From KenR : Condottieri, Castles and Hills (226 points)

 

A mixed bag this week, I didn't post anything last week as I was preparing for the first outing of the Mentana Game at York (more later) lots of things like sorting boxes for transport etc that are important but not exactly good for scoring 😁

I have to say that this post felt more like a maths exam than a painting competition but we got there in the end ! In the background you can see the part of Mentana Town which I built over the last couple of weeks for the game, first up, the hill.

The hill is sat on my normal gaming board and has been specifically built to fit the Mentana Castle on. It's a 3mm mdf base, a xps foam core top which has been cut into a rough hill shape. This is then covered with modelling plaster and tile grout as a base. Once dry it's painted mid brown (or grey for the rocky outcrops) and to finish off I've added layers of static grass to blend it in with the base boards. 28mm Cavalry Base for scale.

Next up is the Medieval part of the Town walls. This is a plastic modular kit from Tabletop Workshop, OOP but still available from some retailers. It's been glued together then the hard work done with spray cans, before blocking in individual bricks, weathering and pin washing.

Finally we have the Renaissance part of the walls, now this is a proper mix mash. The core of the building is two Large Bastle Houses from Sarissa Precision which have had the roofs cut down and glued together end to end. After that I added the corner Turrets using toilet roll card and Rendera Bell Tents for the roof. Finally I've done my tried and tested stippled filler, sand and paint to get the final look. After the messy bit I've simply added some plastic card tiling to the roof and added some terrain juice to add some contrast.

Above is the town (with added pieces done pre Challenge) at the York Show.

Scoring (from my notes) the tower (I needed to invoke the power of pi for this) was 124 sq in whilst the walls were 71.5 for a total of 265 sq in.

The Renaissance Castle is 12.6 x 4 x 8 for 404 sq in

The Hill is in two layers (irregular so I've guesstimated for gaps etc) 35 x 23 x 1 and the top deck 15 x 18 x 1 for a total of 805 + 270 = 1,075 sq in

Grand total of 1744 sq in, there are 216 sq in in a 6' cube so dividing the two gives 8.1 cubes or 161 points, can I lie down now please !

That's one project done and back to another, top tip if you do Projects in the same scale in the same country you can use the same terrain ! 

Many of you will be familiar with my Italian Wars and bar diversions for Libary entries it will be back to my old favourite for the rest of the Challenge. Above is one of two units of Foundry Miniatures 28mm Condottieri in Service of the Papal States.

Above is the second one with colours of Julius II the Warrior Pope. Flags are Flags of War for the top unit and Petes Flags for the second. A little background on these, a friend past away last year and left me his entire collection, I'm still finding things in the huge amount of boxes I collected from his house. 

One thing I found recently were some painted Foundry Horses, which you see here, I've painted and added the riders and flags so I'm only claiming for those at 12 x 28mm "foot" at 5pts each plus four flags at a point each.

That's a total of 225. Hopefully I can get a ship done for next week while I crack on with a Pike Block in the background.

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Hi Ken - another amazing post from you. Your terrain looks incredible of course, although I'm sure nobody will be surprised to know that my mind breaks the moment I read the words "foam core" and it all might as well be Klingon or something from there onwards...but it sure looks amazing. I cannot question your math - as I utterly lack the qualifications! If you say it is "8.1 cubes", that is good enough for me!

The best part are the mounted lads (yes, even though your terrain is utterly stunning, my mind always goes to the painted miniatures - I have a brain wiring problem or something). It is great to that you are honouring your friend by getting these beautiful figures completed and integrated into your own collection. Lovely stuff. 

The spreadsheet tells me this comes out to 226 points. I won't argue with the spreadsheet - so that is 226 points for you!

GregB

From KenR : The Last Garibaldi (142 points)

 

It's not often that you can say "Project Done" but I can definitely say "Project Done". Roughly 950 figures, all done.

I started this plan to build both sides for the Battle of Mentana 1867 a couple of years ago and today sees me finish the last two parts of the jigsaw, a final and 20th Battalion of Garibaldi and a rather unexpected Command Stand.

First up is a Battalion of 24 x 28mm figures again Perry ACW plastics repurposed for the Risorgimento. These represent the Vacchieri Battalion another of the Northern reinforcements for Garibaldis expedition. The striped uniform was an absolute must, something really different and a bit of a challenge as well.

Points wise this is the usual 24 x 5 for the figures plus one for the flag giving me another 121. These will join their compatriots on Wednesday at the club as we continue to playtest the game before it debuts at York on the 4th February.

Finally I have another Command Stand for the Garibaldi and an important lesson when completing a big project. So lets do a bit of Maths (with an s for our US friends !)

Work out the number of Command Stands, let's call it x.

Add up the number of Command Stands you have painted, let's call it y.

If y >= x you are good 👍 

Unfortunately when I did this calculation y was minus 1 ! Queue rapid root through the bits box and thankfully I had a couple of Perry ACW Cavalry left, although I've no idea where the officers horse came from as its metal but any port in a storm 😀 

So that ends this project with 20 points for a couple of mounted 28mm figures and 1 for a flag, 21 in total plus the previous 121 for a total of this post for 142 points.

It's been great to finish this project where it started on the Challenge. I'll do a couple of Troops on Parade videos for the two sides and lots of pics of the Battle will appear on the various Yarkshire Gamer social media platforms.

Next up I'm back to the Italian Wars and may even have an entry for this week ready in time.

From Millsy: Absolutely beautiful Ken, from the painting to the scenery to the photography! I've enjoyed every post in the project and this is is certainly a fitting way to bring the curtain down, at least for now. 950 figs is a decent pile in any scale and in 28mm is even more impressive. Congratulations on getting to this point and I hope you have some wonderful games with your collection!

KenR : 28mm Malenchini Regt & Skirmishers (181 pts)

 

More Garibaldi this week, no library entries so I've put the entries together as one, with just one unit and one Command Base to go I should be done next week.

This unit is another of those that arrived in Sicily from Northern Italy (recruited in Tuscany) to support Garibaldi and formed part of the Medici Brigade. I was drawn to the simple, different uniforms to add another splash of colour to the army.

The figures are Plastic Perry ACW figs, no conversion just painted in the uniform of the Malenchini. 24 figs, 6 on a base 60 x 60. So that's 121 points for this bit of the entry (24 x 5 plus 1 for the flag)

I had 12 figures left after I had built the units I wanted so I have painted them up as skirmishers, here are 6 figs in the uniform of the Bolognesi Battalion which I finished last week. These are 2 per base on 60 x 30. 6 figs at 5 pts each is 30 points.

The other 6 skirmishers have been painted in the uniform of the Medici Battalion which I did last year, so that's another 30 points.

So all in all its 121 + 30 + 30 for a total of 181.

I'll see you next week for the last of the Garibaldi.

Regards Ken 

 

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It is always a treat to enjoy my morning coffee and the entry(ies) of the Yarkshire Gamer! These figures look lovely, and it must be a treat indeed to make use of the different colours to add variety to the units in the setting. I had no idea the Perry ACW plastics could be so adaptable to other settings - just by painting them in different colours! 

 

Great work Ken - another 181 points for you!

 

GregB 

KenR : Machine Guns for the Pope (New Aquistions) (50 points)

 

It's been a bit of a week an here is my third entry. I found out about the Papal Machine Gun in my Podcast chat with Nick Schofield about the Papal Zouaves, I picked the figures up at the last show I attended hence the New Aquistion claim).

The weapon was called a Claxton Gun and unsurprisingly no one makes one, in fact finding pictures of it was hard enough. There is an example in a museum in Belgium but sadly they didn't reply to my enquiries. It had a really interesting firing mechanism (for an engineer anyway 😁) the Gun fired by a lever at the back of the gun being rocked from side to side, which fired two adjacent barrels one after the other. This was done until the barrels started to over heat at which point the Gun was manually rotated to the next two barrels lined up and firing began again. Obviously it wasn't very successful as no one has heard of it !

I've used the Perrys French Mitralleurs Gun model as my base, perfect as the Papal Crew had exactly the same uniform as the French (bar the cap and belt badges). So to Claxton up the Gun, I've added a 6 holed end to the barrel with green stuff, a shield made of plastic card and the rocker firing mechanism from an old bit of sprue. I have to say it's not perfect but I'm well pleased with it.

So points wise there are 4 28mm crew figs at 5 points each with 10 points for the gun and 20 for the Library section, a grand total of 50.  It's been a busy week and I'm maxing out my points whilst I have time as I know the back end of the Challenge I will be busier at work. Next week expect more Garibaldi, I might even finish them.

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Nothing gets my Catholic attention like the title "Machine Guns for the Pope"! Great work here as usual Ken, and it is particularly fun to read about just how whacky and impractical these early versions of machine guns were, before evolving into the chillingly lethal battlefield tools of the 20th century. The description of the mechanism of this thing sounds just about like something Wile E. Coyote might have devised as part of his futile quest to "get" the elusive Roadrunner...

50 points to your total, we look forward to more! 

KenR : 28mm Bolognesi Garibaldi (121 points)

 

The remaining Infantry for the Garibaldi Project are random units I picked from the army to add a bit of colour to the force and something a bit different to paint after a sea of red.

I've used the Perrys Plastic ACW boxes to make up this unit, the uniforms aren't a million miles away and you're not exactly falling over yourself for choice in this period ! Same as my previous units 24 x 28mm figures at 5 points each plus a flag to give me another 121 points.

The Battalion was made up of about 300 Bolognese who arrived from the North of Italy with the Medici Brigade to support Garibaldi. At the end of September 1860 occupied the town of Caiazzo on the Volturno by ejecting the Bourbon forces that garrisoned it. The Vacchieri regiment arrived as reinforcement, but the following day the Bourbons counterattacked with superior forces and defeated the Garibaldini, recapturing the town.

So it's a busy week, I'm posting this on Monday and there's likely to be a third entry this week, when the painting cow is producing, milk it!

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Ah, the elusive "painting cow"...Ken you are, as ever, a veritable dairy's worth of painting from said cow, as the Garibaldi project continues to move forward. Your rate of painting implies quick work, but you nonetheless continue to impress with your level of consistent quality on the figures. I also love the deep bases, and regret not doing something similar for my 28mm Franco-Prussian War project...

Another 121 points for you, and we stay tuned for the next latte's worth of production from the magical painting cow...

GregB 

KenR : 28mm Garibaldi Guides - Overdue (80 points)

 

A nice easy extra 20 points on these Cavalry, I prepped this right at the start of my Garibaldi journey 2 years ago and they have sat in a box whilst the Infantry has been done so it was something I had to come back to.

Cavalry was a real rarity in Garibaldis army but this unit of "Guides" remained with him throughout the Risorgimento. They were a small unit, only 50 strong at Mentana and were primarily used for scouting and communication. However its an excuse to have some Cavalry to go with my Redshirts.

The unit has been painted in its early Red with black facings uniform, by Mentana it had changed to a rather dull grey outfit so I went for the more flamboyant look. The figures are Perrys ACW plastic Cavalry which at the time of purchase where the closest match I could find. It's meant painting some detail, like the lace on the chests but that's been half the joy of this project.

So points wise this unit is 6 x 28mm Horse at 10 points each plus the 20 pt Library bonus giving me 80 points.

As I'm posting this up as ready for Wednesday the previous Friday I would expect to have one or maybe 2 further posts for this week. I've started the Challenge with my painting mojo on fire so I'm driving it as fast as I can !

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A group of light cavalry? What could that possibly be a sign of? Surely there is no sort of "Yarkshire Painting Juggernaut" looming on the Wednesday horizon...who would believe such a thing...

Great work as always Ken. "So I went for the more flamboyant look." F*ck yeah, you did! That is the point of the hobby, right?

80 points for you sir!

Greg 

KenR : The last of the Redshirts : 28mm Garibaldi (121 Points)

 

A post today with a tinge of sadness, this is the last Redshirt unit for my Garibaldi Project, now don't get me wrong I'm glad to have finished this part of the Army but I've enjoyed painting these Gringo40s figures over the last couple of years.

As with all the other units these are 28mm figures based 6 to a base on a 60 x 60 base, the extended fronts protecting the bayonets on the figures.

Scoring is nice and easy as it's the same as the first unit I did in the Challenge, 24 figs at 5 points each plus one for the flag makes 121 !

It's certainly not the end of the Garibaldi, next up will be a small unit of Garibaldi Cavalry after which I have three Battalions not in red shirts and some skirmishers, I've also got a surprise addition for the Papal Forces to fit in with a library entry. 

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A new year, a new edition of the Analogue Painting Challenge, but the consistency of the KenR juggernaut crushing out another amazing project continues to amaze. Well done Ken, it has been, and will continue to be, a real treat for all of us to follow along on this project as it enters its next phase. 

121 points for you sir!

Ken R : 28mm Garibaldi Wolf Company and History Library (100 points)

 

Entry number 2 of the Challenge for me is more Garibaldi troops but this time something a little bit different. This unit is called "The Wolf Company" and let's face it if you are building an army that has a unit in it with that name, your painting it !

When I walk into a Library I will always go to the History section first so here's the History of this unit to gain me another 20 points and a foothold in the entrance to the AHPC Challenge Library.

The Wolf Company formed part of the The Eber Brigade which was part of the Turr Division when they fought at Volturno in 1860. It was composed of the Bassini and Cossovich Regiments, the Bersaglieri Tanara Battalion, the Foreign Company Wolf and the Hungarian Legion.

The Company was formed by around 250 Swiss defectors from the Bourbon army. They initially wore a dark blue jacket with red facings. Carlo Agrati in his "From Palermo to Volturno" says that the foreign company had new Bourbon uniforms "found" in a warehouse in Caltanissetta. They were blue jackets with green facing, caps in the same color and red trousers. I have represented the unit in the latter "borrowed" kit, there's a bit of guess work involved but I think it looks the biz.

The figures come from the Piedmont range from Gringo40s and are large scale 28mm. The unit has 16 figures based in skirmish order (2 figs per 60 x 30 base) so with 5 points a fig that's 80 with a nice top up of 20 for the Library, 100 in total.

I have a bit of time of work in Jan and Feb so I'm trying to front load my Challenge and get some points on the board before I get busy towards the end of the three months. Next up will be my final unit of Red Shirts

Regards Ken 

The Yarkshire Gamer 

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Lovely brushwork as usual, Ken! I really can't fault you. If there was a unit called the Wolf Company in the mix of the bog-normal-rank-and file, you can be sure I'd be painting it too! They look very smart indeed with their red trousers, blue coats and fancy forage caps.  Well done!

- Curt

KenR : 28mm Garibaldi Infantry (121 points)

 

Back again in the Challenge, after all what else would I be doing at this time of the year!

No Big Project this year but I do plan to top and tail some projects you will be all familiar with (if you've seen my Challenge stuff before. The first thing I need to finish is the Garibaldi Project I started 2 Challenges ago.

I've been chipping away at the figures and the Papal Forces are complete, but I have 5 (well 4 now 😁) Infantry Battalions, 2 lots of Skirmishers and a small Cavalry unit to complete for Garibaldi and I've got a table at the York Show in February to put the game on so there's no mucking about ! There's also some terrain as well.

The figures are from a company called Gringo40s who do a comprehensive range of figures in 28mm for the Italian Risorgimento. They are on the large side for 28mm, but great detail.

The unit has 24 figures based in 6s on 60 x 60 bases. The front of the bases are extended to give some protection to the Muskets of the unit. At 5 points a piece that bags me a nice start of 120 points. 

I always try and get a score on the doors before Xmas in the Challenge and usually just do a Command Base, I went for a full unit this time and only just made it !

Merry Christmas everyone, looking forward to seeing all your entries coming up over the next few months.

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First, welcome back to the Challenge, Ken!

I always love seeing your big projects come to fruition during our event and this will be no exception. (Will you do the blank base photo for us to track?) Beautiful work on these Garibaldian lads. They very much look the business, all ranked up in their firing pose. Like you, I love the chunky sculpting from Gringo40 and am eager to see this force slowly (or quickly) flesh out!

- Curt

PS: I've given you an extra point for the national flag (apropos considering what all the fuss was about). :)

 

KenR : 28mm French Chasseur a Pied 1867 (120 pts)

Now I've finally stopped mucking about in boats and got an actual wargames unit finished. Last Challenge I did a load of figures for my Battle of Mentana Project, unfortunately the Perrys still haven't brought out French Line Infantry for the period so I've not been able to complete both sides for the Battle so I've drifted onto other Projects.

I did however have some metal Perry Chasseur a Pied undercoated so as a bit of a bookend on last year's project I decided to do this unit of 24 figures to Start this year, it's taken me a bit longer than I expected but 24 x 5 is 120 badly needed points as I am well behind my require pace to reach 1500 by challenge end.

I found these really difficult to photograph, it must be something to do with the dark uniforms so I ended up using a white background to get something like an acceptable photo. My bases are 60mm square with 6 figures on. 

The extended bases provide a bit of protection to the Rifles and bayonets on this models which I have to say are quite flimsy and I've had no end of problems with them bending.

Next week I hope to have a unit of 10mm (yes I did say 10mm) Malburian and maybe another ship 😉 eventually I will get started on my Italian Wars stuff, honest 😀 

Really nice looking unit Ken, love the deep blue with the yellow piping.  Your basing does them justice and I do appreciate the need for going deep to protect gun barrels.  It may have been a pain to get them based, but the end result is really worth it.  

Hoping that the Perry's get you the figures you need, but in the mean time we'll look forward to the tiny WSS and big ships.  And oh yes you need to do some Italian Wars stuff - get to it already would you.