They also have the big attraction of being easy to find at bargan prices! All the shields are hand painted.

To keep the Templars on the straight and narrow, I've also three clerics, by the Perry Brothers:

I'm a big fan of these clerics. As usual with the Perrys, they've great character and paint up nicely.

Scoring: 24 velites: 120 pts; 14 Templars: 70 pts; 1 foot cleric: 5pts; 2 mounted clerics: 20 TOTAL: 215 points



Well, at least no sergeants were killed in the writing of this post! Fantastic work on the velites and Templars and good luck with your personal challenge to hit 5000 points by Saturday!

TamsinP