From AdamC: Japanese Cruisers and American Destroyers (33 Points)

 Starting off with the "correct" Mogami Class Cruisers two and a half of them.

The Mogami class was the last of Japans prewar Heavy cruisers. Originally built with Fifteen 6.1-Inch guns(leading to the USN designing the Brooklyn class) they were upgraded to have ten 8-Inch guns (as was the IJN's plan all along. 

They had reasonable armor and were fast 37 knots combatants.

As with all Japanese Cruisers they carried a heavy torpedo armament: 12 mounted in 4 triple tube launchers. 

As previously explained I got two Mogami carriers so I converted one into a sinking ship maker to add some color to the table. A good wargamer doesn't let anything go to waist.

Four Porter Class Destroyers I named theses for the four that were built in the Four Rivers Shipyard where my grandfather worked during the Second World War. 

The Porter Class was the US response to the Japanese Fubuki class. They had a similar armament Six 5 inch guns on three turrets and a heavy torpedo(8 in two launches)armament.

The US intended to use them as squadron leaders but by World War II they simply served as destroyers along with the rest.

Four Mahan Class Destroyers(1934) the class of destroyers that followed the Porter Class. Smaller by 500 tons but only one gun lighter in armament. 

They also carried 12 torpedoes and twice as many depth charges as the Porters. With all that you're probably thinking I am about to comment on them being too much power in too little ship but actually they managed not to do that.  In part this was due to new lighter engineering plant  allow the tonnage to be used in other ways.

 They were stable and capable designs... or would have if technology has stayed still. These ships suffered as nothing could be added (Radar, improved AA guns etc) unless something else was taken away. So war progressed they shed a five inch mount, torpedo tubes etc. 

Four Sims Class Destroyers were a later design (1937) slightly larger than but initially with an armament identical to the Mahan class.  

The extra weight and size went to engines with a top speed 38.5 knots 

By 1941 they had shed a five inch mount for a pair of 40mm guns and added K guns for additional ASW capabilities. The USN would learn (eventually, See the Fletcher class) that it's a good idea to leave space (and weight) for future developments.  

So we have 12 US destroyers, 2 Japanese cruisers and a sinking Japanese cruiser. That should come out to 30 points. 

 

 

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Sylvain: I'm very biased about your tiny ships because I adore small scales. You did a fine paint job on these and I like your transparent bases. Your cruisers, even sinking, are worth 3 points each for a total of 33 points. I'm sure your games will be fun and furious. Fabuleux!

 

From BillA: The Ever-Glorious Workers' and Peasants' Red Army! (70 points)

Inspired by MarkG and DaveD's exemplary efforts this Challenge, I've begun work on my own set of Copplestone figures for the Back of Beyond. I've admired these figures for a long time, and in 2024 I started buying quite a number of them with an eye towards...something, gamewise, with the Back of Beyond? I've quite enjoyed reading histories about the region and its conflicts in the Interwar years, but whether or not I can translate that into something on the table (the various local wargamers who'll touch historicals at all, unfortunately, believe historical wargaming begins and ends with WWII). I did two packs of White infantry and an artillery piece over the course of 2025, and primed a couple packs' worth of Bolsheviks, Chinese and some Cossack cavalry ahead of the AHPC this year. So to start off, here's a dozen Bolsheviks:

This is one pack of Bolshevik infantry, and I decided to try some different things paint-wise with these, since I'd treated myself to Mark Hargreaves' painting guide last year, and used more washes than I usually do - predominantly Army Painter Soft Tone. Tunics I did all the same, but there's a total of four different colors used for trousers (two browns, two greens), and the rolled greatcoats are done in two different shades of dark gray, one warmer and one cooler. 

Accompanying them are a Commissar and one of Mark Copplestone's wonderfully characterful Bolshevik Heroines, sporting a Mauser C96 broomhandle. The Commissar was given a black leather jacket in my usual way - Reaper's "Coal Black" highlighted with "Midnight Blue," which was also used on all the boots. He's also got a heck of a lot of character to him, with that exaggerated yell he's got going on. I might have gone a little bright on his teeth! 

Finally, I've got a set of objective tokens to go with my Maya, and they're a grisly set indeed - three piles of severed heads, produced by Acheson Creations as single-piece resin castings. These were painted pretty quickly and intended to look like putrefaction had set in - a base coat of Reaper's "Ghoul Skin," washed with GW Druchii Violet, and then drybrushed heavily with another layer of "Ghoul Skin" followed by "Moldy Skin." They're on a raised integral base that's been glued to a 40mm Renedra round base, and are probably pretty close to 28mm tall overall. 

That's 12 28mm figures, for 60 points, plus whatever my illustrious minion considers the head-piles to be worth. And I'll claim a Squirrel point for "Back of Beyond," bringing me up to 5 (Maya, Modern Horror, Modern Africa, Dinosaurs, and now BoB).

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Sylvain: Very colorful figurines indeed, both in palette and in character. I find your collecting choices very interesting because I'm a big fan of Corto Maltese, a graphic novel character created by Hugo Pratt, who had adventures in the back of beyond, among other places. As for your heaps of heads, how about 10 points for the three of them for a total of 70 points? Fabuleux!

 

 

From RaulM: Black Seas Indiamen (15 points)

I've painted a ton of military ships for Black Seas, but what's the point if there are no fat, juicy prizes to chase or a grateful convoy to dutifully escort? Warlord thankfully has provided some Indiamen to make this a reality in your games of Black Seas. 

I purposely strayed away from yellow and black to help distinguish this ship form its escorts. The photography doesn't quite get the coloring great, but the hull is a very deep brown. I also avoided using any of the other types of national colors as I wanted this ship to be generic and usable by anyone for any scenario. 

The model also came with 4 different inserts to give some variety between Indiamen, and I chose the open deck full of cargo. It was a little difficult for me to get that to look ok in this scale, but I did my best. 

For scoring I put this at 15 points to go inline with the frigates I painted last year. It is a little larger and chunkier than those 5th rates, but I didn't have to rig any ensigns or pennants which made my life a little easier so it comes out in the wash. 

What a wonderful fat prize for any raider Raul.  Of course there are equally examples of Indiamen fighting a raider off due to their crew size and armament.  Wonderful work.

[From AndrewG: More Folks I Wouldn't Invite to Dinner (25 points)

 

As I blew past my original AHPC project and points objective rather early in the season, I’ve been forced a bit to create a two-track production line going back and forth between historical and other projects while I wait for one or the other to dry or get to its next stage. This week I did do a bit of both; this first entry being more Frostgrave baddies for what I’m now calling the Cult of the Double Scar.

I have to say I really do like these Northstar/Osprey plastic sculpts. They have an old school vibe about them and are nicely detailed without going too overboard. They are also very kit bashable, which is a huge plus for me. This group is made mostly from the Cultist 1 box, with some arm and head swaps from sets 2 and 3. I noted, however, in the Five Leagues from the Borderlands rules the initial enemy encounters often include a couple of slingers - so I incorporated one using some bits from a Wargames Atlantic peasant sprue.

Frostgrave and WGA kits mix well in conversions.

Frostgrave kits offers an excellent selection of belt gear

Apparently evil doers need loose fitting pants

 

I used more or less the same palette as last time and being pretty basic figures, these paint up relatively quickly. The application of some AK corrosive texture effects to the warrior’s shield was something new for me though. I had never tried this product before, and I have to say I really like how it works, especially with a bit of Army painter rust effects added in to give it the final look.

AK corrosive effects with Army Painter rust added in

And here they are with the first five figures I painted. I’ll probably do one more batch and give them a couple of leader/character types to round out the warband, then they’ll be ready to challenge our adventuring heroes in due course.

 

Thus, in this batch:

5x 28mm figures = 25 

Very nice figures Andrew.  They’re a nasty looking bunch and I won’t be sharing a table with them either.

From SylvainR: Regia Marina at 1/300 (52 points)

I'm such a sucker when I think I will make a "good deal". Last year, I was googling for 1:300 landing crafts for my Canadian army and I "re-discovered" the game Cruel Seas, launched in 2018 by Warlord Games but now under the banner of Skytrex. Anyway, I was using Facebook's Marketplace to look for adapted equipment in the area of Montreal and, just for fun, entered the search words "Cruel seas". Lo and behold, I found a guy who was selling 14 unopened box sets for all nations for $200, shipping included. I thought that for less than $2 per ship (about 100 in total), that was a "good deal" and ordered the whole lot, which included many landing ships I was looking for. I'm such a sucker.... 

Above is a starting fleet for the Regia Marina: 4 MAS boats and a Gabbiano-class corvette. 

I like to base my ships and there are two reasons for this. First, it protects the miniatures because players are manipulating the base instead of the model. Second, it creates the illusion that the boats are moving, which I find very satisfying.

 

For fun, I wanted to have one of the MAS boat jump off a huge wave, holding on the crest by the tip of the stern. But then I realized that these models are cut at the waterline and it would look silly to have what is obviously only the upper hull flying out of the water. Deception. So I sculpted a smaller "big wave" and kept most of the hull in the water.

 

I did similar big waves for 2 of the Vospers I painted last year. They look nice in rough seas, but the truth is that these fast ships would never be allowed to go out in this kind of weather. If there is any interest, I could write a short tutorial on how I created my sea bases. 

Here is the Italian corvette with her unmistakable "barber shop" identification mark. I admire painters who can do a clean paint job on these small ships, but my own personal preference is to do heavy weathering with rust spots and rain stains. 

 The little life rafts add a nice touch of color.

I like the little crewmen. The whole boat feels like a diorama to me :-). 

 

The AA crew keeping a watchful eye on the sky.

 

A aerial view on Capitano Paolo Schettino. His grand-son, Francesco Schettino, captain of the Costa Concordia, obviously did not inherit his seamanship...

 

Points claimed: 

I looked up past entries for reference:

4x MAS Boats @ 8 points = 32 points

1x Gabbiano-class Corvette @ 20 points = 20 points

Total = 52 points

Thanks for reading!

 [P.S. Paolo Schettino never existed.]

 

Wonderful looking WW2 small craft Sylvain, kinda like aquatic micro armour.   I agree on basing ships and love the planing MAS boat.  Well done on the barber strips and other fine details.  FYI, I a one point planned to do some Gabbianos in 1;2400 scale.  I'll trust your research on the points.

 

From MikeF - Tyrant’s Legion Tanks and Turrets - 3 x 28mm Vehicles and 2 small turrets - 68 Points

After completing a few infantry units for the Tyrant's Legion, I decided it was time to add some armoured support. The TL army list has a few interesting options unavailable to normal guard units in 5th edition. These include twin-linked lascannon turrets for the Leman Russ tanks and Thunderer Siege Tanks equipped with a demolisher tank. I sourced the lascannon tanks from Kromlech which are designed specifically with the classic Leman Russ tank for 40k. The thunderer is a conversion using the 30k Leman Russ tank designed for the Solar Auxilia and a kit from Tiny Panzer Studios (through Etsy) which adds the hull mount with gun and top plate to hide the turret ring. It's a very nice 3d printed part that required very minor cutting and sanding to make it fit properly. The conversion kit does NOT fit the classic Leman Russ model however and is designed specifically for the Horus Heresy version.

I also painted up two chimera turrets to swap out the ones for my Steel Legion Imperial Guard. I included a photo of the two chimera's for display purposes only and only the turrets were painted during this challenge. I went with 4 points for each turret, but I'll accept Peter's final judgement on what he feels the turrets are worth. 

The vehicles use the same grey formula, but they're a little busier with decals and markings than the Tyrant's Legion. I may pick up some new transports in the future, but they should work for now.

That's 3 x 28mm vehicles for 60 points and 2 x 28mm vehicle turrets for (maybe) 8 points = 68 points total.

I think I'll take a break from the Tyrant's Legion for now.

Thanks for visiting!

Those are great looking tanks Mike, love the 1918-1940 look to these clunkers.  Great blue too.    

From AndrewG: Saracen Cavalry and Infantry - Some test paints (25 points)

I’ve been interested in the early Crusades period for a long time, but never previously thought of pursuing it as a wargaming project. However, with the recent figure releases from Footsore, Wargames Atlantic, and Victrix covering this era I thought I’d give it another look. I’m glad I did.

Last fall I bought a bag each of the Victrix plastic Islamic cavalry and infantry. Overall, I found the sculpts were fantastic – the infantry went together with almost no effort, and while the cavalry can be a bit more finicky, they looked pretty amazing once assembled. I then left them aside for the time being – likely because some other shiny hobby thing arrived to take my attention away. You know how it goes.

Then a friend told me the week before last that he’s started working on his own Crusader and Saracen forces, so I pulled out a couple of the Victrix figures for a test paint with a view to likewise eventually building the same.

My concept for the Saracens is to paint the rank and file in simpler colours so that the leaders can easily stand out. These figures painted up pretty quickly and a bit of variety will go a long way to making a distinct looking formation. For the shields I opted to use Little Big Men Studios transfers because I like them, but one certainly can go the simpler route of just painting their own designs if preferred.

The cavalryman took me a while longer to complete. I wanted a colourful character, but I didn’t want him looking like a circus rider. So, I did a bit of historical research and settled on a palette that gave me variety but not chaos. As I was making him a bannerman for some future cavalry group, I found it easier to paint the horse and rider separately before assembly. Similarly, I painted his shield, sword, and sword harness separately then glued it on after I had secured the rider to the horse. Again, the shield design and the banner are both LBM Studio transfers. 

Overall, a bit of effort but I think the end result was worth it. Looking forward to making more!

In this small batch:

3x 28mm figures = 15 points 

1x 28 mounted figure = 10 points

Nice work on those Saracens Andrew.  I really like the Dark Age Victoria kits but might have to get some of their Arabs now.  I think we can say that you and your painting aced this test.