From AdamC - Irish Warriors and Some Bones (191 points)

Here are the  Irish Warriors by Footsore Miniatures!

 First up Ulf the Quarrelsome A hero of the Viking age in Saga.  Said to be a brother of  Brian Boru who avenged his death.   As a special character I decided to paint an attempt at a Celtic design even though Irish shields were not painted during the dark ages. I'm realy pleased with how the shield looks.

I may use him as a warlord or as an Irish Curaidh or Champion  in Saga.

 Backing Ulf up are 12 Fianna (Hearthguards).  Eight of these fellows are new figures form Footsore providing Fianna with weapons other than Dane Axes.

  All have helmets and about half have chain mail (fairly rare in Ireland during this period) Some have Javelins/Spears with a second weapon for back up.

I gave one a Falchon from my bits box... not a particularly Irish weapon but it was a common sword type through out history.

 The last Four Fianna have been taken form the ranks of the Irish warriors and given an extra weapon from my bits box as a second side arm.

 These guys might provide me with an extra point of Hearthguards if I want them or get mixed in with the regular warriors as "unit leaders."

True Saga doesn't have anything like unit leaders but they would exist even if they don't have a game effect.

Next up we have 24 Irish "Bonnachts" or Warriors these are trained men but with only light equipment a spear, a shield, maybe a long knife or short sword or similar hand weapon as back up, if they are lucky.

 Footsore did some great sculpts with a lot of dynamic movement.

My only complaint is that some of the guys look very similar.  I suppose that's not  bad thing as they come form dark age villages and many of these men are probably related.

 As you can see some don't have much more than their weapons.  I find it odd that any man would choose to go into battle nude but some folks seem to think the Irish did. The sharp eyed will note that even some of the least well dressed have a gold pin or broach for their cloaks or tunic.

My logic here is such items were typically gifts form a man's chieftain or king, marking him as a valued warrior and thus one might be reluctant to trade such an item for a pair of shoes or even a shirt.

Once again I tried to keep most of these men with in a common color palate with medium gray as the base color.  Most of the leather work(belts, pouches and sheaths) is also in a common red-brown color as I assume the region would have only a few tanners.   I did some brighter and more individual colors onto the Fianna and Ulf being "royal" is still more colourful. Even in these cases I wanted to keep things fairly muted.  The Purple heather flowers add some color and help tie the force together.

All in all there are 37 Irish ready for battle. Brian Boru and some additional Irish are still on the table but not quite ready to go just yet. I may try to get some additional photos as I'm not really satisfied with the ones I got here.

Finally we  have this fellow a Werebat or feral vampire great for Frostgrave or any horror related game. I had intended to use him as my "Flight"  entry but I wasn't happy with how it was progressing at the time.

 I'm still not 100% happy with the results I would have liked the wings to look a bit more membranous but we can't have everything and done is better than perfect.  He's standard 28mm figure so 5 Points unless Ray wants to give me something for the terrain base he comes with.   So all in all we have 38 25/28mm figures for 190 points (maybe a little higher if Ray thinks the base of the bat or Ulfs shield are work something extra)  not quite the Irish Points Bomb (200+ I believe is the level)  I was going for but I didn't want to rush the "royal" portion of the army.  This will probably be my biggest entry of the challenge and I am glad to have this army field ready.

From Ray

That's quite a collection Adam, looks like you've been a very busy boy! Although its not the paint bomb you wanted, it's still more than my actual total!
38 x 25mm figures gives you a total of 190 points
And I'll give you an extra point for being so bleedin' cheeky and asking for extra points!

From DaveD: 6mm Soviet Helicopters & Hedgerows (25 Points)

Well after being well and truly floored by a bout of the  "Aussies Flu" that is doing the rounds in the UK  (I suspect all Millsy's doing no doubt) - i am back in production.

Myself and fellow challengers JamesM and MartinC are about to make the Cold War go Hot with our first Team Yankee game this weekend. You have seen my armoured forces last year and the infantry so far this year. I stuck in a an order pre Xmas for some Hind gunships from Heroics and Ros(as i could not find the ones that have been maturing in the lead pile )  and they turned up with enough time to spare before the game.  So here they are.

They have had magnets inserted into the main body to attach them to flight stands. I have made two kind of flight stands both individual and multiple.

6 Hinds - ready to make the Tommies pay!

Comrade Docovich - ready to take on the Capitalist wastrels.- and find some Beatles records!

I also completed some additional hedgerow terrain pieces , made from coffee stirrers and clump foliage , all stuck together with my trusty hot glue gun. 

18 feet of hedgerows added

stacked up in 6x6 , it fill about a quarter so 5 points I reckon.

oh and here is a picture of the game!

Smash the capitalists! 

 Artist : Nena

Song - 99 Red Balloons









From Ray

Welcome back to the Challenge Comrade Docovich! Its about time too! This damn Aussie Flu has knocked me for 6 as well. Although it hasn't really affected my limited painting time, unlike you! Usually you'd be top 5 with 500+ points by now. 
So the question on everyone's lips is, "Can he recover his lost Flu time and get a top 5 finish?"
I have faith in you Comrade!

Great idea using 6mm figures for this project, you get a whole lot more for your money, that's if your eye's last out until the Spring! 
I do like the way you've based them up Comrade, love the see through stick thingy's, what are they and where do you get them from?
And thank you for painting up those luvverly hedgerows, they're a bit of a headache to add the points up for!
I've had a chat with the bosses and we've agreed to award your hedgerows 10 points not the 5 you suggested.
I'm also gonna go out on a limb and add an extra 3 points for the basing of the helicopters. They're that cool!
So you've a grand total of 25 points!

From ScottM - German & French ATG's (50 points)

My contribution for this week is a pair of early World War 2 anti-tank guns, one from the French and one from the Germans. First up is the German Pak 36. This set is from Warlord Games.

The second set is the French 25mm from Crusader Miniatures.

On both sets, besides the usual flock, I stuck a few shell casings, from a pack I picked up from Secret Weapon Miniatures. They're too small for anything of larger calibre, but for these little guns, they work great.

So that should be 2 ATG with 6 crew, all 28mm - 50 points

From Ray

Two excellent looking artillery pieces Scott. Warlord and Crusader do make some excellent figures. I especially like the French, its not a country you see much in WWII, (sorry French people, no pun intended!)
Great idea adding the shell casings, they do add to the overall effect of the base. 
Top work! the 2 x ATG's will earn you 50 points!

From JohnM: Never Bite off More than You Can Chew (45 points)

This was supposed to be what one could call a Vanity project! Maybe best to avoid them, methinks.

I believe the first time I saw an Alban Miniatures were the free Sharpe and Harper figures that I received when I purchased Sharp Practice from TFL some years ago. I was immediately attracted to their anatomic proportions, no awful big heads or hands. I put them away and about a year ago I decided to paint them.......they looked pretty cool, let us get some more. But Alban Miniatures went out of business a couple of years ago. I advertised around and found a nice Dutch chap who had some which he was willing to let go. I finally had some British Rifles and some French Légére Voltiguers. There are British lights and French Ligne out there also but not yet been able to lay my hands on these figures.

But why did I want to do this, I have plenty of British and French 28mm skirmish figures for Sharpe Practice 2, but they were of the big headed variety and this is where the Vanity comes in. I wanted a SP2 Alban Miniatures force, and since they are quite different than any other 28 mm figures, I would need at least 2 sides to play a game.

I do not have a large lead pile, so searching around for something next to paint, I decided to have a go at painting some Alban French Voltiguers. They looked well cast, minimal cleanup required so they were primed and I started to have a go. 

Well, I found that for a middle of the road painter like myself they were quite a challenge. I am sure each figure was about 2-3 hours of painting time. There was just much less sculpting detail to work with than I am accustomed. My usual painting time for a Napoleonic 28 mm figures is probably around 45 minutes. I suppose it would be OK but I am just not that pleased with the result.

Well here they are, they do look good at a distance, so I suppose I will soldier on. I need at least 5-6 groups to have a good SP2 game, so a long way to go. By the way if anyone has any Alban Miniatures to sell, please let me know!

Légére Voltiguer Skirmishers

Status II Leader, Status III Leader, Musician

From Ray

Beautiful painting John, I certainly wouldn't call you a middle of the road painter, BigLee and Fran yes of course but not you. They are excellent looking sculpts with a lot of animation. I don't recall hearing of Alban minis before, but I'll certainly look out for some for you, you never know your luck? My favorite has got to be the commander raising and waving his hat, what a great sculpt! Shame we may never see anymore of these excellent looking figures?

These 9 x 28mm figures will earn you a very well deserved 45 points!

From Barks: Star Wars heroes (20 points)

You may be relieved to hear this is currently my last planned Star Wars Post this Challenge! I’m finishing with the latest bunch of heroes from Imperial Assault, and I quite like them.

Firstest with the mostest is fan favourite Ahsoka Tano. She first appeared as an annoying young teen and Anakin Skywalker’s protégée in the Clone Wars animated series. She (and the series) later improved and matured, culminating in her breaking with the Jedi path having been accused of a crime she didn’t commit. She returned in the Rebels series as a grown woman, and it is this aspect of her that I have painted. She senses something familiar about Darth Vader...

She was great fun to paint. She’s got an interesting colour palette, and some fine details on her front armour. Her head tails look better than they do in the blown-up images. She carries white lightsabers (in that distinctive but questionable dual backhand grip), which I painted a very pale glowing grey and I think came out OK. I decided not to do any significant OSL, as I struggle with just white and paler surfaces.

I didn’t feel so enthused by the next hero, Jarrod Kelvin. He strikes me as an impractical Wolverine-wannabe.

In contrast, I do like Ko-Tun Feralo. She seems an eminently practical Rebel.

Finally, I love Drokkatta. Consensus is that she’s female, and I’m not going to question a Wookie demolitions expert. With her wacky goggles, grenade launcher and thermal detonators, I can’t wait to get her into battle.

4x 28mm figures

From Ray

I for one am gutted this is possibly your last Star Wars entry into the Challenge. Get that fat wallet out and buy more please!!!
I think your right about the back-handed grip of Ahsoka Tano, looks a little dangerous to me, you don't wanna get that lightsabre too close to your own butt when trying to fight. Jarred Kelvin is a tad brown after the colour explosion on Tano, I have to admit. I wouldn't wanna meet Ko-Tun Feralo in a dark alley either!
But I think everyone's favourite will be Drokkatta the female (?) Wookie! Top brushwork ol' boy!

4 x 28mm figures gives you a total of 20 points!

From PeterD - 28mm SYW French Infantry (40 points)

These figures had all but the bases finished last week, but didn’t quite make it in time.

Challenge veterans may remember that last year I worked on my SYW project for Sharp Practice, mainly focusing on my British/Allied side of the equation.   For this year I am looking at the French opposition.  In addition, I found that I like the lace wars so much that the scale of the project has ramped up from Sharp Practice skirmish gaming to Black Powder/Honours of War.  

In keeping with what worked last year and my ramped up work schedule, my French will be coming out in drips and drabs.  These are the first 8 figures from the Touraine regiment, which like the rest of my battalions will be 24 strong.  The figures are 28mm from Crusader minis.  (FYI they currently have a SYW unit deal going on).

Interestingly these are a good scale fit for Perry figures but smaller than the beefier Crusader El Cid range figures I’d painted years ago.  They come in packs of 8 with 2 figures each of 4 subtle variants, with the emphasis being on the subtle part of the equation.  The end result gives a good representation of a regiment in step but with slight variants on the head and arm position – much less variation than a Perry regiment but not all identical.

I like the backs of these figures - the pack is very elegantly sculpted.

I added gold lace to the cuffs on Jean a la gauche, to represent an NCO. 

I got these as unit deals (16 privates plus 4 command) plus an extra pack of 8 privates to flush out the units.  The command figs are nice but a little staid so I am getting Front Rank extras to add to the variety.  Update:  my Front Rank package was ordered January 8th and delivered to the frozen Canadian prairies today - one week late.  Front Rank put Royal Mail tracking on it and bingo - it positively flew here.

I left flat spaces at the back for unit labels to be added later.

Touraine Regiment dates back to the 1620s and fought in all of Louis XIV’s wars (maybe including service at Laarden), and the wars of Succession (English, Spanish, Polish, Austrian).  It served in Western Germany through the SYW, fighting well in the losing causes at Krefeld and Warburg.

There are differences if you look very carefully at the sculpts- or are there?

So by my math that's 8 foot figures in 28mm @ 5 points a pop = 40 points Mr Minion please.

From Ray

Excellent brushwork Peter. The 7YW has always and will always have a special place in this Minon's heart! It was the first period I ever owned and painted up many many moons ago!! In 15mm of course! So its great to see another learning to love the period. The only problem I found with the French is sameness of all the uniforms gets a tad boring when painting them, but hey-ho, its just gotta be done.
For this wonderful 1/3 of a unit you will indeed earn yourself a very respectable 40 points!