From RossM - The Last Post (Mixed scales 110 Points)

Challenge end always comes around too quick and I am never ready enough for it.

Firstly, a few thank yous

• To the Monday crew, awesome body of hobby painting and glad to have been a part of it
• Pete, thanks for organising the above crew and keeping us in line for posting. Superb job all round
• To everyone, thank you all. Its always a pleasuring sharing the darkest months of the year with so many fellow hobbyists. 
• Lastly, and by no means least, Curt, the Snow Lord. Thanks for creating the AHPC thirteen years ago. I've been involved over the last twelve of those thirteen. Looking forward to sharing in future events too. 

So, now to the posts for my last entry this year. 

Perry Wars of the Roses Man at Arms - 1 x 28mm infantry at 5 points

Northstar Miniatures - Cultist Guards - 2 x 28mm infantry at 10 points

Vikings - Foundry and Gripping Beast - 3 x 28mm infantry at 15 points

The figures painted for this entry are the two bare chested berserker and the rear most swordsman on the left stand.

Plastic Soldier Company Early Imperial Roman Cavalry - 3 x 15mm cavalry at 12 points

Forged in Battle Early Imperial Romans Cataphracts - 4 x 15mm cavalry and 3 x 15mm riders at 22 points 

Four horses and riders were painted from scratch and another three riders also made the pass. The problem is I don't know which are which other than all of the command stand was started prior to the start date of the AHPC XIII

Gladiator Miniatures Numidians light cavalry - 16 points

Opps! Where did the horses nose go?

Xyston Miniatures Thracians archers - 8 x 15mm infantry at 16 points

Rapier Miniatures Macedonian Phalanx - 28 x 6mm infantry at 14 points

Fiddly getting the single 6mm figures on the base in lines but worth it in the end. The ragged pikes work to my eye; perfection is too much at times and who really knows what massed sarrissa looked like. 

This completes my efforts for this year's Challenge leaving a few also rans in the sidelines that didn't make the finish line. 

The total for the above comes to 110 points with a running total for the challenge at 221 (44.2% of the challenge total). Fell short of the total  however, it always the taking part that counts for me!

As always, it's been a blast and looking forward to the lift off later this year!

Cheers for now, 

RossM

____________________________

What a wonderful assortment of figures to end your Challenge, Ross! So much to admire here. I always have a soft spot for WotR, so that single man at arms is a winner for me. But all of the rest is excellent as well. I especially like the Cultists and the 6mm pikemen. Excellent work.

Until next year, Ross.  :)

- Curt

From RossM: 6mm Greek Artillery (6 pts)

Second entry for this year's challenge and it is both small in scale and points; not that either really matter it's the fun of being that counts. 

The entry consists of two torsion catapults from Baccus Miniatures that evaded glued fingers and general mishaps in the prepping and painting. The catapults are four part kits and needed some help with blu-tack to prop bits up during drying. Still managed to have a bit of slippage on one but it's not the end of the world at 1/300 scale.

For the Challenge Points tally these net a hefty 6 points total which takes my running total to 14 (2.8 % of my challenge total). There are a few things in the pipeline that will improve that over the next few weeks. 

Anyhow, enough rambling and cheers for now!

Those are big machines even in a small scale.  I'd hate to be on the receiving end of what they're chucking about.  Four-part kits at this scale is pure torture so kudos for getting these up and running without damage to your digits.  Nice basing too.

From RossM: 6mm Greek Bolt Throwers 8 pts

They say that at a beginning is a delicate time, well as this is my first post for AHPC XII it is indeed that. The pictures below are of 6mm Greek Bolt Throwers from Baccus Miniatures and are not the 15mm EIR Legionnaires originally planned for this post

It always amazes me how much detail that 6mm figure producers can show in their product and these are no exception. The actual bolt throwers are two part kits easily assembled and I even managed not to glue myself to them - it's happened before on bigger kits to be fair. 

On the tabletop these may seen as hard hitters however in terms of points for the challenge they are the first step of many. What is important is that they are that first step allowing more to follow. 

Based on 40mm squares for DBA and ADLG these will be a part of the ongoing Macedonian and Punic Wars project that has been bubbling under for several years now. 

As my first entry these 6mm warmachines and crew will net 8 points (1.6% of my challenge total). 

Looking forward to picking up some pace now on the painting front and working on both those pesky EIR Legions and some 28mm Wars of the Roses Men at Arms for future entries. 

Cheers for now, Ross

Ross Varus where are my Legions?!?!  Please excuse the Brian Blessed moment.

Lovely little bolt shooters Ross, they turned out very well and you've based them nicely.  They should do good service clearing Scythians from river banks, as Anti-Elephant weapons and skewering Cataphracts.  There seem to be a lot of varied Ancient and Dark Age Late Antiquity/Early Medieval projects on the hoof this year which is always great to see.  

I heart you on the fiddly little bits and gluing fingers together challenges.

BenF: 15mm Hellenistic Ancients (Istvaan V) 164 Pts

Well, I've not managed to post anything for the last few weeks, but that doesn't mean that I haven't been productive. Besides finally contracting the dreaded lurgi and being isolated for 7 days along with my wife and 3 year old, I've actually managed to paint up quite a few 15mm and 6mm figures, even a few aircraft! For this entry, I include the last (for this challenge) of my Hellenistic Ancients for my Impetus 2 forces. These are a mixed bag of light troops and mercenaries.

First off, the javelinmen. These are a base each of Illyrians, Kappadokians, and the Agrianians. The shield designs are all hand painted, and the Kappadokians are headswapped. All figures are from Forged in Battle's 15mm War and Empire range. 

Kappadokians

Illyrians

Agrianians

Next, its a horde of Thracians. These are a ubiquitous mercenary unit which served the Persians, Macedonians, Successors, and others. While the shield patterns on this lot are the excellent LBMS offerings, the geometric patterns on the cloaks are hand painted. These are seen often in Greek pottery and funerary paintings, as well as being described by Herodotus. The armoured lot are armed with the terrifying rhomphaia, a mix between a war axe, spear, and sword. As mercenaries, Thracian troops would often look after themselves, betraying their employer when unpaid.

Thracians with Rhomphaia

Thracian Peltasts

Next, it's the last bits of my Late Achaemenid Persian host, the infantry. These took me a long time to get the nerve up to attempt, not only because of the ornately decorated pyjamas, but also because they are, shall we say, not the highest quality troops you would find on an ancient battlefield. First the Kardakes and Takabara, light foot, the Takabara appear to possibly have been some kind of imitation hoplite, armed with javelins. To represent them, I ground the peltast shields of some Kardakes and added hoplite shields with LBMS decals.

The Kardakes were more akin to Greek peltasts, though they may have been some kind of cadet corps of light infantry. I hand painted the shield designs on these as LBMS don't make any decals for the peltast shields. Very pretty in the end, but the slingers are probably the most effective warriors of the lot of them! 

Takabara.

Kardakes

Slingers

Finally, it's a bevvy of Greek and Macedonians. The cavalry are Greek mediums, which can serve as Thessalians, though when I painted them I was inspired by the Hippeis of Kineas of Athens. This is the mercenary cavalry formation of Greek outcasts and warriors commanded by the Athenian exile, Kineas, to whom they owe absolute loyalty. Kineas is the protagonist for the first two of Christian Cameron's excellent Tyrant series.

The books describe their blue cloaks and some silvered armour, so here you are. I also drilled out and replaced the short javelins on the Forged in Battle figures with longer spears to represent the kontos used by Greek and Macedonian cavary during the period. I've also painted up a generic Macedonian command stand, perhaps representing Alexander's doomed general Zopyrion who was defeated by the Skythians and Olbians. I've also created a command base for Antigonos I Monopthalmus, or 'One-Eye', one of the greatest of Alexander's successors. I sculpted the eye patch on to represent this old war hound. One-Eye lived a remarkably long life filled with a remarkable amount of violence, and when he finally died in combat at the Battle of Ipsus in 301BC, he was 81 years old!

The Hippeis, led by Kineas of Athens.

The unfortunate Zopyrion

Antigonos I Monopthalmus. Annoyingly, I just noticed the flock on the standing commanders face!

That's it for the Ancients this entry. Next challenge I aim to focus on building up my 15mm Ancient forces more, most likely either on Carthaginians, or to make a start on my Nikephorian Byzantines. 

Grand total is 164points for this lot by my calculations

15mm foot = 52 @ 2 pts

15mm mounted = 10 @ 4 pts

Istvaan V bonus (betrayal for the Thracians, or Loyalty for the Hippeis) = 20 pts

From Millsy:

Another utterly amazing addition to your Ancients efforts this challenge Ben.

Everything is so wonderfully colourful and at the same time cohesive. Your bold colour choices, composition and complimentary basing style make your work so tempting to try and replicate.

As a fan of Carthaginians myself I'm putting in an early request for some of them next challenge please mate!

Wonderful work once again. Kudos.