The Gauntlet Dropped - The 2nd Annual Winter Painting Challenge

Sigh. He's back again. That spiteful, hateful, nasty git: Old Man Winter. 

Bugger. Him. 

Here in Saskatchewan the temperature is now well below freezing, the trees are bare, the ice is on the roads and I can categorically say I don't want to hear A SINGLE WORD from my sun-kissed compatriots near or below the equator about their warm weather. I hate you all (but of course in a benign, friendly way).

Oh well, the upswing is that it forces me to slow down and spend more time indoors, which in turn gives me more time for my hobbies. So, in order to further encourage industry, camaraderie and a bit of friendly competition I thought I'd issue another Painting Challenge similar to the one last winter.

The Painting Challenge Rules:

'The Analogue Hobbies Winter Painting Challenge' will extend from December 20th to the first day of Spring, midnight March 20th.


Those wishing to participate are to contact me via this blog.


As opposed to the previous Challenge, which was exclusively Napoleonic, I thought it would be interesting to broaden the Challenge to include ANY HISTORICAL wargames figures.


The Scoring:

• 5 points per 25/28mm foot figure 
• 10 points per per 25/28mm mounted figure 
• 10 points per 25/28mm artillery piece or limber model 
• 4 points per 20mm foot or unmounted horse figure 
• 8 points per 20mm mounted figure 
• 8 points per 20mm artillery piece or limber model 
• 3 points per 15mm foot or unmounted horse figure 
• 6 points per 15mm mounted figure 
• 6 points per 15mm artillery piece or limber model 
• Vehicles will be scored on a model-to-model basis 
• We'll keep it to figures/models only - so no terrain, sorry! 

(Other scales/models points value will be determined by The Judge)

Figures can be primed prior to the start date (Dec 20th) but no colour can have been applied until the start date. In order to be scored the figures have to be based and any groundwork completed. The figures have to be painted by you. The honour system will be followed in relation to the completion and entry of figures to the Challenge. Woe goes upon the head of anyone who besmirches themselves in the painting of toy soldiers!

On top of general bragging rights, smack talk, etc. prizes will be awarded for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. (Prizes will be gift vouchers (or their equivalent) from a wonderful online hobby store.)


In order to be scored, photos of the completed figures/units are required to be submitted to me (The Judge) for posting here on the Analogue Hobbies blog. Updated scoring for 'The Challenge' will also be tracked on this blog.


The Judge (me) will participate in the competition but will not 'place' as a scoring competitor (i.e. no prizes for me).

But, you see, I have a cunning plan...

There is ONE condition to your participation to The Challenge. To be counted as one of the vaunted members of this august enterprise you will be required to paint one Viking figure for my collection. I will send out a figure to you with a self-addressed return enclosure. It will count as 10 points towards your score but it has to be submitted back to me before the end of the Challenge.


This way I get both a momento of the Challenge, and, in a sense, all the participants will form part of my Viking warband. Now, how neat is that!


So, there you have it. If you're interested please drop me a note. I hope you take up my challenge and join me in getting a bunch of stuff done over the coming winter months!


Warm Wishes,


Curt

Product Snapshot: 'Architects of War' Resin Tree Bases

Earlier this year I picked up eight of these resin tree bases from Architects of War (amongst other assorted stuff) and managed to take some time this past week to get them done up. 

I got these as part of a larger online deal of which I've finished the Garden and the Plowed Field. I still have a whack of other models from them to do, but one thing at a time, eh?

Like the rest of the Architects of War products I've worked with, these resin tree bases are very well made - they're very sturdy, have no warping and possess excellent detail. It was just a matter of blocking in the colours, drybrushing, adding a little groundwork, glueing in the 'Woodland Scenic' trees to the matching sockets and they were done. Highly recommended.

I also made up a bunch of single trees mounted onto large fender washers to act as 'filler' foliation between these bases. In addition, I think I'm going to make up some large chamfered/flocked MDF bases to set these on. That way when figures move into the woods then the trees can be freely moved around to accomodate and the larger MDF base will indicate the limits of the treeline.

From the Lead Archive: Chasseur a Cheval de la Garde Imperiale - 28mm Foundry Painted by Brian Homenick

Whenever I think that my painting skills may be improving I pull this old chestnut out from my display cabinet to get a reality check. This Chasseur a Cheval officer of the Imperial Guard was given to me as a gift about 15 years ago by my friend Brian Homenick (of Vaubanner Graphics), who is, as you can plainly see, a phenomenal painter. 

This is a venerable 28mm Wargames Foundry casting, sculpted by Alan Perry, which still holds its own amongst the best out there today. The pose is taken from the famous painting by Theodore Gericault titled "The Charging Chasseur" which was first exhibited in 1812 and can be viewed today at the Louvre (see above).

I remember Brian giving me the model in an almost nonchalant manner, just a slight smile and a shrug. Almost like, "I thought I'd give this one a whirl, and well, here you go." Awesome.

A few years ago, when I was living in Ontario, I met up with another good friend, Dallas (another venerable member of the Fawcett Ave Conscripts), to check out a Games Workshop's 'Games Day' event in Toronto. It was pretty cool as the energy level from all the kids was completely off the hook, but the real reason I was excited to go was because the Perry twins were in attendance to show off their latest work for GW and visit with the geeks. I duly stood in line with what seemed to be a battalion of pimply teens and managed to chat with the both of them for a few minutes. During this time I pulled out a few of my favourite Napoleonic models of their design and asked them to sign the bases for me. Of course Brian's Chasseur was one of these and Alan Perry was kind enough to oblige. 

I remember we all thought it pretty funny being at an event which showcases EVERYTHING Warhammer and here we were gabbing on about Napoleonics. I came away completely stoked and I remember Sarah nodding and smiling indulgently as I described by field trip and the cool 'autographs' I received. Yep, complete nerdgasm.

Anyway, there you go. The Chasseur remains a prized gift and a constant source of inspiration. Thanks Brian!

Note: Brian also painted for me the complete set of Foundry's dismounted Napoleon, Marshals and staff (its the one with Napoleon seated with his boot on a drum). As you can imagine its a real treat and I'll post it up in the future.

A New Madness - 1:1 scale ACW in 3mm

First, sorry for posting stuff that is unfinished but I just received these in the mail and I wanted to take a few shots and write a few lines about them. If you look above you'll see a 400-man American Civil War regiment, in 3mm, arrayed in line at 1:1 scale. I know I'm as mad as a March hare but I find the look of this amazing. Ever since I've been gaming with miniatures I've always wanted to see 19th century formations as they would have actually been deployed in the field and with these 3mm castings it can effectively be done. 

Even on a largish 5x8 table these units will be huge. This regiment in line takes up approximately 45 cm (18"), so a brigade-level action is about the limit, I think. Nonetheless, the good news is that with gaming the American Civil War there were many engagements fought at this lower level. 

These 3mm castings are from PicoArmour which I believe sources their stock from Oddzial Osmy in Poland. While barely discernable, these little guys actually do look like ACW infantry, cavalry and artillery. Of course these models are meant to be seen in a mass, not as individuals, and in this I think they are a great success. 

When you look at this unit you can really appreciate how hard it must have been to keep any level of command and control over these formations. Just think that this is an 'average-sized' battle-worn regiment. Some of the green Federal formations, fresh from the recruiting depots, would have easily been twice this size. In looking at this I can understand why good NCO's and junior officers were so highly valued as the Colonel would have only a limited effect in the center of these strung-out formations - especially if you compounded the problem with the sound and chaos of battle.

Each 20mm 'strip' has 8 figures and so my 'My Mad Plan' is to set four of them up in two ranks on 20(d) x 40(w) bases. This way a standard-sized ACW regiment of 400 men will require about 12 bases (48 strips).  A pack of 15 strips only costs around $4.00 so this project is as cheap as chips. I picked up enough to do (in 1:1 scale) two brigades of infantry, a couple regiments of cavalry, horse holders, officers/flunkies and two artillery batteries. I know, its pretty esoteric but it should look neat on the table. I'll follow-up when I get a unit painted and based. Ah, another project to add to the list...

Dystopian Wars - Prussian Sky Fortress 'Ziethen'

Here's another update to my Dystopian Wars diversion, a Prussian 'Sky Fortress' which I've christened as the 'Ziethen'.

It only follows sensible reasoning that if Zeppelins are cool, and Steampunk is cool, then a Tesla-armed Zeppelin with an airfield on top must be the total cat's pyjamas. Actually, it was this model alone that sold me on the whole Dystopian Wars venture.

I really wanted to put a set of huge Maltese crosses on this bad boy so I poached a few decals from a 1/72 Albatross kit.

You'll have to excuse my arty 'cloud' composition but I was having a bit of fun with the pillow ticking...

Here we see the 'Ziethen' as she steams amongst the clouds, her lederhosen-wearing crew listening to 8-hour operas, reading Goethe and debating where they should land for Oktoberfest.

Coming Soon: We will return to our regular programming with some new Napoleonic Russians! (The first of what I'm sure will be many posts were I publicly shame Sylvain in his glacial progress with his own Napoleonic-Russo 'painting commitments'.)