From SteveG: Carthage and The naughty Gallic boy (145 points)

 1st up are some very nice "Punic Citizens Cavalry"    3D prints by Resin Warfare. 28mm 

Then comes the tale of a naughty Gallic boy. One night he crept into the local Roman Camp and painted some shields with white paint.  Discovered at the end of his escapade  he flees for his life past unimpressed women folk and farmers. His brother looks on hoping he wont be blamed.  The town dogs show varying levels of interest. The irate Romans approach the town chief whilst some  Gallic warrior, alarmed at all the commotion, prepare for the worst.   

where is that little swine ?  

Wotgivesarix hopes to placate the Romans with roast pork and mead. It's always worked before! 

otherwise his stunted bodyguard may be needed.  

so points  ....

4 x cav = 40 

16x humans and dogs = 80 

oxen and cart w rooster  = 15 points 

so  150 I guess ? [145 after I adjusted the cart score - Millsy]

From Millsy:

Another jam packed submission of ancient goodness mate!

The cart in particular (scored as a vehicle - 10 points) is really flavourful and the timber effect is spot on. I also noted what looks like one of those new fangled patterned cloaks made from real fabric on the driver. Is that right?

145 more points is a great haul for this late on when the enthusiasm is starting to ebb. Nice work.

Cheers,

Millsy

From GeoffT: Aliens, fantasy and pirates (76 points)

Hello challengers,

I have a mixture here this week.

The first image is two alien monstrosities for Stargrave.  We have an Ursoric, a giant bear like creature with scorpion tails protruding from its shoulders.  Next is an Arsendryder, an intelligent arsenic based life form, that appears like a camel without a hump, long front legs and short back legs and a rocky skin.  These monsters are made from cutting up cheap plastic toys to match the description in the rules supplement called bold endeavour.  They appear in one scenario with a less than 50% chance of turning up.  I expect they are there for people who like making things.  With the author’s propensity to describe camel, scorpion and hyena hybrids, those plastic toys are always on my shopping list.

These are hobgoblins but citadel miniatures, from the mid 1980s.  Rescued from a second hand collection.

Next are two more second hand minis.  On the left is a very old miniature of unknown origins, probably a necromancer as she has a thigh bone in one hand and a curved dagger in the other.  The one on the right is a complete adventurer from reaper bones.

More pirates, seven of them and a ships wheel.

This weeks minis together for scale.  As you can see the monsters are quite big. About 50mm tall each.

Total points, there are 11 x  28mm foot for 5 points each, two monsters around 54mm for 10 points each and a ships wheel mini, which was pretty minimal effort to paint, so maybe 1 point for an estimated total of 76 points.

From Millsy:

Nice to see someone else giving some classic lead a bit of love mate. There's a clear scale discrepancy between the necromancer and adventurer but your top paint job and matched basing, plus a little cunning thinker base work means it's not really that noticeable if you are not looking for it.

The pirates are once again a great mob and added to your efforts thus far mean you really do have a significant collection now. Nice work!

76 more gold doubloons for your total Geoff. Love em.

Cheers,

Millsy

From Barks: More Underhive denizens (30 points)

My painting time has really stalled out this Challenge, but I forced myself to get some figures done. These are a variety of beings you may find in the Underhive.

The malstrain is a corrupted genestealer. I slightly trimmed back and toned down the excess spikes of the original sculpt, as I thought they were a bit much even for me. I've got more of these to paint but its a slow fiddly process. He's a big boy on a 40mm base. I've gone for a severe cataract eye. The pustules remind me of the original plastic 'stealers.

With an untrimmed figure

Next, I have some winged figures- two caryatids and a cherub. Caryatids are nearly mythical figures to underhivers, and are associated with good luck. The smaller metal figure is a very limited sculpt associated with Colony 87- read more here. He's on a 20mm base, and is definitely a 'he'.

This cherub had a goatee and hair
but I trimmed it back to be more Churchillian.

Somewhere in this medic servoskull is a skull!

I really like this underseer sculpt. It nails the bizarre bodies and mechadendrites of the tech-priests.

Postscript: I was bullied/peer-pressured into painting some patches onto flight suits and trying to get a mirrorshades effect onto Ferro's aviators. Are you happy now?

Six figures of varying sizes... 25 points?

+1 skull for the skull challenge (total 45)

From Millsy:

Any submission that makes use of the term "denizen" is a winner in my books! These are all superb mate but I am particularly impressed and at the same time a bit disturbed by the underseer. I have little idea what mechadendrites are but I suspect I'm better off that way.

Kudos for your efforts on the mirrrorshades and patches. I've awarded a bonus five points because I resist every temptation to revisit something so if you can be bothered it should pay off.

Cracking stuff Barks. 30 more underhive credits for you.

Cheers,

Millsy

From RichardM: Confederation of the Rhine dump and a few cavalry regiments (166 points)

A big dump of remaining Confederation of the Rhine units and the last of the British /KGL cavalry.  

As I come to the end of painting units from the Confederation of the Rhine a word on the madness of my hobby is perhaps warranted.  The units that I have painted were primarily engaged in small skirmishes, convoy protection and action against the Spanish guerillas - although some were in larger battles, particularly early in the war.  At the scale I play, few of their actions are likely to see the tabletop.  However, after I read about the units in the wonderful series of books by Digby Smith, I was taken by their variety both in origin and uniform.  Hence I decided to add them to my forces.  If they do not see the table in many historical refights, I expect I will bring them to the table when playing some what-if actions.   

Onto this week's contribution.  

First up is the 4th Regiment of the Confederation of the Rhine - three battalions composed of contributions from five Saxon states.  The 3rd battalion being a light battalion is dressed in green.  There is some uniform variation within the battalions given their mixed origins.  I was unable to find any information on colours used and given the numerous states there may not have been battalion colours.  So to outfit these battalions, I have used flags from states that comprise the battalions - Sachsen-Gotha for the 1st and 2nd Battalions and Sachsen-Weimar for the 3rd.  

3rd Light Battalion on the right

Next is the 6th Regiment of the Confederation of the Rhine - two battalions, with the 1st from Schwarburg and the 2nd from Waldeck and Reuss.   Again we have uniforms that vary by contingent and colours that I have added from the states of origin.   

Then we have the Princes' Battalion.  This was raised from six different small states of Thuringia whereby each house was to provide a company, consequently there is some variation in uniforms worn in the battalion.  They were ordered to the Peninsular in January 1809 where they were engaged in small actions and, like many other units, worn down to eventually become ineffective.  In 1810, the remaining troops were absorbed into the 5th and 6th Regiments (shown above).  They are unlikely to have had a battalion colour so I have used one from the House of Rudolstadt who provided the 2nd Company.

The next is the Frankfurt Battalion.  This entered the Peninsular in late 1808 after being mobilised by order of Napoleon in August 1808.  I have painted it in the white uniform that it entered the Peninsular with - it it believed to have changed to blue coats after the Battle of Medellin in March 1809.  There is also very little evidence or information on the colour that they carried so I searched for a Frankfurt colour that was used at another time. 

This cavalry unit fits the category of why do I bother.  It is the Nassau Chasseurs a Cheval and only ever had two squadrons in Spain.  I know this now that I have done some research on it - but at the time of purchasing the figures a few years ago I didn't look to see how many squadrons were raised - I just saw a regiment listed so purchased enough to do the four squadrons.  It was also only involved in skirmishes and small actions - but I am a completist and as I had the figures I painted them.  They did not carry a colour into the Peninsular - but that wasn't stopping me. 

Lastly there is the one additional Light Dragoon regiment for the British / KGL troops.  This is the 1st KGL Light Dragoons which are uniformed essentially the same as the two British Light Dragoon regiments I painted a few weeks ago.  This ends the Light Cavalry I need for the Allies in the Peninsular with three regiments in total.

Points

4th Regiment - three battalions each of 36 figures @ 0.5 points per figure = 54 points

6th Regiment - two battalions each of 36 figures @ 0.5 points per figure = 36 points

Princes' Battalion of 36 figures @ 0.5 points per figure = 18 points

Frankfurt Battalion of 36 figures @ 0.5 points per figure = 18 points

Nassua Chasseurs of 20 mounted figures @ 1 point per figure = 20 points 

1st KGL Light Dragoons of 20 mounted figures @1 point per figure = 20 points 

Total = 166 points

From Millsy:

Like you Richard I've always been captivated by the minor nations and allies in the armies of Napoleon. So often maligned they did an awful lot of the dirty work and received little credit for their contributions. My own "French" armies have always included a healthy number of Confederation, Saxon or Bavarian troops.

Their uniforms are interesting and diverse and depending on scale you can even mix uniforms in the same units because some contingents were simply too small to operate on their own as your Thuringians demonstrate.

I've thoroughly enjoyed your deep dive into these rarely seen units. It'd be great too see them all together in single photo if that's possible.

Great work as always mate and another 166 points added to your considerable tally.

Cheers,

Millsy

From Millsy: More circuit breaker fantasy minis (25 points)

G'day All,

Progress is steadily happening with the Late Romans but again there's nothing ready to show this week, largely because the weather has been appalling and both varnishing and basing is a real pain to fit in. There will definitely be a crop for next week though.

In the interim I'm still filling gaps with ancient fantasy lead. This week it's a small batch of Grenadier Models orcs and goblins. Some searching on the truly wonderful Lost Minis Wiki has allowed me to clearly identify four of these five as Lesser Orc w. Sword, Goblin of the Mount 1 w. Sword, Goblin of the Mount w. Axe and Lesser Orc w. Waraxe. I don't have Goblin of the Mount w. Spear unfortunately but a hunt has begun!

The last chap (on the extreme left) I believed was a Denizen Miniatures goblin but cannot locate him online anywhere. Answers on a postcard comment if you can identify him!

5 x 25mm greenskins = 25 points. Importantly (to me at least!) this takes me past my initial 1,500 point target, so I'm upping my target to 1,800 to push myself these last few weeks.

Thanks for looking!

Cheers,
Millsy

***

Well done Millsy - this is another lovely little "circuit breaker" while your late Roman troops continue to muster. All of these little green fellows have a classic look that will inspire a jolt of nostalgia for Challengers. The fact that the painting is sharp, and green "just right" is just an added bonus - great stuff!

And well done smashing through your points target!

Greg

From JamieM - Wild West Exodus Greys (30 points)

Just a small submission from me this week - some grey aliens from the Wild West Exodus game.

I doubt I’ll ever play them in Wild West Exodus (although the rules are apparently getting a reboot, so you never know) and I’ve used the previous figures I’ve painted from this line in post apocalyptic games. Did they cause the apocalypse? Are they just taking advantage of the carnage? Or did they get shot down and, like ET, are just trying to get home? (I’m pretty sure everyone reading this of a certain generation just said “Phone Home” in their best ET accent…..)

Nice and simple colour scheme and they’re ready to abduct some cows. I’m not a huge fan of all of the sculpts (a little bit too much "Jazz Hands" going on) but I can live with it.

I think this is possibly the last scheduled Thursday round before the free fire starts, so I’ll take the opportunity to thank Greg the minion for being an absolute gentleman and a scholar whilst herding and scoring the Thursday crew’s work! It wouldn’t be the challenge without the minions taking time out of painting schedules to comment and publish the posts, so thank you.

Simple scoring with six 28mm figures for 30 points.

***

Cheers Jamie! Great to see you back with another batch of UK Labour Party MPs...I had no idea so many sculpts of them were available in 28mm...oh...wait...ah, I see, these are ACTUAL aliens! Brilliant! 

I enjoy the painting very much, but as is so often the case, is the casual sentiments about the hobby on the side that I relate to so much and are such a great part of the Painting Challenge. Figures for a game that one hasn't played, and may or may not ever play, but might be getting a reboot but...ah, whatever, they look fun and they fit with a different game, so away we go! I've no doubt many here will relate :)

Thinking back to the opening time of AHPC XVI, I seem to recall that you had multiple version of a plan in place - plan A, plan B, plan E, etc. And I bet these fellows were not even "plan F" - but you got them over the line. Well done!

It's been a treat to have you on the Thursday crew Jamie! Keep those brushes moving until things conclude! Until then, another 30 points for you. 

GregB

From RhysH - Supers and a Dinosaur (35 points)

This week Rhys has more Supers from AMG's Marvel Crisis Protocol and another dinosaur from the upcoming Dino game from our local developer.

First up is Mysterio (Quentin Beck). 

The next entry is Shocker.

Rhys painted this one exactly like the drawing on the unit card.

The MCP figures are dynamic, though often very fiddly to assemble.

The large bases make each model a mini-diorama.

Last of the supers is Vulture, another very dynamic sculpt.

Rhys went all-in on the metal wings.

This is a great view of the intricate wings on the model.

The last piece of MCP kit is an objective marker.

It's some bit of ruined - stuff.

Even the objectives are intricate and fiddly.

The final entry for this week is a small lizardy dinosaur.

These are very nice sculpts and a great example of the way the state of the art has advanced in recent years. These are resin casts but a local dude could afford to get them sculpted and cast.

The water base nicely captures this thing's natural habitat.

That's 3 x 54mm = 30 points

1 x 54mm objective = 5 points?

1 x 28mm four footed figure = 5 points

Total = 40 points

***

Hi Rhys - great to see more super hero production from your painting table. As you say, the MCP figures certainly look exciting and dynamic in their posing, but the experienced-wargamer-side of my mind always clinches a little bit when you see such figures with tenuous connections to bases. They might be super tough in their universe, but the models portraying them are not always super tough in the real world...but whatever, they look great. My favourite of the lot is Shocker, as he appears to be on point with his powers and task!

I like the objective marker too, but that would count as a terrain bit, and so would be left to Byron to sort out. Perhaps he might opine in a separate post or comment.

The dino is lovely, and nice work on the water base!

That's 35 points for you Rhys for the non-terrain figures - well done!

GregB