From MilesR: Frostgrave Monsters, Taliban, LRDG, Bigger Monsters & Blood Bowl (435 Points)

A very eclectic set of subjects for this weeks posts - buckle up, this one gets a little confusing  First up, some more baddies for Frostgrave and my convention game (from left to right):

2 Frostgrave Wraith Knights (28mm metals from Northstar) - cleanly cast and very easy to paint

6 Mummies from the Reaper Mini's Bones line, also in 28mm.  These are the first human sized figures I've painted from the Bones line and I have to say they're just not the goods and no fun to paint at all.  Maybe it's because the flexibility of the casting material shows up more with thinner sculpts.  You can see some others in the background (upper right) that I doubt I'm going to paint.  If it's not fun why do it?

As you will further down in this post, the larger Bones sculpts are much better IMHO and you can't beat the price for the entire line - oh well live and learn.

 Next we have 26 Taliban figures plus a motorcycle,  These are 28mm figs from the Empress Miniatures lines and they are fantastic.  Empress is challenging the Perry's for number one in my fanboy book.

 Close up on 12 figures

 and then the other 12

 Close up up their "mechanized support"

 and another group shot, this time with the motorcycle on the left.  I'm sure you all agree having the cycle on the left side does make the group look completely different!

Next up a LRDG force in 28mm from the Perry's - 3 Jeeps and two gun trucks.

These were a blast to paint and like everything else in this post will be featured in one of the games I will be running at Historicon this year.

 I think the vehicles are cast by Blitzkreig Miniatures and they really were very easy to assemble and paint up

 Ok to be honest, I had planned these for the first bonus round, since I thought it was about "Vehicles".  Sadly Curt informed me that it's really about "armor" so I'm painting something else up tonight... Dohhhhh!!!!

I suppose next Curt will tell me there isn't either a North or a South round round.

 More Dungeon baddies in the form of 2 Frostgrave demons and three rather large models from Reaper Bones - an armored Troll and two Giant Scorpions

 The Frostgrave figs were given a very basic paint job but will be serviceable on the table top.

 I really like the Scorpions and may get a few more just because one really can't have too many of them.  Simple paint job but effective.

I spent a good bit of time on the Troll.  As I indicated earlier the soft plastic that the Bones are cast in doesn't really work all that well for smaller/ thinner models but holds up pretty well on larger ones.  I did replace the ax handle with a wooden dowel - I just couldn't get it to stay straight.

 These are a lot of fun to paint up.  I spent a little bit more time on the basing and used some Liquitex texture (black sand) for the ground cover and added a little more details.

 The Troll is pretty big - He'd be 60cm tall if he had better posture

An "action" shot with some 28mm scale US Rangers to give a better impression of the size o these figures.  It kind of look likes the plot from one of those awful SciFi Channel movies - thats just the feel I'm looking for in the upcoming con games.

I then took a painting break to play Blood Bowl with my son, but couldn't resist....

 Painting up the Orc's Blog Bowl team.  Rather than use the decals that come with the kit, I decided to hand paint the position names and uniform "numbers".  The decals just weren't "Orky" enough for me and, apparently, my painting penmanship is just that bad to look sufficiently "orky".

Close up of the Black Orcs - I went with hash marks from numbers rather than arabic numerals - these are Orcs, not Oxford deans.

The throwers

  Blitzers - I might tone down the yellow or add orange to make it look like flames....

 and finally, the linemen.  These are really fun miniatures to paint.

Some action shots about 3/4's the way through painting.  The constant transfer from the painting bench to the playing field did not make the painting process efficient but we've had a whole bunch of fun with the figures.

There seems to be a team that needs some pigment therapy....

This lot should net me a small total of 60 points, but I've had a great bunch of fun with them.

So that's all I got this week, which should push me over 1,000 points.  While I fell short in the "first to 1,000 points challenge" (well done AlexS!) at least I can take solace in knowing that I've met one of the Dux's criteria for success in life....

__________________________________________

Holy Smokes! What an eclectic mob of miniature goodness! Absolutely fantastic stuff Miles.

Your Frostgrave baddies look very good. Too bad about your experience with the Bones line, I've not tried them myself but I've heard very similar opinions from many other people. It's too bad as they offer some nice figures and are very affordable. This all being said I really like these mummies with their rotting linen wrappings and nasty khopesh swords. 

I have these very same Taliban figures from Empress awaiting in the Lead Shed and I agree they are beautiful castings. Your's look terrific and you've done a great job on their basing as well (and that motorcycle team looks like it's right from some action movie).

The LRDG vehicles are probably my favourite from this post. Wow. I just love the rough and ready attitude of these vehicle teams and you've done a very good job with all of the crew, their weapons and heaps of stowage. Such iconic models.

More Frostgrave baddies? Check. Nicely done and I particularly like that huge ogre with his humungous axe. Shrek he is not.

And finally more Bloodbowl goodness. I've never played the game, but I heard it's a lot of fun, and I know (from reading his blog) that it was a Christmas break favourite for Miles and his son. These orks look the business, especially in their wonderfully vibrant blood red armour.

Again, wow, that is an impressive amount of hobby fun to have produced over a weeks time. Miles, you are a Machine! 

From SanderS: 80s Pulp Officers of the Law (25 Points)

Hoi,

As the first entry for my '80s Pulp Project, I hereby present my Policemen and woman. Since I plan to play a lot of small story-driven skirmish games, I needed some cops. Some of the best available police figures must surely be the new ones from Cooked Dice, so I picked some up at the Crisis in Antwerp.

The blue uniformed policemen as well as the State Trooper on the right are metal CD miniatures. The figure on the left has a commercially unavailable head, his name is Fred, more on him later on in the Challenge...The State Trooper on the left is a Warlord Games survivor plastic figure with a CD head.

All the uniforms are a fictional combination of US police uniforms I stole off the net. My favourites must be the State Troopers, the blue accents were really fun to paint. What does bother me is that I seem to be unable to find a black-and-white or two over here. All toy cars here are based on European types...

Another small entry for this Friday's minions to put up. I am currently painting some Dark Ages figures and am toying with the idea of turning them into a small pointbomb, we'll see ;-)

Cheers Sander

Regular Challenge-watchers will know that I love me some Pulpy Goodness! And these lawmen fit the bill nicely, that blue on the uniforms really pops, and nicely ties in with the accents on the state troopers. You definitely need to get these guys some wheels though - perhaps one of out Stateside Challengers might be able to help? Where's this project going to go next? Who is the cryptic Fred?  Wow, I;m on tenterhooks, look forward to hearing more!

A neat 25 points to you.

Phil

From EricM: Pontic Pike.....Again (320 Points)

In continuation of my last challenge post the pike production continues.   I neglected to mention some vital details last go around. The figures are Wargames Foundry for the most part.  These guys have been sitting on my shelf for years and years.  I think it was partly intimidation and partly laziness that kept me from getting to them until now.  I think a combination of Simon Millers work Thebigredbatcave and the excitement of the painting challenge is what pushed me to start working on these guys.

The great thing about building a pike block, as some of you mentioned, is this will give me the core of multiple successor style armies. While Mithridates VI used pike only in the early part of his conflict with Rome, I wouldn't have felt right not building some Pontic pike.

This week I was able to finish two more blocks of pike, bringing total production to 5.   I love the look of massed pike but the repetitive nature is starting to wear on me.

To mix things up, I changed the formula a bit.   Most of my earlier pike were predominantly white.  I am pretty happy with the way this group in black worked out

 




This weeks second group in red didn't turn out as well as I would like.  The Foundry shields in many cases have a cast-on shield design.  Red design over the white shield came out a little sloppy.  But done is done.






The original plan called for a third unit this week but I was distracted by the Armor challenge and cut off painting on the last block of pike to knock out my Armor entry.

And of course the obligatory class picture.   Once I get all six done I will post the full group.   The photography part of the challenge has become a challenge in itself.   I really love the pictures you guys post of your figures.  I am still struggling to get the right level of detail, lighting and composition. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again for taking a look. Check my math but 64-28mm figures at 5 points each should be 320 points.

Impressive pike phalanxes here Eric, just the right scale to get an effective look.  The red/white colour scheme really draws the eye, but I also appreciate the subtlety of the black/bronze.

On your pictures, have you tried usin a plain backdrop, so there isn't anything else to draw the eye?  Pale blue is popular, but the Snowlord uses black to good effect (perhaps wouldn't work so well for your black phalanx though!) Other than that, I'd recommend as much light as you can from multiple sources, to avoid shadow, and take lots of shots - some will come out better than others.  

320 points brings your total to 800, currently second on the scoreboard, and more than a third of the way to your target - nice work!

Phil 

From TomF: 10mm AWI Green Mountain Boys (38 Points)

First Challenge, first entry!

I've thoroughly enjoyed The Challenge over the last two years as a spectator.  But I really wanted to get off the sidelines and into the game this year.

The primary motivation for participating this year is that I have a project that needs to be completed by the end of March.  A colleague at the local university I work at is teaching a course on the American War of Independence (AWI) and has asked me to host a game.

I've decided to run the Battle of Hubbardton which was a small (but important) rearguard action during the Saratoga (New York) campaign that immediately followed the British capture of Fort Ticonderoga in 1777 (see Wikipedia summary here).  I chose this battle because it is fairly small and has some very colorful (both in uniforms and leader personalities) American and British/German units.  This is my first foray into AWI miniatures so I need to paint all units involved in the battle by the deadline.

The first AWI unit off the painting desk is an American regiment, the Green Mountain Boys (aka - Warner's Extra Continental Regiment).  A reenactment group of this regiment has a nice summary of the unit's history here. Click on the photo gallery link on the left of the web page for pictures of the reenactors in their uniforms.

All 35 minis are 10mm Pendraken.  

The regiment had dark green coats with red facings.  All other clothing and accoutrements varied based on what the individual soldiers brought with them.

There is a nice variety of poses that came in the Pendraken pack (AWA 7) which slowed me down in getting this unit finished. 

Close-up of the command stand.  The paper flag is an altered image that I borrowed from the internet.

Finally, a picture of the regiment from the rear.  Loved the sculpting of the hair on these minis.

Thanks for viewing my first submission.

_____________________________

Really lovely work Tom! I've not seen the AWI range from Prendraken so this is a real treat, especially with how excellently you've painted them. 

A funny coincidence is that my wife, Sarah, is a direct descendant of Ethan Allen, one of the leaders of the Green Mountain Boys, drawn through her mother's line. I've always bugged her to join the 'Daughters of the American Revolution', but she won't budge (she'd look quite fetching in a tricorne and ruffled shirt).

I quite like the bold green, white and red you've used on these guys - they really do a wonderful job in drawing the eye to the figures. I also like the chunky bases - their thickness will help keep fingers off the boys. I know many of us are looking forward to seeing this project develop over the course of the Challenge!

38 Points, including one extra for the brave banner. Well done!

From AlanD - Dwarves and some (ahem) Terrain (125 Points)

Some of the lovely Dwarves from Scibor Miniatures have already cropped up in the Challenge so far this year, and this week I have mostly been working on a couple of units of them for Dragon Rampant. I rarely find myself painting fantasy miniatures, but our gaming group has been loving playing Dragon Rampant and having fun making the modestly sized warbands called for by the rules. And what warband is more modestly sized than one of dwarves?

The first unit of 12 is Scibor's 'Golden Guard'. The deeply-etched detail on these miniatures make them particularly suitable for a combination of washes and drybrushing, and I am pretty pleased with the results.

My favourite figures though are from the little set of Polish dwarves made by Scibor. I just love these - they ooze character, and I loved painting their faces.

Finally, my dwarf army includes a stone golem. I love this model, made by Puppet Wars, and I included a dwarf cleric from Reaper Bones on the base as his controller. He stands an impressive 10cm tall, not including the base. But is he a figure or a piece of terrain? I leave it to you to decide. He certainly will give the order 'seize the high ground!' a new and chilling meaning.

So in total, that is 19 dwarves (including the one on the golem's base), for 95 points. I will leave it to Curt to decide what the golem is worth.

_____________________________________

Geez Louise, Scibor has really been getting the love this Challenge.  I think this is great as their castings are terrific but often overlooked. 

I really like these Dwarves, Alan. As you say, their faces are fantastic - I especially like the red-bronze you used for their metalwork. It's quite bold but works very well for them.

Wow. That Golem. It's just fantastic! What an amazing figure. How many parts was that kit, Dux? I love the blue runes/carvings running across his 'skin' and the lichen and moss growing in his crooks and crannies.  The additional Dwarf to reinforce his huge scale is a great touch.

On top of the Dwarves, I'm going to score the Golem as a 54mm vehicle, so 30 points for him. Great work Mr. D!

The Weekend is Here and The Deadline Draws Near

Saturday is upon us and I see from our draft page that I will be very, very busy over the next few days.  The entries for Sunday's 'Armour' bonus theme round are flowing in and I also have a lot of entries to show you today as well. It's going to be a great weekend!

Just as a reminder (okay, yes, it's a bit a nag), it is only two weeks until the Challenge Cut. We have 60 of our 100 Challengers who have already submitted entries, which is great and I suspect there will be several more in this upcoming Theme round, but we need to see all our remaining 40 Challengers get in an entry. So please get a submission done and join us on the points roster.

In order to accomodate all those wanting in getting in under the wire, I'm going to extend the deadline a day to Saturday, January 21st at midnight.

Okay, enough of being a drill sergeant, let's get on to today's submissions!

From MattT - First Post 28mm Napoleonic French Light Infantry (81 points)

Hi, this is my first submission to the painting challenge. I am quite a slow painter and winter is never my most productive time so I am hoping the challenge will give me the impetus to be more productive.

For my first submission I am working on my 28mm Blucher project. I know a lot of people play Blucher on a smaller scale but I have always been a 28mm scale gamer since my earliest D&D days.
Anyways I am expanding my French forces with some Light Infantry battalions.

Figures are a mix of Wargames Foundry, Warlord and Perry. 16 figs in total for a respectable start of 80 points.

Matt

Another first entry - welcome Matt. Is it a record? Shall we evermore refer to today as 'Firsties Friday'? Blucher in 28mm seems to be interesting choice, though I  hear good things about the ruleset, and many of the Challengers share your appreciation of the 28mm scale. I'd be interested to see how it looks when you get everything on the table.   

These are great light infantrymen, the poses falling under fire makes your base compositions look really dynamic. Very neat painting too, and I appreciate them being that little bit grubby rather than being pristine parade ground troops, and your classic French blue looks really punchy.  

81 points or you, following the Challenge tradition of a little bonus for the very fine flag.  

Phil