JohnB: 40mm Homemade Tirailleurs Senegalais (165 points)

Last post for today, and I've been saving this up as a reward to myself.

Something shiny this way comes.

My miniature preoccupation for some time has been the ‘bleisoldaten’ of the Belle Époche… makers like Wollner of Vienna, Spenkuch, Haffner and later, Holger Ericsson. I also  love Aly Morrison’s Shiny Toy Soldier range from Spencer Smith Miniatures. The old figures are hard to find and expensive and of course, shipping from the U.K. is prohibitive when one’s ambitions tend towards the megalomaniac hidden in all of us.

So… I make my own. I sculpt and gravity cast my own 40mm toy soldier style armies covering the rifle and saber era up to 1914. (I also dabble in the late 17^th and early 18^th century stuff…)

My first unit submitted to the painting challenge is a battalion of Tirailleurs Sénégalais circa 1914. Also, a regimental command stand of three figures with a wine foil flag and, à cheval, Le Beau Colonel, of the Colonial Infantry. He will command an ad hoc regiment of 3 battalions of Tirailleurs and 1 of Colonial Infantry. (Regimental photo perhaps to follow at a later date…) These are painted in a simple, old school, toy soldier style fitting to the figures and my limited talents.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Points wise, there are 21 foot figures and 1 mounted figure. Because of my simple old school basing, I will subtract 1 point per figure. (This simple basing jives with what I have done to this point with this project and the aesthetic of my old school games. The basing done by other folks in the challenge are exceptional… really good…)

So, I calculate:

21 x 40mm foot @ 6 points = 126 points

1 x 40mm mounted @ 14 points + 14 points

Total = 140 points

Thank you all for your consideration of these humble offerings and until next time, when we will encounter chausseurs of a different type sporting what might be considered the “jauntiest” of Belle Époche headgear. À la prochain, mes biffins.

Some marvellous shiny toy soldier stuff from Saskatchewan's own Jack Scruby (google it kiddos).  I have thought about doing home cast figures like these John but various family members have environmental sensitivities and I'd be kicked out if I tried it.  Plus I am so clumsy that I'd like find a way to pour molten lead in my ears.

I don't know how it works with 54s but I find that with 28s, getting them from the UK is the cheapest option!  Most firms deduct the VAT if you ask them and basically cancels out the shipping.  Plus Boris is doing such a great job the the exchange rate works on our favour.

Anyway back to the minis which are bloody marvellous and look splendid.  I'm not having any of the deduct a point for the basing.  There is a point deduction for no basing at all, which clearly doesn't apply.  Plus yours are bang on for the figures.  If it worked for Featherstone, Grant and Young then it works here.  Plus your get extra points for the flag (a wine foil home made how old school is that?) and cause I just love this stuff.  Sold for 165 points!

AdamC Nuestra Señora de la Santísima Trinidad Flawed Napoleonic "Death Star" 45 points (Ready)

 Some ships are truly legendary and the Nuestra Señora de la Santísima Trinidad usually called just the "Santisima Trinidad." 

Originally built as a 112 gun 3 deck ship of the line (First rate in English reckoning) in 1769. At some (possibly 1795) point she was increased to 130 or 136 or 140 guns.    The best information I can find on her armament is 3decks.org which says she had 136 guns and 4 swivel guns which no one would count as part of her rating. 

Her 4th Deck was actually just her spar-deck blanked over so it was flush allowing her to carry extra guns.  This gave her a few extra guns but also made her top-heavy and ponderous indeed one of her nicknames was: "El Ponderoso"  (another nick name was El Escorial de los mares royal palace of the sea... not a name that say "Battle Ready") 

She fought in the American helping capture 55 ships out of a 63 ship convoy defended by the Royal Navy.  

She faced the Royal Navy again in the Battle of Saint Vincent where she was forced strike but the English fail to take possession of her and two Spanish ships managed to rescue her.  She was not so lucky at Trafalgar where just ahead of the French Flagship she was a high priority target.  She was again dismasted and this time captured and then sank in the Trafalgar storm.   Her reputation as one of the "most powerful warships" is probably over blown.  

The French Ocean class was larger and with "only 120 guns" had  a broad side only slightly lighter than the Santisima Trinidad.  Her lack of Carronades meant that smaller British Ships of Line where much closer in strength than a simple count of guns would indicate. Still her massive size must must have made her an intimidating sight.  1st Rate ships of the line are 25 Points (or where last year) and the "no moon" add an extra 20 points. 

Great work on this gin palace Adam.  The Spanish navy had some fine ships and also some fine officers, but were sadly let down by their ministers and their choice of allies.  However if you do things early in the Revolutionary period you can ally the Brits and Spanish as they blockade Toulon.

From BradS. Communism in the Stars [Caprica][Death Star][Skaro] 160 points

We've got a late flurry of posts from the Monday crew.  First up is this one from BradS

 First I would like to say what an honor it is to be included in the Analog Painting Challenge. This is my first year here and I am a little overwhelmed. I thought I would be posting the first week of the challenge but getting painted done is a lot harder than I anticipated. That said, I am here posting my first efforts! 

My goal this year is to focus on my 28mm Vietnam and 28 Cold War games so many of my entries will reflect this. I have a huge pile of NVA and Soviets to do. 

I will start my journey on the planet of Caprica where a NVA .51 Gun Team lies in ambush for unsuspected Huey Helicopters.

The NVA figures are from the excellent Empress Miniatures Vietnam line. They have some great detail to them that make them a lot of fun to paint.

The .51 Gun Crew consists of 3 crew and in this case they are all female.

I also painted up two other NVA figures to act as security and ammo bearers for a total of six figures including the gun. For scoring I have 6 28mm figures at 5 points each for a total of 30 points. Add to that the Capricia bonus for a total of 50 points.

Next I am moving on to the Death Star : Of Questionable Design with my painted T-64. The T-64 is a perfect model for the planet as it invokes the technology superior Soviet design of the Cold War, yet it was never tested in battle. It was a dark threat to NATO during the late 60s and especially the 70s. I spent a lot of time on the T-64 painting and weathering. It really looks good in 28mm! Unfortunately I have at least 4 more to do!

This is a bobmack 3D model that I printed and painted.

The weathering is applied with oils and powders from the Ammo of MIG line of paints. It is a lot of fun to dirty up a vehicle like this.

For points I have 20 for a 28mm Vehicle plus 20 points for going to the Death Star make a total of 40 points for the T-64.

Next I am off to Skaro : Strange Doctors; Weird Robots with my 28mm Soviet Infantry. I have always thought of the Soviet Infantry as a kind of Robots. The idea of following strict doctrine and being part of a communist regime all add up to Robots in my head, perfect for the planet Skaro theme. 

The figures are from Underfire Miniatures 28mm Soviet line. They are easy to paint and a look great when done. Which is good because my goal is to paint up a platoon of 28mm infantry.

Luckily they are not wearing any camouflage which makes it much simpler to paint. I wish I could say the same for the British Army of the Rhine infantry I painted up!

I created a unique paint stand to make it much easier to paint up a group of figures. Here is the Soviet Infantry in their painting stand.

I also painted up a BMP to go along with the Soviets. It really rounds out their firepower and mobility.

I think they really turned out nice. For points I am calculating 6 28mm Soviet Infantry at 5 points each for a total of 30 points plus a 28mm vehicle for 20 points. This totals 50 points plus the planet bonus of 20 points for a total of 70 points. 

Point Summary

6 28mm NVA Infantry = 5pts each x 6 = 30 points

6 28mm Soviet Infantry = 5pts each x 6 = 30 points

1 28mm T-64 = 20 points

1 28mm BMP-1 = 20 points

Total 100 Points Base

Starting on Caprica: Doomed; Ambush (NVA Gun Team) 20 extra points

Going to Death Star: Hubris; Of Questionable Design (T-64) 20 extra points

Next going to Skaro: Strange Doctors; Weird Robots (Soviet Infantry) 20 extra points

Total: 160 Points

Well that is it for this week. You can look forward to more Vietnam figures and more Soviet figures in the near future.

Brad

Wow Brad terrific lost of Cold War kit and figures. I especially like the NVA gun in it's jungle emplacement. Next time around why not do one post per Challenge location instead of stuffing them all in one.

I will count the NVA post as 5 28mm figures @5 points plus 10 for the crew served weapon=35 points. I concur on the rest of your tallies. I've also added a Sarah's Choice label given the makeup of the 50cal team.

From FrederickC: Lord of the Rings Good, Bad, and Ugly [Caprica][Arda][Solaris][Vulcan] (100 points)

Better buckle up folks, Frederick's stepping on the gas pedal...

Having completed my first Quadrant Challenge at the Death Star, we are now going to head in the spinward direction at a High-G burn with four stops along the way. So strap in to your acceleration couches and come along for the ride. We won't beat Han Solo's record for the Kessel Run, but it will be close.

Last winter my painting focus was on whittling down my large collections of unpainted Dwarves, Goblins, Orcs, Rangers, and Uruk-hai from the Games Workshop Lord of the Rings range of miniatures, with a few character figures thrown in for good measure. That still left more than a few unpainted, and I thought some would lend themselves nicely to a few of the Quadrant XII Challenges. These are all 28mm metal miniatures released as blisters, or part of boxed sets. Alas, many of them are now out of production.

The first stop is Caprica (#2 on the map) with the themes of 'Ambush' and 'Doomed', featuring Lurtz and Boromir. Lurtz was the leader of the group of Uruk-hai scouts sent by Saruman to 'find the Halfings!' They successfully ambushed the Fellowship at Amon Hen, capturing Merry and Pippin, but also killing poor 'doomed' Boromir as well. Boromir, favorite son of Denethor, Steward of Gondor, had fallen under the power of the One Ring and tried to take it from Frodo. He redeemed himself at the end, bravely defending Merry and Pippin and killing many Uruk-hai, until Lurtz turned him into a 'human pin cushion', pierced by many arrows.

 

The next planet is Arda  (#3 on the map) with the themes of 'Fantasy' and 'Tolkienesque'. And what could be more Tolkienesque than Aragon himself, one of the long lived Dunedain, descendant of Isildur, and heir to the throne of Gondor. The miniature shows him as he appeared at the Battle of Helm's Deep, leading the counter-charge to plug the breach in the Deeping Wall.

 

Our third way station on the journey is Solaris (#4 on the map) with the theme of 'Deception'. Saruman and Grima Wormtongue were certainly engaged in the practice. Grima, the lackey of Saruman, filled King Théoden of Rohan with bad advice in the guise of wise council, all designed to undermine Rohan's ability to resist Saruman's war plans. In Saruman's case, there was also some 'self-deception' going on in his attempts to acquire the One Ring. Saruman was not deceived by Sauron; he deceived himself. He was delusional. Saruman never really chose to side with Sauron; he used his palantír to look into Mordor and was caught by Sauron. Saruman then feigned obedience to Sauron, but he continued to hope that he would find the Ring and use it to make himself master of Middle-Earth.

 

 

Our last stop on the Outer Ring is Vulcan (#5 on the map) with the theme of 'Pointy Ears'. In the world of Middle-earth, that would be the race of Elves as represented by Legolas Greenleaf, son of Thranduil, King of the Woodland Realm of Northern Mirkwood. Elves might also be logical, but their emotions run high with regards to their ancient quarrel with the Dwarves. Legolas set out from Rivendell as one of the nine members of the Fellowship. He and Gimli later accompanied Aragorn and the Grey Company on the Paths of the Dead. A handy fellow with a bow, to be sure.

 

 

The points being claimed are as follows

6 x 28mm foot figures @ 5 points each = 30 points

4 x Challenge Quadrant locations (Caprica, Arda, Solaris, Vulcan) @ 20 points each = 80 points

 

Next stop - the Middle Ring, a dive into a Warp Maelstrom, or a ride on Lady Sarah's Star Yacht? Only time will tell.

These are some well painted LotR figures Frederick, I especially like the Aragorn. And four challenge locations covered in no time.  As per my email yesterday, normally it would be best to have one post per Challenge location. In this case given that you presented them all at once and that they fit thematically, I figured lets's do a CostCo 4 pack.  Next year don't forget to take advantage of the two week free posting days (these are described in Curt's instructions) so as to not save everything up for your first regular day.

AdamC: USS Tyler 8 Points

 My second Entry the USS Tyler 

The Tyler was a converted merchant sidewheel steamer she actually got got shot at in January of 1861 before being turned into a warship. 

She got some extra heavy timbers as "armor" six 8" Guns and one 32 Pounder gun (which I think was mounted in the bow to fire though either of the front two gun ports) 

Tyler had an active war including a fight with CSS Jackson near Columbus Kentucky,  supporting  Grants army at Shilo, a battle with the CSS Arkansas a battle where she was wise enough to run when left by her consorts (due to damage) to fight her one on one.  

She supported the Siege of Vicksburg and then the invasion of Arkansas when union troops went up the White River.  Again I am counting her as 15mm Vehicle for 8 points.  

I do like the look of theses bodged together ACW "warships".  Nothing says protection like timberclad.  A fine looking addition to your brown water fleet Adam, nice work work on the wood.  

From FrederickC: Early-WW2 Germans (155 points)

 

My second submission for this year's painting challenge is a selection of early war units appropriate for a German Panzer Division. They include a squad of Kradschützen (motorcycle troops), a Sd.Kfz. 222 light armoured reconnaissance vehicle, and a platoon of Panzerkampfwagen I Ausf B light tanks.

The Kradschützen are a mix of Black Tree Design and Bolt Action miniatures for a total of nine figures on five motorcycles, with two where the passenger is riding in a sidecar, and two where the passenger is riding pillion. I picked up the two Black Tree Design motorcycles a number of years ago at an estate sale, and the assembly looked rather daunting with the bike, the handle bars, and the riders all being separate pieces. I wanted to flesh them out a bit, and ordered two motorcycles from Warlord Games where the passenger was riding in a side car. One more motorcycle was ordered a few years later, again from Warlord Games, but this time with the passenger riding pillion. If I thought Black Tree Design bikes were daunting, the ones from Warlord Games consisted of 10 separate pieces, and didn't come with assembly instructions. I was able to find those online, but to get everything to fit correctly was really tricky, especially since the handle bar and the driver's arms came as a single piece.

With much patience, I was successful in getting everything together so that it all looked right, although the drivers still don't seem to be sitting properly on the seat. The instruction for the bikes with side cars showed stowage satchels attached to the sidecar, but none came with the kits. I did get enough for a single bike in the kit with the passenger riding pillion. These got moved over to the sidecars, one to each, and the second stowage bin coming from my bits box along with a gas mask canister. Three of the bikes were mounted on long bases that came from Warlord Games, while the bikes with sidecars were mounted on bases cut from old plastic gift cards. Everything was primed in black and then painted with Vallejo or AK Interactive acrylics. They are now ready to take the field as part of the 8th Panzer Division.

 

The  Sd.Kfz. 222 light armoured car was another acquisition from the above mentioned estate sale. It was a multi-part metal casting which I think is an old Battle Honors kit. The scale looks closer to 1/48 than 1/56, and although the body is hollow, it still weighs in at 266g (almost 9.5oz). In fact, it is so heavy that the axles that came with the model were unable to support the weight without bending. I had to pull the wheels off again and replace the axles with lengths of florist wire that were much stiffer.

The fit of the pieces was pretty wonky, and I had to fill a number of gaps with epoxy putty. The rear fenders were a single piece that were difficult enough to fit to the chassis, but the front fenders were even worse. They came as two separate pieces, and the fit to the chassis just didn't work as all the angles were slightly off. Eventually I gave up and fashioned the front fenders out of a single piece of thin plastic card. Once all the fenders were in place, I made some headlights out of the heads of pushpins that I have filed flat on one side. Finally I added the shovel and the rolled tarp from my  bits box. The commander that came with the model was wearing an Einheitsmütze, which is more mid to late war, so I replaced him with a figure from a Bandai tank kit. The vehicle was painted in a similar fashion to the Kradschützen, and then some AK Splattereffects Dry Mud was applied. It will make a useful addition to my early war Germans.

 

Lastly I have a platoon of three 1/56 resin Panzerkampfwagen I Ausf B light tanks from Warlord Games that I purchased as part of a bulk order along with DallasE. I liked how he mounted his on bases to make them a bit more compatible with 1/48 and 1/50 scale vehicles, so I did likewise. Assembly was pretty straight forward with the tracks, etc, fitting well to the chassis. I used magnets to attach the turrets, countersinking them into the chassis and the turret itself. The only flaw was that two of the exhaust pipes were not well cast, so I carved the partly formed bits away, and rebuilt the exhaust with some copper wire and the insulating sleeve. These were then painted using the same technique as for the armoured car. They were then mounted on the bases that had already been prepared with most of the sand, paint, and flocking before gluing the vehicles in place. The red vehicle numbers and German crosses on the tanks are appropriate for the France 1940 campaign.

 The points being claimed are as follows:

10 x 28mm figures @ 5 points each = 50 points 

(I am counting the tank and armoured car commanders as half a figure each)

5 x 28mm 'mount' @ 5 points each = 25 points

(I am counting the motorcycles as a mount rather than a vehicle)

4 x 28mm vehicles @ 20 points each = 80 points

Lots of early German mechanized goodies here Frederick.  I quite like the motorcycle troops, they have a nice Wild Bunch vibe to them.  I think that you are correct on the scoring of the bikes, but no doubt someone (Tamsin?) will correct us if we are wrong.

From StuartL - One for the Arachnophobes - Arda - 40 Points?

Hello,

My journey around the Challenge Sector has brought me to the planet of Arda, a Tolkienesque place, filled with all sorts of magical and fantastic things. 

Back when the LotR trilogy came out, I went to watch the movies with some of my friends, one of whom is both a huge Tolkien fan and also a huge arachnophobe. Sitting through the Shelob scene in Return of the King was a lot of fun. So, when it became apparent that I needed to paint up something that fit the theme of Tolkien style fantasy, I knew exactly what I wanted to paint. 

This lovely looking eight-legged monstrosity is another figure from Reaper Bones. It came complete with a sculpted base that is strewn with skeletal remains. My wife refused to come into my hobby room while I was working on this.

The spider's front half and legs were painted up in light grey with some white highlights and then given a covering of contrast black. For the large abdomen, I went with a layer of vallejo silver and then a blue wash, which I think gives it a strange, yet menacing appearance. The eyes were done in a similar way with a green wash.

Here we have Jarl Hvat-Skael (a 28mm Viking model, not part of the entry) to help showcase just how large this gribbly beast is. The model's original base has been mounted on an old CD for added stability. 

So, for scoring, I'm guessing 20 points as this is easily the size of a vehicle, plus an additional 20 points for Arda, for a total of 40.

There are 4 skulls on the base that can go towards my noggin count.

My god Stuart that is a big spider!  I got a chuckle out of your arachnophobe stories, my wife has tales of me jumping out of my skin when we watched the Aragog sequence in Harry Potter.

Nice paint work on this arachnid although I am glad that it lives in Japan and that I won't be getting any closer to it.  There is Challenge lore regarding counting spiders as vehicles, but we'll save that saga for another mead hall.  40 points you shall have sir on my scoresheet and hopefully Barks has the Skullometer fired up.