From StuartL - Estonian Legion - History & Sarah's Library Cart - 161 Points

Hello all,

One of the fun things about the challenge is that is encourages you to learn more about the subjects you are painting, and to actively go out and find new things. As my case in point for today, I have ended up researching an area of WW2 that I previously didn't know much about. 

In August 1942, the Wehrmacht created the Estonian Legion, a combat support formation of the Waffen-SS. It was originally formed of volunteers, and later augmented with some 700 men from the police forces. During this period, it was an active participant in many of the Nazi regimes crimes against humanity, particularly in the occupied areas of Belarus and Poland. 

    

As the military situation worsened in the East in 1943, the Germans began to conscript Estonian men into the legion and its numbers swelled up to about 6000. The Legion was moved away from police duties and started to see combat against Soviet forces. As things got even worse, the Germans organized a second round of drafts in '44. This time, the Prime Minister of Estonia, Juri Uluots endorsed the conscription. Seeing the possibility of a German defeat in the near future, Uluots thought that it would be a good idea to get as many guns into the hands of Estonian patriots as possible to help secure their independence once the Nazis were beaten. As a result 38,000 Estonians signed up. 

These minis are all from Warlord Games' old range of metal Waffen-SS figures. The detail on some of them isn't as crisp as it could be, but they're not too bad. The separate heads allow for some different poses and customization.

I bought a bunch of these figures years ago when Bolt Action first came out and still have a load more in my to-do pile. They are equipped with all sorts of gear, from SMG's to Assault Rifles to Panzerfausts. 

In total there are 21 models, but two of them are lying prone, so will only score 2.5 points each.

   

The late war German supply chain was a mess, so I have painted these guys up in a variety of camo patterns. Plane Tree, Oak Leaf and Pea Dot are the names of the patterns I was using. Some of the minis have a mix of patterns on them, which made the process way longer than it could have been. Still, they give a good impression of an army logistics department that is getting by by the skin of its teeth.

So, with the history section finished it is time to move on to Overdue and Returns. Sadly, these models are still Overdue and won't be putting in an appearance until 2024 I think. Still, I can hop onto Sarah's Library Cart and get over to the correct section. 

As is standard, I have a female mini to pay for the trip, a Minotauress, (Minotaurina? Lady Minotaur?). As I was already painting up one model, I grabbed a couple of companion figures for her from my collection and here we have the results. 

As with nearly all of my fantasy submissions, these are Reaper Bones minis. The two male Minotaurs are the older type with softer details, whereas the Minotauress in the centre is the newer type and is a lot higher quality. These models will find a home in the skirmish game I am working on.

The models were all started from a brown undercoat, with the various colours selectively brushed over the top followed by a sepia wash. A final highlight of the skin and cloth finished them off pretty quickly.

The models look quite slender, but they are actually quite large, as you can see from this comparison with the rather scared looking SS Grenadier.

So, the scores should be:

21x 28mm minis (2 prone) = 100 points

3x 40mm minis = 21 points

History Section = 20 points

Sarah's Library Cart = 20 points

TOTAL = 161 Points

For my duels:

Skulls +0 = 32 Skulls

Legions +100 = 140 Points

__________________________

Great work on these Estonians, Stuart. They provide an interesting, albeit grim, slice of their national history and an creative take on the 'legion' challenge. I like how you deftly created the mottled sense of their uniforms and kit that would be apparent during the unravelling, late-war period. The Minotaurs are very impressive and I like that Reaper provided a female version as well - not something you often see! Well done!

- Curt