From Millsy: 28mm Erin Celtic Myth (Sarah) and 40K Death Guard (Caprica)

Hi All,

Second post for me today, this one a combination of a single Alternative Armies Erin Celtic Myth miniature (to pay Sarah for a ride in her Start Yacht) and a bunch more 40K Death Guard. I've jumped to Challenge Quadrant Caprica for the Poxwalkers who are dooooooomed to shamble through eternity.

Alternative Armies recently re-released their Erin Celtic Myth range and I immediately jumped on board, picking up a bunch of Sidhe warriors for use in a fantasy SAGA setting. This one is the CM2-02 Sidhe Clan Female Champion miniature and quite lovely, despite it clearly reflecting it's vintage both in terms of style and level of detail.

Following my first post, I'm continuing work on my 40K Death Guard army, for use in both Kill Team and proper 40K games. They enjoyed their first outing Kill Team a week or so ago and bucked the trend by winning in some style over the Eldar. This time I am adding a second unit of 10 x Poxwalkers (I already have one painted in green uniforms). Lovely sculpts if you can say that about pox ridden zombies!

Supporting the Poxwalkers is a Myphitic Blighthauler (whatever the hell that means), again painted in the scheme of the Pallid Hand as per my terminators. Amongst the Death Guard themselves these are affectionately known as Inexorable Flanderizers, so named by the loyalist fools who fear them especially the weasly Raven Guard. Those paying close attention will notice a black space marine backpack sinking slowly into the ooze... I wonder who that might once have belonged to?

So that's 55 points worth of 28mm infantry, 1 x 28mm vehicle and a quadrant bonus 20 points = 95 points.

That's all for this post. Catch you next time!

Cheers,
Millsy

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A very fitting entry for Sarah's Star Yacht, Millsy, as milady is a redhead whose hair in her youth was as fiery as this figure's fell locks. Excellent!

The poxwalkers and the Blighthauler are fabulous. I've always enjoyed your smooth brush style and choice of colours and these are fine illustrative examples of this. I particularly like that Chaos machine - I hope to have one of these as my zippabout when I'm in my dotage. It would keep all those young whippersnappers in line, that's for sure. I had to laugh at your choice of their nemesis Space Marine Chapter. We'll see if Greg will respond by putting some Nurgle trophies on his upcoming Raven Guard figures. :)

Lovely work Mr. Mills!

From MilesR: 10mm Byzantines and some 15mm WW2 (368 Points)

Before going into my first submission for the Challenge, I would like to apologize for being a little distracted and slow off the mark.  It seems I foolishly scheduled a knee replacement for early December' 21 and didn't factor in that the recovery process would impeded my ability to paint as I couldn't sit at my painting bench, hence the rather slow start.  I am also bitterly disappointed that the surgeon elected not to follow my wishes and make the incision look like a shark bite.  Something about "professional standards" or other balderdash.   Well my recovery has progressed to the point I can sit for a few hours at a time and some have started work on one 2022's big projects - Manzikert - in glorious 10mm scale.

So here is the start of the Byzantine army - most of these are test paints as I'm not that familiar with 10mm scale.  10mm has taken our club by storm and there are a number of other 10mm projects in the works.

The final force will be roughly 3x this size with also a correspondingly sized Turkish force.  All of these figures are from Magister Militum but you will eventually see some from Pendraken too.  Maybe even some Mongols for fun.

On the right flank we have some Medium cavalry lancers, a unit of partially armored cataphracts and some staff slingers in the rear

In the center we have some different sized leadership stands, 2 large units of spear armer heavy Infantry and 2 smaller units of Guards.  I'm building this army to be used for just about any point in Byzantine history so there will be a very wide variety of troop types. Don't worry, there are some Varangian Guards in the pipeline.

On the left flank there is a unit of Buccelari - my favorite Byzantine unit.  a second unit of partially armored cataphracts and some Pisoli light infantry in the rear.

This force is meant to be a "Thematic" army and not the core professional force of the Tagmata - to be honest, I'm trying to hone my limited 10mm painting skills before attempting the Tagmata and Varangian Guards.

Also in this submission are a handful of WW2 East front troops that just didn't get done in time for my Stalingrad game at Historicon.  Namely a german early way Panzer Grenadier Platoon and 2 3d printed Su-76's

You'll likely be seeing a lot of 3d resin printed stuff over the next few weeks

Well there you have it, my first rather late submission for this years challenge.  Hopefully I can pick up the pace as my Physical Therapy progresses.

In terms of points, lets see:

10mm Infantry 198 = 198 points

10mm Cav 59 = 118 points

15mm Inf 18 = 36 points

15mm Tanks 2 = 16 points

Total Points: 368

My new painting partner, Gus, says hi!

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First, welcome back to the Challenge, Miles! I know you've been on the road to recovery, so its wonderful to see you finally be able to spend some time at the hobby table - you've been missed!

These Byzantines look excellent. I love the 10mm scale as it provides such a wonderful balance between figure detail and visual mass. These troops look very impressive all arrayed in their ranks and files. What rules will you be using for these? Is this a group effort with your mates from the club?

I also like, Gus, your painting companion. He looks very patient and attentive, a good combination in your current, fragile state. :)

I look forward to seeing the upcoming Varangian Guard!

- Curt

From TamsinP - 28mm WW2 Japanese (150 points)

The Adventures Of Oscar: Time Traveler, Slayer of Squirrels and Very, Very Good Boy

Chapter 1

In which our hero concludes that pressing that button might not have been such a good idea after all...

Ruh-roh! This isn't Daddy-Curt's hobby room. Where am I? How did I get here?

It's very hot and very sticky, so it's definitely not home. The trees and bushes look and smell different to home too. The smells are different as well, but I do love that stench of rotting plants - must roll in some; Felix will be so jealous when I get home smelling like that! Oooh, it tastes great as well!

Is this a jungle? Do they have squirrels in the jungle? I think I'd better explore and find out...

No squirrels so far. I'll go on a bit further...

Hmmm. People. But they don't seem like friendly people. I'd better hide behind this bush...

Definitely not friendly people. Daddy has pictures of men like these, but they would have been a long, long time ago. Have I time-traveled? I think I'd better go back to where I arrived.

What's this on the floor? It looks like that metal box of Tamsin's. I pressed one of the buttons and found myself here. Is it some sort of time travel device? It must be. I'm a time-traveler! Felix is going to be so, so, so jealous. Now, how do I get it to send me back home? I must press a button, but which one? Let's try this one...ruh-roh! This isn't Daddy-Curt's hobby room either...

Stay tuned for further adventures!

OK, that's enough introductory silliness for one post, onto the "meat" of this submission. In the last-but-one photo above you should have glimpsed some figures in the background. Removing trees to give a clearer picture, here's what's in my submission this week:

Having painted up WW2 Australians (in both Khaki Drill and Jungle Green) a few years ago, and US Airborne last year for my WW2 New Guinea project I decided it was time to paint up their opposition - the Japanese. This is the start of my force for Chain of Command - I suspect Oscar will be returning to the jungle several times before the Challenge ends.

Jump Off Points

I ended up with more officer figures than I would actually need, so I decided to put them to good use as jump off points. Having made that decision, I then decided that it would also be a good way to make use of some of the small palm trees that I'd tarted-up over the summer. Then I thought it would be good to add some other jungle vegetation to the bases, and this is what I ended up with.

Senior Leaders

I opted to paint up two of the officer figures to be platoon commanders (Chu-i - Lieutenant; Sho-i - 2nd Lieutenant); the third figure is the platoon sergeant (Gun-so).

Rifle Squad

This is the first of three rifles squads for my core platoon. I also have a fourth in the queue as a support option. The big problem with the early war Japanese platoons is that they are so freaking huge - three 13-man rifle squads, one 13-man grenade discharger (aka "knee mortar") squad and two senior leaders. That's 54 figures just for the core platoon. 

Junior Leader (Go-cho - Corporal)

LMG Team

Rifle Team

Adding the gold and silver stars to the rank tabs on the collars was a little tricky, to say the least, but I think I did a good enough job.

Type 95 Ha-Go Tanks

The Japanese don't appear to have used many tanks in New Guinea. I've read suggestions that there might have been some medium tanks used on the North coast during later campaigns, but the only confirmed use was two  Type 95 Ha-Go light tanks of the 5 Kure Special Naval Landing Force that saw action during the Milne Bay campaign.

From the available photos of them, it appears that they were painted in a two-tone camouflage. As the photos of them were all black and white, I chose to go with khaki and green as the colours.

I haven't added markings to them. The photos don't show any on the right hand side, and there are no clear pictures of the left side of the tanks. 

Over the coming weeks, you can expect to see the rest of the core platoon and support elements. I'm hoping to have everything painted by the end of the Challenge.

Scoring

21 x 28mm foot @ 5 = 105 points

1 x prone 28mm foot @ 2.5 = 2.5 points

2 x 28mm tank @ 20 = 40 points

Total = 147.5 points

The officers are all from The Assault Group (TAG); the sergeant is from Eureka; the rifle squad are a mix of TAG, Eureka and Warlord Games; and the tanks are from Warlord Games.

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Hahaha! Well, you certainly come out in style with you first substantial post of the Challenge, Tamsin. Of course, I can't help but love the time-travelling adventure that Oscar has embarked on. He's such a good boy (and, you're right, Felix will mad with jealously)! I wonder what mischief he'll get into next.

Now, that Japanese force is something to behold. I'm taken aback by the sheer size of their platoon organization, wow, you've taken on a lot of work here Tamsin. Excellent brushwork on these officers and troops. And those Type 95s look fabulous. Really smooth work on their camo, and I really like the subtle weathering on their undercarriage and track assembly. Really lovely stuff.

I'm going to round things up to 150 points because of the more involved Senior Leaders bases. 

Wonderful work Tamsin!

- Curt

From PeterD Ruins at Arda (115 points)

 

The planet Arda carries a Fantasy theme, so I've gone with this Giant attacking a tower in 28mm.  Just for fun note that the top two levels of the tower are removable allowing me to do this.

In an homage to this classic DnD module...

Ok let's break down the components here.  

First up is the Giant, who is a Wizkids Stone Giant in 28mm scale.  I will note that the figure is about 90mm from sole of foot to top of head and that the tower he's standing next to is 6" high (152mm) for comparison.  I will leave scoring him up to the Snowlord.  In the Beowulf adventures Giants are more generic than straight DnD, but I tried to keep to the Stone Giant Theme.  It's a nice sculpt with facial features midway between an Easter Island Moai and Grace Jones.

Backside view as I am thinking that's the view my adventurers want to see!

Next up are the human foes who are from the Gipping Beast Arthurian (mostly) and other ranges.  I painted the fighters up to represent the Comitatus of a local Warlord, using the red tunics and shields with double headed dragons to provide a unit theme.
.  

I will come back and touch ups he shields but wanted to get these posted today.

The seventh figure is the Merlin figure who has a lot of the age old mystery to him. I love the metal bird on his staff, is it the Eagle of the Ninth?  Seven 28mm figures is 35 points.

These are good solid Beastie boy figures, lots of individual differences.  They can serve in Beowulf adventures as friends, foes or neutrals as required.  I my also do some Sub-Roman Britain skirmish games using Lion Rampant or Dux B.   

Finally we have the Ruins which I am revealing in full glory below.  This is a Sarissa Ruined City set consisting of 8 modular bases that can be rearranged as suits the scenario or decided in to smaller ruins.  I figure it can serve as a Roman ruin in Beowulf, or a generic ruin for other RPGs os Moonstone for later period historical games.  The total set covers an area 8" by 16", and is mostly 3" tall except for the tower which is 6' tall.  My math makes this exactly 2 cubes of terrain for 40 points.

Arrangement 1

Arrangment 2

Arrangement 3

Points wise I cout up

• 35 points for the humans
• 40 points for the 2 cubes of ruin
• ? points for the Giant
• 20 points for the Arda location
• Merlin and the Giant should count against the forlorn hope of the Challenge Duel

Having completed four planets on the Outer Ring, I am ready to explore the Middle Ring and all step on one of the Warp Maelstorms either side of Arda to see where I end up.

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Fabulous work Pete!

I've seen that giant at the FLGS and was really impressed by it. Now, all painted up and based he looks magnificent indeed (love the X2 Module reference too). I really like those Dark Age Gripping Beast figures. They paint up so nicely, and you've done a terrific job on this group, especially that Merlin with his trophy staff (Rosemary Sutcliff would smile at that). Finally, that castle ruin is a wonderful piece of kit. I like how it can be broken down and set up in a variety of layouts - very versatile! As a suggestion for further weathering, you may consider pimping it out with some swaths of grass, flowers and tufts (especially along the foundations) as Mother Nature would be busy at work reclaiming it.

 

For simplicity sake I'm counting the Giant as the equivalent of two 54 mm figures. 

A grand entry Pete, well done.

- Curt