From TeemuL: Wild West and Eastern Front (71 points)

Two different projects gaining additions this week, and both of these are projects I have already played games with and hope to play more in the future! Let's start with Old Wild West or how you want to call it. This fellowship of nine are Great Escape Games multipart plastic gunfighters from Gunfighters and Gunfighters II boxes - the first one contains the gentlemen and the second one the ladies. I shared these boxes with a friend and painted one lady on last challenge, hence the odd number. What a Cowboy is the ruleset I have and have played with, so I went with varied weapons to have all kinds of different options available. I have painted some several Old West minis in the past, now I should have quite a large selection - barring the mounted options.

I used mainly quite dull, earthly colours and drybrushed everything in the end to get a dusted appearance, but tried to add some bright colours here and there - the scarf, undershirt or something. So you see lots of different browns here, lots of Reikland Flesh Shade everywhere, but still not exactly Sergio Leone dust levels. :)

Playing around with some other environment than the dungeon (see below), I decided to use Last Chance Saloon for my Gunfighters, and it is quite ok. I just need something colourful for the background.

I painted some SU-76s for the Soviet Army for Bagration and since I'm in the process of painting the both sides, it felt only fair to give something for Germans as well. I guess the Russians have quantity and Germans have the quality, here are two Hornisses, also known as Nashorns, and officially as Sd.Kfz. 164. These are part metal part resin figures, a bit painful to assemble thus, but they look quite nice when ready. They are tank hunters, rather cheap and manouvarable solution to break Allied tanks. Open topped with a highly effective Pak 43 gun, similar gun was used later in Tiger IIs and Jagdpanthers. And of course as anti tank gun as itself. Hornisse first saw action at the battle of Kursk and remained in the service until end of the war.

I have used Averland Sunset as the yellow colour, then some green DIY store green added with blister foam to create the camouflage and finally some XV-88 (nice connection to the gun "8.8cm Pak 43" this vehicle carries) to finalize to overall look. AA gun was painted black, same as the wheels. Tracks are some greyish colour I had. Reikland Flesh Shade is used here, too, some touch ups and identification info. Glued on MDF base with some green sawdust and tufts to tie them nicely to Eastern Front in summer 1944. My philosophy with late war Germans is, that anything goes. I mean, there are of course rules to follow, but as long as playing Flames of War type of games, which are not strictly historical battles, rather generic encounters of what-ifs, German forces are happy to field what ever they have available. Retreating units from the front line, reinforcements from the reserve, you take what you have to fight for the Motherland. So these two Hornisses should have no trouble finding a home in my army.

The crew was painted separately, because that was easier and I could then claim full points of them. Khaki jacket and caps with dark brown and bright green camouflage pattern, grey pants and black boots. And that famous Reikland Flesh Shade pretty much everywhere.

Nine 28mm gunfighters for 45 points and a "28mm Old West Squirrel!"

Two 15mm vehicles for a total of 16 points and then 4 and 2 halfs of crewmembers for 10 points, 26 in total and a "15mm WW2 German Squirrel." It's amazing how they plan these "Squirrel in a box" products!

Total for this post is 71 points and 2 squirrels, no skulls or stompy robots, but something for Lady Sarah, if that is still a thing. :) And three cardboard boxes are now empty and ready to be recycled.

Fellowship of Nine on the balcony

P.S.While I was taking photos of these, my 10 year old son was bored, because screen time was all used up and he then spent some time chatting with his mother and I overheard this kind of question:

- What is that "Desert song" that is always played in the movies, when they are in the desert?

I'm quite sure he means Youtube videos and such like, since he doesn't watch movies, they are too long and boring. My wife was a bit puzzled about this "Desert song", but our son insisted that it is a real thing and told her to search for it. She thought a while and then played this song from Youtube and that actually was the "Desert song!" So now you know, too! :)

P.P.S. I did write the text about "Sergio Leone dust levels" before this conversation!

There's nothing better to get the vreative juices going then playing the game that needs painted miniatures and while those Eastern front tanks are awesome, for me it's the Wild West figures taht are the star of this post, more so because of the very recognisable story about your son and his questions... it's no different at this end of the line mate. 

 

Great work and see you next week, Cheers Sander 

From TeemuL: Parade in Paradise [The Ambitious] [The Lovers] [The Just Rulers] (100 points)

So I have been stuck in Paradise for some time now after clearing the First Circle: The Inconstant. Since that I have been painting everything else, searched for female miniatures and browsed dictionaries to figure out what all those fancy words mean and how I can twist them to fit my minis.

I was planning to use my Ambition entry for Wise, but lacking the females and time I had to make some changes. But I guess Gandalf is considered wise, but also ambitious: "A figure that is as keen as mustard, an overachiever".

I'll kill the Balrog, resurrect myself, replace the head of my order, be a kingmaker, ride couple of days and nights, make vaque promises and keep them and so on.

Does that sound an overachiever? It does to me. And this mini is Gandalf the White version by Games Workshop, a nice metal model, which I tried to paint white. Yes, lots of whites and shades of white, but I think it is ok.

Assuming my reasoning is valid I can move to the third circle and present The Lovers. Yes, Lannisters in paradise... Not the most usual love story, brother and sister loving each other and their common son. Jaime and Cersei Lannister with Tommen. There were some lust, some other strong feelings, too, but definitely some love. And at least Jaime and Cersei both loved Tommen, so that is my backup plan for Lovers.

These are from CMON box Lannister Heroes 3 and are plastic as the previous ones. Not that many details, but that makes them fast to paint. I'm happy with Jaime, but I guess Cersei would have liked more royal outfit, I don't know. I gave Jaime the white cloak of King's guard, I believe he was part of that even after losing his hand.

I'm not familiar with the game A Song of Ice and Fire where these belong, but these look quite strange heroes for a wargame. Queen (regent?) in a dress with his young son and a knight on his knees with a bandaged hand. Not may be the types you expect to see in the first line, but Seven Kingdoms is an interesting place.

Next stop is The Just Rulers. I'll present King Aragorn before he was wise and just king. Yes, I was planning to use Gandalf as Wise, but my female transportation options were scarce. Aragorn was very clever even before he was crowned king. Here he is from the "Two Towers era", where he was told "When last I looked, Théoden, not Aragorn, was king of Rohan." and kept his mouth wisely shut and later became king of Gondor.

He reigned long and died peacefully, made clever pacts and bowed to hobbits. In general considered as a good guy, I think I could have used him as the Ambitious one, too... But yes, he was just ruler, lived a long life and learnt a lot from elfs and men and even something from dwarfs and hobbits and ents. I think I could have used him as the Wise one, too? Tells something about the works of Tolkien, that his characters are definitely not one dimensional.

I've been talking about the female minis here and there and you might realize, that one must use a female or angel mini to jump over circles and I have just come from 3rd to 6th circle and I can't use Cersei for transport so I need to present something else.

Let me present you Bertha the Bear, the famous female bear!

This is a metal bear from Warbases, I ordered her at the same time I ordered the bases for Napoleonics. I know there has been some strong rulings in the past regarding female bears, but I believe they are all sorted out now?

But if I'm mistaken and Bertha is not counted, I have another classic from Challenge Wednesdays, Dorothy Dromedar!

She is from Warbases, too. She has quite a strong mould line on her back, looks good from one angle, but terrible from other. Both Bertha and Dorothy are mainly painted using Contrast paints with some details added and especially the underbellies and legs drybrushed.

Sarah the Shootist is the last and third female of this post and she makes it sure that I can pass.

She is a plastic from Great Escape Games Gunfighters II box and painted mostly with traditional acrylics. Green and brown sounded like practical colours, violet scarf gives a hinf of her feminity. Little bit dusted clothes to match my other Old West minis.

With these I have gone through 4 circles in Paradise and can either pick The Warriors of Faith or The Contemplatives next. I need to browse through the dictionary again...

I'd say this is 8 (6 humans and 2 animals of different sizes) 28mm minis in total for 40 points and then three locations for total of 100 points! I have more to come before the Challenge ends!

Wow Teemu, you've pulled out all the stops with this entry! I really like your interpretation of The Ambitious, The Lovers, and The Just Ruler - each one a terrific example of those themes. Bertha the Bear made me laugh aloud (and I'm sure Ray will do the same) and Sarah the Shootist looks truly formidable, ready to draw her long-barrelled Colt if the need arrises. Brilliant work, sir!

- Curt

From FrederickC - The Devil's Right Hand - Gunfighters of the Old West and Two Circles of Hell [Greed][Wrath] (145 points)

In the Spring of last year I picked up the rules for 'What A Cowboy' from TooFatLardies. The mechanics of the game has similarities with their 'What A Tanker' rules, which I enjoy playing with the local gang of Fawcett Avenue Conscripts. However I didn't have any appropriate figures to go with the rules. While on my re-enacting travels I came across two sets of multipart plastic figures from Great Escape Games to go with their Dead Man's Hand rules. Each box contains two identical sprues with five sets of legs and torsos, but with enough options of heads, arms, and weapons to build ten unique figures. They have since come out with a box of mounted gunfighters, but the heads, and torsos match those in the first of the two sets. That is definitely a future project of building mounted versions of the gunfighters I have just painted.

In July I attended Historicon and the theme was 'From Hollywood to Historicon". Their 40th Anniversary Mini was a figure of ‘The Outlaw Josey Wales’ sculpted by Paul Hicks. It will be a useful addition to all the other gunfighters.

All the figures came with small oval bases, so they got glued onto larger 25mm round bases, and a layer of fine sand was then added to the bases with PVA glue. They were primed black with a rattle can before being painted with a variety of Vallejo and Army Painter acrylics. All the figures were given a coat of Army Painter Soft Tone Wash. The bases were painted with craft acrylics and a few tufts of dry grass were added. Here is the final result.

21 unique gunfighters of the Old West

Here are some closeups of the figures built from the Gunfighters box. There were two figures where I didn't like the fit of the neck to the torso, so I covered up the area with a bandana sculpted out of epoxy putty. I have arranged the figures in the two photos so that the legs match from left to right. I was able to create ten unique figures from the options available.

Gunfighters - Group A

Gunfighters - Group B

 Here are some closeups of the figures built from the Gunfighters II box. Again I have arranged the figures in the two photos so that the legs match from left to right. It shows the variety that can be created from the options available to once more give ten unique figures.

Lady Gunfighters - Group A

Lady Gunfighters - Group B

 I am going to use the gunfighters with masks, in the act of robbing the town bank, the train from Deadwood, or the Wells-Fargo stagecoach, for the fourth Circle of Hell - Greed.

"Hands up," says Bill Miner. "Hands up!" 

"Reach for the sky, sodbusters!"

"Plutus guarding the Fourth Circle of Hell - Greed" by William Blake

Now we come to a tale of murder, hatred, revenge, and retribution with Clint Eastwood as 'The Outlaw Josey Wales'. For those who may not have seen the movie, watch the official trailer on Youtube. I will use this figure to represent the fifth Circle of Hell - Wrath.

"Well, you gonna pull those pistols, or whistle 'Dixie'?"

 

"The Stygian Swamp of the Fifth Circle of Hell - Wrath" by William Blake

The eight female gunfighters not used for ‘Greed’ I will bank for the present to use as succubi or seraphim at a later point in the Divine Comedy. Whether tough and wily Cowboys, stoic Lawmen, ruthless Outlaws and crazy Desperados, they are all member of the cult of 'The Devil's Right Hand'. 

The points being claimed are as follows:

21 x 28mm foot figure @ 5 points =  105 points

2 x Circles of Hell - Greed & Wrath = 40 points 

Thanks for stopping by.

Sylvain: Pilgrim, that's a lot of Colts for a single posting! You did a good job creating diversity with the set you had at hand. And your colors for your figurines really evoke the Far West. Very nice work!

 

 

 

 

From AlanD: WWII Romanian Cavalry (120 points)

Truly, wargames projects are never finished.

A couple of years ago I 'finished' a large force of WWII Romanians in winter gear. Since then, they have given me great enjoyment in a series of games of Battlegroup, mostly against my friend Marty's Hungarians and Germans.

So, when Great Escape Games added to their already lovely range of Romanians with a couple of packs of cavalry, I obviously needed to add them to my army. These came out just around Christmas, following their summer cavalry packs from a year ago. I have been eagerly awaiting these, and now my force gains a squad of cavalry to add to their recce assets.

As much as I like these figures, it's worth mentioning that they were absolute swine to prepare. I have never encountered mounted figures where the riders were more incompatible with their horses. To get them to actually sit on their mounts, I had to spend an inordinate amount of time carving bits off their greatcoats, saddle blankets and packs, and then using greenstuff to cover the gaps. This is a bit poor, and I think reflects the hasty use of the horses from the summer cavalry packs without taking the care to see how the new riders would sit.

Anyway, I'm pleased with the result, and can now definitively call my Romanians done (!)

12 figures for 120 points please Millsy!

From Millsy:

Never a truer word was spoken than your first point about things being finished. I'm equally guilty as you'll see next week.

Cracking brushwork on these horsey boys mate. The uniforms are both appropriately drab without losing visual interest and the mix of skin tones on the horse flesh really lifts them up a notch or three.

Very nicely staged and photographed too and the mono pic at the end is a great touch.

120 points it is Alan. Can't wait to see what's added to the project next :-P

Cheers,
Millsy

From PaulSS: Let's get this wagon rolling! (60 points)

I've been a slacker this challenge, I usually try to get something posted on day one, and here we are on day eleven with my first submission!

This year has been the year for me mainly of What a Cowboy! and General D'Armee 2, so I open my account with some more figures for the Old West collection.

First up a group of four gunfighters from the Western Characters II set from Brigade Games, shameful admission, these were prepared and primed ready for Challenge XIV and have languished in the "I'll make a start on them pile" for over a year now.

Lively characterful figures sculpted by Hicksy and based on the Deadwood TV series. These four are Calamity Jane, Silas Adams, Wild Bill Hickok and Tom Nutall. Seth Bullock is hopefully going to be painted for a upcoming post!

While visiting the UK in May I attended the Partizan Show and picked up a load of goodies from Great Escape Games, the gunfighters I bought are all painted earlier this year, but the General Purpose Wagon was saved for the challenge.

It's a characterful addition to the collection.

Six 28 mm figures, plus two horses and a vehicle should kick off my challenge with 60pts.

From TeemuL: Very nice minis Paul and welcome back to the Challenge. You have achieved a very nice and dusty look on your Old West characters, they really look like they fit the period. And the wagon is excellent mini, probably sees lots of action. I hope to paint some Gunfighters from Great Escape Games later in the Challenge, but let's see how it turns out.