From DaveR: 15mm American Civil War Federal Infantry

Woah. DaveR (not to be confused with DaveD) debuts with this impressive entry of 15mm Yanks. A hundred and fourteen of the blighters, no less.

From Dave:

Here are some 15mm ACW I was working on. There are a total of 114 figures. I have no idea where the figures are from.

They were painted with a variety of blues in order to simulate wear and tear. As Murphy's Law states: "No inspection ready unit will pass combat, and no combat ready unit will pass inspection."

Most of the figures were painted with 2-3 layers, especially on visible areas, such as the hat.

Great work Dave! I like how they have uniformity but yet are varied in their appearance (if that makes any sense at all...). 

This veritable attack column of Blue Bellies will give Dave a substantial 228 points to mark his entrance on the roster. Most impressive...

History Channel's 'Vikings' Miniseries Announced for March 3, 2013

Hmm, Sarah just showed this to me. I'm sure its already made the rounds to those in the know, but I thought I'd put it up for those who may have missed it (I certainly did).  

It looks interesting and seems to have a high production value, but I've always had a problem with 'History' channels doing dramas as opposed to sticking to historical documentaries, but I guess everyone has to make a buck... I hope it's at least entertaining!

Hey, I just read that it's an Irish/Canadian production so how could it possibly go wrong - right Fran!

Now, back to our regular programming...

From AndrewS: 28mm Napoleonic French - Marshal Berthier's Neuchatel Battalion 'The Canaries' (180 points)

Andrew presents us with another great chestnut from the Napoleonic era. Berthier's Neuchatel battalion, also known as 'The Canaries'.

From Andrew:

Something other than Vikings from my brushes. This is the start of my return to 28mm Napoleonic gaming. This time round I get to paint units that I really want to paint free from the restrictions of what was needed for other games or demonstrations.

I have completed 36 Perry plastic miniatures and painted these as the Swiss Neuchatel battalion circa 1812 in campaign dress. Unfortunately as usual GMB's legendary crap customer service has let me down and I'm waiting on the flag.

These have been fully shaded and highlighted and getting the yellow right was an effort, with 5 shades being used although that hasn't come out too well in the pictures. I am particularly pleased with the back packs and have managed to get everyone looking different. These Napoleonic's take twice as much work to paint as my usual fair but worth the time.

Excellent work Andrew! I really like the yellow you came up with for their jackets. I also like the mottled brown and white cowhide packs - a nice touch and frequently ignored.

These 36 Swiss will give Andrew 180 points, placing him in second place in the points standings. Great work!

From ChristopherS: 28mm Successor Pikemen (120 points)

Like Brer Rabbit meeting the Tar Baby Christopher has been stuck with this unit since the Challenge started. Nonetheless he is finally free of them so we can now admire his efforts and he can get on to his next project.

From Christopher:

I've finally finished my first unit for the competition! I didn't think it would take so long, but somebody should have smacked me with a reality stick before I started! These gentlemen took me the better part of my vacation to do which doesn't help when trying to rack up some points! Anyways enough of my moaning and on to the unit.

The figures are from Aventine which I personally believe are hands down among the best you can buy for this period. The shields are from the wonderful LBM and the bases are from Warbases. The unit is based for Impetus which in addition to the game I like both the look of the bases and that they give good protection to the figures as you primarily handle the base and not the figures. Also, I can use the units for Hail Caesar which is another game I quite like.

I saw in the new Successor osprey book they showed guard infantry pike in purple helms and I quite liked it  and so decided I would use that as the theme to the unit. The armour is fuchsia which is a mix of pink and purple and so goes with the helm and shield I think. I kept feathers and such all white to give a nice contrast to the purple. Except for the clothes I kept them uniform in appearance as I feel it gives them a more elite feel. I should also add the front rankers are deliberately more elaborate as they had the best gear in every formation.

Beautiful work, Christopher! I love that hedge of pikes. You can't argue with a wargames unit that can actually draw blood on the table. :) I also really like the eggplant-purple of their uniforms and I agree that the uniformity gives them a more elite bearing.

These twenty-four pikemen will give Christopher 120 points.

From BenG: 20mm WWII Soviet Anti-Tank Rifle Team (21 points)

From Ben:

This entry's a small one; a PSC Soviet anti-tank rifle crew in action and on the move. I like making a little diorama for these blokes, so that they are hiding behind cover waiting for a careless PzKw III to cross their sights!

...and praying its not a PzKw IV or V!

Thats a very nice set. I like the spot you've created for them to lay up and wait for their shot.

These four will give Ben 20 points plus another for the diorama groundwork. Well done!

From Curt: Spatter Wound Markers & Musketeer (5 points)

Touché!

Just one figure today and some gory wound markers.

Several years ago I picked up a bunch of figures from Redoubt's 'Three Musketeers' range. I've painted up most of them and we've had some rollicking skirmish games. Nonetheless I came across a couple lonely castings awaiting attention so today I did up the fellow in brown with the green tabard.

As you can see from the photo he's taken a bad riposte from his opponent. I been wanting some wound markers that were a bit more grisly for skirmish gaming and I had seen these great markers over at Anatoli's Game Room so I thought I'd try to make a set for myself. I ordered a batch of clear acrylic discs from Litko in two sizes and then painted them in layered inks (Brown, Chestnut and Red).

I'll use these for skirmish games like SAGA, Operation Squad and Strange Aeons.

'Armand, was that a bit of bad road or a gaggle of peasants that we just rode over?'

I thought the larger size markers will be handy for tracking hits on multiple-wound creatures or to symbolizing a unit meeting a particularly sticky end.

'Back, you, you... You tentacly thing from a tentacly planet!'

If you decide to make some of these DON'T varnish them as it seems to cloud the acrylic and lessens the glossy/gory appearance of the ink.

Oh, and 5 points for me!