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!

From LeeH - 6mm Flak 88 Battery (20 Points)

This will be my last submission to the Analogue Painting Challenge and for me its something of a 'belt and braces' entry as I have already reached my target (or I will when the bonus round points are added). My last entry is something of a mish-mash of vehicles and guns from different manufacturers that sort of make a cohesive unit, but frankly doesn't conform to any army list.

Flak 88 Battery & support vehicles

First up are two Flak 88 Anti-Aircraft guns deployed in an anti tank role. The Germans were quick to realise that their powerful Flak gun could not only hit aircraft at high altitude but it also gave them incredible hitting power over very long distances horizontally. High velocity combined with flat trajectory and a wide flat landscape made these guns absolutely lethal in the desert. The preferred tactic was to set up the guns in prepared positions and draw British tanks into range by using their own tanks as bait. These guns have a few 'kill rings' painted on their barrels to show that they have already been effective in a previous battle.

Supporting the 88's are two groups of additional Artillery crew. I couldn't fit the guns and crew on my normal sized base (at this scale I use small FOW bases) so I decided to mount the crews separately. The 88's are from Heroics and Ros while all the Artillerymen are by GHQ. 

I have also painted a command stand consisting of a commander and radio operator next to a Kubelwagon. Also present are two Kfz15's, a Kfz 17 radio car and an SdKfz 7 half-tracked truck.

Five Vehicles, two artillery pieces and sixteen infantry figures should net me a final 20 points to add to my total. I have literally run out of units to paint both for my WWII North Africa project and my Punic War project, at least for the time being. So that's me done in the Challenge this year. It's been an absolute blast and I look forward to seeing everyone else's last entries over the next few days. Now I need to go and lay down in a darkened room for a few days!

Lovely work Lee. The 88s look great on the round bases and I like the crew, officers and staff car arrayed behind them. 

As a historical addendum to your post, many think that the 88 was first used in a ground attack role during the early years of WWII, but in reality the gun was utilized this way while in service in the Spanish Civil War, fighting against the Republicans.

It was great having you join us Lee. You're microscale work was such a treat to see and you did great service as a pinch hitter, helping us in our pursuit of our overall group target. Well done! I look forward to having you with us next time we roll out.

Curtgeld from StephenS - Sir Edmund Percival Hillary (40 Points)

I present Sir Edmund Hillary, whom embodied the spirit of a true adventurer in the mid-20th Century. He is most famous for being the first person to reach the top of Mt Everest. He was also the first person to reach both the North and South poles and summit Mt Everest. Truly a man that liked to test the limits no matter the elements or risks. He also seems to have not been a fan of the warmer climates.

Importantly, he was also the perfect excuse to paint up some of Bob Murch's lovely Pulp Figures for the first time. These guys are a real treat to paint and, I hope they will find a home among Curt's own collection of these characterful models.

I say these guys, because of course, Sir Hillary climbed with Tenzing Norgay, a Sherpa mountaineer. It was obviously a team effort and it would cruel to separate them, so Curt gets an extra model!  =)

I mocked up a few different bases, but my wife, who has trekked the Nepalese Himalayas, said these were the closest match to what she remembered of the lead-up to the base camp. Sir Hillary isn't carrying the heavier gear that he had when they made the ascension on 29th May 1953. The actual expedition had over 400 people, including 362 porters and 20 Sherpa guides. Which is why Sir Hillary is travelling light at the moment.

I tried to match the colour scheme to a photo of the two, which I've included for comparison.

Thank you very much to Curt for organising such a fantastic challenge, and all the long hours that must go on behind the scenes to make it such a success. Thanks as well to the Minions, who stepped up and helped carry the load. This was my first challenge, and I enjoyed it immensely. Thank you again everyone.

Cheers,

Steve

Wow. These are wonderfully marvelous figures Stephen and an excellent interpretation of the Risk Taker theme. I'm a big fan of Bob's stuff and always have a great time working on his figures and I can plainly see you have as well. I love the archival photograph and how you've used it as your muse - fabulous. Thank you so much and I hope you join us again for the next Challenge season.