From AledC: Arab Archers (120 points)

Hey everyone, a quick post before the deadline.

I have the archer unit for my Arab army all done, painted in a single 24 man batch. They were finished being painted last week but needed the bases done because work got in the way.

Similarly, there was going to be the 12 spearmen for my Minas Tirith Dragon Rampant army but I went to work instead of finishing the bases. I'll hopefully have those done for next week.

I doubt there will be anything else though as I'll be busy packing and moving, so don't expect much from me in the next little while.

24 archers in 28mm should bring me over my goal, time to look at greater horizons....


Cheers,
Aled.

Alan and Paul: Nice work Aled - you just managed to squeeze this entry in in time. Great looking unit, and I hope you can give us a group photo next time so we can see how the whole Arab army is progressing.

From Brendon W - It's getting Dark in here (130 points)

Welcome to the Dark Ages. Everybody and everything is filthy. He who smells the least like poo is probably the boss/Lord/King around here. So much fighting and war going on means no time to spend getting clean. Life is short. Not figuratively...literally. 29 is around the max age of the average Viking during this time or so the 5 minutes of a doco I saw last week informs me.

1 x Norman Knight and 23 Anglo Saxon infantry (28mm plastic).

These are Gripping Beast plastics mainly from two sets. The Anglo Saxon kit and the Dark Age warriors kit. However there is at least one who has a Viking body from the Viking box. 4 bodies are from a FireForge medieval box. If you are familiar with the sprues you may be able to spot them. All shields are hand painted except one. Can you find it?

This Conquest Games Norman Knight has a hand painted shield. I have used many shield decals in the past but, I actually find it's quicker to paint them rather than what feels like a long staged process when doing decals. It is satisfying as well to have an original design that is fairly geometric.

That's all  from me in Monsoonal Darwin in the Northern Territory, Australia this week. While it's summer down under we have had a few days where Darwin has been the coldest Capital in the nation. The foreign lands known to us as 'down south' have been sweltering by the sounds. But you didn't come here for a weather update did you. Enjoy your painting.

Alan and Paul: 'There's some lovely filth over here Dennis!'

That's a great looking shield wall you have there Brendon - I don't fancy the Norman's chances. The figures earn you 125 points, but I'm giving you an extra 5 points for the hand painted shields. As anyone who knows me will confirm, I have strong feelings about the use of decals....

[Its quite true, he is a complete decal fascist! - Paul]

Anthony O - Vichy French, BEF Armoured might and the Russian Horde - 268 Points

This is the first week of my holidays and the first time all my three children are at school so my painting has stepped up with all this free time. This week I added another two squads to my Vichy French in North Africa as well as getting some British armour onto the field for the BEF. To top it off I started on another Russian horde for Team Yankee which whilst impressive in numbers was the easiest to paint.

 French Foreign Legion - 40 Points

These eight Legionaries are from Artizan Miniatures and make up another squad for my Vichy French in North Africa.  The best thing about this force is that I can take it to an event and if playing an Axis opponent I will just say that they have switched sides and long live Charles De Gaulle! 

 Goumiers - 60 Points

These guys are also from Artizan and are an amazing, though small, range. The 12 that I have are suitable for use from Africa through Italy and even into France although one of the French officers has US kit on and as such would be rested for the Vichy force. I have included a shot below to show you how these two squads fit into the entire force and you may recognise the armoured car up the back and some other Pulp miniatures I have painted this challenge. All up for this army I have painted 30 of these troops during this challenge.

Vickers Mk VI Light Tanks - British Expeditionary Force 1939/40 - 40 Points

Blitzkrieg Miniatures make these 1/56 vehicles and they are really fantastic resin kits. I really wanted these for my BEF as I think they are on par with the Matilda II as iconic and I think they sum up nicely the British inter war theory on cavalry type tanks being small and lightly armed. One of the tanks is set up for the desert war so not strictly accurate for BEF however you make do with what you have available.

Team Yankee - Russian vehicles - 124 Points

The Russian horde is made up of five T72's, two Gopher SAM vehicles, three Carnation SP Howitzers and ten BMP 2's. All these miniatures are from Battlefront and are a mixture of resin and mostly plastic kits. Again whilst impressive in number at 15mm and all the same colour they are relatively easy to batch paint.

Thanks for all your great comments so far from my submissions and I am hoping for another big week next week!

Alan and Paul: Blimey Patch - you really went thermonuclear with the paint bomb this week. It is a pleasure seeing such a variety of figures and models, painted to such a magnificent standard. My favourites are definitely the Goumiers. Great, characterful figures, and I love the job you have done on their striped clothing. With all the vehicles and crew figures your total comes to 264 points, but I'm giving you an extra couple of points for the Goumiers.

From ChrisH: Barely holding up my end of the bargain (48 points)

I had hoped to get this lot done before the end of last year alas it was not to be. Yet these 12 Perry Swiss crossbowmen are done. Soon they will fly off towards Canada to their owner that has been wondering what ever happened to them. So my last commission piece for a while has finished and I can get onto (not) painting my lead pile and plastic pinnacle.

Perry Swiss in Lorraine Livery

I recently had the pleasure of attending CanCon, Australia's largest games convention and playing in the Infinity tournament. The joy of 5 games in two days is great, but I was so rushed with my gaming and trying to sell stuff through the bring and buy that I both neglected to spend much with traders, nor take photos of anything else that happened on the days. I did not even get to meet up with other bloggers. For your viewing pleasure this was a friends little force, and a table typical of the day. Even if you are not overly competitive ( I am not) it is great to meet and game with people you just don't normally.

Brendan's force Photo from some one else blog

One of 28 brilliant tables. Photo from some one else blog

Overall points wise, 12 X 5 = 60points or a bit less as they are not based due to the clients requirements.

Alan and Paul: I'm sure the new owner will be proud to welcome such nice figures to his ranks
Sorry we missed you at the Bloggers meet up at CanCon - maybe next year.

As the rules are that figures to be 'based and groundwork completed', this was referred to the supreme court, who ruled that 4 points per figure would be appropriate. So 12 x 4 = 48 points for this unit

From GregB: Deredeo Dreadnought for Alpha Legion (15 points)

"The Alpha Legion wants you to MOVE YOUR CAR..."

While it's not exactly up to the globe-trotting standards of certain AHPC folk (*cough* Miles *cough*) I do have the good fortune to enjoy some time in the Palm Springs, California area every year with my lovely wife Linda.  We are there this week, so not much painting, but still some 30k fun to share.  This is a Deredeo Pattern dreadnought battle armour, painted in the colours of the Alpha Legion from GW's Horus Heresy setting.

I can't top the quick explanation of dreadnoughts that JamieM already offered in his submission featuring Thousand Sons Space Marines.  The dreadnought is a power armour unit driven by the ruined remains of a fallen Space Marine.  As Jamie said, if you are going to exist solely in a coffin covered in guns, you might as well do it in a fully pimped out ride.  The Deredeo Pattern suit delivers...it will provide serious firepower to support the requirements of Alpharius' lads.

The marine-helmet-style head gives a good connection to the Marines and 30k setting on an otherwise very unique sculpt that echoes a number of sci-fi themes

I love the look of this sculpt - it fits with the other 30k dreanought suits, but evokes things like the crazy Macross destroids or the "ED 209" from Robocop, among other things.  The guns, the armour, it's all over the top - and that makes it ideal for 30k in my books!

Assuming the autocannons and missiles don't wipe out whatever the problem was, there are a pair of heavy bolters in the hull...total overkill

Steve B is a genuis, and he used magnets on the build, so I can swap in the heavy flamers if preferred. Since this is an Alpha Legion unit, I assume the flame throwers would be used to burn documents and evidence...

This thing is armed to the teeth - and the teeth probably explode or something too. Features such as the Anvillus autocannon battery, Ailos missile launcher and body mounted heavy bolters all ensure enough firepower to wipe out any inconvenient loyalists or witnesses the Alpha Legion would find inconvenient.  There is an option to equip this model with flame throwers in place of the heavy bolt guns on the hull, and I'm able to do it in this case because of: MAGIC.

A view of the ammo containers on the back

Well, actually it's magnets.  The magic comes from Steve B.  He assembled this beast for me.  Steve is a great guy, and while he doesn't have say a whole lot here on the Challenge blog, trust me that in addition to incredible painting skills (as we have seen from his submissions) he has the mind of a hobby engineer.  He has already assisted me with a number of tricky kits from Forge World, and this is a tricky one indeed, with the belt fed weapons hitching up to the pack.  But Steve not only assembled it, but he frigging magnetized the whole thing so I can switch out the weapons! All of them! So if I wanted to, I could order the plasma cannons...funny how I say "if", like that's a
variable...

The model is a big sucker, bigger than the other dreadnought models.  Seems fitting to me, as it is carrying enough weapons to fight its own war.

The tactical Marines give an idea of the size of the model...this is a big sucker

So a huge, huge, "thank you" to Steve B for his help and skills, and I hope my painting does his efforts justice. I am super psyched to have this model finished, and can't wait to take it for a stroll on the gaming table.  As a newly painted model, I'm sure it will dominate the table, right?

I don't know how many points this counts for - but I'm not a minion, so we'll toss that problem over to them! See you all next week!

Alan and Paul: Good luck! My newly painted figures inevitably suffer ignominious defeat the first time they appear on the table. And most of the times after that. This is an impressive beast, and I love the description. I said it before with your marines, but I love the paintwork on this, and the marine head in white is a nice contrast. It seems only fair to consider it a vehicle, so 15 points to you.

From Barks: The Bold and the Beautiful (30 points)

A smaller effort this week, because I moved house. Some more investigators and monsters for Mansions of Madness.

I liked the contrast between the bright colours of the shaman and the drab functionality of the shotgun-wielding handyman. I like her hair, and his moustache.

These ladies are in thrall to an alien intelligence, and are having a bit of an Akira moment. I have concerns that the fashion is more 1950s style than 1920s.

Does this dress make my arm look big?

Alan and Paul: wonderful additions to your Chthonic madness. Ia Ia Cthulhu ftagn!

From JamesL: A Pair of Pak40s (55 points)

So you may have noticed a theme running through all my recent submissions....in fact I have indeed been painting up a whole bunch of late war German troops and vehicles that have sat in my to do box for a couple of years. One of these is the Pak40 75mm ATG presented here.

These lads have been a despondent all over black undercoat for about three years now, and finally have received some decent colour. After the joys of painting and using a 88mm in a recent Bolt Action tournament, I thought I should paint up the next in line for most feared gun, as another variant on my list.

I kept the uniforms a neutral field grey so that these chaps and their charge can be used in a Heer list or my developing SS list.

The second instalment this week is the last of my Becker conversions for the 21st Panzer div, and again courtesy of Mad Bobs Kickstarter. I painted this SOMUA MCG S307 in a slightly different camo, based on a short video clip from the period. Don't blink you will miss it...
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uHJdRCQYsFc

Included in this vehicle are two crew members who actually came with the Warlords Lorraine I showed a week or so ago, and I use them with all three SPGs. Quite the cross trained chaps they are.....

I could promise this is the last of my Germans....but I'd be lying :-)

Paul & Alan: Nice work on these, its been great to watch your German BA force grow over the challenge and I love all the 21st Panzer funnies you have.  What they miss out on in the rules for being open topped they gain in their unique character.  And you just know that the PaK crew's aim is twice as good once painted :-)

6 crew, a gun and a vehicle net you 55 points this week

From BenF: Back to the Peninsular (65 Points)

After a few weeks of holidays which have enabled me to get some productive painting time in, it was back to work for me this past week. I've taken on an additional role teaching a senior Ancient History class this year, and I'm also running a course on the American and French Revolutions for an elective history class. For the last week and a half, that is what's been taking up a lot of my hobby time - and what little I have had has usually fallen on scorching hot days with temps up around the 40 degree C mark!.

Regardless, I've managed to get this batch done. I'm finding that the challenge is fantastic at making sure that I do get my wind-down hobby time in, and also that I keep moving forward with my projects. With work going back I've adjusted my expectations, and will try to get something completed every fortnight rather than every week.

Just before work went back, I got in a few games of Sharp Practice 2, which I enjoyed thoroughly. Playing these games I realised that there were a few bits and pieces which I needed for my Peninsular War French and British, so I decided to crack on with these before getting too deeply involved in my AWI project. In addition to this lot, I'll be painting up a group of the new Perry Dragoons, a group of Brigade Portuguese Caçadores, and the amazingly characterful Brigade Sharpe, Harper, and chosen men set.

Over the last fortnight or so I've managed to get this lot painted up.

First up, a couple of civilians - a 'Physic' with his doctors bag, and a figure haranguing his audience who I plan on using in lieu of a holy man for my more secular French forces. Both of these are from Brigade Games' excellent Napoleon in Egypt range.

Next up, two deployment points for my British troops. The first has two squaddies letting the French know what they think of them. These are minor conversions, as the original figs had the Belgic shako. I removed these and replaced them with stovepipe shakos from the Perry plastic set.

This next one is rather grisly (sensitive readers look away now). I've had these figures for years, and can't remember who the manufacturer was. The plight of the wounded and the work of the surgeons and medical forces is an overlooked part of the Napoleonic era, but one that all troops would have been extremely aware of. I think that this little diorama is a bit of a reminder of the historical reality of combat in the period. The colour schemes are inspired by this fascinating mini documentary on battlefield triage during the Napoleonic period. I think there is a case to be made that the invention of general anaesthetic should be considered to be one of the great leaps forward for our species.
As the figures were originally meant to represent French surgeons, I added a pile of the wounded man's discarded shako, pack, musket, and water bottle, all from the Perry plastic British set. I also added in some bloodied bandages, made from tea bags.

Finally, here is a group of French voltigeur skirmishers and their officer from the 10e Regiment Légère, one of the specialist light infantry regiments. These are Front Rank figures, and while they do look a little better fed than the Perry offerings, I think that they look great and mix in fine. Besides, they are the one of the only figure manufacturers who make légère infantry in pre-1812 uniforms. The Light infantry uniform was distinctive, with the short tasseled boots, cut down lapels and a shorter tail to the tunic.

This lot should push me ever closer to my goal, not that that will slow my painting!

Next on the painting table are the 95th Rifles, which will be Sharpe, Harper, and a mix of Perry Rifles and Brigade chosen men.


Alan and Paul: Some fantastic figures here for a game system we are just starting to explore also.  Love their crisp, colourful appearance - though that surgeon base shows the more grizzly side of what a shock points and casualties actually mean... Love the fact that he is strapped down and has a leather bite in place too. Ouch!

13 x 28mm figures nets you 65 well earned points for this submission!