Welcome to the Painting Challenge. Here you will find the fabulous, fevered work of miniature painters from around the world. While participants come from every ethnicity, gender, age and nationality, they have three things in common: they love miniatures, they enjoy a supportive community, and they want to set themselves against the Challenge. This site features the current year's event along with the archives of past Painting Challenges. Enjoy your visit and remember to come back soon.
Saturday, 11 January 2025
From MattL: 68th Regt. Pennsylvania Vol. Inf. • "Scott Legion" (85 Points)
From ColeF: Open The Pizza Dungeon! (110 points)
We were getting real close to that mid January cut off for first submissions (Sloth? Is that you!?) and I frantically spent the last two nights painting.
First, we have an old Wizkids cannon I've had sitting on my desk for almost 5 years, primed, but never completed. I challenged myself to go from primed to fully painted in a half hour, since it's mostly just a prop piece. Even though I'm not totally happy with it, I'm glad I got it off the bench, and out of LIMBO.
Next up, is a Reaper Bones Rakshasa, one of the main villains, Vimanda, of my Pathfinder Curse Of The Crimson Throne campaign. Sadly, I had never gotten around to painting her before the campaign came to a conclusion! She was one of the main string pullers, using her guiles to appear as a beautiful woman, make men LUST after her, then force them to do her bidding.
First time doing jewel style for the eyes and screens. |
(My nephew pointed out the troll has a 'juicy dumper', and I can't deny he's right) |
1x Large Cannon (54mm?) @10 Points = 10 Points
Limbo, Lust, Gluttony Ring Travel Points = 60 Points
100 Total Points.
From FrederickC: Braving the Box Barrage - Der Gegenstoß (160 points)
Germans Stormtrooper in Action by Gerry Embleton |
My third submission for AHPC XV is a group of 28mm First World War German infantry from Renegade Miniatures that I bought along with last Saturday's Canadians on the same visit to Calgary some fifteen years ago. It consists of four sections of eight soldiers. Each section contains men armed with rifle and bayonet, fighting knives, entrenching spades, and lots of stick grenades. These sculpts are also a bit on the chunky side compared to other First World War miniatures, but I like the variety in the weapons being carried. The only real criticism I have is that I think the puttees should go higher. These only come up to mid-calf, but photos clearly show them coming up to just below the knee. Alas, they are also now out of production.
After cleaning up the mold lines, etc. the figures were glued to 1 inch fender washers, and then sand was glued down with PVA. I primed them using a rattle can of Army Painter Uniform Grey primer. The figures were then painted using primarily Vallejo Acrylics as follows: skin - Flat Flesh; uniform - German Field Grey; boots, pouches, and helmet chin strap - German Camo Black Brown; puttees - one of Charcoal Grey, Hemp, or Parched Grass; Blanket - Stone Grey; rifle stock, grenade handle, and spade handle - Beige Brown; spade - Gunmetal; metal rifle parts - German Grey; bayonet and knife blades - Steel; mess tin and gas mask canister - Charcoal Grey; helmet - one of AK Interactive Dunkelgrau, Olivegrun 1 or Olivegrun 2.
Once all the painting was completed, the figures got my usual treatment with Army Painter Strong Tone Quick Shade. Again, this worked very well on these figures as the detail is quite pronounced, so the quick shade flows readily into any grooves or corners.
On an historical note, German tactical doctrine following the Somme battles was 'defence in depth' with the forward zone only lightly held by machine gun posts. They were to just slow down the enemy, not stop them. Any ground lost in the main zone was to be regained by an immediate counterattack before the enemy could consolidate their gains. The box barrage was designed to prevent the Germans from moving their reinforcements into the captured area. During the Battle of Hill 70 in July 1917, the Canadians used the German doctrine against them.
Haig ordered Sir Arthur Currie, who in June had been placed in command of the Canadian Corps, to launch a frontal assault on the city of Lens. Instead of attacking the heavily fortified city directly, Currie, after studying the ground, convinced his British superiors that a better plan would be to capture Hill 70, directly to the north. If this dominating hill could be taken, the Germans would have no choice but to counterattack. Currie planned for artillery and machine-guns to smash these German concentrations, thereby weakening their hold on the entire sector.
The Canadians attacked on 15 August and captured many of their objectives, including the high ground. They then held their positions against 21 determined German counterattacks over the next four days. Canadian probing attacks against Lens on 21 and 23 August were unsuccessful, but Currie’s forces had inflicted severe casualties on the enemy and gained the high ground overlooking the city.
The Canadians lost more than 9,000 soldiers at Hill 70, but killed or wounded an estimated 25,000 Germans. Currie proved an able and innovative commander. His Canadian Corps would soon move north to help Haig and his faltering Passchendaele campaign.
"Your Fatherland is in Danger" |
Thanks for stopping by.
Sylvain: I don't know what impress me most in your posts between the quality (and quantity!) of your brushwork or the historical knowledge you bring to the description of your minis. I like how your bases blend with the mud of the trenches. I also like that you shared your list of paint. I had to struggle to find the right type of green for my BEF Cruiser tanks. Thanks for the great post!
From AaronH: 28mm Lord of the Rings Whargs and Wizard(s) (65 points)
This entry is six wharg riders to go with Sharku from last week. These are, technically, Hunter Orcs, which are Hobbit armies not Isengard, but GW had a gap in production of the normal whargs so I had to buy these.
Six of these dudes. |
The mounts are very dynamic and the riders are sculpted directly on at the legs. |
These are also based for my Mordor army as that list has more options to take Wharg riders. |
These whargs are much fiercer than the older sculpts. They almost look like werewolves. |
Radagast the Brown. Without bird poop and rabbits. |
The sculpting on this is nice and sharp and deep. It took my several years to source him in metal. |
The face and pose are just perfect on this guy. |
This is from the same era as the non-precise plastics but this is fantastic sculpting. |
From Rob H (HerrRobert): The Border Exchange (5 points)
April 1898: The Trans-Pecos of Texas is a land of extremes, hot days, cold nights, desolate terrain, sparse population and barely suppressed lawlessness far from everywhere. American and Mexican garrisons soak in the beaching sun, attempting to maintain order as bandidos and Comanches cross the border as suits their own nefarious purposes. Those caught on the wrong, side of the border may yet still face what passed for justice in these parts - or be used as coin to trade for those caught on the other side.
The prisoner waiting to be exchanged |
So begins the setting for today's game of (heavily) modified Legends of the Old West. When I first began wargaming, about thirty years ago in the late 1990s, blogging was the province of self-created websites. Ian Croxhall's The Amazing Adventures of the Red Shadow was one of the sites I had bookmarked and routinely read through for new games featuring the Algerian Goumiere scout and the various misadventures of the French, Germans and Italians across the North African littoral. One of my favorite scenarios was The Red Shadow and the Salami Exchange, which featured the French and Italians attempting to exchange prisoners and the Mujahidine crash the party. Hilarity ensues, naturally.
Side profile, perhaps as a mug shot? |
I've always wanted to adapt that to a setting that suits my collections, and the US/Mexico border was the best fit. However, the setting required an unarmed figure to serve as one of the prisoners being exchanged. Fortunately, I had just the figure, already mounted on the base and just needing primed, flocked and painted.
He's a 28mm Wargames Foundry figure from the Old West pack OW166 - Mexican Villagers (2nd from the right above), painted in about 2 hours Friday night after work. I went a bit lighter for his clothes, using Delta Ceramcoat Antique White and then Reaper Linen White, washed with grey and then rehighlighted. His straw hat was a Reaper triad (Chestnut Gold, Palomino Gold and Buckskin Pale), which I washed with Army Painter Soft Tone to bring out the details. He was the first figure I had painted since the last Challenge, and having caught Bargain Bob's Basement Bunker version of the various diseases circulating around California for Christmas and New Years, getting started painting anything was a real effort. It's not efficient by any means, but it was fun just working on a single figure.
I love how sullen his expression came out |
Despite lint-rolling my photobooth to remove all stray flock and static grass and making sure my miniatures were well lit, the photos turned out rather disappointing, especially compared to shots from today's game. They have a yellow tone and colors are washed out, which does not usually happen when taking gaming photos using the exact same iPhone. The edge of the base in the photo above should be jet black, and so should his hair. Upon reflection, I suspect the problem may be that the black background and high lighting overwhelm the iPhone camera at standard settings and wash things out.
F Troop, 7th Cavalry escorting the prisoner to the exchange on the bridge over the Rio Grande |
For those interested in his fate, Loco Sanchez was duly handed over to the Mexicans, put in the prisoner wagon, and taken to the jail in El Paso del Norte. However, when negotiating the narrow streets, the wagon bucked dodging a small child. Gunfire from the Mexican garrison killed the wagon driver guarding the prisoner, probably by mistake. Sanchez jumped down from the wagon, made a run for it, and was then shot while attempting escape, bleeding out in a dark alley.
He's making a run for it! |
Life is cheap in the Trans-Pecos. |
Scoring:
- 1 28mm foot figure @ 5 points per figure = 5 points
LES COPAINS DU SAMEDI AU CAFÉ CANADIEN-FRANÇAIS
Soirées canadiennes
Too sexy for my shades... |
Last week, I talked about the songs of the voyageurs. This week, I want to bring you in to the traditional "soirées canadiennes"* (French-Canadian evenings, but truly these were parties) as they were happening in small remote villages across the province of Québec. French Canadian culture was isolated from the rest of Canada and this was encouraged by catholic priests. What were these parties like? Let me tell you a part of my childhood. My maternal grand-father had 11 brothers and sisters and my mother would take me with her to visit them on their farms, in the area west of Joliette in the early 1970s. Often, we would also meet the great-aunts, who were young chicks in the early years of the 20th century. They would often start signing songs from the “soirées” [evenings] of their past, when all the family and neighbours would gather in a house or in a barn. This was before the radio and before electricity. People would take turn signing songs or telling funny stories for the benefits of all. Sometimes, the person singing would direct a dance or sing a “chanson à répondre” [call and responses songs] inviting everyone to sing together. Often, these songs were not part of what was called the repertoire of “la bonne chanson” [the good songs], songs approved by the Church for their “good values”. On the contrary, my great-aunts were signing naughty songs that I quickly learned because I found them so funny. I still remember some of them... but I wish I could remember the song of "la petite grenouille" (the little frog) which was particularly raunchy :-). Nowadays, French Canadians listen to songs on the radio instead of singing and have become too shy to stand in front of their peers to lead a song. Here is a video of a “soirée canadienne” filmed in 1978:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hve8tOvZsSk
3:38 Woman dancing a jig. WTF moment.
29:14 Typical “chanson à répondre”.
FrederickC wanted to contribute to the ambiance in the café and is proposing “La Ziguezon” by La Bottine Souriante: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1Svjcda-84. This is a great a modern adaptation of songs from the the old "soirées canadiennes" and this genre is called "néo-trad".
* For a long time after the British conquest, "Canadien" would designate the French speaking people, as opposed to the "British". That's how the "Canadien" hockey team got its name, because most of the players were francophone. The nickname of the team (the Habs) comes from "habitants" (peasant), because most of the French Canadians at the time were living in rural areas. Later, in the early 20th century, the distinction became "French-Canadian" versus "English-Canadian". Nowadays, for people in Québec, "Canadians" are the English speakers while the "Québécois" are the French speakers.
Next week: French Canadian songs from the radio