From SamuliS: Zebras and Volksgrenadiere (48 points)

Time for some more entries from me after a short pause! Life has been quite hectic now that our renovation has started and going straight from work to paint walls, install flooring etc. really has cut down on available hobby time. Apologies for not really being active with commenting either with no time at the computer outside of work. At least I've managed to browse through nearly all entries.

Both of these projects were started already a few weeks back, but finding an hour here and another there didn't help with progress. Finally on last friday I sat down for an all nighter to get the Volksgrenadiers painted before I needed them at the tournament early next morning. Some frantic painting and a restless night later they were ready for the battlefield. Somewhat ironically they never even made it to the table as I played with my main army through the whole tournament and didn't switch to the secondary one ever. So I guess the original Panzergrenadier platoon would have been enough even without these assault rifle additions... At least the tournament went nicely with another third place (third year in a row) for me. Lost one game with a miserable 6-1 showing which was enough to drop me into third. Still pretty happy as my list was geared up for fast games with either a win or a loss in the first few turns. I was in charge of the tournament so I figured it's better to get my own games done faster so that it would be easier to act as a referee and handle all the other things going around.

And speaking of referee's it's time to get some Zebras on the table for Blood Bowl as well. Me being me I immediately had to order the new Referee set, especially when it said Limited edition on the Forge World site... Somehow can't really resist anything that's supposedly on sale for a limited time only :) I'd imagine being a referee in Blood Bowl isn't exactly an enviable position with the constant risk of a hungry troll eating you, being beaten to pulp by an angry orc or getting your blood sucked out by a Vampire in need of a drink. So the ones who survive are most likely the meanest and craftiest individuals on the face of the planet. Not exactly the kind of referee you want to be getting pissed off at you. At least you can always bribe them with Gobbos always being open to a bag of gold and Halflings constant appetite making them easy to please with a good snack.

So with 19 15mm infantry and two 28mm models I should net another 48 points. Still a long  way to go...

With these out of the way my table is more or less clear from any projects. Not sure if I'm going to start anything before the renovation is finished and we've moved house. So most likely I'll be under radio silence until March when I'll have to try gather the remaining around 600 points that I'm missing from my goal... I do have a few business trips coming though so I might prep something to take with me in case I have some loose time in the hotel that needs to be passed in some other way than drinking beer in the lobby.


I know all to well the issues of sifting house and performing home renovations(I'm still unpacking from moving in November!) Still it is very nice to have you back. I wish you gave another shot of the
Germans but the zoomed in photo shows a bit of time was spent on them. Although not used, the sleepless night was well spent on them.
I really like your Forge World referees! They are packed full of character! My favorite is still the 1st ed human ref with the "come ere" gesture, but these fellows are very nice and well executed by your brush. Of the two I like the gobbo eyeing the coin toss, he seems to be thinking "shiney"

From PeterD SYW British Light Dragoons (40 points)

I am continuing to slog away at my SYW Sharp Practice collection. I have 4 more light dragoons finished to go along the 8 I finished earlier in the Challenge. Production has slowed down due to the impact of real life - I wear two hats at work and both are in their busy seasons. However, I find it helps me keep going if I post something each week, even if it's only a few figures. There's 8 more of these guys in various stages on the workbench as I type, I've found it works best to finish them in small batches once I get them to a certain point.

I am taking a sure but slow approach on this project, aiming to enjoy the ride.  I've found that the lace wars may be my sweet spot for miniatures painting.  Basically this is what I do for a hobby, painting horse and musket figures is something I've been doing  for 40 years now!  I know that these figures gave KenR a head ache earlier but I've really appreciated painting them.  The details stands out very nicely and it's easy to pick out the details like the lace.  Plus the poses are dynamic and the helmet just rocks!

So all in all we have 1 trumpeter, 1 officer, 2 troopers on picket duty with pistols.

Unlike my earlier problems with Piper uniforms for the Highlanders, I am on pretty solid ground with the trumpeter.   I've got several sources showing the green faced white with white/red lace including illustrations.  I like that he's got two trumpets , one in hand and one on his back.  Maybe he's a belt and braces kind of guy.  Or maybe he just needs horns in two different keys ( I understand from horn players that this is a thing, I play the guitar which is tuned in the key of I've got four fingers on my left hand).  Anyway I did the trumpet in his hand in silver and the hunting style horn on his back in brass, which matches real life examples that I've seen in both cases.

The figure I've used for the officer is I think an NCO officially.  He came in the Perry command pack along with the trumpeter and the officer I'd painted earlier.  I am fielding each Sharp Practice "group" to represent a squadron or company so wanted a second office for my second leader.  It was a simple paint conversion and I reckon that he's found it prudent to carry the carbine like his men.

The end plan is to have 2 Sharp Practice groups of 8 troopers, which means that with figures packed in threes I had to get 18!  I decided to use the extra two as pickets and/or dispatch riders and got a pack with pistols for this role, as they look the part.  That leaves one pistol packing mutha as a regular trooper (included in my first dragoon entry).

Are you quite certain that you are NOT in the Sharp Practice Duel?!

I myself do enjoy the Lace Wars in particular the 7YW. I also like the Cavalry units and reading regimental  and army doctrines that include color of horses to be used...it must be an Anglo thing to have white horses for muscians, my ancestors only cared about stealing them! ;)

I do like these fellows though, including the Sgt with the field promotion. The British do have that signature look with the red and white and the dragoons do look stiking in them. I like that you have singled out a couple for courier and patrol duties. They will provide excellent objectives with the added bonus of plussing the regiment up when opportunity for larger battles occur.

Well done, Peter!

Jez Todd - Samurai Theme "IKKO IKKI" - (90 points)

Hi All

Not sure any wargamer would deliberately choose to build up a Japanese peasant army - the Ikko Ikki, however as I had a job lot of warrior monks and farmers handed over from a Ronin skirmish gamer it fitted perfectly.

The first couple of pictures show 3 farmer peasants (Perry figures) and 4 assorted monks and more armoured Ikko Ikki league (The Assault Group and an odd converted Ronin Northstar range)

This was the first time for me to use the sabot style bases and in the background you can see some of the Warbases that I bought to hold the figures. The third picture below shows them in action in a large unit of Ikko Ikki impetuous Foot Light class troops - I think five figures is a bit skimpy but hopefully I have just got away with this.

In additional I have also done a couple of standard bases to create another large Command unit - this has a mounted converted Perry figure with a couple of TAG armoured foot. In a moment of inspiration I simply added a samurai standard sashimono to the top of spear base to create the standard - the banner design is taken from Osprey books. Behind are a couple more Perry figures.

Finally to round off I also completed 5 Perry figures that I am going to use as disorder markers when playing. In total I make this 16 foot and 1 mounted for 90 points.

 

I do like feudal Japan and adhoc forces, so you already have two tallies in your favor. I admittedly know little of the period save what I've gleamed from Arms and Armor books, folklore, and the Manga shows my kids like to watch! I do know I view Samurai with same trepidation that I do Napoleonics(Thank goodness there are no Napoleonic Samurai Hussars!)
I rather like your force comander as well, I like how his colors tie in with the Sohei monks. I also like the disorder tokens you've crafted. these are so much better than card tokens. I would be disordered to if someone was engaged in Suppuku behind me!
Ususally, prone figures are considered half points, but as I'm a fan of using miniatures for tokens and objectives, we will consider the bonus points as a wash for the two slackers!

From BenitoM - Dashing French Hussars(40 points)

After a couple of weeks absent, I return today with more Napoleonic troops. Now it's time for some French forces after completing the Portuguese unit. I own Cuirassiers, Dragoons and Chasseurs in my collection, but no Hussars.

Today I bring only half squadron of French Hussars. This unit is a challenge to paint and that explain my poor output. I did some research and decided to go for the 3rd Regiment, that took part in a very active way in the Peninsular battlefield and later in the 100 days campaign.

This regiment is easily distinguishable by the colour of their uniforms: a sort of faded blue-grey.   But this already posed a challenge; and after several attempts I found that the closest colour to the actual uniform was the Vallejo 900 "French Mirage Blue" the base of the "blue ciel" uniforms of the First World War. The cords are dark red and the metal buttons in silver.

 
My plan is to paint two 8-men squadrons, the first dressed with the uniform of the Elite company and the second with the cylindrical Shako widely used during most of the war. Today's photos are from the Elite unit.

Although not used in campaign, I decided to make them wear the Pelisse... otherwise who would say that they were Hussars at all!

In truth there's still some work to do in thes emodels, as I will use these transfers from LBM for the decoration of the sabretache. But for that I need much better weather than currently (raining and humid) as I need to varnish the models to help the transfer stay in place and not peel off (my experience with other models has not been good in this sense).

The models are the superb Perry plastic box. I also acquired some metal models (officer, trumpet and trooper) to complte the two squadros (a total of 16 models). 

These four models add 40 points to my personal account and also reinforce my lead position in the Sharp Practice duel scoring.

Well these certainly wet the appetite after your Portuguese! I've become accustomed to brightly colored Napoleonic troops, most especially the Hussars. The Third seem to take a very buisiness outlook as opposed to the the more flamboyant regiments of their class. They are very striking in the blue grey though! I like the extra detail packed on to these that you brought out as well. they may be utilitarian in color choice, but they are definitely Hussar in the lace, piping, and bling!
Good luck with the decals, they do look pretty.

apologies for temporay interruptions...

I did have a wonderful day off yesterday, but my family didn't!

Nina had a nasty 24hr bug that she gave to her mother. Two down mostly sleeping, still able to paint. Valerie is still recovering from her sprained ankle, but was still off to basketball practice, yet Kolleen caught it last night before bed. I was assisting in making supper and still managed to catch the Expanse on SciFi(er SyFy) channel( premire a little slow, but acting, tech, and story are really good- loved the space battle!) I went off to bed(late) Wife was up(still shaky) kids off to school except for Kolleen and Seth who now get a turn with the bug. They(wife) let me sleep because they(she) thought I needed it. To be fair I did turn off my 0230 alarm because I didnt want to leave a warm bed!

Barring anymore virus intrusions, and only interrupted by some noon-ish house chores and lunch making, Your daily reading and viewing pleasure will be renewed! Since I do have the next few days off, I may fortify with medicinal supplies, alcohol does kill germs after-all. Just a small libation to keep the creative juices flowing and prep for Superbowl. ;)

From PaulS: What is that noise? (190 Points)

This week is a slightly more coherent selection of figures, all surrounding the ongoing Bolt Action/ Weird War theme. No deviations into something weird like Victoriana or the wild west this week I'm afraid. Maybe next week...

I'm actually pleasantly surprised at how much has been done for this entry. It just goes to show what happens when you actually put your mind to something!

Lets start with the main bulk of the entry. This week I've mainly been concentrating on fleshing out some missing/semi-complete infantry options, which includes 2 SMG wielding officers, 1 assault rifle officer, 1 LMG/MMG loader and 8 Heer rifles.  On top of that we have 8 German zombies, 1 werewolf and 6 Fallschirmjager.  Unless stated, these are all Warlord models, including the werewolf. There are some squad shots below.

Sadly the zombies and officers didn't come out well in their solo photos, so I need to retake these and update my blog later, but you can open up the group shot and see them in action. The zombies are a combination of Warlord plastics, plus Mantic zombie parts. On the tabletop they look pretty good, but I'm not 100% convinced about the hands and arms. I'm not sure what Mantic feeds their zombies to make them so big, but it looks... wrong up close. This is the minimum squad size for Konflikt, so I'm sure the horde will grow over time.

I recently joined my local gaming group to try and actually learn Bolt Action properly, so I ca actually play with all these painted troops. You may recall that two years ago I painted up a small commando force as a challenge entry. I've decided to flesh this out into a proper Royal Marines Commando force using the list that Warlord posted on their blog. This will let me field a proper commando force, where everyone gains the benefit of the commando rules. Should be pretty nasty *fingers crossed*. As such, I need to flesh out my selection of models a bit, so here is the first batch of additions to the crew. There are 3 rifles, 1 lmg and 2 smgs to bulk out the basic infantry squads. The other nice benefit of the RM Commando list is that the HQ squad can take up to 5 supporting marines, rather than the normal 2. To show who these would be, I picked up one of the US Marine sprues in Warlord's Christmas sale so that these HQ models have rolled up sleeves. It looks tougher, right?

My Commandos are considered to have been behind enemy lines for a few days, so they are looking a bit unshaven at the moment. At some point I may come back and dirty up the uniforms a bit, but for now, they are clean, but not clean shaven!

This should add 36 infantry plus the werewolf to the figure total

ByronM: What a way to end the day (unless there are anymore last minute entries that come in)!  What a collection you have going, amazing looking, not sure where to start with any of this.  The infantry are really well done with strong shading, highlights, and clean brush work.  I love the addition of the stubble on several of them as well. I would have liked to see a closeup of the zombies to see what you did on them in more detail, but oh well.

My favourite of the lot (as I suspect will be for most people here) is the werewolf.  The super strong shadow and highlight really makes him stand out.  Better yet, the tattoo (proving he is but an experiment and tool of the Reich) is a brilliant addition!  190 points are added to your total, and keep them coming!

From Scott M: French Partisans, Germans and Ooze (165 points)

Missed my entry from last week so I'm doing a large one (for me!) this week. First up is 2 sets of French Partisans. First is a set of figures from Warlord Games.

This next set is from Wargames Foundry.

These are probably my favourite of the lot.

This paint challenge has given me the incentive to start my early-war Germans. So first up is a set of command figures from Warlord Games.

The next set of Germans is from Wargames Foundry.

Not sure why I need so many German officers, but I have them now!

And finally there is some ooze. Figure is from Reaper Miniatures. Simple and easy to paint but rather enjoyable. 

Next week should be some more Germans and adventurers.

ByronM: Great entry Scott with tons of little details.  I can't tell much on the first batch as the pictures are kind of far away, but the close ups on some of the Germans are very good, I like the dark shading and strong contrast.  The little extra details like the painted insignia and helmet markings are really nice touches too and add a lot, well done!  The slime is a cool looking model as well, like you said, simple looking model, but shading smoothing over curves to help add curve and depth is not simple, and you make it look really good.   

From IannickM : Epic Wednesday (22 Points)

Yes, another entry (second week in a row with two entry, I'm on fire people!), and we keep it small this week albeit a very different and nastier type of small. Yes, more Emperor's Children for my Epic Horus Heresy project. I've been painting these in between Halflings and Napoleonics. One of the things I enjoy about painting Epic is that it's a nice change of pace; sometimes I'm just really tired of working on 28mm figures and I just switch in the middle of a session to painting little tanks and it gives me renewed energy and motivation.

Also, I figured good ol' Greg is probably tired of my painting fantasy figures and would be happy to know I haven't forgotten our little 30K duel. In all fairness, I don't think I can catch up to him by working only on my Epic project, but dang it I shall do my best!

So this week we have three support detachment sporting the Purple & Gold of your favourite Legions of depraved (but happy) sociopaths. 

First up, a detachment of 4 Predators. These are the Annihilator variants, equipped with turret-mounted Twin-linked "Stormbringer" Lascannons as opposed to the basic turret-mounted Autocannon on the Predator Destructor. I always had a soft spot for the Predators' look, as I find it looks good without being over the top.

Up next, we move one size up to a quatuor of Sicaran Battle Tanks, one of the most advanced armoured vehicles used by the Space Marine Legions during the Horus Heresy. These powerful vehicles were exclusive to the armouries of the Legiones Astartes and were just in the process of being introduced as a standard vehicle of the Legions when the Horus Heresy broke out. This allowed the Warmaster Horus to ensure that many examples of the new tank found their way only into the armouries of the "traitor" Legions that would side with him before the outbreak of his rebellion against the Emperor. Yes, Horus is the kind of leader you can count on!

Not very point effective for the duel though, as they are rather big for a measly 2 pts! But that drawback is more than offset by their badassery and their awesome look!  These guys are big and mean, and style wise fit perfectly with my philosophically agressive Emperor's Children.

And last for this week is a Legion Outrider Squad. I needed more speed for my Legion, and these guys look the part. These mechanized Space Marine reconnaissance squads are mounted on all-terrain Assault Bikes and are responsible for performing scouting missions and conducting guerrilla attacks behind enemy lines.  I quite like the models, although in hindsight I'm wondering if I should've put two bikes per bases. Of course, that would've required twice as many bikes and twice the cost! Anyways, the detachment still looks good to me, even if pictures are a bit hard to get right because they are so very small!

And a family picture, just to give some perspective on the size of each models.

Next up for this project; more infantry for my Emperor's Children, another Super Heavy Tank and then time permits I might just start the work on the loyalist side, the Ultramarines. Although I might get to face Blood Angels first, as I may have corrupted another Analogue Challenger to join in the Heresy! My mentor Greg will be proud...

So that's 8 tanks (16 pts) and 6 bikers (6 points) for 22 more points.

ByronM: Very nice entry Iannick, I really love all this 30k badassery in Epic scale.  I am with you on the sicarans, they are one of the best looking and playing tank in 30k or 40k.  They are low, long, sleek, and aggressive looking, amazing tank.  Better your your purple paint job shows them of very nicely, especially with the accent colours.  

You're correct, overall not very many points in the challenge, but they are very nice looking points, so it is well worth it!  Keep it coming!  

From JohnM: FIW Canoes (30 Points)

Two submissions, 2 weeks in a row! I have gone into 8 Kickstarters in the last 3 years and these figures are the latest acquisitions. I would not usually paint pieces that are not going to used in games, but I think some of the FIW rules we use do allow for canoes, so I said why not.

These are from AW Miniatures, and they delivered right as promised. I put in a pledge for set of European Missionaries that I thought would be useful. As part of the pledge I also received both a Ranger and Indian canoe set, as well as a British cannon and crew and some Grenadiers.

The figures are quite big and a side by side with my other FIW figures from Conquest Miniatures makes the Grenadiers and Cannon Crew unusable for me, but for these canoe teams it does not really matter. Oddly the Missionaries that I made the pledge for are compatible with the Conquest Miniatures. I am not sure why you would sell two quite incompatible 28 mm ranges from the same catalogue.

I do note that Warlord Games, who sell the Conquest Miniature line, have canoeists in their catalogue but I do not see them on the Conquest Miniatures site so I am not sure if they are by the same sculptor. A lot of 28mm figures have seen my painting desk and I can easily say the Conquest Miniatures line are the best I have seen in this scale for all the eras I have painted.

The figures themselves are nice, some what "Eliteish" in posture; with them looking up to the right with their sharp chiseled faces. There is some flash, they came with a lot of extra bits but I could not fit it all in the canoes. All in all though they are OK.

Well that is it for this week, I will have a solo submission for next week as I am starting work on a project which is charting completely new territory for me. I will leave the point scoring to Byron as I am unsure if canoes are regarded as vehicles or not.

ByronM: Another very sharp looking entry John.  I like these as they are not something you see all the time, in fact I don't believe I have ever seen a miniature canoe!  Being Canadian I know we have a lot of history that could be played out in miniature, but never really looked into doing so before.  This is a very cool idea though, you could use them for any number of small skirmish games based around either exploration (change the Congo rules to be based on the Voyagers instead of English explorers and move it to North America, or use Saga or Sharp Practice for some European vs Native battles).  By your saying you already do FIW though, I assume you have a rule system you use, which is it? It would be interesting to check out.

I had to do some checking with the commander in chief on points, in the end they are going to be viewed  as a bike or horse with two riders, so 15 points per model for a total of 30 points.  Which seems rather fitting as that is kind of how they were used, as the cavalry of the river ways. Regardless of points, thanks for showcasing something very cool and different than the norm!

From StephenS: British Regular Infantry (62 points)

I've missed roll-call for the last few weeks as I've kept plugging away on these guys in between preparing for the bonus rounds. Originally, I had four ready and then optimistically thought I could squeeze 4 more in before the cut-off... I then figured I might as well finish the last few, so I present 12 of His Majesty's finest from the 44th (East Essex) Regiment of Foot. These guys will combine with the six of their fellows I painted last year, to make two units for use in French-Indian War themed games of Sharpe Practice 2.

The 28 mm miniatures are by Conquest Miniatures from Warlord Games. The banner is just one from the box the miniatures came in, with a few splashes of paint added to brighten it up a bit.

The command - the uniforms are not quite so bright in the flesh.

I chose the 44th because I liked their yellow flag more than the others that came in the box (I know, I think about these things too much...) Interestingly, I recently discovered that the 44th apparently holds the honour of being the most massacred regiment in the British army during the 18th and 19th centuries. Being first slaughtered to almost a man at the Battle of Prestonpans by Scottish Highlanders. Then massacred again by Native Americans at the Monongahela River during the French-Indian War. Before being cut-down a third time at Gandamak during the retreat of the British during the First Afghan War. I must say, I feel this regiment and I have been well-matched!

This marching in circles might help explain why they kept getting massacred...

Surrounded on all sides - business as usual!

My brief love for painting 18th century uniforms is beginning to fade, but I have a unit of Grenadiers ready to paint up along with some Native American allies that will make a nice diversion. That's if I can get through to a few other things first...

Cheers,

Steve

ByronM: A very nice entry here Steve.  I can see why you like the regiment, the red/yellow really makes them distinctive and you have done a top notch job on them.  Painting anything from that era is hard (at least for me) and your sharp break black lining method makes all the details in the uniform really stand out and look great.  The base work is excellent as well, the little leaves in light tans help tie the yellows down to the base in my eye.  So 12 figures for 60 points and a bonus couple thrown in for the banner work, well done!