From TimB: 28mm WWI Canadian Infantry & WWII German MG Crew (325)

From Tim:

8th Infantry Brigade, 3rd Canadian Division, CEF

The 8th Infantry Brigade was part of the Canadian Expeditionary Force's 3rd Division in the Great War. It consisted of four battalions of "Mounted Rifles" which had been originally been raised in late 1914 as 8 regiments in two brigades. Upon their arrival overseas, however, it became immediately apparent that there would be no role for mounted rifles anytime soon and were thus "dismounted" and amalgamated into four regular infantry battalions. 

These are all to be part of my "Vimy Project" - a megalomaniacal dream to play the entire Canadian Corps' assault on the ridge on the 100th anniversary of the battle in 2017. So far I have done the terrain and miniature for the 4th Division (and the opposing Germans in their sector). This year I am doing the 3rd Division and terrain for it's section of the line (and the Germans opposite). Next year will be the 2nd Division and in 2016 I'll finish up the 1st Division - so I'll have the entire Corps (and terrain... and Germans...) ready for early 2017. 

The entire Fourth Division was made of miniatures I modelled, cast and (of course) painted myself. Later, I got the idea in my head that the rest of the Divisions I would do making up brigades from various different manufacturers. The 8th Brigade, here, is made up of models I picked up from Renegade  Miniatures a couple years back during one of their 5-4-4 sales. I also have miniatures for the 7th Brigade - which are all Great War Miniatures - and so far I have painted the 42nd (Royal Highlanders) Battalion. I'm not sure what I'm going to do for the 9th Brigade...?

Above is the entire Brigade along with the Brigade Commander and headquarters signallers and the 8th Company, 3rd Canadian Machine-Gun Battalion and the 8th Trench Mortar Battery (the Commander, signallers and MG and Mortar Teams were painted previous to the Challenge, but are shown here for completeness!) 

First Battalion Canadian Mounted Rifles - which my Great Uncle Bertram served with at Vimy Ridge!

Second Battalion Canadian Mounted Rifles (I realized as I was putting these all awayI'd forgotten to put one of the guys from this unit into this picture - he's in the big picture above, but not here - just in case there's anyone paying WAY TOO MUCH attention and start's thinking "hey... there's only 14 in this picture...." I assure you there is 15 in the battalion!)

Fourth Battalion Canadian Mounted Rifles

Fifth Battalion Canadian Mounted Rifles

Finally, I'd had great plans to do two extras from Straw Dogs (because there's a running joke about that in Hot Fuzz) but that just didn't work out... so here's a a pair of last minute extras from Cross of Iron. 

The figures are, I think, from West Wind Productions. 

yeah... so last-minute there's still drying glue and terrible lighting... 

Extras may be lame... but really... what would you do with ANOTHER Steiner!?

Whoa! What a cracking entry Tim! This is a great project and I can't wait to see the entire tour-de-force set up and ready for the 2017 centenary. It will be a sight to see to be sure.

Also, thanks so much for the excellent MG42 crew. As you say, not everyone can be a star so it's great to get some extras to complete the cast.

The 8th Brigade and the German MG crew will give Tim 325 points, enough for him to meet his 2000 point target. A big congratulations Tim and thanks again!

From Millsy: 28mm ECW Rupert's Regiment of Horse (101 points)

From Millsy:

This is my last ECW cavalry entry - Prince Rupert's Regiment of Horse. These go alongside the lifeguard of horse I've already painted this challenge, giving me a really solid core of top quality gallopers. Look out Cromwell, ye crop headed rebel, Rupert and his lads are on your case!

The models are a mix of Renegade and Bicorne Miniatures once again, both riders and mounts this time. I've used the same techniques as before, horses painted over a black undercoat and riders over a white. Everything is blocked in and then inked or brush dipped to add depth before highlighting.

The guidon is another home made effort, put together in Photoshop. I really enjoy doing these and it gives a good sense of finishing things off making them myself. It's also cheaper :-)

To finish off here's a couple of group shots of all three units of horse I've completed recently.

Right, that's enough chatter. I've got two rather complex vignette/diorama things on the go to finish off the challenge and I've got no time to waste!

Fabulous job Millsy! These cavaliers look more than ready to attend to some Parliamentarian 'issues' and I love the final shot of the brigaded Horse. Wonderful.

Rupert's Regiment of Horse will give Millsy 101 points, including a nod for the excellent banner. Well done! 

From KevinS: 28mm WWI Early War German Officers (10 points)

From Kevin:

These two early First World War German staff officers present an interesting comparison - the corpulent Junker and his gaunt colleague - both in 28mm.  I'm not sure who the manufacturer is.  

I spent some time researching the color for the uniforms, consulting various Osprey publications and also Mollo, as well as scouring internet sources.  I ended up choosing a feldgrau that was on the grey rather than the green end of the spectrum.  

I wanted my early war Germans to have a different feel about them in comparison to the more greenish hues I'd used for the late war period.  I'll be describing the process in greater detail on my blog.

Great work Kevin! As I mentioned to you when we were chatting I think these are from the Renegade Great War range. I quite like the slim fellow. He looks as if he should have a cigarette holder and a well-placed duelling scar. And I quite like that captured British tank in the background as well! 

These two German officers will give Kevin 10 points. Very nice work.

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 Millsy: 28mm ECW Rupert's Lifeguard of Horse (60 points)

From Millsy:

See? I told you I was painting ECW cavalry. Despite my easily distracted nature, I have managed to get these chaps off the painting table today.

This is Prince Rupert's Lifeguard of Horse, armed and armoured as befits the best of the best. No pistols out for these lads, it's swords out and charging into the teeth of the enemy just as Rupert taught them.

The miniatures are a mix of 28mm Renegade and Bicorne riders on Renegade horses. An absolute joy to paint as always and packed with lovely detail and character. The sashes on the Bicorne figures are especially nice.

The guidon is a commercial one for once, as opposed to my usual home made efforts. I was given it as a prize years ago when I took part in a massive ECW participation game. I commanded the Royalist cavalry and drove the enemy horse from the table with their tails well and truly between their legs. In proper Cavalier fashion I immediately followed and myself and my opposite number retired to the bar early. :-)

Well, that was certainly worth the wait, eh? Bravo Millsy, these are some excellent harse boyz. Very clean brush-work and great basing to boot. Wonderful stuff.

These hard chargers of Rupert Lifeguard will give Millsy 60 points. 

From Byron: 28mm WWI Early War German Infantry (45 points)

From Byron:

Back on the WW1 project after finding that I need even more Germans thanks to the “Take the Farm” game hosted at the Fawcett Avenue Conscripts normal Thursday gaming night two weeks ago.

This is another group of the very nice Renegade Miniatures early WWI Germans. In total there are nine Germans made up of an officer, 6 riflemen, and 2 bombers.

As with my other Germans they are based up very simply with bits of board, planking, metal sheeting, and of course good old Flemish mud.  This was done so that they fit in any trench boards or terrain boards I use, and so that they show differently at a distance from the Canadians who are based as if they are crossing undisturbed fields as they march into the campaign.

Also included is another card for use in Through the Mud and the Blood.  The cards all have old WW1 posters and artwork that I have found online as the background.  

Anyone who wants a complete set of my cards feel free to contact me and I will share them via drop box.  

Lovely work once again Byron! I quite like your basework - the bits of duckboarding and shattered brick is very evocative. For a change you could do a unit or two based on turf or cobblestone to reflect the early campaigns in which the armies were still mobile and maneuvering for position. Just a wayward thought...

I definitely want a copy of your cards!

This squad of Germans will give Byron 45 points. Great job!

From Millsy: 28mm English Civil War Royalist Cavalry - Sir Tyldesley's Regiment of Horse (101 points)

From Millsy:

I think I may have overdosed on the works of the Evil Empire. This weekend I was faced with the choice of yet more Space Marines or I could turn my hand to something different. In the end it proved to be a bit of a no brainer and so I got stuck in and finished off Sir Thomas Tyldesley's Regiment of Horse for my ECW project. The army is quite large, close to 260 figures already and I'm planning a bit of a royal review when done soon.

Sir Thomas Tyldesley was a stout Royalist and long term supporter of King Charles and was present at Edgehill. He raised regiments of foote, horse and dragoons. He continued to fight through all three civil wars and at times served under Prince Rupert. He never once surrendered to the evil crop headed rebels and his light was only extinguished in 1651 when we was finally killed in action at the Battle of Wigan Lane. Today his memory lives on through re-enactment by Sir Thomas Tyldesley's Regiment of Foote.

These are Renegade Miniatures from their lovely ECW range which is unfortunately currently unavailable. Luckily I bought enough to make two units well before that happened. The remaining figs are currently also in progress and should appear here presently. These paint up a treat, with plenty of prominent detail and nice poses in the riders. The command are particularly nice with nice chunky sashes and a Dutch coat for the trumpeter. If I have a gripe at all it's that the horse poses are very similar with the exception of the head position. Still, it's a minor quibble and they rank up well.

I've painted these in my usual style - horses with a black undercoat and riders with white undercoat. The black base gives plenty of help with the reins, etc. on the horses and also a nice dark coat colour for the various browns and greys. I love painting horses and tend to go a bit mad for variety but the result is worth the effort. The riders are base coated in a variety of colours before a combination of dip and inks for shading with highligts to finish off.

Next up, Rupert's Lifeguard AND Regiment of Horse.

Ah, we haven't seen much ECW this Challenge so this is a nice change of pace. Lovely work Millsy. I've always liked the Renegade models for this period so I hope they come back again soon. Wonderful work here. I particularly like your horses - nice variety of colours which keeps things interesting.

Tyldesley's Horse will give Millsy 101 points (the extra pip is for the lovely banner). Well done & God Save the King!

From ByronM: 28mm WWI German Infantry (50 points)

From Byron:

Here is a second section of Great War Germans which just happen to contain mainly figures from Great War Miniatures, along with a few more Renegade miniatures.  While I really like the Great War mini’s proportions and load outs there are a few that had facial issues. These will be soon getting field dressings to cover up some of the casting issues.  Maybe I am just spoiled by the normal insanely overpriced GW stuff I paint, but at least I never have to worry about important stuff like eye sockets or mouth lines not being properly there.  I now understand why so many historical gamers don’t bother with eyes and a lot of facial details.  It’s a shame, because other than that, the figures really are extremely nice.

This second section for my German force is a rifle section led by a “big man”.  Also included is an even “bigger” man, both in size and rank, to marshal my Germans on the table.

It was brought to my attention as well, that the helmets do have covers on them… hmm, so hard to tell as there are no fabric lines or textures.  At this point, I am just leaving them the grey helmet colour, even though it is historically inaccurate.  Maybe at some point I will make it right, but at this point, I like the look better this way than one test figure I did with the cover painted up the right way.  So, its a bit wrong, but too bad, they are mine :-)

One more section down, and my next section of Canadians is also nearing completion and should be sent in in a day or two.  Then back to distractions, and trying to get a vehicle done for the next fortnight challenge.

Lovely work Byron! I have a couple units worth of these Renegade castings and I really like them. They're not as fine in detail as the Great War models (which are still my favourites) but I love their chunkiness and they are very easy to paint.

I'll make sure to point out the lack of helmet covers on these guys the next time we play. Its the least a friend can do. ;P

This rifle section of Landsers will give Byron 50 points. Great job!

From KentG: 28mm WWI British Cavalry, Japanese Infantry & Napoleonic French Artillery (195 points)

From Kent:

I had to get up really early to paint this morning as my family are demanding a paint free day where they get me all to themselves, so sneaky me decided as long as they aren't awake I'm free to paint 3 hours - later I had to stop.

This time I have a bit of a mix there are 9 28mm Great War British Renegade miniatures, when I opened the box sadly one horse was completely snapped of and another wasn't in the best of shape so I drilled out the legs and pinned the horse to its base, so far so good.

Then I painted 9 WWII Japanese jungle fighters based for the Bolt Action ruleset. 

Last but not least there are two Perry stands 12 pdrs with 4 crew each, these were a replacement when they sent the wrong guns, so i thought about time I got them cleaned off the table.

Again, fabulous work Kent. I always have a soft spot for Great War and Napoleonic figures (and these are lovely) but those Japanese infantry are particularly fine.

This selection of miniatures will give Kent 195 points to add to his total, which makes him the first to break 1K mark in this Challenge. Bravo Kent!