From GrahamB - Samurai and other Japanese and Medievals (230 points)

This week’s submission featuring my favourite brown Dulux paint is the start of my Sengoku period Samurai project.  I already have skirmish forces for Test of Honour - these new figures will be used for full tabletop battles with the Warlord Games' "Pike and Shotte: Samurai Wars" supplement. The first units are for an Ikko Ikki force including some of the peasants that will make up around half of the planned initial army.

The first unit is a unit of Warlord Games Ona-Bugeisha, female Samurai. In the game that could be used to represent peasants, Samurai or Ashigaru, depending on the army composition. They started with a white undercoat followed by speedpaints/contrast paints. For me the paint is not pigment heavy enough on its own so I dry brushed highlights with normal’ paint.

The next unit is some Ashigaru skirmishers, part of a job lot eBay purchase. I believe those to be from the veteran 25mm Dixon’s Miniatures range that in its day set the standard for Samurai. They are a little dated compared to more recent sculpts but paint up nicely. They are two to a base to represent skirmishers and are led by what I think is a Minifigs Samurai with Teppo.

Today’s third contingent comprises three units each of 3 bases of peasants armed with spears and various improvised weapons and farm tools. They will count as spearmen in Pike and Shotte. They are from assorted makers including Perry, AW Miniatures, 1st Corps and a few 3d prints from Wargames Atlantic. 

The 4th contingent is a base of two “fire starters”; medieval or renaissance peasants or castle defenders who will send their flaming spears and firebrands onto attackers that have just had oil poured over them. One of the figures is from Irregular Miniatures and the other is from Wargames Atlantic's Barons War Peasant set. The Warlord Landsknecht supplement includes siege rules for these guys. I rarely use contrast paints but the lurid green has sort of worked but is a bit bright for a peasant. Maybe he stole the smock!

I calculate the points for this posting as follows;

9 x 28mm Ona Bugeisha @ 5pts = 45;  6 x 25mm/28mm Ashigaru @ 5pts = 30; 29 Ikko Ikki peasants @ 5pts = 145 and finally 2 castle fire starters @5pts = 10 pts for a grand total of 230 points.

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Well this is quite the pile of figures Graham! The brushwork is fine, but what I enjoy most is the huge assortment of manufactures. I really like a project that can bring such a wide variety of sculptors and castings together under a single umbrella. 

I too would like to attempt the "Sengoku" period of Japan for gaming, but I just can't quite seem to get it going...one day perhaps! Until then, I will vicariously enjoy the efforts of hobbyists like you. Well done!

230 points it is.

GregB

From Millsy: Star Wars Legion Bits & Bobs (35 points)

Hi All,

A couple of quick ones today, cleaning up some leftover stuff while I continue plugging away at the Late Romans. This time is it some Star Wars Legion minis, including a Scout so well hidden he was missed in my last post for these chaps.

• 3 x infantry
• 2 x gonk droids
• 1 x crew served weapon

Thanks for looking!

Cheers,
Millsy

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Another quite brief post, but with some really excellent work - just great stuff Millsy. I too love the "Star Wars Legion" models (if not the rules), and I think your white armour in particular really turns out nicely. That is always the trickiest part of the Imperial troops, but you have really nailed it here. 

I also think you have done a great job here fitting the "winter" troopers in to an arid-terrain base. Between the groundwork, and the tan coloured cloth/canvas on the face plate, you have totally nailed it. Great job.

35 points for you - and wow, those Romans are going to be amazing!

GregB

From DaveD - French 1990s tanks , and Winter PzIV’s - (132 points)

Time for something different this week - time for some tanks . First a top up for my French battle group for the Cold War-gone-hot era. We have been using "7 Days to the River Rhine" and my paper tiger French have done really well. Lots of big guns to shoot WARPAC attackers. They have a tendency to die if hit themselves , but as there are usually a lot of them it’s worked so for. However time for some serious armour with some nice big nasty AMX56’s “Leclerc”.

I have also added 3 AMX13s with 37mm AA. In 7-Days terms these are really painful counting as autocannons. They will turn Soviet air support into colanders and also chew up attacking infantry. 

All are all Battlefront  kits with a standard NATO 3 colour camo scheme via the airbrush, oil pin wash and bit of highlight, add some fishing line aerials and  job done. 

I managed to finish two late additions last night. A pair of Gazelle helicopters armed with Autocannons . 

Joining with their other friends with HOT missiles

Next is a return to the WW2 winter table with a top up of Panzer IV’s for the 15mm set up. 

These were part of a late friends pile of potential that were part built . So I have finished them off and given them a simple paint job. 

I used my new paint pens to do a simple camo after a dark yellow rattle can base coat / and then applied a light winter whitewash  paint . Then it’s add the winter gel. 

  

Points :-

16 15mm vehicles = 128pts 

4 commanders = 4 

Total 132

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Very nice work as usual Dave. The French 1990s kit is lovely, and I have to join you in singing the praises of "Seven Days To The River Rhine" - it is a tremendously fun set of rules to play. These French AFVs will do sterling work confronting the rolling steel tides of the Warsaw Pact! 

Who makes those AFVs? They looked to me like they might be the awful castings from Forged in Battle...if so, I salute your efforts, because they turned out very nicely. 

That's 132 points for you!

GregB

From Millsy: WW2 US Infantry Teams (45 points)

Hi All,

A couple of quick ones today, cleaning up some leftover stuff while I continue plugging away at the Late Romans. This time is it some US infantry support teams for Bolt Action.

• 7 x infantry
• 1 x crew served weapon

Thanks for looking!

Cheers,
Millsy

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Cracking brushwork as usual Millsy! And...quite the brief submission! Those late Romans are clearly a priority, and I can't wait to see more of those!

From JamieM - Braaaaaains (200 points)

Zombies for me this week. A veritable horde.

These are by Mantic and are intended for use with the Firefight ruleset, which is a 28mm sci fi ruleset that I really like but which struggles to get traction against the 800 pound gorilla that is 40k. Still, if I build them, players will come (to paraphrase Field of Dreams).

There are only five different poses, so they get a little samey and I went for some lab workers, some military and some civvies.

In the Firefight universe, zombies are caused by the Plague, which turns some people into zombies and others into ‘roided berserker creatures of varying types (leapers, busrsters, etc) and this is my attempt to get the cheap troops done so I can field an army.

The largest unit size is 30 so I did ten in the orange jumpsuits so I can easily separate them on the tabletop.

Fairly soft details on these so I stuck with contrast and limited highlighting and detail on the skin/blood effects.

Like a lot of rank and file, it’s good to get them done and whilst individually they’re no great shakes, quantity has a quality all of its own as someone once said.

 Nice and simple for scoring - 40 x 5 points for 28mm infantry for 200 points.

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Great work Jamie! I've never seen such a fine representation of the Parliamentary Labour Party in 28mm before! They are all set to represent their constituents in Westminster, ready to enact Sir Keir Starmer's bold vision of...oh...wait...sorry about that, I should have read more closely. I saw "zombies" and just went from there...

Well done - it is always tricky to wade through a large pile of figures like this - particularly ones which are "samey", but I think you have achieved a proper balance of variety and painting efficiency. And I do expect these fellows are to be targets at the end of the day, correct? So they have the proper intimidation effect en masse here!

That's 200 points for you!

GregB

From JeremyM: Burrows and Badgers (55 points)

Phew this post comes in by the skin of my teeth. Our gracious host gave me a reminder today that the deadline was nigh. I must admit that I had completely forgotten about the challenge this year, but thankfully I have been painting.

Curt recently introduced us to the fabulous anthropomorphic game Burrows and Badgers. I had heard a lot about the system and after a trial game I was pretty taken. We've started a small campaign game and I decided to paint up my first warband...and a few other figures that I'm sure will make the table for future warbands....one can never have enough goofy animals after all.

I drew the freebeast faction for the campaign and I decided my warband would be bird based. I had a few bird files in my myminifactory library and I saw some quick potential to do some simple digital kitbashing to make them more anthropomorphic. Here is the warband thus far.

The backrow has a massive condor that I had to shrink down but also replaced its head with a plague doctor mask. The next one to the right in the back is a great horned owl with a golden mask I believe from rescale miniatures that just needed some rescaling work as well. Hard to see in the back but there is also a blue heron that I decided to add a magic wand to and a mickey mouse's sorcerer's apprentice hat as well. The front row contains a hawk with a spear, two small owls with guns (goonmaster miniatures), and a wizard owl as well. 

None have hit the table yet so I'm sure all my plans for greatness will go up in smoke quickly. The system is really crunchy to say the least with so many different options to try out...which led me to start looking at other factions, animals, equipment, and magic. So more animals had to hit the painting table.

Sticking with themes I decided one future warband would have to be made up of reptiles and amphibians...toads, frogs, and a snake. The first toad is in the backrow right holding a hammer. The front row contains a toad wizard with a suitably fancy hat. And finally the front row on the left is the snake. I scaled him down...likely a bit too much but also added a digitally kitbashed hat to fit the theme. But why stop there as analysis paralysis with all the options simply means more models. So I also painted up a couple of fox archers both in the back row for a future kindred warband as well. 

So there is my first Burrows and Badgers Warband and the start of two new warbands to come as well. 

That's a total of 11 28mm figures at 5 points each for 55 points.

JeremyM

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 Sylvain: It is, literally, the eleventh hour. Congratulations, you're not kicked out of the Challenge! But jokes aside, you're proposing a remarkable set of anthropomorphic animals. (Praise the 3d printer!) The poses are dynamic (or restful...), the colors are lively and imitate quite well fur or slimy skin. And the bases are top notch, a great demonstration of your talent as a painter. I'm so glad we did not loose you to oblivion as we'll get to see more of your work. Excellent travail!