From: IainW Soviet MG team (25 points)

And now for something completely different! Although I've only done renaissance figures on the Challenge, last year and up until now, these are the start of a Bolt Action soviet army. 

I wasn't initially keen on doing ww2.  Napoleonic was the closest I came but both my nephews (who I game with) have been very enthusiastic about it and I have finally succumbed! I had a first game playing the U.S. last week, really enjoyed it and am now hoping to complete my soviet force before the end of the Challenge.  Of course I am now assembling tanks and the like and I still have plastic figures to assemble, never mind prime but I'm trying to get these done.

These three chaps and their maxim took longer than the four minutes each I'd allowed them but hopefully I can push the average time down, it's also my first go with block colours, wash and highlight, I think it's turned out ok.

The crew are Black Tree Design.  I picked them up at Colours for very little and the Maxim is from Warlord Games. I've gone for a really dark colour for the basing, the snow is some display snow I ended up with, I think it'll do.

As I'm doing patchy snow so I can maybe get away with some other bits of terrain without snow! I recently got hold of a great book on snow terrain. I think the first run is sold out but I would definitely recommend it.  It's by Pat Smith who's Silver Whistle blog is great for figures and terrain.  Nick who's doing the challenge and is a fellow Monday contributor has some figures in the book too.

I've been in something of a hurry to get these done. I just wanted to do something! Sorry if it's late Sidney, I have been using the hairdryer on them in order to get them done!I should have a decent sized post by next Monday. 

All the best Iain.

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Ooooooo....how can I possibly turn down a fine submission like this...especially as, even by my watch, it's only 10pm in London.  Oodles of time left for a Monday posting, Iain!!

These are a terrific submission, and had you not mentioned your speed painting, I would never have guessed the time they'd taken.  The dark basing works very well, especially considering the lighter uniforms of the crew.  And yes, that snow works a treat!  Pat is one of the hobby's great Gentlemen, and his wonderful book will be a bible of the hobby for many years to come, inspiring so many of us to have a go at winter-themed terrain!

So well done indeed for getting these figures finished in time, Iain.  With 5 points for each crew member, and 10 for the crew-served weapon, this will add a well deserved and timely 25 points to your total!  

From SamuliS: Saxon Light Infantry (210 points)

After painting a bunch of rats I got back on track with a project that I started during the sixth edition of the Painting Challenge, the whole Saxon Corps for the 1813 campaign in Germany. I'd originally planned to have the whole Corps painted up by the autumn of 2016 when we were going to start our campaign, but life has a curious way of disturbing even the best plans. One gaming companion got deployed overseas while another moved to the states for a little over a year so our Napoleonic gaming got put on hold for a while. That coupled with my general lack of painting mojo lead to the whole project being tucked away in a storage box for a while. With the 205 year anniversary of the campaign coming up and the whole crew back in the same country we are finally moving on with the campaign so it was high time I dug up my Napoleonics project box and got painting.

Until now I've done a bit over half the Line infantry as well as heavy cavalry and artillery. To be honest painting all that white on the infantry is bit of a drag so I figured the next in line should be something at least a bit different. Luckily the Saxon's outfitted their light infantry with green uniform and equipment that had black leather straps! I can say that this was pure joy compared to the white uniforms with white strapping that all the line infantry and grenadiers had for the Saxons. Considering that I really don't like painting white, I still don't really understand how I ended up deciding to paint a whole Corps of them.

AB minis as are all of my other Saxons (nobody else seems to make them at this scale). Great sculpts, but they are hindered a bit by the fact that there are only 3 different poses for them. Luckily it's not too bad as they were mostly used in a skirmishing role so I just based them two minis to a base instead of my normal three. Spread out a bit on the table it shouldn't look too bad. I also had 4 minis left over as I hadn't taken into account officers in the units, but as we are using small dice as tokens to indicate different fatigue levels and other effects in game they offered a great way to spice up my dice trays for the units. 

The two great coat wearing officers have a small conversion on their shako. They normally had small pompoms, but I thought they would look a bit funny with everyone else having a tall plume so I quickly rolled some suitable plume shaped rolls from green stuff. They ended up a bit too tall, but from a distance look quite nice.

Painting wise I cheated a bit compared to how I normally paint my 15mm Napoleonics. For all the brighter colours I've tended to paint all the colours, add a dark brown or black wash and then highlight the minis, but with these guys I just skipped the whole highlight step and left them at it. The only addition I did was the red piping on their uniforms to make them stand out a bit.

All in all there are 52 15/18mm infantry. In the previous editions of the challenge AB Napoleonics have been counted as 20mm minis as they are way oversize for the scale they are supposed to be. Going with that ruling these should give me 208 points and get me back on track on reaching my goal of 1000 points.

Artist: Amon Amarth



Album: Jomsviking

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Painting the whole Saxon Corps for the 1813 campaign in Germany is definitely the sort of nonsense we love here at the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge.  It's monumental, immense, slightly insane and we love it all the more when you go and choose the white uniformed Saxons equipped with white strapping!!  Oh yes, a PERFECT project for Challenge VI, and VII and VIII.

And congratulations, Samuli, because despite the clear lunacy of such a plan, these AB Saxons are magnificent!  They're lovely, in every way.  You've done wonders with your paint-brush on their uniforms, shakos and plumes, and you've brought the (frankly) giant 18mm (...and then some...) AB figures to life.  Great work on the basing as well, which I confess I sometimes dash over on my 15mm troops.

I love the conversions you've done for the officers, removing those French-ified pompoms with Germanic plumes.  Quite right, Sir - it's a battlefield, not a fashion parade!!  

They're really excellent and I am very much hoping more of these units will grace the Challenge in the weeks to come.  A wonderfully well-deserved 208 points, with a point each for the conversions, bringing this submission's total to a round 210 points.  Great work!!

From MartinN: SCW - Tropas regulares de marruecos (55pts)

This entry definitely was a close run thing. Just as I type this, the varnish still sticky, I'm waiting for a colleague of mine to pick me up for work. I still have to pack my stuff for the week, so I better make this short.

Well, todays entry sees the first few Moroccan Regulars for my ongoing Spanish Civil War project.

The Moroccans were highly capable troops on the rebel side. They often fought alongside the Legion and gained a reputation as shock troops and excellent fighters in the open countryside. They also were notorious for their cruelty.

Miniatures are from Empress Miniatures once again and, as ever, were a joy to paint. It did me take a while to come up with a recipe for Near Eastern/ North African flesh. First I tried the "Near Eastern Flesh" triad by Wargames Foundry but results proofed to be unsatisfactory. Not only didn't I get the desired results, but the paints were rubbish as well. Too thick with too low pigmentation.

In the end I settled for some paints from Vallejo I already had at home.

Points wise this should add 55 points (2 prone figures at 2.5pts. each and 10 figures at 5pts. each) to my total. 

For the challenge tunes I got something different for you today. Just to prove I also got a soft and romantic side too.

This actually is also the song (in just this version) I proposed to my lovely missus. You see, I'm a true romantic at heart ;-)

Artist: Puma Hardchorus - originally by Savage Garden

Song: Truly Madly Deep

Okay, I'm off!

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I'm so pleased these wonderful Moroccans have appeared before you've needed to jet off again to an airport, Nick!! They are really lovely figures and you've painted them beautifully. The Empress Miniatures are very fine, delicate, well-proportioned figures, but they ask for a fine brush to bring them to life.  And you've done just that.  Really fine work, Sir!!

I love the deep shad of red which you've brought out on the caps, and those familiar dusty off-white robes and shirts which you see throughout North Africa from Egypt to Morocco. They look very authentic, even down to the lovely green jacket on a couple of them. And you've perfectly caught the North African skin tone as well - it's a tough one to get right, but (again) you've hit it perfectly.

Super basing as well, picking out the rocky terrain in which these units could operate.

A hugely well-deserved 55 points here towards your total, Nick.  And, yes, please can we see some more?

And, with a final flourish you leave us with a great tune for a Monday morning (also one of my own wife's favourites, in fact!).  Safe travels, Nick, and we'll catch you soon!

From AlanD: Germans for Battle Group Barbarossa (128 points)

This week my entry reflects my Fifty Shades of Grey fantasy...

Yes, it's another eclectic bunch of Panzer grey vehicles and guns in 15mm for my ongoing Battle Group: Barbarossa campaign with Paul OG. 

The vehicles are from various sources, with 8-Rad armoured cars from PSC, a Sdkfz 222 from Zvezda, a 223 from Battlefront, two Hanomags from PSC, Pak 38s from PSC and the 88 and transport from Forged in Battle. Making the 8-Rads was a particular treat. The PSC box is a beauty, providing 5 armoured cars with lots of options. The Pak 38s come from the PSC kit with the RSO tractor, another gem.

As for points, I count 8 vehicles, 3 guns and a limber which I claim as an extra gun, 15 whole figures (with two seated in a Hanomag) and 5 vehicle drivers and two armoured car commanders. That seems to be 48 points for vehicles, 16 for guns, 30 for figures and say another 2 for all the part figures. 126 points?

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These look terrific, Alan!  I've been looking forward to more of your fine work after the German Recce Units which drove into the Challenge in Monday#3, and these wonderful additions to your Barbarossa forces certainly do not disappoint.

They're really excellent and look terrific on your tabletop.  You've really found the right 'look' for the German grey armour, and the weathering you've added looks just right for the endless dusty roads around Kharkov and Smolensk!

I particularly like the ground work on the Pak 38s, really setting the artillery on the table with a flourish.

Really great work, and I'm very, very keen to see more!  A very well deserved 128 points to your total, Sir (adding a couple extra for the flag recognition and lovely basing on the Pak 38s).

From ValeryN - A lot ... No, very, very many guns! (430 Pts)

Hello everybody!

My name is Valery. I live in Russia and I'm crazy about guns. You could say "I'm a cannon freak".

Most of all I like painting cannons!

So, let's start with the smallest. This German anti-tank gun PAK-36. In the war they wore the nickname "Heeresanklopfgerät" (literally «army door-knocking device»).

Over time, in the German army they were replaced with guns PAK-40. For the long barrel and for the fact that their shells painfully stung, they received from the Russian tankmen the nickname "snake".

On the Russian side of the front there was a response to the "snakes" - this is the famous ZIS-3, which was called the "ratsh-boom". German tankmen said: "You do not have time to hear the sound of a 'ratsh' shot, how the "boom" in your armor will immediately happen".

If the 76-mm ZIS-3 could not penetrate the frontal armor of the Tigers and the Panther at long distances, then this task was not bad solved by the anti-aircraft 85-mm cannon

Now let's turn to more significant calibers. This is a 107-millimeter cannon of the 1910/30 model. At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, it was in large quantities in the corps artillery.

By the end of the war, a powerful 160-mm mortar had appeared in the arsenal of the Red Army. This weapon proved to be so simple and effective that it still is in the arsenal of some countries (for example, North Korea - it is possible that they like to play Kim Jong-un before breakfast).

Well, we finish our artillery parade with another era and another scale (28mm). This is a Russian howitzer from the period of the war with Napoleon of 1812-1814:

Total, if I was not mistaken, in a scale of 15mm 30 guns * 4 + 140 crewman* 2 = 120 + 280 + 400 points And at the scale of 28mm gun + 4 crewman * 5 = 10 + 20 = 30 points. Total 430 points.

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Oh my gosh.....I mean...WOW.

Now, deep in the recesses of my wargaming mind, I do remember something about Russians liking a lot of artillery.  Hmmm.... something about a Grand-Battery at Borodino, perhaps... And something about the artillery onslaught at Kursk, I think.... 

Valery, my dear friend, all I can say is that the reputation of the Russian wargaming community for being well stocked as regards artillery bombardments is in very, very safe hands.

What a ground-churning, cordite-fuelled, ear-drum-splitting, cannon-cascading entry!  I love it.  It's like "artillery", and THEN SOME....!

Well done indeed for amassing, painting and basing such a very fine entry.  Just terrific quality and quantity here, which is mind boggling.  I mean, you all of us at the PAK-36s - that's a fine entry in their own right.  But the rest .... well, fantastic work.

I do, I confess, particularly like the Napoleonic howitzer.  Lovely work on the brass barrel, and that green shade of the uniforms is just about perfect in my book.

A tremendous entry, and 430 well-earned and impressive points to add to your already very considerable total.  Congratulations!