From KyleC - Canadian Troops incoming... (55 Points)

Or something to that effect..

I have been uber busy with regards to the current move of house.. which has meant that the house and studio have been in a state of major flux. And the Mrs has been hesitant to let me back into the Studio without getting some of the rest of the house sorted (albeit slowly).. So painting time has been a bit hit/miss at the moment.. but I did get a few pieces made up.

Trying to start yet another Bolt Action force ( am addicted to this game! ) and wanted to attempt a force a bit closer to home. So am trying to paint up some Canadian forces in Sicily by using the British ruleset. Basically it will be British troop models, but I will attempt to do Canadian markings, and maybe some closer to their color scheme or style? Or at least pretend like I am trying!

First up was the an HQ choice.. being the Lieutenant and his subordinate carrying a radio.. Was a trial of the colors for the rest of the army.. but am not fully sold on it as yet..

Then I tried a small diorama for my Free Observer.. I really wanted to have a motorbike within the force even though the rules do not accommodate for them. So this mini diorama allowed me to fit one in even if it is just for visual effects.

I still need to do squad markings on them, and maybe add some pigments to the base to dust it up some more.. but I do like the coloring, and will continue along this line for the rest.

And I even have the first 5 infantry models painted up, including some badge markings ( to which I need to go back and do the same to the HQ units ).

Going with the 1st Canadian Division here. Checking online ( and my google fu seems to be weak here ) but the 1st division had just a red block, with the brown maple leaf in the middle. Mine is more of a squiggly dot. And then chevrons below that to indicate number of years they have been in service. 1 chevron for 3-5, 2 for more.. and 3 for a lot more.. sorry. I can't find the page again, but in the end I took it as NCOs would have 2, infantry would have 1, and the HQ units would have between 2 and 3 depending on what they are.

First game to come with them soon.. so that will be interesting to write up about and see how they do. Considering that I am painting more Veterans within this force than my others (IJA were all Iniexperience for me, and the USMC core were all regulars ).

Hopefully some more painting to come, but nothing major in the pipeline before this contest ends... Not sure on how many points this brings either..

Oh wow, these are just gorgeous Kyle! I love the bleached-out look of their uniforms and your groundwork is superb. I especially like your observer stand with the escarpment and motorbike - brilliant. Your work on their insignia is spot on; clear and eye-catching. I've done Canadians in their winter gear for Ortona but now, when I see these, I want to do a set for Sicily as well. Curse you!! ;) 

I've added a few extra points for the hand painted insignia and the groundwork on the observer stand. Well done! 

From RayR - Donnybrook - English Artillery (25 Points)

My 5th entry proper into this years Challenge, yet more Donnybrook figures!!!

This is the Dixon artillery set, from their Grand Alliance range which can be purchased here, for the measly sum of £6.95. Which for 3 figures and an artillery piece is a bargain!

 Although I've written this is an English piece, it can be used for the French as well

as they both wore the same uniform. These should add 25 points to my total?

Great work Ray! Good to see Dixon getting some press here (a wonderful set of figures they are too). Love the vibrant colours, though how does that fellow keep his sponger so white? He could market his secret to the laundry trade and make millions. ;)

From EvanH - Mad Jack Churchill (5 points)

Well, I was too late for the 'Risk Taker' Bonus Round with this one, but here he is as the first of my final week's submissions for the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge;

John Malcolm Thorpe Fleming Churchill, DSO & Bar, MC & Bar, aka "Mad Jack" Churchill. A man's man. In fact, a man's man's man. The figure is a Warlord Miniatures release, and I am surprised that nobody else painted him up for the last Bonus Round, since his life is one which Hollywood might consider making into a movie but would reject as being too implausible.

Archery champion, gifted piper, fashion model(!), surfer, paratrooper, and commando, he was one of those splendid eccentrics the British seem to let loose during wartime to thrive amid the chaos and danger. He famously said that "Any officer who goes into action without his sword is improperly dressed."

In Northern France in 1940, his unit ambushed a German patrol, Churchill giving the signal for attack by taking down the German Feldwebel with a clothyard arrow fired from his longbow.

After Dunkirk, he joined the Commandos, where he continued to do his bit to keep the enemy off-balance by playing the bagpipes on raids while leaping from the landing craft, before hurling a grenade into the nearest machine gun nest and drawing his basket-hilted broadsword to give Jerry some stick.

He and a fellow Commando captured 50 German soldiers at Salerno in 1943, marching them back to the Allied lines. His luck ran out when he was captured by German forces in Yugoslavia in 1944. He was sent to Sachsenhausen concentration camp, where he made a brief recovery before escaping through a disused drain. He was recaptured and sent to the Tyrol, where he was imprisoned until the war's end. He resumed active service as soon as he was able, arriving in Burma just in time for the Japanese surrender in August 1945. He is reported to have said "If it wasn't for those damn Yanks, we could have kept the war going another 10 years!"

I've based him up as though he is charging up a shingle beach on a raid, sword and pistol at the ready, and bagpipes and longbow slung over his back. I've even added some washed-up kelp attached to its holdfast to give it that storm-wracked shore look.

OK, so my tardiness has cost me a few points, but once I'd started, I was committed to getting Mad Jack into this year's Challenge. He's too magnificent a character not to include in a Challenge themed around risk takers and gamblers!

What's next? Who knows?!

Stay tuned...!

Ev

A brilliant figure of an iconic risk taker, Ev. As you say, even Hollywood might struggle with how to portray this character, he's just so over-the-top. I really like how you've created the impression that he's storming a shale beach and the tartan on his bagpipes is very eye-catching with that vibrant blue check (is it a historical pattern?). I'm glad you stuck with it so we could see him here in all his longbow'ed/bagpip'ed/claymored glory.

MartinC's Challenge Group Shot

I'm not around next week so I have decided to post my group shots now. I have painted a lot of figures and an octopus (missing from photo - damn I just put them all away). Not sure how many and it would be easier to weight them than to count them.

Everything

Republican Romans (2 units velites and 1 unit Triarii done last year)

Zulus (1 unit done before the Challenge), Colonial British, Carthaginians, Gauls, VBCW Germans, Parthian Camel Cataphracts and some other stuff

This year has been a blast, thank you one and all, especially the Snow Lord and Dave my designated driver. The Challenge has helped me through a very challenging time at work. Hopefully all on the mend now and the Challenge meant I didn't kill anybody, yet.

Martin

Wow, this is awesome Martin. Your Zulus and Republican Romans look just fabulous arrayed together in one shot. 12 weeks work, eh? Not bad at all. ;) I always love seeing these End-of-Challenge shots as they just reinforce what the event is all about. Thanks for taking the time to do this Martin and I look forward to seeing you next time we roll out. Ta! ;)

From MichaelA - Diving for Points! (10points)

My challenge has been somewhat derailed of late by a particularly virulent bout of manflu, which comes complete with its own debilitating cough.  If this wasn't enough, I managed to break a tooth the other night and so any plans of getting much more done before the end of the Challenge are somewhat evaporating.  Still, not to worry, I have had a truly splendid time and have managed to get a lot more done that I had originally envisaged.  There is still the faintest chance that I might get a few more Zulus off the, but I'm not holding out too much hope.

So in bid to tidy up a few loose ends, I present the final two companion pieces to the divers used in the 'Nautical' entry; both from the ever reliable 'Foundry' range and a joy to paint.

Could they possibly be considered a 'Pulp' entry?  I could certainly do with the points, but far too far behind my side duellists to make any substantial challenge - ho hum! 

Lovely work Michael. When I first saw these models I thought they were from Bob Murch's 'Pulp Adventure' range. Now I need to scamper over to the Foundry page... These figures are excellent and wonderfully off the beaten path. Is the fellow with the pipe supposed to be working a pump of some sort? I really like his grizzled beard, Greek cap and cable-knit sweater.  A very evocative set, well done!

From AlanD - Lord Scrope of Bolton's Retinue (70 points)

A few of us from the games club have recently caught the Lion Rampant bug. If you haven't played it, Dan Mersey's Lion Rampant is a great little game in the Osprey wargames series. One of the very appealing things about it is the comparatively small number of figures you need to play, meaning that there is no longer any excuse to hold back from buying a few boxes of beautiful Perry Wars of the Roses figures and whack together some retinues.

My sympathies are with the Yorkists, and I wanted to make the retinue of a Northern lord. I settled on Lord Scrope of Bolton, who despite his unfortunate name had a colourful career, being wounded at Townton and fighting in the vanguard at Bosworth Field. What settled it though was his livery badge of a raven. I have a thing for ravens.

 

So to start with, here's a unit of 12 men at arms, including Lord Scrope himself holding his sword aloft. Everything is hand painted, as always, including his personal raven banner made from the foil from a nice bottle of Cotes du Rhone.

I think this observation has probably been made once or twice before, but these Perry WOTR figures are absolute little gems. I had a ball putting them together, and the scope to make highly individual figures is huge. My particular favourite is this scary looking bloke, perfect for issuing the challenges that can occur in a game of Lion Rampant.

This little lot should give me a base of 65 points, as I attempt to reach my goal of 1000.

 

Great work Dux! I too love this plastic set from the Perry's - you can do so much with them, which we can see in abundance with your lads here. As usual, your hand-painted heraldry looks terrific and that raven banner is the dog's danglies (a few extra points for those). It's also nice to see all those white flowers on their bases, presumably underlining their Yorkist allegiance (Boo-Yaa! Go Richard!). Wonderful stuff.

From SteH - One Final Hurrah, 8 GW Cobra Gunships for BFG (32 Points)

That's right, I've managed to squeeze out a few final models, this time a few GW Battlefleet Gothic ships. I honestly didn't think I'd enter anything else however I got the urge to hit the paints last night and just after midnight I rolled into bed happy with the thought that I'd completed something else.


These boys are to support my existing Imperial Navy squadron and will provide essential flank protection against those pesky Chaos raiders, which some of you may remember we're one if my submissions from last year's challenge. 



I've included a picture of one of my previously completed battlecruisers for reference. Weirdly I don't even play BFG anymore but I do enjoy the minis and fluff that goes with it. Hopefully GW doesn't destroy it in their never-ending quest for profit over content!



And yes, being the tardy soul that I am, I always intended these to form part of my Nautical bonus round submission.

Unfortunately I have no idea what scale these models are nor how many points they're worth, I'll happily accept whatever our most noble host deems suitable!

Now can I squeeze out one final model before the end?

Hate to break it to you Ste, but GW, in it's infinite wisdom, killed BFG back in 2013, along with the rest of the Specialist Game line. Sooo, I say smoke 'em while you got 'em. :)

I've always liked the design of the BFG Imperial ships. Really, who can deny spacecraft that have fuselages which feature buttressed cathedrals and prows built for ramming? Yup, it's completely bonkers, but I love it. Your colour scheme for this group is great Ste, especially with the silver and gold highlights. Very nice work.

From FranL - 15mm Modern IDF Israeli Defence Forces

...Khurasan Miniatures.

Modern Israelis wearing the mitznefet helmet cover (the purpose of the helmet cover is to break up the distinctive outline of a helmeted head and aid with camouflage). There is little known on the make up of a Israeli platoon but eventually settled on 3 squads of 12 made up of 4 fire teams each plus a platoon leader.

The packs did include a few helmeted figures but I thought they were too small and didn't look right (my opinion) but these mitznefet wearing troops are very distinctive.

Khurasan promise some armour in the future, QRF do some but I've had some really bad experiences with their mold lines!

The term comes from the mitznefet, or turban, worn by the high priest in the Temple of Jerusalem, originating in a Hebrew language root meaning "to wrap"

Very nice figures Fran, done in your signature clean paintstyle. The groundwork is quite sharp as well, I particularly like how you've utilized various shades of tufts to change things up from base-to-base. I also appreciate the information on the mitznefet - I had no idea that the Israeli troops wore these. Well done!

From BillA - Action Jackson is CURTGELD! (20 Points)

A tip to the croupier, a thank you for organizing the event, taken in the form of a 28mm figure.  I was more than happy to provide a piece of Curtgeld in exchange for getting to participate, I just had to find the right figure.

The 1970s era of "Blaxploitation" films, films made for an inner-city African-American audience, frequently featured characters easily characterized as risk-takers fighting 'The Man' or rival gangs.  John Shaft.  Superfly.  Coffy.  All these great, powerful characters, gambling their lives on a chance to win big or set things right.  I knew Reaper had a few Blaxploitation figures in their Chronoscope line, and I was pleased to find that Horace "Action" Jackson had also been produced in Bones.  His being cast on something of a flat plane will be a godsend in trying to ship him safely to Curt.  

The next step was selecting a color scheme.  I knew I wanted something bright and garish, reflecting 1970s fashion trends.  I considered a white shirt and purple pants, a blue shirt and dark pink pants, but then it hit me - An African-American risk-taker in bright, easily-reproduced colors? I was looking for Luke Cage, Hero for Hire! Action Jackson's shirt and pants here are based on the bright yellow, open-front shirt and blue pants worn by Cage in his earliest comic book appearances.  

Colors decided upon, the painting was simple - other than that shirt needing about fifteen coats of "Marigold Yellow" to get a solid covering.  He'll be winging your way as soon as I can get him to a post office, Curt.  And thank you again for organizing all this madness and sending us skittish kittens to our brushes and cameras.  

This is just fantastic Bill - thank you so much. I'm a big fan of this genre of cinema. I was just a kid during their heyday and I remember watching those movies absolutely wide-eyed as they seemed so very adult and 'other' to a boy from the Canadian prairies (I seem to recall that when my mom first saw the formidable Pam Grier she quickly changed channels!). That yellow shirt is terrific (screams Superfly) and the skin tone is masterfully done. Thanks again Bill.

Form BrettM - Skeletons and Union Soldiers (150 Points)

Finished up some Kings of War skeletons. Since they are rank and file type troops I painted them exactly as my previous entry. However added some of the different heads from Mantic.

Here is one Skeleton with a crow on his head picking out whats left of his Brain

I like the one with the axe stuck in his skull

Here is the start to my Union soldiers. Finally getting to the Perry miniatures Battle in a Box set

Here is all of them in one pic that are done so far

 A view from the left of the group

And the view from the right of the group.

Total of 30 figures at 28mm. So I am showing a total of 150 points. Less than a week left to finish another 22 Union soldiers and 42 Confederate ones!! Its crunch time!!

Great work Brett! I've worked on the Mantic zombies (which are great little models), but I've not tried the skellies yet. These look very good. I quite like the vibrant red shields, and the dark groundwork really makes them pop. 

Also, nice work on those Damned Yankies. I think you nailed the colour for their trousers (which can be a bit fiddly), otherwise you pretty much can't go wrong with that iconic uniform! A very nice skirmishing unit. Well done!

From RayR - Curtgeld - Wild Bill Hickok (20 Points)

The plan was to start Curt's NYW collection off with the Duke of Monmouth as my Curtgeld, but at Cavalier last month I spied this great figure from Knuckleduster and as Curt collected Cowboys in a previous Challenge, I thought I'd add to the collection.
I was going to leave the figure unbased, but in a mad 5 minutes, he got added to the must base pile and before I knew it I was painting the base???
Wild Bill is only my 4th entry into the Challenge!

James Butler Hickok (May 27, 1837 – August 2, 1876)—known as "Wild Bill" Hickok—was a folk character of the American Old West. Some of his exploits as reported at the time were fiction, but his skill as a gunfighter and gambler provided the basis for his fame, along with his reputation as a lawman.

Hickok was born and raised on a farm in rural Illinois. He went west at age 18 as a fugitive from justice, first working as a stagecoach driver, then as a lawman in the frontier territories of Kansas and Nebraska. He fought (and spied) for the Union Army during the American Civil War and gained publicity after the war as a scout, marksman, actor and professional gambler. Hickok was involved in several notable shootouts.

He was shot from behind and killed while playing poker in a saloon in Deadwood, Dakota Territory (now South Dakota) by an unsuccessful gambler, Jack McCall. The card hand which he supposedly held at the time of his death (aces and eights) has come to be known as the "Dead Man's Hand".

Wonderful work Ray, I think he's just excellent and Wild Bill is an brilliant (if not completely iconic) example of both The Gambler and Risk Taker. I quite like the red sash against his dark suit and the basing you did for him is very apropos for the Wild West setting. Thank you very much. 

All this being said, I still want that Monmouth though. ;oP

From StefanK - Royal Navy Captains from Brigade Games (10 points)

The painting challenge is on it's last days now and finally I managed to finished to miniatures to complete the first bunch of Napoleonic seamen:

When painting those gentlemen I always swayed between the Horatio Hornblower TV series and a recording of H.M.S. Pinafore by Gilbert and Sullivan. Although the play is set in a slightly later period these sturdy officers reminded me of sorely afflicted Captain Corcoran. Simultaneously especially the left chap has the strict but fair look of Robert Lindsay's wonderful recreation of Captain Pellew. The figures are from Brigade Games excellent range of Napoleonics and were sculpted by master craftsman Paul Hicks. They are wonderfully detailed and well proportioned although some of his newer pieces seem to be even better or let me say almost perfect. Anyway they are so full of character and detail that is was a pleasure to bring our the best of myself.

For painting I used my usual combination of Vallejo (mostly Model Colors) and Wargames Foundry (skin paintset). Luckily captains in the Royal Navy wore large epaulettes and some golden piping on their uniforms which gave me the chance to try NMM (non-metal-metal) again. I'm not sure whether it's turned out too yellowish but more or less I'm satisfied. 

For now those two chaps are a good intermediate target for my Royal Navy collection. There are still a couple of sailors on the lead pile and Empress has an interesting Maori Wars range that is partly suitable for Napoleonics as well but for now I can turn my eye to another theatre of war...

Lovely work Stefan. I've painted these same figures and heartily concur with your glowing review - they are truly wonderful miniatures and you've done them great credit here.  Like your theme entry, I really like your approach to their skin tones. Also, your use of NMM yellow for the braid, buttons and epauletes worked out marvelously. Well done!