From PaulOG: Allied Gallic Cavalry (132 points)

These two units are Crossing the Rubicon for me - I just don't do units of cavalry for any period, so these took some working up to. But at last, here are my Allied (Mercenary) Tribal Cavalry to fight for Caesar.

Gallic Cavalry with attached General and retinue

Having procrastinated for years, these brought me real joy and I did the models in a weekend, including hand painting all the shields. These aren't anything special, but they are special for me - I even tried a dappled grey for the Chieftain as a stretch goal. To be honest, it took a few goes.

Look at those great Gallic moustaches!

I've done something a bit different with the basing too - I wanted to depict them as a thundering mass of terrifying horse flesh bearing down on the trembling legionaries of Pompey Magnus. So they are on deeper bases to give them space for dynamic placement, and I chunked one of them up with even more figures to depict the attached General and his retinue.

I bought the figs second hand, and while I'm certain the Command figs are Crusader models, I'm not sure about the rest.  All are metal though, so these bases have a very satisfying heft when you pick them up :-)

So there they are - a dozen 28mm mounted figs for 120 points, pending any hand painted shield bonuses. If AHPC is about pushing oneself, either in productivity or new styles, then these Cavalry models have certainly taken me out of my comfort zone and helped me round out this Army project. Thanks for the encouragement!

From Millsy: I'm really pleased to hear you've enjoyed painting these Paul given how much you dislike cavalry as a general rule. Sometimes once you start enjoying something it sticks so maybe in future mounted minis won't present such an obstacle. Your end product here is absolutely smashing I have to say and if mine had come out so well I'd have been equally pleased. Beautiful work especially the shields which I'm awarding an extra point each. Cracking effort mate!

From MattW: A Quick Whip Around - lady Sarah, Wild West, World Cinema, Casting couch (171 points)

 A Quick Whip around 

High Adventure-Western-World Cinema-Casting Couch

Lady Sarah Limousine 

First up today a ride if I may in Lady Sarah’s limo from High Adventure to Westerns 

An addition to my Revolutionary wars Napoleonic collection as table mini dioramas, a lady collecting apples from the field ready to be turned into calvados! The miniatures are from Foundry and female mule from Mirliton miniatures.

Points 

Lady Sarah Limo ride               20 points

28mm miniatures    28mm x 2 10 points 

Wild West Studio 

For me the Wild West is Native American Indians. I offer up these fine figures from Warlord Miniatures, formally sculpted by Conquest Miniatures in the USA.  The miniatures have lots of details, feather, porcupine spikes in the hair, also added a bit of warpaint. I find Indian flesh difficult to replicate, and played around a lot to settle on this colour, but quite happy with the result.

Wild West Studio 20 points 

3 x Native Indians  15 points

Total 35 points

Lady Sarah Limousine ride

Another ride in Lady Sarah Limousine from Wild West Studio to World Cinema, as payment a the scourge of Germans in Stalingrad Russian female snipers. The miniature is a lovely sculpt from AB miniatures in 20mm.

Lady Sarah limousine ride 20 points 

AB female Russian sniper 2 points (half figure) 

Total 22 points

World Cinema Studio

For me I have always loved the last of the Mohicans story, and have a fascination with the Indian tribes in the 18th and 19th century. The movie is still in my top five and I watch it regularly, I cannot believe that I have not painted the figures up until now. So with that I offer the former Conquest Miniatures now Warlord Miniatures figures from the movie. Played around a lot with the flesh and am still not that satisfied with the final colour.

Hawkeye Poe, Chingachgook and Uncas

World Cinema 20 points

Last of the Mohicans 28mm x 3 15 points

total 35 points

Lady Sarah Limousine 

A short trip in style again, a trip from World Cinema to Casting Couch I offer a Minaron female, sold as a librarian in their SCW collection. I have painted her as an Maidenhauptführerin  RAD Flak officer for the fall of Berlin. 

Lady Sarah Limousine ride              20 Points

20mm miniature.                                4 points

Casting Couch 

A real big fan of Wes Studi, his portrays of various Indians predominately, his most famous films being Dances with Wolves, Last of the Mohicans and Geronimo. The miniature is from the Warlord Range, although sculpted originally by Conquest Miniatures in the USA. 

Points Casting Couch studio 20 points

28mm miniature                     5 points 

Total Points 

Lady Sarah Limousine rides 60 points

Lady Sarah miniatures          16 points

Wildwest studio                     35 points

World Cinema                        35 Points

Casting Couch                        25 Points

Total Points                          171 points

Phew! What a great set of figures, Matt! Good enough to gloss over the studio-stacking - 70% of your points here come from the bonuses!

Tamsin

From PaulO'G: Last Submission - More 28mm Redcoats and Some War Puppies! (115 points)

To round out my AHPC VII submissions and add to last week's submission of Major Brinkworth and his redcoats, I present another 12 musketeers, a colour party and two sergeants.  I've continued with the green facings of the 24th Regiment and the relatively clear bases to reflect their role as Regular infantry in more open ground.

Unfortunately, the additional few figs I need to complete a full third unit under Sharp Practice 2 and the flags I bought for the colour party haven't yet arrived yet and are still a week or two away so will miss the challenge.

Sergeants Garside and Hanson reassure the lads in action and administer a good slap to those who need it maintain their resolve.  Plus those halberds tend to give any adversary pause for thought! 

My more usual view of the lads as they go into action.
I'm really pleased with how the coats came out, emphasising their "bloody back" nickname

Here are all the lads together (combined with last week's submission), ready to take on Dux's French this week - I trust their performance will justify the effort required to paint all that b%@$dy lace!  It really finishes off the figures though, and the unit as a whole.

Major Brinkworth leads from the front with his Impressive Weapon! 

Firing Line: What British regulars do best, right Dux?

"These smell tasty Daddy..."

Finally, here are 7 war hounds from the Gripping Beast Irish Warband boxed set but intended more immediately for my Fantasy army as lesser war beasts.  These were dropped into the paint queue at the last minute to get me past 1200 points (after my flags and extra redcoats didn't arrive in time).

Odin poses with his little lead cousins...

"These smell even tastier..."

...and thats why one of the war hound models looks a little more veteran than the other.
Inevitable really!

Thats 16 Redcoats, 7 warhounds and a small supply base (not worth points, but I needed another deployment point) to complete my AHPC VII adventures. My initial target was 850 so to get to 1200ish for a personal best result is very satisfying indeed! And while there can only ever be one GIMP, I achieved >2000% improvement on last year's results :-)

Thanks to everyone (especially Curt and my Tuesday co-minion Dux) for all the fun, comments and chats - I'm already looking forward to Season 8!

________________________________

Ok, first thing, Odin is the clearly star of the show here. All else is merely window dressing. 

Now, with that established we can move on. 

Great looking redcoats Paul, especially all ranked-up with their mates, ready to send the French off in a cloud of of British powder. The wolfhounds are a lovely addition, though not as spiffingly cute as Odin - and even better, they passed the taste test!

It was excellent to have you with us for this Challenge Paul, your enthusiasm and good-will was wonderfully infectious. Also, it was great to have you and Dux blazing the way for the Tuesday crowd - I couldn't have done it without you.

115 Points for you Mr. O'G. Now, go see if you can run down that pesky light gun and those wearisome Jesuits. ;)

From AlanD - Bits and Bobs for the French & Indian Wars (90 Points)

As the final hours of the Painting Challenge count down, I have had to face the reality that I won't quite make my target of 2000 points. I'll come close though, and overall I'm very happy with what I've produced since December. I'm hoping to squeeze one more entry in before the end (the students can wait a bit longer for their essays to get marked, right?), but for the moment, here are some bits and bobs to help Paul and I with our FIW campaign.

First, some civilian types from Renegade Miniatures, along with a light gun to bolster my French forces.

Given my recent record in games against Paul, I definitely need some divine intervention. Hopefully a couple of Jesuit priests from Conquest Miniatures/Warlord might do the trick.

However, given the strong likelihood that they won't, here are six casualty figures, also from Renegade.

90 points for me please Curt!

_____________________________

Haha, I like how you balance the optimism of religion with the realities of secular life. I really like the little door-knocker gun (which would be like an 88 in this period). I'm also a big fan of tree stumps on bases, dunno why, just do, so kudo to you.

Give the brats a bunch of A's and get another entry in before the curtain falls. ;)

Well done Dux.

From JamesonP - Live from the Battlefield, Part 2 (40 points)

This week has me posting live from the battlefield again. This time, however, the game results were not as good. Instead of routing the British, I ended up losing several units.

The photographic results, on the other hand, were better.

First off, four more Conquest Miniatures French — this time all with shoulder arms.





Next up are four Indians from Wargames Factory. As opposed to the Dark Ages warriors I painted earlier in the challenge, these figures are much less "wooden". There're a lot of fiddly bits, but the results are some really dynamic poses.









I'm traveling with family next week, so I'm not sure if I'll post. If I do, it'll more than likely be some more Dwarves.

I too sometimes travel with Dwarves, a.k.a. kids. But your figurines looks very lively. I notice that your bases are quite thick, which is an interesting choice. I like how your ground work matches the scenery. This ensemble will be worth 40 points. Put the kids to bed early and get to those brushes! (Sylvain)

From StephenS: British Regular Infantry (62 points)

I've missed roll-call for the last few weeks as I've kept plugging away on these guys in between preparing for the bonus rounds. Originally, I had four ready and then optimistically thought I could squeeze 4 more in before the cut-off... I then figured I might as well finish the last few, so I present 12 of His Majesty's finest from the 44th (East Essex) Regiment of Foot. These guys will combine with the six of their fellows I painted last year, to make two units for use in French-Indian War themed games of Sharpe Practice 2.

The 28 mm miniatures are by Conquest Miniatures from Warlord Games. The banner is just one from the box the miniatures came in, with a few splashes of paint added to brighten it up a bit.

The command - the uniforms are not quite so bright in the flesh.

I chose the 44th because I liked their yellow flag more than the others that came in the box (I know, I think about these things too much...) Interestingly, I recently discovered that the 44th apparently holds the honour of being the most massacred regiment in the British army during the 18th and 19th centuries. Being first slaughtered to almost a man at the Battle of Prestonpans by Scottish Highlanders. Then massacred again by Native Americans at the Monongahela River during the French-Indian War. Before being cut-down a third time at Gandamak during the retreat of the British during the First Afghan War. I must say, I feel this regiment and I have been well-matched!

This marching in circles might help explain why they kept getting massacred...

Surrounded on all sides - business as usual!

My brief love for painting 18th century uniforms is beginning to fade, but I have a unit of Grenadiers ready to paint up along with some Native American allies that will make a nice diversion. That's if I can get through to a few other things first...

Cheers,

Steve

ByronM: A very nice entry here Steve.  I can see why you like the regiment, the red/yellow really makes them distinctive and you have done a top notch job on them.  Painting anything from that era is hard (at least for me) and your sharp break black lining method makes all the details in the uniform really stand out and look great.  The base work is excellent as well, the little leaves in light tans help tie the yellows down to the base in my eye.  So 12 figures for 60 points and a bonus couple thrown in for the banner work, well done!

From JamesonP: Branching Paths (15 points)

I jumped the gun earlier this week with my first entry into the challenge for fear of missing next week's deadline. Now, that I'm more in the swing of things, I wanted to try to get a few more figures in this week.

First up is Snorri the smith, leader of our traveling trio of itinerant craftsdwarves.

Next up is Hár the stone mason. Both he and Snorri are from the same Games Workshop Dwarf Rangers box set from which their friend Borri hailed. I love the cloaks and the poses of these sculpts. My only complaint is, as they're one piece figures, it's difficult to field more than one box on the table and not have things look redundant.

Finally, here's a French Regular from Conquest Miniatures. I've been slowly working on my Canadian wilderness force for Muskets & Tomahawks, but it's been slow going. I think I first got started on a militia unit in August of last year. Well, I just found out that my friend Brian is moving back to the UK soon and that we'll be sending him off with a big game of M&T at the club, so there's no time like the present to get these Canadians done.

My previous experience painting uniformed troops involved ACW Confederates and WWII U.S. Paratroopers - i.e. lots of butternut and olive drab respectively. Eighteenth century regular units are an entirely different challenge. I can't wait to see a finished unit in formation!

Next week will be more of the same branched paths with dwarves, wargs and Dark Ages/fantasy warriors on one hand and French regulars on the other.

Those GW Lord of the Rings dwarves are such good minis, very nice to see ranging dwarves rather than the usual armoured dwarves. Lovely blue colour on Hár's cloak there too.

And very nice to see some Muskets and Tomahawks in the challenge, not an era of mine but I gather it wa sa popular ruleset a couple of years ago. I think you're right, seeing those white-coated regulars en masse will be great.  

15 Points to you! 

Phil