From NormS: Two mounted Austrian Colonels 28mm (20 points)

I was saving these two Napoleonic Austrian Colonels, together with some artillery for the end of the challenge, as a break from painting white infantry uniforms - however!

These chaps have been urgently needed on the battlefield and so jumped straight to the top of the painting queue and have already been out of barracks - fighting at Klein Stetteldorf (above photo). 

I was convinced that these were Perry 28mm plastics, but I seem to recognize the faces as being Victrix and I know that they do have a mounted colonel in their plastic infantry set.

Primed black, heavy dry brush of white (2 coats) and then normal acrylic painting. I used GW Apothecary White Contrast paint on the uniform before applying GW White Scar highlights. There is a general wash on them and then extra highlights. They will do quite nicely in the build up of forces.

In my rush to do these, I was a tad annoyed to have forgotten that I had planned to use the officer with his hand extended on a double base with a spare hussar figure I have. I was going to place a set of orders in that extended hand and use a warmed up piece of wire to encourage his fingers to bend around them.

2 x 28mm Cavalry at 10 points each = 20 points.

Thanks for looking.

Wow Norm, these models look fantastic! To me, white is the hardest colour to paint (well that and yellow) and you've made a great job of these Austrians. Looks like a very pleasant ride they're having in Klein Stettdorf!

Twenty big ones for your tally.

Dallas

From SteveA: Space Marines, old Beaky Mark 6 Crimson Fists (25 points)

 After indulging my impulse last week inspired by my recent playing's of Space Marine 2 to reach deep into my old pile of grey shame to paint some old Mark 7 Space Marines minis as Ultramarines, I had intended to return my brushes and attentions to the pressing matter of me putting pigment on the many minis urgently needed in table top quality for those several table tops games I have jaw wagged to my peers that I imminently will play...  However, as I sought to reseal my battered box of old and and unpainted minis where I keep all my many near forgotten space marines,  that pile of shame stirred, shifted as if jostled by a ripple from the warp and reached back at me!

A couple boxes of the original Games Workshop Space Marines Mark 6 Armor kits represented my crossing the line from collector of a few D&D minis into a dabbler of table top Wargames, with fever dreams of many fully painted armies for many games, and thus the line was crossed, more minis purchased than painted, the cycle began and thereby the piles of shame was born.  Now,  just over 2 decades later, these same old beaky marines refused to return again to the dark and dust, demanding I honor my decades old paint-sworn oath to paint them as near as their box art as I was able!

So with some Vallejo blues, bronze and black I endeavored to improve upon the Crimson Fist painting I had last done oh so long ago when I had hair atop my head rather than only whickers upon my chin.  

Some years of more experience with brush and paint, and the magic of liquid talent found within pots of Nuln oil and Agrax Earth shade did yield some more satisfying results than the small army of Crimson Fists I had painted as my first army of my wargaming and mini hobby.

Now these 5 stand on display in my mini display case,  in front of their few dozen Crimson Fist brothers that I had painted and played in my youth back when there were fewer editions of 40k than I had fingers on my hand.  Hereon, at least for the remainder of this year,  I hope my Marines dreams are sated and abated, and my next posts will be points for the armies I aim to play in the near coming days.  But painting space smurfs these past couple weeks has made me happy,  infusing  my other models in progress with more fun, and knocked off some of the oldest dust upon the pile of grey that pleasantly haunts me!

Total 25 Points:

25  pts = 5x5pts 28mm Foot Figure Space Marines

Great stuff here Steve! The RTB-01 Space Marines are awesome and it's great to see some more painted. It's great that you mention good old Nuln Oil and Agrax Earthshade... I recall that the first plastic Space Marines I painted in the late '80s were Space Wolves in grey. We didn't have washes back then but my "painting mentor" had a technique where he used a dark brown oil-based "antiquing stain." This was applied liberally to the model and quickly wiped off with a paper towel, leaving shade in the recessed parts... wow things were primitive back then!

Twenty-five points for your tally!

Dallas 

Monday Again!

The Clash - Gates of the West

OK all, it's Monday again and that means more old man music. This week it's one of my all-time favourites - "the only band that matters" - plus a couple bonus tracks from the two frontmen's post-Clash projects.

What can you say about the Clash? Formed in 1976 in London by Mick Jones and Joe Strummer (we won't mention the previous band Joe was associated with), the classic lineup also included bassist Paul Simonon (he taught himself to play the bass in three weeks!) and drumming genius Topper Headon. Their eponymous first album was released in 1977, followed by "Give 'Em Enough Rope" in 1978. But their magnum opus was certainly "London Calling" released in 1979 and named by Rolling Stone as the greatest album of the decade (the 1980s that is). Infused by ska and reggae as well as rockabilly and traditional rock 'n' roll, every song on this record is a banger. The song linked above, "Gates of the West", is from the band's 1979 EP "The Cost of Living", released just about seven months before London Calling.

London Calling was followed at the end of 1980 by a triple (!) album (sold for the price of a double album, Sandinista! Although I personally love half of the songs on Sandinista!, a lot of it is half-baked rubbish (the "dub" versions of other album tracks for example) and although the band had always been "political", the triple album was even moreso. The album was followed in 1981 by "Combat Rock" featuring the charting US single "Should I Stay or Should I Go?"  Unfortunately the answer was the latter, as after a half-hearted 1982 release (of which the less said the better) the band broke up for good. 

But the animating minds of the Clash, Strummer and Jones, carried on! Jones formed Big Audio Dynamite in 1984. After a time that incarnation broke up and in 1991 Jones formed its successor "Big Audio Dynamite II" releasing their debut album "The Globe", which spawned this hit:

Big Audio Dynamite - Rush

Joe Strummer wasn't idle either. He formed a group called the Mescaleros and they were also great!

Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros - Get Down Moses

(You might recognize that tune from its great cover by ska band the Interrupters). Sadly Joe Strummer died of a congenital heart defect in 2002. He is missed! 

So if you've made it down this far you're probably interested in the painting this week. First off an apology from me, SteveA's Space Marines were a late entry last week and I didn't get to them, so they're first up this week. Next are some very nice Austrian Napoleonic mounted officers from NormS. And that's it, an easy start to the week - a short week for many of us in North America as today is a provincial holiday in many provinces as well as Presidents' Day in the USA.

Have a better one!

Dallas