From TamsinP - Read All About It! (30 points)

Well, with newspaper seller as part of this group, what else could my title possibly be? OK, so there's a chap with a leg of some meat so it could have been "Tamsin Hams It Up"...

Anyway, a productive day off work (I had a day which needed to be taken before Christmas) has seen me complete six civilians for my Mob Wars project. The figures are 28mm from Blue Moon. there are another six figures which I've made a start on, but I don't know if I'll manage to finish them before I head out of London for Christmas - they might get finished and submitted on Wednesday night.

Right, time for some close-up pics. Apologies for the crap photography - I think it might be time to get a proper light-tent.

So, six 28mm foot figures should give me 30 points.

What a wonderfully characterful mob, Tamsin! All of them are excellent but I particularly like the nosy reporter and the newsboy in his sporty plus-fours. I look forward to seeing the other six.

Well done!

From ClintB - Starting Small 1/300 Mig-17 (2 Points)

Yes I am starting small! Just a single 6mm (1/300th Scale) vehicle. A Mig 17 (fresco in Nato identification) in Egyptian markings circa 1967.

The vehicle model is By "Heroics and Ross" while the flight stand is by "Frontline". I am sticking in the desert for my main project this challenge but no longer WW1 Arab Revolt so I will not be painting Camels. Instead I am coming more up to date with a war I can vaguely remember. Actually I cannot I think I remember the 73 war!

Anyway this should get me off the mark with just a couple of points. But out of the blocks is out of the blocks. This starts the making of my United Arab Republic force for battles in the Sinai. I will be working on the ground forces more than the air forces but  with a simple silver finish and markings this was just too easy not to start with.

Nothing like buzzing the Pyramids in a Mig17! Nice job Clint!  

I have a faint recollection of the newscasts of the Yom Kippur War (I was quite young back then). I remember it being quite a shock to the West to the battering the Israelis received in the first few days of the conflict (and in retrospect how close we came to the brink of nuclear war). What rules will you be using for this project? 

From MilesR - 28mm British Siege Mortars (30 Points)

My next submission is a set of 3 British Napoleonic Siege Mortars from Front Rank Miniatures in 28mm scale.

These are the first of many Front Rank mini's I'll be painting up during this year's contest.  Along with the mortars is a 36 figure British Infantry battalion and 2 32 figures Portuguese infantry units.

These mortars will be used in my upcoming Historicon 2016 game which will be set during the War of 1812 but with some adjustments for a bit of fun.

I was amazed at how cleanly cast the Front Figures are - prep was really very simple.

And what wonderful, brutish little beasts they are Miles. Is this for an upcoming convention game? If so, what is the scenario?  

I look forward to seeing your upcoming Portuguese. I did a battalion several years ago using then-Victrix metals (now Brigade?) which are very nice castings to work with (which reminds me that I need to do another two battalions to finish the brigade...ugh.)

Great work Miles! 

From JuanM - First Entry: The Loser & the Gambler (10 Points)

Hello everyone!!!

Here is my first entry to this year´s Challenge, really fast painting for me! This is my first picture about The Challenge, yesterday in the morning, when I selected the first two models to paint (basically, because both of them were going to wear white trousers...):

As you can see, I have some figures waiting for their turn in the background.

Well, the first model is a 28mm Draugr from Red Box Games, a really nice miniature and a poor tortured soul. He is The Loser in this entry, of course:

The figures from Red Box Games are really wonderful, fantastic and full of (small) details. I expect to paint many more of them during The Challenge despite the fact they need a lot of time to being painted. I have used some drops of "Realistic Water" from Secret Weapon Scenics in the base.

My idea is to use these figures with "Frostgrave" or "Open Combat".

The Gambler is my other figure in this entry. He is a 28mm Perry Miniatures AWI Rebel Officer, wounded but ready to continue the game.

This is a lonely painting commission for a friend.

And this is my small first entry worth of 10 points, I think. Great and very busy first two days of The Challenge.

Cheers!

Ah, lovely to see you with us Juan and with two characterful miniatures. That first fellow looks like me Monday mornings when I head off to work... Seriously, great work on depicting the decrepit undead flesh tones, clothes and metalwork. I've been to the Red Box website many times admiring their miniatures but can never decide what to order as they are so many cool castings.

From IanW - 15mm Late Achaemenian Persian Command Stand (12 Points)

I thought I would start off the Challenge with a much needed fourth command stand for my Achaemenian Persian army. The figures are supplied by Magister Militum who produce the rather fine Chariot Miniatures range.

These are a fairly quick and easy paint, just perfect to get me onto the score board. These figures are reasonably free of flash and as such easy to prep. 

I have based up the figures for use with both Fields of Glory and Hail Caesar and should get some use in the near future. These should net me 12 points to get me started, more Persians to follow.

Welcome aboard Ian! It's great to have you among us again this year. 

What a nice, bright and colourful command stand to start things off - wonderful. As you say, these are very crisp castings. I like your arid basework and the tone of the bronze helmets are spot on. Well done.

From MilesR - BT-42 and a bit of a goof! (25 Points)

 My first submission for the AHPC VI is a 28mm  BT-42 tank.  The model comes from a new company, Trenchworx and is superb.  In fact, I think Trenchworx makes the best quality vehicle models in 28mm scale at the moment.

 Unfortunately, there is a glaring, almost shocking error in my rendition.  While the BT-42 is based on the Soviet BT-7 chassis they were created by the Finns and not the Soviets so the red star on the turret is a bit out of place.  The Finns captured 56 BT-7's during the winter war and converted 18 of them in BT-42's.

 The BT-42 mounted a British 4.5 inch gun and really weren't all that successful.  I always thought of them as a discounted version of a KV-2.  Still its a cool looking tank.

So I guess this version depicts a re-captured BT-42 pressed into Soviet service somewhere on the Eastern Front or it's just those crafty Finns trying to trick the Soviets......

Ok, I just screwed up

Maybe I should stick to office furniture submissions....

My apologies for the cluttered background in the pictures - I need to clean up my workspace and just haven't found time to do so

Welcome to the madness Miles! 

Confused branding aside, this is a great looking vehicle. I really like the aggressive weathering on the lower hull and I always love a turret design that tries to fit a monstrous gun onto a too-small chassis. I bet whenever the gunner wanted to rotate that heavy turret to fix a new target the rest of the crew were chewing their nails in frustration. 

I have a few of the Trenchworx vehicles myself and can attest to their quality.

Nice work Miles!