From TimG: 1/72 Avro Anson (15 points)

From Tim:

Pics of a recently painted Airfix 1/72 Avro Anson.  

This was rescued from a near write-off and treated to a quick paint job as part of my Winter Aircraft Project.

More nonsense still to come...

What a wonderfully homely aircraft! Great job on reconstituting it from your attic - I'm looking forward to seeing the remainder of these orphans.

This Anson will give Tim 15 points.

From RobP: 28mm ACW 69th New York (124 points)

From Rob:

Here is my second entry for the competition -  this time the 69th New York (1st regt Irish Brigade).

Again Redoubt figures with mainly Steve Barber heads. These mix very well size-wise and have more character than the Redoubt heads so actually a no brainer if you want to have more variation in your units. 

So another unit of 24 to add to my points total and to close in a little on the fast movers in the contest... 

These are the last Redoubt figures in this brigade, except for the Meager/Kirby command figures. Rest of the brigade will be made of the outstanding Foundry ACW figs.

An excellent unit of New York Oirish there Rob - well done!

These lads from the 69th will give Rob 124 points.

From Millsy: 28mm Spanish Guerrillas (60 points)

From Millsy:

This time I’m submitting some commission work for my mate. These are Front Rank 28mm Napoleonics for use with 'Song of Drums and Shakos' skirmish level rules. The basing is vanilla as these will be finished up by him to match the rest of the force.

The first batch are some guerrilla characters on foot. These sculpts (and my painting) are based on the illustrations from Osprey’s Elite 108 - Spanish Guerrillas in the Peninsular War 1808-14.

The second batch are Don Julian Sanchez lancers 1810-12 from the same book. We had to go with whatever we could find regards the sculpts but have matched the uniform as close as possible. Lovely sculpts but some of the most fiddly mounted 28s I've ever painted. I do love their horses though. Certainly amongst the best going around IMHO.

Something interesting to note regards the photos – the mate who commissioned the work bought me a pair of rechargeable folding LED lights for my birthday, specifically so I can take photos of minis indoors regardless of time of day or weather. It’s quite late in the arvo here and pouring with rain so pretty drab and dark for daytime, yet these photos have come out jolly well for a first go. Hardly any Photoshop retouching needed at all. I think once I get the camera settings worked out they will be a great tool and I thoroughly recommend them. I imagine similar lights are available in most countries.

Lovely work Millsy, I'm sure your friend will be delighted with these. Also, thanks for the tip on the photography lights. I have a battery powered LED set but rechargeables would be a great improvement I think.

These Spanish guerrillas and irregular cavalry will give Millsy 60 points. 

From BenG: 20mm Napoleonic Italians & Ancient Germans (70 points)

From Ben:

Here's an eclectic entry; Italian Conscripts of the Guard and Germanic Warriors, all 1/72nd scale.

The Italians are the second battalion of Conscripts of the Guard I've painted for my Borodino project. As the OB I'm working from requires it to be an 8 figure battalion, I've also made small terrain panels to go beside the command figures, rather than have an empty spot on the movement tray (you can see them best in the second photo of the unit in column).

The figures are from the HaT French Light Infantry range of marching, action and command figures. I've only had to trim the epaulets of the soldiers to make them accurate. The drummer is painted in a speculative colours.

The officer is a conversion I did before the Challenge started, so I can only claim the other 7 figures. I gave him a new sword blade as his original sword looked rather puny in comparison.

The second is a stand of Scary, Hairy Librarians...err Barbarians, sorry. Though it'd be handy having a bunch of these at work: "You have overdue books. Return them or Guntheric will get angry!" They are a stand of Shock Infantry for Comitatus rules. 

The front row are figures by Miniart, which are nicely sculpted with active poses, but are let down by production values; lots of flash and misaligned moulds. 

The back row are Strelets Ancient German figures, which are probably a little too early to be incorporated in the same stand, but I'm not that fussy and they add a little variation.

I like the Swabian knot hairstyles they sport, and the range of animal skins and cloaks, too.

Great work Ben! Lovely work on those Italians - I may have to try a unit of these in 28mm.

Hmm, librarians with their hair up in Swabian knots? Could be sexy. Not sure how these lads would look in horn-rimmed glasses, black pumps and tube skirts though... Oh, probably still pretty fierce.

These two units will give Ben 70 points, including a few extra for the nicely painted shields and plaid cloaks.

From SebG: 15mm Thirty Years War French Regiment de Bussy-Rabutin (42 points)

I have to apologize for the delay in updates but work had me dashing around the province for interminable meetings. (I've tried to explain to them my responsibilities as a toy soldier blogger but they pay me no heed. I know, the pitiless, slave-driving cads...) 

So, lets start catching up with a submission from Seb.

For my next entry, I've sent you pics from my last French unit: the Bussy-Rabutin infantry regiment. They fought at Rocroi and in Germany afterwards.

They were lead by the count Roger de Rabutin, born in 1638. He started his military career at 16 in Lorraine, and fought under Conde and Turenne. He was also elected in 1665 at the prestigious Academie Francaise (s'il vous plait).

Once again, 20 minis from Old Glory, and flags from Flags of war.

Another lovely regiment under your belt, Seb! How many are in your collection now? You must be amassing a good sized force. You should give us a group shot of them when the Challenge ends.

Regiment de Bussy-Rabutin, with their white and grey colours, will give Seb 42 points.