From AaronH - 1 1/2 RPG figures from Reaper(8 points)

This is a small entry. One full size figure and a cat.

This is Sybil, Templar-Cleric of Rosmerta. Rosmerta is a peaceful goddess, hearth and home sort of thing. There are very few Templars in the church and they are looked down on by the majority of the more peaceful priests. They are extremely valued by the church hierarchy however.

Sybil is a young priestess and is bothered by both the disdain of her co-religionists and the things she has seen and done in the service of her goddess. She is fearless and skilled in battle and her party members value the hell out of her.

Sybil is a Bones model. The face detail, as usual, is non-freaking-existent. Seriously. Everything you see there is paint. The rest of the model is very nice though. The armor especially has some really nice details in it.

I settled on the Carthaginian symbol for Rosmerta as it seemed appropriate, and is easy to paint.

It's a cat. One of the players just got a familiar.






Perhaps that little cough was the sputtering of  Aarons B-17's...not a huge carpet bombing, but a tidy eclectic one! Maybe if we chant for a moment Aaron can kick them out for a final mission of the day! ;)
I do have a love/hate relationship with the Bones line. I love the price and variety, but do dislike the soft spots and fighting the inital color layers! The cleric is probably the most undervalued party member and Paladins are often overlooked as mere tanks. Both are capable fighters, incredible foes of undead, and capable healers the later which every party needs! ;)
The colors you've chosen are very fine for this servant of  Rosmerta. I really like the yellow cloak The addition of her god's symbol on her shield should put those liches on notice too!
The little familar is very deftly done and is a great little model. It will be interesting to see how the party uses it.
Although her features are soft, you did a nice job of  painting the templar up. She is very  eligable for Lady Sarah's coveted award so I put the tag up so your templar won't escape notice! Very fine work,Aaron!
since I'm infantry and  I still own all my toes and fingers, I'm calling this 8 points....fractions are only good for eating pies anyway! ;)

From AaronH, 6mm Sci-Fi(25 points)

I recently decided to try out 6mm Sci-Fi. I got some deals on eBay for some epic 40k models, but didn't care all that much for the rules. I threw together some two page Battletech light rules that my son and I can play together and off we went.

This batch is ten space Marine models of various sorts. Or perhaps eight SM models and two of another provenance.

Two missile launchers. The missiles are actually olive drab. Its a sunny day and the light is less than optimal.

Side views. I have six more of these to repaint.

Predator. this is a very busy model and did not photograph well at all. So basically a toddler.

Last up is six rhinos.

Rhys likes the game and the models, and the price is right, so this one is a win.






The drone of miniature B-17's continues.... Nice work on these, Aaron. The photography has altered the colors a bit, but I can easily see your paints were kept thin enough to not obscure the details on these tiny tanks. Epic is a very fun game and I only regret I did not pick up or complete any force. The models GW made for the game were packed with detail and the vehicles most of all were superior sculpts to their 28mm counterparts. I also like these were grabbed for a homebrew game with your son. I snatched a score of super hero models to game with my kids and I regret none of it at all as those silly superhero games were all the better for who I was spending time with. 10 small tanks fetch 20 points in the challenge, but the Minion of Thursday is a softie so I'll pip it up to a quarter as these are for dad and son time! ;)

From PeterD 28mm SYW French Pioneers (30 points)

Taking a break after hard labour - David I bet you can recognize some of these poses!

Just one small post for me this week as I continue to stumble along to not making my Challenge goal!  This week it is a group of 6 French pioneers for my ongoing Sharp Practice project on the  Seven Years' War in Western Germany. 

The figures are from the Perry's AWI range and are sold as British Dragrope men, hired (or "volunteered") help for manhandling artillery pieces around.  As with the rest of this range they are lovely figures with lots of character and very nice to paint.  I had previously painted up the Continental Dragrope men as Hanoverian Pontooniers.  I've been focusing on the Anglo-Allied side of the equation for the most part during the challenge but these figures seemed better suited to their French opponents. 

Side view

While dedicated corps of Sappers and Miners exist in most armies, they were small and kept to fortress duty.  Therefore in the field the job of digging and other engineering labour went to ordinary infantrymen detailed in work parties.  If they were lucky there was an Engineer officer to tell them what to do properly, if not they'd make due with an Infantry or Artillery officer who had some idea of siege work or the like.  In this case I have "volunteered" a group from the Royal Baviere Regiment, one of the German Regiments in French service.  They served in the western theatre and were at several of the major actions, getting quite roughed up at Emsdorf in 1760.  The Regiment was named for the Count de Baviere a bastard son of the King of Bavaria.  It was a different age....

Rear view

The is one of those cases where the figures were bought before I figured what I was going to do wit them.  I liked the poses and they looked like they could be morphed into SYW pioneers or sappers with a bit of work.   I have painted them as if they had taken off their uniform coats and are dressed in their sleeved waistcoats, which are left open for comfort to show the white shirt underneath.  In addition they have taken off their gaiters and swapped the tricorn for forage caps made from last years uniform coat.


If the War-games Fashion Police are watching I am in big trouble here.  The figures were cast to represent British Infantry in the AWI with their long coats cut down.  Originally I had some idea to trim down the lace etc to make them fit better but then realized that Swiss and German regiments in French service had laced waistcoats and an easier plan fell into place.  Also it meant that I didn't have to take an Xacto to these lovely figures.  So if anyone from the WFPD is watching I confess to the following.

• The"waistcoats" should close but in this case won't close - the figures are wearing (in cut down form) the AWI coat with lapels cut in the Prussian style (like early French Nappy Infantry).
• The "waistcoats" have inappropriate cuffs and collars if you look closely enough.
• The "shirts" are actually the original waistcoats, there's a pair of pockets placed like suit jacket pockets visible in several figures

I especially like the figure squatted on his haunches and the fellow offering help to his comrade who is obviously in some distress. 

However, if one is prepared to not look too carefully, I think that these guys work nicely as a work detail.




I like these fellows quite a bit, Peter! I am no WGFP, so I will not make any comment on the uniforms save that these miniatures do play the intended role really well. They are only missing a base with stacked firelocks! ;) I think the French may have adopted the horizon Bleu from the Bavier lads as they do look mighty fie in the colors. I keep finding the modified caps in my studies, my favorites being the stocking caps the troops made from sleeves of old coats in North America. Probably they went with stocking caps over forage caps because it does get cold near the Great Lakes and further North! ;)
And yes, I can commiserate with the unwell fellow too, He must've done a barrel roll with his LeSabre too! ;)

From AaronH - 28mm Warlord Games EIR Command(50 points)

This entry is some long awaited command figures for my EIR army. There are two command stands, which will finally let me play with an all painted army. There are also four command models to slot into my cohorts. I mis-counted at some point and had too many legionaries and not enough commanders.

First up are the two command stands. Each of these will command a "division" in Hail Caesar.

The one on the left is reminiscent of a certain movie; I can't quite place it. The one on the right reminds me of the Uruk-Hai captain in the assault on Helm's Deep.

This is a nice model, but the horse is white metal and is supposed to be standing on one back hoof. Insanity. I had to glue a piece of resin rod under the front hoof then paint it like wood and glue on some clump foliage.

I think it is unobtrusive, but needs must. The rest of the model is nice except for that mold line in the picture above. It just is not in a place that I could get at it with a file.

The dog is painted to look like my German Shepard, Finn. The close ups of the other base failed miserably; between lighting and focus they were unusable. Rest assured it's my best work ever and you'd love it.

These next four are command models to slot into my line cohorts. These are all Warlord Games metals, like the command stands above.

It's hard to tell from this angle but the Optio's helmet is askew. He is supposed to have a shield but after painting it I decided that I prefered him without. He looks fairly desperate and I thought the lack of a shield accentuated that.

I have a decal that fits the shield of the vexillarius but I hate them so much. After three failed attempts I just painted it on. As rough as it is I'd rather get my crappy shield tattooed on my forehead than try to get that damn decal on the shield again.

These stands mean I have a completely painted army to play with. Now. About that second legion...




And some more diminutive B-17's have delivered yet another payload of mini goodness! I quite like the leaders you've selected, Aaron. The general on horseback cuts a very fine figure, I quite like Finn pacing him too. Your foot general is very urkhai-ish too, it is a shame the photography gods denied a better image of him too. The comand groups for the legion are very fine sculpts. I do like the plastic kits, but metal models still have that fine level of detail that plastic often misses. The one fellow fighting sans shield does have a desperate ferocious vibe to him. from skin to shields, mail, and fur. This is a very fine addition to your legion....now on to the second legion! ;)

From SimonM: "Black Tree Design" Osiran Service Robots (50 Points)

"They're not mummies, they're service robots."

These ten 28mm metal models of Robot Mummies are manufactured by “Black Tree Design” and can be bought as code DW410 and DW474 from their "Doctor Who" range. In actuality Osiran service robots which were "disguised as mummies", these servitors were used as "workers and guards" by Sutekh's puppet, the animated corpse of Marcus Scarman, in the October 1975 BBC Television science fiction serial "The Pyramids Of Mars".

Robot Mummy WIPs - The Osiran Service Robots have been primed and washed

Initially undercoated with two coats of "Vallejo" Iraqi Sand, all of these Egyptian-looking automatons were washed with "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade, and then dry-brushed with more "Vallejo" Iraqi Sand. I did then consider giving the Robot Mummies a light highlight of White, but having checked the colour scheme of their 'small screen' counterparts, I actually realised that the actors' costumes were probably far more greyish than my chosen palette had produced, so I decided to leave well enough alone. In the end however, I did finally try to simply deepen the shadowing around their 'eye' sockets by applying some "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade, and then treated all of the models to a layer of "Coat d'arms" gloss; something I steadfastly apply to all my miniatures.

Disconcertingly though, on this occasion, the varnish seemed 'hellbent' on eradicating a fair portion of "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade, which had up until this point been providing each sculpts' bandages with plenty of shading and definition. As a result I was left with several figures which looked as if they hadn't been washed at all...

Robot Mummy WIPs - The Osiran Service Robots patiently waiting to be varnished and based

This incredibly frustrating state-of-affairs gave me few options, as much of the raised detail of the models was now covered in paint, so there was scant chance I could simply wash and then dry-brush the miniatures again without them losing some considerable detail. The thought of stripping all the models and starting again equally filled me with dread, so in the end I decided to simply dab on a watered-down wash of "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade over each figure and hope that wasn't subsequently 'eaten away' by the varnish either.


Some more Dr Who villians! I'm going to have to blame you,Simon for the constant bombardment of Black tree minis by my middle daughter. She is rather taken by all sorts of geeky scifi, but the good doctor is her favorite! I do remmeber these fellows when younger and the creepiness when the wrappings were torn from a mummy head.
they racked up quite the body count with the victims running about the English estate with only the Dr and athe groundkeeper's gun for defense! ;)
It seems you recovered a bit from the lacquer issues. the Agrax wash piped the wraping detail rather well!
 In the future be advised that there is a matt spray called workable fixitive. It is an artist spary that is intended to protect charcoal and pastel drawings while still allowing the artist to coninue to work on the piece. The spary does alter ink a bit, but not as drastic as lacquer does. I used to use crystal clear on minis which is very glossy, but when I began using ink the spray would wipe it out. the matt fixitive spray lessened the damage to the ink considerably...I'm sure the rest of the gang may have other tricks to help you too!

From AaronH - 28mm Victrix Velites(40 points)

This entry makes me somewhat ashamed. I had them done two weeks ago but didn't get the basing grass done. I had them done last week but didn't get them photographed.  They are finally on the boards though.

These are eight velites from Victrix (Republican Romans) for use as auxiliaries in my EIR army.

This is my second unit of these. Or fourth depending on whether they are small or very small units in Hail Caesar. Skirmishers are really useful in those rules so more is definitely better.

The unit doesn't need a leader, but I might as well include one in case it is ever a requirement. The Victrix models are very nice. Easy to assemble and easy to paint. The detail is good and the poses work well. Velites are a fluid unit and it is tricky to make models that will work in all of the possible poses that can come out of the box.

These will give me 40 points towards my quickly receding goal. With the addition of my next entry I now have a fully legal army for Hail Caesar.


Very nice work, Aaron! besides the excellent skin tones on them, the bases look very fine. The poses you made for them are very dynamic too. There leader has no doubt gotten tired of hanging around with the command staff and has tradded in his eagle for a few javelins. ;) Welcome back!

March into Thursday

I've had an interesting week so far. Work, training, painting, military, work, athletics, eat,....
My kids are wrapping up winter sports and as they dive into school books, they have suddenly become aware that they haven't finished anything of note yet...perhaps soon Monday will get a glimpse of the myriad types of elves they have been working on.
It is ironic that they have dove in while I have slacked off.
In the early morning hours of Monday I capped February off in a grand way. I rolled my car down a steep Michigan hill on my way to work. I am entirely fine-ish( if miscellaneous aches and bruising are discounted) but alas the green beast LeSabre has expired.

My productivity has declined a bit even with the forced time off from doctor orders. I may post a picture of my handiwork later! ;)
I'm rather pleased to have retained my mortal coil and passed on visiting the Happy Hunting Grounds for the moment.
My kids are diving into their books and models now, and I suspect they appreciate just how fortunate we can be. Nobody suspects the Inquisition nor a random explosive deflation of a tire while negotiating a curve leading to a steep downgrade slope either! ;)
Hug your dears, enjoy the good things, and have fun viewing the spectacular eyecandy of the AHPC!
Simon has a post ready and Aaron has returned from his sojourn. I suspect that Aaron was busy preparing a fleet of B-17's as he has quite the carpet-bombing lined up. ( ok so they are 3mm B-17, but they are loaded with an eclectic mix of mini goodness!) I'm pretty sure a few others will show up too. I am working on a few RT models and various other Scifi troops and should have a modest post ready before Saturday.
The finish line fast approaches! Get those brushes blazing! ;)