From AnneO'L - Landing Party (30 Points)

This year I would like to do something a little bit different. Rather than painting single figures, I am focusing more on units and teams.  I am not a display painter and am not interested in working hard enough to become one. Therefor it is time I turned my attention to unified groups of figures that can be used on the gaming table.

My first entry is a Landing Party with figures from both Counterblast and Reaper.

32mm figure from Counterblast sculpted by Patrick Keith

32mm figure from Reaper sculpted by Bob Ridolfi

25mm figure from Counterblast sculpted by Patrick Keith

25mm figure from Reaper sculpted by Patrick Keith

20mm figure from Counterblast sculpted by Patrick Keith

(I have painted this figure before, but in a completely different palette)

Using the greens, browns and yellows as unifying colours enabled me to assembly line paint and get these done a bit quicker.

I will be quite busy during the Holiday season so I won't have another post up until January.  And as it is a US Airborne bazooka and 60mm light mortar team, it may be the 2nd week of January at that. Those para's have a lot of webbing and that's sure to slow me down quite a bit.

I'd like to thank Curt for continuing this Challenge for another year.  Winter would be quite dull and the extra excitement helps keep spirits high. And for those in the Southern Hemisphere it provides an escape from the wretched heat.

Also I would like to thank those kind folks who are taking on the extra responsibility as adjudicators this year. Without them I doubt that so such a large number of us would be able to participate.

Wishing you all a Happy Holiday Season.

Welcome aboard Anne, and Happy Holidays to You and Yours as well! 

It's wonderful to have you with us again this year as it's always a treat to see your talented brushwork.

Yellow is one of my favourite colours and I really like your use of it in this entry. Also, that turquoise skin tone on the long-necked alien is brilliant as well.

For ease of accounting we'll score all of these as 28mm models, so 30 points total for your debut, Anne. Well done m'dear and see you in the New Year!

From ClintB - P'Lugah Tan'Kim Company (22 Points)

Today we have more 1/300th scale (6mm) figures. I needed something for the Mig 17 to shot at! So the next stage was to create a "Maglach-2" Company. In this company there are 11 M48 "Patton " tanks in Israeli 
Service circa 1967.

The eagle eyed among you will note that the command Platoon (of two tanks) are slightly later model tanks with the M68 (L7) 105mm Tank gun while the others have the 90mm M41 gun. What, you cannot see a difference! Trust me it is there which technically makes the command tanks Maglach-3's. But for game reasons I will treat them all as Maglach 2's. It is a game and only a serious tread head will worry about it! OK then, I will buy a few more just to make you happy.

The very, very eagle eyed and those that really know the subject will notice the Battalion markings are also missing! To be fair They would be small on 15mm models and as I will not be adding more than one Battalion to any games without changing the tank type, Is it really necessary. I think it is more a case of me knowing the markings and wanting to get them right than wargaming practicality at this scale. But the turret markings are just about correct! Or at least as Correct as my brush will allow!

Other than the command Platoon each platoon has 3 tanks again if you want to criticise the TO&E you can argue that each platoon should have 4 tanks. But the reality of life/war/wargaming and all that stuff... full platoons hardly ever take the field of battle. So 3 tanks a platoon is more acceptable than a full and complete TO&E that you would expect on the Parade ground or the barracks.

I have included a few pics of them in action crossing my desert terrain. It is usually children with an excess of personality that point out the different desert colours but as I will be re-painting the desert early next year I am sure you will forgive me. And if you don't I still don't care!

The planned rules will be Flames of War, but the air combat  will be "Check your 6-Jet age". There will be a few more coming as the Painting challenge progresses but this should give me a few extra pre-Christmas points. But it is the shortest day today (or yesterday by the time this is published) and light is already going and the camera flash is only so good.

Anyway thanks for looking and Thanks for any comments. Cheers Clint

More mico-scale goodness today, excellent. As a self-admitted 'child of excess personality' I will say: wonderful work Clint! These Pattons really look the business, except, of course, when a few of those pesky Saggers get in the way to wreck their fun. ;) I also like your judicious use of vehicle markings. Not too much to clutter the model, but just enough to get the message across. Nice. 

For the most part, I'm not a huge fan of hex terrain, but I do like the care and detail you've put into yours, especially the wadi and the town in the last image. Lovely stuff.

This murder of Maglach's will give you 22 points!

1/72 Scale Roman Gladiators (36 Points)

The boy said he wanted to play gladiator combat games, so I thought what better way to start this years challenge.

These are a mix of Orion, Italeri and Pegasus 1/72 plastic figures. The Orion in particular were very hard to clean up and have a sort of fringe effect where I tried to clean up flash and mold lines.

In addition to my regular Tanned skin triad from Reaper, I used the Drak and Golden skin triads that I purchased just before the challenge.

I probably went overboard with color choice, I can't seem to not use multiple metallics. The leather cuirass on the third figure from the left bothers me a little. I am worried it is too similar to the Dark skin tone.

I've set myself some daily goals, and is my want, failed to reach them. But on the bright side I'm doing well towards my weekly goal to hit 1000 points. So I can't be too sad.

Macte virtute sic itur ad astra.

Great job Sean! I had no idea that these companies did gladiators in this scale - very cool. This is a colourful lot and that backdrop is just ace. What rules are you going to use for these? Once the boy gets old enough I strongly suggest 'Spartacus' - it's VERY adult in theme but gives a great game.

These nine gladiators will give you 36 points.

From GregB - Epic 30k Imperial Fist Space Marines

Epic 30k Marines from the Imperial Fists, the VII Legion

Well, my first entry for the latest edition of the Painting Challenge is Epic, in literal content, not in points, namely a detachment of Epic 30k Space Marines.  "Epic" is Games Workshop's 6mm-size game system.

These troops wear the yellow colours of the VIIth Legion, known as the "Imperial Fists".  In GW's "Horus Heresy" setting, (known among GW gaming nerds like me as "30k", as opposed to "40k", the "later" period, if you will), the backdrop is a giant, galaxy-wide civil war sparked by the rebellion of Horus Lupercal, the Warmaster, top commander of the Emperor's forces.  The Emperor promoted Horus as his second-in-command, but Horus longed for one last promotion that only war could offer...

Land Raiders, the go-to, all-purpose tanks of the Space Marines

And so half the Imperial forces, including half of the Space Marine Legions, turned against their old boss and followed Horus. What a smack-down! In the middle of all of this, the Imperial Fists remained loyal to the Emperor, and as such these are some of the "good guys".  I like these fellows a lot - you get the toughness, steadfast loyalty and grim, martial determination on the loyalist side, without the MBA-style, stuck-up nerdiness of a group such as, say, the Ultramarines.

Tactical marines near their trusty Rhino APCs - each APC can carry 10 marines, or two stands of infantry

While today geeks like me explore this setting by playing with the 28mm figures from Forge World, it was, in fact, the 6mm-sized games "Adeptus Titanicus" and "Space Marine" which truly ignited interest, and gaming, in this "period". 

Another view of the tactical troops

The Epic game and its many variations are some of the top games GW ever produced, and I still love them.  I still dust off the old figures for a game from time to time with the Fawcett Avenue Conscripts - we usually get about one, sometimes two, games in per year.  Most of my collection, however, is Imperial Guard, Orks and Eldar - and I have done, comparatively, very little Horus Heresy gaming in Epic.

Steadfast loyalty to the Emperor...

Last year David Larkins' excellent Epic-themed entries really inspired me to get back into Epic.  While I didn't manage it during the last Challenge, I kept a wary eye on Ebay over the past year and lined up a few scores to be ready for this year.  Two in particular have me really fired up for some Epic-30k painting during this Challenge.

Sicaran tanks - the one in front seems a bit, shall we say, "insecure"...it's meant to be a major anti-tank weapon...right...

So with all that blather out of the way, I wanted to get a first entry which would touch on a couple of my side duels (Sci Fi and 30k), and ride the Epic nostalgia wave.  This submission includes two 20-man tactical squads, four rhino APCs, three Land Raiders, two Sicaran tanks, and one Sicaran Venator (the, ahem, "insecure" vehicle, if you follow my meaning).  The figures and models are a mix of Ebay scores as well as some non-commercially available models.

Another view of the Land Raiders - in addition to being really tough tanks, they also carry troops!

These days Epic sits, as Curt eloquently described at one point, 'moldering in GW's IP graveyard'.  Word has it the corp-tards running GW these days intend to bring the game back, but I'll believe it when I see it...

In all there are 40 infantry and 10 vehicles in this submission - a pretty small force for a game of Epic, but enough to get started, and decent starter entry to the Challenge.  Throughout the Challenge I will be adding more Epic stuff, (good and bad guys), and I hope to have a nice little throw-down for the Fawcett lads some time in the New Year. 

This batch should net me 40 points - a decent start, but 1960 points still to go...

Smokin' entry Greg! I always enjoy reading your love-hate relationship with GW as it closely mirrors my own feelings on the matter. 

You did a spectacular job on these little models. I really like the tone of yellow you went with as they really pop on the bases. Speaking of which, what size bases did you go with for these lads? I always disliked the old dorky 'strip bases' that GW used. The rounded corners really appeal to my lizard brain somehow.

And I agree, the Ultramarines are a bunch of over-rated, blue-arsed showboaters. The only thing 'Ultra' about them is their marketing servitors... ;)

40 points it is! Well done...and remember: 'Horus for Hope'. :) 

From MilesR: 28mm War of 1812 US Gunboat

 Here's my last submission for the first day - a US Gunboat from the War of 1812 in 28mm scale.  The boat is a laser cut kit that's available from LaserDreamworks and was fairly easy to build.  It's just under 18 inches long and was a nice change of "paint scale" pace.

A previously painted 28mm figure is provided for scale (no points for the figure).

 It looks a little bare on the crew side as the figures I ordered for the crew are still in the post.  I'll add them in a future post once they arrive.  There are a few other ships I need to complete also.

By the end of this year's challenge I hope to have a small fleet of US and British ships complete with crews.  This one is in the "mid-size" range of what's planned.

These gunboats were fairly common as river defense units and could either be sailed or rowed into position.  Once battle was joined (which was rarely) the sails would be put away and the ship rowed.  The ship packs a pretty good punch for her size by mounting two 32 pound carronades on rotating mounts.  During the British campaign in the Chesapeake Bay (you know the time you so rudely burned the White House down) these gunboats would dart in and out of the many inlets and creeks up and down the Bay.  The boats didn't have a keel so could go into very shallow waters which the larger British ships couldn't pursue into.

I've left the model "sans rigging" as I want to playlets it a bit to see how it works on the tabletop.  This model will be used in my upcoming Historicon game along a few other ships and there will be lots of board actions and timbers being shivered (hopefully).

Ohh wow, how lovely is that! Wonderful stuff Miles. I know you have purchased a few of these kits and look forward to seeing the rest of your flotilla.

As for scoring, hmm... Based on its mass, let's call it the equivalent of four 28mm vehicles, so 60 points. Excellent work.

From TamsinP - Read All About It! (30 points)

Well, with newspaper seller as part of this group, what else could my title possibly be? OK, so there's a chap with a leg of some meat so it could have been "Tamsin Hams It Up"...

Anyway, a productive day off work (I had a day which needed to be taken before Christmas) has seen me complete six civilians for my Mob Wars project. The figures are 28mm from Blue Moon. there are another six figures which I've made a start on, but I don't know if I'll manage to finish them before I head out of London for Christmas - they might get finished and submitted on Wednesday night.

Right, time for some close-up pics. Apologies for the crap photography - I think it might be time to get a proper light-tent.

So, six 28mm foot figures should give me 30 points.

What a wonderfully characterful mob, Tamsin! All of them are excellent but I particularly like the nosy reporter and the newsboy in his sporty plus-fours. I look forward to seeing the other six.

Well done!

From ClintB - Starting Small 1/300 Mig-17 (2 Points)

Yes I am starting small! Just a single 6mm (1/300th Scale) vehicle. A Mig 17 (fresco in Nato identification) in Egyptian markings circa 1967.

The vehicle model is By "Heroics and Ross" while the flight stand is by "Frontline". I am sticking in the desert for my main project this challenge but no longer WW1 Arab Revolt so I will not be painting Camels. Instead I am coming more up to date with a war I can vaguely remember. Actually I cannot I think I remember the 73 war!

Anyway this should get me off the mark with just a couple of points. But out of the blocks is out of the blocks. This starts the making of my United Arab Republic force for battles in the Sinai. I will be working on the ground forces more than the air forces but  with a simple silver finish and markings this was just too easy not to start with.

Nothing like buzzing the Pyramids in a Mig17! Nice job Clint!  

I have a faint recollection of the newscasts of the Yom Kippur War (I was quite young back then). I remember it being quite a shock to the West to the battering the Israelis received in the first few days of the conflict (and in retrospect how close we came to the brink of nuclear war). What rules will you be using for this project? 

From MilesR - 28mm British Siege Mortars (30 Points)

My next submission is a set of 3 British Napoleonic Siege Mortars from Front Rank Miniatures in 28mm scale.

These are the first of many Front Rank mini's I'll be painting up during this year's contest.  Along with the mortars is a 36 figure British Infantry battalion and 2 32 figures Portuguese infantry units.

These mortars will be used in my upcoming Historicon 2016 game which will be set during the War of 1812 but with some adjustments for a bit of fun.

I was amazed at how cleanly cast the Front Figures are - prep was really very simple.

And what wonderful, brutish little beasts they are Miles. Is this for an upcoming convention game? If so, what is the scenario?  

I look forward to seeing your upcoming Portuguese. I did a battalion several years ago using then-Victrix metals (now Brigade?) which are very nice castings to work with (which reminds me that I need to do another two battalions to finish the brigade...ugh.)

Great work Miles! 

From JuanM - First Entry: The Loser & the Gambler (10 Points)

Hello everyone!!!

Here is my first entry to this year´s Challenge, really fast painting for me! This is my first picture about The Challenge, yesterday in the morning, when I selected the first two models to paint (basically, because both of them were going to wear white trousers...):

As you can see, I have some figures waiting for their turn in the background.

Well, the first model is a 28mm Draugr from Red Box Games, a really nice miniature and a poor tortured soul. He is The Loser in this entry, of course:

The figures from Red Box Games are really wonderful, fantastic and full of (small) details. I expect to paint many more of them during The Challenge despite the fact they need a lot of time to being painted. I have used some drops of "Realistic Water" from Secret Weapon Scenics in the base.

My idea is to use these figures with "Frostgrave" or "Open Combat".

The Gambler is my other figure in this entry. He is a 28mm Perry Miniatures AWI Rebel Officer, wounded but ready to continue the game.

This is a lonely painting commission for a friend.

And this is my small first entry worth of 10 points, I think. Great and very busy first two days of The Challenge.

Cheers!

Ah, lovely to see you with us Juan and with two characterful miniatures. That first fellow looks like me Monday mornings when I head off to work... Seriously, great work on depicting the decrepit undead flesh tones, clothes and metalwork. I've been to the Red Box website many times admiring their miniatures but can never decide what to order as they are so many cool castings.

From IanW - 15mm Late Achaemenian Persian Command Stand (12 Points)

I thought I would start off the Challenge with a much needed fourth command stand for my Achaemenian Persian army. The figures are supplied by Magister Militum who produce the rather fine Chariot Miniatures range.

These are a fairly quick and easy paint, just perfect to get me onto the score board. These figures are reasonably free of flash and as such easy to prep. 

I have based up the figures for use with both Fields of Glory and Hail Caesar and should get some use in the near future. These should net me 12 points to get me started, more Persians to follow.

Welcome aboard Ian! It's great to have you among us again this year. 

What a nice, bright and colourful command stand to start things off - wonderful. As you say, these are very crisp castings. I like your arid basework and the tone of the bronze helmets are spot on. Well done.

From MilesR - BT-42 and a bit of a goof! (25 Points)

 My first submission for the AHPC VI is a 28mm  BT-42 tank.  The model comes from a new company, Trenchworx and is superb.  In fact, I think Trenchworx makes the best quality vehicle models in 28mm scale at the moment.

 Unfortunately, there is a glaring, almost shocking error in my rendition.  While the BT-42 is based on the Soviet BT-7 chassis they were created by the Finns and not the Soviets so the red star on the turret is a bit out of place.  The Finns captured 56 BT-7's during the winter war and converted 18 of them in BT-42's.

 The BT-42 mounted a British 4.5 inch gun and really weren't all that successful.  I always thought of them as a discounted version of a KV-2.  Still its a cool looking tank.

So I guess this version depicts a re-captured BT-42 pressed into Soviet service somewhere on the Eastern Front or it's just those crafty Finns trying to trick the Soviets......

Ok, I just screwed up

Maybe I should stick to office furniture submissions....

My apologies for the cluttered background in the pictures - I need to clean up my workspace and just haven't found time to do so

Welcome to the madness Miles! 

Confused branding aside, this is a great looking vehicle. I really like the aggressive weathering on the lower hull and I always love a turret design that tries to fit a monstrous gun onto a too-small chassis. I bet whenever the gunner wanted to rotate that heavy turret to fix a new target the rest of the crew were chewing their nails in frustration. 

I have a few of the Trenchworx vehicles myself and can attest to their quality.

Nice work Miles!