From MartijnN: Some fantasy figures and some really little guys [Fantasy Section] (90 points)

Today, I will you spare you most of my ramblings. If only because the paint on some of these figures is hardly dry yet. I always think that I have plenty of time, especially whenever I have been making reasonable progress earlier in the week, but somehow finishing even 6mm figures always seems to take much more time that I allow for.

Anyway, first up are some 28 mm "heroic scale" 3D printed fantasy figures. I think five of them are Iain Lovecraft figures, while the lady elf fighter is from Arbiter. Arbiter used to make only supportless figures, which I find much easier to print, and tend to be more durable because they usually have less protruding parts that can snap off. 

These are an old crone, a ruffian, a herald, a gypsy girl, an eerie bishop and the elf fighter. I should probably have saved one of the female figures for Sarah's Cart, but there you go.

They are all lovely figures that painted up nicely. I used mostly Citadel contrast paints or Army Painter speedpaints 1.0 on these. They are the old Speedpaint range, which tend to suffer from reactivation when painted over or washed, but in the end they worked fine.

These figures will do nicely for the Fantasy Section of the Library,  I think.

Up next are some 6mm Baccus figures for my slowly growing Prussian army for the Seven Weeks' War and the Franco-Prussian War. They are meant to represent the 1st and 2nd Light Cavalry Brigades of the Cavalry Corps of First Army at Königgrätz in 1866. 1st Guard dragoons and 1st Guard lancers, and 2nd Guard dragoons and 3rd hussars. They are accompanied by two artillery batteries. The guns were painted before the Challenge, so no score for those.

As they will likely figure in 1870 games too, for this week's book recommendation I have chosen a favourite book on the FPW: A Day of Battle. Mars-la-Tour 16 August 1870 by David Ascoli.

The book is about of the running battle between advance elements of the Prussian army and the French Army of the Rhine, as it slowly made its way West to fall back towards Verdun. It is classic example of  a smaller force using initiative, creativity and sheer determination to hold a much larger force that is fighting bravely, but operating hesitantly and indecisively. In the end, this may well have been the battle that ultimately decided the war and the fate of the Third Empire. It is a great tale, and Ascoli tells it brilliantly. The book is, unfortunately, let down somewhat by the rather crude and simple maps, but the narrative and the analysis are excellent. There is a lot of background too, and Ascoli also covers the battle of Gravelotte in some detail. If you are going to read one book on the war, make it this one.

Then, the map:

That's it for his week.

6x 28mm foot @ 5 = 30 points

36x 6mm horse @ 1 = 36

8x 6mm foot @ 0.5 = 4

Fantasy Section bonus = 20

Grand Total: 84 points

TeemuL: The fantasy miniatures are great, characterful and colourful! 6mm look very small, but I can still see some details on them, good work. People often think, that small minis are quick and fast to paint, and in a way they are, but in the other way they aren't. And as fellow minion you have added your map without extra notification, well done. But your maths is a bit off, I guess you missed your 6mm infantry. Grand total is 90 points, here you are.

From ShawnD: Mantic Games Halfling Engineer (5 Points)

Halfling Engineer (Mantic Games)  

For the model, it was very difficult for me to paint.   Two reasons here; 1) the model when assembled has many cracks and crevices that cause me to make mistakes.  2)  I assembled this model from a Mantic kit and didn't know anything about glue accelerants.  If I were to build and paint is again, I would paint each piece separately and then assemble the model to see if that is a better way.   Too bad I already have scads of models built for this challenge.   You can see where the glue is a little sloppy.  

I did use a lighter primer code on this model to bring a little pop to the colors.  I really like the way the regular paint when on.  I'm going to paint with Speed Paint 2.0 for my next submission over a white primer to see how that works. 

This 28 MM model should be 5 points, that's what I am guessing.

I like to make up little stories for my figures when I paint them.  I just think of them while I paint, wondering if it's ok to share here.  If so I'll post if as a reply to this post

TeemuL: Yes, our second special guest today is Shawn, who usually is part of Wednesday group, but for reasons is today part of our Thor's Day group. And a halfling with machine gun is a nice addition to the Thor's day group. Very nice brush job and neat result for speed paints. And yes, we all love stories, bring them on!

From Curt: Characters from 'The School of Strength' for 'Hametsu' (15 points)

Hi Everyone!

Here is my last trio of heroes for 'Hametsu'. These are the archetypes from the 'School of Strength': the Gaijin, the Sumo and the iconic masterless Ronin.

Similar to most of my other figures for this project, these are 3d prints that I sourced from MyMiniFactory and Thingiverse.

I really enjoyed working on all three of these models as they are so evocative of the period and very well designed. My hat is off to the sculptors. 

The Gaijin ('outsider' or 'foreigner) is based from a Renaissance Spanish rodelero which I thought would work nicely since the Portuguese were the first Europeans to make contact with the Japanese in the 16th century. 

I was thinking of what kind of colours to do him in and found some great images of the Papal Swiss Guard in their red, buff and blue livery which I thought that was perfect. I imagine him a lost Guardsman, perhaps the bodyguard of a Jesuit, or perhaps a Prince of the Church, stranded in Japan and making the best of his lot.  

For a bit of fun I added a Japanese lamellar spaulder to protect his right shoulder. I was thinking of giving him the distinctive leg faulds as well, but didn't want to hide his fancy European trousers (it's all about cutting a dash, right.). Model by PeculiarCompanions.

The Sumo was fun to do as well. I wanted to make sure I did a decent job on his skin as, um, there's a lot of it being that he's a big boi! I also really wanted to give him a tattoo, but wasn't confident on my freehand bush skills to do a dragon, so I used two rose decals from an old Sisters of Battle sheet, which give a close approximation to chrysanthemums. Done. 

There is an armoured version of the Sumo which I may do later to reflect the progression of the character - but that will be for another day. Figure by The Dragon Trappers Lodge.

The Ronin is one of my favourite figures of the series. Such a wonderfully dynamic pose, with him giving his all with his terrifying nodachi two-hander. Somebody's going to have a real bad day with this fella in front of them. 

I also really like the texture of the sculpt, with the deep folds in his trousers, his sinewy musculature and the spikiness of his hair and beard. A ferocious character to be sure.

These three warriors from the School of Strength should give me 15 points.

And to close, here is the wrap up shot of all nine characters for the heroes.

Thanks for dropping in!

- Curt

TeemuL: So the hero character collection is now done? Looks great. I'm with you, the Ronin looks excellent and you have added nice stripes to his clothes, too. Very effective. I'm under impression, that tattoos are not a big thing in Japan, but I wouldn't argue with that sumo wrestler about it... And the colourful Gajin, I like all the colours there, emphasizing the mix-and-match equipment he has. 15 points that is.

From BruceR: FIW natives, bits and bobs (42.5 points)

Not as productive as I should have been with temperatures well below freezing as the northern plains rival even the snow lords temperatures. And no Teemu we are not barbequing. Another reason as my gaming compatriots agreed to venture out in the cold and play a game of bolt action. We did early war and I created 2 forces with my French legionnaires and French colonials. I had some points left over and went looking for the motorcycle I'd painted for a BA gathering in Minneapolis last year (which I didn't make due to closed interstates and snow).  Ah, based and primed, not painted. To the paint desk. So, my first submission is this French motor bike, without riders. This is a 3d print I picked up and I may get to the 4-5 mounted bikes I have from the same purchase. Base coated grey and I hit it with a Contrast green. I did some weathering (makeup brush) and painted some unit numbers and colors. Add some ground paint, highlight and tufts. I use these models dismounted and firing. I liked how it turned out, not sure about the blue head lamp as I saw photos of the screened lamp with the slit, too late as it was needed on the wargames table. Senegalese painted last year for the same gathering. For points I'm not sure. A vehicle, but seems small so I'll tally 10 points and Teemu can deduct if he feels it is slightly high.   

Senegalese w/ LMG and driver (Fez's painted last year)

As I went to grab the two tanks and armored car that the rules allow for two forces I noticed a missing commander on my AMC 35. Lost to the travel gods I imagine. Well, again to the paint desk. Sitting on a pin is a primed vehicle commander. Not sure if French or Italian, well being cavalry I'm sure he would be all in for nonofficial attire. So, he has a pith helmet of some sort, with a band, and great moustache. He was told to jump into his mount and counterattack immediately (after some paint). The AMC 35 (dubbed by the French Automitrailleuse de Combat) did not live up to its great name. Fired once missed and then was taken out by my gaming nemesis dice rolling and a PAK 36.  

I present Pepe Le Pew tank commander of Automitrailleuse de Combat 35.

Lt Le Pew

Gaming done and back to the paint desk. I'm running a FIW Sharp Practice game at Adepticon so I need to crack on with some French forces for the game. Earlier in the year I purchased a starter force of French from Galloping Major consisting of 12 Huron allies, 6 Canadian Militia (Milice), 6 Compagnies Franches de la Marine, with two leaders, which are great. I previously painted up the Milice and leader prior to the challenge.  My British force is done and ready. First up are 6 natives out of 12+leader, the other 6 should make next weeks tally. I flip back and forth using contrasts or speed paints. With all this flesh I decided to give them a go and did most of the 6 with contrast. Not super happy and did some additional highlighting to get them to a reasonable state. Tried to give them each a different warpaint type of extra. The next 6 and leader are 80% done without contrast so I (and you) can compare the results. I'm happy with how they both look and they should give participants decent troops to push around. 

Thats one group done. I'm going to run the natives as skirmishers rather than tribes (6per group rather than 12). Different folks have lobbied for this type of use and an article in the 2022 Lard Magazine has them set out as sneaking about the bush firing rather than a horde charging about the table. The game will be a very small scale (40+ figures per side) battle with light troops battling it out for the most part in the NE wilderness (of course contesting for Grey Hair's daughters).  

Score

28 mm motorcycle                = 10 pts

28mm French cavalry ldr      =  2.5 pts

28mm natives 6@5              = 30

Total                                         42.5 pts

Temps above zero today which is a nice break from the subzero shite we have been having. 

Paint on and be well all.

Bruce 

TeemuL: Good job, Bruce! I guess the closest match for the motorcycle is cavalry. Bike and horse are quite the same (from scoring perspective) and the sidecar is like a rider. So ten points. No point problems on others, very neat paint job.The blue headlight might a reflection from the sea and screens can always go missing in the middle of the war. I like the colourful natives, too.

From DaveS: More Adventures In the Congo, and something Newly Acquired [New Acquisitions] (95 points)

So, I've painted some more of the miniatures that I got for playing Congo, although I have never actually played the game (or even read the rules for that matter), relying on the prebuilt "Expedition Packs" from North Star to decide what I should include. These are made up of the rest of the units that were unpainted from the last post, plus a few additions to units that I realised I hadn't fished out of the "Drawer being used as a shelf support".

First, we have the final 2 archers for the unit.  These were painted in an identical fashion to the others, using predominantly contrast paint.  Since severl people asked, I used GW Contrast Wildwood for the skin for all of the Natives in this post.

Next, we have another Askari that I found, to bring the total unit size to 5.

A unit of scouts.  These didn't come with spears, and led to some consternation, as I know that when I first bought these, a friend kindly donated some brass wire spears for me to complete them.  Several years later, I have no idea where these are (believe me, I looked), and so having checked the online stock, I tried my FLGS.  Who showed me to a 10'x4' display of blisters, and let me know they were in there somewhere!!!!!! (I should stress that had I ordered them from the website, they would have dug them out for me).  As the wife was in the car at the time, I declined to go through 100s of blisters, and so these have spears donated from some sprues of Ancient Celts.....

Next, we move on to what are referred to on the box as "Explorers".  These were again, painted mostly with contrast paints.  I'm probably most happy with these of all the models that I painted from this set.

Finally for now, the two characters.  Lady Isobel Poppington herself, and the Professor.

I'm not hugely happy with how Her Ladyship's glasses turned out, but I will live with it I think.  I still have some "Soldiers (Acutally Sailors)" to paint to have the complete expedition finished, but I haven't quite got them polished off yet, so they will have to wait.

As a break, and because I finally got hold of them, I have also painted some of the new GW Legion Imperialis Space Marines. Space Marine was the very first wargame I ever got bought, for christmas when I was still at school. I never played that edition, and a few years ago sold on my attempt to start collecting a force for the NetEpic version that was around online.

But since I had bought a small (honest) number of titans to use with it when this was first announced, I decided that this would break my embargo on buying new models for the challenge.  And thus I present my first 4 bases of Tactical Marines. Since 6mm is .5 points, and 10mm is 1 point per model, I propose .75 points for the 8mm that these are claimed at.  I'm also going to claim New Acquisitions for these, if I may.

So that should make

13x28mm Models at 5pts = 65 Points

20x8mm Models at .75pts = 15 Points

New Acquisition Desk = 20 Points

For a round total of 100pts

TeemuL: More warriors for Congo. The Contrast paints seem to work very well on these minis, they all look great! The Space Marines look good, too. But in the future posts, could you include more photos from different angles and the Challenge Map, please? Especially the Explorers, they do look good and I'd like to see more of them.

I understand your scoring proposal and that was discussed before the Challenge started with Minions, but in the end it was ruled that 6mm category will be known as 6-8mm category from now on, so they are only worth half a point, so total of 10 for Space Marines and 95 in total.

From MartinC: Some Napoleonic Action [History] (135pts points)

So I've been away wargaming or a week in sorry York and bleak Scarborough playing Napoleonics. Fun but tiring, so not much painting done.

Quick peak at the main battle that was fought. We fought Waterloo for 4 days

10mm on a 24ftx6ft table. Thousands of figures. I was the allies given the task of holding Hougemont.

My forces were the Dutch, Belgians and Brunswickers under the command of Prince of Orange (whose best command rating was inept). I didn't get the guard so all my troops were the bottom 3 grades out of 6 levels. 

I held Hougemont for almost no time at all against veteran French Legere and the French just rolled us up. This is the end of the battle, me is squares facing the Old Guard! Nobody else on my side did any better

Where did my men go. Well to the matching table behind where they set of for Brussels asap.

Aside over, I have done some painting. 

28mm Russian Napoleonic Jager Battalion

These are Perry Miniatures

I've been painting Russians all summer so they have friends

8 infantry battalions, 4 jager battalions, 3 grenadier battalions, 3 dragoon regiments, 3 cossack regiments and plenty of artillery. I have 3 more grenadier battalions to paint, 2 Uhlan regiments and a Hussar regiment, plus a large general staff stand. Should keep me busy.

Scores on the doors

21 infantry = 105

1 mtd colonel = 10

Historical book section = 20

total = 135. 

Now I need a palette cleanser

TeemuL: If there is an excuse for not painting minis, I guess you have the perfect one. What a nice table and game there. Every now and then, when I used to play Age of Sigmar in our local group, and someone wanted just to try something new and wanted to have just 1000 points on 4x4 table, maybe something narrative, some of the "real players" were jokingly mocking them as "kiddie games" and 2000 points on a big 6x4 table is the only solution, with Matched Play rules of course. I'd like to see how they react to games like those you have. :)

And you were painting some minis, too. Excellent. I guess the Perry models are always a pleasure to paint and you have done them justice. And I expect to see more of them during the Challenge. 135 points it is, not bad result for being a week away...