From JamieM - Kings of War Ice Naiads (160 points)

In a rarely seen (for me anyway) feat of focus, I’ve kept cracking on with my Northern Alliance for Kings of War. I herewith present a Horde of Ice Naiads.

These are a mixed kit from Mantic where they reuse their Sea Naiad figures and add resin (and now 3d printed) parts to change them into Ice Naiads.

Fairly simple paint jobs, I decided that I wanted them to be wearing leather outfits a bit like the outfits in the Dune films.

Cheeky bit of multibasing and I quite like the way the blue hair/tentacles flow across the unit.

In game these units are annoying as they hinder others attacking them and regenerate and so they hang around whilst their more "hitty" friends pile in to smash up the entangled unit.

And I thought people might be amused at the fact that these are only ready as I had to go for a day to my kids’ swimming gala which meant I only watched when they raced, which gave me plenty of spare time. So I took a paint station and the paints and brushes and got some "Carhammer" painting in whilst catching up on some downloaded series.

Simple for the scoring - 30 x 28mm figures for 150 points.

***

Focusing consistently on one project? I would suspect this had been some kind of hack, right up until the whole part about "Carhammer", which was the best and most hilarious part of this submission! I've been known to obsess about painting, but this level of commitment is tremendous, and should be applauded. 

Oh, and I hope the whole swimming gala went well. :-)

Lovely work on the Naiads - sounds like they are real pests on the battlefield! I have tossed in bonus points in order to acknowledge the effort on the hobby side even with 1-to-1 scale life events getting in the way!

GregB 

From DaveD - Landship Mark V - Bolsheviks (20 points)

Well it wouldn’t be a Thursday without me doing something for my Bolshevik army. So to keep that Thursday tally going here is some armour for my Bolsheviks . In the form of a British Mk V tank . The Brits shipped around 70 as part of their intervention effort to bolster the failing Imperial Russian forces They were used around Archangel and in the Southern front area.  Some were destroyed to stop them falling into enemy hands but some were captured and repurposed. The Brits used them with the Whites in 1919 attacking Tsaritsyn - eg Stalingrad , now Volgograd. Well my Bolos have acquired one.

Some were used in Tallin in 1941 against the Germans and were shipped back to Berlin as prizes, and after 45 ended up back in museums in the Soviet Union.

This is a big old beast. Two guns and four MGs. Very useful. Unrealiable as hell.   Even more so in the back of beyond.

 

This only arrived in the post on Tuesday, so it’s been a quick turn around. 

This is a 3d print piece that had the rails on the top to stick on and that was it . A dark olive green Tamiya  rattle can and green olive paint pen for the paint job , Black grey for the track's , then an oil wash and dry brush of beige brown. I added some tubing to carry a flag that can be removed or swapped out .  I found some large stars in the decals stash and added these then painted the hammer and plough emblem in the middle. 

I will look out for a suitable figure to use as a commander as one stood out of the  hatch waving a flag would look cool. 

What better than to use the imperialist's weapons against them. “Workers of the world unite!”

Points 1x 28mm vehicle - 20 

***

Indeed it doesn't feel like Thursday without one more addition to this fabulous project. The silhouette of these armoured vehicles is notorious, another iconic piece of kit that really "makes" a period and setting jump out on the table. Your description of the work implies that this was something of a rushed job, and perhaps it was by your standards, but it looks terrific. 

Workers of the world unite! You have nothing to lose except everything as the bolshevik filth steal all you have and kill you and everyone you love! Hmm...maybe they had a different slogan for the flags...I definitely need to try this as a project next year!

Another 20 points comrade Dave! Excellent stuff.

GregB

From GrahamB: Greeks and Roman Camels (210 points)

This week's submission has been in the lead pile for a long time.  These are the first Greek Hoplites I have ever painted in over 50 years of wargaming and have come out OK.  They are Old Glory figures that I purchased over 15 years ago when the figures were ridiculously good value, especially with a USD/GBP exchange rate, the Old. Glory army card discount and a stupidly cheap deal on.

Secondly here are some Hinchliffe ancient camels and camel riders.  These can appear as a small Roman unit or even substitute for several other classic army’s that used camels.    

30 Hoplites @ 5 pts = 150 plus 6 mounted @ 10 pts = 60 points.

***

Very nice to see a Challenger tackle a subject they have been waiting on for a long time. Brings to mind my constant pledges to paint some 28mm Romans. I mean, I'll get to it one of these days... 

GregB

From DaveD - Guns for the Khalifa (113 points)

Here we have an artillery park for the Khalifa . This is part of an ongoing commission for Sudan figures - I may have painted a few in my time 😆. These will be used in an upcoming Kreigspielers campaign this summer and it’s made up of collection of random old guns and the Perry captured Egyptian gunners . 

4 emirs 

Two casualty figure bases with two figures on , and a “marksman” for the prone ones 

There is an enormous bombard which is 3d printed. I have made a pile off ammunition for it using 10mm ball bearings . The others are older muzzle loaders from the Pendraken 28mm ranges . 

There are also some single command figures and some markers 

Points 

12 full figures - 60 pts 

5 prone 12.5 

4 guns = 40 points 

***

Have you painted any figures for the Sudan previously? I just can't recall...

Lovely stuff Dave - I particularly enjoy the bombard. It looks suitably impressive, loud and unsafe for its crew. 

Points wise, I have a slight adjustment, as the spreadsheet tells me this Khalifa Kannonade should work out to 113 points. And I lose all of the arguments with the spreadsheet. So that's 113 points for you!

GregB

From RhysH - Abyssal Dwarf sorcerer on Winged Halfbreed (20 points)

This week Rhys finally finished his Abyssal Dwarf on a Winged Halfbreed for Kings of War from Mantic Games. He's wanted this model for years and his brother got it for him for Christmas. Rhys was never aware of the Chaos Dwarfs but he fell in love with their Mantic versions the first time he saw them. Some of his units have featured in previous challenges.

These are both resin models in 28mm.

Sadly he broke off the horn when he was painting it.

This dwarf model can be built as a warrior or sorcerer.

There is good detail in this beast. It's the same body as the dragons, but has a different head for this purpose. It's a clever build option that works very well.

This model actually fits well on the small base with so much of the mass spreading out as it rises above the level of all of the foot units that will be around it and attacking it.

Rhys went for a deliberate ruddy complexion to show that he has risen from the Abyss.

This face is really spectacular. I love the brassy look that Rhys achieved on it.

I'm not sure what the points on this should be. Five for the little dude on top, but the beast is significantly larger than that.

***

Well now, what IS it with things from the abyss being sinister and evil? 

This sure looks like a large project - sorry to see that damage was suffered in the painting process, but I certainly sympathize, given that I pretty routinely damage figures I am painting...

That "winged halfbreed" is quite the beast. Let's clock him at 15 points, making 20 points for the whole thing. Well done Rhys! Congratulations on completing a big centrepiece type model, one that you have had your eye on for some time!

GregB

From PeterD: Nickel's Warband for Badgers & Burrows (22 points)

Ollie, Nickel and Fennel

 

My second post today is three members of my Burrows & Badgers war band.  Curt got us into this system around Christmas time and we've had fun creating war bands and playing a few games, although the wide random variance in results takes some getting used to.  These are 3d prints from Curt, and I've no idea who the creator of the files is.  Full disclosure, when Curt handed me these to paint he asked me to return them with the ground work incomplete so that he could match his other B&B figures.

B&B includes a wide variety of animals to choose from.  Given the choice overload I sought inspiration from my local environment as shown below.

Back row Nickel and Ollie.  Front row Fennel, Orville Owl and Zippy Bat.

I am rather disappointed that the tree stump is sawn off and not chewed. 

Nickel the Beaver gets her name from the Canadian coin featuring a beaver.  In B&B she is a massive animal and she is the leader of the warband.  Well armoured she is fearsome in hand to hand, but it takes a while for her to get into combat.  The original Nickel came from the Hudson's Bay site and has a kerchief in the iconic stripes of a HBC blanket, which I've tried to represent in her helmet plume. 

The war band's 2iC is Ollie the Otter.  B&B counts otters as large critters with good speed and ranged combat ability (like beavers, otters can also swim and thus avoid movement penalties in water).  The original Ollie is a sea otter and I tried to give the model the buff face of a sea otter but gave this up after a couple of failures and painted him as a river otter.  His shield carries a starfish emblem.

I like that he's standing on a bag of gold coins.

Fennel the raccoon looks like he could talk your ears off, all the while drinking your beer, pocketing your silverware and flirting with your wife.  He's got definite panache, suitable for the masked bandit raccoon persona.  I spent a fair bit of time on google counting rings on tails and working out the facial patterns.  I did learn that raccoon fur varies from grey to brown depending on genetics and geography.

Points are anyone's guess. The raccoon is about the same size of a 28mm figure for 5.  The otter is a bit bigger, maybe 40mm for 7.  The Beaver is pretty massive so I'd say count her as a 54mm for 10.  That's 22 points, less deductions for not painting the bases myself, maybe 18 points? 

JeremyM would be disappointed with me if I did not share this video.

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Sylvain: Excellent painting job on these "small" animals (everything is relative). They look very furry and very tough with their weaponry. I'm sure Nickel's big hammer will help "even the odds" when it comes to rolling. For points, you know that it is "impossible" to subtract in the spreadsheet, so "have to" let you go away with 22 points. It was an honor to be your minion and hopefully you will be participating in the Challenge again next year. Ce n'est qu'un au revoir.

From RobertT: 6mm Swedish Cavalry (45 points)

This post is the reason why I joined this challenge.  My mate Steve and I started playing the Great Northern War using Beneath the Lily Banners supplement "Talon and Claw" with big battalions (72 figures) and big squadrons (12-14 figures).  Which is fine except that Steve says he "can't paint".  So I stepped in and painted both armies in exchange for a hardback copy of the rules.  We were having a grand old time with victories going back and forth, then Baccus released "new improved" Swedes with more dynamic poses and, without any notice, about 200 Swedish cavalry landed on my doormat.

 

Hopefully it is possible to see the size difference between the old sculpts at the front and the new ones at the back.

 

 

To give an idea of how long the new arrivals have been sitting staring at me, I had to brush the cobwebs off the undercoat before I could begin.  And then I decided to paint anything BUT these, adopting the same mindset of someone who leaves all their homework to the last possible minute before going back to school.  I even tidied my room before finally biting the bullet.  Here they are having almost completed the horses.  Once these are done I can get on with my own Saxons, Poles and Cossacks.

 

 

I have completed three squadrons of Swedish cavalry of 14 figures each.  They are based but not textured.  Steve has found some Vallejo texture gloop which he wants to try out, so I have painted the horse bases "generic wargame brown" and left them at that.  Hopefully 42 points is accurate for this state.

 

 

They are in a "typical" Swedish wedge shaped charge which looks right.  

I have a palsy in my right hand which can be quite vexing so I tend to use inks at this scale.  Various browns (Burnt Umber, Sepia and Antelope Brown) with different amount of thinners for the horses and thinned Prussian Blue for the uniforms.  Hence the white undercoat instead of the more traditional black.  To get the yellow facings to stand out, I had to do a quick dab of tan first.  At this scale I am not interested in painting every little detail and the uniform shade might not be 100% accurate.  But they look like Swedes on horses and I can tell which direction they are facing.

When I was painting my Ancient Spanish for Hannibal's army, I used contrast paints instead of ink to get a lot more variety and they came out really well.

To do the hat lace and the gold trim round the flags, I deployed my secret weapon.  Gel pens.  I cannot recommend them enough for this scale and 15mm too.  Store them on their side, not tip down or up as gravity does bad things to them.  I thought they deserved their own photo.

Final shots of today's unit charging one of my Russian battalions.  In this scale the massed ranks really look like a battalion, even though the footprint is the same as 12 15mm figures.

 

 

 

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Sylvain: 6mm is my favorite scale and your nicely done Swedish cavalry reinforces my addition to it. They are so tiny yet so easy to visually "read" as cavalry on the board, even at arms length. Your colors are vibrant and they really look in motion. I will add 3 points for the flags. It has been an honor to be your minion; "à la prochaine".

 

 

From TomL: More Strikers (20pts)

You guessed it, another Battletech unit.  This is my second painted in the Steiner Striker colors - red with an vague inverted triangle shape in white. 

 

A black wash over the base Vallejo Italian red followed by a TTC red triad highlights. The inverted triangle areas were painted grey, then titanium white with contrast basilicom wash. 

Hoping to finish at least one more CSA ACW unit but painting time has been consumed by unexpected work this month.  

Score:
4 28mm figures @ 5 for 20 points.

4 points for the Stompy robots of death duel.

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Sylvain: There is no such thing as painting too many robots... By the way, good job with the paint brush. The colors are crisp  and neat. It has been an honor to be your minion; "à la prochaine". 

 

 

 

From ChrisW: Potpourri (242 points)

 

Chaos Warlord Titans            [4 Epic titans @8 points each for a total of 32 points]

So, another blast from the past, more from the old Epic Space Marine/Adeptus Titanicus days of the 1990s. These are four of the classic models with some extra metal parts added on.

I managed to pick up a complete copy of this a few years ago at the bring and buy at Cangames in Ottawa and it has languished on my shelf ever since. 

This year the old Epic bug has bit me and I am keen to get some of the mountain of Epic stuff done. I have done up two Khorne, one Slaneesh and one Nurgle Titan. As I type this I am reminded that I had thought about doing one up as Tzeentch, oh well, I do still have a few more unpainted titans waiting in the wings. 

I am not skilled enough to produce the fancy titans that others do, the intricate patterns and fine details so I went with washes and shades to try and create an interesting look to these. They were fun to paint and do look more interesting in person. The weapons are just loosely in place (except for the special chaos weapons/heads & tails) as I do actually plan to play some games and I will have to see what weapon systems I like. (it has been many decades since I last played this game)

Shield Maidens                                           [6x 28mm figures 30 points]

Some Foundry miniatures that have sat around 90% done until now when I finally finished them off. My plans are to use them and some other Viking miniatures for the game Pillage. 

Hill Martian two handed weapon troops [24x 28mm figures 120 points]

There are Bob Charette miniatures, part of his Parroom Station line, now sold by Ral Partha Legacy. They are slight figures but with good depth of detail. The two handed swordsmen are fanatic anti Earther troops, while the pole arm troops are regular troops. 

Plague Apothecaries                              [5x 28mm 25 points]

These are Foundry/Warmonger miniatures that will be used for Devilry Afoot, a game that I really have not yet read. I am inspired by the time period that it is set in and I have plenty of figures that can be used, but I believe the factions that I am building are too large. Oh well they are fun to paint. I really went into this group with no set idea of what I would be doing. I drew some inspiration from a google search. I started with the red orange 'skirt' then finding I liked that colour I decided to add it to their shoulders. It was an AP speed paint and I was even able to find a suitable AP highlight paint too!

The rest went rather quickly, a mix of speed paints and traditional paints. 

Witches Fair & Foul                                          [6x 28mm figures 30 points]

More Foundry/Warmonger figures and one Crucible Crush figure, all of them also slated for Devilry Afoot, someone to torment the Puritans. The Warmonger figures are kind of odd figures with harsh angles to them and strange detailed clothes though the cauldron is kind of neat. The big green witch looks kind of more Goblin like (maybe it is) and will eventually deploy both in Devilry Afoot games and Fantastic Battles.

Crocodiles two Foundry waterline crocs [2x 1/2 28mm figures total of 5 points]

So, not much to say about these fellows, they are rather long, but very flat. I did use a couple of greens and a dark wash

Points this time

•   32  points for 4x Chaos Warlord Titans (8 points each)
•   30  points for 6x 28mm Shield Maidens
• 120  points for 24x 28mm Hill Martian troops
•   25  points for 5x 28mm Plague Apothecaries
•   30  points for 6x 28mm Witches fair and foul
•     5  points for 2 1/2 28mm crocs.

242 Points Total

Squirrels

5 more squirrels for a total of 28

1. Gladiators
2. Epic Orcs
3. Epic Imperial
4. Warlord Chinese
5. Red Russians RCW Back of Beyond
6. Alien Invaders
7. Pulp US Marines
8. Urban Cultists
9. Egyptian cultists
10. VSF Japanese armoured vehicles
11. Tripods
12. Bugs!
13. Evil minion deep sea divers
14. Puritans
15. Explorers of Egypt
16. Jungle explorers
17. Heroic deep sea divers
18. Muslim troops for the British
19. Free stater Armoured cars
20. Guardians of Antiquities
21. Minerva's Flying Circus
22. British cavalry and rocket launcher
23. BoB terrain (terrain post)
24. Epic Chaos Warlord Titans
25. Pillage Viking shield maidens
26. VSF Martian Hill Martians
27. Plague Apothecaries
28. Witches fair and foul

Big stompy robots of death 

+4

Lady Sarah

12 28mm figures The Shield Maidens & Witches Fair & Foul

 

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Sylvain: This is indeed a potpourri, what a diversity of figurines, but all painted with equal talent. For many of my "younger" years, Epic/Adeptus Titanicus was my favorite game, so it's great to see that line getting some love again. I also like your shield maidens, your plague doctors, etc. All your groups have character and are colorful both literally and figuratively. It has been an honor to be your minion; "à la prochaine".