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

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)

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)

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)

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)

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!)