John B: Tuesday Terrors: 200 years of public railways: 1/72 Airfix Rocket conversion (30 points)

Squirreless again :( .........

During AHPC15 I decided to make a steam engine as 2025 would be the 200th anniversary of public railways. Last year I visited the Railway Museum at Stockton which is located on the famous route of the first railway open to the public back in 1825.

Also I had a nice link in an interesting book on the Hungarian Forces of 1848 revolutions.

The source of my model was the very ancient Airfix 1/72 Stephensons Rocket. Fortunate these are still made by Dapol in Wales UK, as no other model exists for the period to my knowledge. So off I went converting - it took me two rockets to get the look I wanted.

The early steam railways were a hotbed of invention and some amazing experimental engines ran.

I found this book in a charity bookshop and its a mine of information.It was tempting to embark on other model conversions but for a painting challenge even this one has proven time consuming despite part building the model during AHPC15.

Well its a case of steaming on having bagged TOY and REBEL theme entries and now put this engine to bed next up is a RESCUE figure.

Points calculation is 1/72 = 20mm so 15 points for the vehicle and 2 x 4 points for the two gentlemen.

That gets me 23 points - not quite a squirrel point again. ho hum.

What a wonderfully looking engine John, I really like that!  The blue-green is really striking and I like the animation of the two crew.  I wouldn't bet on them retaining their hats once they get up to any speed.  What does BETS stand for?  I also like the old time reference materials that you sources, plus of course the in person museum visit.  Given the conversion work involved I will round this post up to 30.

From JohnB: 1/72 vehicles: "The Sinews of War (again)" (45 points)

Last year or was it the previous one? anyway the sinews of war in other words - logistics, hove into view and its the same again this year. In fact it is the same 1/60 scale? Corgi lorries liberated this time at a toy fair bin ends sale, and subjected to a wargamers paint job. Last time it was my Rugian (french) colours while today I offer up my Gombardian (italian) colours for these commercial lorries pressed into war service. The basic colour is a common dark green - docrafts jungle green in the uk, while I have tried a pale green from vallejo to create a white dusty environment. Think limestone. As you can see all headlights are blinkered and identification plates are suppressed. One vehicle is actually straight out of the paint shop heading to the front for the first time. so I game 20-25mm or 1/72 i.e. not 15mm nor 28mm. So I am claiming 3 x 15 points = 45 points for the 3 vehicles. Here are a few pictures using my currently favoured "Painting Portrait" approach to displaying my wargames figures and vehicles. Best of luck everyone especially those starting on this road for the first time!

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Welcome back to the Challenge, John!

Great work on these 'Gombardian' lorries. As you say, its great to be able to reflect the logistics of war on the tabletop, and for the 20th century this usually means trucks, and lots of them. The blinkered lights are a nice touch but I have to say I quite like your photo setup and background - very nice! 

45 points for your climb to your points target - well done!

- Curt

John B: FRIDAY CREW: The Final Reel - the whole lot

Its been a great winters painting again.

I managed to exceed my target. I reached the heady heights of 529 gainst my target of 400 - both I think were more than last year although I painted more units/pieces in AHPC14.

I also yet again got distracted by the theme and again started modelling homebuilds........

NOTE TO SELF: if you want to paint more stop making models!

I got plenty of variety in this year

I suppose the big red space ship was the most satisfying - my red dwarf!

Then again I have made progress on my Schleswig Holstein Wars figures. Unfortunately a load of artillery missed the cut Martijn as my holiday break was a case of bad timing.

Last but not least I created two backgrounds for displays - as you do! Heres to AHPC16 and the challenge that keeps surprising me. Go Forth and Paint. Till next time.

From JohnB: Sir John Oldcastle a Lollard: 1/72 (Heresy) (55 points)

This years challenge is proving to be a challenge. I scooted round last years library and seemed to easily tie in the theme with my various project figures and new buys. This year it has been a mental slog. Quite simply I had left all my medieval stuff behind at the end of AHPC14 and there it has stayed - It missed AHPC14 too :).

All this mental wrestling has had me pestering my minion on ABYSS interpretations. Sorry Martijn. Hopefully I am now a bit sorted and usefully I have dug into that medieval primed heap that is my abandoned/shelved Shrewsbury 1403 project.

Having no easy solution to Sarah's Succubus, I was stumped by heresy although I did run a train of thought past Martijn (sorry it's an in joke). And then I simply looked in my display cabinet and saw some 100 years war figures staring at me.

So I punched the computer with heresy and voila - Sir John Oldcastle pops up. What a story - super side kick to Henry V - he also happened to be into Lollarding and decided his values were more important than power and prestige. He was put to death at the flaming stake.

John Wycliffe was a Catholic Theologian dismissed from Oxford University in England in 1381 for heresy. By 1395 his teachings had been incorporated into the 12 conclusions of the Lollards. In essence they were............... 1 - the church had toó much temporal power 2 - too much ritual without scriptural basis 3 - clerical celibacy had simply encouraged sodomy 4 - transubstantiation - e.g. communion bread promotes idolatry 5 - exorcisms and hallowings carried out by priests are a practice of necromancy/shamanism 6 - clerics in secular office - far too much pride on show - excuse clerics from these roles 7 - prayers for specific dead people is selfish and paid prayers is a form of bribery - it has become an industry and is simony and idleness. 8 - pilgrimages, images, crucifixes and veneration of relics approach idolatry and offerings for these instead should simply be given directly to the poor/needy 9 - confession - is a blasphemous act as only god can forgive us our sins 10 - war, battle, crusade - christians should refrain from battle except for certin reasons. Crusades are blasphemous; likewise slaying heathens for glory. Lords who purchase indulgences for their armies actions are actually stealing from funds for the poor. 11 - female vows - nuns should be allowed to marry instead of needing abortions if they become pregnant to conceal breaking their vows 12 - arts and crafts - the multitude of crafts used by the church cause waste - only those crafts for simple living are necessary.

Being essentially a form of regime change - it was associated with uprisings and assassinations of government offcials. It was brutally suppressed. Between 1409 and 1413 in the reign of Henry IV, Sir John Oldcastle was summoned to Parliament as a Lollard leader but evaded prosecution - being a friend of Henry V. Sir John was eventually convicted but escaped from prison in the tower of london in 1413 and then led a rebellion against the King - now Henry V. Eventually he was captured in 1417. The records are not clear if he was hung drawn and quartered first - for high treason and only then burnt as a heretic. Plenty of wikipedia information is available - it was my source.

I have painted one gaming base using my chosen medieval gaming element - Basic Impetus switched me from DBA and given my 1/72 scale preference as per the guidance in the 1st Edition rulebook I opted for 80mm frontage (for 15mm) and reduced the figure count. It just so happens a previous dabbling with Shreswbury 1403 had already seen me abandon the traditional figure counts which crammed figures onto bases.

My standard medieval set up is 80x60mm bases with 8 foot figures per base - sometimes I do 10 or 6. Here the "Accurate Models" 1/72 sculpting slenderness mean you can see the individual figures and given poses are very variable its more "Diorama" and less "serried ranks" - all thanks to Impetus. I am experimenting with contrasts and ordinary paints - here my only failure was the vallejo contrast mystic blue bleeding out when I varnished the figures - I had allowed 24 hours drying time before varnishing. The shield design is based on what I could find online - plenty of pics of Sir John burning - not so many of his Oldcastle brand! I opted to hand apply the castle and used some permanent black drawing pens. Not sure I would do it again. They crazed but ironically some created minute white lines that look like the stone mortar joints in the online images! Others make it look a bit messy. ho hum.

My bases are done with a 3 colour - burnt sienna/ochre/white yellow dry brush of budgie grit then finished here with gamers grass light green 6mm tufts. Points tally 1/72 figures being nearer 20mm = 8x4 = 32 points. And also 20pts for the heresy level in the Abyss. Grand Total = 52pts

Yes, I was expecting you to steam along happily. However, I must say that you came up with quite a heretical story in the end, well done indeed! I do have Basic Impetus (of course), but I have never played it (of course). But if this base is anything to go by, it will provide a nice spectacle! I do hope it will inspire you to get on with your abandoned Shrewsbury project. Great work, John, they came out very nice and I love the shields. I'll throw you some points for those, to round it off to 55 points.

Martijn

From Lorenzo: 1st Schlieswig Holstein War - Rebel Chasseurs plus History (68 points)

Next up I have completed some more of my forces for the 1st Schlieswig Holstein War. This time they are the Rebels - these were the German speaking people living in Schlieswig Holstein that was ruled by the Danish Monarchy as a Duchy. With two parties claiming ownership, against a background of mass european unrest, war ensued. 1848 was a decisive year for Europe as a whole.

When the war started no one was quite ready so the rebels who were supported by members of the German Confederation acquired some uniforms from the member states. This was important as their own supplies were of course the same colour as their opponents.

These Chasseurs are equipped in part with German style uniforms. This shako was only adopted by Prussia in 1854 for its own Jaeger. Notably they seem to have acquired some old Hanoverian British style water bottles! The figures are British Crimean Light Infantry by Strelets and are in their chunkier style. Like many 1/72 plastics which can vary from 20mm to 26mm! they always look better painted. I used basic vallejo acrylics along with some citadel contrasts on the brass fittings as a trial which i like and will probably try again. Notable with this war was the use of cockades - these figures sport both the rebels blue white and red cockade and the yellow/gold, black and red cockade of the German Confederation. One of the wargamer benefits of an unplanned rebellion is that standing instructions on equipment might not be honoured. This gives the painter freedom which is just as well because there are no complete ranges in any scale for the 1st (1848) or 2nd wars (1864). Which brings me to books. As the theme is libraries I thought I would dwell on the books I have found useful in my hunt for wargaming ideas about the Schlieswig Holstein Wars. First up has to be Ralph Weavers Partizan Historical Guide No9 "The Armies of the First Schlieswig Holstein War 1848-1851". This is most definitely the place to start. The guide gives brief details about the history before devoting most of the book to the armies along with some potted campaign sections.

I have found it an excellent and inspiring book. The bibliography shows the limitations of the print sources - but given many are German and Danish this guide as firmly anchored in my view. Another partizan guide called Uniformology No9 (again) covers the broader armies of 1848 European Revolutions. It does help give another flavour of the German confederation uniforms. Recommended.

Finally for 1848 Nick Svendsen published through Helion "the first Schlieswig Holstein war 1848-1850". This is an excellent all round history of the conflict as a military event. It covers the course of the war, the generals, the navies and armies as well as operations. It includes a good selection of old prints alongside new uniform illustrations which compliment those of the two other books. If you need more then the web has quite a bit on the naval side of things if you just search "first Schlieswig Holstein war". Finally for the 2nd war, where the Confederacy defeated the Danes in 1864, there are a lot more books available and often the war is covered in Franco Prussian (1870/71) and Austro Prussian (1866) war histories as they followed soon after: Plus Bismarck and Molke cut their teeth on the Danes, honing their political and logistical capabilities to make effective war.

Taking the library theme just a step further here is a book recommendation. I have found that reading about 1848 revolutions and rebellions reinforces the point that history for most people is quite stereotyped with constantly promoted themes. So finally I would recommend anyone looking for something different about the English or rather British Civil Wars can do no worse than read Anna Keay's the "Restless Republic". Straight off it is not a book about the wars as such but what followed them. That said I found it a really fascinating read. It is published by William Collins. Here is my map so far

Finally I reckon I have met the history task so claim 20 points plus the 12 figures at 4 points each. Grand Total 68 points. 

Sylvain: I am impressed by all the books you are referencing. The bonus location of the library you are claiming is supposed to be about "local history", but you are so passionate about the subject that I feel that you made it part of yourself. Your work on the uniforms is detailed and colorful. This is a great submission!