From StuartL - Poles with Poles - 80 Points

Hi all,

    This week I have been painting up a few things, and the first minis to come off my painting desk are some medieval Polish foot serjeants with polearms.

    These figures are 3D prints from a company called Black Knight Miniatures on MyMiniFactory. I have no idea how historically accurate they are, but I think they look fine. These figures are going to be used for the Northern Crusades through the Baltic countries. 

    I got the colour scheme from an Osprey book on Medieval Polish Armies, and it showed a diamond pattern being used, so I tried to replicate it on some of the models. It came out okay-ish, but was a pain to do, so I only did a couple of minis. When painting the yellow, I covered the area with a bright neon pink first, and then painted the yellow over that, and it really pops. If you dread painting yellow, I really recommend a pink undercoat first. For these figures, I had a black undercoat, Vallejo Squid Pink, Vallejo Heavy Goldbrown and then a 50:50 highlight of Heavy Goldbrown and Vallejo Golden Yellow. The banner, shield and surcoat emblems are a part of the figures and are just painted in black, no fancy free-handing for those.

    The unit will see play using the Hail Caesar rules. For HC, the units are usually based on identical sized bases, so for a 16 man unit, you'd expect 4 bases of 4 figures. But here I went with slightly narrower bases on the flanks, and made all of the bases a bit deeper, getting a 5-6-5 pattern. This is primarily to narrow the frontage, so units have more room to move around. Too often, when I have played Warlord's historical games, both armies just line up and have no room to maneuver. I can also make a smaller unit by removing the middle command base. 

    Unfortunately, the STL files for these models were set at a slightly larger scale, so these chaps tower over the Fireforge minis I plan on using for other parts of the project. Still, they are all based together, so the difference in height shouldn't be too obvious.

So, 16x 28mm models should net me a nice 80 points for my tally, and another squirrel.

My ongoing duels information:
Skulls - 141 (+0)
BSRoD - 5 (+0)
Squirrels - 7 (+1) - D&D Animals, 30K Militia, Plague Clowns, Afghans, Robots, Anglo-Saxons, Medieval Polish

From Millsy:

Yikes! These guys really look like they mean business. That's some serious hardware they are rocking and combined with the yellow and black theme these look absolutely fearsome.

I've had similar scale issues with various units but I can usually ignore it when not mixing minis in units. They must be pretty chunky though as Fireforge are no minnows either.

80 amazing points it is for you tally mate.

Cheers,
Millsy

From AlanD - Prussian Landwehr (180 points)

Seeking to bulk up my 1813 Prussian army for Leipzig in 1813, I needed some Landwehr. The best figures are undoubtedly Calpe, but they are very expensive. The Warlord figures are disappointing, particularly with their comically enlarged hands. HaT figures have recently started a new foray into 28mm with a rerelease of Landwehr, Their previous attempt to get into the market suffered from figures that were underscale compared to most of the other manufacturers out there, but a couple of months ago they released two boxes of Landwehr marching and Landwehr skirmishing, and they have managed to match the scale of Warlord almost perfectly.

For this entry, I have painted the 3rd Battalion of the 1st Silesian Landwehr Regiment, using a mix of Warlord plastics, Warlord metals (the command figures) and the new HaT offerings. I think they mix pretty well. The HaT figures suffer from soft detail, and the muskets in particular are fairly dreadful. On the upside, they now release these in hard plastic, and en masse they will do the job. They are also extremely cheap!

I cut off the most egregiously overscale hands from the Warlord figures, replacing them with bits of leftover dark ages figures, which makes them less upsetting to look at.

I quite enjoyed painting these, which is lucky as I have another battalion on the way. Beautiful they are not, but with a game of Soldiers of Napoleon coming up in a couple of weeks I'm sure they will do their duty.

36 figures adds 180 points to the total thanks Millsy!

From Millsy:

Very nice indeed Alan! I've been waiting to see these for a while after hearing you talk about them on our paint and chat sessions. They certainly don't disappoint mate.

The yellow cap bands and the variations in coat colour really make these look the part of better quality troops as they were in the later war. No ragtag mob this!

180 points added to your tally and I can't wait to see them in person.

Cheers,
Millsy

From StephenS: Marvel... (21 points)

 G'day Everyone,

I have gone completely off script this week and decided to paint up a trio of figures from the Marvel comics/movies for the game Marvel: Crisis Protocol. I believe the mathematical term for the number of these characters I have acquired since the game was released is 'a fair few' and I always enjoy painting them up.

First up are Peter Quill (Star-Lord) and Gamora who both featured in the popular Guardians of the Galaxy films. The lady in green is Viper, a supervillain who has clashed with the X-Men and Avengers for those who are fans of the Marvel Universe.

Viper

Gamora

Star-Lord

They are all 40 mm plastic figures from Atomic Mass Games and I calculate that to be worth a massive 21 points.

Now on to something more empirical in nature.

Cheers,
Steve

From Millsy:

The Marvel and DC universes are something I know next to nothing about but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate a sweet paint job!

These are really slick Steve and the basing really takes them to the next level. I think I'd have gone bonkers outlining all the concrete so kudos to you for taking that on.

21 very well earned points it is.

Cheers,
Millsy

From KentG: 28mm Samurai foot (135 points)

Well even though I wanted to be working on my Barons wars figures, 

I find myself painting my Japanese again, and I have to say I'm loving every 

moment maybe my colors aren't historically perfect but what 

the heck they will look good on the table, the figures will be used for 

multiple periods so the Sashimono's aren't specific to anything.

In the last picture you will see a bannerman with a red banner, 

I painted him before the challenge so he is not included in the points

 but was my test figure for the clan color set.

The Ashigaru figures are some of my favorite to paint

and these lads really pop, spent way to long on them but what the heck.

Love painting the big banners, there are 2 layers of blue one of

 sliver grey and 2 washes of white to create the white banner,

I know you can't see that depth but in person it's there and I'm really

 pleased with the effect the writing on the banner was just a one go freehand

all or nothing, was more afraid of recking all those layers of white,

hardest part was making sure it all fitted on the banner.

the figures below are my latest samurai in civilian dress 

and if I  i spent to long on the figures above oh boy did I get lost

painting these, I spent 4 hours plus on the first figure alone

the figure is 28mm from Footsore Miniatures.

the figure to the right was missing his hand holding the hilt 

so i used a hand from a plastic wargames Atlantic set and a hilt 

from a Fireforge Samurai set, there was another

 broken figures and even one missing, I got an 

email this morning from them saying replacements were on the way

These three characters are from the Perry set which i 

bought two or three sets of, not quite sure why I got so many

The figure from Footsore miniatures again is probably my

favorite and I lost track on the hours spent layering his coat and 

clothing

A little group shot of the team

point are pretty simple

27 x 28mm foot @5 points each = 135 pts

From Millsy:

Wow, another lovely batch of Samurai mate! I really like the palette you've chosen with flashes of colour contrasted with the earthy tones. The patterning on the fabrics is a lovely touch and really elevates these too.

Cracking work and another 135 points in the bank!

Cheers,

Millsy

From DaveD - 28mm Bolsheviks (110 points)

First completed items of the new year are more Bolsheviks  for the Back of Beyond collection . First up a Field Gun to deal with those pesky interventionist forces' armoured cars . 

76mm M1902 Field Gun . There are rumours there may be some gas shells in the vicinity.

My usual oddball Octagon bases - just because I like em 

  

I also have done transport for it . A Kominturn Tractor (a little later in the period but it will do ) . It was picked up at a bring and buy recently as part of a 3d printers “casualty corner trash“ but at a mere £5 for two I was happy to do 10 minutes of repair work.

Next I have 6 mounted figures . These are officers for the upcoming Red Guards cadre, Commissars and Cheka.

2 are done as cavalry command with blue arm of service marking , the others are infantry red. 

The horses were done in oils - so they were the first job of the challenge ,along with the others I need for later. 

 

All figures are from Copplestone back of beyond range . As usual they are  lovely figures to work on. 

Points :-

6 mounted = 60pts 

1 gun = 10 points 

4 gun crew = 20 points 

1 28mm Vehicle = 20 points 

Total 110 pts 

Cheers D

***

Ah, some Bolsheviks. I have often been intrigued by the Russian Civil War period - it is a fascinating time in history, but even better, it would be great just to have the chance to see Bolsheviks mowed down on the table.

Fine brushwork as ever Dave on your Commie concentration here. Copplestone's stuff is always a treat to work on, and it looks great here. Well done. 

I would be curious to know what is behind the octogon-shaped bases for the artillery? I suspect you have done this previously and I have just never noticed (or worse, you have explained this previously and I just missed it or I don't recall). I am interested in what is behind it. It looks great - I just like to know what is behind the various idiosyncrasies of us tabletop gaming folks!

110 points for you it shall be.

GregB 

From MartinN: Orc and Orcling (10 points.)

A couple of friends and I spent the last few days together painting miniatures and talking rubbish. A great time was had and as a result of this I came home with something a little unusual for me: An Orc. I'm not quite sure if it's an official GW miniature or not, but it was great fun to paint anyway. 

Roman Lanciarii in for a nasty surprise

For these I claim 5 points for a single 28mm miniature while I'd rate the Orcling as a 15mm miniature for an additional 2 points.

***

Well, that is one crazy-looking Orc you have here Nick! As ever, your brushwork really sets the standard. Quite right...those Lanciarii are in for a rather terrible day at the office, I expect. 

I like to consider myself an old grognard and afficianado of older GW castings, but I cannot say I recognize the provenance of this chap. He certainly has the LOOK of a big scary GW orc...perhaps a Challenger will recognize the casting and its origins.

Just incredible painting as usual Nick. I'm adding three bonus points for the checker pattern on the weapons. Because that is extra awesome and you get to do that kind of thing when you are the minion. 

GregB

From JamieM - Daughters of Khaine Spearhead (85 points)

Well, the starting gun has sounded and, as usual, I bit off for more than I could chew at the start of the challenge and only now have something finished. My process during the challenge is to start project A and get 85% done, then start project B as “it’s more efficient that way” and neglect project A. Then start project C before either project A or B is finished and end up with a mess of unfinished stuff lying everywhere

So I buckled on my Hat of Common Sense +1 and actually finished project A - a Daughters of Khaine force for Spearhead by GW (well, most of one as I had some figures already painted).

Age of Sigmar is a ruleset I’ve come to dislike. GW seemingly cannot help but give every a unit a special rule that breaks the normal rules. And don’t get me started on the “Double Turn” which is a d6 dice off to decide the game on plenty of occasions when I’ve played. But the Spearhead game, which uses Age of Sigmar rules but with small fixed forces (so no meta army building!) and also incorporates clever twists using cards and a small board is really rather good fun and plays very quickly. This is my second force for Spearhead and my other consists of three giants. Which is just as awesome as it sounds.

The first unit are the Melusai blood stalkers - five snake ladies with big bows. They were fun to put together and paint.

They pepper their opponent with arrows and sit on objectives quite nicely.

Next up are two units of five witch elves. Because the forces are fixed, I built five each out of the box using the two different build options for variety.

They were, to put it bluntly, a nightmare to build at times. Tiny connection points on the arms and the weight of the hair on the ones that had it dragged the head off the tiny neck if you looked away for a split second when the glue was drying.

I’m not a huge fan of the chainmail bikini aesthetic, but at least they are leaping into action instead of pulling a pouting pose.

This picture is with the rest of the figures that I’m not claiming for and gives me a spearhead to play with.

Points are 5 40mm bow snakes ladies for 35 and 10 28mm ladies for 50 to give 85 points in my opening salvo.

***

Great to have you back with us once again Jamie! I've no doubt many Challengers will relate to your "system" that you outlined here: let's call it the "A-B-C" system. I can certainly relate - in fact, I often bolt "D" and "E" on using the same approach! And then there are the "oh, wait, I might fit this in for a theme round" diversions that further f*** everything up...

Age of Sigmar is a game I have only tried a few times, but it does not surprise me to learn that GW would spike their own wheel when it comes to good gaming rules. As you say - they cannot help themselves. But AoS certainly has some entertaining sculpts. Like you, I can do without the stupid chainmail-bikini look - but then Dark Elves always have had that hipster tw*t aura to them, have they not? I'm sure Khain is thrilled with his daughters here. 

But regardless, you have some impressive painting all set here to kick things off. I can't wait for your next submission in two or three weeks time where you suddenly have "B", "C" and "A2" roll off the painting line :) 

85 points for you! I promise I'll update the scoresheet after I wake up :)

GregB