Bonus Points for the 'Flight' Bonus Theme

Hi All!

Just a quick administrative announcement to let you know that the weekend's theme round's bonus points have been tabulated and are now reflected in the points roster. A nice bump for those who participated, and, as an added bonus, we're now have 60 Challengers on the books. Woo!! 

Just twenty more brushes to bring into the fold.

See you Sunday when I will announce the voting results for the 'Flight' Bonus Round. 

Cheers!

Curt

Go Tuesday! Go Tuesday!

Hoi there Challengers!

Have we got a load of eye-candy for you today! The Tuesday Crew is back with a vengeance. After 3 posts last week we are up to 9 today so sit back and relax for a day of splendidly painted figures.

So what have we in store for you today?
- Kent will bring us some Fallschirmjäger and Napoleonics
- Noel starts a new ECW force and does some Boxer Rebellion figures
- Alex has painted up a few nice Spearmen
- Sebastian goes all ratty on us.
- Martin has outdone himself in a true Time Travel through Military History
- Phillip brings us the Little Folk
- Russel starts his Tour of Duty with a nice melange of subjects in his post
- Tuomas puts the Monster back in the Challenge with fire and brimstone
-  Eric will try out a totally new period for his entry


So you see, there's heaps to enjoy today ladies and gentlemen!

From IainW: Livestock, militant cattle and the "Man of Blood" (110 points)

Finally, a first post, some livestock to go with my wagon train and also to be objectives.

One group of pigs based on Tamworth pigs which are the nearest breed to the medieval British hogs . The other group of pigs are based on the medieval Italian breed cinta senese, the chicken colours are based on medieval illustrations. The sheep are predominantly all white in the illustrations. The cattle are like the long dark cattle refered to in Irish /Scottish cattle raids and the like. These are all from a pegasus hobbies 1/48 plastic farm animals kit.

Next up is the man of blood, also known as King Charles the First, largely responsible for the war's in all three kingdoms.  You'd have to agree with Cromwell about that unless you're an Anglican as they made him a saint, well I guess it was his church!  I've shown him as per the Van Dyke equestrian portrait in the National Gallery and next to him is the royal standard.  Hopefully he won't drop it as happened at Nottingham at the start of the war. Charles is a Foundry figure and the standard bearer is an Essex figure, both in 25mm. 

And finally , cattle militant? A minotaur for my Curtgeld, he's an old Marauder games figure a subsidiary of GW back in the last century.  He's wielding a large lead spike. Under his left foot, he would have been based on those large square plastic bases GW used to make. 

Alternatively I could base him on a round MDF comsheep base and finish as per my Italian wars, which do you fancy Curt? 

An odd mixed bag, I've been rotten since before Christmas so it's surprising I've got anything done! I'm hoping to finish a unit of horse and some more command stands soon. 

Points wise 15 for Charles and standard ( also counting towards the renaissance duel ), 20 bonus points for Curtgeld  (I think),  30 for the cattle, 10 for the sheep and 5 each for adult pigs (totaling 10 points), and maybe 15 for the piglets and 6 for the chickens?  Which makes 106 points which seems a lot so happy to have any adjustments, otherwise I'll have to work fast to get off Nelson! 

All the best, Iain !

_______________________________________________

Welcome to the Challenge, Iain!  That's quite a fantastic haul of plump livestock, poultry and cattle which would have any self-respecting Border Reiver, tartar, cossack, croat or 'Neer-do-well' excited from Hawick to Mohacs!  And all accompanied by an ill-fated King, and a Minotaur.... I feel this is almost a heraldic puzzle going on here!

They're a wonderful collection of figures.  I particularly like the way you've depicted Charles I with the Royal Standard.  When one is a King (and a King of England at that), one really should not be out and about on a battlefield without a Royal Standard and a trusty retainer.

I also really like the way you've collected the plunder - ooops, my apologies - "livestock animals" on bases which should make their theft - oops, sorry again - dispersion on the field easier. And that's a fantastic Minotaur, in really lovely natural colours.  

Great work, Sir.  I make that 110 points in total (adding a couple for the lovely standard, and for your erudite description of Italian pigs).  Bellisima!!

From KyleC - A Long Road (50 pts)

And just finished this Sunday night after a nice weekend of painting.

It's a bust coming from a buddy of mine and his new company Robotrocket Miniatures out of UK. I helped him with some of the advertising of his models, and how to run his books as well for some of his pieces. And he gave me this and his other model for free ( which is super cool also! ).

It is a dwarf that is travelling. So has a hotch podge of clothing ready to see the world on. But always has his trusty pipe nearby. Standing almost 50mm tall, it is a decent sized bust and was a lot of fun to paint over the weekend.

_____________________________________________

Oh, now ... this is very special.  One of the things I love about the Challenge (besides staying up far too late, fumbling through flag application procedures, and making fun of Ray), is the chance for people to create something one-off and magical.

Something you'd never expect.  Something which is surprising.  And something which is ...'just right'.  Like this dwarf adventurer.

He's wonderful, Kyle, and your rendering of him in paint is sublime.  There's so much to enjoy, from his hotch-potch clothing, to the beautiful tartan, to his faded tattoos and the flesh tones of his face.  He's a person who (despite being a dwarf) you can imagine sitting quietly in any tavern along the road to the next town or dungeon adventure.  I imagine, he'll have some stories...

Really super work, Kyle.  Scoring submissions like this is hard - mainly because it falls outside the normal scoring parameters.  But I think off of us will agree this is a wonderful piece of painting - so, in my absolute discretion - I'm scoring this at 50 points. Well done, Sir!

From AlanD: 15mm German Recce Units (90 points)

Well, the less said about this last year, the better.

But behold! At last I have submitted something for Challenge 8!

These are just a few little 15mm German recce units for Battlegroup Barbarossa, inspired particularly by a campaign I have going with Paul OG. All the kits are from Plastic Soldier Company, and I must say I love the versatility of their boxes of German medium trucks and Sdkfz 250 half tracks.

Points-wise, there are 4 vehicles, 3 guns and 27 infantry. The halftracks also have a driver each, but I didn't count them as you can hardly see them. I think these get me on the board with 90 points?

________________________________________

Congratulations, Alan, and welcome to the Challenge, Sir!!  You're most welcome, particularly with an impressive haul like this to kick-start your points.  I can't think of a better balanced German reconnaissance force to take the field against the Soviet behemoth - a really handy collection of punching power and mobility.

The Plastic Soldier Company kits are fantastic value, and (as you say) are amazingly versatile and convertible.  You've more than done them justice, Alan!!

Again, hearty congratulations on getting off the mark, and garnering a very impressive 90 points for your Challenge.

From BenitoM: Austrian Napoleonic Line and Ladnwehr Infantry (80 points)

Despite having finished my holiday break on Tuesday, I have been fairly active in the painting front during the week. And even had time on Sunday to play my first game of 2018 (a Napoleonic battle with General d'Armee).

My submission today are first, two line Austrian Napoleonic infantry companies of the 3rd Infantry Regiment.

With these two companies I've finished the second battalion of the Regiment.

The second part of the submission are two companies of a new battalion I've started to paint. In this case is a Landwehr battalion, the so called "Vienna Volunteers", a unit made of 6 battalions of which four saw important action in the 1809 campaign, participating in some of the well known battles in Austria that year.

Painting the distinctive dark grey uniforms of this unit was quite relaxing after so much ultra-white of the Line infantry.  

I also provided some diversity creating a firing line with one of the companies.

The line infantry are a mixed of Perry and Victrix; the Landwehr are all Victrix except the heads which are leftovers from my Perry boxes. All minis are 28mm scale [the true and only scale :-)]

A total of 16 infantry 28mm minis x 5 points = 80 points to be added to both my Challenge and the Black Powder Duel scores respectively.

________________________________________

Terrific work, Benito!  The One True Scale is in safe hands with these wonderful figures.  I love seeing all of your submissions, as they roll forward with the steady, methodical, precise, measured gait of a Viennese drillmaster.  This is going to be an amazing army when it takes the field.

The second battalion of the 3rd Infantry Regiment look just about ready to commence campaigning, and I can see that the Vienna Volunteers are going to complement them perfectly.  I agree entirely that the darker grey uniforms of the Landwehr are a fine contrast (as well as being a welcome relief for you eyes after so much white).  Proof, if any were needed, that it is always good to change one's tailor from time to time.

Wonderful work, Benito, and 80 well-deserved points for your already-impressive total.

 

ChristopherS: Very Angry Bear (10 pts)

Not a good time for a misfire!! Johnny decides a retreat is a wise idea and takes flight in the face of what now is a very angry bear! This was going to be submitted in the flight bonus round, but in my typical absent minded way I forgot to re-read the corrections e-mail and submitted it to late. A lesson in paying better attention.

I wasn't sure if I was going to enter this round as I didn't plan on doing anything flying, but decided I do need some more deployment points for Sharp Practice so this little funny idea popped into my head....

After digging around in my boxes of lead I came up with a 28mm Perry militia figure and a 28mm  bear from Conquest (Warlord now I think) to do the little diorama. It was quite fun to do and I'm looking forward to doing more deployment pieces for Sharp Practice as they allow you to find use with all those extras that don't quite fit into units.

The figures were painted using mostly Foundry colors with some Vallejo here and there. The bases is natural wood, stones and mixed sand with various grasses and tufts plus my trusty MIG pigments and a bit of craft paint, Foundry and Vallejo to finish it.

They are 28mm figures so should net me 10pts.

Thanks for viewing!

Miniature Company-Perry, Conquest(Warlord)

________________________________________________

Exit, quickly, pursued by a bear.  And a very angry one at that!!  What a great deployment point, Christopher.  That really is quite a beast, coming at you, lumbering through the woods, enraged and confused, grumpy, disorientated and hungry.  (It reminds me of myself after my last cross-country "fun" run).

The colours really work perfectly, and the variety of paints you've used work well together.  And, of course, none of your figures would be complete without your fantastic, trademark tufts and flowering grasses - although I doubt that Johnny's going to be lingering long to enjoy them.

Terrific work, Sir, and another 10 points to your total!

From KyleC - Deamon Prince reinforcements (100 points)

The gang of Deamon Princes for my growing Chaos Death Guard forces grows by 3 more models.

The first photo shows the whole gang together (something I hope to field soon!) with the front 2 being ones that I have shown or painted prior to the competition.

The other 3 are the new recruits each with their own flair.

First up is one from Games Workshop. He has sat assembled for a few years due to the lack of interest in 40k. But with 8th edition he was pulled back out and is ready to get in on the action.

Pulling together the same cream and black color scheme as the rest of the army, he fits right in with the rest. Though his sword is a bit more attention getting but looks rather cool to me. And gives the army some spots of colors as well.

This is the first of 2 Deamon Princes of Nurgle from a now out of business Canadian company called Ultraforge. Though it does seem that the owner has gone on to create Creature Caster in its place, but more on that later.

I say first of 2 as I had received 2 batches of them from the company. As the first batch went missing in the post while I lived in Turkey ( most likely sitting with some guy from customs ), the second batch that showed up came alongside the third batch. Though this one was terribly miscast in the end. And when you think that it took almost 9 months between when the order was placed and when the 2nd and 3rd batches arrived.. well I was informed to just keep the miscast ones.

Which you can see a bit of it from the mold slip line on the arm there, and how the scythe on the next one is a bit bent.

Although I had paid for the wings for all the models, it seems in the miscast batch they had not bothered to put them, but for the ones that did.. well now we have some more flying Deamon Princes!

Which in 8th edition are pretty deadly and a lot of fun ( for me ) to play with!

So there you go.. 3 more big guys finished this week. Along with my flight entry which I will post separately. I have 3 more Deamon Princes to go.. all from Ultraforge, and there are 2 more sitting around in a box somewhere as well that I plan to repaint in these colors and make work for this army. But that will be dealt with as/when I can find them!

________________________________________________________

Wooooaaaahhhhhhh..... Oh good Lord...Someone call the Grey Knights NOW!  Who on earth opened the warp this early on a Monday morning?  Anyone see where these three are heading?  For Terra?  Golden Throne - get my shuttle ready NOW....and get me Eisenhorn's cell phone number, pronto...

These are just superb, Kyle.  Really terrific work on each of these Daemon Princes, and congratulations on making that whole unit look consistent and toned.  I love the way that you've kept the colours muted and complimentary, and haven't just plumped for super-lurid paint-scheme number 6.

The rusted and corroded armour on the Nurgle Deamon Prince is terrific, as is the hints of purple on his winged associate.  Really splendid work.

Points scoring these is not easy, but I think it more than fair to equate each one of these monsters with at least three 28mm cavalry figures.  Let's round it up to 100 points for the three, with a hearty pat on the back for a great submission.

From Paul O'G: Freikorps Panzerauto and Russian log houses (60 points)

First up is this Austin Armoured Car Mk 2 fitted with two turreted maxim guns. A number of these British made machines were purchased by the Russian Army prior to WW1.  After the war they were used widely during the Russian Civil War but many captured on the Eastern Front by the Germans were pressed into service with the Friekorps. I drew quite a bit of inspiration from the period pics, including the skull and crossbones totems which seem to have been prolific.

The model is from 1st Corps' WW1 vehicle range.  Resin body with metal fittings.  Curiously, there were no fixing points for the turrets to the chassis. Rather than glue them in place I magnetised them which helps with storage as well as being able to train them in action.

Alan gave me this kit as a Christmas present...last year...so its good to finally get it completed! Thanks for lending me the thematic background for the pics too mate.

Next up are two 15mm Russian log houses.  These resin buildings by Mk IV Miniatures are beautifully detailed and very crisply cast.

They were a delight to paint and have already seen action in hiding Red Army from Alan's Panzer reece units in games of Battlegroup Barbarossa.  I have another 3 of these in the painting pile and cant wait to get to them.

So in total this week it is one 28mm vehicle, one 28mm figure and 2 terrain pieces (which each fit one cube blocks) for a total of 60 points.

________________________________________

This is such a great submission, Paul.  Beautifully painted and nicely photographed.  The Austin Armoured car is just one of those vehicles which just screams '1919' at the  top of its slightly enfeebled, and exhaust-fume laden, mouth.  Although I remember that they saw extensive service in the First World War and through the inter-War years, you've placed the car in it's iconic setting - pressed into use in the service of the Freikorps in Weimar Berlin.  Outstanding!

I love the period photograph you've created.  It's really atmospheric and all adds to the theme.  Well done indeed.

The Mk IV Minatures' log houses look the business as well.  I love resin models which are easy to prepare and paint, straight out of the packaging.  These look super painted up.

Awesome work, Paul, and a well-earned 60 points!