From MikeW 28mm Norman Foot (235 Points)

As I start writing-up this post (Sunday evening), I'm not sure if I'll make the cut-off for Monday 24th January, I've just varnished 47 of these little chaps and still have to apply the shield art and then base and photograph the outcome!

All 47 of the little Norman blighters! Finally finished in eth nick of time.

I think I bit-off a little too much to chew this week, what with the mounted Normans plus the Zombies all jostling for priority to get completed. 

First batch of five Norman Foot

More Normans...

So here are 47 Victrix Norman Foot, for a description on how these were painted I'll refer you back to my previous post on the Norman Cavalry! Exactly the same process here but no horse flesh. I'm reasonably pleased on how these turned out, they will greatly bolster my Norman forces for the Battles of 1066.

A group of largely unarmoured Normans, the guy on the right has leather armour

A group of chain mail clad Normans

There are 19 chain mail armoured guys here, 12 in Leather armour and 16 unarmoured guys, the majority are armed with a spear although the rest have swords, axes or maces as their primary weapons, each carries a kite shield.

Yet another batch of Norman Foot!

... and more. I really like the Victrix figures, more detail than the Conquest Games version of the same,
that said they are probably a little less robust on the gaming table!

So as it happens - I literally completed these little guys 20 mins before a self imposed deadline of mid-day on Monday. Hopefully they'll meet the posting schedule! Note to self - after all by blabbering about preparation in my last post - pick a sensible number of figures to paint in one batch. 47 is probably too big!!

Four more Norman Foot

Another five...

Another five!

The last three Normans

And lastly a quick video of all the figures on the workbench.

POINTS

47 x 28mm Foot = 235 POINTS

Forty seven figures Mike?  Did you use a random number generator to come up with that, or is there a 48th stuck in limbo so that you can make two 24 man units?

Anyway, ramblings on prime numbers aside, these are great.  I am glad that you got these done in time to get them posts.  We look forward to seeing the hordes that roll of the assembly line for next week.

From StuartL - Continuing round the ring - Cybertron, Arrakis and LV426 - 85 Points

This is my final entry for today and is just a quick blitz of several planets. Having finished up the outer orbit, I am now heading inwards, down through the Great Abyssal. This brings me out at Cybertron in the middle ring, the theme for which is robots. Having already painted up a load of robots earlier in the challenge, I decided to do paint some models that are technically not true robots but that hopefully still count, two mechs from Battletech. These figures are from the Battletech beginner box and are cast as one piece plastic figures. 

These models are a Griffin and a Wolverine mech and are painted in the colours of the 10th Lyran Guards. I did a few models in the same colour scheme in last year's challenge, so these will be added to that force. The models are roughly the same height as a GW space marine. I think Battletech mechs are usually scored as a 28mm infantry figure rather than an 8mm scale vehicle. I'll let the minions adjust the points if need be.

Continuing in my clockwise orbit I head over the Arrakis where one of the themes is Worms. In my big pile of Reaper Bones minis, I found two suitable minis quite easily. They are very well textured, so I was able to do them in a simple base, wash, drybrush style and get the bulk of them done quickly.

Each model is roughly 28mm in scale and I will probably use them as wasteland critters in This Is Not A Test. One of them is sporting a skull on its base, so that is one more for my tally.

And finally, we head over the LV426, where the theme is Aliens. Personally, I find H R Gigers' Xenomorph creations truly horrifying, so I'll have to settle for the next best thing, a Genestealer from Games Workshop. An alien lifeform that exists in the void of space, lays it's eggs in unwilling hosts and acts as a living weapon that can destroy civilizations, I don't think GW were particularly subtle about their inspiration for this monster.

The figure is one of the original plastic models from the Space Hulk board game released decades ago. The model was painted up with several washes and a bit of contrast paint. There aren't two rows of eyes on it's head, the upper one is actually a spot of sepia wash that I was using to break up the overall pale look of the mini.

By my count, there are 5x 28mm models for a total of 25 points, plus 3 locations for an extra 60, giving me an extra 85 points for my score and bringing my challenge entries today to a close.

Skullz Total: 57

Final post and you've hit three planets, you have been busy.  I like the two tone mechs in the first photo.  I'll be sending one of those worms round to Barks to make sure that he's got the Skullometer working properly, it should fit in with the rest of the fauna in Oz.

From FrederickC: No. 11 (Scottish) Commando in North Africa (Arrakis) (90 points)

 

Well, I booked a quick jaunt on Lady Sarah's Star Yacht. "But, Frederick," you say, "Arrakis is right next to LV426. You don't need to use the Star Yacht to get there." That is true, but the protocols said that everyone who visits Acheron has to spend a week in quarantine. Well, after a week of that, with nothing but protein shakes or Red Kibble on the menu, I was ready for some luxury. I booked a flight aboard the Star Yacht so that I could enjoy a vat-grown steak washed down with a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster. 😋

Here we are, now at Arrakis. I can't say that I am impressed. Don't get me wrong. The Grand Palace of Arrakeen is pretty imposing, but as for the rest, it's just Tatooine with giant worms. I was able to get a small resupply of fuel pellets, and I just learned that their biggest export is something called 'spice melange'. When I asked if I could buy some, you know, to give my next dish of Mariner Valley lasagna a bit of a kick, suddenly all the locals get downright shirty. 

"It's not for cooking. Spice melange is the most precious substance in the Universe. The spice extends life. The spice expands consciousness. The spice is vital to space travel."

A load of old cobblers, if you ask me.

Anyway, back to Arrakis, and the theme of 'Desert'. With that in mind, I give you two sections of No. 11 (Scottish) Commando, who were involved in 'Operation Flipper'. These are the first British North Africa figures I have done, but I don't think they qualify for a 'Squirrel'. I kind of bought them by mistake, and didn't realize until I opened the blisters that half of the figures were wearing shorts or 'Bombay Bloomers'. I was planning to just sell them unpainted online, but when I saw the 'Desert' theme on the Challenge Quadrant I thought, "I have just the figures for that theme."

The miniatures are by Artizan Designs and consist of an officer in a Balmoral, a sergeant wearing a Tam O'Shanter and kilt with kilt apron, and a dozen soldiers armed with a mix of SMLE No. 1 Mk IIIs, Bren guns, or Thompson submachine guns. I found the detail very pronounced, which made them quite enjoyable to paint, especially after painting all those PSC Soviets. In my usual style, I glued the figures onto 1" fender washers, added sand to the bases, and primed everything black using an airbrush. They were then painted using a selection of Vallejo acrylics suggested by the Artizan Designs painting guide for the 8th Army in North Africa. I also used some GW washes, specifically Reikland Fleshshade on all the skin areas, and Agrax Earthshade on the uniforms and weapons. All in all, I am pretty happy with the way things turned out.

 

Two sections of No. 11 (Scottish) Commando

No. 1 Section commanded by an officer

Close up of the officer with two supporting riflemen

No. 2 Section commanded by a sergeant

Close up of the sergeant with his kilt and kilt apron

 

The points being claimed are as follows:

14 x 28mm foot figures @ 5 points each = 70 points

Quadrant Challenge 'Arrakis' - 'Desert' - 20 Points

 

'Round and 'round we go!

 

I hope that you enjoyed your meal Frederick.  These Artisan figures are much more rounded than those PSC figures in your first post.   I quite like these Scottish Commandos, they look a tough lot with some interesting uni options.  Well done.

AdamC Two Spanish Ships of the Line (30 points)

These two ships are from Warlord's Spanish Ships of Renown.  I have come to think of this as the Trafalgar collection as participation in that battle that seems to be key criteria.

The two ships are Argonauta and Monarca. Both were built in the 1790s after the American Revolution. The only major Battles they took part in seem to be those of the Trafalgar campaign.

Argonauta with her bull or perhaps Minotaur (it has sixpack abs) figure head sports the Spanish "team" colors suggested by Warlord. The paint scheme looks great but is historically somewhat questionable. 

Still rule of cool so this 80 gun ship has this striking paint job. 

Monarca a 74 has a figured head of a noble woman (perhaps a queen).  The long broad yellow line actually appears in a painting of her at the Battle of Trafalgar so it was an easy choice.

The color choice will also work whelk when I swap her flag to bulk up a French or English fleet. 

3rd rates fall between three deckers 25 points, and Frigates 15 points so I would suggest 20 each points for these so 40 points overall. I had bigger plans this week but with Covid hitting our house this is all I was able to get done. Back to conquering planets next week (I hope). 

Best wishes dealing with COVID Adam, I pretty much lost two weeks to it .  I am glad that you got these two fine Spanish Men'o'War completed/  Nice work on these two, really like the stern galleries.  I completely agree with your scoring and am very surprised that there wasn't an existing score on this one before.  Must talk to Miles...

Bad news Adam, I checked with the SSOD and 3rd Rates are 15 points each.

From StuartL - Usuthu!! - Klendathu - 65 Points

I'm back again with my 3rd post of the week and finally wrapping up the outer orbit of the challenge sector. The theme for Klendathu is an invasion gone bad and the first British invasion of Zululand certainly fits that bill. In 1879, the British Governor in South Africa provoked a war with the neighbouring Zulu Kingdom (against the wishes of the British government it must be noted). This was followed by the British marching several columns of troops into Zululand in an attempt to destroy the Zulu army and break up the kingdom. Sadly overconfidence on the part of the British commander in chief (some may say incompetence), a lack of clear intelligence about the position of the Zulus main army and poor deployment saw two British columns suffering a severe defeat at Isandlwana and a third column put itself into a siege at Eshowe. While the later heroic defence of Rorke's Drift (as seen in the amazing, if inaccurate, movie Zulu) is probably the most recognizable part of the conflict, the battle at Isandlwana had a far greater impact on British capabilities and planning for the rest of the campaign.

When I am painting, I often listen to podcasts or watch Youtube. I recently watched a series about the Anglo-Zulu War on the Redcoat History Podcast channel. The presenter lives in South Africa and has spent a lot of time walking the battlefields and reading the various accounts of the war. On the channel, he often reads excerpts from the British soldiers who left written records of the war, and one of the things that struck me is that there was frequent mention of the Zulus using skirmishers. I have quite a large force of Zulus for Black Powder, but they are generally set up as large warbands (see the picture further down the page) rather than small skirmish formations, so I decided to put together just such a group.

While the typical image of a Zulu warrior is of a lightly armed tribesman wielding a spear, they did have a surprisingly large amount of firearms, especially after looting the British supplies at Isandlwana. They were notoriously poor shots, not being trained in the use of the weapons, though numerous British casualties were caused by rounds fired from British rifles. The models all come from Warlord games and are mainly built from the Married Zulus box set. I have included rifles from the Unmarried Zulus set and the Natal Native Contingent box for a bit more variety.

The black head rings mark these warriors as being married. Each warrior needed the kings permission to wed and it was only given to older men, so these fellows are obviously veteran fighters. The shields could belong to one of several different regiments, so I can use these models for the slaughter at Isandlwana, the meeting engagement at Nyezane river or for the British retribution at Ulundi.

So, for 9x 28mm models, I should be adding 45 points to my running total, plus an extra 20 points for the knocking back the invasion of Zululand by those terrible redcoats.

O thank goodness, three post in and you've finally got something more in my wheelhouse.  It's great to see some Zulus on the Challenge again.  And I agree while they work best in hordes, it's good to see some based individually for a change.  Great work on them.  Now let's make sure we've got ammo boxes for the Martini-Henris and get that jam cleared on the Gatling gun.

From David V - 40mm Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader (27 points) (Istvan V )

 

"You don't know the power of the Dark Side!"

Star Wars: Legion has a very nice injection-moulded plastic model of Anakin Skywalker as he appears during The Clone Wars and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. There are optional parts for a couple of cool poses. However, I decided to paint Anakin in a kind of "What if...?" scenario, as a somewhat older Darth Vader, who came out of his original fight with Obi-Wan in better condition, and does not usually need his armoured suit.

I assembled the pose with Anakin holding his lightsaber in his right hand, and casting a Force power with his left. The only gaps needing filling were across the shoulders of his tabard. I also set aside for use the head option with a more neutral expression.  

I black primed with Chaos Black, and airbrushed the lightsaber with Vallejo white, fluorescent orange, and red. I laid in zenithal highlights on the head with Vallejo Dead White. After affixing the head, I underpainted Anakin's face and left hand in Vallejo acrylics, with details and blending in artists' oils. I gave him greying hair, and made the sculpted facial scar fresh using Alizarin Crimson. 

I painted the tabard, right glove, and boots with Vallejo Grey Black. Light highlighting and details were added for his clothing and gear using artists' oils.

This is a similar project to my last year's submission of a young(er) Count Dooku, modeled when Jedi Master Dooku had just left the Order to defend his home planet. In Star Wars: Legion, the Anakin Skywalker character is part of the Grand Army of the Republic faction. I plan to use this version of Anakin/Vader as part of the Empire faction, using the rules for Vader’s Operative form.

Scoring: 7 points for a 40mm figure, plus 20 bonus points for Istvaan V: Betrayal; Heretical/Heretics or Loyalty/Loyalists. In either his canonical or this AU guise, Anakin betrayed his master and murdered countless innocents. Total = 27 points.

Fine work on these iconic SW figures David.  These are a perfect fit for the Challenge themes. I really like the shading and highlighting that you've worked into the blacks and also the dusty cloaks.

John B: Floppy berets and picklehaubes

Meanwhile, on the Hartsmannwillerkopf, some jaunty head gear… berets! (somewhat floppier than the one Curt wears when he zips around on his bicyclette…)

More home sculpted, drop cast homemade toy soldiers in 40mm scale. Remaining in the Belle Èpoche rut, (oh, what a lovely rut it is…) I have for offer, a unit of Chasseurs Alpins (18 figures), circa 1890-1914, a unit of German infantry in feldgrau und picklehauben (18 figures), and a unit of French infantry, 1890-1914 (18 figures), sans kepi cover.

 

 

 

I had a little trouble with the varnish on the Chasseurs. It came out mottled and cloudy. This figure has been a bit of an ugly duckling from the get go. I made the rifle too thick and the castings have come out with a fair bit of flash. I have replenished my varnish supply, and if nothing else, I hope these guys will do good service on campaign in the Vosges… win some, lose some I guess.

 

I realize that block painting and glossy varnish does not completely align with the ethos of the challenge, but I assure you that three or four hundred of these fellows on the table top is quite the spectacle. So much so, that it might inspire one to grow a droopy mustache à la Papa Joffre.

 

As for points, given my painting, I feel a little guilty taking 15 points for my modest efforts. I suppose sculpting, molding, and casting, could count for something, but it is a painting challenge after all.  I will stick with the program and humbly petition for the assigned 15 points per figure.

 54x40mm foot @ 15 7 points/figure = 810 378 points

Minion: if these are 54s then the 15 points applies, but think that they are 40mm in which case Tamsin is correct and the total is 378.

Total=810 points

 Next I hope to head to Galicia and to visit the polyglot and much underrated forces of Kaiser Franz-Joseph. I am assured there will be more champagne, gambling, and Italian actresses present than in any other headquarters.

 

Wow John, these are lovely.  Most of us get to blame the manufacturer on figure flaws, but as designed, caster and painter there's little room to hide for you.

You need to get rid of your guilty feelings and enjoy what you've done.   I am brooking none of your BS on these proper old school Toy Soldiers, especially not ones which are home cast in the Scale that All Other Scales Aspire to Be.  You haven't war-gamed if you've never flung matchsticks from spring loaded toy cannons at your opponents figures.

 

From StuartL - There are no Wolves on Glorantha - 120 Points

Hello all, 

Having made a brief stop at Istvaan V, I'm continuing on to Glorantha where the theme is Quests, Runes and Heroes. My entry for this planet should get at least two of those boxes checked as the models certainly have Runes on them and should hopefully count as heroes. Maybe they go questing too, I'm not 100% on that though. In my previous post, I said that I have several armies on the go for the Horus Heresy setting produced by Games Workshop, and this entry represents my starting point on a new one. The VIth Legion Astartes, the Vlka Fenryka, more commonly known as the Space Wolves.

First off, I have a dreadnought. This is pretty much the stock model from the Warhammer 40K Space Wolves range. It has a lot of detail on it to show it's origins including a wolf pelt, numerous runes, totems and talismans and a viking style shield on it's shoulder.

Unlike the other legions, the Space Wolves don't really bother with tactical squads and support squads, instead mixing all of their warriors together in units called Grey Slayer Packs. These are more like mini warbands than actual military units and can carry a wide variety of gear. This unit has been built from Heresy era power armour mixed with bits and pieces from the 40K space wolves kit to add character. Unlike the pale blue/grey armour seen in the usual 40K setting, Heresy era wolves sport a darker look to their armour. 

These 16 Grey Slayers are all equipped to get stuck into melee and dish out some damage as soon as possible. They also form the first core unit of my new army. I'll need a couple more big blocks of infantry to go alongside them before I can really start playing with this force.

So, for 16x 28mm models plus a vehicle, I should score a nice round 100 points. The planet adds a further 20 to that total. 

Between the dreadnought and the infantry, they have 27 skullz between them for that side duel.

Skullz Total: 56

More 30K lovelies for GregB!  Great work on these guys Stuart, they look grimly efficient.  If I may offer a suggestion, you might consider redoing the bases in a different earth tone and in the photos the bases meld into the figures which is a shame.