From MartinC - Another Army Finished (483 points)

One of my aims this year is to "complete" several armies that need playing with. Today is Normans and some VBCW chaps and chapesses.

The Normans I got last Christmas 2nd hand from Battleground Show. The infantry as a plastic set from Conquest

unarmoured spearmen

Armoured swordsmen

unarmoured swordsmen

Cavalry. These were a mix of Black Tree and 1st Corps (I think) fundamentally different sizes. So the smaller figures are on a double thick base and it works.

More Cavalry. That should do it for the Norman army, space in the drawer for a few more but not loads. Next up some VBCW and pulp figures

Posh old guy and female police(?) driver, think she should be army but think they will work well as a pair of detectives

Some more pulp types

A fat commando, of course

General VBCW types, these are partizans from a variety of manufacturers who I can't remember, probably Warlord and Black Tree

So this is quite a lot of points

Normans

20 cavalry@ 10 each = 200

33 infantry@5 each = 165

VBCW

21@5 each = 105

2 prone@2.5 each = 5

Grand total = 475pts

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A very nice selection of figures and it's always good to hear of figures getting a second life in new hands. Over the years I have bought lots of unpainted lead from Bring-and-buy stands and it always feel like I'm 'saving' the figures from an ignominious end. I like the fact that you've gone to the trouble of painting all the shields by hand. It's awfully tempting to either reach for decals or paint them plain. I'm awarding a couple of bonus points for the shields and another for the pennant. 

I like the eclectic mix of figures for your VBCW component of this entry. However, I think you're doing yourself a disservice by scoring half for the prone figures so I'm counting them as whole figures at 5pts each. So that brings your total for this entry up to 483. 

Lee

From SanderS - More Heroquest figures (80 points)

Hoi, So here's a surprise: more Heroquest figures from me. The game really benefits from as many scenario specific figures as you can manage to gather. I have managed to obtain quite a lot of "mercenaries" made for the game. These all resemble the early Empire soldiers with a quasi Landsknecht-ish uniform. I have already painted some up in black and some others in white so needed yet another different scheme, after some consideration I ended with the Ultramarines of the Empire: the Reiksguard.

There are several different weapons options and by leaving the hands with weapons unglued you can switch them out as needed. Since I have so many figures I just glued them on anyway.

So to distinguish between the weapon-types it looked like a good idea to do differently coloured plumes, they are all black with a different coloured tip.

Yellow plumes for the Halbardiers, blue for the greatswords and green for the scouts (sword and buckler). The officer, carrying a greatsword, has a white plume.

I also painted up some more single figures, 2 heroes and a monster. First up is the monster. It's an old school metal figure of a Pink/ Blue Horror from the Warp. It is fun when a daemon is summoned so here it is. Since my skills in blending are rubbish I decided to go with a classic case of dry brushing.

Then on we go towards another wizard. There's a website that's a true treasure trove for HQ called Ye Olde Inn and there you can get cards for all lores of magic, including Chaos, Skaven and so on. So having a lot of wizards is a good thing. I already have a bright (or fire) wizard but I could also use a blue one to depict the lore of air or water. It's a Zealot miniatures version of the HQ wizard and here he is:

Last but not least is a Hasslefree thief, but at a pinch, I could also use her as a sorceress. This is a lovely figure that just about painted herself...

There are 16 figures in this lot which should be good for another 80 points.

Cheers Sander

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More heroquest goodness and a great looking set f models. I love the wizard, he has so much energy it's a great figure. And the sultry sorceress in nicely done too. I like the fact you have distinguished the various Reiksguard figures with different plumes. A nice solid 80 points for this lot. 
Lee

From ChristopherS - US Airborne (80 points)

1 Squad Leader, 1 BAR,  2x Paras w/ Thompson smg

Adding some more Airborne reinforcements to my already existing collection. I've noticed through gaming I just didn't have enough Airborne troops so decided to paint up some more. I've been playing quite a bit of CoC and more squad options tend to be the most popular choice so these are needed.

6x Paras with M1 Garands

In terms of WWII I've always been drawn to the Airborne assets of all sides to US Para's, German Fallschirmjäger and just about any nationality that fielded troops of this type. I suppose it's a combination of uniform, Esprit de Corps and typically tough as old boots in a fight.

1x Bazooka  w/2 crew, 1x medic, and 1x LMG w/2 crew

I painted these using mostly with Vallejo paints and some Foundry and AP adding additional highlights plus some MIG pigments on the bases.

The figures themselves are from Artizan Designs and because of some exaggerations they pack a lot of character and are very painter friendly. They are really great models to work with just the right amount detail to suggest who and what they are, but not so much you get lost in it.

I have some more on they way....

So that's 15x 28mm miniatures for 75pts. total.

Thanks for viewing!

Miniature Company- Artizan Designs

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Lovely work Chris, these look excellent. I agree with your assessment that they have plenty of character and they must have been great fun to paint. In my experience, a well-sculpted model is such a pleasure to put a brush to its often reflected in the finished paint job and clearly, that enjoyment comes across completely in these figures. In fact, they are so nicely done I'm going to award a few extra bonus points for the excellent brushwork. 

Lee

From FranL: Predators, Colonial Marine APC, Crab Aliens and some buildings! (111 Points)

A hodgepodge of stuff today while I work on larger projects, some 28mm Predators, an APC with the crew from Prodos Games and some 15mm terrain.

The Prodos stuff comes from a friend in England (no not Ray), he undercoated and built the APC and I now notice I need to sort something out regards the Predator and I've just boxed the lot, sigh.......

Super Predator I believe.....

Valentines Day Predator?

The 15mm crabby brothers from Septimus Prime, figures from Khurasan......

Crew for APC......

APC model, very expensive for some awful sculpting errors.....

Lots of interior detail and crew in place.........

Completed model........

HO scale model, plastic from China, just over 9 euros including postage and needs a company sign to finish it off and some paint which has now been done.......

A 15mm MDF cinema from Blotz, needs some miniature movie posters for the outside, no interior access to either building but they'll do to add to the multitude of buildings I already own............

Points wise, 10 for the predators, 35 for the APC, 16 for the crabs and 50 for the buildings= 111 points?

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More Sci-fi... I'm sensing a theme with your entries this year! I really like the APC with all that interior detailing and crew. The buildings are good too. Where would we be without access to cheap plastic imports from China... eBay has a lot to answer for (my credit card bill for one thing). Points wise I agree with your calculations. The buildings are a bit difficult to score but based on the dimensions you emailed me I reckon you're about right with the points.

Lee

KenR - 28mm Italian Wars Papal Pike Block (250 Points)

It's here, at last, the long-promised Papal Pike Block! I started this on the First week of the challenge and have been chipping away at the edges each week after my weekly Cavalry unit or Bonus Theme was done. It's been a long road but we got there.

The figures are all from Perrys with a mix of plastic and metal figures making up the unit. 8 figures on each base, 60mm x 50mm for the rear 4 bases and 60mm x 110mm for the front two. I extended the front bases to protect both the figures and the fingers of those playing (the front pikes are steel and damn sharp).

The rear ranks have the pikes upright, the middle bases at a 60 to 45-degree angle, whilst the front ranks are lowered. Mixed in are some Polearm figures protecting the flags and the Officer figures.

So 6 bases, 8 figures a base gives a total of 48 28mm figures at 5 pts a piece is a mini-bomb of 240 points plus 4 extra for the 4 flags, giving a grand total of 244, which are claimed for my main total and the Renaissance Side Duel.

The flags are those of Pope Julius II who was also known as the Warrior Pope, he was in office from 1503 to 1513 after the Borgia Pope. He was a huge patron of the arts, laying the foundations of the current St Peters Basilica and commissioning Michelangelo to paint the Sistine Chapel, an old film "The Agony and the Ecstasy" covers his relationship with the artist. Rex Harrison playing the Pope and Charlton Heston Michelangelo, worth a look if you haven't seen it.

I have to say that I am really happy with this unit, it came out just as planned. We are getting close to getting an Italian Wars game soon as the figure collection grows, should be good.

Below is a picture of the Pike Block with its accompanying unit of Shot. The livery is my own interpretation and I have added the odd Papal key insignia on some of the figures to give them a bit of individuality.

There should also be the next instalment of the Gendarme collection up today. Next week I will be adding a unit of Stradiots along with some WW2 Desert vehicles I need for an upcoming game.

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Oh my, this is a truly wonderful looking unit Ken. I'm always impressed when I see a well-painted pike block and these guys don't disappoint. I did some 6mm pike stuff of my own a couple of challenges ago and I know from painful memory they can be really difficult to handle, let alone paint. These guys will draw blood on the battlefield, as much from the players as the opposing army! I concur with your points calculation but I'm throwing in six bonus points as well for the sheer audacity of attempting such a unit, and pulling it off with such flair! That's 250 points of sharp pointy goodness! 

Lee

From AlexS - Tatar cavalry (240 points)

Hello to all! My name is Alex, I'm from Russia and I started a new project. After all, I finished two old projects thanks to this event. My new project is the army of the Moscow kingdom in the first half of the 17th century. My friend and I, who are gathering the army of Sweden for this period, are going to play "For the King and Parliament" by the wonderful rules of Simon Miller.

I have already made a few European mercenaries for this period, but the cavalry was an important component of the Russian army at that moment. Among them is the Tatar cavalry. And I made it from the sets from the Gripping Beast and the FireFoge Games. Simon has not yet released an addendum to the rules that allow the Thirty Years War to be played, but we decided that the Tatar cavalry would have some of the characteristics of the Scottish cavalry. Only they will have bows ...

As primary colors, I used early shades of green and brown. It gave a very interesting overall look.

I used the base size of 180x80 millimeters. I usually located on a 24+ foot base model or a 12 horse, but I decided to use the 8 models. It seemed to me that such an amount would add drama to the detachment and show that this is not regular cavalry.

I also used different weapons to make the squad look even more interesting.

General view: horse "lava" attacks. Maybe I will paint more troops for this game during the event. Or close another big project. I can not say for sure.

Points:
28 mm 24 cav - 24x10=240 points

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Great looking cavalry unit Alex. They certainly look like a wild bunch and I like the fact that you have been able to add some variety by swapping weapons. The colours also look spot on making this a very nice looking unit. That's another 240 points to add to your total. 
Lee

It's Tuesday and I want's it!

Wow, Tuesday seems to come around quicker and quicker each week. Its almost as if I'm addicted to it in some way. You could even say, it has become precious to me (see what I did there). Tuesday came to me and no nasty little Hobbitses are going to takes it and put it in their pocketses! Even ones with crumbs on their shirt (I'm looking at you Ray). But the Precious belongs to the master and I has to swear to serve the master of the precious. Master needs to be resting. Master needs to keep up his strength for the bonus rounds.

Ok, I'm struggling with the Gollum references now...so what have we got for you today? So far (and there's time for more) we have nine entries lined up for your viewing pleasure, including; Tartar Cavalry; an amazing Italian Wars Papal Pike Block; More sci-fi goodness from Fran including a couple Predators and a famous APC; some beautiful US Airborne; some Heroquest figures; Normans and VBCW in the same post; a lonely Faramir; and an inevitable Donnybrook entry (or two) from Ray.

Once again I take my hat off to the Tuesday Crew for the amazing turnout and quality of the entries. Seriously, guys, your output is prodigious and enviable.