From RichardM - 28mm Italian Wars Mounted Arquebusiers (40 Points)

It has taken me two weeks but have finally gotten my inaugural post up for the Challenge.

This is a base of mounted arquebusiers for my growing Italian Wars army.  They are based for the Impetus rule set. They are painted to be fairly generic - there weren't many 'uniforms' around in that period according to my (limited) research.

Having said that, at the moment they will join my growing Venetian Army from the early part of the 16th century.

The figures are beautifully sculpted and cast from The Assault Group and are their "Italian Mounted Arquebusiers Standing Ready".  

They were primed / under coated with etch primer and then given a brown diluted oil wash as a base / shadow.  Painted with Vallejo and Foundry acrylics after that.  

From Curt:

Ooh, that is lovely work. Well done Richard and welcome to this year's Challenge! I really love the basing system for Impetus as it allows (if not demands) the creation of wonderful vignettes like we see here. I've always wanted to get into this period as it's so colourful, both in its uniforms and in its crazy politics (I. Must. Resist...). If there are others who are interested in the Italian Wars please do check out Richard's blog as he has many other amazing images from his collection. I like your use of colour from the uniforms of the troopers to their horses' tack - marvellous stuff. I look forward to seeing more of this period from you over the coming months!

From RoyW - 15mm Moderns, Rebel Insurgents & Toyota Pickup Truck (14 Points)

Continuing on from my post in the first week of the Challenge, here's some of the models I'm painting up to face off against the soldiers from my earlier post.

They're 15mm Peter Pig miniatures, from their Range 17 "AK-47 Republic" collection. Although all of these miniatures have actually been modified via head-swaps from the Range 6 "Heads and Odds", using the Tuareg heads. The barrels are from the Old West range / Terrain collection.

For the sake of completion I'll mention that the bases are by Pendraken Miniatures / Minibits (the same family owns both companies) and are either 25mm circular MDF or 60mm x 30mm rectangular MDF .

From Curt:

Great work Roy! It's good to see the OPFOR to the regular forces that you showed us in your debut post. Again, very nice and clean paintwork and basing. Are you going to have a DShK or recoilless rifle to swap into the back of that 'technical'?   A very interesting (and topical) project.

From SamuliS: Infinity Nomads (20 points)

Time for my next entry with 4 Infinity miniatures from the Operation Icestorm starter set that came out this Autumn.

These guys are part of the Nomad faction and consist of 3 Alguaciles and a Mobile Brigada. They were actually supposed to be submitted with a further 4 more guys from the PanOceania faction, but I managed to mess up some of the edge highlighting and after some frustration decided to push them to the back of the painting queue for a while.

I never thought I would curse at miniatures for being too detailed, but these really started to get on my nerves as there is just so much to paint if you want to do it. Looking at what the Corvus Belli studio team had painted up as inspiration definately didn't help either as my efforts didn't seem very good compared to that :) Luckily I came to my senses after attempting to individually highlight all the tiny hexagons in the armor of the Mobile Brigada and resorted to drybrushing etc. to bring out detail and to finally get them finished.

I basecoated them red and did a few different highlights with an airbrush before adding some sharper highlights by brush. After that I desperately tried painting all the other areas and highlights with small layers to achieve a smooth blend. After coming to my senses I finally just drybrushed most of the black areas and followed up with a black wash to shade them. It would be nice to paint them even better as the miniatures are absolutely gorgeous, but frankly it's getting way over my skill level and I don't really have the patience to use days on a single model. And these are still going to be used in gaming and they won't just stay in a display cabinet.

The bases are from Micro Art Studios. I did a simple paint job on them and added some variety with Vallejo pigments to make them look worn and slightly rusty. And finally there is the orange area to mark the 180 degree front sector on the miniatures to speed up the game a bit. I went for a matt varnish on these, but as an afterthought a satin or gloss varnish could have looked better especially on the Mobile Brigada. Might have to go back and apply gloss on his armor to make it look shiny and polished!

Next up something easier to gather up some points to get me on track for my goal of 1000 points and maybe gather some motivation to finish the PanOceania forces.

From Curt:
Very cool figures Samuli. I'm always amazed by the incredible detail packed into these Infinitiy models, though sometimes I find the animation on some of their figures (especially the earlier models) to be a little affected and over the top. I really like the red/orange tone that you came up with for these guys - a wonderful colour choice - very 'Space 1999'. Also, I agree with you in that they might benefit with a soft satin finish to emphasize their hi-tech nature? Not sure. I look forward to seeing what you do with your next group from PanOceania.  Well done!

From RoyW - 1/600 ACW Naval Blockade Runner (18 Points)

Hello everyone,

This post sees my first submission to the Naval Race Duel / Side Challenge. The model shown is a 1/600-scale, Peter Pig American Civil War, Confederate Blockade Runner "AD Vance", from their Range 7 "Hammerin Iron" collection.

Of note: I've modified / converted the original stock model by creating a textured base, repositioning the pilot house (at least I believe it to be the pilot house), created the various masts and the flag.

• The base is MDF and polyfilla, then painted. 
• The masts are steel pins glued together, and drilled into the model.
• The 'rigging' is an approximation on the actual, and is done by using needlecraft thread (thanks mum!). The holes drilled into the resin model were actually to thread the 'rigging' through, but after a quick attempt I gave that method up and simply pulled taut and superglued the ends of the thread to the painted model. Painting over the glue and thread where needed, afterwards.
• Lastly, the flag was made from ordinary paper. The design painted upon it with normal paints and, once dry, it was liberally coated in white (PVA) glue. The glue dries clear and stiffens the paper, allowing for it to be bent as if 'in a wind'.

The model has been painted up as a generic vessel, not the AD Vance.

 This photo is to give Curt, and other readers an idea on the scale of the piece.

The comparison figure is a 28mm Wargames Foundry Gladiator 

(although at this angle it's as much use as a chocolate teapot!).

From Curt:

Oh, this is wonderful work Roy. I for one am really enjoying these 1/600 naval entries as it reminds me of the games of 'Smoke on the Water' that I used to put on for the Fawcett Ave crew years ago. I think you've done a marvellous job on the modifications/improvements to the 'AD Vance'. The rigging looks crisp and taught and I really like the tone of the wood planked decks. Beautiful. 

This Confederate blockade runner will give Roy 18 points. Again, great work.

From Curt - 28mm Early Imperial Roman Officers (30 Points)

Here are six Imperial Roman officer-types that I’ve done up for an upcoming skirmish game I have planned for the guys. I think they are a mix of Centurions and Optios. To be clear, I’m not very knowledgeable with this period so the specialists out there will have to cringe and forgive me for my Hollywood 'swords-and-sandals' interpretation of their uniforms and kit. 

These are a mix of 28mm Foundry and Warlord miniatures. Very nice sculpts on the whole, though the Warlord castings required some careful cleaning to get them looking respectable before priming.

Painting went reasonably well, but then came the shield decals… Oh. My. God. First I have to come clean by stating that I always seem to have a problem with decals. They stick to nothing except my fingers, they tear apart, they get bubbles, they float away... the list goes on and on. Also, I made the mistake of tying to make use of some old decals I had picked up from Foundry years ago. They are the old style, you know, with the cut-outs for the central shield boss and the artwork applied to one sheet of adhesive. As Gollum would say, ‘I HATES them!’ Then, to top it off, I discovered during mid-application that the Warlord models have shields that are slightly smaller than the Foundry castings so the decals wouldn’t have fit on them in the first place... To say I lost my sh*t is perhaps overstating the case, but I came darn close. (My dogs, the poor fellas, scampered to another room to escape the blue fuge of my rage-filled cursing.) 

Anyway, I apologize for presenting some undecorated shields but I am SO DONE with these guys and I need to move on to something else. They will have to live with plain red planks until I can get some proper shield transfers in the New Year. Sigh. 'Nuff said.

30 points for me. (Harrumphs irritably as he stalks back to his hobby desk...)

From MikeP - A Beautiful Mind In A Terrible Place (5 Points)

Here's an entry that might fall under this year's theme of villains and antiheroes.  Or maybe not?  The sculpt is from Artizan, and I painted him while doing my Commando section.  On the Artizan website he's listed as "Captain Withnail" and is part of a pack called "Cadd's Commandos", which makes him sound pretty antiheroic.

I love the fact that the Artizan figures all seem to be characters in a story.   You see that here in the details of the sculpt - the bottle of uncorked champagne, the longer than regulation hair and the lack of any headdress, the revolver which with the bottle suggests instability and menace, and the non-regulation scarf.  I've painted him in standard British battledress and in an officer's British Warm greatcoat, based on the colouring of the 1950s era one I inherited.

Who is he?  What's he up to?   Care to guess? If you want to visit my blog in a day or so I'll put up some fluff to explain what he's doing in my Weird War Two "S Commando" force. For now, the only clue I'll give you is the title of this post, "A Beautiful Mind in a Terrible Place", and the fact that the non-regulation scarf he's wearing is painted in the colours of Trinity College, Cambridge.

I think this fellow gets me 5 points, for a total of 60 to mark my debut day on the scoreboard.

Blessings to your brushes, fellow Challengers!

Thanks so much for looking. MP

From Curt:Another wonderful figure from the Artizan range and you've done such a great job with him Mike. I particularly like the scarf in the college colours (nice touch) and the bottle of champagne (check out this interesting series of articles on the history of champagne during the Occupation). I'm sure many are eager to find out the mysterious past of this unconventional fellow...

From MilesR - 1/600 ACW Naval - The British Expeditionary Fleet (79 Points)

A fairly large 1/600 scale ACW naval submission with four ships and a fort.  The first photo shows all of the items completed so far for the Challenge - including the Hector (top ship), which was submitted earlier.

 First up is the British Flagship - the iconic HMS Warrior.  The Warrior was a huge ship and this is a huge model in 1/600 scale - it's 10.5 inches long!  Like the Hector, the model is scratch built based using a rather poor hull casting for the basic dimensions.  One modeling tip - a dremel rotary tool is a great addition to the scratch builders tool kit.

The Warrior is on display in Portsmouth and it's on my list of to do's during one of my frequent business trips to the UK.  Like the Hector, the Warrior is classed as a broadside frigate which means she was armored along the sides but her bow and stern were not.  Her armor was 114mm iron plate on top of 457mm of teak.  The ship's armament consisted of 36 x smoothbore 68 pounders, 10 x 110 pounders and 4 x 40 pounders - that was a lot of metal to throw in a single broadside.

One can see I listened to the comments on the Hector and the Warrior sports her name on the stern.

The Warrior was an extremely fast ship and was capable of sustaining 14 knots which was blazing fast for the age.  However her length and bulk limited her turning radius which could be problematic if an engagement occurred anywhere other than the open sea.

 The model itself is a resin hull that's been "planked" in plastic card,  The Masts are plastic rod with greenstuff making up the furled sails.  The life boats came from my bit's box and the davits are just bent brass rod.

Overall, I'm very pleased with how she came out.  Sometimes scratch building is the only way to complete a project.  It can be very rewarding but one has to go into to it with a mindset that the first few versions will need to be redone.  Ok, in my case there might be more that a few "re-done versions"

 Next up for the British is the HMS Scorpion.  The Scorpion has a very interesting history - she was laid down as the CSS North Carolina.  Unfortunately for her builders, it was illegal to sell warships to the Confederacy so they fabricated a ruse that the ship was being built for the Egyptian navy under the name "El Tousson".  During her delivery voyage to Egypt the plan was for the ship to turn to starboard rather than port near the Straights of Gibraltar and then raise the Confederate flag.  Unfortunately for the builders, the 'coppers figured out the scheme and she was seized and completed for the Royal Navy.

 The Scorpion / North Carolina was intended to be a commerce raider but she had a very low profile which made her harder to hit but also greatly reduced her sea handling capabilities.  In fact after a few years of service the Scorpion was relegated to costal defense duties, which is the nautical equivalent of a kid being kept inside the house on a sunny day to practice violin while his friends are all outside playing baseball.

The ship was armed with 4 x 9 inch guns in two rotating turrets.  The had a relatively low rate of fire but packed a real punch and had a long range.  Speed-wise she wasn't the fastest ship afloat but could make 10.5 knots on a calm day.

The model is from Thoroughbred Miniatures and is metal.  Thoroughbred makes the best 1/600 scale ironclads available.

Next up the the CSS Columbia which served towards the end of the war in Charleston Harbor. She really didn't have a distinguished career, but in my alternative ACW scenario the ship maybe have a bit more renown....

This model is also a metal kit from Thoroughbred, although kit might be stretching the definition as one just has to glue on the mast and smokestack and its' done!

 It's a nice model and has that iconic look of the Confederate ironclad.

 An updated shot of the Hector showing that her name has also been added to the model!  Your comments are my commands.

 A group shot of the British Expeditionary Fleet as it currently stands.  I'll be adding a few more ships and some targets oops I mean transports.

 A staged "action" shot showing the British fleet taking on some US ships - the New Ironsides and the Monitor.  The picture shows just how massive the Warrior was in it's day.

All of these models will be used as part of a linked two day game I'll be putting on at Historicon in July of 2015.  The first day will feature a naval battle "somewhere along the Chesapeake" that pits a US force against a combine British / CSA fleet that's trying to force a landing to relieve a trapped Confederate army.  The outcome of the naval engagement will impact the second days game which will be a large land battle in 28mm.  If the British/CSA players are successful, the game will feature an assault by the combined CSA/ BEF on an entrenched Union army.  If they are unsuccessful during Day 1, the British army will have landed further down from the Rebels and the game will feature a Union Assault on the Confederate position with the British racing to rescue their allies.  Think Waterloo with the Union as the French, the Confederates as the British and the British as the Prussians... confusing? that's what I'm looking for.  I have found that adding an additional goal (other than winning) to a convention game does a great job in keeping everyone focused.  Oh yes, the composition of the British army during the second battle will also be influenced if any of the transports are damaged or sunk during day one.

 Speaking of the French, the game will feature a small French fleet sulking about.  Neither side will really know that fleet's intentions because, well, you know, they're French.  The flagship of the French fleet will be the Gloire.  This ship was launched in 1859 and has the distinction of being the first ocean going ironclad (much to the chagrin of the Royal Navy).  The model is yet again from Thoroughbred and is superb.

 The Gloire could reach a sustained speed of 11 knots and was armed with 36 6.5 inch muzzle loading rifled guns - ship mounted rifled cannon where not all that common in this age and gave the Gloire a distinct range advantage.

 The ship also had a very unusual lattice armor structure with a layer of iron ontoo of teak followed by another layer of iron and then yet more teak.  The cumulative depth of the iron sheeting was less than her British counterparts but the armor proved to be much stronger - it could shrug off a direct hit from a British 68 pounder at a range of 20 meters.

 The model itself is substantive and is over 5.5 inches long.  While hard to see the details around the conning tower (just in front of the mizzen mast) are extremely well done.

 The last part of the overly long submission is a Fort.  The casting comes from Bay Area Yards and is modeled on Fort Jackson in New Orleans. The fort is similar to both Fort Gaines and Fort Morgan which guarded the entrance to Mobile Bay and I spent many a day scrambling over both in my youth.

 Civil War forts featured fearsome guns which were more accurate than their ship board foes (because forts generally don't bob up and down with the seas).

 Lots' of guns....

Boom!

One can question the degree to which a fort is a miniature or a terrain piece.  Given the rules that I'll be using have forts as game elements with their own damage sheets and ability to shoot at the enemy, I'm taking the liberty of submitting this as a miniature.  Of course, the final dispensation of my humble fort is up to the will of our benevolent Lord High Paint Challenge Commissioner and I shall abide by his ruling no matter how unfair, capricious and biased it my be.  (just like the Dude, I abide!)

Well there you have it - lots of ships, way too many words and a fort.  As for scoring, yet again I submit to will of our Dear Leader and hope he gazes favorably upon my unworthy offerings.

From Curt:
Beautiful work Miles. I'm really enjoying your foray into this new project, but this is far outstripped by how impressed I am of your scratchbuilding of these amazing ships.  

I'll match the 20 points I previously awarded for the for the scratchbuilt 'Hector' to the HMS 'Warrior' as well.  Absolutely beautiful work - bravo.

The other three ships I'll give 15 points each. 

The fort is a complete squeeze but I do appreciate the effort. Nonetheless, no matter how you slice it it's still a piece of terrain.  BUT I will meet you part way. By the Challenge rules guns are worth a certain amount of points, depending on their scale.  So with a 1/600 scale gun counting as .5 points your 27 artillery pieces will give you 14 points (I'll round up the half point for the cheek of it).  

So, the grand total is 79 points. Well done Mr. Reidy! 

From MikeP - Going Commando (55 Points)

Hello all.  I'm Michael Peterson, aka The Mad Padre, and for is my first entry in this year's challenge, I offer ten 28mm Artizan WW2 British Commandos.  This was my first time painting Artizan figures and I quite enjoyed working with them - they reward careful brushwork and they have a lot of character.  By comparison, I was also working on a dozen Warlord plastic commandos (not eligible since I started them before the Challenge) and there is no comparison.  The Artizan figures win hands down in my opinion.

I won't bore you extensively with the backstory, though you can find some of it here and elsewhere using the Weird War Two tags in my blog, but in brief these fellows are going to be part of an Allied force for an ongoing Weird War Two project.    Instead of concentrating on gear and SF in 1945+ as a lot of Weird War stuff tends to do, I am focusing on the very early war and on occult aspects.  Against a sinister cabal of SS, vampires, werewolves, and mad scientists, the British have assembled a top secret team called Project Alice, which includes scientists, scholars, clergymen, detectives, and adventurers from the Colonies. To give force protection for the staff of Project Alice, a small team of Special Forces, known as S Commando (S for Supernatural, of course) has been stood up.  It is an elite and secret force, totally off the books of the War Ministry, reporting to Churchill himself.  

NCOs and Bren gunner:

Advancing to the attack:

Some chaps with heavy combat loads.  I didn't research this extensively, but the replica bergens I've seen online are a darker green than this.  Oh well, in my world it's early war and the issued kit is irregular.

Practicing all-round defence in case of attack by zombies or werewolves:

Finally, since I had a sniper figure from the Great War Miniatures British Character set left over, I thought I would add him to S Commando.  That ghillie suit will come in useful. Hopefully he can find some silver bullets?

Eleven 28mm figures should count for 55 points.  Many thanks for looking!

From Curt:
First, welcome to this year's Challenge Mike! It's great to have you aboard with us. These fellows look marvellous and I really enjoyed reading their back story. I seem to remember that you entered several other characters from your Weird War Two setting in a previous Challenge, notably the lovely Agent Katana who was staking out a raucous Oktoberfest - great stuff. I completely agree with you regarding the Artizan range as I've found them to be a real pleasure to work with (and quite easy to paint). I look forward to some more Pulp entries from you over the coming months.