From SamuliS - Wehrmacht guards (50 Points)

Yet more Feldgrau with another 9 German guardsmen and one rather angry dog. With these now finished I've got all the troops I need for a scenario I'm running this weekend at a Bolt Action demo day.

This time the minis are from Wargames Foundry and they are definitely better than the previous batch I had from Warlord Games. Better facial features go a long way to improve any model. I believe they are sculpted by the Perry Bros sometime in the 90s or early 00s. Though with me loving anything they've done I guess I would probably rate them as great models even if they were just malformed lumps of tin :)

This will be my last larger entry in this Challenge with only the Curtgeld being left to pay up and the 4 darn Infinity minis to finish up that I started in the first week of the Challenge. No more Napoleonics as I just don't have enough time to paint them up before time runs out. I started a new job in the beginning of the month and that has seen me working longer hours than previously so I didn't really have as much time to paint that I had anticipated and hoped for. Still the work is much more enjoyable than my previous thing so it's all on the plus side :)

And last, but not least a photo of my humble hobby station. Nowhere near as fancy as some that has been seen here as due to space constraints I'm forced to split the desk between my computer and hobby equipment. A tiny shelf for half-finished projects as well as paint racks from Warbases help keep things a bit more in order. Besides painting more minis I've been building up some more terrain in the form of a Sarissa Chateau and couple of sets of their telegraph poles that will both be needed with the German guardsmen.

From Curt:

You've done wonderful work on these Germans Samuli. I too have always enjoyed these early WWII sculpts by the Perry's (their Fallshirmjaegers being my favourite).  Now, you're only one point away from your target so I look forward to seeing you 'go over the top' next week. :)

Good shot of your paint-station as well. An efficient use of space. That Sarissa chateau looks very nice - going to check that our right now... 

Best of luck with your new job!

From RobP - The End of the Line (175 Points)

The end of the line: last entry for this year's Challenge.

This will be my last entry for this years challenge.. It is again a mixture of things I wanted to finish to complete some ongoing projects. With these points added to my total I will achieve my raised goal of 750 points; which is more than I expected at the start of the Challenge..

First up is a 28mm 6pounder A/T gun to support my CoC late war British platoon. I thought it was better not to rely on the PIAT within the platoon against armour but add a real tin-opener instead.

Gun and most of the crew are by Crusader; the NCO is a B.E.F. figure by Crouchy.

Next up are the last of my Mahdist Ansar to complete my foot warriors... A small unit of 10 riflemen. I no only have to paint some cavalry and a gun in order to complete this force before the next Sudan game. Figures are Perry plastics.

And yes MikeF, there are tufts on the bases.. :-))

With the Mahdists almost done I also started painting up some Brits, being inspired by some of the work seen during this Challenge. After a previous entry with some infantry I have now painted some Mounted Infantry. Figures are Empress and are actually from their Zulu range but I found these were so nice that I had to have them in my Sudan force. I also will paint the foot variants of these figures so I can use them in a dismounted role as well on the gaming table.

The last figure is the penny for the ferryman - the entry fee for Curt. I had no idea what to paint up so I went through the box with oddities once more to see what would fit the label..

I came up with this Foundry figure that was in a gift pack many years ago when I had placed a large order. I think it is some kind of Victorian vampire killer: wearing a cross, a bottle of holy water on his belt, a wooden stake and off course his gun with silver bullets.

Rogue, villain, hero or antihero.. Whatever the outcome, it will for sure find a place in Curt's cabinet.


From Curt:

A great final entry Rob! I really like that unit of British mounted infantry on the pill-shaped bases - very sharp.

With this last entry you've handily met your second Challenge target of 750 points  - Congratulations! We'll see if Mike and Jake will join you in the closing days of the event.

Finally, thank you very much for the Vampire Hunter! I think he has a certain Chris Christopherson look about him, which is very cool. An excellent addition to the Curtgeld display case. Again, thank you my friend!

From RossM - Various Items (66 points)

This will be one of the last submissions from myself in this year's Painting Challenge with more varied items to follow shortly.

First up is an Uruk Hai captain from Games Workshops's LOTR range. A great figure in 28mm and a good depiction of the Uruk Hai at Helm's Deep in the Two Towers film.

Next is the main body of a Chaos Warrior Warband for Songs of Blades and Heroes. These are retro figures from the hay-day - my own opinion of course - of Citadel Miniatures. First is the Chaos Sorcerer or Priest depending on how the warband will be constructed. The figure is from the C02 Wizards range as shown in Compendium 1 and 2; a High Sorcerer of Chaos.

The clash between the robes and cloak sets the figure off well, drawing the eye to what will be the central figure of the warband when used.

Next is a tribute to another Moorcock character, this time, Rackhir the Red or as he was sold Buoophut Bane-Arrow - Devotee of Alaman from the Warrior Knights of Chaos set.

The next three figures are all from the Chaos Warrior range as shown in Compendium 2 and are the core of this warband.

Character, strong armour and realistically sized weapons set these figures apart from their later successors.

There may be a couple more from this range before the end of the challenge, only time will tell.

Lastly for this entry is the start of something very small; Hoplite and Macedonian armies in 6mm. Shown here are eight stands of archers and four of javelin armed light infantry. All of the 6mm figures that are planned to be painted this year will be based on 40mm frontages to allow use in a variety of systems including ADG, Impetus and Command and Colours.

The twenty four javelin armed troops above and below are from Rapier Miniatures as will all the Macedonians be. These are slightly larger than their Hoplite counter parts; although on the table it would be hard to really notice given the scale of them.

The twenty four Greek Archers below are from Baccus and are slightly smaller and finer than their Rapier counter parts shown further down the post.

Below are the four stands of Rapier Miniature archers, there are twenty four here as well.

Any comments would be appreciated.

Cheers for now.

From Curt:

A great entry with a wide assortment of goodies for us to enjoy - well done Ross. 

Those 6mm Greeks are very fine but I have to say that my favourites are the old school Citadel sculpts. I've always had a soft spot for the whacky Chaos warriors and wizards from that era and these lads certainly don't disappoint. That sorcerer has a bit of the James Earl Jones look about him and I love the nod to Moorcock's Rackhir with all that fabulous red (even the bow!). Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

Great stuff Ross!

From ScottB - 54mm Turks for NZ Gallipoli Diorama (125 Points)

I just finished the latest batches of Turks I have received for the Gallipoli Diorama project, as previously discussed...

The first set of 10 figures are more metal figures in an advancing pose, with rifles held across the chest, two different hat styles; a simple round cloth cap, and also a kalpak with cover, which protects the wearers back of the neck from the sun, I am guessing, as it looks a little like a French Foreign Legion style headgear...

10 Rifles

Again I have not based them as they will be pinned directly into the Diorama Board.

The latest news I heard about this is that the Perrys themselves will by flying over to NZ to help set up the diorama!

The next set of 10 figures are a set in a casaulty pose. These figures were some kind of resin. A little like GW Finecast, but it felt stronger, more resilient.

10 Casualties

These were quicker and easier to paint obviously - no rifle to do, and only one side to paint!

And as you can tell, this time around for both sets of figures I have gone with various shades of tunic and trousers, puttees and hats as would reflect a more 'on campaign' worn look.

I droppped these off to Sam at the club tonight, and as yet there were no spare models to collect for painting, so I have a little more free time to get back to working on my own stuff, for a few days until the next batch arrives, possibly just afer the weekend... depending on how long NZ customs decides to hang onto them for!

So with only a week to go, this may(?) be the last submission I have time to get finished... but I have a few bits and bobs I may be able to finish and sneak in... I'll try my best...

From Curt:

It's great to see some more of this very worthwhile project Scott. Those Turkish infantrymen look terrific and you've done a fine job on the casualty figures as well. 

I'll cross my fingers that you can get in another submission before the curtain drops, but if not it has been a pleasure as always Scott!

From MartinC - Iranian Air Power and Iraqi Command and Control (140 Points)

Firstly I would like to thank Curt, this year's challenge was my first foray into the blogosphere and my first real contact with like minded individuals for many years. It has been the most fun I've had with my hobby. I have painted a ridiculous number of figures covering 2500 years of history, I have received countless pieces of invaluable advice, I have learnt a whole new painting style which I really like, I have new favourite manufacturers (Aventine and Hasslefree), I have spent a bleeding fortune on figs and painted nearly all of them, I'm still pretty bad at photography, I have discovered the joys of broom bristle spears, grass tufts, thinned down paint and super sculpty, and I appear to have accidently invented battles on flying carpets. Thank you all, it's been the least boring winter since I was 7.

So this week I have built and painted the opposition to last week's Black Ravens, The Sultan of Baghdad's Flying Carpet Corps. These are the Sultan of Basra's Eagles. The Sultan of Basra was the good guy in the original Thief of Baghdad (the one who got the magical flying horse - and that may follow). These have carpets with only archers or carpets with only halberders. There is also a magician to provide dust devils and fireballs.

Eagles

Sultan and Body Guard

Magician

 Archer Carpet

 Halberder Carpet

The figures are a mix of Black Tree Design (they arrived in 48 hours as opposed to the 7 weeks for the previous order) and Gripping Beast Plastic Arab Warriors (also arrived in 48 hours). The carpets are again Super Sculpty.

Still working on rules, elevation is a issue as height is an advantage and therefore all units will end up high up which defeats the objective.

I also built the transport for the Sultan of Baghdad. I wanted to do something different for this figure and thought about other forms of transport, balloons, eagles, dragons, dirigibles etc. but instead I decided a man of his power would need to flaunt it. So I present the Floating Court of the Sultan of Baghdad. The Sultan has kidnapped the Sultan of Basra's beautiful daughter Fatima and has her chained to his chief torturer Mustapha. He is protected by his 2 nubile Nubian bodyguards and has brought along a slave girl for "entertainment".



Fatima

The cushions, vases and recliner are made from Super Sculpty and the tables are cut off roofing nails, the dog tooth pattern on the carpet hasn't shown up too well on the photos.

The Sultan is a BTD Dr Who villain (can't remember who) but I liked the figure and the mask and robe look suitably sinister. The rest of the retinue are Hasslefree. The carpet is 10cm x 10 cm and a little unstable so I pre-drilled a hole and nailed it to a wooden baton, when in doubt use a hammer. I tried to make the clouds interesting but had issues with dying / painting the cotton wool so will do that again.

This is about 135 points, unless Curt feels generous about the points for the floating court, and puts me though my 2500 goal, which is nice. That means I've exceeded my initial target by 150%, also nice. Next stop daylight and gardening, although maybe one more unit and if I can find a table big enough a shot of all I've painted.

From Curt:

I've really loved this little Harryhausen foray of yours Martin - it's so wonderfully creative. I think you need to add a Cyclops and perhaps some skeleton warriors. Great fun.

Congratulations on hitting your 2500 point target. An impressive feat for your first foray.

Finally, I'm delighted you've found the Challenge so enjoyable. As you say it's a great way to share time, be productive and have a few laughs with people of a 'singular character'.  I can't think of a better way to spend the winter! :)