From BruceR - BEF moving forward (165 points)

For this week I finished the BEF troopers I had worked on last week, but could not finish without basing material.  

These include an AT gun and crew, a squad of infantry, another light mortar, a medium machine gun with crew, an Lt. and an NCO.  Again, these are Crusader miniatures and chunky means easier to paint.  

I'm not done (is any project ever just done) as I have two squads done with LMG's prior to the challenge that need highlighting and basing yet.  Once done I will have a force to play Chain of Command with these boys.  

AT gun support

MMG support.  I will have to steal from the AT gun
 or paint more crew to keep the gun firing for Chain  of Command

a Second light mortar

Squad of Tommie's

This weeks crew

I remembered I also had some trucks and armor support (if you can call it that) these are 3d prints I picked up at Adepticon last year so another milestone as getting them done prior to this year's ACon.  They are from Sherwood Games and called Tina's Tiny Tanks.  

I find trucks add to the scene even if not used and here one can use them to haul troops or the AT gun.  The trucks are Austin Tilly Light Utility Vehicles and the tank is a Vickers Mk VIb.  

The price beat the heck out of Warlord Games and I didn't have to build them.

I had not done any vehicles for a long time and enjoyed the break.  

I based coated these with my airbrush, a dark forest green.  I picked up a system from a blog years ago of using Burnt Umber oil paint, cut with white spirits, and then wiped away with Q-tips.  This leaves a really gritty looking field vehicle, which I like, as no vehicle is clean unless sitting in a museum or the motor pool waiting for inspection.  I than used a makeup brush to add a lighter green in open areas of the vehicles.  Added some decals I had in a bin and did a very light dry brush along the edges.  

I did try a new version of a windscreen I came across for the Tilly's.  This uses speed paints and starts with a black base and subsequent lighter greys added leaving a bit of the previous color showing.  Then wash with blue speed paint.  Add a white dot to corners of the window for glare.  I had left the backs and rolled up canvas black and then decided to depict light shining through, so I used the same procedure without the white dot.  

The markings research was a little sparse.  I did find they simply 
had white squares as force designators. 

I also discovered a force list indicating the use of the Vickers
Mk VIb as a reconnaissance vehicle for the 7 RTR.  I also read 
they would name their tanks in the same troop with the same first
 letter.  Something to learn every day.  

Tillys

Troopers for size comparison.

Points:  Not sure if the MMG counts as a crew served weapon for points and the trucks are somewhat small (Tina's Tiny Tanks/Trucks) so I'll leave that up to Greg.  

17 troopers 28mm @ 5                         =  85 pts

AT gun and MMG @10                        =  20 pts

3 28mm vehicles @20                           =  60 pts

Total                                                       = 165 pts

Weather update for the North.  We have moved into the 40 degree Fahrenheit range, meaning we had a 90 degree swing from last week to this.  I'm off to warmer climates this week so will not submit anything next week.   

Stay safe and keep a stiff upper lip.  Bruce

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Great work Bruce. Excellent to see further progress on this project, but you are quite correct - no collection is ever truly "done", and it is heretical to suggest otherwise!

I am not much of an early-war WW2 gamer myself - I do tend to prefer the "real" tanks of the mid and later period. And besides, I was spoiled, as Dallas has an amazing early WW2 collection and so I have been able to enjoy some tremendous games in that setting. But I still enjoy the efforts of others, always causing me to reconsider this preference...

Your troops and crew look excellent, both for the door-knocker AT gun and MMG. The vehicles are very fine as well, and another great example of what can be achieved by the 3D printing folks out there (thank goodness for them!). Those vehicles may be "small" by the standards of what we know to be coming later, but I'm still counting them as 28mm vehicles. 165 points it shall be!

Enjoy your time off, and may your travels be safe!

GregB 

From Curt: Anne, Nancy and their Backup Singers (75 Points)

Hi Everyone!

Like many of us I've been making my way through the February doldrums. I lost a bit of steam for a few weeks, which recently included a bad bout of flu and a cold, but I did manage to push along with few more entries and here is one of them.

These gals are a some new recruits to my Sisters of Battle collection.

First up are two heavy weapon Sisters, one armed with a multi-melta and the other with a heavy flamer. These models are from Wargames Exclusive and were an absolute joy to paint. The designer really embraced the gothic aesthetic with their armour, especially with their chimneyed backpacks. These two ladies will be my submission for 'Heresy' as they are the physical embodiment of the Emperor's punishment, created to expunge the heretic in heat and flame (or at least thats whats written on their underwear).

When I first put them side-by-side for my photos it immediately struck me that they look like two epic rockers posing on stage in the midst of a guitar and bass riff, and what better rocker sisters than Anne and Nancy Willson. Maybe I'll go back and put a Heart symbol on their cloaks. :)

The other contingent is a small group of Sisters Repentia with their attendant Mistress of Repentance. The Repentia are older GW models and I love them (made even better as they were gifts from IainW). They are so beautifully sculpted, finger-pokingly crisp and having that wonderful heft of metal. These girls with their monstrous chainswords will be my submission for 'Wrath' for obvious reasons.

The Mistress was a bit of a disappointment, and I feel that someone at GW got the short straw in having to sculpt her. I've never been a fan of the quasi-S&M feel of some of the Sister models and this is one typical of that (though the Madonna bullet bustier kind of cracks me up).

These seven Sisters will give me a base of 35 points, plus another 40 combined for the 'Heresy' and 'Wrath' locations, providing a total of 75 points. I'm not sure if I'm going to reach my target but I'll definitely give it the Challenge try!

11 Skullz, 1 Squirrel Point and a couple for the 'Can Opener' duel as well.

Thanks for dropping by and have a great day!

Curt

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I've always liked a sororal posse of bloodthirsty maniacs; they add a certain je ne sais pas charm to the grimdark universe. To that end my favourites are, naturally, the Repentia with their massive man-choppers, channelling the ultimate "beware the woman scorned" vibe (though I'm sure they all enjoy a post-purge high-tea with scones and bookclub) 

Love the bold colours but also the debris sewn bases add great texture and interest to them. Nice work!

- Paul

From RaulM: Black Seas Cutter and Schooner (20 points)

Life has been particularly busy for me as I just became a new dad, so this will more than likely be my last post for this year's hobby challenge. I was working on a Battle of Lake Erie project, and as part of that I have these two vessels: a cutter and a schooner. 

Both are metal models from Warlord Games Black Seas, although I do think that the schooner comes with resin hulls nowadays. They're fairly simple to build and paint as the sails are sculpted onto the masts, which eliminates a step when compared to the standard Black Seas models. 

The cutter comes in two varieties, an armed and unarmed version. I used the unarmed version, but added a 12-pdr gun to the fore and aft, run out on opposite sides. I based the look off of the HMS Little Belt, that itself was actually the Friends Good Will, of which a replica can be found at the Michigan Maritime Museum. It was fun to use some different colors than yellow and black. 

The schooner got the standard US Navy colours that I've established thus far. It has a little bit of stern detailing, that I embellished with a metallic gold paint. 

These are both planned for a Battle of Lake Erie scenario at some future time. 

As for points, they're both quite small, so I'm taking 5 points each for a total of 10 points. 

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I must admit to getting a bit excited each week when I see that Raul has a post ready for Minioning :-)

And this week's entry is no disappointment either! Two more lovely additions to your Fleets and the great lakes are a wonderful place to sail the lighter hulls. I really like the darker stains on the canvas on the Yankee Schooner too - reminds me of the effect sails get when furled not quite dry.

Lovely work as ever on all the details - worth 10 points each at least!

Most importantly though - hearty congratulations on becoming a Father!!! I'm thrilled for you, as I'm sure everyone else here is too. And you thought Wargaming was expensive.... :-)

- Paul

TomL, Ambitious Lovers. 75 points

This week we move along in Paradise.  First we visit the second circle where the Ambitious reside. Here we meet Team Chase from Pulp Figures, otherwise known as that keen as fresh mustard, an overachiever's overachiever: Johnny Quest

“Join brave and brainy 11-year-old Jonny Quest as he travels the world with his scientist father Dr. Benton Quest, his adoptive Indian brother Hadji, his bodyguard Race, and his faithful dog Bandit. ”

Bandit's face was unexpectedly quite the personal challenge.  Next we visit the Third Sphere: The Lovers.  Together through trials and setbacks, plane crashes and uncertainty - A fisherman & his wife.

 These figures were from Akula’s “Apocalypse Isle Miniatures”.  As I recall they were part of his “Lost” or apocalyptic line he commissioned for his own collection.  I picked these up with his other civilian figures (painted last AHPC). Everything was painted with a mix of ProAcrylic, Two Thin Coats & Foundry acrylics. Picture background is from Jon Hodgson's backdrop painting books.

Points: 75

Ambitious & Lovers: 40 points

7 x 5 point 28mm figures: 35 points.

Will definitely return to the ACW painting for next week.

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Johnny Quest? looks like some Johnny come lately version of Tintin! - he even has Snowy in tow! No Captain Haddock though sadly - all quality adventurers know at least one dodgy sea captain (don't they Alan and John...). Seriously though, what great characterful models and your bold colours make them look like they've stepped right off a comic page :-)

Looking forward to seeing more of your ACW next week - the project is really going great guns! :-)

- Paul

From RossM: 28mm Tafia Kingdoms Skirmishers 10 Points (11 points)

Time has moved quickly this month and there are a few things in the sidelines for submission shortly. 

When starting a new project, regardless of scale I like to put a few stands up that will enable me to complete a core unit or two in the early stages of painting that project. Light infantry and skirmishers are often good in that role and will feature in most versions of the finished project when used. 

Here is the first of several skirmisher units for the recently started x army in ADLG. 

Having used more "Christian" figures for this stand it allows further use of the figures in several different armies across the period. Great believer in getting the best use from a miniature. 

In terms of points, that's 

2 x 28mm infantry at 5 points each. Totalling a whopping 10 points. 

Cheers for now

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I like your style Ross; develop a sensible plan, start with a ubiquitous unit useful in every list to get you off the mark (somehow I always leave psiloi types to last though) and then out yourself for starting a new army to generates a perceived social pressure for you to keep at it. Nice one!

Take a bonus point for your style and sense of noblesse :-)

- Paul

From GregB - 30k Sicaran Battle Tank (30 Points)

Space Marine "Sicaran" tank for the Horus Heresy - 28mm multi-part resin model from Forge World. 

Greetings all! Not too much to share this week. Here we have a Sicaran tank from GW's Horus Heresy range. These days one can acquire this model in beautiful, multi-part plastic, but this is NOT that kit. It is, rather, an old veteran of Forge World's resin 30k range. It is painted in the colours of the XVI Legion Astartes, the Warmaster's own Sons of Horus.

Lovely lines AND lots of guns - perfect for Space Marines looking for that "sporting ride" in war time...

Space Marines have soooooo many tanks they can use to crush their enemies. There is a kind of spectrum in their designs, ranging from compact and brutal-looking, up toward medium-sized and brutal-looking, and on from their toward really-really-large and brutal-looking. Sure, some the speeders and jet bikes are sleek-looking things, but when it comes to tanks and troop carriers, the Space Marines want everything to look like it is coming to crush you - because, well, that is what is going to happen.

Auto cannons that are widely feared on Age of Darkness gaming tables.

But the Sicaran design stands somewhat apart...like the designers' brief said something along the lines of "killer Space Marine tank, but, you know, with a 'BMW' vibe...make it more of a sports-car-tank." And so, out with the troop compartment! Let's lower that silhouette a touch! And maybe not quite SO much slab-style armour? Guns, well, OBVIOUSLY, but, you know, a cool turret with rapid-firing auto cannons!

The Space Marines are not very "hip", but to the extent any hipsters survive the genetic conditioning process necessary to create Space Marines in the year 30,000 I'm sure they will all want to crew the Sicaran tank squadrons. These tanks race around the battlefield, they look cool doing it, and the weapons they bring to bear are effective against a wide assortment of targets, from protestors to xenos troublemakers to deluded "loyalist" Space Marines. While the standard turret mounting the auto cannons as seen here is the general favorite, there are all sorts of whacky alternate turret weapon mounts available too for hipster crews that wish to slay in a more unique, if still stylish, fashion.

Horus for hope!

As noted above this an old resin model from Forge World, and this is a re-paint, part of an ongoing campaign to bring a consistent look to the green armour for all of the Sons of Horus troops and vehicles in my collection. Such conformity stills my inner hobby OCD brain monkey...for a time, at least, until I must turn to the next batch of troops and vehicles who require a similar update.

Scoring-wise, we have a single 28mm vehicle, which should be good for 20 points. That's all for this week - thanks for reading! 

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Another great addition to your Legion Greg, I'm sure the additional ranged firepower will come in quite handy.

I know (from looking down the barrels of Reilly's Sicarian) that this is quiet a beast of a model so I'm awarding an additional 10 points for its sheer mass!

- Paul

From DallasE: Battlefront Magach-6s for the Yom Kippur War (40 points)

Well I have GregB to thank once again for further hobby escalation... several years ago, encouraged by Mr. B, I built up a small force of Egyptians for the Yom Kippur War. Greg had Israelis and we had a few good games, including a game at PrairieCon that made it into the pages of Wargames Illustrated, no less! But sadly Greg now lives in Toronto with his IDF and it occurred to me I should maybe paint an Opfor to face my Egyptians, so here we are!

I was able to get a box of Israeli Magach-6s (aka US M60 Pattons with some choice modifications) from Meeplemart in Toronto. The Battlefront site recommended that the smoke dischargers be eliminated from the turret fronts as the Magach-6 didn't have 'em. That was pretty easy.

I don't have a ton of spare 15mm stowage so the turrets just got a couple jerrycans glued on. I have a bunch of resin stowage coming from abroad to stick onto the BF Israeli M113s I'm building next.

Painting was straightforward - AK Green-Grey washed with Agrax Earthshade for that lived-in look, tracks Mechanicus Standard Grey washed Nuln Oil, and some sponge chipping with Vallejo German Camo Black-Brown. A light dusty drybrush of Rakarth Flesh around the wheels and lower hull and it's done. Decals are Battlefront of course. 

Bone-dome helmets needed a little carving to look right for '73 as the supplied crew have more modern headgear with bulges for the headsets. Uniform and helmet were painted Vallejo Khaki. Groundwork is Steel Legion Drab, drybrushed Khaki, with static grass and tufts to suit.  

Scoring is easy.

5x 15mm vehicles (8 pts each) = 40 points
 

Dallas

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Nice job Dallas - they look great! Its amazing how the small details in white (and the light blue goggles) really make a difference.  

Its always hard when you have matched armies with a mate but you then get geographically separated. Happens to me rather frequently sadly.

40 points well earned :-)

- Paul