From PaulOG: Russians of the Crimean War! (345 points)

Presenting my first two Russian battalions for my 28mm Crimean War project. While the Russian Army of the time was renowned for having largest cavalry contingent on the continent, Infantry still made up the bulk of the Army. These are typical Line Infantry battalions of a Regiment, each of which fielded 4.

Two Battalions with Regimental officers advancing in Attack columns 

I used different shades across the greatcoats to show varying wear and quality in pre dye-fast colours, and gave the units some identity with one unit sporting a mix of helmets and forage caps (mutzes) which became more common as the war progressed, and another with more strict NCOs ensuring all the troops wear their issued helmets! 

1st Battalion - all in helmets

I enjoyed a good dose of the inevitable "basing dilemma", badly overthinking it before deciding to go with groups of poorly drilled troops with intermingled casualties, representing both bad training and a stoic intent to get to grips with the invaders regardless of cost! Groups of 8 figs make a line unit in Sharp Practice and I figured that four units per Battalion would give some good 'visual heft' as the attack columns advance.

2nd Battalion with mixed helmets and forage caps

Figures are mostly plastic Warlord figs with some metal models by Great War Miniatures mixed in. The former are relatively monopose, but the seperate heads let you impart some great character with modest turns. The latter are wonderful sculpts and mixing them in gives a more dynamic look. Colours by Battle-Flag.com

Normally I hate doing faces but these were very satisfying to do

This project was to be a full Regiment of 4 Battalions plus an artillery battery and a troop of Cossack cavalry...but when real life got in the way I opted to not sacrifice quality just to 'get it done'. I really enjoyed building them and the rest will follow post Challenge. Pity I have no nice mat or terrain in this country to pose them on!

The army grows: this submission plus the skirmishers from Bonus round 3

These units and the two Regimental Officers tally 67 x 28mm foot plus 1 mounted, totalling 345 points: my biggest submission of this Challenge to take me across my 500 point target line. Just in time!

Now feverishly working on a last minute 'something else'...

From Millsy:

I'm pinching this from fellow minion Sylvain so I apologise in advance mate!
We've been talking about these on and off at out paint and chat sessions so I couldn't resist when I saw the title of the post.

I have to say I am NOT disappointed and I 100% endorse your decision to stick with the quality vs. quantity approach Paul. You've done a smashing job and the mix of bulk plastic miniatures with metal command and casualties mixed in really looks the business.

Cracking work buddy and a stonking 345 points added to your tally.

Cheers,
Millsy

From PaulO'G: Vive La Garde! (200 points)

G'day all, its great to be back for my 10th Challenge! This year my target is a curiously specific 603 points, which is what I need to get me to 8,000 lifetime points.

"Mon dieu! Tre magnifique!" say the swooning Mesdemoiselles!

My Season 14 opening salvo is the start of my new Crimean War project. I'm starting with a French Brigade, and the Grenadier Garde is up first! As a larger, well equipped battalion it musters 36 Guardsmen and Officers. 

Allons enfants de la patrie,
Le jour de gloire est arrivé !

Why the red bases you might ask? Because they will serve on Mars for our Space 1889 VSF campaign first - obvious really! Once thats done I'll redo the bases for a more routine deployment to the Crimea.

Their features are wonderfully sculpted - doing them some measure of justice was a challenge!

Models are by Great War Miniatures, distributed via Northstar. Painted in classic triad style - no speed/contrast paints were harmed in the making of this unit. I also discovered a new technique for painting small buttons - a toothpick! (Thanks for the tip John, and for the emergency flag resupply!)

A Brigade Commander's view of their march to Victory!

So off the mark with a 36 figure mini-bomb @ 5 points each, plus 20 points for shelving in the History section. While these are the first Guard figs I've painted for any era, I understand they are not be the only French Grenadiers likely to be posted today - hopefully they pass muster! :-)

From Millsy: A French guardsman is impressive in any setting Paul, be it terrestrial or otherwise! I'm sure these fine fellows will do sterling service wherever they may fight, even lightyears from home.

The greatcoats are presumably for night operations as they'd be a serious hazard in the heat of Martian day! Lovely work on the red/blue combo which works really well with the bases. It is almost a shame to think they'll be repainted eventually as they really do look great.

200 points to kick start your challenge!

From MartijnN: Cruisers and Cossacks (Perelandra and back to Corsucant) (78 points)

Having left Corsucant we make our way to Perelandra. Its Oceanic theme gave me the perfect excuse to paint some of my backlog of WW1 1/3000 ships by Navwar (actually, there are not very many left now). Here are 8 Royal Navy destroyers. Six are M class (Magic, Marne, Minion (!), Mystic, Nestor, and Obdurate), one is I (or Acheron) class (Badger), and one K (or Acasta) class (Owl). All saw service at Jutland.

Magic, Marne, Minion, Mystic, Nestor and Obdurate

Badger and Owl

HMS Badger picked survivors from HMS Invincible when she exploded after a direct hit from the German Battlecruisers Lützow and Derfflinger.

Next there are five German Light Cruisers. These are Augsburg, Kolberg, Karlsruhe, Rostock and Regensburg. Two of the Kolberg class (Cöln and Mainz) were sunk at the Battle of Heligoland Bight in 1914, where the British destroyers also served, while Kolberg took part in the Battle of Dogger Bank in 1915. Karlsruhe was in the Carribean when the war broke out and did some raiding, causing quite some concern, if not actual damage, before being destroyed by an accidental internal explosion. Rostock and Regensburg saw heavy action at Jutland, where they were leader of torpedo boats; Rostock was scuttled by her crew after the battle to avoid capture. 

Regensburg, Karlsruhe, Rostock, Kolberg, Augsburg

After exploring Perelandra we return to Corsucant, in order to proceed to Vogsphere next week. For Corsucant I offer these Imperal Russian soldiers. They are 15mm Minifigs and have that special toy soldier feel to them. They were (and are) sold as Caucasian Lancers. The Minifigs Crimean War range is not very accurate historically, and whether these lancers even existed I don't know; I decided to paint them up as cossacks. The details of their dress are rather obscure, but they are good enough for me.

So there we are.

Points:

13 hulls @ 2 points = 26 points

8 15mm horse @ 4 points = 32 points

Perelandra planet bonus = 20 points

Total: 78 points. And two squirrels!

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Lovely work Martijn, and what a wonderful juxtaposition in both scale, warfare and period. I quite like your Minifig 'theoretical Cossacks'. They certainly look the business to me, and I quite like the large basing you've used. What system are they set-up for? Of the two groups, my favourites have to be your WWI ships.  I have a real soft-spot for this coal-driven period ever since reading Massie's 'Castles of Steel' years ago.  You've given them such nice definition with your brushwork and, similar to your cossacks, I really admire your basing for these. 

78 points it is, but please remember to label your squirrel submissions. This will avoid the embarrassing scene of Stuart gleefully flashing you a yellow card as he did to me! :)

- Curt

From Martijn N: Small scale scatter (48 points)

 

With my pathetic attempt to brave the Pit of the Pendulum with historic figures (justifiably) thwarted and being mostly a small-scale historical gamer I have decided to first concentrate on my painting target. Once having made some progress, I will perhaps again take up the journey down and acquire some suitable figures to brave the dungeon!

For now, therefore, here are some 15mm Minifigs. They are more than 25 or 30 years old, and have been languishing in my lead pile for far too long. Earlier last year I have begun to rebase my old figures for Volley and Bayonet, so the time had come to throw some paint on these Russian dragoons. Being Minifigs, the detail is fairly soft and the uniform is not entirely correct (hence my clumsy attempts in 1991 or so to remove the peaks from the other ranks’ caps). However, from 3ft away I guess they look okay. I used contrast paints for these. Now I only have to dig up a Crimean Russian cavalry flag somewhere!

 

Then there is some real estate. I do not usually base my buildings, but sometimes that does look better and I felt that was the case with this 6mm Roman watchtower from  Leven Miniatures; its footprint is tiny. It is generic enough to be used in other periods and theatres. It is accompanied by an outbuilding, also from Leven, and a thatched barn, from Battlescale. Again contrast paints on these with a wash and drybrush where appropriate.

 

The final piece is a resin  medieval castle in 2mm scale from Brigade Models. A simple paintjob with contrast paint and a drybrush. The drawbridge has obviously been removed in preparation for a siege! I was experimenting with AK Water Gel Swamp Green for the moat. Struggled a bit to get an even surface and a colour to my liking but the end result is reasonable.

 

So there you have it. As for scoring, the 10 15mm figures should get me 40 points, that’s easy. The terrain pieces are of course very small, and together take up only a fraction of a 6” (15cm) cube.  The castle is on a 10 cm round base, and allowing a generous 1 cm height all over would yield just under 80 cubic cm. The tower is about 5 cubic cm, the outbuilding too, the barn about 10, or in all about 100. That is about 3% of a  3375 cubic cm cube, or 0,6 point. Let’s make it one point. Perhaps a better way to score the terrain items would be to treat them as 6mm vehicles? In which case the four items would net me 8 points. However, I will of course settle for anything the minions would consider appropriate.

So ten 15mm cavalry and four tiny terrain items: 48 points?

From MikeW - At Benito's Brook - 12 x 18mm Crimean War British Hussars (126 Points)

This entry is my step into the realms of Benito's Brook, and it was quite some challenge to figure out what from my lead mountain would qualify for this post!

Post Marked 2006!

Eventually I opted for a box of 18mm Eureka Miniatures I'd rather rashly ordered back in 2006, whilst away from home on a business trip, during which time, I was finishing reading the rather good 'Hell Riders' by Terry Brighton.

A few lessons learned by this experience, don't order figures on a whim after reading an inspiring book - by the time these little chaps had landed on my doormat from Australia, my fickle fancy had moved on to other areas of interest!

I did try to paint up some lancers - maybe 5 or 6 years ago but this came to nothing and I'm not even sure where these half painted chaps are now.

Finished 11th Hussar Squadron of 12 x 18mm Eureka Figures

So now for Challenge X - I took 12 troopers from the package and determined to paint these up as a squadron of 11th Hussars - or for those that remember the film - these were Lord Cardigan's 'Cherrybums', on account of their red trousers. It was also the regiment from which the unfortunate Captain Nolan, was detached to HQ duties and led to the late unfortunate mix-up.

For those who are not sure of the story of the Light Brigade - On 25 October 1854, during the Crimean War, the Light Brigade of the British Cavalry Division made the most magnificent and most brutal and pointless charge in military history.

Fantastically detailed book
on the Charge of the Light Brigade

Almost 700 men armed with sabre and lance, charged straight at the muzzles of Russian cannons and massed Russian Cavalry and Cossacks behind. But it was a blunder, they charged down the wrong valley, into the Russian guns instead of scaring off Russian infantry men that were stealing away allied guns in the adjoining valley!

All because Captain Nolan and Lord Cardigan hated each other and could not communicate properly.

As soon as I started painting these guys, I remembered why I'd given up on the lancers, at 18mm scale they have fantastic detail but are so small my ageing eyes really struggle. Difference now is that I've accepted wearing glasses when doing figure painting and results are better.

View from the flank

These Eureka figures are significantly bigger than 15mm counter parts - you do have to get the detail done to make the most of them but they are still smaller than 25/28mm figures that I have been mostly painting recently. I persevered but they were hard work!

A bit more detail

Since my last post - where I detailed how I paint horses - I got some great additional tips on horse colours from Tasmin - so I have tried to incorporate those tips in this batch of horses (See below) - allowing for 'Chestnut' colouring. Thanks for the advice Tasmin! See Chestnut horse below...

Anyway here they are - hope they are presentable as part of the famously futile 'Charge of the Light Brigade' and as such qualify for Benito's Book brief of a Forlorn Hope!

Hopefully a 'Chestnut' horse - without Black fetlocks!

I changed my usual basing technique for these figures, I felt that static grass and flowers would be out of scale and not look right. Instead I found a pot of old 'course scatter' in a light green finish and used static grass very sparingly in clumps. I like the effect at this scale.

Despite my complaining I do like the final result, I did plan to do two squadrons per regiment, plus officers and character figures. Maybe I might take another look and see if I can find those Lancers again!

POINTS (Controversy?)

So The Challenge has points rates for painted 20mm and 15mm figures but not 18mm figures. The gap between the two scales is quite significant for mounted troops - either 4 points for a 15mm figure or 8 points for a 20mm figure.

I have opted for the following scoring system - score them as 20mm figures (nearest scale) but subtract 10% score as 18mm is only 90% of 20mm - Minon of the Day please feel free to adjust according to you r guidelines or Whim - ed - "ah lets confound Miles spreadsheet  I will round these to 20mm "

12 x mounted figures at 8 points each = 96 Points
Bonus Points for Benito's Brook = 30 Points

TOTAL = 96 +30 = 126 Points

From DaveD . Its not often you see Crimean war stuff, its certainly something that keeps piquing my own interest - but i haven't found figures to match the desire yet. I will have to look at these. Nice job . Also you may need to check the pictures as due to sausage fingers I think i deleted one as i posted ..so feel free to add it back in! 

From MikeW. No worries Dave - happens to us all. Have added the photo back in as suggested!

From PaulSS: A muddle of miscellany (25 Points)

Today's entry appears to be a single post attempt to dominate the Squirrel duel, but it's been a great opportunity to paint up some of those show specials that have been hanging around at home.

Earlier this year chum Martin sent me the show figure from 'The Other Partizan MMXVIII' titled Dulce et decorum est... The Great War 1914-1918 sculpted by Martin Baker.

I based it on a 40mm Renedra round and then added some planking made from balsa wood to simulate the floor of a dug-out. The covered bucket is from a Great Escape Games 'fist full of baggage pack' Likely a temporary latrine, but probably not best to think about that!

The paint job was rather simple, mainly English Uniform, Khaki and Reflective Green. All washed then highlighted and then brown-lined with Windsor & Newton Peat Brown ink.

Another Partizan show figure done this week is Mary Seacole, Crimean War Nurse from 'The Other Partizan MMXVI'. Mate Lee is emigrating to Australia and found it while he was tidying for the move and sent it over for me a few weeks ago.

Like all of the Partizan show figures it's a great sculpt with bags of character and was a really easy paint job to execute. The main colours being Flat Green and Royal Blue. After blocking in the base-coats it was washed with Army Painter Strong Tone then the colours re-applied and highlighted then finished off with a brown-lining with Windsor & Newton Peat Brown.

The third figure in this group is a Medieval Royal Maiden - Correction: Maud of Flanders, wife of William the Conqueror that I think was the show figure from Crisis 2016 that chum James sent over to me last year.

A very nice sculpt that cleaned up very easily and took only a short while to paint. I tried to restrict the pallet so the light blue base for the embroidered gown is the same light blue as the veil covering her hair.

Finally a base of pheasants from Warbases that Victoria gifted me over the festive season, like all the Warbases livestock it's a cleanly cast collection that paints up very easily.

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A lovely assortment of figures, Paul, and made even more special as they all originated from friends and loved ones. 

The planking and pale are a great touch with the 'Dulce et decorum est' piece and I really like the simple elegance of the Medieval maiden (great choice of colours), but I have to say I'm strangely taken by the pheasants. I think may I need some of those to help tart-up my future command bases.

All of these will help you chip away on multiple fronts in the Squirrel Challenge. Excellent work.

From MichaelA: Crimean War Royal Naval Artillery (70 points)

I am delighted to finally have these completed as they were a gift from my Mother in Law, who herself was a proud member of the Senior Service.  The Royal Naval artillery crew and guns are from ‘Wargames Foundry’ and are a tad diminutive in comparison to the more ‘heroically’ scaled miniatures of today.  That said, they are more than serviceable and required very little in the way of preparation.  I was somewhat taken by the officer with his foot resting nonchalantly on a cannonball and was instantly reminded of a truly great Victorian hero, Captain William Peel RN.  Born in 1824 Sir William Peel, son of Sir Robert Peel was an adventurous soul.  He was awarded the Victoria Cross during the Crimean War having been cited three times for acts of conspicuous bravery.  

Incredibly Peel managed to find himself in the thick of the action from the Siege of Sebastopol in 1854, to the Battle of Inkerman the following month and finally leading the assault on the Redan in 1855.  It wasn’t long before Peel had recovered from his wounds and found himself, once again, in action this time during the Indian Mutiny of 1857.  Peel played an important role in the capture of Lucknow, but was badly wounded by a musket ball.  During his evacuation to Cawnpore, Peel contracted smallpox, which would ultimately call time on the astonishing life of this truly amazing man.
  

Finally then to the gun emplacements, which had been a bit of an impulse buy from 'Tabletop Art'.  I had come across these when looking for basing ideas for my crews, initially thinking that I would build something similar myself.  I kept looking at the marvellously painted examples on the company’s website and in the end succumbed and placed my order, justifying the purchase on the basis of saving time.  I have to say that I was incredibly impressed with the customer service and the products arrived in jolly good time and were faultless in the casting of the resin.  I simply painted them to match the examples I had seen, which interestingly led me to base the miniatures on clear Perspex discs from ‘Sally 4th’ purely so that I could use the emplacements with other miniatures in the future.

So a good job done, not least because it will allow me to post about a genuine Victorian hero on my misnomer of a Blog! Seeing them finally painted and with the addition of the gun emplacements, I have to confess to being delighted with the results, certainly some of my favourite work this year.

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These two gun emplacements are just superb, Michael.  


Even though they are a little small by today's standards I find the Foundry's ranges still have so much to offer, especially after such excellent brushwork as we see here. I've not looked at anything from Tabletop Art, but will be giving their catalogue a perusal today. The gabions and planking are wonderfully rendered. I also really like the clear perspex bases you've used for these figures as they give such a nice clean look and would allow you to potentially use them in many different settings (though I'm not sure if I could turn away from the fun of doing groundwork). Finally, I very much enjoyed being introduced to the remarkable career of Sir William Peel - truly a Victorian hero writ large!

This fine work will net you 70 points, which includes a bit extra for the excellent gun emplacements. Bravo Michael!

From SanderS - The Russian Bear, Crimean War 15mm (140 points)

Hoi Folks,

Here's part two of my "Khaki-Project" the larger part of my 15mm Crimean War Russian army.

There are 3 16 man infantry regiments, the colours are tin foil and I more or less freewheeled on the design.

There are also two cavalry squadrons of 4 men each:

Oh and a gun served by 3 gunners:

After painting these I still have to do their British counterparts but probably not for this Challenge, I now do know I do not like to paint 15mm figures, way too small for me. I'll stick with 20mm and 28 mm.

Cheers Sander

Sander, this is an excellent entry.  Crimean War is another period that has always piqued my curiosity, but intimidated me at the same time too much to try it, so I love seeing the efforts of others. Your brief reference to the unit flags being made from tin foil and the colours being done freehand belies, I suspect, a considerable amount of effort - particularly as I think they turned out quite nicely. Well done.

I am a huge fan of 15mm myself, but I can relate to having a certainly feeling of "scale remorse" after I've embarked on a project.  Perhaps some time and work on other projects will offer a chance to re-connect with 15mm, and the Crimean War, as I would love to see the Brits for these fellows to come up against. 

I think anyone who spends time messing around with tin foil to come up with hand-painted unit flags deserve at least a LITTLE extra, so this will net you 140 points.  Great stuff!