From Millsy - VBCW Militia and Armour (170 points)

My second entry is a "clearing the decks" type of effort and pretty much finishes every unpainted VBCW miniature in my collection [woot!]. My ongoing Port Sunlight 1938 project is focused around the Lever Brothers Soap Works in the Wirral. Today's entry represents some civilian militia, supporting armour and a few top-ups for the "forces of evil".

First up we have "Hector", a Warlord Games resin/metal kit which I've painted up as an import from the Spanish Civil War. He's deliberately faction-neutral in terms of markings so he can fight for different sides each week.

Fighting alongside Hector we have a mix of Musketeer/Footsore Miniatures VBCW and Artizan Designs pulp figures.

The Infamous Five: Bomber Brown, Capt Arbuthnot, Weird Uncle Cyril,
Mrs Graham's Little Boy Eric and Bomber Tomkins

Mrs Graham's little boy Eric is really too young to go on raids but his mum lets him out as long as he stays well rugged up (even if it is his horrid ugly Christmas jumper). Weird Uncle Cyril goes along to see if he can find more Jerries in the bushes. He hasn't taken that balaclava off since 1918...

My entry in Sarah's Choice this year is Margaret Graham...

Margaret Graham is Manageress of Lever Brothers Dining Room and something of a local hero. Back on 13 November 1919 she extinguished a chip pan that had set light to the clothing of a young staff member. For her efforts she was awarded the first ever Gallant Conduct Award of the British Industrial Safety First Association. She was also awarded the Port Sunlight Order of Conspicuous Merit. This is an absolutely true story - see p52 of Yesterday's Wirral: Port Sunlight a Pictorial History if you want to read more :-)

Lastly we have a couple of extras for my other factions, a BUF light mortar and a Yeomanry Heavy Mortar and crews. Again Musketeer/Footsore/Artizan and the heavy mortar is "borrowed" from 40K.

In total that's one tank, three crew served weapons and twenty-five infantry for a total of 170 points.

Happy New Year everyone...

Beeeutiful work Mr. Millsy. 'Hector' is a wonderful (if imposing) addition to your VBCW collection, and I love all the little back-stories you've created for all your various factions. The floral print on Margaret's dress is fantastic and I'm sure Sarah will love it when she see's it later today (the woman, bless her heart, works like a Trojan to keep me in the style I've become accustomed).  

170 points is a very respectable addition to your running total. Well done and a Happy New Year to you Millsy!

From MarkH - Hummels and Decimators (36 points)

Not sure if I've got this in too late or not. Been a rough week and got almost nothing finished. [You're in luck mate, evil never sleeps! No, really, I'm an insomniac... Millsy]

I managed to finish off 2 x 15mm FOW Hummels and I did my very first (probably of many) X-wing miniatures repaint the mighty flying tank of the Empire the VT-49 Decimator. (not sure how you will point this one Curt??). [He won't but Millsy will! :-)]

With the Hummels I added some wear and tear as I often do and plan on them having some form of leafy coverage at some point. So 2 vehicles and 6 crew painted.

The repainting of the VT-49 Decimator came about simply from the fact that the basic model straight out of the box is grey with a really average ink over the top.  Most of the x-wing models I have are far better painted (even the tie fighters). I wanted to make the model look like it had seen some action and also give it a big of colour and interest so after a spray of Black paint I proceeded to use half a dozen different grey paints for the panels and along with a nice red stripe and a big of a blue engine effect, a few washes to blend it all together you get this:

Painting the Decimator was a lot of fun and i think its a good improvement over the one that comes out of the box.. The x-wing models are great and take paint perfectly.

Sorry its not much for this week - hopefully a lot more next week.

Wow, two very, very attractive submissions in one post Mark! I'm struggling to decide which I like more... The camo on the Hummels is spot on and well worth the 24 points for vehicles and crew. That X-Wing repaint is just lovely though and given the effort I'm going to call it a 20mm vehicle. Apparently X-Wing is 1/270 so [ahem] close enough. Another 12 points in that case for a total of 36. Awesome work sir. Cheers, Millsy.

From BrendonW - 28mm Wars of the Roses light Horsemen (40 points)

4 x Perry Plastic 28mm horsemen. 2 with Crossbows and two with big spears. Constructing the Crossbow figures is a little tricky. Arm position and location of the bolt holster needs a little thought for it to work. The bolt pouch needs to avoid conflict with the high back saddle. The arms (and crossbow) for the shooter are from the Perry foot mercenary set. Plain horses again. Leaders and next batch I aim to have a few extra bits of pattern detail. This is the last post until my next are due. Been a busy day to get these ready for posting and thank you to our down under analogue agent when you get this far. Cheers from Brendon.

Aha, I see what you're doing now! Quality in quantity (of posts just for starters). I'm struggling for adequate superlatives now without sounding like a git so I'll just go with an Aussie "Bloody nice work mate" and add a Kiwi "Choice bro, you deserve a chocolate fish!" to balance it out. 

40 points for these and in total 300(!) for the day. That's the equivalent of sneaking all the parts for a points bomb through airport customs one at a time. Just my luck I was on duty and didn't spot the thing til it went off in my face. :-)

PS. Curt, I think I understand it all now. I'm SO sorry mate. ;-)

From BrendonW - 28mm Light Horsemen with Bows (50 points)

5 x Plastic Perry 28mm Wars of the Roses reinforcements for the Red and Black. Really nice kits with plenty of options so good I thought that I purchased two sets so more here later. The arms for the mounted bowmen shooting are from another Perry kit of foot men. I kept these horses basic and will add a few with head stripes etc at a later stage. Perhaps for the more bossy looking leader types. Cheers for now.

I'm a little concerned now Brendon. Are you sleeping at all mate? Whatever it is you are doing (or not doing!) it is certainly working for you. Lovely horses again and the riders are really quite special. 50 more points in the bank! Cheers, Millsy.

From BrendonW - 28mm Mounted Arab Bowmen (60 points)

6 x Gripping Beast 28mm Plastic Mounted Arabs. Getting into the swing of painting lots and lots of horses means lots and lots of straps to paint (a lot more to go). These figures have one more choice that needs to be made when you reach for the colours and that is what colours and pattern to paint a blanket under the saddle. Hard to see in my photos but the flash dude in the middle has a pattern on his horse blanket. It's another detail that adds time to completion but it's a nice unique part that will set them apart from other forces. The bows are of a different design than the ones that come in the Foot set curiously.

As you can see I have not gone with a typical yellow desert basing style on these. Arid perhaps but not desert. The way I see it, it's probably more important to fight for the slightly greener parts of the globe than the extremely drier bits. Especially when it comes to those mad Mongol invasions or pesky crazy Crusaders.

Very nice indeed Brendon! Many gamers brush over (pun intended) horses and saddle furniture when painting mounted units and I always feel it's an opportunity lost. It's a large part of the whole and really sets a rider off the same way a well painted base does. You've certainly made my day with these horses sir! Ka-ching! Another 60 points... Cheers, Millsy.

From BrendonW - 28mm Arab Foot Bowmen (40 points)

My first submission to this glorious paint challenge. 8 x 28mm Plastic Grippng Beast Arab Archers. Part of a larger force that we all shall see grow and grow in time much like The Red and Black did this time last year.

After a long absence from all things paint brushy it took me a while to find a groove. I think I have found it now so stay tuned for more from my painting table here in Australia. Cheers everyone.

Hmmm... So many posts from you in one day Brendon it seems I've gotten them slightly out of order! No matter, it certainly doesn't diminish the quality of the work. The muted colours and low key decoration of the clothing really sets these apart mate. I love 'em! Cheers, Millsy.

From BrendonW - Return of the Red and Black (52 points)

Greetings. The Red and the Black forces have returned to uphold the values of Bacon and Beer. This submission sees 28mm Perry Plastics x 10. I converted these from the Foot Knight set and used Pikes from the mercenary set to create these heavy pikemen. Not as easy to do as it is to type that sentence. Some new heads in this range from the light horsemen set in the same series. More on that set later.

Been a while since I did any miniature photography so a few trial and errors gets it done. Happy painting everyone. Cheers, Brendon.

Good to see the red and the black forces continuing to grow Brendon. These are every bit as good as what we've seen before and I like the way you've mixed and matched boxes to get the desired look. If plastics are good for anything then that's certainly it. Another 50 points in troops plus a couple for conversions adding to a growing tally sir! Cheers, Millsy.

From BrendonW - 28mm Arab Infantry with shields (58 points)

Gripping Beast plastic Arabs 28mm x 11. Only 4 of the Shields below are LBM decals. Hand painting the unfamiliar text is great challenge for a painter and can be very satisfying. The LBM decals and the box art provide plenty of inspiration to imitate.

The photos don't show some of the subtle shading on these figures. I will work on my technique to hopefully improve on that. The shadows went very black. Skin tone took a while for me to come to terms with on these ones and future Arabs may appear less bright than some of these ones appear.

As an army painter actually having a standard uniform colour can make choices simpler but it can be very enjoyable to suspend a cohesive look and start getting random. In some ways it makes the progress take a little longer but its going to be interesting to see how they look together once I have a warband/army. Cheers from Brendon W.

An absolutely gorgeous entry Brendon, especially the shields. I've not seen the GB plastic Arabs in detail until now and I'm already a fan although your brushwork might have played a small part. 55 points worth of troops and a few bonus points for the hand painting is a great start on what looks like a busy day for you! Cheers, Millsy.

From StephenS - 28mm Imperial Assault Figures (25 points)

For this weeks entry I've gone back in time, to a galaxy far, far away... That's right, I'm bringing some pew pew to the challenge!

These five figures are from expansions to the 'Imperial Assault' board/miniatures game from Fantasy Flight Games. This will leave me with only two more figures to paint, to ensure I have everything needed to play the campaigns from the core box, which I've kicked off with a few friends.

First up are three Rebel Troopers. For what is essentially a board game, the figures are beautiful with plenty of detail.

Next I have IG-88 and a Royal Guard Champion, who will both add a bit of punch to my Imperials, if I can unlock them during a mission. 

So, five 'big' 28 mm figures should be 25 points. However, I've only given them a glossy black base to simulate the deck of a spaceship, as they will be doing the rounds as board game pieces. So I'm happy if a few points need to be docked as a result.

Cheers,

Steve

Another Thursday crew member returns to the fray with something a little different and rather topical! I love what you've done with these Steve, especially the Royal Guard Champion who looks mighty fine in red and black. There's no requirement for you to base outside what would be appropriate for the miniatures in question so you've certainly earned your 25 points. Looking forward to seeing the remaining miniatures to complete the set... Cheers, Millsy

From KeithS: 28mm Warg Cavalry and Dwarves - 68 points

Despite power outages and a lingering (and an ongoing) internet outage, I bring you the following through my tiny phone screen and a quickly downloaded Blogger app (at least the lights are on to paint and take photos!)

First up are the last three Goblins, these ones mounted on Wargs. Not much new to say on our Gobbling friends -- they're clearly the same line as my previous ones. The Wargs, however, I really, really like. They have a tremendous amount of personality (and personality go a long way).  I did them in grey tones (I did three dozen Warg cav by Alliance in browns last year and wanted something new).

From the side:

This guy with the high back saddle I decided was the boss wolf. I gave him more grey around the muzzle and blue eyes instead of green. I wanted the rider in mail with the raised sword to be on him as he looked like a boss Gobbo but he had so many packs he literally was to fat for the saddle. Alas.

Next up are eight Dwarves (7 plus a bonus I guess) scaled for 25mm. I just got them in the mail as part of a Ral Partha Kickstarter using molds from ancient days (i.e. The 80s). They were pretty straightforward and I rather liked their look. 

The gang:

An axeman:

Swordsman:

I like to hand paint shields from time to time though I'm not at all very good at it!  These are supposed to be a red dragon and a white cockatrice which ended up wyvernish.  Meh. I've done better (and worse). Behind them is an interesting standard. For almost every figure I use tarnished bronze for anything gold or brass. But for Dwarves and Elves I go full shiny. 

Looking forward to a weekend of heavy painting (and hopefully restored Internet)!

Aah the perils of technology, I share your pain. Excellent work on the shields I have give them an extra 3 points. I thought the dwarfs looked at bit old school , but classic never the less , interesting to see them from the 80's. Hope your power returns shortly