For Fathers Day: 'I betcha my dad can beat up your dad...'

Just a small update this week. This time we have a VERY large Deep One who has come ashore to remind his Innsmouth brethren of the eldritch power of Father Dagon (and pick up a few groceries for the missus).

This big fella is from Uncle Mike's 'Strange Aeons' range of figures. A very nice lump of resin that went together without a hitch and was a pleasure to work with. 

The other Deep One hybrids are from Brigade Games which I did a post a few years ago which you can see here if you like.

Thanks for dropping by folks! I hope you have a great week - enjoy Father's Day next weekend.

Next Up: Some Bad Boys from Bern.

My 10th and Last Entry to the Lead Painters' League - Belgian Refugees, August 1914

The final round of the 8th Lead Painters' League asked the participants for submissions focused on the Great War. With this in mind, I decided to once again draw upon a previous entry to the Challenge, this time a group of greyscale Belgian refugees. The only real change I made from the original composition (but an important one, I think) is my respectful nod to the haunting 'Little Girl in the Red Coat' from Spielberg's Schindler's List. These civilians are welcome additions to my WWI greyscale project.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that the plight of the refugee has existed as long as war itself. The terror of impeding violence, the disruption of livelihood, the dissolution of security and the mortal risk to loved ones - these are all things that are clearly seen on the face of every refugee no matter their religion, colour, nationality or time in history.

The German destruction of the Belgian city of Louvain in August of 1914 is noted for contributing to the world's condemnation of the Central Powers' cause and pursuit of war. For five consecutive days the city was indiscriminately burnt and looted. Its famous library, housing one of the largest and most impressive collection of ancient manuscripts, was burnt and destroyed, as was Louvain's university. The church of St. Pierre was also badly damaged by fire. The citizenry of Louvain were subject to rape, robbery and beatings, but the most tragic was the mass shootings of hundreds of innocents regardless of age or gender. As Sir Edward Grey solemnly remarked upon the outbreak of  hostilities that summer, 'The lamps are going out all over Europe, we shall not see them lit again in our life-time.'

So in these images I have tried to compose a plausible scene that would occur during those first few weeks of 1914. Seen here is a column of Belgian refugees fleeing the German advance while their hastily raised countrymen march to the front to attempt to stem the tide. 

The civilian figures are mostly new castings from Brigade Models' excellent range of Great War Belgians. The old couple with the wheelbarrow and dog are from Kawe's Westfalia Miniatures (meant for the Napoleonic period, but I find that they work quite well 100 years later). The cobblestones are hand painted, both on the figures' bases and the nylon roadway (being too cheap and lazy to get proper cobbled bases/roads). The others are older models from my collection, mostly Great War Miniatures, Brigade Models and the Minerva armoured car is (I believe) from 1st Corps. The buildings are from Kobblestone Miniatures.

Gripes about its format/rules aside, the LPL has become a much anticipated event in my hobby calendar. With it falling just after the hustle and bustle of the Challenge, I find it's a great way to get some of my own stuff done while enjoying what other participants come up with during each week's match-up.

Next up: Paris (really, I promise)!

From PeterD: 28mm War of 1812 British Artillery & Command Stands (125 points)

From Peter:

I've got a bunch of odd bits that I've worked on over the challenge that I am submitting as one War of 1812 smorgasbord.  The enclosed pictures are of

• 9 Royal artillery gunners using the Victrix plastic set.  I like the Victrix artillery set, but am going off the Victrix experience as a whole.  The unit of infantry that I'm finishing off was a real bugger to assemble and paint.

• 2 Victrix 6 pounders from the plastic box set.  They went together ok, but a tad fiddly.  

• 2 metal naval guns from Brigade Hobbies picked up at the same time as the Meese.  I believe that these are an 18lber and a 12lber.  From what I can tell, fortress guns in North America often came on naval carriages (that is certainly the case at Louisbourg). 

• A US command stand including a General and a Light Dragoon escort (both on horseback).  These are modified from the Perry French Dragoon set.  The general has his lapels trimmed off and a Victrix infantry officer head.  The dragoon was modified as with my earlier unit of the 2nd Light Dragoons.  I really like the plastic dragoon set.

• A British command stand including a General and an Aide-de-camp from the Canadian Fencibles Regiment.  Again, these started life as French Dragoons.  I trimmed the lapels down but not off to represent the British officers' coat which frequently had a triangle of coloured lapel showing.  The general's head came from the Perry British infantry box and his aide de camp sports a Brigade Hobbies round hat (the ex-Victrix Royal Marine Hats).  The round hat was apparently the very height of fashion with the beaux sabres on the Niagara in 1813.  Much like the Dukes of Hazard hair and moustache in 1990s Biloxi I imagine. 

For the artillery, I opted to mount the gunners on one base and the pieces on a separate base so that I could switch the weaponry around to suit.  

I've had a good laugh at your CSA uniform.  In solidarity with your coming out, I enclose another entry in the "dumb looks from the past while in uniform" challenge. The year is I think 1976, my scout troop was one of the few to wear kilts, and yes that was a lot of hair.  

The only good thing is that given what was fashionable at the time, this picture would likely be more embarrassing if I was wearing pants.

That picture of you is wonderfully dorktastic so I heartily welcome you to the club, congratulations! I must say I get a bit of vertigo looking at the photo as you're pretty much upright but that building in the background looks like it's in the midst of a crash dive or being slowly dragged away by a Cthonian (who must be just off camera).

Great work on the artillery and command stands. I quite like those naval guns on their deck carriages. I can't imagine how difficult it would be to manoeuvre one of those monstrous things in uneven terrain. I have a box of the Victrix guns in the wings and I'm looking forward to giving them a go after seeing yours.

These guns, their crew and the mounted officers will give Peter 125 points. Well done!

Announcing the 5th Theme Bonus Round: 'Casualty or Casualties' & Curt's Great War Belgian Refugees

For the 5th Fortnight Thematic Bonus Round I asked the participants to compose and paint a figure or set of figures illustrating a 'casualty' or group of casualties. Admittedly it's a grim theme, but I think it's one that bears exploring. In the gallery, which you can find here, you will see many creative entries that illustrate this sobering topic. 

For my own part I decided to return to my greyscale Great War project in order to attempt a perspective to the 'casualty' theme: the refugee. 

It would not be an exaggeration to say that the plight of the refugee has existed as long as war itself. The terror of impeding violence, the disruption of livelihood, the dissolution of security and the mortal risk to loved ones - these are all things that are clearly seen on the face of every refugee no matter their religion, colour, nationality or time in history.

The German destruction of the Belgian city of Louvain in August of 1914 is noted for contributing to the world's condemnation of the Central Powers' cause and pursuit of war. For five consecutive days the city was indiscriminately burnt and looted. Its famous library, housing one of the largest and most impressive collection of ancient manuscripts, was burnt and destroyed, as was Louvain's university. The church of St. Pierre was also badly damaged by fire. The citizenry of Louvain were subject to rape, robbery and beatings, but the most tragic was the mass shootings of hundreds of innocents regardless of age or gender. As Sir Edward Grey solemnly remarked upon the outbreak of  hostilities that summer, 'The lamps are going out all over Europe, we shall not see them lit again in our life-time.'

So in these images I have tried to compose a plausible scene that would occur during those first few weeks of 1914. Seen here is a column of Belgian refugees fleeing the German advance while their hastily raised countrymen march to the front to attempt to stem the tide. 

The civilian figures are mostly new castings from Brigade Models' excellent range of Great War Belgians. The old couple with the wheelbarrow and dog are from Kawe's Westfalia Miniatures (meant for the Napoleonic period, but I find that they work quite well 100 years later). The cobblestones are hand painted, both on the figures' bases and the nylon roadway (being too cheap and lazy to get proper cobbled bases/roads). The others are older models from my collection, mostly Great War Miniatures, Brigade Models and the Minerva armoured car is (I believe) from 1st Corps. The buildings are from Kobblestone Miniatures.

...a matter of tone: same scene with a different camera with different settings...

So, please check out the gallery of all the Challengers' submissions, and remember to vote for your favourite entries. I'm using a paid service, Survey Monkey, for the voting poll so please visit the sidebar to the right and place your votes for your favourite entries. Remember, you can vote for as many as you wish! And please leave a comment with your kind words and praise - their work deserves it.

From SidneyR: 28mm Great War French Poilu (90 points)

Sidney treats us to a taste of his upcoming Great War project which focuses on the gruelling Battle of Verdun.

From Sidney:

Here’s my first non-themed submission for the challenge, painted in the odd times and spaces during the frantic Holiday season!  

There’s twenty-one standing and one prone (wounded) late war Poilu, all from Brigade Games in 28mm.  They’re depicted in the M2 gas-mask, used from late 1915 onwards.  I painted the figures using the painting tables for late war French infantry posted on my blog.  I was glad I’d posted that table, because when I came to painting some of the aspects of the figures like gas masks and rifles, I’d completely forgotten which paints I’d used before!

I converted the basic infantry figures to gas-masked infantry way back in the Autumn, so it has been a relief to finally get this demi-platoon to the painting table.

The basing is a mixture of plain, Autumn woods and more built-up/village (with fallen bricks and masonry).  I thought about going all wooded (lots of Autumn colour), and may try this with the next submission.

Beautiful work Sidney. I've always found your Great War collection very inspirational and these do not disappoint. I think you've done a very nice job on the French 'horizon blue/grey' and your gasmask modification has been brilliantly executed. Bravo!

Being a perfect gentleman Sidney approached me before the Challenge and asked whether he could submit a few figures that were a little more advanced beyond primer. I took a look at his preproduction photos and so have adjusted the points awarded accordingly. This wonderful demi-platoon of French Poilu will give Sidney 90 points to add to his tally. Well done Mr. Roundwood! :)

From JuanM: 28mm Spanish Gladiator & British-Crewed Breda (32 points)

Juan, a veteran Challenger, joins us and submits these two fine entries for his debut this year.

Here are my first entries to The Challenge.

The first one is a 28mm gladiator, a 'Hoplomachius', from Brigade Games. This is a fantastic figure from Paul Hicks, the first one for another project I want to begin with my club´s mates. So here is 'Viriato', an Spanish gladiator. It has been a true pleasure to paint him.

The second one is a 28mm Italian Breda AA gun with British crew. This model is from Offensive Miniatures, a very nice one that I expect to use in my games of "Chain of Command", in scenarios based in the Dodecanese Campaing; for that reason, the crew are from the RAF Regiment.

Beautiful work Juan. You've such a smooth style with the brush, it's always a pleasure to see your work.

These two subjects, separated only by around 2000 years, will give Juan 32 points (including a bit extra for the great arid basework on the Breda). Welcome back Juan!

The Great War in Greyscale: Belgian HMG Team (15 points)

Some of the first figures I painted for this WWI project was a poignant set of castings depicting a Belgian HMG team drawing their weapon and ammunition using dog carts. I've had the deployed version of the team set aside for a few months now and so when the prospect of a game for the guys in Winnipeg came on the horizon I thought it'd be the perfect reason to finally get it done.

These are 28mm castings from Brigade Models. Very clean sculpts if a little anachronistic in the facial bone structure. I decided to have the team deployed behind the body of a horse, something I'm sure that occurred many times in those early weeks of the war, when cover was at a premium and cavalry was used quite extensively, with the horses tragically being run ragged or shot to pieces.

Taking into account the dead horse, gun and other little bits-and-bobs I'm going to give myself 15 points for this set.

From IanH: 28mm Pulp Adventure Models (120 points)

From Ian:

My first 4 entries once again stretch the gap between scenery and miniatures, in this case it's a pair of lovable and usually lost or stolen donkeys and some poor unfortunates which have come to a sticky end, these are all Plot Point Markers for one of the Pulp rulesets I use "Pulp Alley". The 2 dead guys are from the bits box, just spare perry miniatures and a little time with some putty and the 2 Donkeys are from Irregular miniatures I believe  picked them up at a show recently.

Next up is another repainted Matchbox Model of Yesteryear, this one is marked as a Ford AA Truck. I picked up this as it looked a bit more like an adventurers truck than some of my others and the canvas rear is removable to create more of a flatbed. A really nicely scaled model which looks great against 28mm miniatures. 

My next batch is a group of 8 North African/Indian Tribesmen, made from the wonderful Perry Ansar. My brother already has a load of these in the usual desert colours and I fancied something different for mine, after trawling the web for inspiration I hit across a load of shots of some desert tribes people apparently in Tunisia and I just had to capture the vibrant blues they wore.

Finally I've 10 Merchant Seamen from Brigade Miniatures in the states, these were a post Christmas impulse purchase around the time of the US postage increases and I managed to get them over to the UK for very little, the miniatures are great and full of character. They're armed with a mix of weapons, and will serve as everything from Boat crew to dockside ruffians. 

Looks like in my enthusiasm for the competition that I've purchased a few too many miniatures recently so I'll still have plenty left for next year. 

Beautiful work here Ian!  I agree that those Matchbox 'Yesteryear' vehicles are excellent (I've bought waaay too many on eBay). I love the shading on the donkeys, the Ansars look great in their vibrant blue robes  and that ship's crew look the business. Lovely stuff.

This collection of Pulp Adventure models will give Ian 120 points which places him tantalizingly close to his target. I hope he can push on to breach it.

From Millsy: 28mm Napoleonic KGL Infantry (55 points)

From Millsy:

My next submission is 11 x 28mm King’s German Legion infantry from the Napoleonic Wars. These are Brigade Games miniatures and will be used for skirmish games. Once again these are a commission for a friend and finishes off my efforts in 28mm Napoleonics for now. I’ve never much liked the stovepipe shako, preferring the Belgic style but these have come out well enough.

The background is a painted scene given to me by my mother-in-law as a birthday gift. Its designed specifically for use as a background when taking photos of miniatures. I’m still getting the hang of the lighting with my new setup so to my mind these are not the best pics but they’ll have to do for now at least.

Great work on these KGL lads and what a thoughtful gift from you mother-in-law.  It looks to be a watercolour, did she paint it herself?

These eleven KGL will give Millsy 55 points. Well done!

From ChrisP: 28mm WWII Australian Pacific Theater Infantry (210 points)

Here is another big entry from one of our points leaders. Chris sends in this impressive force of WWII Pacific Theater Australians.

From Chris:

So, some more stuff from me. This time it is half a platoon of 28mm Australians in the Pacific War. The Australians fought in Africa in the Second World War, most famously holding Tobruk and the right flank at Alamein (doing very well both times), before being redeployed to the Pacific to counter the Japanese advance into Papua.

In the Pacific theatre, the Australians fought bravely against the impossible conditions and the tenacious enemy, battles over the Kokoda track have become legendary for the Australians.

These guys are from a bit later on in the conflict, due to their heavier weapons in the form of Owen SMGs, Bren Guns (rather than a Lewis) and the bush hats! It is an interesting historical argument about the famous Australian slouch hat. Certainly in Africa, the Australians only wore their slouch hats when in the rear, they knew full well how good a helmet was! But in the pacific war, the large tin hat often rattled, fell off or generally made a whole host of annoying noises which would give their position away. So much so, that (from what I have read/researched) that they often wore the slouch hat rather than the helment. Historical arguments aside, the slouch hat is just cool!

These miniatures come primarily from Brigade Games, and are not too bad- some had very frustrating mould lines (and on the photos I see I missed some. Sigh), but overall have good quality of kit etc, so I am happy. A few others come from Artizan and the Boys ATR is from Warlord Games' Chindits range.

On to the troops- First up is the HQ, of an officer (looking dapper in his brown kit), a rifleman and the Radio Operator.

The next is a Combat Medic, with a sculpted armband mainly so that I could tell him apart on the gaming table! He still has a side arm, the Pacific War could be a savage and brutal affair, where the red cross was not enough to save the medics.

Squad One is 10 diggers, one has a Bren Gun, the forward scout has an Owen SMG and the rest equipped with an Enfield, bayonet attached!

Squad Two is equipped the same as the other squad, Bren, Owen an a lot of pointed steel.

The Third Squad is only a half squad, and come from Artizan not Brigade. The Sgt has a Thompson SMG, along with a Bren Gunner and 3 Riflemen. Artizan do have some very blocky faces....

A sniper and his spotter.

First up for the support units is a 2" Light Mortar team, capable of putting fire quickly on target, used to knock out bunkers or strongpoints, as well as being able to fire smoke rounds to cover advances or retreats. The mortar was still very useful, even in the jungle, but these two still have an enfield at the ready!

A Vickers HMG team of 3 men is part of the support for the force. Watercooled, with a high rate of fire, the Vickers was essential in defeating the wave attacks that the Japanese used in the later parts of the conflict. The HMG team comes from Brigade Games, the third member of the team is from Artizan, and has a Thompson SMG.

Light Anti-Tank Support comes in the form of a Boys Anti-Tank Rifle. Woefully inadequate against the Germans, the Boys was however a match for the lightly armoured Japanese tanks. When push came to shove, the Boys was also pressed into use as a bunker buster. Boys gunner from Warlord, the A gunner is from Artizan.

Lastly, some heavier Anti-Tank support, in the form of a 2pdr AT Gun. Much like the Boys, the 2pdr was rendered obsolete against the heavily armoured German tanks, but was more than capable of knocking out the Japanese tanks. Plus it looks damn cool!

I agonised about what to do with their bases, ideas of aquarium plants and other such things, but I opted to keep it simple, so that I could show off the models a bit better.

Brilliant stuff Chris! I've always liked the modular look of the 2pdr - a great design. What rules are you using for these? 

These Australians will give Chris 210 points, bypassing James and moving into first place.