From: Sander and Arthur: The Road Goes Ever On (20 Points)

Hoi There,

The Challenge has come again, the eagerly awaited painting extravaganza that binds us all together, we very few and lucky underlings of the Snowlord's Domain.

Both Arthur and myself will be joining, but this time without a set plan that is bound to fail. I have some loose ideas of what I want to paint, mainly these are my GW boxed games, amongst which are Necromunda, Blackstone Fortress and Blood Bowl. Heroquest figures will surely enter into the fray but that's only to be expected with the school-club still going strong.

Usually I would have put up a Challenge Prep post up on my blog far earlier but you know sh*t happens. So it should be up right now and you can see it HERE if you would like to.

Arthur has a small amount of figures he wanted to paint for this year's Challenge which are mainly historical miniatures. That said, my recent GW obsession has led to him painting some Space Marines in a self designed paint scheme, which is suitably '80's themed ;-)

So without further ado here's Arthur's first space marine:

And for myself, since time has been lacking somewhat I only have a few figures I can enter for this first post but I do have to post something to be allowed to stay in the Challenge right?

So what did I paint up? Well diehard Heroquest fans will know about Sir Ragnar, an Empire knight who needs saving in the Questbook included in the core box. Zealot Miniatures make this brilliant bound and free figure of him.

The sword and shield on the free figure is an addition by me of course.

Also finished in time for this post is the Necromunda equivalent of the Lurker in the Dark (sorry no puns intended Fran). 

While not the most demanding figure in the boxed set I am rather happy with how it ended up.

Well pointswise Arthur has 5 points to his name now and I will have at least 10. What the Lurker is worth I'll leave up to Curt.

Rest assured that my next post will be more seizable indeed. Thanks for dropping in!

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Ah, this post hits many highlights. We have both Arthur and Sander (the 'van Straeten Boyz'), tentacles and the first Challenge Tune. Bravo!

Arthur, I like your blue Space Marine, especially the two-tone armour and his red eye lenses. Good one. Tell your dad that we need another pic of you guys painting - I really liked the last one but suspect you've grown quite a bit since then.

Sander, it's good to see you continuing on your Heroquest additions, especially with these fancy versions of Sir Ragnar - the modification of adding of the sword and shield are well chosen and wonderfully executed. AND what's a dank dungeon without an icky tentacle coming out of a sewer grate (really, much the same could be said for London as well). ;)

Well done lads! 

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From Franjo: US Federal Infantry, Cuba 1898 (30 points)

Hi all,

I'm Franjo, from Spain, and I'm new to the Challenge. First of all, I would like to thank Curt for this initiative. To me, it's a great opportunity to get painted a (little) part of my metal and plastic grey mountain, and to share it with other people. My goal is quite modest: 500 points, but to me is quite a personal challenge because I'm a slow painter. Well, let's see what happens.

I'm going to paint mainly in 28mm scale, different kind of troops and eras. Dark Age, Spanish Napoleonics, 1898 Spanish-US War, Spanish Civil War, Spanish at WWII and, maybe, a bit of Fantasy and Sci-Fi and some scenery.

My first entry is about 1898 Spanish-US War in Cuba. 1898 was a critical year in the History of my country. The loss of Cuba, Puerto Rico and Phillipines marked the end of a 400 years long empire. Spain was a mess in nineteenth century. After the long, bloody and economic disaster that was the War of Independence vs the Napoleonic French, Spain suffered the loss of the American mainland territories, the worst monarch ever (Ferdinand VII), years of civil wars (Carlist Wars), political turmoil (liberals vs conservatives) and struggled to keep the pace of the industrial development of the Western and Northern Europe. All this has its consequences, and at the end of the century Spain was a second rate, decadent power and the 1898 war gave way to what became the world's leading power: the U.S.

I bought recently from 1898miniaturas.com excellent range two army packs: Spanish and US in the Cuba front. At the webpage there are also very good historical notes and uniform/weapons research and some wonderful painting tutorials from Javier Gómez Valero, "el Mercenario", one of the owners of the 1898 Miniaturas company and a gifted painter. I followed his tutorial to paint my first batch of figures from their range, and I started with the enemy: a bag of 6 US Federal Infantrymen advancing (different poses in every bag reference):

So 6 x 28mm figures = 30 points

See you soon.

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First, welcome to the Painting Challenge, Franjo! We're delighted to have you join us for the next few months of frenetic hobby madness.

These figures are superb and your brushwork is to match, Franjo. I love it when we get a taste of these often overlooked periods of history. I really like the vibrant palette you've used in painting these figures - they really 'pop' in the photos and show them to their best advantage. I also admire your basework as it conveys the verdant tropical terrain that comes to mind when you think of Cuba. 

I had a look at the 1898 Miniaturas catalogue and I'm very much looking forward to seeing what else you treat us to over the coming months of the Challenge.

30 Points for your opening round in the Painting Challenge. Excellent work, Franjo.

From Ian: A Little SYW 15mm French starter for (16 Points)

My first entry after taking year off and just like two years ago it's SYW but this time it's my son's French. These are four mounted High Command from Blue Moons The Age of Reason range. I bought these figures as a stocking filler last year so it's good that I finally get them finished the night before he has had them a year!!

I have actually painted up all six figures but only have the bases for two. I am hoping Lee has one so I can add the other two in a week or so's time. Most of our figures are Lancashire Games and are quite serviceable but command wise they are rather weak. Joseph's army has grown large enough that he needs a couple more command stands for Black Powder.

However he will need more as I plan to paint up a further six battalions of infantry during the Challenge which will almost use up his unpainted infantry. More cavalry and artillery await in the wings, but that is unlikely to be done during the challenge.

I do like Blue Moon casting's and have a pack of Prussian Command that may sneak into the Challenge but being unprepped look a outside bet. I have pledged 500 points but have enough prepped figures to get over 750 and I will be very surprised if that comes off because...……

Yes my 1:1 scale project is a Springer Spaniel pup, so less time at the painting table even though I am getting up as early as 4am!! Still we get to start walking him in about two weeks so hopefully he will start to burn some of his energy.

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First, welcome back to the Challenge, Ian! It's great to have you with us again.

I was admiring your figures but was completely sidelined when I saw the pic of your new pup. Aww, what's his name? He looks to be a real sweetheart. As you say, some nice long walks in the park will help burn off his excess energy (not really, but you can always live in hope and the walks will do you good).

Back to your SWW figures, which look terrific btw. Blue Moon makes some very nice castings and you've done them proud with your brush and basework here. I look forward to seeing those half dozen French battalions roll off your table over the coming months.

Now, I'll let you get back to your new addition as I'm sure he's left a mess since you started reading this. :)

From AlanD: 15mm Soviet Infantry (86 points)

Hello everyone and Merry Christmas from Australia. It is great to be back in your company again.

For my opening salvo in the Challenge this year I have painted some 15mm Soviet troops for games of Battle Group: Fall of the Reich. Apologies for the slightly washed-out photos.

The first bunch are two squads of tank riders. I'm pretty sure the figures are from Skytrex?

Then we have a platoon of assault pioneers in body armour and amoeba-pattern camo overalls. I had a lot of fun thinking about how to base these so that the teams looked like they were interacting, and I do love making rubbly bases. These figures are all from Flames of War.

43 figures should net me 86 points, and I'm on the board. Expect to see more of that terrain base shortly!

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It's great to see you back to the Challenge, Alan! 

These Soviets look terrific Mr. Dearn. I always like what you do with your basing and terrain as it always has a realistic, lived-in look about it. I especially like the brickwork with these bases, with the colour of the shattered masonry being very well realized (the torn remnants of the propaganda poster is a great touch).

As you estimate, these chaps will give you 86 points but I'll pip you up to an even 90 for the time spent on the bases. Well done, Alan!

From MartinN: On ne passe pas! (5 points)

"Das Wort Operation verbitte ich mir. Wir hauen ein Loch rein. Das Weitere findet sich. So haben wir es auch in Russland gemacht"

-Generalquartiermeister Ludendorff-

Another year, another challenge and yet another project. A little more than 100 years ago World War I, or the Great War as it is also known, ended after claiming the lives of millions of soldiers and civilians alike. The tragedy of the whole conflict, especially on the western front, is in my opinion perfectly epitomised by the quote with which I started this post. Translated into English it reads like:

"I refuse to tolerate the word Operation. We simply punch a hole into it [i.e. the front]. Then we'll see about the rest. That's just how we did it in Russia too."

-Quartermaster General Ludendorff-

Ludendorff made the comment in the spring of 1918 when asked for the strategic conceptions and aims for Operation Michael, the German spring offensive meant to encircle and break the British Expeditionary Force and thus ending the war. Germany by than was on its last leg and the offensive was seen as the last chance to come to a victorious conclusion after four years of all out war.

The quote shows the complete disregard of (not only) the German High Command with which it spent the lives of its soldiers without really having a clue as to how to break the deadlock in the first place. And if, by some miracle, the breakthrough actually happened, how to exploit it. 

The famous phrase "On ne passe pas!" (They shall not pass!), which probably is better known in its Spanish Civil War iteration "¡No pasarán!", was coined when the Germans actually threatened to break through on the Marne for a second time after 1914. And while coming close to actually break the backbone of the BEF the Germans were actually stopped.

Some might remember my first tentative steps into WW1 from a few years back. The project never really got off the ground, thus I hope to breath new life into it during this challenge. Other than in my earlier efforts I'll mainly focus on the Western Front but may stray into other theatres as well. For a start I've ordered a whole bunch of Woodbine Designs French and am currently thinking of maybe adding some Brigade Games French to the mix.

I'm not completely decided on the basing yet, thus I shamelessly borrowed a method used by our very own Sidney Roundwood which he used on his Great War project.

So, with my first entry for the challenge out of the way it's about high time to prepare for Christmas eve. 

A Merry Christmas to you all!

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One can always count on your work being stunning and you don't disappoint here, Nick. I love your take on French 'Horizon Blue' and your skintones are always a marvel to study. You can't go wrong with a Roundwood-inspired base as Sid has pretty much nailed the groundwork for that conflict. I think there'll be several us eagerly awaiting how you get on with the re-start of your Great War project. One thing for sure, it will be a feast for the eyes!

Happy Christmas, Nick!

From BenitoM: Bring up the PIATs! (20 points)

A new “stick” of the British Paratroopers is about to land in the DZ. Having concluded the models for the HQ section and some of the leaders of the different infantry sections in the two previous posts, I’m turning now my attention to some of the support weapons.

The entry today is a PIAT and flamethrower teams respectively.

The British portable flamethrower was a very effective weapon to add punch to the paratroopers in their offensive actions, although the fuel capacity was slightly limited. If you’ve watched A Bridge Too Far, you may remember the scene when the flamethrower team attempted to bring down a bunker at the bridge, failing to hit the target but putting to fire an ammo deposit just behind… 

PIAT’s (Projector Anti Tank Infantry) were the main portable anti tank weapon. Built on a spring-recoil mechanism similar to the mortar, it was not very reliable, only effective engaging the enemy at very-very short distance (less than 100 meters, which required a high dose of bravery).

In addition and when carried in gliders, it was subject to malfunction as the weapon tend to bend easily during the rough landing phase (in the Pegasus Bridge operation apparently only one survived, the rest were rendered useless)

The models are 28mm from Warlord. The flamethrower team is from a support weapons blister in metal. The PIAT team is built using the multipose options included in the British Airborne plastic box.

With these four models I add another 20 points to my score, rising now to 60 points which I consider very satisfactory given that the Challenge is only three days old. Unfortunately I won’t be able to maintain this rhythm when the Xmas break ends.

I take this opportunity to wish all challenges a very Merry Christmas in the company of your beloved ones.

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Again, lovely clean lines on these paras, Benitio. I especially like the PIAT gunner and the flamethrower operator - those are great looking minis. 

As you say, 60 points is a great start to your challenge. Well done! 

Happy Christmas to you and yours, Benito!

From Paul SS: Warbases Peasant Cart (25 points)

I've been a busy chap over the past couple of days, three 0500 starts in a row mean that I've been able to crack on with quite a bit.

Over the past few weeks Mrs Scrivs, Victoria, has been gifting me with some goodies that she ordered from Warbases for me and if you check the Scrivsland blog you'll see a Ammunition cart and some Geese that I already painted earlier in the month.

On Wednesday I got the Peasant Cart 1 kit. I already had some draft horses that I picked up when last in the UK so it was just a matter of adding a load of logs and securing them with some bakers twine held in place with PVA glue.

The whole thing was primed with grey primer and then it was only an hour or so to block in the base colours, was and then do some highlights, the basing probably took longer. Victoria did remark, why do you take brown mdf, spray it grey and then paint it brown again ;)

This was quite a bit longer than the 100mm x 75mm Renedra base I planned to use, so luckily I had some 120mm x 60mm Warbases bases still in the bases box.

I now got quite the baggage train made up from the Warbases range.

As for points, 28mm vehicle - 20pts plus contributing to the North & South challenge.

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Haha! I've gotten much the same question about painting Italian Wars gendarmes, 'So, if they're all in metal armour why on earth do you spray them black and try to make them look like metal again?' To which I reply, 'Tut, tut, you shouldn't question these things, m'dear. It's all for the sake of the 'art'. (Scratches own head, realizing that what we do must look COMPLETELY ridiculous.)

Great log cart, Paul! I love these types of models as they have such a wide utility for the tabletop - from the 16th to 21st century, you could see a variation of this cart being used somewhere.

As to scoring, you get 25 for this model: 20 for the cart (the 'vehicle') and another 5 for the horse. 

Well done!

From LeeH: Natal Native Contingent (48 Points)

During this years Painting Challenge I am not focusing on just one army or a single new project. Instead I decided I would revisit some of my older armies and finally get around to adding to them like I have been saying I would for ages. The first of these additions are four companies of Natal Native Contingent to support my Anglo Zulu War British Infantry I painted in the Challenge last year. The eagle eyed amongst you will notice I have changed the way I have based these, compared to the units I painted last year. I have also changed the figure ratio making the units larger... and yes I have had to go back and re-base some of my British infantry from last year. It wouldn't be me if I didn't change everything halfway through a project! 

The NNC were an Auxiliary force of mostly Basuto and Mponso troops who were recruited to fight alongside the colonial regulars. They were generally organised along the same lines as the British troops with companies of about 100 warriors with 6 NCO's and three Officers per company. They were not issued with uniform and were only distinguishable from their Zulu opponents by a red bandanna worn around their heads. Fears about arming native warriors (even allies) meant that only one in ten were issued with a rifle. 

Some Imperial officers (such as Colonel Durnford, who died at Isandlwana) believed the NNC should have been used as scouts and light infantry. Less wise heads however decided these troops were only good for menial labour, believing their fighting ability was negligible. Sadly they remained poorly lead and ill used throughout the war against the Zulu's and not surprisingly their performance in battle reflected this. At Isandlwana for instance they fought hard but in the end died alongside their better armed white comrades. 

I may paint some more of these at a later date but these four companies will keep me going for the time being. 96 figures will get me a tidy 48 points and means I'm comfortably on schedule for week one.

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First, welcome back to the Challenge, Lee, and thanks again for agreeing to be our Tuesday Minion for this year's gambit.

It's good to know that I'll have another comrade who will be revisiting previous projects, filling in gaps and starting new ventures. Focus is for cowards! :) Your past 6mm Zulu project is the stuff of Challenge lore, so it's wonderful to see them getting some reinforcements with this lovely mob of wee men (and treated to some little-known military history). Well done!

48 points to begin your Challenge run. Bravo!

From DaveD: MTB'S and Target (50 points)

Well , just time to get a starting entry in under the Xmas radar to kick off my 8th challenge. Like a number of people I jumped into Cruel Seas with a starter set. I had an interest in this genre already as last year I picked some bargains at a bring and buy and was just looking what to do with them .

3 x Vosper type II MTBS 

I have added 9 crew figures to these - they are full 6mm figures so a few points for them?

I modified the masts , drilling through to add a metal pin stay as I don't think they will last long in combat conditions - the twin purpose of this was that it also gave me a nice place to fly the ensigns from. 

1 Vosper type 1 - no crew figures added to this yet until I find some! 

The first of the "targets" - this is the tanker supplied with the warlord starter set - its about the size of 4 MTB's so not massive - , but does look nice. I had to reinforce the base as the resin was flexing alarmingly - so I added a cardboard base and it seems to have added some good support. 

hmm - maybe is should have entered the Naval duel! 

The tanker "S.S Challenger" 

the scale for this game is pretty flexible and when working it out something like a liberty ship should be about 35 centimeters long you guess why.  - so larger ships are going to be interesting -and tempting!

If you are interested the mat I have , it is the one from Deep Cut in mousemat material , at  8x4 size. I bought last year too before a proper use - build and they will come as they say. 

Some of the other merchants I picked up last year (dirt cheap) are on the prep desk along with some Germans .. we have a game next Sunday (MartinC and JamesM will be along) to try this out .

As for what else I have in the wings this year - well I have some Sudan - obviously , some WWII 15mm stuff, lots of terrain items, and some thing a bit different - so you can wait for that! 

I also have a little duel on the go with my old sparring partner Millsy - looking forward to a bit of a laugh... 

We will be running some paint and chat sessions - I will stick a post up as I get sorted with them .

All the best to you challengers this year - cheers -DaveD - right then Petty Officer Millsy pass the Rum ration

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Those are some lovely Vospers, Dave, and that tanker is ace as well. I think I may nick your idea of reinforcing the MTB mast with a steel pin for the ensign - good one. I'm also looking very enviously at your lineup of freighters as 'Cruel Seas' demands many floating targets for the raiders to hunt. 

Hoping I can sort out the time difference to attend one of your paint and chats this year. Such a great idea.

We'll count the Vospers as 15mm vehicles and the tanker as a 28mm vehicle, so that puts them at 44 points. Also, I'll give you a few extra for the crew and flags. 50 Points! Cracking stuff.