AdamC (for Monday)- 28mm Frostgrave Figures (135 Points)

If you are following the Side Duels, you'll see a pretty good scrap on the Frostgrave Challenge between Adam and Paul A with BillA in the mix as well.  Here's Adam's latest volleys of arrows and magic missiles.

This one is big and varied but its all stuff I plan to use for Frosgtrave.  First up a bunch of Cultists

 First up we have three bad guys looking very intimidating with their big morning Stars

 Five Cultist Swordsmen, some duel wielding and two with shields. the Fellow in the centre has a sword and dagger set form the undead encounters set but they look great with him.

 Great details on the clothing both front and back.  Two of these guys have skulls on their belts.

 4 Cultists with missile weapons.  I did two with crossbows and two with bows.

 The guy in Blue needs a quiver I'll have to fix that at some point.  You can see the tendency of cultists to have chains, bones an other stuff.

 Lots of guys fight with sword and dagger but sword and axe that takes a Cultist!

 Once again the detail on the clothing is really impressive

 Cultist Templar with a two handed sword, the face mask of his helmet is part of his pointy hood.

 His Weapon is actually form the Frostgrave soldier pack and it works great with this figure.

 Spear and shield, I hand painted the shield its not really supposed to be anything just an off kilter pattern that looks odd.

 This is a really dynamic figure that is running into action.

 The backpack is a nice detail  and includes a dagger. A total of 15 cultists all 28mm figures so 75 points.

 Humans and the undead aren't the only dangers in Frostgrave, the ruins are effectively wilderness and natural animals like wolves wander in from time to time... Most of the time they want to get out fast but sometimes they are controlled by wizards or magical creatures like werewolves. These 4 Wolves were a gift from my friend Rob and they are fine sculpts form Northstar.

 I did these wolves using layers of dark gray, light gray and silver gray and a good brown wash and I am really pleased with how they came out. 4 Wolves 28mm figures so another 20 points.

 I had to pick this guy up when I saw him.  I'm looking for a fully armoured skeleton to act as this guy once he finishes getting out of his chair. I'm really pleased with how the red eyes came out.  The figure reminds me of the Atlantean form the Conan movie so he could also be a piece of terrain too.

There are lots of great details on this throne I kept the colors dark and muted so the skeletons would stand out.  He counts as one figure for 5 points I leave judging the value if any of the throne to Peter.  (given the bulk of the casting I rate this as worth 10 points)

Now something different as these guys are all good guys. 

 I've been working these Dark Sword Criter Kingdom figures into my warbands since my first game and they are great figures to use.

 This Rabbitman swashbuckler makes a great Treasure Hunter with this leather armour and sword dagger combo.

 The Blue cape gives him a pop of colour and matches the band in his hat.

 A Mouseman wizard or apprentice, I don't know why you would tie a rock to your head but there must be some reason.  (editorial comment, there is no accounting for some fashions and tastes)

 As you can see from this angle the staff is not broken just angled so it looked broken.

 The Mouse doesn't know he is small he wields a massive hammer and still can carry a shield! He'll make an excellent Knight for a Frosgrave Warband

 I kept the shield a simple green as not good design suggested it self to me.

 Mouse pirate Arrh Surrender the Cheese!   H'll make a good thief or Treasure Hunter.

 With that big bag off his (looks like it should have golf clubs) he might make a good mule too.

 Another mouse knight this one a veteran of many battles with a well scared shield. One of my favorites of this setl.

 I gave him some gold on this shoulder pauldrons as a mark of his veteran status.

 Finally the Bard a mouse who knows how to party.  Not only can he play that lute he is armed to the teeth with not one but two swords..

I went with a softer palette for this guy to offset the brown of his leather armour because a bard should look like a showman.  That's another six figure for another 30 points.  All and all that should be 130 Points.

Well done again Adam.  I have upped your points for the throne on the armoured smelly as noted above.  Your "regular" frostgrave" lads all have a nice consistent approach and I do like the snowy bases.  We have temps in -40s (Celsius including windchill) so your snow is a little too close to home!  I also like the big armoured skelly, who looks like he means business and has the chair to match.

However, it's furry components that I like best.  Those are great wolves and you've done very well with them.  Your wash has given them a brindled look and the basing is very effective.  I may need some of these wolves for my 1812 and FIW games.  

But my favourites are the Critter Kingdom set - I don't do much fantasy but I may need these guys.  The bunny has a rather startled look and the mice look fierce.  I like the pirate and bard best, the colours of the cloaks capture the movement nicely.  And I like the way you've painted the inside of the ears - now there's a phrase you don't hear on the Challenge often enough. 

 Paints bomb warning - I've been checking the queue and Adam's been a busy boy this weekend.

From EdwinK - 28mm Moderns The Long Arm of the Law (10 points)

Here I present Sgt Bung and PC Savage, two representatives of those fine boys in blue - the Berkshire Constabulary.

They're 28mm metal figures from Ainsty Casting's Aggro range and are ideal for anyone who wants to game on the streets of 1970s or 1980s Britain.  Soviet invasions or zombie outbreaks spring to mind, but for me they're more likely to be Yeti-bait in Dr Who games.

The bases are some I was lucky enough to win on a blog give-away run by RayR.

They're nice sculpts, and I'm tempted to get some more of the range.

Now then, what's going' on 'ere then?  I like these boys in blue Edwin and you done fine work on them.  The basing is very effective - is the grating part of the figure or part of the ex-Ray base?  Di you cut down the Ainsty bases to get the curb effect?  Inquiring minds want to know?  They will make fine Yeti bait or sacrificial offerings for any modernist game.  I labeled these modern because I remember the 70s!

Edit

The pavement, road and grid are all part of the ex-Ray base.  I cut the Ainsty bases off completely.

From MilesR Week 4 Statistical Update

Happy, happy,  joy, joy, it's statistical story time once again.  So everyone gather round for another thrilling rendition of derring-do with decimal points as we delved into the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge VI Week 4 Statistical Update.  Please make sure you are all wearing your Official "AHPC Pocket Protectors" and tin foil hats.  For those reprobates who have misplaced theirs please Professor Douglas as he has loads of extras.  (True but delinquents will need complete a remedial day of dog poop clearing for Curt first.)

So what's the big news for this weeks update?  Participation rates have zoomed up 50% with now 61 of our 88 participants making a submission over week 2's 41.  Productivity also seems to be increasing with the cumulative points soaring to 18,328 in week 4 vs weeks 2's 6,392 - that's a 3x increase and almost surely due to the positive motivational aspects of measurement and analysis.  I'm sure you are all equally inspired by the benefits of progress monitoring and the application of quantitative theory.  For those of you who are, sadly, not so inspired please see me after story time for reprogramming - oops, I mean retraining.

Total projected points has also increased to 69,290 from 58,811 based on arcane and magical estimation techniques.

Perhaps the biggest surprise for me is the relatively limited level of 15mm scaled submissions.  To date only 814 of the 18,328 points earned so far have come in the 15mm scale category.  28mm continues to dominate the points category but 6mm seems to be making a strong bid to be second.  Who will win the duel for second place between 15mm and 6mm?  We will have to wait and see.

So without further ado, here's the detailed stats table of progress through week 4.  Please note this table does include the points earned for the "Nostalgia" bonus round but not the recently posted "Epic Fail".  I have segregated the bonus round participation points so we can keep track of just brush work points.

Behold the stats table - gaze upon it's terrible beauty and fear it's divine wrath.....

KPI's:
Weeks Completed		2	4
Weeks Remaining		10	8
Participants w/ a Submission		41	61
Total Submissions		98	231
Total Points		6,392	18,328
Participation Rate		47%	69%
Average per Submitter		156	300
Avg per Submission		65	79
Submitter % of Target Completed		16%	34%
Projected Points
Submitters		38,352	54,984
Remaining Bouns Rounds		12,300	10,250
Non Submitters @ 25%		9,159	4,056
Projected Total Points		59,811	69,290
Figures Painted
28MM
Inf		927	2,042
Cav / Art		34	140
Vehicles		19	40
15MM
Inf		30	255
Cav / Art		4	34
Vehicles		20	28
6MM
Inf		208	1,153
Cav / Art		106	180
Vehicles		97	133
Score Distribution
28MM		82%	67%
15MM		3%	4%
6MM		6%	6%
Bonus Round "Bonus"		0%	11%
Other Scales		8%	13%
Total		100%	100%

From IanW 15mm Persian V Macedonian Cavalry (144 points)

The first of these could just as easily been my nostalgia round entry as I have painted up my fair share of Persian heavy cavalry in my time. All the Persians are the old Chariot Miniatures figures before they became Magister Militum, so they really are old school.

Pics will be a bit hit and miss as we have snow and so outside shots are no go. These will act as two units of Persian heavy cavalry in both Hail Caesar and Field of Glory with a total of 24 figures.

My original plan was to paint up the cloths with patterns but in the end went plain as the rest of my army are mostly single colour tunics etc. Besides switching colours all through the painting process was already enough for me :-)

I did do a different pattern on each of the bow cases but that was really the limit. I was already looking at the other cavalry with an eye to get them in for today as well.

I still found time to have a little fun, anyone spot the birdie? I was lucky enough to get two days off this week so used them mostly for painting these guys up.

Next up are someone to fight them, these twelve can be used as Agema or Companions at a push. My Persian army is really as complete as it should be, I can add a few units for the sake of it but don't need to. My Macedonian (and offshoots) still need more options, especially cavalry.

I bought these at Triples last year with the intention of painting them up soon after purchase but they slipped out of my mind until I was prepping for the challenge and added them to the clean up pile.

Compared with the Persians they were a quick paint, I will be buying another unit or two of cavalry at Triples this year probably basic companion cavalry, hopefully I won't wait nearly a year to paint them.

So 36 15mm cavalry should score me a respectful 144 points and get me within ten of my original target, oh so close LOL.

Ian I nearly did a spit take with my Sunday morning coffee when I first saw the post.  Then I realized that these were not 6mm figures, but 15mm.  This reduced my reaction from "Egads man, what wizardry is this" to "geez I wish I could get these results".  Anyway, as someone whose painted up a lot of figures from the this era, I say these are excellent!  I am looking forward to seeing more of these horse boys.  

I very much like these proper old school armies you building.  None of this cross dressing robotic stuff  or trying to compensate for shortcomings by building impossibly large SF tanks that you see these days, but real armies that you would see in Charles Grant's or Featherstone's books.  

I had some Chariot figures from their French Revolutionary range and really enjoyed painting them.  I hadn't realized their fate, but its great to know that they still exist.

I particularly like the Agema with the face masks and horse armour, likely too heavy for Alex's time but great for the early successors.  I can imagine Antigonus One-eye or Eumenes of Cardia fielding both the Agema and the Asiatic cavalry in the same force.  

I will also note that you seem to have traded one form of insanity for another.  Not content with individually mounted pikes in 6mm hands, you are simultaneously building the same armies in two different scales.

From PatG - 25 mm More VSF Martians (80 points)

Back again with more martians. These are Hill Martian light cavalry again from RAFM.   Not my favourite pose and frankly the muskets are a pain, but as long as they get the job done on the table, I'm happy.

Hill Martian Cavalry (80points)

This group puts me in easy reach of my 500 point target and would mark completion of the Martian side of my VSF project - if I hadn't gone and ordered more figures - My last hit - honest - well that's what I am telling the missus but we here all know better....

Next up, civilians and Curt gelt.

Nicely done Pat.  I feel your pain on Rafm figures and their detached weapons.  A great idea in theory but not well executed.  The weapons tend to fall off too easily and the hands seem stuck out awkwardly.  But you've done a fine job on these lads.  I do like the red martian bases.

What you completed a projected and then ordered more figures?  I feel that pain too! 

From MilesR:28mm WW2 German Pioneers (185 Points)

Hmm a Monday morning mystery.  I had made comments on this entry from Miles and thought that it was queued up and ready to go this morning.  But when I checked today, it was back in draft form and my comments had disappeared.  Maybe Miles did one revisions, or maybe I had a academic/senior moment, maybe MilesR didn't like my feedback...

Some more 28mm WW2 stuff - the Start of a German Pioneer force.  Think of them as stablemates for the Russians.  Both the infantry and the Marder III tank are from Warlord.  The figures are plastics from the Warlord Pioneer box set and they are top notch - I highly recommend this set.  The Marder III is a resin and metal model from Warlord that comes with 2 crew figures and a handful of parts.

 The Warlord set comes with a lot of metal detail parts that have capture equipment and all sorts of bulky Pioneer stuff.

The sculpting and casting quality of these figures is much improved over the Warlord Soviets from earlier posts.  Warlord is really improving their game with the later plastic sets - not up to Perry standards but closing the gap.

 There's also a Goliath tracked mine - a remote controlled vehicle the Germans would drive up to a target and then detonate.  They weren't all that mechanically reliable but when  working could deliver 130 pounds of explosives to the target.

This is the first "large" WW2 German force I've done in field grey - everything else has been late war camo of DAK.

Like the Russians, there are some support troops to finish up here but this will be a good army for either Bolt Action or Chain of Command.  Both an MG42 machine gun and 81mm mortars teams that will be joining the ranks.  They'll need some more armor support but not sure what to get.

A Marder III Self Propelled Anti-Tabk gun - these were very effective tank killers.  This kit went together without any effort and was very easy to paint up.  The crew figures were so-so but since they are mostly hidden it doesn't really matter.

In terms of points there are 30 infantry figures plus the two crewman for 160 points, 15 for the Marder III and lets say 5 for the Goliath, which nets a grand total of 180 points with this entry.

Well done Miles, I liked these these the first time and I still like them now.  You've got a good basic German force with infantry and support.  I do like the Marder, a simple but effective design.  Nice detailing, especially the rivet detail and decals.

I'll echo Curt's earlier comment that we'd like to see more of your stuff in close ups.  they look good from afar but they seem to shy about close ups.  Also, I know that you've got some lovely terrain boards down in your secret villain lair ummm workshop.  Why not give us photos of your troops on these instead of the bare plywood?   Maybe with some terrain they might feel less shy about showing themselves.

Anyway, I'll give you 10 for the Goliath because I like it.  I've seen pictures of Tommies wth captured Goliaths - it looks like they overran a demented toyshop.  Add in the Marder and the men and that's a cool 185 points for you.

Right I'll get this posted before it disappears into the ether again. 

From MarkO 28mm Victrix French Command in great coat (60 points)

French line in great coats. Rank and file are Perry, command from Victrix. This entry looks considerably more impressive than it actually is, because all the rank and file were completed before the competition started and so can't be counted for points! Instead it is just the command figures from the Victrix Guard sets! Here's one of the units.

And here's all 4 regiments I've finished.

For the Victrix command figures (from the Middle Guard box sets) I replaced the banner poles with brass wire, as the supplied plastic poles are quite thin. I drilled a hole in the plastic eagle and stuck it on top. 

Getting these Victrix figures worked out quite well, as the 60 figure box set includes 12 command (4 each of officer, standard, drummer). Enough to do two regiments of 24, and supply command for another two regiments of Perry greatcoats, and still have six rank and file left over. Great value sets.

12 x 28mm figures = 60 points.

Mark you had me worried at first given the volume of figures in your first picture, until I read the text and worked out that it was just the command stands!  Find work on these units.  I like how you've mixed and matched the Victrix sets.  I find Victrix figures fussy to put together but you've done well.  I really like the weathered blue on the officer figures.   

Also well done on the basing, which fits the massed ranks well.  If I could make a request, I would like to see some close ups but I like what you've got here.

From AdamC 28mm Pirate Ladies (20 points)

First up for Monday we have AdamC's initial offering with some fierce looking Pirate lasses.

 I got these ladies from Brigade Games because I knew I wanted at lease one for a special project and the rest will be great for En Garde (which comes out the same day as this post)  These two are sword wielding women. The Lady on the left  gives me the impression of a woman of some means who also knows how to fence (more of them did then you might think).

 The Lady on the right is clearly one who has taken up arms as a profession, pirate or soldier of fortune. She even has the slashed sleeve popular among the landsknecht and other soldiers of late 16th and early 17th century.

 This next lass makes me think of a Gypsy and duel wields a pair of pistols.  I feel like there ought to be a dagger or something in her sash but maybe she has one hidden in one of those books.

 I built the bases myself using some craft sticks to make them look like they were on ships deck or possibly the hard wood floor or of a building.

 I think she'll be a great figure for a sidekick or maybe spy in En Garde (I have no idea if these are troop types in the game but I'm imagining form swashbuckling stories)

 Another civilian lady that has taken up arms in defence.  She looks a little nervous but determined

I went with all blue tones for her it just seemed to be the right look.  I also felt it was appropriate to paint her as someone of African descent as they abound in the Caribbean.  Clearly she is a free woman and one who has done well for herself. 

 I also designed this base using some plastic brick pieces I has gotten from the Craft store. So that's four 25mm scale miniatures for 20 points.

Well done Adam, you are chalking up the points at a great clip.  I am assuming that these are from the US based Brigade, which makes a variety of odds and ends for various Horse and Musket eras.  I have some Brigade Moose (Meese) which I like very much.

I like the basing for these figures a lot, the brickwork looks great and the deck planking worked really well.  You've also given these ladies some fine colour combinations (I like the two tone blue slashing). That's 20 points and you're just getting started today.

What's on Tap for Monday

I had my last Monday post up before I heard the news...so deal with it.

I like to think that somewhere in the UK, a 60 something man is trying to explain that striped sweater vest to his grandkids.

Ok so back to the challenge, back to Monday and what have we got on tap today from our Monday correspondents?

• AdamC has a couple of posts including another large blast of Frostgrave iciness.
• IanW has more ancients
• MarkO has some Napoleonics
• MilesR (yes, see below) has one of his regular megaposts
• I expect some more Heroclix madness from SimonM
• Plus what ever else makes it off the paint table today.  I've scheduled this to go live at 6am CST (I'll be up but it will be before coffee).

Last week I poked some fun at MilesR, and I should fess up to my part in the mix up.  Before the first Minion-Administered day I sent round an email to the Monday crew asking what they planned to post.  I cc'd our UberLord Curt and the Lord of the Spreadsheet Miles, mostly as a courtesy and to remind them who to blame  if things went splatt.  Miles interpreted this as me telling him that he'd be moved from Saturday to Monday, but I hadn't realised it until he posted on the following Monday.

Anyway after some "Gee Dad, he followed us home can we keep him?" conversations between the Monday crew, Miles and Curt, Miles is now officially a Monday poster.  And we are very happy to have him. 

The 'Epic Fail' Theme Round is now Live

The title says it all, the 'Epic Fail' theme bonus round is now live in the gallery.

This week we have a somewhat smaller number of submissions, but the imagination, humour (sometimes rather dark) and quality are still there in abundance. 

As to my self, I'm afraid I was quite ill for a good part of the week and so I had to put aside my original entry and fall back on something I could finish in the short time available. So I return to a project I began a few years ago which easily fits within the theme of 'Epic Fail' as it did then for 'Cold' (I know there will be a few groans amongst you here) and that is the French retreat from Russia 1812.

I provide here a single figure depicting a French officer who is attempting to rally his comrades. In my mind's eye I see breath misting, desperate figures shuffling through the snow, and the ominous shadows of Cossacks emerging from a distant treeline.  

28mm figure by Perry Miniatures and arguably one of their best sculpted ranges.

Those visiting the gallery will be treated to a beautiful vignette on the same subject created by the very talented StephenS.

Okay folks, please remember to vote for all your favourite entries. Voting will close next Saturday at 11:45pm CST.

Enjoy!