Adamc: Late Roman Archers and some horror creatures (90 Points)

 The late Roman/Briton army continues to expand with 16 archers.  These are good sculpts but the fact that 16 of the 40 or so figures in this box set (by Gripping Beast) have to be done as archer really limits its utility.

These men are well equipped with swords as well as bows.  I considered putting extra shields on their bases suggesting they could pick them up and fight as infantry but ultimately didn't go that way.

Keeping my paint job simple the same base colour for the whole army with different units designated by different colour trims. Green in the case of these archer.

 Now we pivot to some Bones miniatures that would not be out of place on any horror movie set. The Scare Crow form the Wild West Wizard of Oz set.  I did his base like he's in some sort of fallow field though I suspect he's more likely to show up in Frostgrave as an undead or construct.

 His odd repeating rifle scythe weapon does sort of shout wild west horror but its not too obvious unless you look closely.

Finally the Bestial Vampire form the Bones collection.  I did him with frostgrave in mind.  I wen black with a few dark grey highlights.  I still thought it looked to mono chromatic so picked out the visible bones in red. 

I think this makes him look a bit scarier.  One odd thing is this guy seems to have 4 hands.  The supports of bat wings are "finger bones" and he has a full hand where bat usually only has a its thumb with a claw. Oh well fantasy monsters don't need to follow real world anatomy.  I need to paint one more monster of some sort and I can get a squirrel point.

There are a total of 18 28mm figures here for 90 point.  I've past my goal for the challenge so I shall up my goal to 1000.

__________________________________________________________________

And we're back to Gaul, where the Gauls are galling with Gallic charm. Or is it the archers who're galling with their Gallic fire in Gaul? Anyway . . . FRENCH!

The vampire may have been caught mid-transformation by the sculptor, going from his bat form to his "human" form. Hence both the wings and the hands.

Anyway, 90 points incoming!

From DavidB: Something epic (248 points)

These have been a long time coming. Space Marine and Adeptus Titanicus are the first Games Workshop games I ever played. I had lots of games with these very pieces in the 80's and early 90's both games were first editions and although the boxes are relatively intact and tokens are used, it still sees the gaming table every now again. I'd like to add to what I have, but with the game OOP, collectors have driven prices up sharply. It's also take a long time to paint just this portion as the figures have always seemed more board game than wargame and I'm not comfortable painting such tiny forces.

a chaplain, commander, and librarian with attendant rhino APC

3rd company tactical squads with rhino APC. took longer to paint those shoulder pads than I wished.

Six squads for another tactical detachment from the 7th company.

some surplus figures painted as veteran. since all the models are the same, I can use the color difference to have these as assault, veteran, or devastator upgrades to the two tactical companies

one squadron of land raiders with bone colored doors.

The other squadron has a banner to denote the lead Vic

Thanks must be given to Sylvain who sent me these land speeders in Dark Angel colours. They have been lonely without the entourage behind them.

Simple clunky Titan models and my introduction to Games Workshop fluff. It took a bit of work to liven up these old warriors, but at least now it'll be quite a bit of fun to jump back in Horus Heresy combat with models in appropriate colours.

To add detail I used Ad-mech and spare transfers from the bit box. Since Titans are Ad-mech hot rods, I  coated them with varnish over the armour to hold the decals in place.

The dark Angel force is in transition from the 30k black and red to 40k dark green while I imagine this particular titan group is slowly accumulating personal heraldry for their machines.

My kids love the old card and foam buildings, I'll have to see about sprucing them up at some point too.

breaking benjamin- ashes of eden

The confusion and betrayal of the Horus Heresy is tragic and compelling reading. I like the stories of Ad-mech infantry setting upon marines just because of miscommunication and distrust due to traitor acts of sabotage and subterfuge. Although a smaller force, the sudden strikes, ambushes, and infiltration of cults like the dark mechanicus really evened up the sides and still provides great stories to read. One of my daughters has been reading on the Heresy(when she should be doing school work!)

I'm uncertain on the titans so.... maybe 5 points each for 15?

16 rhinos and 8 land raiders for 48 points

160 tiny marines for 80 points

143 points

some more tally for the squirrel and the evil empire, but back to larger scale forces before eye strain gets me!

__________________________________________________________________

Just in case the Black Squadron didn't give you the message, we now have the actual demolition troopers themselves! Well, maybe not. But still impressive anyway.

Consulting through the Book of Analogue, Chapter 2019, verse 16JAN, the Snowlord hath decreed that an Adepticus Titanicus is the equivalent of two 28mm vehicles, which puts them at 40 points apiece. 

All told, that gives you a planet-demolishing 248 points, or more points that I get in most challenges!

From DavidB: Your planet is in the way of the new imperial hyperway (98 points)

I finally cleared my desk of these very special ships. Special because they are the last of some ships my wife bought me for my absolute favourite spaceship game. She used a list of ships I wanted for a special task. She also hid them from me through several moves and thinning of my spaceship collection after a track shelf collapse destroyed and damaged my entire collection of Battlefleet Gothic Ship. It took a long time before I began to repair my Imperial fleet and these ships were among another BFG box game and other ships that she gave me when I was mostly finished with the ship rebuild and repair.

Pretty amazing feat on her part and still my favourite gift from her. I finally decided this year to use metallic paints on them to match task force Gold and task force Red. Fresh out of the shipyards I present Task Force Black.

Task Force Black has a specific mission of getting stuck in short range of enemy fleets. The Cobra Destroyer is the smallest of Imperial escort craft, but is also the fastest and capable of taking on ships-of-the-line with devastating torpedo launches. In close formation a squadron of four can place a torpedo spread larger than some capitol ships. The defence turrets and speed lets them intercept and destroy enemy fighter craft and torpedoes giving Task Force Black a solid screen.

The Gothic class cruiser is equipped with lance batteries which knock down enemy shields with ease. A real heavy slugger it can deal kill shots, but is better when used to batter a ship for it's companion ships to destroy.

The Lunar class Cruiser is an all-rounder with lance batteries and cannons.It's broadside isn't as powerful as some, but it's lance strikes help back up the salvo from the Gothic class cruiser.

The Tyrant class cruiser isn't as powerful as the Dominator, but it sacrifices firepower for range. It's purpose is to disrupt enemy flankers as the task force plows in. With 10 dice for each Port and Starboard batteries, and torpedoes, the firepower isn't diminished too much.

A Lunar Cruiser upgraded to battlecruiser with the addition of dorsal lance batteries. This ship is the tip of the spear for Task Force Black.

The Mars Class Battlecruiser is the flagship of Task Force Black till I can find an Apocalypse class Battleship. dorsal lance batteries, cannons, and flight bays make it a versatile craft. She is the only ship in the task force with a nova cannon. the other capitol ships are torpedoes and rams. This one  is the rocky core of the group sending squadrons of bombers and fighter craft to screen and harass enemy ships while the rest get stuck in.

The Cruel Seas has provided a lot of eye candy this year and I've obviously fell short in the nautical challenge. Yet, I've finally got Task Force Black in matching colors with the rest of my fleet. As I "accept" defeat it'll be with a show of planet killing firepower! ;)

Lunatic Fringe- Red Rider

In nautical tradition, the USN blasts music for a warning of Break-Away after underway replenishment. A tedious but necessary task used by warships to restock stores and transfer materials while out at sea. It is dangerous as both ships are still moving (although at reduced speeds). The break-away song is as much a warning of speed will be increased as it is thanks and see-ya-later. Lunatic Fringe was the breakaway song from the former top gun of the Pacific Fleet the USS Halsey CG-23 in the 80's. I first seen the world as a Gunners Mate before trading in my dungarees for camouflage as Infantry.

Using the points of the Strike Cruisers...

5 cruisers for 40

12 destroyers for 48

 (4 points each for the smaller ships)

88 total

__________________________________________________________________

And now for something completely different.

Ahh, Battlefleet Gothic. I have many fond memories of the game, and even fonder memories of the ships, despite mine being painted like crap. I now use them for Full Thrust as the Triple Empire.

These, however, are spectacular. You've done absolute wonders on the ships, especially all those obnoxious crevasses and recesses on the Cruiser box set. 

However, those cruisers are HUGE. They're easily the length of two 28mm infantry, so I'm going to rate them at 10 points per. That gives you a grand total of 98 points, and moving you up in the naval duel!

From PeteF: Tarleton's British Legion (120 points)

This week I got a light box - which will hopefully make taking pictures a little easier and yield better results. I tried three different backgrounds - let me know what you think. Most people seem to go with black but I rather like the snazzy red - maybe too clashy?

Tarleton's troops were accused of at least one atrocity in the Revolutionary War - the massacre at Waxhaws. The British account is that Tarleton himself was fired on while some of the continentals were surrendering. In any event the British Legion then gave no quarter and this in turn was visited upon surrendering Brits in subsequent battles who were given "Tarleton's Quarter".

The British Legion had both infantry and cavalry - the infantry were wiped out at Cowpens. The cavalry component fought on. They eventually surrendered to a French force at Gloucester, close to Yorktown.

It is noteworthy that Tarleton's hat design was thought so spiffy that it was adopted by units on the American side - including Lee's Legion. It went on to adorn the Royal Horse Artillery in the Napoleonic wars - a significant fashion accomplishment.

I'm almost at the end of my AWI painting project - although now I'm planning a Rebel's & Patriots game instead of Black Powder I need to bump up my 20 man units to 24 (so that they each make two standard 12s).

12 mounted for 120 points. Figures are Perry 28mm.

__________________________________________________________________

Next up, we have an entry from Pete. Wait, British on Fridays? But it's French Fridays! Well, English is just French corrupted with, well, everything, so there!

The Tarleton hat is quite spiffy! You've also done a nice job highlighting it, so we can see the furry crest in all it's spiffiness. Especially compared to the rest of the uniform, which is very bland by 18th century standards, and almost modern in cut.

Very well done! 120 points in the book for you.

From PaulSS: Hundred Years War French men at arms (61 points)

This week I finished off the last six French mounted Men at Arms from the box of Perry Miniatures Agincourt Knights. I'm not usually somebody who enjoys painting cavalry but these have been a delight to get done.

The standard is Comte d’Alencon from Battle Flag and is carried by a mounted sergeant made up from one of the lighter bodies in the set.

Of these last six I used three of the lighter armed bodies in hauberks and aketons, as I mentioned before if you buy a box of the figures directly from the Perry's it makes a lot of sense to buy the extra medieval horses as you shall get 18 figures out of the box rather than six.

Here are some individual close-ups, the first being a mounted sergeant in the livery of the city of Rouen.

The second is a mounted sergeant carrying the standard of the Comte d’Alencon.

Finally, a mounted man at arms in white armour with arms azure a chevron or. A design from my own imagination, there were about 16000 French men at arms at Agincourt, somebody must have had this.

I thought that as I had completed all the Agincourt Knights that I bought this would be a good place to show a group shot of all 18.

With six 28mm mounted troops and one standard this should be worth 61 points towards my total and also contribute to the Hither do I Challenge Thee (SD4) duel.

__________________________________________________________________

And your usual Friday entry, to your usual excellent standard! As was said last week, the armor of Agincourt falls in a weird spot for me, but you make it look very splendid. You've absolutely captured the feel of cavalry in motion with these fellows.

Exquisite work there, Paul!

61 points go n the book.

Friday Follies, Part IX!

This week, we bring you yet another selection of things French . . . and French.

We have French, and cavalry, and a hyperspace bypass, and things Epic, and some galling Gauls, and who knows what other things of French extraction we can dig up!

Allonzy!