Welcome to the Painting Challenge. Here you will find the fabulous, fevered work of miniature painters from around the world. While participants come from every every possible demographic, they have three things in common: they love miniatures, they enjoy a supportive community, and they want to set themselves against the Challenge.
This site features the current year's event along with the archives of past Painting Challenges.
Enjoy your visit and remember to come back soon.
Yet another Cold War Battlegroup (BG). This time the Dutch. These are mostly from Army Armies which is now called Army Bits, but I don't think the Dutch are available anymore. Shame because they are very nice models. Again the infantry has already been painted so this post just contains the vehicles.
The Dutch
The HQ and Infantry Coys Vehicles YPR765s (45pts)
Artillery Battery 2 X M109s and a Landrover FO (3 crew) (30Pts)
Recce Plt - YP-408 (8 pts)
Support Coy - 2 X YP-408 with TOWs and 120mm Mortar (4 Crew) I forgot to add the YPR Tow for the mortar in this photo but you can see it in the back of the group picture (36 pts)
AA Platoon - Gapard (8pts)
Tank Company - 3 Leopard 1s (24pts)
Dutch Total = 151 pts
So in my first post I mention I was rebasing and playing around with my Italian Wars and Napoleonic Poles. However, I have decided they needed adding to (an army is never completed)
Italian Horse for the Italian Wars
12 Venetian Horse (Essex Miniatures) - 48pts
12 Italian Horse (Essex) 48 pts
As a break from all the green I have been painting I thought I'd paint some Skaven. Well 40 of them.
Skaven = 200 Pts
Finally I have finished my Napoleonic Poles (well for the present) All figures are AB
Polish Horse Battery
Polish Horse Battery Limber
Battery Total - 4 Cannon, 15 crew and 6 horses. (58pts)
And Some Uhlans
3rd Polish Uhlans (24 Cavalry) (96pts)
7th Polish Uhlans (24 Cavalry) (96pts)
And that's it. I have caught up with all my outstanding uploads so I can now carry on painting Cold War Battlegroups.
Grand Total
14 vehicles = 112
172 (15mm) Figures = 344
5 Artillery pieces = 20
40 X 28mm Figures = 200
Grand Total = 676
***
Nothing like a points bomb to start the morning here in North America. It's cool to see some Cold-War-era Dutch troops, and I love the look of those modified Leopard MBTs. Commuting to work would be so much easier if I could get one of those...
This week I'm back with more Silver Bayonet Napoleonic stuff, this time for the British faction.
These are a mix of the official miniatures from North Star plus some extras from Front Rank to bulk out the standard infantry types who are cheapest points-wise and necessary to field a full 8-man team.
I'm happy enough with the end result but really don't enjoy painting British figures for this period. The uniforms are boring and fiddly to my mind, not a match on the cooler stuff from the continental nations.
When surveyed 87% or respondents chose "I have a picnic blanket that matches that tartan"
Mooks, mooks and more mooks
Stand back lads, I've got this!
So that's 10 x 28mm infantry = 50 points. I've just one more batch of Silver Bayonet stuff to do thankfully!
Thanks for looking!
Cheers,
Millsy
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Hello againMillsy, and thank you for another bit of outstanding brushwork. While I understand "Silver Bayonet" to be a supernaturally-oriented game, you are still working on historical basis here, and have absolutely nailed all of the colours. I chuckled at your description of painting British uniforms of the Napoleonic era - I rather like all of the red - but it is not just the red colour, or white straps, that you have absolutely nailed, but the tartan and other accents. All brilliant.
Also have to enjoy any game that refers to the British as a "faction" :)
I've been quiet for a few weeks due to work obligations - I know, I know, my priorities are out of whack.
I have been steadily working away at my 10mm RJW project. All of my figures are from Pendraken. The left and center columns are mostly Russians and the right one is Japanese. The artillery in the back is Japanese too.
Column 1 has 5 bases of Naval Infantry, 1 Siberian and 2 European Infantry divisions of 12 bases each and a 12 base Cossack division in the back. There is also a lone base because I can't count.
Alongside them are 13 Maxim MG bases
In the center are 4 12 base European Russian Infantry divisions.
On the Japanese side there are 2 regular Infantry divisions followed by the Japanese Guard in their distinctive blue uniforms. There are 9 bases of misc infantry which will start to form out the Japanese reserve Kobe brigades.
9 Hotchkiss Machine gun bases and 9 Japanese cavalry
Lastly 5 Japanese artillery batteries made up of captured Russian 77mm guns
Here are the minis that have been painted earlier in the challenge still boxed up from there return from the club and their first playtest.
First test game of my RJW rules
There are WAY too many markers as we were testing different rule concepts. I have learned the bitter lesson that just because one can make lots of different markers with a laser cutter doesn't mean one SHOULD make lots of different markers....
With this submission, I'm closing in on "done" with the miniatures for the RJW project - I still have some Russian artillery to finish up and maybe another division of two for each side. It is good to be over the hump!
No wait - I just realized that some of my infantry bases only have 3 figures not 4 and I have no idea why!
Adjustment for 7, 3 figure bases = -7 points
Total Points 806 Points
Well, you may have been quiet but you are back with a vengeance, Miles! What a bomb. Another impressive amount of RLG's, very nice indeed. I love the photos of the game in progress, they really show the mass effect of these small scale figures. Fabulous! And you are giving me a run for my money too, having me extract all the precise amounts of single figures, cavalry and equipment from your rather inimitable calculations. Not to speak of your inimitable formatting... However, I think your MG's with 2 crew are actually worth 5 points each, so after much triangulation, adding, subtracting and dividing that's 22 points extra for a total of 828. Congratulations, now get your priorities back in order and another such submission will see you shooting past your target soon!
Here comes some more hope! A Whirlwind Scorpius, ready to fire in support of The Warmaster's noble Space Marines...
I've been away from the Challenge for a couple of weeks now, owing to the disruptions caused by a move to a new house. I'm thankful to report the relocation to Toronto is mostly complete - or, at least, the macro-parts of it are, in that I am now in Toronto, and my stuff is also in Toronto, mostly at the same location. Still a lot of unpacking etc. to go through, but I am desperate to get some hobby stuff in so here we go. This is a Scorpius-variant Whirlwind artillery tank, a 28mm multi-part
resin-and plastic model once sold by Forge World, another re-paint project for my Sons of Horus collection from GW's "Horus Heresy" setting.
Assorted lenses and scanners - no doubt the turret is equipped with the latest in 5G tech - to ensure the rockets arrive on time and on target.
We all know the kind and benevolent Horus Lupercal, Warmaster and last of hope of humanity for liberation from the yoke of tyranny beneath the so-called "Emperor", is a figure of hope. But, you know, sometimes "hope" needs to be backed up with "high-explosives", and whenever that combination is called for the Marines in his legion can count on vehicles like this.
It would have been smart to put a decal of some kind on that rear hatch...but I have no idea where my decals are right now...
Wall-hugging tools like Rogal Dorn and his VII Legion might run around building this-and-that, but the Whirlwind Scorpius ensures none of these walls are too much of a barrier, raining a steady stream of high-explosive guided munitions down on the heads of the fools dumb enough to simultaneously reject the obvious majesty of The Warmaster AND wear bright yellow to a battle. Backed by this sort of artillery, we can count on the XVI Legion Astartes to keep hope on the march through the galaxy at a brisk pace.
Ready to fire!
This vehicle is a mix of resin and plastic model components, but as with so many models in my collection, this vehicle is now available from GW as a full stand-alone plastic kit. Naturally, my response is to finally be provoked into painting and/or re-painting my pre-existing models, but I do expect I'll paint up one of the newer all-plastic models at some point. Maybe for the lonely losers on the loyalist side of the equation? Can't have them pouting, after all...
Another properly re-painted model to sooth the screaming hobby monkey...
Scoring-wise, this is a 28mm vehicle, and it counts for 20 points. Is it ROMANTIC to imagine the steady rain of high explosive rockets raining down on the heads of the Imperial Fists and other loyalist schlubs? I mean, it would certainly look pretty...but we have only 20 points nonetheless :)
Now I completely understand the trials and tribulations of moving house, but is that a reason to go absolutely ballistic? Of course it is, and I am very glad you did, Greg. Now that is some great gear to teach those misguided miscreants an explosive lesson. A fabulous model once more. Good that you and your stuff are mostly together again, but it's a pity about the decal... Seriously, a very fine piece of work, albeit only for a measly 20 points. That's what it is, but glorious points they are and those who are of the true conviction don't care about the cost, no? Well done!
Today I present Lady Francis Simpson, star of my very favourite animated Canadian Vignette.
'Canadian Vignettes' were a series of short animated history clips, along with the nature shorts 'Who's Who of the Hinterland' and the live action re-creations of 'Heritage Moments' which were staples of Canadian TV in the '70s & '80s.
Watching these short documentaries (most around a minute, perfect Canadian Content to include within TV commercial breaks) as a kid growing up these were really fundamental to a whole generation's sense of Canadian identity. Grab your popcorn, enjoy the film!
But back to Lady Francis ... Francis Simpson of London, England was married at 18 to her older (cousin??) husband Lord Simpson, Governor of the Hudson Bay Company. In 1830, the couple and entourage traveled from London to Montreal, then an arduous journey by canoe and portage from Montreal to the Red River Settlement in what is now Winnipeg, Manitoba. Lady Francis and her travelling companion Miss Reid were the first European women to have travelled.
What is really remarkable, is that Lady Simpson brought her PIANO from London to Fort Garry ...the first piano in the territory! I believe the piano is on display at the Manitoba Museum in Winnipeg and Lady Simpson's journals are at the Hudson Bay Company Archives/Manitoba Archives (where Curt worked as a young archivist many moons ago).
I struggled to find a suitable a suitable figure for Lady Francis. The figure I selected does not have the correct style of dress for the 1830s, the skirt should be puffier with hoops, and larger sleeves. For the sake of comfort on her long journey in canoe, I assume she will have foregone with the hoop skirts as a space-saving measure .. haha! However, head wear was large, feathered and elaborate...so this figure was promptly downloaded from MyMiniFactory.
I choose pink as homage to the short film and pink in 1830s was a highly fashionable colour for day dresses. (Wow! Pink is a hard colour to paint, and the dress is bit of a mess, I used Vallejo Rosa Pink as the base colour and then Citadel contrast Volupus Pink) The piano, another 3D print from MyMiniFactory, was fun to paint, except for the sloppy black keys (don't look too close). The piano is a simple print, I tried to add some design flair by attempting to paint trompe l'oeil flowers on the front and added a brass rail to hold sheet music.
Elfio (previously scored) has become something of a pet amongst the Librarians (he’s verrrry fit and does like to work out) … he has begun to organize the back log of books, unfortunately Elfio is now sorting by colour …. all ready to be loaded on to a book cart (that's coming soon)!
Five more stacks of mysterious books, (possibly aesthetically dangerous books for Elfio) books to be used as scatter/decor.
Points tally:
Lady Simpson (54mm) & Piano (local history location): 20 + 20 = 40 Points
some more book stacks: say 3 points?
Total = 43 points
Thanks for coming in for a visit!
- Sarah
Excellent work, Sarah! Now that's a lady worthy of milady in her resplendent pink dress. A very interesting backstory too, I really don't envy those porters lugging a piano along. Let's hope Lady Francis had a repertoire sufficient to while away the arduous long hours in that canoe! Trying not to be the proverbial thrifty Dutchman here too much, while obviously still keeping up our national reputation (if not that for consistency), I'll score the stacks of books at 2 points each, so rounding up the total for today to 50.
Another small post from me as I crawl towards my goal. It's February, we've had mostly sucky weather recently (grey and above sloppy underfoot), I've got a heavy teaching load and a ton of February blahs....
I've got another unit of 4 Pict Light Cavalry based for my To The Strongest Late Roman Britain project. Figures are mostly a mix of two Gripping Beast plastic kits, Late Roman Light Cavalry and Dark age Cavalry. Heads, shields and weapons are from the GB Pict infantry kit and the rolled cloaks came from a Victrix Roman infantry kit.
These were in the queue since last May. After priming I found that I'd made the Proverbial Porcine Posterior on assembly (I like alliteration a lot!). Eventually I filled the most glaring errors and decided to ignore the rest. They look ok when one applies the two foot rule.
Four cavalry in 28mm is 40 points with no bonus rooms.
Nothing to be bored about here, I should say Peter! I think they look great, even up close. Nice to see some kitbashing too, it makes them look very individual and characteristic. I've thrown in some extra points for the shields and the creative alliteration alteration. Well done!
It has been crazy here with work and life in general so it took me longer then planned to get these miniatures ready for you all to view.
First up is a 28mm Nosferatu miniature that I will use for a miniature game that I am play testing.
And last but not least are more 6mm Austrian Cavalry. this time it is 3 regiments of Cuirassier. We have the 1st, 4th, and 6th regiments. These are being painted up to add to my miniatures that will be used for General d' Armee. For now the first version of the rules but soon there will be a second edition.
For the points I should get:
36 x 6mm Mounted miniatures at 1 point each = 36 points
For one 28mm miniature at 5 points = 5 points
Grand total = 41 Points.
Take care all and see you again soon.
Great Mark, I really like your pale-faced Nosferatu and you really should be telling us more about this game of yours! The Austrian cuirassiers also look very much the part. Excellent job! That's another 41 points for you.
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