From Millsy: 28mm WW2 British Army Regulars (100 points)

G'day All,

I figured since I agreed to participate in the WW2 Side Duel that I should make at least a token effort to get something painted and submitted.

These are 1st Corps miniatures painted up as British Army Regulars in Normandy '44. Great fun to paint and super fast too. Unlike everything else I've done this year these flew by. Just 3.5 hours from undercoat last night.

The submission represents the start of a Bolt Action force - command, medium mortar and one of three infantry squads. There's also a light mortar team which has no place in Bolt Action (boo!) but came with the army deal so I've painted them anyway. I believe they do have use in Chain of Command.

Hope you like em!

Points wise I've managed to pass my target right at the death. Serves me right for not painting more quick stuff right?

• 18 x 28mm infantry = 90 points
• 1 x 28mm crew served weapon = 5 points

Total = 95 points

So that's my Challenge done for another year. I never tire of these and have great appreciation for Curt and Sarah for the effort they put in to making these happen. Thank you both! Thanks also to my wonderful crop of Antipodean charges, our regular paint-and-chat sessions are the highlight of my week.

See you next year!

Cheers,

Millsy

TeemuL: Going over the target just in time, how precise! I'm quite sure you had this all planned on Excel spreadsheet at the start of the Challenge? The minis look great and provide at least something for the side duel of yours. Now just rest and recovery for the next nine months before this happy mayhem starts again! Thank you for your efforts regarding this Challenge, Millsy!

P.S. Crew served weapons are worth 10 points in 28mm, so 100 points to you. Yeah, we can arque what counts as a crew served weapon, but we can't argue with the Spreadsheet...

From GeoffT: More Indian WW2 figures (40 points)

Hello Challengers,

I have not posted much of late, but for a good reason, last week I was away at Cancon, Australia’s largest game convention, participating in The Lard Zone.

Uncharacteristically, I came back with only a few extra miniatures, the small haul did include these miniatures from Eureka, that I am adding to my Chain of Command India force for Malaya, as we start the Jitra campaign next week.  

Eight 28mm miniatures = 40 points, and enough figures for a squirrel.

Kind Regards

Geoff.

From Millsy:

I'm really enjoying seeing this collection grow Geoff. Your skins tones on the Indians always hit the right note for me.

It's great to see an often neglected arm of the Commonwealth forces getting some love as they were both numerous and valuable to the Allied war effort.

Nice work mate. 40 mores points it is!

Cheers,
Millsy

From AndrewB: Armored Wrath! 136pts

 Sorry for the delay, but for the first installment of our 6mm project, we’re looking at a sizeable chunk of XXX Corps, here to wreak havoc and take vengeance on the sorry Jerries of the Netherlands in a huge Market Garden game.  

I think the Priests are my favorite, as much as they can be tough to get onto a table.  

A big Guards Armored family photo!  68 6mm vehicles for 136pts!  More 6mm coming soon as I finish German vehicles and base infantry!

From GeoffT: Inconstant, WW2 Indian Army in Malaya (30 points)

Hello Challengers,

The British Indian Army of 1941 started WW2 under trained, under equipped and poorly led.  As such they were found wanton when faced with the onslaught of battle hardened Japanese veterans.  Thus I have chosen them for the theme of Inconstant.  By 1944, the remarkable Sir Slim had transformed the Indian army into a highly professional and effective fighting force.

As my preferred WW2 game, Chain of Command moved sourcebook from Europe to the Far East theatre, the game has become a lot more real.  Being Australian, a number of my relatives fought in the Far East, Middle East and Pacific, and the game suddenly seems much closer to home.

These two are an Indian Vickers team.  The figures are by Eureka.  Indian troops are often depicted in wargames with beards and turbans.  However, a significant number were clean shaven and wore the Brodie helmet as seen in photographs of the time.

I added lurid green tufts to emphasise the contrast between the khaki far east uniform of the time and the green of the jungle, a problem for the allies in the campaign.

I shall pick up a few more of this range at Cancon, Australia’s largest wargames convention on the coming fortnight, and time pending will paint enough for a squirrel.  I’ll also be looking for a background for photography, rather than using an old piece of packing chipboard, which has a good colour, but can cause the camera to focus on the chips.

Points,

10 points for a 28mm weapons team,

20 points for the ‘Inconstant’ theme.

Kind Regards

Geoff.

From Millsy:

Nice to see some Eureka minis getting some love Geoff! I'm hoping to pick up a few things from them at CANCON this year too.

I think you've really nailed the skin tone here, something I am working hard on at the moment myself. I like the fact these are clean shaven too, as opposed to bearded as you point out.

Nice work and a cool 30 points added to your total.

Cheers,
Millsy

From MartinN: Panzer IV Ausf. A (20 pts.)

We're just into the second week of this challenge and I already got a second entry in *enter canned applause here*. Somehow I doubt it'll last though...

One thing that was sorely lacking in my Early War German force was a Panzer IV of one of the earlier marks. For some obscure reason I settled onto an Ausführung A variant instead of the more usual B/ C/ or D variants, which were all around and in greater numbers for the Invasion of France. Be that as it may, on first sight this Ausf. A can do service as a D just as well, the overall shape being the same.

Also, nobody likes button (rivet - ed) counters anyway ;-)

The model is a 3D print from Night Sky Models over on www.wargaming3d.com and I can recommend their files for their quality. 

I should have probably gone for the grey-brown two tone camouflage it was only at the end of July of 1940 that Panzergrau was to be used as the only color. Yet, while some pictures clearly show the earlier two tone camouflage, just as many seem to show plain Panzergrau. Given that dark brown and grey would be hard to identify correctly on all but the best black and white pictures, it might just as well be that they all still sported two tone camouflage. And frankly, I couldn't be bothered to dig deeper into it.

As I wanted this latest addition to fit in with the rest of my early German motor pool, grey it was to be anyway.

The decals on the turret were a b*tch to apply, due to the curvature on the back and the vision ports on the front. But after many a swear word and a few failed attempts we got there thanks to the liberal use of Micr Sol and Micro Set. I might have overdone the weathering just a little bit, but by May 1940 this old warrior had in all likelihood already seen combat in Poland. As it helps to make the otherwise rather dull looking vehicle look more interesting, I think it's permissable to go a little overboard. 

1x 28mm vehicle = 20 pts.

___________________________

Fabulous work on this early Mark IV Nick! I've always like the look of the earlier panzers as they seemed less ferocious and more interesting in their design than the later cats. Your panzer grey looks spot on and I love the weathering that you've gone with, especially that dodgy exhaust system. While the decals may have given you some trouble you managed manfully and they look terrific. A lovely clanker, my friend, indomitable in France but doomed to be made into a smoking pile of slag on the Eastern Front. 

- Curt

From GeoffT - Limbo, WW2 US Paratroopers (55 points)

Hello Challengers,

This year I did a lot of sculpting, but that stuff is already painted.  So instead I will be working through the remains of a bunch of old school models I picked up from a shop moving sale.

The first submission was a project that I started a few months ago, but ended up in limbo.  I acquired a platoon worth of very nice Black Tree Design US Paratroopers. Quite timely considering Chain of Command 2 is due out in April 2025.

After painting the platoon and checking the army list I realised I was short a few pieces; browning 30 cal machine gunners and the mortar crew, so I mail ordered some from Northstar.  At the same time I preordered the new Silver Bayonet supplement, and therefore my order including the Paras went into limbo awaiting the supplement release date.  The limbo ended, they arrived and have been painted.

The colours came up odd in photos, have tried to correct back to true colour as best I could.

Eight x 28mm miniatures = 40 points 

Limbo bonus = 20 points

Total = 60 55 points.

This is also the first squirrel, for WW2 US Paras.

Kind Regards

Geoff.

__________________________________________

First, welcome back to the Challenge Geoffrey! A great set of American paratroopers, and with them languishing on your desk these past few months are a perfect Limbo entry. It's great to have the option of both moving or deployed support weapon teams, especially for CoC in which displaying these details are important. Well done!

Prone troops are scored as half points so I'd adjusted your total accordingly.

- Curt

PS: Also, as a reminder, please remember to place in your metadata labels as it assists for searching.

From RossM: The Last Post for AHPC XIV - 30 points

It has been a quick Challenge this time round and both unfortunately and regrettably I don't have much to show for it. 

There is are miniatures in varying states of paint and unpaint across the painting table however due to a variety of different reasons, only the five AVF below are suitable to enter as my second and final post for this year's challenge. 

The Desert War between 1940-43 has always been an interest of mine and on reading a "soft" copy of O Group from the boys at Too Fat Lardies, the rest as they say is history. 

The vehicles are from Pendraken's great range of 10mm WW2 models and the detail shows well once painted. 

There are four Marder II's and one Sd Kfz 10/4 with a 20mm AA gun fitted. The Marders where fun to paint and the extra detail on the sidings of the 10/4 take to dry brushing like a fish to water. 

Sadly, this concludes my AHPC XIV with additional points as below:

10mm vehicles x 5 = 6 points each for a total of 30 points. 

This takes my challenge total to 106 points from 500. Not the finish I was looking for but them's the blows 

Looking forward to catching up with all of your posts from the last three months and November isn't far away. 

Cheers for now

_________________________________

Great work on these DAK vehicles, Ross. I especially like the weathering and how you pulled out the details on the crew. Great little minis for 10mm! 

I realize your output didn't meet your target, but I know you'll be more than up for it next time we roll out. 

- Curt

  

 

From LeeH: General George S Patton (Library: Statue of a Famous Person) (25 Points)

The painting Mojo has been a bit limited recently, and it's entirely my own fault. I’ve managed to pile project on top of project until finding time to paint has become a bit limited. That is not necessarily a negative, because I have played far more games - both in person and remotely via Zoom - than I usually would. And I have been working on my YouTube channel and writing some articles, so it's not like I have been idle. Add on top of this a work schedule that has doubled my workload and finding time to even think about painting has been difficult. 

I have been trying to work my way through the Challenge Library but have reached an impasse. Eventually, I decided to do the ‘Statue of a Famous Person’ and I found this model of General Patton, but I didn’t want to just paint it as bronze or stone. So my ‘Statue’ is one of two options: either a waxwork statue of the man, or my 28mm model is in effect a miniature statue?? Ok, I’m stretching the definition for this section but you get where I am coming from. 

General Patton is one of those characters who seem to stride across the pages of the history books. He certainly had a talent for war and an ego to match, so powerful that it easily reached across the intervening 79 years since his death. Reading anything about this man's life and ambitions one has to ask how different the world would have been had he lived? 

1 x 28mm Foot = 5points + Challenge bonus = 25 Points. 

Lee.. love the painting of old Patton here.. and well it doesn't have to be a statue itself so to speak, so I think this works well for the context of a Famous person. Great job, and 25 pts added for you!
Kyle

From PhilH: Researching Armour and AT at the History section (85 points)

Continuing my amble through the first section of the library with more support options for WWII Fall of France. I focused on the core infantry platoon and some supports in Challenge XIII, then in the spring blitzed through a peloton of motorcycle recce troops.

I have a few more bits for the project in the stash (and the Germans prepped and waiting patiently in the queue), and the French were are lacking armour. First, a Warlord Games 47mm Antitank gun. A chunky  threat to see off those panzers.  

Next, the 3D printer whirred into action to run off a Panhard 178 armoured car, affectionally know as ‘PanPans’ to support the recce troops. Except when one is 3D printing, why print one when you can print two?! So here’s two PanPans for twice the fun. 

These are nice 28mm 1/56 scale files from the Fighting Vehicles Patreon. The turrets are a little tight, just noticed that one on the left needs a bit of forcing down. 

I am fond of French armour design and just added a little stowage to bring them to life. Fortunately I remembered to order some French roundel decals before Christmas, and pinched the others from kits I have in the stash. 

I am keen to hunt down appropriately scaled stls for other French armour, especiallythe commonplace Renault R35. 

A crewed weapon, four crew two of which are prone (40 25) two vehicles (40) and the location bonus makes a lovely 100  85 points. 

Replacement minion Martijn here, as Greg is attending to other duties. I love those early war French, Phil! The camo on the equipment is very well done and the 3D printed Panhards look absolutely great. Well done indeed.

Unfortunately, your math is a little off. Prone figures traditionally score half the points and the gun 10, so that's 25 for the gun and crew,, added to the two vehicles and the location bonus makes a still very respectable 85 points for you.

AndrewB- A week missed, some fun projects! (264 points)

Hello everybody!   Sorry for missing last week, real life caught up, and I had to roll what little I got done in with this week’s entry!   

Without further ado, we’ve got the Maritime Room!    I’m sure at least a few of you remember the late great PBeccas, a truly phenomenal Australian. He served in his youth in the Australian Navy, and I printed a fleet of 1/2400 RAN vessels from early WWII shortly before he passed.  They’ve sat unpainted for too long, and I grabbed them to get rolling in his memory. 

First, the cruisers!   Historically, two County class Heavy Cruisers, Australia and Canberra, accompanied by three of the modified Leander class Light Cruisers, Hobart, Perth, and Sydney!  These were fun to paint up, and represent the force’s heavy units.  

The RAN historically had four V class destroyers, and the destroyer leader Stuart.  These little guys were a nice break from trying to paint 1/6000 destroyers, so I had that going for me!  

Here are four ‘Grimsby’ class sloops (had to improvise, couldn’t find .stls for them)

The fleet assembled!   I may have goobered up the scaling on the sloops a bit, but they have the right number of guns and stacks, so hopefully nobody makes too much of an issue. 

Next some nice little houses I printed for my ongoing Battle of St Louis project set in the All Quiet on the Martian Front universe!   I printed these from free files on thingiverse, and I’m pretty happy with how the prints(some of my first FDM) came out, and how they painted up.  They’re also some of the first models I’ve ever used an airbrush on, which you can sort of see on the tan walls.  More work on that in the future. Here’s the first 8!  

 

These poor houses have sustained some damage from both traditional weapons and Martian heat rays!  I intentionally left them more clean than I wanted, but that lets them be used fairly well for FoW or alongside the battlefield in a box buildings that you see pretty commonly.  There will certainly be lots more to come, but for challenge purposes, I need to stick to 28s for the points.  These each take up about a quarter of a terrain box, so I wound up making them the same points.  Still, a good start on the city!

Moving along with that project, bases finally arrived!  There’s also some quite fun characters to go along with the mass of infantry!  Here’s the infantry, which made an odd 14 stands worth, which combines with the previous three for a frustrating difficult to split seventeen, but that’s alright!  

 

Like the previous models you’ve seen, these are from Old Glory, and came together quite well!   They’re ready to keep the goober Martians out!  Still quite happy with how this Geek Gaming Forest Ground Cover is shaping up to look like shattered lumber with the smaller scale figures, so that helps!  I also did two command bases with these figures, and boy howdy are they gonna hit a couple rooms!  

 

These two additional command stands have a couple notable locals, who would certainly be able to call upon men and resources in this time of need!  First with his assistant, on the right command stand is the legendary August Anheuser Busch, who brought the brewery founded by his father and grandfather to the fore in the early 1900s.  We’ve all had it, the world made Budweiser the King of Beers, and this guy is largely responsible for that rise!   We’ve got his trademark suit, hat, and belly, so here he is, a truly Famous Person!  

To the left, we have another figure who wielded large amounts of influence in St Louis at about the same time, Thomas Egan.  Before we get to his room though, the two lovely ladies on these bases will take us on Lady Sarah’s Book Cart, Coming to rest in the True Crime room.  Egan wasn’t a very nice fellow, and began running liquor and bringing large-scale organized crime to St Louis well before prohibition even began.  His grip on the city held from before the turn of the century to his death in 1919.  He’d absolutely bring his men to the streets, as the Martians surely support the Volstead act.  

Group photo!

That’s a long post, thanks for sticking with it!  

As for points, there are 60 15mm minis at 2pts apiece for 120, two 6x6 boxes of houses for 40pts, and twelve 1/2400 ships for 2pts apiece(if I recall previous scoring properly) for 24pts  with Maritime, Famous Person, and True Crime rooms, alone with Lady Sarah’s Book Cart, we have 80pts to add, for a total of 264pts.  I’ll try not to let the weeks stack up again, I appreciate everything our great Wednesday Minion does!  

***

Welcome back Andrew - no shame missing a week here or there, life often gets in the way of hobby work after all. Besides, you put your time to good use, uncorking another little points bomb here for all of us to enjoy. 

This whole St. Louis-Getting-Zapped-By-Martians thing is certainly entertaining, and I like your use of some famous local characters to add colour to the setting. I congratulate you also on cracking the "airbrush barrier" - certainly remains an issue for me, but I salute others who power through it. 

Thanks very much - we look forward to your next submissions, whenever they might arrive!

GregB