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: Sinews of War 1/43? Corgi Cameo Trucks Requisitioned for the War Effort (60 points)

Well my planned entries are slipping behind - story of 2024/25 it seems. Anyway I got in my now usual toyshow trip for inspiration at Yuletide. Except it was not the big Doncaster show, as my lift was unavailable, instead we made it to York in January. And it seemed very slim pickings - all 1/72 plastic kit stuff was £10 or above (some of these kits are available on the high street for £6!!!!) - zero bargains. The railway bits and bobs also failed to move on my money. Then I found in quick succession three old style trucks and somehow paid £3 for the lot as I was inspired by a logistics moment.

They are Corgi Cameo range grain trucks and apparently scale at 1/43 - but you will know if wargamers are quirky on scale its no different in toy car land. So my minion will need to rule if its 28mm or 20mm or something else. I have opted for 20mm as I think they will work whereas the 28mm figures will look too big?

Compared to my Nexus Space Warriors these guys needed just a prime (white - so I could see the detail) black undercoat and then Vallejo MC096 Camoflage Olive Green. A dry brush of MC124 Iraqi Sand finished the bodies.

I made a timber load area base for the truck missing its grain load - just biro lined card overpainted with Citadel Nazreg Yellow Colour Contrast. The Grain sacks were painted in a Yellow Ochre and again overcoated with Nazreg Yellow.

In true logistics confusion the lorries are returning fully loaded - which way to the front lads? No Dante Comedy aspect this time and I am struggling with greed at the moment. Hey Ho. Points are 3x15pts for 20mm trucks = 45pts with 0 Comedy contribution.

I had hoped to dodge the scale bullet, but dam**, here comes John. Ah well. To get the awkward part out of the way first: if the cars are 1/43 scale, that would translate to approximately 40mm. Obviously, that's to big, considering the size of the figures next to them. Now it is difficult to judge from the photograph, which is very nice by the way, as the figures are on bases and the trucks are not, but I think they actually might work with 25mm figures. I found an online dealer stating that the Cameo vehicles varied between 1/45 and 1/76, and that they classify all as 1/60 for ease of storage.  That seems sensible, and 1/60 roughly translates to 25mm. Therefore, I will score them as 25mm vehicles, and 60 points it is. Then the fun part: I really like your idea of repurposing these trucks, and I think they came out very well. The timber load is a nice little detail, and the finished vehicles look very good. Well done, John!

Martijn

From FrederickC - Opening Salvo (212 points) [Under Construction]

 This may seem more like a collection of random shots rather than a concentrated salvo, but it clears away a number of small projects associated with my various Bolt Action armies, specifically my early war Poles, early war Germans, and late war British.

Last year I started the challenge by painting a squad of the Polish 10th Motorized Brigade. One squad just wasn't enough, so I added a second squad from the Warlord Games Bolt Action range. These were painted using Vallejo acrylics followed by a coat of Army Painter Strong Tone Quick Shade. Since you can't be a motorized brigade without some motor transport, I have added four Polish Fiat trucks to move them around the battlefield. These are 3D prints done by a friend. One of the truck beds came out a bit warped and my attempts to fix it were unsuccessful. In the end I scratch-built a replacement from thin plastic card. These were also painted with Vallejo acrylics followed by a wash of Vallejo European Dust.

Polish 10th Motorized Brigade squad (Last year's squad taking cover in the background)

 

A column of Polish Fiat trucks

 

 

Since many of the scenarios in the 'Germany Strikes' campaign book involve command tanks, I decided to add a Panzerbefehlswagen I (aka Sd.Kfz. 265). This is a 3 piece resin casting from Warlord Games with metal bits such as the machine gun, hatches, and commander. The pose of the commander had his right arm extended to rest on a turret hatch, but it didn't match up with the location of the hatch on the tank model. I decided to remove the arm and replace it with one holding a pair of binoculars that was left over from a German Blitzkrieg Infantry sprue. The tank was primed black using Vallejo Surface Primer and painted grey using AK Interactive Dunkelgrau. Highlights were dry brushed onto raised surfaces and some AK Splatter Effects Dry Mud applied to the tracks and road wheels. Since the theme of the special challenges this year is a movie studio, I also painted up a Propagandakompanie cameraman, also from Warlord Games. It was painted using Vallejo acrylics followed by various Citadel washes.

Cameraman filming a command tank during the invasion of Poland

Panzerbefehlswagen I of the 4th Panzer Division

Cameraman of a German Army propaganda company

Next up is a Churchill Crocodile flamethrower tank of the 79th Armoured Division in Normandy. I got another Corgi diecast Churchill tank from another member of the Fawcett Avenue Conscripts that was painted up for Tunisia in Desert Yellow and Olive Green camouflage hoping to use it with my planned 8th Army project, but the yellow on the model didn't look very desert. Last year I had repainted one in the colours of the the 14th Tank Regiment (Calgary Tanks) at Dieppe, but I didn't need anymore Dieppe tanks. I decided to convert it to a Crocodile using a resin conversion kit from Quarter Kit Model Shop in Paris, France. This was basically the armoured trailer that carried the fuel for the flamethrower, and the special nozzle that replaced the hull machine gun.  The resin of the kit was quite brittle, and a few pieces arrived broken despite being shipped in a blister. With the careful application of some super glue followed by a sprinkling of baking soda, everything got repaired and assembled. Both tank and trailer were primed in black and then painted with Vallejo UK Bronze Green. Raised surfaces got dry brushed with a light green, and the lower areas of the tank were given a wash of European Dust.

Side view showing how the trailer was attached to the tank.

View from above showing the special nozzle in place of the hull MG

Next we have a small bit of terrain. Last year I painted a stone bridge as part of my first submission, so it seems appropriate to finish this submission with a broken bridge. The two halves are actually display bases that came with 1/72 Matchbox Sherman Firefly kits when they were released back in 1974. I no longer have the tanks, but I still had the display bases in one of my boxes of terrain building bits. A number of different ideas have been bouncing around in my head over the years, including building the center portion of the span that could be lifted out in a scenario where the bridge gets blown, a partially constructed repair done by engineers, or incorporating the two halves into a more elaborate river crossing with a ruined central support of a two arched bridge. I am not entirely sure what final direction I will take, so I am going to call this 'Under Construction'.

A bridge over troubled waters?

The point being claimed are as follows:

11.5 x 28mm figures @ 5 points each = 57.5 points

6.5 x 28mm vehicles @ 20 points each = 130 points

(I am counting the trailer as half a vehicle)

0.11 terrain cubes @ 20 points each = 2 points

Studio lot 'Under Construction' @ 20 points = 20 points

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Great post and welcome back to the Challenge Frederick.

I have a soft spot for early war WWII (the Big Cats steal all the press) and you can't get much earlier than Poles and Panzer I's! I also really like your propaganda cameraman and the blown bridge. Well done and a great opening entry!

- Curt

PS: I've given you a few extra points for the bridge and the trailer.