From BenF: 20mm Royal Scots, WW2 (85 Points)

Operating under the principle of better late than never, here's my first entry for Analogue Challenge X. I was planning on my first entry being my initial step onto Challenge Island, but a combination of the first Christmas with our daughter Evie, and the catastrophic fires hitting the East Coast of Australia has meant that this hasn't happened. The fires have been quite scary, while we're in a suburban area about an hour north of Sydney, our house is surrounded by bushland. This has meant we've been watching the updates from the Rural Fire Service, have a 'go bag' packed, and have been blanketed with smoke with burnt bark and leaves falling in our yard. The closest fire got to 18km away, but wind directions changed and as I'm writing this we're having our first decent rainfall in a few months. That said tomorrow its back to 35 degrees Celsius, so it looks set to be a long summer.  As far as the challenge goes, my first entry has been driven more by necessity than design, as I needed more Second World War Brits for a game of Chain of Command this weekend gone, so this lot skipped up the painting queue.

This challenge, I'll be focusing on finishing up a few projects that have been sitting around for years - 15mm Macedonian / Antigonid Successors and Achaemenid Persians, some of which I spruiked way back in challenge VII. I'm also working through my 20mm Chain of Command British and German forces, replacing plastic figures with new offerings from Simon's Soldiers and Battlefield/Blitz. For Chain, I've also got a load of Russkies, including Eastern Front Terrain, a purchase inspired by a visit to Russia in 2018 and yet to see any paint, and I've also got a squad of Volkssturm to paint up, inspired by a viewing of JoJo Rabbit (great film by the way). Paper uniforms, overweight Nazi officials, and a Hitlerjugend Panzershreck team anyone?

Another long-dormant project is my Star Wars Legion Rebels and Imperials. I've received a gorgeous 3D prints from Skullforge Studios of 'space baby' and 'the Hunter', definitely inspired by a certain Mandalorian and little green child in a recent Disney+ TV show, so cant wait to get the paint on them. Some 6mm Napoleonics and Cold War will most likely make an appearance, as will a few Black Seas ships. That's the plans anyway...

For this entry is a bunch of Late War British troops from Simon's Soldiers. These are by the same sculptor as the Battlefield/Blitz range, and I love the dynamic sculpting style. While I do love AB, I find Simons/Battlefield better suited to my idea of a skirmish game, with troops looking as though they are under fire. I've painted these all up from the 11th Royal Scots Fusiliers, part of the 49th (West Riding) Division which saw action following the D-Day landings from the Battle of Rauray in June 1944 to the end of the War. After blunting several ferocious counterattacks by II.SS Panzer Corps at Rauray, Nazi propagandist Lord Haw-Haw gave them the nickname the 'Polar Bear Butchers', after their polar bear divisional patch. So I simply had to try to replicate the famous patch.

First off, a few commanders, or 'Big Men' as they're titled in Chain of Command. These are replacements for some old Plastic Soldier commanders, and include the lieutenant, platoon sergeant, and three corporals, each commanding one of the sections. Great sculpting on these figures, I particularly like the Lieutenant and the corporal in the jerkin.

Next, a 2" Mortar team, and two Bren teams. The 2" mortar is a valuable bit of kit for the Brits, as while its HE round is in effect a glorified hand grenade, the smoke rounds can be used to mask those terrifying MG positions. You may notice that the loaders on the Brens are slightly larger and painted in a slightly different style. They're Kelly's Heroes sculpts, from my old collection of Chain of command Brits painted around 6 years ago. I couldn't find any loaders which matched the sculpting style of Simons/Battlefield, so repurposed the old ones. Needless to say, they're not part of the entry, but I have found it interesting to contrast my older style to the new. I must say I'm much happier with the smoother blending on the flesh which I use now.

Rounding out this entry are the riflemen, the backbone of the platoon. I know I've said it before, but these really are lovely sculpts. I like the posing, but also the little details like the tea mug hanging from a pack, or the figures sculpted with tam o' shanter caps and helmets slung.

That's it for this round, this lot fought valiantly in a game this Sunday gone, and met the fate of all freshly painted troops. As far as points, twenty 20mm figures should net me 80 points by my calculations.

My next entry should hopefully be up by the weekend, and it will be my first foray onto Challenge Island.

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Hi Ben, glad to have you among us in the 10th Edition of the Analogue Hobbies Panting Challenge. I'm sure I speak for everyone involved when I wish you and your family the best as you contemplate the fire situation. Given the ambient possible stress of dealing with a possible evacuation etc, it is impressive that you have painted anything at all, but then, one of the great things about this hobby is its ability to provide a fun escape from the demands of 1-to-1 scale real life. I certainly hope this can be the case for you!

The brushwork here is top shelf...the small markings on the shoulder, so many little things that make the quality of these fellows really stand out. Well done! 

As someone who has ranted repeatedly at AB's tendency to sculpt beautiful WW2 figures in poses that have them just standing around, I am thrilled to discover "Simons Soldiers" from this posting, and expect I will shortly melt my credit card with an order for some 20mm figures...

OK, for points, yes, these castings provide a base of 80 points, but I'm throwing in five points for painting shoulder patches. Well done!

GregB