From GillesW - My Last Submission: THE BIG WEDGE! (43 Points)

Hi Everyone,

Here is the last submission of thefrenchjester of the 6th Challenge!

I'm fan of Fish and Marillion hence the title of this post and what you'll see below

A big wedge of byzantine kataphraktoï for my thematic project, the figures are from Essex Miniatures and Alain Touller Figurines byzantine ranges,  as usual I have changed the lead spears for plastic ones, I also added bow cases on the rear rankers.

Here are two more subordinates for my Basileus

When I did the shields on the standard bearers and added some highlights here and there on the banners, I painted a sun on the plain shield of the Basileus base and changed his flag (one tail wasn't complete).

The base below don't count for this batch, it's just there for eye view.

A pic of the full command and that's all for now

Alas, one more time I had the eyes bigger than my stomach and I missed the goal of 1515 points, I'll do better next time coach Curt!

Thanks to all for this 6th challenge, full of nice submissions, entertaining stories, new ideas and advice and of course for your kind comments on my posts, a special thank to Greg (my Friday Minion) who lightened, rectified, corrected, improved,etc... all my messages "un grand merci à toi Greg!";- )

Be seeing you ;-)

What a wonderful way to exit the stage, Gilles. The kataphractoi and these command stands are just gorgeous - real stunners. I love the vibrant colours you've maintained throughout the Challenge for your shields, clothing and banners - your figures have been a treat for the eyes and I'm delighted that you joined us again this year. Here's looking to your return for our seventh edition! 

From GillesW - Far to be Byzance! (60 points)

Hi Everyone! Not so far from my goal of 1515 points after this submission, but I'll still have to paint 300 points in nine nights (ouch!).

This week it was the "great anything". I've been diverted by Rome Total War 2 and only painted a Basileus for my Thematic Byzantine project and few skirmishers. My choice for leader went to Romanos I Lekapenos, a low-born admiral who became emperor circa 920AD. The guy is very classy with his red boots!!

The figure is from Outpost Miniatures Range like the musician, the standard bearer is from Alain Touller Figures' Nikephorian range. The standard is the "Iconic" Lady of Blachernae.

Up next is the small group of Byzantine staff slingers from Essex Miniatures. There's only one pose but they are easy to paint.

I also painted some Isaurian light infantrymen. The figures are actually Dacians from Essex Miniatures with plastic spears, but they 'll do the business and work just fine at this scale.

Now the countdown is beginning!

Salut Gilles - the countdown is indeed on, and if anyone in the group is going to blast out 300 points in the remaining days of the Challenge, I expect many out there will join me in assuming The French Jester will be more than up to the task.  Another batch of wonderful ancients for us to enjoy, touching on a period of special interest to me - the Byzantines! Red boots for the boss are cool indeed, and that command stand is particularly nice.  I love that banner too - the look of Byzantine art, paintings and imagery just mezmerize me for some reason.  The Basileus will have a great time on the gaming table, I'm sure.

Great work all around, et une autre 60 point pour vous! A la prochaine!

From GillesW - Catching up on the Backlog - and Borix the Bard! (160 points)

Hi everyone,

I slowly catching up my "base and flock it!"  backlog this week, at least on my Chinese infantry.
These figures are from Essex Miniatures.  I painted them to replace some older ones I had painted previously.  The spears and halberds have been cut off and changed for plastic spears and I have added a banner from the excellent "Little Big Men" studios.

The main issue was to flock them like those I already based some years ago, so I could mix and match them on the table it if needed.

I also worked on more generic Chinese troops in case I want to play something different.  These are bowmen and crossbowmen. I'll paint the same skirmishers but with a brown base to use them in medieval settings too.

To me, this is not a true "points bomb" because the painting was done during the  3 and 4 weeks ago.
I still have some biblical, hellenistic, carthaginian and generic renaissance troops waiting their turn in the queue as I try to finish basing.

But I did paint sone figures this week - some Gauls with a new idea in mind, inspired by the magnificent figures of Miss Anne. Only it is on a more modest scale of course  - don't forget that I'm only a jester ;-)

I did a white undercoat and washed it in my mixture (the wash, known as "frenchjester's bath" is on my blog). Then I put a red glaze called Bloodletter (from Games Workshop) on the flesh areas. Once dry I highlighted here and there the skin with the Ungor Flesh  of Games Workshop, and added the details.

Here is the subject just below:

 Borix the Bard is a limited edition sculpted by Westwind Miniatures for a French friend of mine
(guess how much money he spent for the Kickstarters??) who play Gauls and all sorts of French armies all along the French history

 I'll use it as commander of my Ancient celtic mercenaries.

There are some conversions like heads and shields swaps among these warriors, the shields are inspired by the paintwork done on an Ancient British army by one of my paint masters the great Ian Speed. I find the " so fast" result  on the skins very interesting ( enough to self congratulations ;-)).
more of them will certainly follow...thanks a lot Anne!

Bien fait come toujours, Gilles! Well done.  Whenever you got the painting done, so long as it was done during the Challenge, then this looks like a real points bomb to me.  A lot of variety here (Chinese? Super cool!) but I quite like Borix the Bard, and I envy the esteem in which his colleagues appear to hold him (and the apparent strength they have to carry him around like that). And I'm sure Anne will be pleased to have influenced the work of a painter as prolific and proficient as yourself!

These 79 figures, along with a couple of extra points for spear replacing mayhem and the banner, get you 160 points.  What will the Jester have for us next week? J'attend avec enthousaisme...

From GillesW - I'll do it tomorrow! (74 points)

"I'll do it tomorrow." That's what I have been saying for three weeks as I saw these figures waiting for their bases and flock ( Lazy jester!). This week I flicked from a project to another, but at least I have finally done the last group of heavy cavalry of my "Mongol Conquest" project, the army is finished (yes I know only for now;-)).

They will fight their first game this evening (that 's probably why they are ready).

Then I returned to my Italian Communal stuff with the addition of some bow and crossbow skirmishers.

I also reworked the flags of the command bases, resizing and painting highlights on them cause they were too small (something to compensate lord Farquuad??), this give me no points but I quite happy now, at least enough to return on the project and just to satisfy my "oversized EGO" I present them to you:

Jacopo Rangon di Modena and Jacopo dei Pazzi, standard bearer of the Florentine flag:

Bilenchi + the flag of "di Popolo di Firenze", a St Georges cross:

    

     Dante Alighieri (the man who wrote The Divine Comedy) + the flag of the Guelf party.

     The dead horse is bearing the arms of the famiglia Silembini who financed the Sienese party ( money don't do all ;-)

The last one is for the allied city of Pistoia with the Famiglia Montemagni + Famiglia Cancelleria bearing the standard of their town:

I will have more communal Italian to come...

Bien fait encore Gilles! Well done.  Very nice to see the "finish" of your Mongol force.  I hope they bring you victory tonight - although you know what they say about newly painted figures and their first game...

I think we can all relate to the feeling of "I'll do it tomorrow."  Although in my case I am often saying that about shoveling snow or cutting the grass, so I can paint instead.  But I can understand hesitation on groundwork and flocking...it's important, but not quite as much fun as painting the miniatures themselves, is it?

Great stuff all around, and nice to see more Italian Wars figures appear.  No doubt Peter will have some academic points to make about all these Italian fellows.  All I know is they look right to me! 

So I'll throw in a couple of extra points for work on banners - another part of the hobby I struggle with, so I respect the strong work of others.  Une autre 74 points pour vous, Mr. le Jester.  A la semaine prochaine!