Analogue Hobbies

From KentG: 28mm English Civil War Commanders, Cavalry & Shotte (354 points)

2012-02-24T12:28:00.003-06:00

Kent grinds forward like a painting juggernaught and so sends these excellent ECW commanders, cavalry and musketeers for us to enjoy.

First the commanders. Both are Parliamentarians (or blackguard Rebels, if you prefer). The topmost figure depicts the warty and pugnacious Oliver Cromwell, while astride the white charger is the much respected Sir Thomas 'Black Tom' Fairfax. Both are from Bicorne Miniatures' excellent range of 28mm figures. I quite like the blue harness on Cromwell's horse - very sharp.

Next is a beefy unit of twenty-four ECW horse. These 28mm (closer to 25mm, actually) cavalrymen are all from Wargames Foundry. Kent has done these up for a friend who wanted to to the basing himself (thus the reason why they look like they're charging through a gravel pit ;)).

Last but not least is a unit of twenty-four commanded Shotte. I believe all of these figures are from Foundry as well.

This collection of figures will give Kent a very respectable 354 points. A very, very nice collection - bravo!

From ChrisP: 28mm WWII Australians (50 Points)

2012-02-23T21:31:00.000-06:00

Chris sends in this very fine set of WWII Australian infantry for upcoming games of 'Force on Force'.

Take it away Chris:

First up, is an Anti-Tank Team comprised of one cobber with a Boys AT Rifle, and one cobber with a good old SMLE. The Boys miniature comes from Warlord Games' Bolt Action range (he is really a Chindit), the rifleman is from Artizan.

Next up is my first half squad, comprised of 3 riflemen with SMLE, one NCO with a Thompson and one gunner with the Bren Light Machinegun. These guys are all from Artizan.

Next, is two spare chaps! The rifleman will be used as the spotter for my Sniper team, the NCO with a Thompson... Not sure what I will do with him! Again, these are Artizan.

Last up, is a downed Airman from Warlord Games. I painted him up to be nice and bright, I figured that if anyone was going to be clean in the pacific war, it would be the guy who just landed because he had his plane shot out from under him! It also gives a nice contrast to the dark and dingy Australians. The airman will be used as an objective in one of our scenarios.

This downed pilot is brilliant.

I am not that happy with the Artizan models- their faces are a bit ugly for my tastes! Not that australian soldiers should be chiselled gods, but they wouldn't have been as ugly as Artizan makes them out to be! Perhaps there is some feud with australians, a stolen girlfriend of a sculptor in the past? I don't know.

Even with their ugly mugs these lads will give Chris 50 points, keeping him well within range of the Challenge leaders. Well done!

From DaveD: 28mm General Colbert of the Lancers of the Imperial Guard (Red Lancers) & Mameluke Standard Bearer (40 points)

2012-02-23T11:49:00.003-06:00

Dave submits two beautiful cavalry figures that have benefited from his usual attentive conversions. First is a 28mm Perry casting depicting a wounded General Colbert as he would have been seen on the field at Waterloo. The British casualty at his feet is from the Elite range.

From Dave:

I remade the cords and rackets so they are loose off the czapka , and replaced his sword with something less chunky, and freeed up all the chunks of metal on the casting the reins, behind the scabbard , the saddlecloth etc - I must be mad you see...- well more just particular!

Indeed! Second, we have a Mameluke eagle bearer in the midst of being unhorsed - poor chap.

This is a 28mm Bicorne model in which Dave has repositioned and has soldered new reins and loops.

These two (with the casualty) will give Dave a base of 23 points but due to his extra conversion work I'm topping it up to 40 points. Lovely stuff, Dave!

From SteveM: 'The Quick and the Lead' 28mm Female Gunfighter (5 points)

2012-02-23T10:47:00.003-06:00

For the portion of the Challenge that is Sarah's Choice Steve has sent in this characterful lady gunslinger.

From Steve:

I picked up some Black Scorpion figures to go along with the Warhammer Historical Old West rulebook I got over Christmas. I was watching "The Quick and the Dead" with Sharon Stone and thought of this figure I had so I painted it up to match. Can't wait for Ellen to go against The Kid.

Sarah was quite intrigued with this figure as she has not seen the movie. As the film also features Gene Hackman and Russell Crowe (two of her favourites) I have a suspicion that it will be on the iTunes roster for this weekend...

This self-possessed lass will bring 5 points to Steve's scorecard. Nice one!

From JohnB: 30mm Old School Napoleonics, 2nd Battalion Vistula Legion (150 points)

2012-02-22T18:23:00.006-06:00

John sends in his follow-up to his first entry, the 2nd Battalion of the Vistula Legion. Except for the officer, which is from Scruby, these are 30mm figures sculpted and cast by John.

As you can see John is not much of a documentarian and so I only have this one solitary photo to show you. Perhaps he can send along a few more shots to help decorate this post - hint, hint. In their absence I give you a few photos of John and his figures from a game we had in the backyard a few springs back. (These are 40mm mid-19th century models he had sculpted, cast and painted as well.) You can plainly see John's Italian roots with his hand gestures... 'Mama mia, how did you roll all of those sixes...?'

Like his last battalion, these eighteen willowy lads will give John 150 points to add to his score. Very nice work, John!

From MichaelF: 28mm Viking Warband III (50 points)

2012-02-22T13:45:00.000-06:00

With this fine warband, his third to-date, Michael continues to build up his Viking force for SAGA.

The portly fellow up at the top is from Foundry, whereas the rest are a mix of Crusader and Gripping beast. All of these castings are 28mm.

Michael says he just has a half dozen archers left to do and then he'll start into some of the 'extras'. Sounds intriguing and I'm sure they'll be a feast for the eyes.

These boys will give Michael another 50 points to add to his total. Great job!

From SteveM: 15mm Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) Strike Force and Objectives (208 points)

2012-02-21T19:24:00.009-06:00

Steve sends in a perennial favourite of mine: the LRDG, resplendent in their Jeeps, twin Vickers Ks and Chevy 30CWTs (a Canadian design, I can proudly add).

These 15mm models are from an out-of-print Battlefront box set 'Sting of the Scorpion'. Steve tells me that they can now be purchased in separate blisters but, if you're interested, be quick as they are slated to go OOP as well.

I love these sentries in front of their guard posts - poor buggers, must be a drag to continually be a target ventilated by these LRDG yobs.

Terrain does not score for the Challenge but, hey, you can't have LRDG without stacks of schit for them to blow up.

Here is Steve's painting guide:

'How: Primed grey, Vallejo acrylics, MIG pigments and washes for DAK vehicles

Base: Sand and Dex spackling on the base, cork for rocks, Behr flat

house paint to color with wash.'

This Chevy and it's Breda is just aching for a runway lined with Stukas and Junkers.

Steve has done a brill job with the desert camo on these Chevys.

These lads will give Steve a healthy 208 points. Great work (I wish I could play a game with them!)

From ChrisP: 28mm Greek Hoplites for SAGA, 3rd Entry (60 points)

2012-02-21T13:57:00.006-06:00

Chris here completes his Ancient Greek project for his SAGA mod. I'll let Chris describe them:
Above we see a unit of Myrmidons, Achilles' best and brightest, my Hearthguard. They are much (much) darker than the other hoplites, because of all the muted bronze and dark grey shield cloths and tunics. Their crests are showing a remarkable ability to reflect light- they might need another matt varnish!

Next up is my generic Warlord, for all those times when Achilles is sulking and/or dead. This is the Strategos from the Immortal (now Warlord) boxed set, along with the piper following him.

Finally we have Achilles himself, the best of the Achaeans in all his golden glory. This sculpt is from the Wargames Illustrated "Moments in History" range- he is meant to be on a large base duelling Hector; based clearly on the movie Troy. I gave Hector to the local Trojan player, so I am looking forward to duelling the two!

Excellent work, Chris, based on a superb idea - bravo! I'm shamelessly poaching this for my own SAGA collection.

These twelve lads will give Chris another 60 points to add to his overall tally.

From TimB: 28mm Anglo-Saxons, Norman Foot, Greek Light Horse plus a Celt and a Greek (310 points)

2012-02-21T00:15:00.002-06:00

Wow, the lads sure have been busy! Its been a week of multiple-period, multiple-posts ranging from Ancient Greece to present day Mogadishu, from characterful single figures to large multiple units - all of it excellent stuff! So keeping up both the theme and tempo Tim sends us a veritable cornucopia of great minis to look at. First up is an impressive unit of Anglo-Saxons arrayed in one of their formidable shieldwalls.

Tim tells me that this unit is composed of a dog's breakfast of 28mm manufacturers: Gripping Beast, Old Glory and Black Tree Design to name a few.

And really, who better to face-off with the Anglo-Saxons than those avaristic yobs with bad haircuts from the Cotentin. Yes, you guessed it, the Normans.

These are all 28mm Crusader castings. Tim did fabulous work on the shields with both of these units.

Next we have a stand of two 28mm Greek light cavalry from Black Tree Design...

...truly an ancient Greek from Warlord Games...

... and finally a sunbather from the Orkneys wearing nothing but his tattooes (and, well, a huge freakin' sword). He's from Warlord Games as well.

These fourty-nine foot and two mounted will give Tim a base of 265 points, but I'm going to award him another 45 points for the great hand-painted work on the various shields and the tattooed loon. So 310 it is. Wonderful stuff, Tim!

From RayR: 15mm Native American Tribal Warriors from the French & Indian Wars (231 points)

2012-02-20T19:08:00.001-06:00

Ray sends in two large groups of Native American (or First Nations) warriors for use in his French & Indian Wars games.

The first batch we see here are 15mm Peter Pig castings. Ray painted them to represent a variety of tribes so they could be used for either side of the conflict or for inter-tribal warfare as well.

The second group below are from Freikorps and QRF. These are 15mm as well.

These two groups will give Ray a tidy 231 points to add to his total. This will see Ray break through the 2K barrier. Very nice work, Ray!

From ScottB: 15mm WWII German Panzergrenadiers (78 points)

2012-02-20T16:07:00.003-06:00

Scott sends in this very fine submission of a Gepanzerte Panzergrenadier headquarters group in late-war camouflage.

These models and figures from the 15mm Battlefront range.

Great work on the stowage, aerials, decals and camo. They really help to provide those finishing touches on the vehicles.

I believe Scott has another 20 halftracks in the pipeline so we should be seeing a veritable feast of SdKfz 251s in the near future!

This group will give Scott 78 points as I've added a bit extra for the nice work on the vehicle stowage and detailing. Lovely work and welcome aboard, Scott!

From DallasE: 28mm WWII American Infantry (40 points)

2012-02-20T13:47:00.000-06:00

Dallas and Greg are getting together a collection of miniatures and vehicles to play some skirmish games set in the Ardennes so Dallas sends in these eight American infantrymen to help bolster his hapless lads with their first encounter with Pieper's onslaught.

These are 28mm Bolt Action miniatures (available through Warlord).

I really like these guys, especially the running medic.

These eight infantrymen will add 40 points to Dallas' total. Well done! I look forward to reading some AARs on this project from the Fawcett Ave Conscript's blog.

From JuanM: 28mm 16th Century Soldiers, Peasants and 19th Century British Nordenfelt Crew (45 points)

2012-02-20T13:18:00.000-06:00

Juan sends some great shots of some new additions to his collection. First up is a 16th century group depicting three soldiers and a poor peasant (well, I guess peasants are poor by default...)

The soldiers are plastic models from the Perry twins Mercenaries boxed set, while the peasant is from Pro Gloria. All are 28mm.

On Fran's recommendation, Juan is going to use 'The Lord of the Rings' rules for these which I think is a great idea as they are excellent for skirmish scenarios. I know the guys from The Fawcett Avenue Conscripts use them for several periods, even spaceship combat!

Next up is a British Royal Navy Nordenfelt machine gun and crew. These saw action during the wars in the Sudan. This is a 28mm Perry Miniatures set.

Juan's gaming group is currently playing a series of inter-linked games set in the Sudan using the 'Black Powder' rules. From my understanding, Juan is having a great time playing the Sudanese as they've had some early victories.

These two groups will give him 45 points. Very nice work, Juan, and good luck facing up to that Nordenfelt in your upcoming games (remember: duck and weave)!

From ChrisP: 15mm WWII German Motorcycles and Infantry Gun (125 points)

2012-02-20T11:27:00.004-06:00

Chris had a WWII game to quickly prepare for and so took an enforced break from his ancient Greek Myrmidons in order to complete this great WWII German motorcycle reconnaissance group along with two 150mm infantry guns.

These are all 15mm miniatures from Battlefront. I've always had a soft spot for the German BMW and sidecar combo. It must be all those films from the 60s and 70s - to me they're so quintessentially...Wehrmacht.

I like the high-contrast of the German greys against the sun-burnt grass basing. It really makes them 'pop' and be noticed (I know, great for gaming but not so good if it were actual combat conditions...).

This group will give Chris 125 points. I hope you had a good game with them, Chris! They look great.

From DaveD: 28mm 'Man with no Name', Legionnaires, Zulus & Napoleonic French Legere Battalion (170 points)

2012-02-19T14:52:00.000-06:00

Dave shows us a wonderfully eclectic mix of models to feast our eyes on. First is a beautifully sculpted 'Man with no Name'.

This 28mm casting is from Ebob Miniatures. I gotta get one of these.

Dave really did a fabulous job on the poncho and the blue jeans. I also like the cold blue eyes of 'The Stranger' - well done!

Next is a group of four French Foreign Legionnaires in desert uniforms.

These are 28mm castings from Artizan Miniatures.

Here we have the recently released set from Warlord/Empress Miniatures depicting the characters from 'Zulu'.

You just gotta love 'Hooky' - and Dave did a brilliant job on all four of them.

Finally Dave shows us a Napoleonic French battalion, the 1st of the 26e Regiment de Legere.

These are 28mm Elite Miniatures castings.

This group will add 170 points to Dave's tally. Great work!

From KentG: 28mm Cowboys, U.S. Infantry and German Infantryman (185 points)

2012-02-19T14:20:00.002-06:00

Kent sends in a varied mix of entries starting first with a group of twenty Cowboys.

These are 28mm Dixon castings which are always very identifiable by their characteristic heads.

I really like the dapper fellow in the green waistcoat sporting a cigar.

Next is a group of sixteen American WWII infantrymen with a very isolated German soldier in greatcoat. All of these 28mm castings are from Foundry.

These thirty-seven models will give Kent 185 points. Great work Kent - its nice to see some Dixon stuff again.

From FranL: 15mm Civilians, Modern Vehicles (234 points)

2012-02-16T14:10:00.000-06:00

Fran is building on his contemporary theme and sends in this very varied batch of miniatures. I'll let him explain each part in turn. On to you, Fran:

Twenty-one Rebel Minis 15mm citizens and civilians....

Three IDF 15mm SHOT Centurions still in use today in certain parts of the world, one commander and aerial added....

Six 15mm M113 IDF Zelda variants, the first 4 are Zelda variants with a command one one first with the flag, followed by a M163 Vulcan and a M577 command vehicle, plenty of stowage, an aerial added to denote command and the odd crewman head figure added....

15mm URAL 4.5 ton truck for supplies and stuff.....

Five 15mm US Marine Humvees, two with .50 cal heavy machine guns, two with Mark 19 grenade launchers and one with a TOW, the five crewmen were integral......all the vehicles so far are Peter Pig.

Two 15mm US Marine AAV-7A1, amphibious assault vehicles used by the US marines and can carry 25 marines and 3 crew, these come from Irish Serb miniatures.........

Three 15mm wrecks from Timecast, they came with a garage building but I got two of one because they hadn't got a tyre pile?........

This is a 15mm potential Ray figure (before and after) if he keeps crossing the border and both from Peter Pig.....

This is my inclusion to the Sarah 'femme fatale' figure portion of the competition, the figure is a 28mm RAFM figure with a metal asp (baton) in one hand and a silenced 9mm behind her back! I was contacted by another blogger, Anne O'Leary, who Ray did flags for, and she asked me if I could paint both her, along with another female blogger (The Happy Whisk), who I introduced to her, figures to represent them both. I had this unpainted already as it's a quirky figure (and the other figure was a repaint from before and not eligible for the competition), so I present Anne O'Leary.........

Wow, that is a whack of figures. This will give give Fran 234 points to add to his total. Great stuff, Fran!

From GregB: 1:285 scale German Panzer IVH (10 points)

2012-02-14T14:00:00.001-06:00

Greg and I are going to have a game of 'Spearhead' on Sunday which will focus on the lead elements of a German armoured division attempting to punch through the Soviet lines at Kursk. We're fully expecting a table completely strewn with smoke columns by turn two...

These Panzer IV H's are all from the excellent GHQ line of micro-scale (1:285 / 1:300) vehicles.

Greg has done a superb job on the basework and camo on these little guys. Especially if you take into account that each of these models is about the same size of your typical coin piece.

With the long 75mm, extra armour and side skirting, the IV H was the last of the variants for this chassis type and it was a proven workhorse of the German panzer arm.

This batch will give Greg 10 points to add to his tally. We'll take some shots of these in action to put up next week.

From ChrisP: 28mm Greek Hoplites for SAGA, 2nd Entry (60 points)

2012-02-14T12:48:00.001-06:00

Chris sends us this second group of excellent Greek hoplites (Myrmidons) that will serve in his innovative Classical Greek modification to SAGA.

Like his others, these are 28mm plastic figures from Immortal Miniatures (now acquired by Warlord Games). I must say that I'm really liking the look of these figures and will definitely have to pick some up.

As the previous unit was fashioned as the 'Green' unit, these will be the 'Reds'.

This group of fine hoplites will add another 60 points to Chris' total. Great work!

From PhilH: 28mm Viking and Pulp Adventure Gestapo (30 points)

2012-02-13T22:10:00.002-06:00

Phil gives us an eclectic mix of figures to enjoy with a Viking lord for SAGA and a group of nefarious Gestapo thugs for Pulp Adventure gaming.

The Viking is a 28mm Gripping Beast casting that will be a gift for his brother. Phil liked the fact that this middle-aged fellow is obviously a few pints of ale over svelte but still sports the ass-kicking attitude of his youth.

These 28mm Gestapo nasties are from Pulp Figures. I really like Phil's smooth shading of their uniforms - great colours and very evocative of film noir depicting that period.

All together this group of figures will give Phil 30 points. Really nice stuff, Phil!

From IanW: 20mm Roman Auxilia (120 points)

2012-02-13T18:17:00.000-06:00

Ian sends us this great cohort of Roman Auxilia troops.

These are 20mm HAT plastic models which caused Ian a bit of consternation on how to effectively glue them to the bases (the trusty hot glue gun won out in the end).

Ian has done a brilliant job on these guys, especially the really dynamic unit composition and the hand-painted shields - bravo!

This group will give Ian a base of 96 points but I'm going to give him another 24 for the great work on the shields. Well done!

From KentG: 28mm & 15mm WWII Germans (218 points)

2012-02-13T15:06:00.002-06:00

Greg is not the only one cracking on with the World War Two theme in two scales. Our Challenge Leader, Kent, sends us a great collection of 15mm and 28mm WWII German infantry in late-war dot pattern camouflage. Above is a group of twenty-six 15mm mortar teams, spotters and command that Kent has made up for an upcoming 'Flames of War' tournament. I believe these are all Battlefront castings.

Next up is a kampfgruppe of twenty-eight 28mm late-war Germans of various manufacturers and uniform types.

Kent has done a superb job with the camo here.

This combined batch will bring Kent a very tidy 218 points, and sees him break the 3K mark. Very impressive work!

From Curt: 28mm Napoleonic French Unit/Casualty Markers (45 points)

2012-02-13T01:50:00.002-06:00

As promised, here are a few more Napoleonic French unit/casualty stands. Each of these will attach itself with a battalion to keep track of the unit name/organization and various status levels.

These are a mix of Foundry and Perry 28mm models.

I think for the next batch, in order to mix it up, I will incorporate musicians, some medicos and perhaps some looters.

For this group I'm going to give myself 45 points. Up soon will be my Norman archers (finally) and then on to something a bit different.

From GregB: 15mm & 1:285 scale WWII German Armour (42 points)

2012-02-12T20:30:00.004-06:00

Greg has been bitten with the WWII bug as of late and so sends in this fine group of German armour in both 15mm and 1:285th scales.

These two tanks are 15mm Panzer IVs from Battlefront, one .

From Greg:

'One is a Mark IV F1 (with the short 75) and the other is a Mark IV F2 (with the long 75, probably my favourite tank). These were "orphan" models I found while rummaging in my pile. I had probably worked out some way to include them in my DAK forces (http://wpggamegeeks.blogspot.com/2009/01/21st-panzer-reports-objective-captured.html) back when I was originally getting them going, but either forgot about them, or lost them or who knows what. Anyway, there they were in the storage box, complete with black primer, so I worked on them last night while the Jets were on TV. I love the Mark IV panzers, especially the F2/G version with the long guns (but prior to the shurtzen plates), and they will be fun to use while blasting the Desert Rats on the table.

I felt really rusty painting these up - I think the basecoat was too dark, and I didn't put enough between that and the Kommando Khaki, so the line effect etc is kind of jarring. On the other hand, I imagine the desert was a bit rough on any paint job....

Another challenge I have with these models is getting the tactical numbers on the turrets. The turrets have lots of doors, etc on the side that make it tricky for the otherwise very handy battlefront decals. I used microsol to soften the decals, so at least I avoided too much silvering. But they still look strange. In hindsight, I should have just tried to steady my hand and paint them on. Oh well - something for next time.'

Now, for the 'Spearhead' rules that we often play to represent large-scale operations, Greg shows us two battalion-level formations he's done-up.

From Greg:

'A pair of RSOs with Pak 40s, and 10 Panzer IV Gs. The gun crews are from Adler, and the rest are GHQ. The guns are leftovers sitting around in the pending box. The Panzers were birthday presents. I put a bit of a brown camo pattern on a few of them and left the rest straight up panzer yellow, ready to roll into Kursk.

The 10 models are sufficient to represent a panzer battalion in Spearhead. The HQ model is on a round base.'

Next up...

'10 Hetzers from GHQ. As with the other Panzers, these would be sufficient to represent a late war panzer jäger battalion in Spearhead, with the model on the round base representing the HQ.

The detail and quality of the GHQ castings is amazing, but I wish they would consider brass turrets or gun barrels for the future....'

This group will give Greg 42 points. Can't wait to see these on the tabetop (burning or otherwise)!

From TimB: 28mm Greek Civilians and Ancient Light Horse Skirmishers (40 points)

2012-02-12T10:45:00.000-06:00

From Tim we have a great set of Greek civilians along with a stand of light cavalry.

All of these 28mm figures are from Black Tree Design.

These will give him 40 points. Next up for Tim will be more Anglo-Saxons in preparation for his upcoming DBA campaign weekend.

From ChrisP: 28mm Greek Hoplites for SAGA (60 points)

2012-02-11T21:30:00.002-06:00

Chris sends in this great group of 28mm Greek Hoplites for use with his brilliant mod for SAGA.

From Chris:

'Here we have 12 Greek Hoplites from Immortal Miniatures. Transfers came from Immortal too, and were an absolute pain as they had to be trimmed to fit (naturally I realised this after trying to do a couple at once)

They were really good to paint, lovely miniatures. I really like the whole Greek golden age- I did a whole uni degree in Classics because I liked it so much! The Odyssey and the Illiad were read many, many times during the degree!

I have based them up for the SAGA ruleset, a local guy here has written up some rules for using SAGA for the Trojan War, we think that it will represent the Warlord with a warband style rules quite well. (rules are here http://roughwotr.blogspot.co.nz/2012/01/saga-trojan-war.html and here http://roughwotr.blogspot.co.nz/2012/01/saga-achaeans.html). I am really looking forward to getting into it, we have 3 factions prepared so far, Myrmidons, Trojans and Ithacans. I will be using the Myrmidons, the famed warriors of Achilles. So what I have here is 1.5 points of Warriors, the next 12 are already on the painting desk! After the next unit of Warriors, then it will be time to paint Achilles himself, as well as his retinue of elite hoplites!

These guys are the "green" unit- all tied together with a green colour so I can tell the units apart on the battlefield. I am also preparing some sabot bases so I can use these hoplites in Impetvs.'

Very creative modification, Chris, and a great looking unit of hoplites as well. I look forward to trying your ideas out.

These 12 hoplites will give Chris 60 points. Nice one!

From RayR: 15mm French & Indian Wars Limbers, Caissons, Wagons and Guns (678 points)

2012-02-11T18:57:00.004-06:00

Ray sends in this very large and impressive assortment of caissons, limbers, wagons and artillery for his French and Indian Wars collection.

The 15mm wagons, carts and caissons are from Hallmark.

Ray is missing three guns from this British artillery group. He's wondering if Fran is somehow behind them having gone AWOL...

Here is the French artillery with their distinctive red-painted limbers and guns.

All the 15mm limbers and horses are from Essex whereas the guns are a mixture of Essex, Frei Corps and QFR.

There is no doubt about it, this was a HUGE submission from Ray. There are 86 horses, 46 limbers, wagons and caissons and 24 guns. All tallied this give him 678 points! EEP! Wow, excellent work, Ray! This firmly places Ray in second place - well done!

From DaveD: 28mm Napoleonic French Mamelukes (175 points)

2012-02-10T19:26:00.004-06:00

Dave sends in this brilliant unit of French Mamelukes that have benefited from his exhaustive and painstaking conversions.

From Dave:

'These are 28 mm Bicorne Miniatures - a little know gem of a figure. The horses are by Bicorne, Connoisseur and Firing Line. Another of my full OTT converted units. check out the IMG1223 B4 image against 1229 , of the rearing horse and guy with a pistol in hand and sword hanging from his wrist. Before and After the soldering iron the dremel & the brush!

IMG1223

IMG1229

Each rider is unique with arm and head repositions with soldering and twisting. Each set has reins added into the riders hand. The banner on the trumpeter is from brass sheet soldered on . The standard is made from milliput and solder. In addition these guys had extra detailing o the horses as they had tassels added from the chest straps of the horses - these again are created with the soldering iron. All together it took me 3 full days just to convert the castings before any painting. - Phew...'

'Phew' is right! These are beautiful, Dave!

These Mamelukes will give Dave a base of 100 points, but like his last heavily converted unit I am awarding 75 extra points for the extra effort he's put into them. Well done Dave!

From GregB: 28mm Napoleonic Austrian Infantry IR#23 Salzburg (155 points)

2012-02-10T15:30:00.002-06:00

Greg has been very busy adding to his Napoleonic Austrian collection and so sends in this fresh regiment for the French meatgrinder. This unit depicts Infantry Regiment #23 'Salzburg' which historically strived to stem the tide of defeat at Austerlitz by attempting to hold a defensive position on the Pratzen Heights (short synopsis: it went very poorly for them).

These are 28mm Wargames Foundry castings.

All of Greg's previous units are in marching poses so he quite enjoyed doing these who are in the midst of delivering volley fire.

I love the officers in this unit - such great personality and animation. Greg's done a super job with them.

These 29 infantry and 1 mounted officer will give Greg 155 points. Beautiful work, my friend! I look forward to seeing these on the table next week.

From JohnM: 28mm Napoleonic Prussian Cavalry, 6th Neumark Dragoons and 4th Kumark Landwehr (240 points)

2012-02-09T21:33:00.001-06:00

John sends in this excellent entry featuring two regiments of Prussian cavalry, the 6th Neumark Dragoons and the 4th Kumark Landwehr Cavalry.

All of these 28mm castings are from the impressive Calpe range of models.

I commented to John saying that I think he has his Army Painter technique perfected as these look beautiful (he gives a great tutorial at his site). John responded, elaborating:

'For the horses I use airbrushed Vallejo Brown Ink on a white base. I liked how they came out. I did vary the saddle cloth from regulation, it should be dragoon blue, but when I saw the red pinstriping on the black, I just could not resist.'

The lance pennants are from GMB and the colours are 'FlagDude'.

These 24 cavalry will give John 240 points for the Challenge. Wonderful stuff, John, well done!

From RossM: 28mm Mycenaean Spearmen & 20mm WWII British Entrenched Infantry (44 points)

2012-02-08T23:42:00.003-06:00

Ross sends is a very nice mixed entry of Mycenaean spearmen and two very cool stands of World War Two British infantry snug in their foxholes.

The hide shields on the Mycenaeans are hand-painted and Ross did a wonderful job capturing the texture of them (as you can see by the lead image).

These are 28mm Redoubt Miniatures castings that Ross has based for 'Impetus'.

Very nice groundwork on this stand.

Ross also sends us these two unique stands depicting four British Tommies settling into their foxholes.

These are from the very fine 20mm AB Miniature range.

These miniatures will give Ross a base of 38 points but I'm adding another 6 for the excellent work on the shields. Very nice, Ross!

From KentG: 28mm English Civil War Cavalry (480 points)

2012-02-08T19:07:00.000-06:00

Kent sends in this impressive entry of four regiments of English Civil War cavalry, 48 figures in total (!).

I'm not positive, but by the looks of them I believe all of these are 28mm Wargames Foundry castings.

There is one regiment of Cuirassier, two of Horse and one of Dragoons.

Again, such great quality matched with remarkable speed. I'm very envious, Kent!

This group will give him a whopping 480 points. Wow, bravo, well done Kent!

From TimB: 28mm Dark Age Scots, Normans, Irish, Amazon and Hoplites (250 points)

2012-02-08T13:00:00.000-06:00

Tim has been going at it, hammer and tongs, getting ready for his big DBA campaign weekend later this month (which will fall right on his birthday - Happy Pre-Birthday Tim!). Here we have a potpourri of wonderful figures ranging from Dark Age Scots, Normans and Irish, to Classical Amazons and Hoplites.

Tim wows us again with his hand-painted plaid cloaks and shield designs. Beautiful stuff.

A pair of Normans and an ill-tempered Irish woman.

These 28mm figures have been sourced from a broad mix of manufacturers. The Scots are all Old Glory, the Normans are Crusader, the Amazon is from MegaMinis and the Hoplites are from Black Tree, Foundry (the Spartan) and Crusader.

An Amazon and assorted Hoplite warriors.

This group of 44 figures will give Tim a base of 220 points but I'm going to give him an extra 30 for the excellent work on the shields and plaids. Well done, Tim!

From JuanM: 28mm Late Roman / Byzantine Infantry Command Stand (20 points)

2012-02-07T21:59:00.004-06:00

Juan sends in this very nice 4th century Late Roman / Byzantine command stand to represent the beginnings of his Legio V Macedonia.

Great basework and I really like the Draco standard.

These castings are from the excellent 28mm Musketeer Miniatures range of models.

Juan will be using these for future games of 'Hail Caesar'.

Nice effect on the commander's scale-mail.

These four lads will give him 20 points. Great stuff, Juan!

Next up from Juan will be 16th century peasants, Swiss and Napoleonic Prussian Landwehr.

From IanW: 6mm Napoleonic French Hussars (36 points)

2012-02-07T18:09:00.002-06:00

Ian sends in these wee lads from the 6th and 7th French Hussars.

Ian did a great job on capturing the effect of the lace.

These are 6mm Baccus figures. As much as I love the grandeur of 28mm Napoleonics I have a soft spot for these smaller scales as you can really capture the mass of the formations without them taking over an entire section of a playing surface.

These two groups of cavalrymen will give Ian 36 points. Nice work!

From FranL: 15mm Riot Police, Arms Dealers and Reporters (143 points)

2012-02-07T13:27:00.007-06:00

Today's 'history' is reflected here in Fran's most recent submission. Here we have riot police with two support vehicles, snipers, vehicle crews, a pair of arms dealers (apparently for both sides of the conflict) and a batch of reporters to make sure it all shows up in HD while we're comfortably eating our dinners.

Both the 'Bulldog' Anti-Mine vehicles and the foot figures are from Peter Pig's 15mm ranges.

And on the left we have that famous 'mouth-breather' (as my wife likes to call him) Nicholas Cage selling his wares.

What's a modern war zone without a swarm of TV flunkies?

A group of IDF sniper teams.

This group of 41 figures and 2 vehicles will give Fran 143 points. Great work on some unique subject matter AND Fran, you now have passed Ray in the points standing.

Now, this is going to get ugly (in a deliciously fun way). :)

From GregB: 15mm WWII German Jagdpanther (10 points)

2012-02-06T20:29:00.005-06:00

Greg submits one of the storied 'Big Cats' of WWII : the Jagdpanther.

As he received this as a gift from his brother I won't tease Greg for caving into to the 'Gee, its one of the largest freaking vehicles in the ETO - I must have a platoon of them' syndrome.

Greg has done beautiful work with the camouflage on this beast.

This is a 15mm Battlefront model that comes with its own ruined house for cover. Y'know, I've always wondered if these panzer gits ever worried about parking in houses that had deep basements... 'Hans, what was that noise and why is the rangefinder focused on shelves of raspberry jam?'

This bad boy will add 10 points to Greg's tally.

From DallasE: 28mm WWII American Infantry in Winter Gear (185 points)

2012-02-06T17:45:00.001-06:00

Dallas sends in this great platton of 37 US infantry in their winter greatcoats.

These are 28mm Artizan Design castings that Dallas bought second-hand. Due to the quality of the metal and their overall detail he's is a little suspicious of their provenance. No matter, as Dallas says there his now and I think he's done a super job on them.

These lads will soon be going up against Waffen SS in the Ardennes using some of Dallas' new snow terrain.

These thirty-seven lads will give Dallas 185 points. Nice one! You're right neck-and-neck with Greg again...

From DaveD: 28mm 'The Perils of Pauline' Vignette (10 points)

2012-02-06T13:04:00.002-06:00

Dave sends in this marvellously curious little scene which depicts a nefarious villain having just tied a fair damsel to a railway track - oooh, the cad!

In my mind's eye I can hear the off-key piano playing madly in the background, and if you blink really rapidly you get that silent film effect - no really!

If he was waiting on Canadian Via Rail they'd both die of old age before one showed up...

Apparently this was a give-away figure at a Partizan show a few years ago, sculpted in 28mm by Matt Bickley. Dave tells me that there was a hero figure included in the set so he's going to try to source that to finish the scene.

I love his crumpled top hat, her high heels and 'unmentionables'.

This pair (ahem) will give Dave 10 points. Thanks for this, Dave - well done!

From JohnB: 30mm Old School Napoleonics Polish Battalion from the Vistula Legion (150 points)

2012-02-05T20:00:00.001-06:00

My friend John sculpts and casts his own figures in the classic 'Toy Soldier' style. (TimB is a good friend of John as well and his sculpting shares the same spirit, I think.) These are very cool and characterful miniatures, that look fabulous ranked up in their battalions. John's collection is vast as its is varied, and it is always a treat when he brings them out for a game.

These are 30mm sculpts but John also works in 40mm and larger. John has a soft spot for the smaller Napoleonic nations/contingents as their uniforms were quite interesting (sometimes bordering on the bizarre).

From John:

'I thought I'd make a showing in the Analogue Hobbies' painting contest. Here are 18 of my homemade Napoleonics in Old School 30mm. It is the first of six battalions I am going to do of the Vistula Legion, 1st and 2nd Regiments circa 1812. I know there are some uniform inaccuracies, but my figures are sort of generic as you know. I am certain that these brave Poles will be Alexander's most implacable foes. Inform Sylvain... The second battalion is already in the works.

Vive La Pologne Libree!

Jan Sobieski Bertolini'

Brilliant stuff! These eighteen lads will give John a base of 108 points but I'm going to bring it up to 150 as they are his own sculpts. After the Vistula Legion, I believe John is wanting to do a Napoleonic Swiss brigade which will be great to see. Welcome aboard John!

From ChristopherS: 28mm Aztec Warriors (45 points)

2012-02-05T12:24:00.004-06:00

One of the aspects I am really enjoying about The Challenge is the wide variety of interests and historical subjects displayed by members of the group. A perfect example is Christopher's entry here, in which he sends in a beautiful stand of Aztec 'eagle knights' dressed in their very colourful and ornate armour.

These 28mm castings are from the now-deleted 28mm Foundry range of Aztecs. (I think there are many who sympathize with Christopher's aggravation with Foundry's inexplicable decision to discontinue entire groups of design-molds. I shake my head continually at the loss of variation in their current Napoleonic range that was there only a few years ago. This is not a question of burned-out moulds, as many of the deleted poses are clearly ancillary or, like these, from anachronistic periods. The fact that the owner of Foundry was also a past owner of Games Workshop seems to have a certain symmetry about it... )

These have been based for Impetus which encourages large, vignette-style stands of miniatures. From Christopher:

'The shields are all hand painted and the back banner mount(not the banner itself) is self made. The piece is an attempt to show the Eagle warriors or should I say Eagle knights advancing over ancient overgrown ruins under the leadership of their captain seen with the large identifiable back banner. The steps and stones are again a creation of mine. Colours used were mostly Foundry with some Vallejo and the bushels/grass bushes are from Heki. (A note in that the Aztec captain was already a finished model that I did before and reworked to fit in with the rest of the warriors.)'

These six will give Christopher a base of 30 points, but I'm giving him an extra 15 for the great work on the shields and the overall composition of the base. Lovely stuff Christopher!

From MichaelF: 28mm Viking Warband II (55 points)

2012-02-04T12:38:00.003-06:00

Michael sends in another beautifully painted warband for his growing collection for SAGA.

These are a mix of 28mm Foundry, Artizan and Crusader models.

The shield transfers turned-out great and really do a nice job in finishing the figures.

Michael also sends in a few pictures of his Viking 'Kurtgeld' which will a prized addition to my warband. I know she will be closely examined by 'The Resident Readhead', Sarah, who I'm sure will be much impressed.

This group of ten will give Michael a base of 50 points plus an extra 5 for the 'FlameHair Shield Dottir'. Fabulous work, Michael!

From Curt: 28mm Napoleonic Artillery Casualty Marker (15 points)

2012-02-02T02:32:00.006-06:00

Here's another Napoleonic casualty marker I've made up. This one depicts a knocked-out French 12-pounder along with an unfortunate crewman and soldier. I plan to make more of these kind of vignettes to indicate damaged units, or particular spots that have seen hard fighting.

This is a relatively new 28mm resin and white metal set from Offensive Miniatures. The pack includes two separate models, but I cut them up, rearranged them to fit and added a Perry casualty to compose a larger scene.

A sobering scene, to be sure, but one I would assume to be fairly common during that period.

I'm going to give myself 15 points for this one. Next will be some more markers and finally, perhaps the last of the Normans...

From RayR: 15mm French & Indian Wars Work Party (42 points)

2012-02-01T19:22:00.001-06:00

Ray is starting to feel Fran breathing down his neck so in an attempt to open his lead he sends in these fourteen figures depicting an English work party for the F&IW period.

These are 15mm Hallmark figures which can be sourced through Magister Militum in the UK or Noble Miniatures in North America.

These can be used to indicate the building of fortifications, establishing hasty works, digging trenches, etc.

There is some really great animation on these fellows.

This group will give Ray 42 points. The spread between him and Fran is still under 100 points so its still a very tight race!

From Curt: 28mm Napoleonic French Cuirassier Unit / Casualty Stand & French Aide-de-Camp (20 points)

2012-02-01T01:23:00.000-06:00

A few months ago I began to play around with developing unit / casualty stands for my Napoleonic collection. I wanted something that could pack as much information into one spot and would still look okay on the tabletop.

I came up with a concept based around a 50mm circular base that would incorporate a 'fin' to mount a unit name card, a couple 'sockets' for 7mm dice to track a unit's status and enough room leftover to make a small vignette with a couple figures.

These have worked out pretty well with the only interm change being that I've added an third dice 'socket'. (In our 'Food for Powder' rules the dice help track the status of 'Fatigue', 'Friction' and 'Esprit de Corps' - basically hit points). I'm in the midst of making enough for all twelve of my current French infantry battalions and so thought I should do-up a few for my cavalry as well.

Ever since I first saw the 28mm Perry cuirassier casualty set a few years ago I have been keen to work on them. Its funny as I don't even have a cuirassier unit yet, but I couldn't resist using one of the figures as the basis of a unit stand. I've painted him as a trooper of the 3rd Cuirassiers, who served with the 12th and the Carabiniers in Nansouty's Division at Aspern-Essling and Wagram where they saw some pretty hard action.

The second figure is a Perry Miniatures French Aide-de-Camp madly galloping to issue orders to an awaiting brigade. In our rules these ADC figures carry 'impetus' dice from higher level commanders down to their subordinates to facilitate more complex brigade orders. They also can carry 'Friction' dice if the ADC is serving a particularly incompetent commander - thereby chaos can ensue from botched/misinterpreted orders.

These two lads will give me another 20 points. I can see a depressing theme here...

Next will be more of these unit stands and the last of my Normans for SAGA.

From Curt: 28mm Jomsvikings 'The Bloodshields' (20 points)

2012-01-31T00:48:00.006-06:00

I've done these four fellows up to represent a small mercenary band of Jomsvikings for SAGA.

The Jomsvikings were legendary and infamous swords-for-hire who were active during the 10th and 11th centuries. They were reportedly very disciplined, staunchly pagan and would sell themselves to any who could afford their exorbitant fees. They also had a nasty propensity to change sides - even in the midst of battle.

These are 28mm Gripping Beast castings. I did some slight modifications in having one of the mercenaries being armed with two spears and I replaced the small axe on the leader with one that has a longer haft and a larger axehead.

I painted all four in a similar colour scheme and inked their shields to represent the Jomsvikings splashing them with animal blood to unsettle their opponents. The leader's shield design is by LBMS.

I like how the design of their clothes and shields are varied and somewhat exotic - giving the impression that some of them may have travelled quite extensively, perhaps to Russia, Italy, Constantinople or even the Levant.

In SAGA they have some very fun rules in which a player can purchase a Jomsviking warparty for use in your overall force. They are quite nasty in combat, but be warned, they do have a chance to betray their employer and change sides!

These four hard nuts will nudge me along for 20 points. Next up will be some Napoleonic unit markers...

From FranL: 20mm WWII British Armour, 15mm American Marines & Badly Accessorized Secret Service Agents (267 points)

2012-01-30T14:42:00.006-06:00

Fran sends in this large mixed group of entries extending from WWII Matildas and A13 tanks to contemporary US Marines and Secret Service personnel. I'll let Fran describe the particulars:

Three 20mm Matilda II's (P237) and three A13 Cruiser Tanks (P238) from Frontline Wargaming, not a lot of stowage or markings due to the fact that with Operation Sealion invasion they would be coming out of the factories and heading straight for the invasion points....

Seventy-five 15mm figures, a full modern US marine platoon of 42 figures with 3 fire teams per squad giving the platoon 9 squads and a command squad, 2 sniper teams, one with a Barrett M107 .50 cal and the other with a M40, an EOD team (Explosive Ordnance Demolition), 3 man casualty team (one of which would be the attached navy corpsman to the marine platoon) plus 2 marines assisting, 8 casualty figures and 10 figures from a small company called The Scene which are meant to be Secret Service or FBI and include 3 body bags...

Amazing detail on the IED.

Based on their shirt and tie colours this could have been the security team for Liberace or Celine Dion...

Well, that is a cart-load of figures - well done Fran! This group will give him an impressive 267 points - just 50 away from Ray...

From Sylvain: 28mm Napoleonic Russians in Early-Period Uniform (Novgorod Regiment) & Command Stand (80 points)

2012-01-29T21:32:00.003-06:00

Sylvain sends in this excellent battalion of early-period Napoleonic Russian infantry to add to his other fine unit he did for last year's Challenge.

These are 28mm metal Victrix castings sculpted by the talented Paul Hicks. Sylvain has painted them to depict the first battalion of the Novgorod Regiment. I've always liked how colourful Russian flags were during this period and these are no exception (done up by 'Flag Dude').

Above is a very nice command stand that Sylvain will use to indicate a Brigade-level commander. Great work and I like the incorporation of the junior officer on foot.

I've been teasing Sylvain pretty hard to get more Russians done so I'm delighted to see these emerge from his paining desk.

Some of the models for this unit were done before the Challenge began so 12 foot and 2 mounted will be scored. Nonetheless that gives Sylvain a very nice 80 points - well done and welcome to this year's Challenge, Sylvain!

From PhilH: 28mm Pulp Action Femme Fatale and Pink-Arsed Baboons (36 points)

2012-01-29T14:38:00.001-06:00

These baboons show to le Femme their collective opinion of 'Le Societe Archaelogique'.

Phil sends in this eclectic selection of figures: six baboons and a French femme fatale for his Pulp adventures.

Phil wanted Rhesus monkeys but happily made do with these baboons from Obelisk Miniatures in Germany. I really like them! They look suitably ferocious and very animated. Phil says he's never had to ponder the shade of pink that should be used for baboon arses...

Next up is a 'femme fatale' from the 'Societe Archaelogique'. Made complete with a jaunty beret, ubiquitous scarf and a small yet businesslike automatic pistol, one cannot help but look at her and say 'Allo Allo!'. She is a West Wind Production sculpt from their French Resistance range. Great plaid pattern on the skirt! Sarah quite liked the self-possession that this lass shows (speculating that her handbag must hold a bottle of Chanel, a make-up compact and an extra 9mm clip).

These seven will give Phil 35 points but I'll nudge it up to 36 for the nice pattern on le femme's skirt.

From ChrisP: 15mm WWII New Zealand Maoris (264 points)

2012-01-29T12:24:00.000-06:00

I really like this stand with the camels and bedouin - no mistaking where this is!

Chis sends in this great force of WWII New Zealand Maoris in British desert service dress.

These are 15mm Battlefront castings.

The 25pdr battery below benefits from a scavenged 105mm German gun.

From Chris:

'The Maori fought as part of their own battalion (the 28th), and were legendary as great light infantry, but also as amazing scavengers! There was a period of time where a company command's transportation was provided by a captured german halftrack- complete with towed 88!'

This group will give Chris a very tidy 264 points. Great work, Chris!

From TimB: 28mm Dark Age Scots, Vikings and a Norman (195 points)

2012-01-29T02:07:00.005-06:00

Tim has been stoking the furnace of industry and sends in this great collection of ferocious, bloody-minded Dark Age Scots ('Pre-Feudal' Scots in DBA-speak) that would even make Lady Macbeth proud.

These are an assortment of Old Glory, Gripping Beast and Black Tree Design.

The round-based vignettes are to be used as Army Markers for Tim's DBA campaign system but I can see where they would be great Warlords for SAGA as well.

...plus a few Viking berserkers and a lonely Norman looking for a good time.

This collection of 35 figures will give Tim a base of 175 but I'm going to give him 20 points extra for the hand-painted shields, flags and plaids. So 195 points. Great work Tim!

From SteveM: 15mm British Parachute Company 'The Red Devils' (318 points)

2012-01-28T11:35:00.002-06:00

Steve sends in this great unit of WWII British paratroopers for use in 'Flames of War'.

These are 15mm Battlefront castings (BBX16).

How: Primed grey, Vallejo acrylics, Testors Dullcote

Base: Sand, Behr flat house paint to color., tufts, silflor static

grass, woodland scenics tuft

Steve has a big Arnhem game coming up in March and so he is eager to see if these chaps will be able to beat the odds and hold that storied bridge.

This group of 106 figures will give Steve a very impressive 318 points, vaulting him in amongst the leaders. Well done! They look great and best of luck with holding The Bridge!

From GregB: 28mm Napoleonic Austrian Infantry IR#4 and Aide de Camp (210 points)

2012-01-28T01:53:00.009-06:00

Greg sends in this excellent battalion of Austrian infantry depicting IR#4 along with a mounted ADC.

I really like this officer hollering his head off, exhorting his men.

The infantry battalion is composed of 28mm Victrix plastic models while the ADC is a Foundry casting.

Greg tells me he really likes the variation of poses available from this box. I agree as I did up an 1804-1807 Victrix French battalion last year and found they were great models if a bit time-intensive to assemble. From what I understand the more recent releases are less fiddly to put together which is an excellent improvement.

In the shot above the footslogger on the right looks like he's saying, 'Look over there, Heinz, a horse that has two asses...'

These 38 infantry and 2 mounted figures will give Greg 210 points. Great job and a lovely unit!

From RayR: 54mm Anglo-Zulu War Vignette (100 points)

2012-01-27T12:22:00.009-06:00

Ray forwarded me images of this great vignette he made for his Dad's birthday. I'll let him describe it.

I’ve attached a few photos of a diorama I made for my Dad, over the last weeks, it's his 70th birthday this Saturday, and I always try and paint him up some kind of diorama of figure, He's not a wargamer but loves display figures. I picked up these figures 2 years ago at a boot fair, while on holiday in the Lake District. I haven't a clue what make they are, but they're 54mm and since it was the 133rd anniversary of both Ilsandlwana and Rorke's Drift on the 22nd of January, I thought they'd fit the part perfectly!!

Great work on the cowhide shields and I really like the animation of the Zulu with the arched back.

The figures give Ray a base of 88 points, but I'm going to place the entire vignette at 100.

That's a very nice gift you've made for your Dad, Ray. (I'm getting all misty just thinking about it.)

From ChristopherS: 28mm ACW Confederate Signal Station (60 points)

2012-01-26T20:37:00.004-06:00

Christopher sends in this brilliant Confederate signal station that he did up for his ACW collection.

This is a Redoubt Miniatures model. Christopher prefers the Redoubt range over many others and I agree with his opinion as I have quite a few of their models - they are well-cast and very characterful.

'No army painter was used on this and I prefer it this way and will do so for the rest of my confederates. The signal flags are hand painted and the weathering done on the rocks and some of the tower were with MIG pigments. The flowers and trees are from "Heki" I believe.'

Christopher thought he'd get this done for some 'quick points' but it ended up being a more involved project (as we can see). The composition and groundwork are fantastic. This is such a great centerpiece model and would be a great objective model for a skirmish game.

The base points for the figures in this diorama is 30 points but I'm going to double it for the entire compostion - so 60 points. Beautiful work, Christopher!

From ChrisP: 15mm British Artillery, Armour and Transport (174 points)

2012-01-26T18:35:00.000-06:00

Chris sends in an assortment of World War Two British models for his 'Flames of War' collection. First is a battery of 25 pounders with crew, command teams and spotters. Great basework on these - really lovely stuff. (Two of these were painted before the Challenge and so won't be scored)

Next is two Sherman Vs and a Sherman recovery vehicle. Really like the dummy gun used to mask its silhouette.

Last is a group of transports and a command jeep.

This group will give Chris 174 points. Very nice collection, Chris.

From MikeW: 28mm WWII German Infantry (55 points)

2012-01-26T00:46:00.004-06:00

Mike has sent for his opening gambit to the Challenge a squad of eleven World War Two German infantry.

These are 28mm Warlord Games plastic models that Mike is going to use with their 'Operation Squad' set of rules. (I'm curious to know how these rules play. Hopefully sometime Mike can give us a synopsis of what he thinks of them.)

'A squad of Wehrmacht, based for Operation: Squad (well, based for pretty much anything, actually, since Op: Squad isn't that fussy - most of them are Renedra round 25mm bases, one is a UK 2 pence piece, which is almost dead on the right size and cheaper!). Army Painter Uniform Grey spray primer, Tamiya Field Grey uniforms, Army Painter Strong Tone dip. Basing is my usual (Tamiya Dark Earth Diorama paint, Javis moorland scatter and spring static grass, some GF9 medium basing grit), and then an overall coat of Army Painter Anti-Shine (JUST before it rained!).'

These 11 models will give Mike 55 points to get on the board. Nice job and welcome aboard, Mike!

from rayR: 15mm Grand Alliance Dutch Garde du Corps Cavalry and Fitzharding's Dragoons (90 points)

2012-01-25T19:36:00.001-06:00

Ray sends in this very nice cavalry unit depicting the Dutch Garde du Corps from the Grand Alliance.

These are 15mm Essex castings and the flags Ray made himself. Nicely done!

These lads served with William of Orange at the Battle of the Boyne.

Next up is two stands of horse holders from Fitzhardings Dragoons.

These are 15mm Irregular castings.

Horse holders are not required for the rules he's using ('Beneath the Lily Banners') but Ray thought they would help dress-up the table a bit.

These are 15mm Irregular castings.

This lot will give Ray 90 points for his roster. Great work Ray!

From MichaelF: 28mm Viking Warband (50 points)

2012-01-24T23:57:00.002-06:00

Michael sends in this fabulous group of ten Viking warriors.

These are a mix of Crusader, Artizan and Gripping Beast 28mm castings. Shields are by LBMS.

Great trews on this chap!

These ten will give Michael 50 points to add to his total. Beautiful work, Mike!

from KentG: 28mm English Civil War Pike and Shot Regiments (250 points)

2012-01-24T23:23:00.000-06:00

Kent sends in two (!) English Civil War foot regiments. All of the figures are the older 25mm Wargames Foundry models.

This green-coated regiment is Colonel Samuel Joseph's...

...while this unit in blue is Sir Arthur Heselrigges Regiment of Foote.

These 50 figures will give Kent 250 points. Such great quality at an amazing turn of speed - awesome work, Kent.

From TimB: 28mm Vikings, Scots & Dark Age Casualties (85 points)

2012-01-24T12:09:00.003-06:00

Tim sends in this great batch of figures depicting Vikings, Scots light horsemen and a variety of Dark Age casualties.

There are a wide assortment of 28mm manufacturers on display here. The Scots horsemen are a mix of Gripping Beast and Old Glory, the Vikings are Old Glory and some very cool vintage Citadel miniatures. The casualties are Old Glory, or as Tim refers to them: 'Old Gory'.

Again, I really like the shields on all these guys. Very nice work.

...and these are suitably grisly...'Hey, has anyone seen my axe? Oh, right, its in your head...'

This group will net Tim a base of 85 points which I'll tap-up to 90 for the excellent shields and that great Scots' plaid cloak . This will move him up amongst the point leaders. Well done!

From DallasE: 28mm Norman Cavalry (40 points)

2012-01-23T23:52:00.001-06:00

Dallas sends in some reinforcements for his Norman collection in the form of these four mounted confreres.

These are 28mm Foundry castings with the addition of Crusader shields - nice work on the shield devices, Dallas!

This quartet will give Dallas 40 points to add to his tally - just pipping fellow Conscript Greg. Well done, these will be a great addition to the rest of your Stormin' Normans!

From JuanM: Late Roman Command Stand - Salute '06 Arthur & Mordred (10 points)

2012-01-23T21:36:00.000-06:00

Many will recognize this vignette submitted by Juan as being the Arthur vs Mordred giveaway from Salute '06. It was sculpted by Mark Copplestone specifically for the show.

Juan has cleverly reposed it to represent a command stand for his Late Roman army - a Praepositus Vexillationibus (Commander of Detachments) and his loyal Bucellarius ("Biscuit-eater", bodyguard) for the Fourth Century AD.

Great job on the armour on these two - the detail is very nicely accentuated.

This pair will give Juan 10 points to add to his total. Very lovely work, Juan!

From IanW: Macedonian Command & Casualties (74 points)

2012-01-23T19:35:00.002-06:00

Ian sends in this group of nine Macedonian command figures plus thirteen casualties.

From Ian:

'Finally got these photographed but not before the cats got at them!!!! The Command figures was part of 400+ figures a friend gave me just before Christmas when he found out I was unable to work through illness and painting is one of my few activities. As such these are really a Seleucid Command but work well enough. I think they are Essex and must have been bought 25+ years ago. I have never been a fan of rider and horse being separate and one of the bases highlight why. I was carless with the glueing and it looks odd. So I have a figure to re-position and a lance to repair, joy of joys. Overall I did not have as much fun painting these as the previous figures though they painted up fairly quickly.'

'As for the dead I just can't remember the supplier, shame as I want some more and a mate collected them for me at Reading. These will pull double duty for Impetus (the numbers on the base are for their Strength and hitting power, whilst in Field of Glory the counter itself represents a mix of disorder and lost troops. I have 13 of these as shown and need twice as many at least so will get some more next con.'

These two groups will give Ian 74 points. Great work, Ian! Hopefully you can keep the next batch away from the cats. They must Persians (har, har, har)...

From Curt: 28mm Napoleonic French Dragoons, 18e Regiment de Dragons (240 points)

2012-01-23T00:07:00.004-06:00

I've been plugging away at this regiment of French Dragoons since the beginning of the Challenge.

These are 28mm Perry plastics which I very much enjoy working with and highly recommend. At first it may seem a little daunting putting them all together, but once you get the process and a rhythm they assemble pretty quickly.

Their flash pink facings aside, 18th Regiment of Dragoons were very much a meat-and-potatoes 'working' cavalry regiment. In the early Empire period they participated in many of the major engagements (Austerlitz, Jena, Friedland) and then from 1808 to 1813 they saw hard service in the Peninsular campaigns. They missed the Grande Armee's destruction in Russia, but were recalled to Germany where they were burned-out during the 1813 and 1814 campaigns for France.

This is the first time I've tried doing eyes on an entire unit...

I love painting Napoleonic cavalry but I find its the trumpeters that often make me 'snap my crayons'. Nonetheless, as French cavalry go, Dragoon trumpeters are pretty plain as they usually did not go overboard on reverse facing colours, gold braid, etc. but the ubiquitous chequered lace is always a challenge. Later this year I plan to do-up a Hussar regiment and I'm girding my loins for painting its trumpeter as those buggers' uniforms are insane.

While I was in the midst of assembling this lot I knew I would be running out of gas on painting Dragoon Green once these were done. So I broke down and commissioned my third regiment from a painting service. I hope to have that unit ready soon, touch them up ('cause I can't help myself) and base them to match this lot. Then I'll have a full brigade of the blighters, 72-figures strong, which should look the business arrayed on the tabletop.

Again, here's that loon Ney, leading the 18e and 1er regiments to Glory and some sticky end...

This unit will give me 240 points for the Challenge. Yep, if I did another ten like this I'd really be making Kent sweat...

Next up will be an assortment of casualty/unit stands, Norman archers and Anglo-Saxons.

From TimB: 28mm Norman Infantry & Celtic Woman (70 points)

2012-01-22T10:52:00.001-06:00

Tim is hosting a big Dark Age event next month so he is bending his will (like Sauron) to getting as many figures done-up as possible in preparation of that. Accordingly we have here another twelve Norman infantry plus a Celt woman brandishing a grisly trophy.

Again, Tim did a great job with hand-painting his shield devices.

The Normans are from the Crusader Miniature range while the woman is a Warlord figure.

It kinda troubled me that Sarah particularly liked this figure when she saw it...

This group will give Tim a base of 65 points bit I'm going to add another four for the shields and another for the work on the Celtic woman's frock. So, 70 points total. Keep up the steam, Tim!

From PhilH: 28mm Pulp Action Figures (40 points)

2012-01-22T00:50:00.003-06:00

Phil sends in these excellently painted Sikh infantry (led by Mr. Singh) that will support his very characterful Pulp action figures.

These are from the 28mm Artizan Design 'Thrilling Tales' collection. The car is from Corgi.

The second group predates the Challenge, but Phil sent them along to introduce his cast of characters. From left to right:

The Major, Mr Singh, Professor Hemingway (archaeologist and collector of curiosities), Squadron Leader Michaels (fop and drunkard), his fiancé, the Professor's daughter, stalwart old sailor Sean Jenkins and the ever- reliable Hawkins the butler. The man out on the hunt is as-yet unnamed.

Very nicely done, Phil! These will net him 40 points to add to his score.

From ChrisP: 15mm WWII British & German Armour (48 points)

2012-01-21T20:34:00.002-06:00

Chris sends in six World War Two era tanks. First is a very nice group of five British Valentines in desert camouflage (two of these are command vehicles).

Next is a German Panzer III in early-war panzer grey. I'm not positive, but I think all of these models are from the Battlefront range.

This group will give Chris 48 points which will push him past the 1000-point mark. Very well done, Chris! Nonetheless, I think you should keep an eye over your shoulder as it seems you have several other Challengers hard on your heels...

From JuanM: 28mm 16th Century Peasants (20 points)

2012-01-21T15:24:00.001-06:00

Juan sends in several more medieval characters to add to his growing collection.

These 28mm castings are from are Pro Gloria Miniatures. I particularly enjoy the dog handler and the 'strumpet'.

Juan has found reference to a raid by Helvetic Confederation troops upon an Imperial Headquarters that he wants to form as a basis of a game - it sounds fantastic and I wish I could jet off to Spain to be a part of that game.

These four will give Juan 20 points to add his his total. Beautiful work, Juan.

From RossM: 28mm Mycenaean Slingers (30 points)

2012-01-21T13:07:00.005-06:00

Ross sends in these excellent Mycenaean slingers which are new additions to his Ancients collection.

These are 28mm castings from Redoubt Miniatures.

Ross has done some really nice groundwork with these lads.

Ross tells me he quite likes the models but says the faces can be a little dodgy at times. I think he did a great job with the shading and highlighting of the flesh tones (not much for lace, cuffs and turnbacks here!).

These six will give Ross 30 points for the Challenge. Next from Ross will be archers and light infantry so stay tuned for those.

Well done, Ross its great to have you aboard for The Challenge!

From TimB: 28mm Norman Infantry (82 points)

2012-01-21T10:50:00.003-06:00

Continuing on from his previous submission Tim has here another Norman contingent., this time twelve spearmen and two crossbowmen.

These 28mm castings are from the Crusader Miniature range.

Lovely work on the shields and banner, Tim. Bravo!

Tim nets a base of 70 points with these lads, but I'm going to award him another 12 for the painted shields and banner. Very nice, Tim!

From FranL: 20mm WWII Soviets Infantry (128 points)

2012-01-21T02:39:00.002-06:00

Fran sends in his 3rd Soviet infantry platoon of thirty-two figures.

This great batch are from the 20mm Plastic Soldier Company.

I'm really taking to this PSC stuff as they seem to have a lot of varied poses and interesting animation.

As I mentioned in one of his previous entries I quite like how Fran's inking worked with the olive uniforms.

This group will give Fran 128 points. Very nice and well done! You're climbing up the ladder and Ray is in sight!

From DaveD: "I'm with the Band" 25mm Napoleonic French Cuirassier Regimental Band (180 points)

2012-01-20T18:10:00.001-06:00

Dave sends in this marvellously quirky yet very cool entry depicting the regimental band of the 1er Regiment de Cuirassiers.

These are 25mm models sourced from Mirliton in Italy. If you enjoy historical vignettes I recommend you check these guys out as they have some very unique kits in their stocklist.

Dave worked with the kettle-drummer so his arms were better posed. Lovely stuff. The painting of the crestwork is brilliant as well.

These seventeen musicians will give Dave 170 points, but I'm going to place it at 180 for the uniqueness and the detail work on the kettle-drummer. Beautiful work, Dave!

From KentG: 28mm Normans (385 points)

2012-01-20T09:19:00.002-06:00

Kent sends in this excellent later-period Norman force composed of both cavalry and infantry. First up is a nice large unit of twenty-one armoured cavalry.

Again, Kent does some beautiful free-hand painting on the shields - bravo!

One of these fellows was painted prior to the challenge and so cannot be counted for scoring.

Next is a unit of twenty-two normans on foot (including one monk). One of these figures pre-dates the Challenge and so will not count for scoring.

Finally we have another unit of eight norman cavalry, but these are men-at-arms in lighter padded armour.

All of the figures are from Black Tree, except the monk which is a Perry casting. This impressive group will net-in 385 points for Kent. Very impressive work, well done!

From TimB: 28mm Norman Crossbowmen (50 points)

2012-01-18T23:15:00.000-06:00

These very fine Norman crossbowmen come from Tim who is back to painting after being away working on other related projects.

These castings are from the excellent 28mm Crusader Miniatures range.

These are the vanguard of what will be more Normans to come so stay tuned. These lads will give Tim 50 points to add to his total. Nice work!