From Mike W - 25mm WW2 British (76 Points)

Amazingly I have finished a 4th batch of figures this week, here are 19 x WW2 British Infantry, mostly weapons teams, command or communication bases. The figures are plastic 25mm Valiant Miniatures which are sold as 1/72 figures but are rather oversized in my opinion.

WW2 British - Odds & Ends to complete an old job!

The Valiant Boxed Set allows you to build 68 figures, I made-up eth other figures quite some years ago and these are all that were left in my spares box, so I decided to paint them up for use.

There are two 2" mortar teams and an HMG team

There's actually also two much large mortar models in the set

Two Command Teams and a communication team

The guys pointing are actually also carrying a clipboard, whilst the kneeling officer has a Sten Gun.

A guy with a PIAT

PIAT resting on a low wall

And lastly a six man squad.

Five Riflemen with the classic Lee Enfield and an NCO with a Sten Gun

To make my point about the size of these figures,
a command stand next to the Kangaroo RAM and riders from an earlier post this challenge

So these guys were all undercoated in white, before overpainting with Valliejo 'English Uniform' which I'd lightened with some white paint. Webbing was then added using Citadel 'Nurgling Green' and setting aside to dry after adding brown boots for officers and black boots for other ranks.

Gunmetal was added as required for revolvers, rifles, Sten Guns and Binoculars after which Citadel 'Vermin Fur' was used for the rifles' woodwork. Flesh and hair was added before painting the helmets neat 'English Uniform' and then highlighting the leaves in a bright green.

All was then washed in a watered down Army Painter Dark Shade and then matt varnished.

POINTS

19 x 25mm Figures @ 4Points ea. = 76 Points

I am glad that you added the last photo for comparison Mike, as I  might have scaled you back on points here (see what Id did there?).  I am not familiar with this range from Valiant, not sure if they are the same folks who did Armada galleons back in the day but will have to check them out.  Some nice it rather static poses here, I quite like the officers with clipboards.  This is a must for any operation.

And four posts today?  I thought you were slowing down?

From FrederickC: Skirting 'The Great Abyssal' aboard Lady Sarah's Star Yacht [Cybertron][Klendathu][Coruscant] (150 points)

 

We have left Arrakis behind us with a terrible case of sunburn, and I'm still shaking sand out of my boots and trouser pockets. The plan is to do a short hop over to Cybertron, and then take Lady Sarah's Star Yacht past the Great Abyssal to Coruscant with a quick stop on Klendathu along the way. So three stops in total and two yacht tickets. I plan to spend some time in the lounge while aboard the yacht to see if they can mix up a Blue Meanie like the ones they serve at the Blauwe Blome bar on Tycho Station.

Interstellar Yacht by Shusei Nagaoka

 

Cybertron (#9 on the map) - home planet of the Transformers, a shining metal, technological world, and the theme is 'Transformational/Transformative'.

Gandalf: Through fire... and water... From the lowest dungeon to the highest peak, I fought him, the Balrog of Morgoth. Until at last, I threw down my enemy and smote his ruin upon the mountainside. Darkness took me. And I strayed out of thought and time. Stars wheeled overhead and everyday was as long as a life-age of the earth. But it was not the end. I felt life in me again. I have been sent back, until my task is done.

Aragorn: Gandalf.

Gandalf: Gandalf? Yes... that's what they used to call me. Gandalf the Grey. That was my name. 

Gimli: Gandalf! 

Gandalf: I am Gandalf the White! I come back to you now, at the turn of the tide.

The figures of Gandalf the White on foot and mounted on Shadowfax are the older Games Workshop Lord of the Rings castings. I have included Gandalf the Grey in the photos for the 'Before' and 'After' comparison.

 

Klendathu (#10 on the map) -  home world of the Pseudo-Arachnids. The planet has many warriors and workers all over its surface. However, its brains and queens live deep underground and are capable of surviving an invasion by the Federal Military. The theme is 'An Invasion Gone Bad'.

 

On the morning of 19 August 1942, landing craft of the 2nd Canadian Division hit the beaches around the port of Dieppe. Red Beach, on the eastern half in front of Dieppe itself was assaulted by the Essex Scottish. The battalion was supposed to have armoured support from the 14^th Army Tank Regiment (The Calgary Regiment (Tank)), but the tanks arrived 15 minutes too late. LCT No, 2 landed three tanks of 13 Troop of 'C' Squadron - 'Cougar', 'Cheetah', and 'Cat'. 'Cougar' quickly became immobilized, and only 'Cheetah' and 'Cat' made it onto the Promenade. 'Cat' was able to take out a 47mm anti-tank gun near the harbour entrance,  however its 6-pounder gun, only able to fire solid shot, was mostly ineffective against the German defences. Eventually, 'Cat' made its way back to the beach, having fired off most of its munitions, and the crew abandoned it.

Churchill Mk III T68696 'CAT' is a repainted 1/50 Solido diecast model I acquired from a friend. It was originally painted in a desert yellow/olive green striped camouflage pattern for service in Tunisia, but I wanted it to match another Solido Churchill that I had that depicted 'Cheetah' (shown in the background). So the 'tank from Tunisia' was repainted using Vallejo Dark Earth, and then the vehicle name, numbers, etc. painted on freehand.

 

Coruscant (#11 on the map) - A city-covered planet, Coruscant is the vibrant heart and capital of the galaxy, featuring a diverse mix of citizens and culture. It features towering skyscrapers, streams of speeder-filled air traffic, and inner levels that stretch far below the world’s surface. The theme is 'Imperial'.

And nothing says 'Imperial' like a legionary of early Imperial Rome, equipped with lorica segmentata, gladius, and scutum. This is a 28mm plastic figure that came as a sample years ago with an issue of Wargames Illustrated. I was never sure what to do with it, and thought I might use it as a gladiator in our 'local arena'. I'm glad I had it on hand for this stop on the Challenge Quadrant.

 

Two tickets for Lady Sarah's Star Yacht - the two figures I painted for passage aboard the Star Yacht are (left to right) a Eurasian Solar Union SAW gunner from Ground Zero Games and a Rebel Commando from West End Games. Both date from the mid to late 1990's. I have painted them up in the colour scheme for the Ral Partha Galactic Grenadiers figures I use as 'Planetary Militia'. In the past I have used both GZG and WEG minis to augment the variety of poses and weapons in my squads.

 

 The points being claimed are as follows:

1 x 28mm vehicle @ 20 points = 20 points

1 x 28mm mounted figure @ 10 points = 10 points

4 x 28mm foot figure @ 5 points = 20 points

3 x Challenge Quadrant locations (Cybertron, Klendathu, Coruscant) @ 20 points each = 60 points

2 x Lady Sarah's Star Yacht @ 20 points = 40 points 

Blue routes were via Lady Sarah's Star Yacht

Time to drop into the Inner Ring
 

You're just rocketing around the planets here Frederick.  Nice work on Gandalf the White, really like those sculpts.  And yes, as we discussed in advance (see Ray he ran it past me in advance) I'll buy this as a transformation.  No arguments on Dieppe as an Invasion gone wrong and well done on those doomed Churchills.   I think I have that Legionary somewhere too, great job on the shield.  And finally nice to see some vintage SciFi figures given some love.

JamesM: Moar Battlefleet Gothic! (44 points)

Hi folks,

As I enjoyed painting Battlefleet Gothic ships last week, I decided to keep on with some of the models I had at hand. Nothing to do with a wizened old man from Stoke telling me to keep painting what I'm enjoying... honest. 

Long range scout groups need logistics support to keep operating deep in unexplored space (and scenario games required objectives), so I painted up a couple of GW metal transport vessels along with a resin 'large transport'. I also completed another of my recovered 'Ork' cruisers and some Cobra Destroyers. 

I've stuck to the same paint scheme as the previous models, figuring these transports are Imperial Navy ones. 

The larger (light cruiser) sized vessel came via Ebay from a chap who makes his own kits. This one I went with all cargo modules - I have another in the paint queue that is armed and will be painted as a Rogue Trader. The smaller transports are original GW metal ships.  

Here we have the Imperial Navy 'Scout' Cruiser 'His Vengeance' and Cobra Destroyers from the 'Wrath of Saint Drusus' squadron. 'His Vengeance' is another hull retrieved from Ork hands, with a new resin prow added to the shortened plastic GW cruiser hull. This ship and it's sister ship were so badly damaged that I ended up turning the hull upside down to show the less damaged underside. This involved also turning the weapons batteries around and fitting a new bridge, dorsal weapons and a under prow lance. Stats wise I'd probably just count this as a Dauntless with prow lance weapon. The damage to the thrusters were also covered by extending the hull using a bit from a plastic cruiser bridge. 

The Cobras are original GW models, which I've ended up with an odd number of somehow. This squadron is named after one mentioned in the Rogue Trader RPG fluff.  

Expect GW to announce a re-release using a new scale some time soon (that's what normally happens to me). 

Points wise:

2 x small cruisers (15mm vehicle equivalent) = 16 points

7 x escorts sized ships (15mm gun equivalent) = 28 points

Total: 44 points

I've been enjoying the resurrected Battlefleet Gothic kit you've been putting together James.   As a surface navy gamer I appreciate that you've taken the time to include the all important transports which add considerably to scenario options.  Again the red/yellow mock rams are fantastic.  Well done.

MikeW Warlord Games ACW Epic - Union Regiment (216 Points]

I've had these figures under my workbench pretty much since they were released by Warlord Games, about a year or more ago, the concept really caught my imagination, although I have a pretty large 15mm ACW collection, I wanted to get in on this bandwagon.

The Union Infantry Regiment with accompanying mounted Officer and Artillery Battery

I did paint-up one stand of Rebel figures but my enthusiasm was dampened by the fact that my old eyes were not quite up to the job (in my opinion!). There's a reason why my preferred gaming & painting scales have gradually increased from 15mm to 25m to 28mm and now the heroic 32mm figures!

So the sprues have languished under the workbench until now. With Warlord now releasing their Napoleonic Epic figures and hinting that there may be other period in the works I thought it time to retry the concept!

Close-up of the Infantry Regiment

So here is a 'bog standard' Union Regiment of 100 figures on five stands. I undercoated these all with Ultramarine Blue - yes a departure from my usual white. I thought that due to the scale it might work better to go with a base colour that needed little further work.

I added sky blue trousers the same evening - although these had to be retouched due to me missing a lot of detail - due to poor light. Lesson learnt! Boots, hats and belts were added in black, I used a Black Sharpie pen for the belts but paint for the rest.

Close-up on Officer and Infantry

Muskets were done in brown and then steel barrels added before adding in brass details on muskets, belt buckles etc. Flesh was then added along with a variety of hair colours.

I then spent quite some time fixing my mistakes and better defining details etc before applying an Army Painter Dark Wash.

Close-up on Artillery and Infantry

Basing was tricky - I added one rank at a time, with fine sand and electrostatic grass, before repeating when adding the second rank. 

I did a similar process for the gun and officer figure.

Close-up on Artillery Battery

Controversially, when it came to points I have taken a per figure value of 1.5 Points each. In my opinion these are not 15mm figures, they actually match 12mm figures pretty well, so I have gone for a mid point value between 10mm & 15mm figures as noted on the Challenge listings.

Finally a close-up on the Officer, apologies for the quality of the shots,
photographing such small figures is a challenge in its self!

TOTAL POINTS

100 x 12 15mm Foot                 = 200 Points

4 x 12 15mm Artillery Crew       =  8 Points

1 x 12 15mm Gun                       = 4 Points

1 x 12 15mm Mounted Officer = 4 Points

TOTAL                                  = 216 Points

A 100 man unit isa bog-standard in 15mm?  You are out epic scaling Yorkshire Ken at that rate Mike!  My eyes have pushed me into scale creep too, I nearly got into 54mm gaming at a couple of points.  But no less of focus on these lads, they look great up close and even better  lined up en masse.  Conventional Minion wisdom (i.e Tamsin) tells me that the Warlord Epic figures have been scored at 15mms so I've adjusted your points accordingly.

From Frederick C: A Mixed Bag of WW2 Vehicles (190 points)

 

I had a hard time focusing this week, ricocheting around from project to project without seeming to get closer to completion. Eventually things started falling into place, and I ended up with 9 completed vehicles. Some of these have been sitting in my 'IN' box for over a decade, so it felt good to finally get them ready for the gaming table.

First up is a DUKW with a British RASC driver. This was a toy dating from the 1960s that originally belonged to my younger brother. It suffered some 'battle damage' at some point, and my brother was no longer interested in it. I thought I might be able to fix it, and it seemed like the right scale for 28mm gaming. In fact, measuring its length and comparing it to the length of an actual DUKW, it works out to be 1/56. The only 'flaw' is that it only has a single axle in the rear instead of two. I have no idea who manufactured it, but it reads 'NOVELTY' and 'Made in Hong Kong' on the bottom. 

 

The original toy showing the 'battle damage' that needed repair.

 

The broken pieces near the back and the front right wheel well were filled in using epoxy putty, while the front windshield was fashioned from pieces of clear plastic cut from a CD case. The crates and fuel drums came from a Bandai Maultier kit, and the driver is an old Bolt Action jeep driver that I had in my 'bits box' along with the rolled up tarp. It is now ready to ferry supplies or a squad of commandos across a river or from ship to shore.

 

 

Next up is a Kübelwagen Type 82/3. This was a mock-up scout car/armoured vehicle with a machine gun-turret atop the cabin. It was apparently built for decoy and training purposes. I bought this from Wargames Foundry decades ago. It came with the Feldgendarm, but I only painted up the 'Kettenhund' as I couldn't decide the colour scheme that would be most appropriate. Eventually I thought Panzer Dunkelgrau would do just as well as any other colour, and now it's finally done.

 

 

Third on our list is a Bandai 1/48 SdKfz 3 Maultier that I picked up off Ebay. This was another project where I couldn't decide what colour to paint it, but I finally decided to go with Panzer Dunkelgrau with an Olive Green striped camouflage suitable for the Russian Front. The tarp was painted Tan Earth and given a wash of GW Agrax Earthshade. I then liberally applied Vallejo European Dust wash everywhere. The kit came with a cargo of four petrol drums and two large crates, but since nobody would see them with the tarp in place, I used them for the DUKW.

 

Next is a 3D printed French Panhard 178 armoured car that was from the same run as the two painted by Fellow Conscript DallasE. I used a different paint scheme that is based on a surviving example in the Musée des Blindés in Saumur, France. I used Vallejo Gunship Green and Chocolate Brown with a sharp black line in between. I left off the fifth wheel, but added a muffler on the right side made from a piece of plastic sucker stick. Sometimes it helps a recce unit to not be heard, as well as not be seen. The decals were all ones that were kicking around in my files, so I didn't have to free hand any roundels. 

 

The fifth item is a group of four M5 Half-tracks to provide some additional armoured lift capability to my 2nd Canadian Division. I am not sure if these were used in any of the infantry divisions, so I may have to mark them up for the 4th Canadian Armoured Division. The models are either Corgi or Solido 1/50 vehicles that all came in different colours and configurations. One was an ambulance version that had a tarp on it, and the back door was cut out. The tarp was tossed in the 'bits box' while the missing door was replaced using thin plastic card. Everything was painted a uniform colour and then 'muddied up'. The verdict is still out on what stars should be added and where, but the vehicles are now ready to take to the field and move a platoon of infantry in relative safety on the battle field.

 

The last vehicle of this post is a Warlord Games 1/56 resin and metal M10 Achilles mounting a 17 pounder. While this is a newer acquisition compared to some of the other vehicles, it sat on the shelf for a while before being assembled. When it arrived, the tracks were warped and didn't form a clean fit with the chassis. A bath in some boiling water and some careful pressure in the right places straightened things out to an acceptable degree and things proceeded readily from there. Two of the crew in the turret are part of the resin casting while the third crewman is in metal. All came with separate heads which can provide some variety if you want to field more than one. The tarps were added from my 'bits box'. 

The only two Canadian units that used 17pdr M-10s were the 4th Anti-Tank Regiment RCA of the 5th Canadian Armoured Division; and the 7th Anti-Tank Regiment RCA of the 1st Canadian Corps Artillery. Both Regiments would have had two batteries of towed 17pdrs and two SP batteries with 17pdr M-10s

 

The points being claimed are as follows:

9 x 28mm vehicles @ 20 points each = 180 points

2 x 28mm foot figures @ 5 points each = 10

(I am counting the three crew of the Achilles as one)

As I said in the title, it is definitely a mixed bag of vehicles, but they are now all done.

A fine collection of WW2 kit from a wide variety of sources.  For the me the best of the lot is the DUKW, but mostly due to its provenance.  I can see the pony tailed toy expert on Antiques Roadshow giving you grief for the conversions of the vintage toys however.  That Kubelwagen mod looks far more dangerous than the original, at least as far as the occupants would be concerned. I also realy like the weathering and tarps on the Canadian AFVs and the camo on the Panhard.

From Mike W - 28mm Warhammer Lizardmen Riders (50 Points, Squirrel)

 A busy week at home and work this week so I have reduced my output accordingly, that said I'm hoping for anther three posts by the weekend. This one is a set of Warhammer Mounted Lizardmen - I have a second foot unit to complete in a later week as I am waiting on a delivery of appropriate shields from eBay!

The completed unit of five Saurus Riders on Cold Ones

I really liked the idea of a Lizardman Amy but never really got around to it - so I have dragged these figures out of the drawers to submit this year. They were originally rescued from the loft during last year's challenge but I never worked up enough enthusiasm to tackle them before now.

Another view of the unit

As ever I started with a white undercoat, the Cold One beasts - I decided to do Blue and Green. Blue underbellies and Green scales and hide, the riders were to be Yellow-ish and Green to give some contract but an overall Green feel.

Close-up of the Unit Commander

Maybe that's why I never really got round to painting the Lizardmen army - with a large Orc collection - there was just too much green!

I used a dark green on the upper part of the bodies and then lighter blue or ochre tones for the underbellies. When dry, I dry-brushed each with lighter tones to get highlights before applying a Blue, Green or Light Brown wash appropriately to the figures.

Claws, horns, teeth and skulls were picked out in an ivory colour before these were washed and given a highlight with the original colour again. Weapons were painted black, to represent an exotic jungle ebony wood and highlighted grey. Shields, saddles and standards were painted deep red, washed in brown ink and then highlighted with a bright red that is somewhat translucent and thus merges in well.

Gold was represented by Vallejo Brass, with a brown wash over it - there is plenty of bling on these guys.

I completed the figures with a fine sand base and electrostatic grass and tufts.

With a Squirrel point for a new subject matter, I believe that this takes me to 8 Squirrels.

POINTS

5 x 28mm Mounted Figures = 50 Points

So this is Mike on reduced output everyone!  Great work on these Lizardmen.  I quite like this army too with it's faux Aztec imagery and the possibilities of painting up various species to reptiles.  Really nice work on these guys, like the green and blue colouration on the mounts and nice casework.