From StefanK: 28mm Viking Berserkers & Herdmen (41 points)

From Stefan:

Besides my other project I'm mustering a force of Vikings for Saga. Lately I finished a squad of four Berserker that will set free ferocious havoc on the battlefield hopefully.

The miniatures are by Gripping Beast and belong to their nice range of Saga figures. Although some of their figures are slightly old-fashioned these berserkers stick out a bit. They are very dynamic and with the wolf hides over their shoulders they look really fierce. Only their hands are a bit tricky because the weapons have to be glued inside. On the one hand that seems a bit uniform but on the other hand it offers the chance to equip the guys individually. So I chose to substitute the leaden spears with steel ones. 

Very exciting to paint were the faces of the figures. They've been sculpted with a lot of expression and fine detail in them. So it wasn't too hard to work out the eyes, the beards their hair. The clothes - if present at all - were rather plain so for the gifted painter they present lots of space for freehand sketches. Although I wouldn't count me to this illustrious category I'm really pleased with the striped trousers. The result really encourages me to try more patterns like this from now on.

Simultaneously to the Bersekers I was working on a unit of Hirdmen for Saga.

The miniatures are by Gripping Beast and belong to their nice range of Saga figures. Actually I like them a lot although the sculpts are slightly old-fashioned. They are very dynamic and have excellently detailed faces. Their hands are a bit tricky because the weapons have to be glued inside. On the one hand that seems a bit unfirm but on the other hand it offers the chance to equip the guys individually. As Hirdmen they are kind of elite warriors and so I wanted to have them different from the Bondi with spears so I gave them swords and a two-handed axe.

 

Very exciting to paint were the faces of the figures. They've been sculpted with a lot of expression and fine detail in them. So it wasn't too hard to work out the eyes, the beards their hair. The tunics are rather plain so for the gifted painter they present lots of space for freehand sketches. I didn’t dare to experiment too much there so I left it at some careful braids in contrasting colours. The result really encourages me to try more patterns from now on.

As usual I painted the figures with Vallejo Model Colours and shaded them with Armypainter Quickshade (Dark Tone). The fine artworks on the shield are decals from Stephen Hales' Little Big Men Studios. For the bases I used my habitual combination of sand, static grass and tufts.

Lovely work here Stefan.  You've done a wonderful job on reflecting the varied nature of the clothes, shields (hides!) and equipment of these fierce fellows. I really like most Gripping Beast sculpts but I have to say I'm not a big fan of their open handed design. The weapons don't easily sit well within the fists and are always at risk of being broken off during play. I often resort to puttying them close to give them a better chance of tabletop survivability.

These eight Vikings will give Stefan 41 points, with an extra pip for the excellent striped trews on the one fashionable shield-biter.

From BenG: 20mm Roman and Goth Infantry (68 points)

From Ben:

Well, I'm back at work after having all January off and my hobby time is somewhat limited these days! 

These will probably be my last entries unless I can get the British Light Dragoons, which I've been slowly working on, finished in time. 

The Romans are by Miniart with a couple sporting head replacements from the Italeri set. You can probably tell the conversions as they're the ones whose facial features you can actually see!

The Goths are from the Strelets ancient German set.

One more stand of Goths, and I'll be able to pit the two sides against each other to see how the rules handle, then I'll just have to do a couple more skirmish and cavalry stands and I'll be ready to host a proper table-top stoush late antiquity-style!

Excellent work Ben! I'm anxious to see the two forces meet and the rules to be blooded. Please send along a note and a pic when this great event hits the tabletop.

These Romans and Goths will give Ben 68 points which includes a bit extra for the conversions, tartans and shields. This will give him enough to exceed his Challenge target of 600 points. Congratulations Ben and well done!

From MilesR: 1:1 Scale Hobby Stool (-1 point)

Okay, someone needs a hobby...

From Miles: 

I’d like to submit the following hobby project for the painting challenge - it’s a 1829mm scale model of a real hobby stool. This unit is also referred to as a drafting chair in some of the earlier Osprey books. I found this project to be a nice change of pace but it did take some time to adjust to working in a larger scale. 

As you can see the model comes in 28 parts and requires some skill to assemble. I wish kit manufactures would do a better job of including instructions with these models. I had a hard time trying to figure out how to configure the chair for the 1942 US Pacific theater look I was hoping to simulate.

Here’s a picture of the completed and paired model. I’m not that happy with the camo pattern on the seat and will likely modify it with random colors over the next few years of use. I wish I had the color version of the US Pacific Theater Fast Attack Office Furniture, 1942-43 to get the camo down right. It would be great if one of the Challenge participants could lend me a copy.

Lastly, here’s a picture of the fully based model. I elected to go with a hobby themed vignette to give the viewer the impression of the chair in action. The most difficult aspect of this whole project was simulating the hobby clutter on top of the workbench. It’s harder than one might think.

A more detailed report on the project can be found on my blog. :)

Hmm, the term 'stool' seems to have more than a fleeting association with this entry...  :oP

Okay, now I want to see the 1:1 scale replica of a hobbyist working on a project. Perhaps he could be animatronic, vaguely representing motion, vigour and life. I know, I know, too much to ask...

-1 point for you Mr Reidy. Now, you're at a nicely digestible 25 points for your run-in to your target. Cheeky bugger (speaking of which, I think I see some Miles-shaped indentations in the seat above...).   ;)  

Postscript: Happy Birthday Miles! 

From FrancisL: 28mm Zombicide Horde and Heroes (360 points)

Our Irish lad from Gravesend has not been idle...

From Fran:

This is the complete of miniatures you get with the boardgame Zombicide, 71 plastic miniatures: 6 heroes, 8 fatties, 1 abomination and 56 various breeds of slim zombies. A present from a friend and as miniatures were low I decided to paint the feckers...

First up, above, we have the full set of miniatures...

Here are the 6 characters, 2 I'm not so keen on are roller skate girl and the samurai sword wielding teen but the other characters are fine...

The fatties are next but do remind me of Buster Bloodvessel from the band "Bad Manners"...

Now this is an Abomination and a real beauty and was my favourite from the box...

Now we have some pictures of the main bunch of 56 zombies, 8 each of 7 different poses, now these buggers were a bit of a pain due to all the same poses and then trying to paint every single one differently...

Started to worry about which colour went with which, does green go with pink?

That initial enthusiasm started to wane a little and then we started improvising, cutting and drilling...

Buckets of blood were also used but all in all not a bad bunch of figures or sculpts and another box of 24 infected zombies have turned up on my doorstep and may make the end of the challenge...

...and maybe even a game or two? 

Holy smokes that is a lot of minis Fran - well done! I was asleep at the switch when this Kickstarter launched and now, after seeing the excellent work of yourself and Paul, I will have to bite the bullet and pick it up with the rest of the great unwashed. 

This fine horde of zombies and coterie of heroes will give Francis an impressive 360 points - enough for him to handily punch through his second Challenge goal of 1250 points. Cracking job Mr. Lee!

BTW I would really like to see a game of this posted at your place or Postie's... Just sayin'.

From JaccoK: 28mm AWI 'Light Horse Harry Lee's Legion' (90 points)

Jacco answers Rob's challenge and so submits these excellent dismounted AWI cavalrymen.

From Jacco:

28mm Perry Miniatures Lee’s Legion for the American War of Independence. There are 18 of them.

I have chosen to paint them as dismount dragoons. Lucky for me the Perry’s just released the mounted version of these guys.

Wonderful work Jacco! I really like the contrast between their buff riding breeches and the green of their coats - very smart. I hope we will see some of the mounted versions from you before the Challenge ends. 

These dismounted troopers of Light Horse Harry Lee will give Jacco 90 points. Great work and well done on getting Rob back into your sights. 

From BurkhardS: 28mm WWII British Universal Carriers with Crew (110 points)

From Burkhard:

After painting a lot of infantry for my poor bloody infantry, I felt they needed some transports to make sure they would not be so foot sore. So here are some Universal carriers for them. All the models are from Tamiyas 1:48th scale range. The tracks, tanks and flamethrower for the Wasp Carrier are from Gasoline. Now I really like these models. Very nicely detailed, robust (our dog stole one while drying and chewed on it without any damage that could not be repaired within 5 minutes) and completely accurate. And there was a time when you could get these off eBay dead cheap. 

I had some fun weathering them. So far I have mostly worked with just some basic airbrush work on my WWII tanks, but I wanted to go a different route on my Brits. So these were primed with Vallejos Bronze Green primer applied with an airbrush. Up next I slapped decals (these came with the kits), sealed with Solvaset. Again the markings are for the South Lancs to match the Infantry. Afterwards I went for a wash of Dirtbrown by Modelmates. 

This was only to be a test since I had never used them, but I was impressed with the results. Now you do not only apply this wash, but it is meant to be partly removed again in a second step. Hard to explain, but in the end you get a nice color variation in the large areas and shadows in the recesses and near the corners. The next step was a first for me as well, as I did highlight everything with Faded Allied Green pigments from MIG. Never did that before, but it was great. The end result after the wash had been darker than what I wanted, but the pigments took it right where I had hoped for. Marvelous! Up next a coat of varnish, painting of details and another weathering with artists pigments to dirty them up. Crew added and another coat of varnish and they were done.

Now the mini are from Victory Force. James has always believed in his range to be compatible with scale models on the market. So when a couple of customers asked for crews for Tamiya's Universal Carriers he sculpted them. (I can claim some credit, since I donated one of my assembled Carriers so he had the measurements.) And he did a great job, providing minis that really fit the models. 

They even fit the cramped passenger compartment. Just not on all my Carriers, since I had been stupid enough to stuff two of them to the rim with ammo crates. so one one of them, the passenger actually has to ride said ammo boxes and is sitting higher. ;-)

Wow, you've done a beautiful job on these carriers Burkhard. I've always been a big fan of using larger 1:50 and 1:48 scale vehicles with  28mm figures. The vehicles just seem to have that much more presence and impact on the tabletop than the 'standard' 1:56 scale offerings. You've also done a brilliant job on the carrier's crew, the little details like their shoulder flashes are a great finishing touch. 

These five Universal Carriers and their crews will give Burkhard 110 points. A wonderful group of models, bravo!

From ReneV: 28mm WWII American Infantry Platoon & Sherman Tank (172 points)

From Rene:

I have outdone myself with yet another entry. This time the Infantry Platoon component of my US forces for Chain of Command.

The figures are a mix but mainly Wargames Factory plastics with the addition of a Renegade model. Sherman support option is from Warlord.

All in all a mediocre paintjob and I must admit that the pictures are taken a bit too close for comfort. They do look better in real life when viewed from playing distance.

The way I have painted these are not what you would call advertisement quality, but decent gaming quality which at the moment is enough for me so I can get troops on the table and play a game.

All in all they are a medic, a 3-man engineer team and Adjudant (more a game marker than a figure on the table hence the GW base) together with a Sherman M4 (75mm gun) and a large part of an infantry platoon.

I think you're being too hard on yourself Rene as these look very good. The infantry's uniforms look spot on and I particularly like the weathering on the Sherman. 

This platoon with it's armoured support will give Rene 172 points. Great job!

From ClintB: Warmachine Crxy BoneJack 'Defiler' (12 points)

From Clint:

"Warmachine BoneJack Defiler"

The Crxy Warjacks and bone jacks are not as robust as many of the other factions. Being Part Pirate, part robot, part undead and part magic I wanted it to look like it had been neglected and abused and finally crawling chicken like from the swamp. The defiler Bone jack is actually a light assault robot and while it is not too good in melee it is armed with a 'sludge gun' which sounds pretty unpleasant if you ask me.

It has taken me a couple of years to finally get around to painting, but now that I have I must admit I did like the challenge. All my club members have moved on from playing Warmachine now, but I still have a few more bits and bobs to do before I can field enough of a force to put up any kind of fight. I guess the morale of this story is I need to paint faster! Oh well too late! But at least I am happy with it.

That's a very cool mini Clint! I really like the rust effect on the BoneJack's armour but I must say I'm quite taken by that toxic pool it's striding through - how did you achieve that? Very nice work.

This fellow will give Clint 12 points.