From RichardC - It ain't half hot Mum! (12 Points)

I'€™ve finally get around to posting something for the challenge, and it was inspired by Curt himself. Once I'd decided on Napoleon and Ozymandias, I had some bits left over from the other two figures from the Brigade Games pack, and the obelisk from Element Games. I then saw Curt's (well deserved) 2nd place entry for the Hot bonus round, and was inspired to pick up my brushes. 

So here's my interpretation of that figure. I painted him as a General de Brigade (red sash, red panache and a blue and white plume). It was a really nice casting. I wish I could say the same for his camel – there was a really large mould-line which took ages to reduce (in fact it never totally disappeared).

As usual, the paints are Vallejo, brushes from Rosemary & Co, the base from the good folk at Warbases, and the sand from Tim Primrose's garage floor!!!

 

Here is a photo of yours truly on board a ship of the desert (albeit nearly 15 years ago). It'€™s a pity the French Army in Egypt didn't have colourful woolly muzzles for their camels like this chap as it would have made it even more fun to paint.

From Curt:

A wonderful vignette Richard! I really like the varied colours you've chosen for the saddlery and tack (if camel accoutrements are even called that) - my version seems frightfully pedestrian in comparison! :)

I had the same problems with the casting line running across the camel's body and blankets but you did a great job in cleaning it up. Also, the shading on the camel is excellent (I particularly like it's dusty muzzle). 

Mr. Primrose's sand was a great touch! If I could give one suggestion that would be to try some diluted brown inks mixed with a touch of thinned-down white glue in order to give the sand a 'wash' (an old eydropper works for this if the sand is unstable) - When I've done this I find it binds the surface texture together and gives the pale sand greater depth of colour.

I also really like the half-buried obelisk, though the inscribed pattern on it seems (disturbingly) more Cthulhuesque than Egyptian! The Old Ones are everywhere...

Lovely work Richard!

From SanderS - 20mm Grenouille au Vanille (96 Points)

Dear Ladies and Gents,

Even though my Hobby-butterfly-syndrome takes to almost all spectra of the miniature gaming universe, I always return to my greatest love: Napoleonics. Today's update brings you a French Infantry regiment and to me nothing is more boring than regular blue-coated French line infantry. I always compare them to the Ultramarines who are called "Vanille-Marines" in some circles of the 40K gaming scene since Vanilla is about the most default flavour one can imagine. To me, that's precisely what these Froggies are: Grenouilles au Vanille.

The miniatures are the HäT pre-1812 French line infantry from their "big box" issue. There are now newer and better proportioned versions in the works, but I still have loads of these lying on the pile.

I've done up the voltigeurs on separate bases in order to put them in front of the unit as skirmishers when required. The bases are Renedra bases and I like these a lot. You'll have noticed there's no colour fixed to the pole and that's because I can't decide whether to use a pre- or post 1812 pattern one. I know the uniforms are pre-Bardin but many regiments didn't receive their all-new kit promptly and had to wear out the old stocks. When I have decided the flags will be printed from the excellent warflag website.

So that's another unit finished and with this unit (worth 96 points) I am past my 1000 points target, if I am not mistaken. So after much deliberation I have decided to up the target one more time to 1300 points, but that will be it! I will not raise the bar a 4th time so it would be great if I'd be able to reach the 1300 points benchmark at the Challenges end but we'll have to see.

Cheers Sander

Modus Reg Magni Momenti! 


From Curt:

Ah, it's great to see more Napoleonics come out for a lick of paint, even if they are the plain ole dogface infantry. We can't begrudge them as they are the meat and potatoes of any French force and usually end up doing most of the heavy lifting (or dying) on the battlefield. 

You've done a great job on them Sander. A nice, man-sized battalion. (Arrr!) I like that you've given them a motley assortment of trousers to reinforce that these guys have seen some hard campaigning. That being said I also appreciate the extra time that you've obviously spent on the drummer's more colourful uniform. Well done. 

By the way, what rules are you using for these?

Finally, congratulations on reaching your second points target Sander! I'll mark you down for 1300 points for your final dash to the finish line. Good luck!

From SamuliS - 15mm German anti-air (48 points)

Not much progress painting wise as I've been struck down with a rather nasty flu. That couple with a demanding puppy has kept me from the paint desk more than I would like.

Still I've finished another entry in the familiar theme of Early War Germans. This time with some mobile anti-air in the form of four Sdkfz 10/5 2cm Flak half-tracks. Battlefront offerings as usual and quite a bit higher quality than some of their other products that I've done during this project. They are quite tricky to put together though as there's quite a lot of parts that are not that well supported, like the sides of the truck bed that are held on just by superglue and a resin edge about 1mm wide. Also the gun barrels are very thin and are extremely prone easy to bend and I've had to mend them quite a few times already. I mounted these on large bases to make things easier as they come with trailers and two of the crew are on food in addition to the two that are manning the gun and driving the half-track.

I wasn't too lucky with their delivery either as these were ordered in September and I only got them in the beginning of February and even then they arrived in a cardboard box that was totally wrecked with a hole on the side and the box crushed. Two of the four blisters were split open, but miraculously all of the parts were still there.

Nothing special about the painting with a Dark Panzer Grey bascoat and a drybrush of Green Grey. As this is a Luftwaffe unit I painted the uniforms with a blue grey colour instead of the normal Feldgrau. Not much of a difference, but enough to distinguish between the different arms of service. To add some variety to the bases I added a bit of foliage and a small tree on one of them.

2 more platoons to go still, but I don't think I'll be painting them up during the challenge as these only need to be ready by August and I have some projects that need finishing up before that. Napoleonics especially have been neglected far too much lately.

From Curt:

Great work on these Samuli! I really like that you've used the larger bases to create interesting mini-vignettes incorporating the trailers and crew. I have a quad version of this model and can attest to how fiddly some of the parts were to assemble - nonetheless, as we can see with yours here, they do produce a very nice looking model when completed. 

I look forward to seeing some Napoleonics from you before the Challenge wraps up, but before then, please get well and enjoy your time with your puppy!

From ScottB - 28mm Jeeves and Mortimer - Gentlemen with Shotguns - Empire of the Dead (10 Points)

To break up the slog that has been finishing 12 Riders of Rohan (nearly done now), I have been slipping the odd EotD figure into the painting queue... sometimes you just want to paint something different for a mo'...

So I have managed to get another couple of Empire of the Dead Gentlemen to add to my Sons of Empire Faction; the Pall Mall Patrons... I give you, Jeeves and Mortimer... seemed good names for a duo...

Here they are guarding the entrance to the Cemetery, with shotguns loaded..., one double barrel, the other pump action?

Shotguns are useful in the game as they ignore the terrain cover modifiers for shooting... oh, you're hiding behind that hedge? Boom! Ha Ha!

I only have two more Gents to paint up now... both with volleyguns :)

But they may have to wait... I am expecting delivery of another shipment of 54mm Gallipoli figures on Friday, and I have recently been reminded, the deadline for completion is actually the end of March! Eek!!

Back to Jeeves and Mortimer, and hopefully these two figure may see me reach my 600pt target, earlier than expected, thanks to the bonus points for the Bonus theme rounds... so I suppose I better add to my target... there's still points to come for the Comedic bonus round, and I hope (or need!) to get 20 more 54mm figures done for end of March, so lets bump the target up to 900pts and see if I can get near it!

Fingers crossed!


From Curt:

These are wonderful Scott. The fellow with the kilmarnock hat and matching scarf is quite dashing, but my favourite has to be the bowlered chap with his shotgun up and leaning into the anticipated kick.

Good luck on your next batch of PJ 54mm figures - I look forward to seeing them in the coming weeks!

From PeterT - The missing Humvees & a Few More Infantry (58 Points)

Here are the Humvees I mentioned in the earlier post - when originally putting them up I noticed a spot of white resin on one of the front wheel arches. Not wishing to incur the righteous wrath of HRH Campbell, I deleted the photo and got back to work. And here they are.

I also managed to do a small Platoon HQ of officer, RTO, medic and DMR, a sniper team and a casualty figure.

The casualty figure is an old Brooks Miniatures casting from Old Glory, which has had the head replaced with a spare Empress US head. Just don't look too closely at the equipment!

Finally, a shot of this lot plus the figures from my earlier effort.

From Curt:

Ah, there are those Humvees! Wonderful work Peter. Where are the models from? They look like quite nice kits. The HQ additions are very nice as well. Does DMR stand for Designated Marksman Rifleman? He's a great sculpt and you've done a super job on the lot of them.

Well done!

From PeterB - Oldhammer Skeleton Warriors (130 points)

I missed my posting deadline again last week, so this week I've been able to submit 26 'Oldhammer' skeleton warriors.

I plan to have two units armed with hand weapons and shields, the second should be completed next week as I managed to paint 12 of them with this weeks batch.

I went with red and bronze shields as these colours seem to complement the bone colours I've used on the skeletons.

I need to try and get some consistency with the wash colour as it currently veers between black and dark brown.  Mixing the figures within the unit gets around this a little, but, it would be good to get the consistency right.

I've parked the 6mm Russian Cossacks this week and next as I'm painting up my first and only entry for the theme rounds.  These are a couple of rogues from the Victorian period who were made almost loveable by a recent film.  They will also be my Curtgeld for this year so I'm taking my time and doing the best paint job I can.

Normal 6mm service will be resumed shortly along with more 'Oldhammer' goodness.


From Curt:

Wonderful! I love seeing your OldHammer Skellies Peter. You know you're a figure dork when you get tearfully nostalgic in seeing old Citadel shield designs. These Harryhausen holdovers are great and I'll say it again that the dry, arid groundwork really works wonders for the overall 'look'. 

Great work!

From MichaelA - “There was me, that is Alex" (20 points)

You wait for an age for a post from Mr. Awdry and then two come along at once!  It seemed only fitting to me that one of the first miniatures painted for the Challenge should be my entry fee to that splendid chap, Curtis Campbell Esq. To that end much thought was given as to a suitably roguish anti hero and as luck would have it I rediscovered this rather charming miniature amidst the masses of forgotten lead.  A Bill Thornhill sculpt for Crooked Dice, this is one of four 'Eavies available from their web store and a passable likeness for Malcolm McDowell’s character, Alex DeLarge, in Kubrick’s adaptation of Anthony Burgess’ novel, 'A Clockwork Orange'. A charismatic, sociopathic delinquent, there is no question that Alex is a person of dubious character but undeniable charisma and so seemed a reasonable choice for my entry fee.  

A lovely miniature to work on, I was a little concerned with painting the white and in the end went for a variety of shades with definite tints to help distinguish the different fabrics.   So this is for you Curt, with a huge thank you from me for your Herculean efforts in making this year's Challenge such a wonderful success - Bravo Sir.

“It’s funny how the colors of the real world only seem really real when you viddy them on the screen.” 

― Anthony Burgess, A Clockwork Orange

From Curt:

Ahh, what a wonderful figure for the Challenge theme AND one of my favourite films. Bravo Mr. Awdry! 

I really like your choice of painting his shirt in trousers in one tone while his suspenders and codpiece are contrasting colours, drawing your eye to them. An excellent approach to this figure. Thanks so much Michael, he'll be a worthy addition to the rogues' gallery amassing in my display cabinet.

'We were all feeling a bit shagged and fagged and fashed, it being a night of no small expenditure.'

From PaulS - 28mm WWII Russian Reinforcements (73 Points)

Last year I managed to get some of my Russian forces painted up for Bolt Action. This year, I finally managed to finish off the remains of that box set. The troops that I finished last year were all very clean and fresh looking, with all of the uniforms being... uniform. This year they have been at war for quite some time and are starting to run out of resources, so the clothing is a mixture of browns, and Russian uniform green to add a bit of wear and tear to the existing units. I may go back and tweak some of last years at some point. Anyway... we have two LMGs to add some much needed firepower to the infantry squads

8 SMGs. Not sure if these will be a dedicated SMG squad, or if they will add lots of extra shots to standard squads... either way, lots of shots. The guy in the cloth hat instead of the helmet is an officer of some kind.

3 riflemen to add to the others form last year. I suspect I'll need a lot more of these guys in the future...

 1 sniper. His spotter can be played by any of the riflemen, probably rifleman number 1 above.

And 1 misc molotov wielding lunatic without another weapon. I suspect he will end up as part of an unarmed, tank hunting militia squad eventually. The rest probably need to be a bit more scruffy though as he's looking a bit too neat and tidy.

So in total, that is 15 more figures, one of whom is laying down (the lazy swine!). This little lot, plus the zombies from the other update, should tip me over the 1000 point mark, which means I need yet another new goal and (I think) doubles last year's total... though I'm not 100% sure on that second one. With a couple more weeks left and one more challenge to go, I think we'll go for another 500 points even though at this point in time that is seriously unlikely.


From Curt:

An interesting change of pace for you Paul. These Soviets look great. I particularly like the flame effect you did on the fellows with the Molotov cocktails. 

Congratulations on hitting your second target! Last year you hit 1009 points so you're on a roll for this Challenge. I'll mark you down for 1500 for your next target. Good luck!

From MarkO - 28mm Leichte Kavallerie (480 points)

Well there is only one piece suitable for this post (jump to 2:15 for the well known bit!)

Though my partner also liked this more modern version...

Three regiments of Napoleonic Austrian Hussars.  Proving I've completely lost my mind in selecting units to paint for a painting challenge. They have infuriating lace EVERYWHERE! :) Very slow going but finally done.

My choice of regiments was decided by the complex formula that I wanted regiments with blue hats, red hats and green hats.

Regiment 4: Hessen-Homburg (blue hats). Everyone paints Hessen-Homburg, but there is a good reason for that - they have one of the most awesomely colourful uniforms ever! Parrot green dolman and pelisse, poppy red trousers, and blue shako. 

Regiment 5: Baron Ott (red hats). Probably my favourites, which of course means they will lose every combat at the critical moment. Dark green dolman and pelisse, crimson trousers, bright red shako.

Regiment 7: Liechtenstein (green hats). Eye catching light blue uniforms with grass green shako so everyone knows to look at the best regiment.

And lastly some more artillery. Austrian Position Guns. Two twelve pounders, and two howitzers. Perry don't make 12 pounders (yet) so I used Front Rank ones. Also the two well fed Captains directing the howitzers are Front Rank, as I needed an extra couple of crew and didn't want to buy an entire extra pack from Perry.

A grand total of 480 points if my addled brain can still add correctly...




From Curt:

Oooh, all this Austrian Napoleonic goodness all tidily wrapped up into a massive points 'Daisy-Cutter'. Wonderful!

The artillery is very grand, but the hussars, like the divas they are, completely steal the show.  The French hussar regiments often get the press but in reality the Austrians and Russians had them beat hands down in the my-pants-are-tighter-than-your-pants fashion-wars. These are all brilliant but my favourites have to the Liechtenstein Hussars with their green shakos and wonderfully bright blue pelisse and dolmans. 

In addition this entry has Mark blowing past his 2500 point target and is now closing in on Dave. It looks like it will be a great race to the finish!

A marvelous entry Mark, thanks for sharing.

From PeterB - Empress Miniatures Moderns (50 Points)

Hello All. It has been a fair while since my last entry as the return to work after Christmas saw a whole-scale change/re-structuring get underway at work, and thus all hopes of keeping up with the Challenge had to be abandoned. This last week though I have managed to get some painting done - a squad of  Empress Miniatures Modern US Infantry and 2 Humvees, also from Empress Minis.

Previously I had painted some of these figures in the older 3-colour desert BDU with Woodland pattern bodyarmour, but didn't have the patience this time around, so instead have gone with a 'representative' (i.e. quick) effort at UCP. This much reviled pattern is now being replaced by a Multicam variant similar to what British troops are wearing now (having already been abandoned by US troops in Afghanistan since about 2009/10, after concerns about its efficacy had surfaced among troops and politicians). So these figures will feature in Skirmish Sangin or Force on Force games set in 2004-2009, as well as the eagerly awaited Chain of Command adaptation for modern COIN ops, Fighting Season.

Fire Team Alpha plus Squad Leader

Fire Team Bravo

I have another squad of these, plus a Platoon HQ element, a couple of MG teams and a sniper team on the go; some might even get finished for today!

From Curt:

Excellent work Peter! I really like these castings from Empress and you've done a very nice job on them. I was unaware that this earlier US camo pattern had caused such a fracas both with the troops and politicians - very interesting. I like that you've included the oddly coloured buff boots that seem like such a signature piece of kit from this period.

Where are the Humvees you mentioned?

I'm not huge into modern gaming but I still sucumbed to a few castings from this range, just because they look so good. With Too Fat Lardies coming out with a modern version of Chain of Command maybe I'll get some much-needed impetus to get them done.

Good job!