From KeithS: Non-human Missile Troops (98 points)

A week of work travel, followed by a very fun week at Garycon in Lake Geneva WI, really cut into my painting time at the end.  However, I did eke out two last projects to cap things off.  First up is a trio of Bakshi-style Orc archers from Heritage I picked up on eBay a few weeks ago.  I've painted plenty of these ones before, but one can never have too many.

I painted them the same as previous chaps so they'd blend in seamlessly back at the Orc Hovel.  They even got the same orange wyvern design for their shields.

They're old and perhaps not the most stylish of figures, but I still have a great fondness for them.  In fact, I'd say they're probably my favorite monster.

These are followed up with a force of 16 Dwarf crossbow (14 pictured here).  They're by Ral Partha and quite nice.  They are intended to be heavy archers for use with a larger Dwarf army the next time I get a chance to play Chainmail.

For no particular reason, I decided they'd get painted as Zouaves, which makes them perhaps a bit brighter colored than the average Dwarf.  But, what the heck.

The detail is nice on them and RP definitely did a good job with them.

 Another angle.

When I started to actually paint them, I quickly realized that two of them were not like the others.  They're still Ral Partha, and very similar, but there are some differences.

 The helms are far more pointed than the other group, and their other kit is a little bit different, as well

They're also excellent figures.  I think I'll just call them platoon leaders or some such, as they might be a touch fancier than the rest of the lot.

So, that wraps up this Challenge for me.  It's been a pleasure and great motivator, as always.  Thanks to Curt and Minion Michael for a great time!


I count 19 25mm chaps for a total of 95 points.

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p.s.  While at Garycon last weekend, I played two outstanding miniatures games run by the inestimable Kevin Cabai.  The first was "Beren and Luthien: Escape from Angband" from The Silmarillion. I played on the side of Morgoth and had command of two large Orcish regiments. Also on our side was a force of Trolls, wolfriders, and Carcaroth the great wolf of Angband.  Our goal was to find the Silmaril stolen by Beren and Luthien, and defeat the forces of King Thingol and his Dwarf allies.

It was quite the spectacle.  Sadly, my Orcs were crushed by Elves and Dwarves quite handily. However, Carcaroth managed to slay Beren and Luthien, among others.  And, worse, it turns out that player had his own, personal secret victory conditions which he met.  He ended up with a total victory, while the forces of Angband were annihilated. A bloody mess, made worse by the fact my brother was playing the wolf!

 The other game was Orc's Drift, a fantasy riff on the cinematic version of the battle from the movie Zulu.  I was on the British side, in command of the Boer Ardendorf and a section of riflemen.  24 British figure against 200 Orcs.

Dropping Orcs at range with a Martini-Henry seems fun, but they just keep coming!

We had multiple lines of defense, which we certainly needed!

At the end, we were overrun.  But, unlike the movie, when we fell back into our final redoubt, the Orcs managed to kill a third of the remaining Brits in one fell swoop, and we were at last destroyed.  Sad, but I did get a Victoria Cross (posthumous) for the gallantry of Ardendorf at the end.

Good times!

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From Curt: 
Awesome Old School work Keith! These venerable Heritage castings are terrific and completely remind me of Ralph Bakshi's '78 rotoscoped Orcs. I also really like the hand-painted wyvern shield device you've given them - very cool. Same goes for the Ral Partha Dwarves, very much of a time and style, whimsical and perhaps a bit naive.

Those games at Garycon looked brilliant, especially the 'Escape from Angband' scenario. Mr Cabai was definitely tapping into some hardcore JRRT nostalgia with that game.

98 points, including a few more for the shields, for your last post this year. It's been great having you with us again this edition and I hope to see you name on the roster next time we roll out.
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