From MilesR - Secret Underground Depot....... (no points...)

One downside of the Challenge is miniature storage.  While the Challenge reduces the size of my lead mountain it does create figure display and storage issues.  This situation is further compounded by my wife's decree that I can not purchase any additional figure display cases or materials to build one - apparently a man cave can have too many (crazy isn't it?).  Sensing there was no ability to appeal my lovely, yet fierce, wife's decree (i got the look..),  I set about devising a clever way around her proscription with only the materials at hand - some 1x2 lumber, some quarter round moulding and a few miniature transport trays.  You can see the conceptual work in my hobby notebook scribblings - take care - gazing to hard at the crazed runes in my notebook has driven hardiest of us to the brink of madness.

 Rather than just build a simple storage unit, I elected to build a secret underground base in the style of a soviet bloc apartment building from the 1960's - you know square, ugly and with shoddy workmanship.  Like a leviathan rising from the deep, my creation began to take form....

 All nice and level....

Higher and higher go the rails

Wala' here is the completed skeleton of the beast.  I am sure that all of you are gazing in wonder at my creation and your faces have taken on the same visage that they bore the first time you gazed upon a dinosaur skeleton as a child.

Fully deployed under my gaming table - more figure storage without breaking my wife's edict that I can not purchase anything new.

So how does this qualify for points in this years Challenge?

Well, ummm, ahhh, you see.....

It's a secret multi story underground base that can pop up during game and shoot stuff up and junk like that.  Of course, I still need to cut an access panel in the table top, install some long drawer slides and a motorized pulley system plus add the guns but I'm almost there.

The unit is held in place by 2 wood screws and can slide out to be used for transporting large forces to convention games.  Each shelf will hold about 120 28mm scale infantry figures so I can hide - oops - I mean store a approx 2,000 infantry figures.  It was a simple project that took about 3 hours to complete.  The only power tool used was a hand drill (for pilot holes) - everything else was simple hand tools.

From Curt:
Well folks, we have to look on the bright side, last year it was a chair ...  

Okay Miles, once you've cut out the table-top access panel, installed a motorized pulley system and added some turrets then you can come back for some points.  

Otherwise... I must say I live in awe of people who can do good woodworking. This is a lovely piece of organizational funiture Miles and you did it in a few hours?! Incredible. I probably would have lit our house on fire in the attempt... 

If I can ask, what are the drawers made of and what dimensions? 

I'll have to bring to you Canada as a migrant worker so you can make a hobby table for me. I'll pay you in wine, steak and some snow - deal?

From PhilH: Egyptian Officer and SCW Priest (10 Points)

Here we are a few weeks in and Juan has built up quite a lead in our side challenge. So, do I bring a points bomb in response? Alas, I've been kept busy with more 1:1 scale painting around the home, so I've just a small offering this week.

First up, a rather dapper Egyptian officer for colonial Sudan. When I saw this chap at Salute, I just had to pick him up. Then, he sat in the box for last year's painting challenge, and for the nine months since.

He's based on his own as I don't have any other Egyptian officers (yet...). He's likely to find his way onto a larger command stand eventually. He is from the Gringo 40s 28mm 'Maximillian Adventure' range. A really fine sculpt with his gold braiding and enjoyable to paint once i finally sat down to do so!

Next up, my Spanish Civil War project begins with this armed priest.

He was a freebie from Empress miniatures because my club put in a large joint order. In fact, the order was so big that eight of him were included! Happily, there is a 'priest' option in the Chain of Command SCW support lists, so he will come in useful with my Requetes.

I'm keen to trial new methods for this project. First I'm reducing my use of washes as I think they slow my painting down quite a bit. So only one wash used on him, though he's a very simple paint job. I've also used a new colour for the highlights on the base: from 'Buff' to Vallejo 'Iraqi Sand'. I think it looks much better, but I'd be very interested what you all think. Unfortunately, it won't match my terrain, but that's already in a motley collection of colours as I've changed my bases a few times for different projects. I also used a slightly different flesh recipe which I'm not sure is an improvement, so will tweak further.

Hopefully I'll have more to bring next week - I'm still off work for a few days and really should devote more time to the brushes.

From Curt:Wow Phil, that Egyptian officer is the bomb! I love your work on his gold braid -  just beautiful.  I'm also delighted to see you debuting your Spanish Civil War project here. I really look forward to seeing your progress on this period. I must say I'm a bit jealous about this figure. I've ordered several kilos of white metal from Empress with no treats for me - must be that I'm from the Colonies (sniff). :)  Finally, I think your arid basework looks quite good, but perhaps it could be a bit lighter, or maybe its the image, I dunno.  

Nonetheless, all this backslapping aside, you're still getting plastered in your paint duel with Juan and then there's our little wager regarding Civil War figures (I have something on the horizon for that)... 

(Mercilessly cracks the whip!!)

From Millsy - 10mm & 28mm Fantasy (206 points)

I've been having a bit of a tidy up of the painting area, plus starting a couple of new projects at the same time. That means this post and my other one for this week will be a bit eclectic to say the least. To try and make some sense of it all I've grouped them into Fantasy (this post) and Sci-Fi (the other one).

First up here is another three Savage Orcs. We have a warboss on foot, a modified standard bearer (to act as the army battle standard) and one last spare chap to fill out a unit of 24. The warboss is sporting a rather jazzy hat made entirely of other people's teeth. And why not I say?

Next we have something I painted as a bit of light relief and because I was concerned about the repair work I had performed degrading. Three of these old-style Warhammer metal Dryads underwent major reconstruction after their previous owner broke them at the knees. Being old-style metal figs the lead content is much higher and they were oxidising rapidly and it appeared to be starting to affect the repairs so they got a little brushwork TLC.

There is a quite a lot of subtle colour variation in the paint job but it just won't photograph well enough to show unfortunately despite fiddling with the camera and some post-shoot work in Photoshop. Oh well.

So that's 11 x 28mm miniatures in total for 55 points.

The second half of this entry is chapter one of my latest project, an 10mm fantasy / medieval army using Warmaster Empire miniatures. I've removed a fair bit of the iconography i.e. skulls from the shields etc. as it is way over the top and I'm not a fan. I plan to add some stuff from Pendraken so I can use them as Dogs of War or a more historical late medieval army as well.

In total it's 36 knights, 72 halberdiers and 2 command stands (3 foot + two horse).

The halberdiers are gorgeous. Soooo much detail. And a nightmare to paint because of it. I very nearly lost my sh1t a couple of times painting them (and I still have another two to go! [sob])

The knights are just as nice but much easier to paint. My main blocks will be red/white with supporting units of various colours.

The command stands are pretty neat being a mix of mounted and foot. Apologies for the rubbish image but I wasn't going to set everything up again just to re-shoot one photograph :-)

So that's a total of 151 points of 10mm goodness for these chaps. Plenty more of them to come as that's about 20% of the total army I guess. Stay tuned for more!

From Curt: 

Oooh, lovely work Millsy. The Ork command group is excellent (still lovin' that blue facepaint) but I have to say that I'm quite drawn by these 10mm chappies you've done. I've always liked this scale for being able to covey the mass of formations while still being large enough to play a bit with small details (perhaps the worst of both worlds). You've done a brilliant job with them. I particularly like that turquoise knight unit - very sharp. What rules are you going to use with these? Warmaster or something else?

Oh, and Mr. Mills slips back into the lead with this one... 

From PeterT - A Mixed Bag (103 Points)

First up, all the best to everyone for a grand 2015.

A mixed bag for my third entry, reflecting (a) my butterfly tendencies and (b) the influence of the movie Lone Survivor, which I got for Christmas.

So first up are a SF group - they are actually a set of 28mm SAS from The Assault Group which have been languishing on the 'to do' pile for years. However, watching Lone Survivor gave me the impetus I needed to dig them out and paint them up. These figures are not quite as big as many of TAG's figures, and so fit in quite nicely with the Empress figures below. The figure with the sound suppressor on his M4 is inspired by the rifles so equipped in the movie mentioned above. It is actually from a the tube that carries the ink inside a disposable biro - somewhat overscale but I like it.

Next up area couple of Empress Miniatures 28mm US infantry. They follow on from the test figure I did for my second entry (thanks for the tips for improving the paint job), and so are painted in 3-colour BDU with Woodland camo body armour. Behind them is their ride, an Empress Humvee armed with a .50 cal HMG. The rest of the fireteam is on the painting table and may get added later on, if I finish them/am not distracted by something shiny.

The opposition is provided by 4 Radio Dish Dash Taliban in 28mm, which fit in perfectly with the Empress figures.

The bulk of my Taliban collection are TAG, which are much bulkier than these models. Just means I will have to buy more from Empress!

And finally, a platoon of WW2 Germans from Battlefront in 15mm. These are from the Volksgrenadier set for the Battle of the Bulge, but I also intend to use them for scenarios set on the Eastern Front in winter, such as Kharkov in 1943 and the Cherkassy pocket in 1944. One section and the CO were done before the Challenge, but are included here for completeness' sake.

This should net me 65 points for the 28mm stuff and 38 points for the 15mm Germans (two of whom are prone), for a grand total of 103 points.

PS - sorry about the light in the photos - it has been shedding down all day today and it is pretty gloomy!

From Curt - ‘Papa’ - Bernez Carro - Brother, Soldier, Father, Fisherman & Smuggler (5 Points)

 First, Happy New Year everyone - Here's to a Fabulous 2015!

This is another small entry from me, a continuation of my story of the Carro family which began with one of the sons, Donon. 

It was April 1916 and Bernez and Briec Carro were 20 years old when they marched down the Voie Sacree (the ‘Sacred Way’), to the inferno of Verdun. When they arrived at the front lines the twin brothers were assigned to different companies in order to reduce the chance of hard news for their mother. Nonetheless, the young men were inseparable and so they worked a few favours to get themselves assigned to the same squad. For the next few months they endured ferocious fighting in conditions that are best described as bestial. During this time they found that their officers treated them and their comrades like cattle and so the brave Poilu died by the thousand.

On July 12th at Fort Souville the Carro bothers were part of a forward listening post that became overrun by a German assault unit armed with flamethrowers. Knowing what was about to happen, Briec pushed Bernez into a sodden shellhole and took the full brunt of the liquid fire. Briec died horribly. The water in the shellhole was not deep enough to cover all of Bernez and so half of his body was lit aflame. After the German attack faltered and was beaten back Bernez was found and sent to an aid station. He had suffered severe burns to the left side of his body, for him the war was over. 

Bernez was invalided out of the army and he returned home to Brittany to convalesce. His childhood sweetheart, Manon, looked past his burns and insisted that they immediately marry. Donon, their first son, was born nine months later and Briec, their second boy, a year after that. In 1918 Bernez and Manon took over the family fishing business. Soon after his cousin, Lois from Marsailles, convinced him to expand into smuggling and so the Carros began to flourish. When their sons became old enough they were brought into the business as partners.

In the years following the Great War Bernez has nurtured an understandable dislike for Germans, but most of all he hates officers – all officers. It does not matter what nationality: German, French, Spanish, he despises all of them. So when in the summer of 1936 Spain’s right-wing generals, with the help of Nazi Germany, staged a coup to overthrow the Republican government, Bernez sees an opportunity to not only make a lot of money but also, in a small way, to poke his finger in the eye of those he reviles.

Bernez is a figure from Lead Adventure’s post-apoc range. I shaved off his left ear, scored his face and painted his burn scars a livid purple/pinkish tone. I really like the pose of this model. He’s a commanding figure, straight-backed and taciturn but leans forward somewhat, stiff-jointed, like many older men do. He holds a Luger behind his back just in case matters go awry. I painted his coverall trousers yellow in order to tie him in with the figure of his first son, Donon.

...and 5 points for me as I 'rocket' past Simon.  :)

From MartinN - 28mm Crusader Crossbowmen (40 Points)

For my todays second submission I visited the hot lands of Outremer again to add some retinue to my Monsieur Jaufrè de Montalban whom I entered for the 'Mount(s) & Rider(s)' Bonus Round.

I've seldom had the 'joy' to have such poor sculpts on my table to paint. Considering the price Gripping Beast are charging for these figures it seems a rip off to me. Outdated and poorly cast figures for the money you normally pay for 'premium' historical miniatures like Musketeer/Footsore.

Rant over.

As they definitely were not to my liking they were sitting on my shelf primed and prepped since the last challenge all the time starring at me with accusing eyes. Because I really don't like to toss figures in the bin I've paid good money for and as I found nobody who wanted to give them a new home I thought it was time to give them some paint. I even gave them strings to improve their overall appearance at least a bit.

I went for a (for my means) rather dirty looking, speed painted approach using the infamous Army Painter for the first time in years. Only the bright white of the feathers and helmets/ the shield was later totally covered over. This however allowed me to finish these bastards in a couple of hours (obviously discounting the day the AP needed to dry). In the end I even came to like these guys.

One of the strings (outer right) burnt away while removing fine fibres with a lighter :-/

Now I feel they look rather striking in their subdued tunics and their bright white/ red helmets. Maybe I'll touch up the bases with some dried grass at a later point to break up the monotony of the sand. Not sure yet if this will develop into an army for SAGA 'The Crescent & The Cross' or some other ruleset (Lion rampant seems to be THE new kid in town) at any point or if they'll just stay in my cabinet.

This second submission should give me another 40 Points to my roster.

From Curt:I painted these same figures in a Challenge a few years ago and have a similar opinion of them, though I must say I wish they had come off as well as yours. :) I really like the rustic linen counterposed against that very punchy red. The crossbows (besides the lighter mishap) look the business with addition of the string. Lovely work again Nick - and you're half way to your target. Well done.

From JohnM: 28mm Dark Age Old North Teuli (44 Points)

As promised to follow up on my MOUNTED entry of Old North Briton calvary, here are some elite troops for my North British force. In our Chronica Iohannes campaign, we have had 5 games now and are reaching the stage where we can add troops to our war bands. This is done by progression of leadership, money and/or degree of victory.

These are Gripping Beast figures from their Dark Ages Germanic line, but I believe they do well for North British. I have stuck with my red/white scheme as these are the elite Teuli and should be dressed as such. I have all my elite and warriors uniformed as such with just my levy dressed in dark rags as fits their station in life. I like how they came out.

I am hoping that both these Teuli and the Gwÿr y Goglegg Cavalry cause Adam some disquiet the next time his Saxons attack!

From Curt:Very nice work John. I like how the shields (hand-painted no less) and red helmet tassels bring a visual cohesion to this force - excellent. A little off topic, I really like the grass/loam surface that they are on, what is that John? It really looks great and conveys that wild rustic landscape that we (probably romantically) picture when we think of the English north.

From MartinN - 28mm Blitzkrieg German Pioneers (40 Points)

With the Challenge already on full steam I had to finally pull out my finger and get going. So here's the first of two submissions for today. Here we have eight 28mm Pioneers from Warlord Game's superb "German Pioneers" boxed set.

 

I know there are some (certain) gamers out there who don't like, well maybe even hate, prone figures but I for one am a big fan of these as they bring much needed variety to the table and in case of the fellow below even may tell a little story.

One can almost hear the bullets zipping past his head while he tries to cut a way through the wire for his comrades to follow. Poor bastard.

My favourite from this set is the Flamethrower guy. He looks just mean and I definitely don't want to be on the receiving end of that tube.
Not having had much research on German Flamethrowers before I found several pics on Google showing a variety of colours, ranging from almost black over brown and green to even a light blue.

In the end I decided for a rather cold blue which is a bit darker than the original light blue I found.

The rest of the guys were rather straight forward to do. Only the Pionieer rucksacks gave me some headaches as these again seem to have been manufactured in thousands of different shades varying from a dark brown over dark green to even a light green.

On the other hand of course this variety is one of the main reasons for me for collecting German armies for my WW2 gaming. You always can paint every single figure as an individual even if they're the very same sculpt. Especially for Skirmish gaming that's a big plus in my books. And because Germans look simply cool in their spit and polish uniforms of course ;-)

What I didn't like about the set were some of the metal separate heads which have the trademark exaggerated expressions of the comic style Warlord Games do with most of their stuff. I had hoped to filter out the worst but looking at the pic below it seems like I've missed one... well no matter he looks like a friend of mine so not too far off 'normal' human physiognomy of sorts.

As a side note I came over some discussion on the web while 'researching' my pioneers which were quite confused about the difference between the German Pioniere and the engineers in other armies.

While in most armies the engineers only performed limited battlefield duty and were mostly given construction and/ or demolition duties in the Wehrmacht however the Pioniere found themselves most of the time at the tip of an attack, clearing away obstacles, crossing rivers and performing every kind of duty necessary to breach the enemy lines.

On the retreat again they found themselves most often in the rearguard while preparing bridges to be blown up and creating obstacles like minefields etc. while often fending off enemy attacks. While there's much talk of the so called 'elite' status of the SS or the famous Panzers and Panzergrenadiere in my view the Pioniere are the forgotten heroes.

So if I'm not totally mistaken this entry should add 40 Points to my total unless our dear Mr. Snowman decides otherwise because of the prone figure.

From Curt:Oh wow. These are some of the best painted WWII miniatures I have ever seen. Brilliant work Nick, your brushwork is so precise and smooth it makes me shake my head in wonder. I know you're not a fast painter but your final results are always stunning. 

I agree in  your assessment of the German combat pioneers. Their critical role as 'first in, last out' is often overlooked or obscured by the (somewhat disturbing) hero worship of the Waffen SS.  

I usually give half points for prone figures abut I don't think anyone will begrudge me for awarding a full set for your wire-cutter. Again, fantastic work Nick.