From ChristopherS: 28mm Dark Age Saxon Gedriht Warriors (35 points)

Christopher sends in this beautiful unit of Dark Age Saxons.

From Christopher:

My next entry is Saxon Gedriht which are elite fighters typically members of a Warlords family, close retainers and household guard (Huscarls) and are professional warriors armed with the best armour and weapons in the army. 

When I first saw these on the Musketeer web site I knew I had to have them as they looked seriously hard and fearsome. 

They are based on individual bases mounted on a sabot movement tray. The shields are LBM with some MIG pigments I added to give a more used effect. 

They are mostly painted with Foundry paints which are my personal favorites and some Vallejo.

I always really enjoy your Dark Age work Christopher, and these lads certainly don't disappoint. You're right they do look suitably ferocious and hard-bitten, especially with their motley assortment of armour and well-used shields.

These six Saxons will give Christopher a base of 30 points, but I'm adding another 5 for the great basing and weathered shields. This will give Christopher enough to pip past me and Martin into first place in our private duel to 500 points. Well done but this lead won't last for too long... ;->

From KentG: 28mm Napoleonic French Cuirassiers (241 points)

Alright!  Kent's rolling out with the big guns now - well, the heavy cavalry in this case. Here we have two units of French cuirassiers ready to spread Liberte, Egalite and Fraternite - by the hoof or sword, take your pick.

From Kent:

Time put in another entry, this time it's 24 French cuirassiers. 

The back row are 12 Perry miniatures. These are for my collection and the front row are Front Rank and these are for a friend of mine. 25hrs of painting in these lot, they are all painted and based for 'Black Powder'.

25 hours of painting for this?! Jeez Louise, you are the 'Man With The Plan' when it comes to painting large units, Kent. This is seriously impressive - well done.

These 24 cavalrymen will give Kent 241 points with a bit added for the fine regimental standard. In two entries this put him neatly into second place - brilliant work Kent!

From MilesR: 28mm Confederate ACW Regiment (121 points)

Miles adds to his American Civil War collection with this fine regiment of Rebs from Hood's fierce Texas Brigade.

From Miles:

Attached are some photos of my second entry into the challenge - yet another 24 figure Confederate infantry regiment.  The figures are from the 28mm Perry plastic Confederate Infantry box set.  These troops are modeled as the 5th Texas infantry regiment of Hood's Brigade. 

I finished the 1st Texas as part of last year's challenge and now just have 3 left to fill out the Brigade. This regiment will bring my Confederate army up to 12 out of a targeted 15.

Wow, twelve regiments done! I trust we'll see you finish off the other three during this Challenge. Am I right? Of course I'm right. ;)

This fine regiment, representing the Lone Star State, will give Miles 121 points which includes a bit extra for the Battle Flag. Great job Miles!

From JuanM: 28mm Spanish Gladiator & British-Crewed Breda (32 points)

Juan, a veteran Challenger, joins us and submits these two fine entries for his debut this year.

Here are my first entries to The Challenge.

The first one is a 28mm gladiator, a 'Hoplomachius', from Brigade Games. This is a fantastic figure from Paul Hicks, the first one for another project I want to begin with my club´s mates. So here is 'Viriato', an Spanish gladiator. It has been a true pleasure to paint him.

The second one is a 28mm Italian Breda AA gun with British crew. This model is from Offensive Miniatures, a very nice one that I expect to use in my games of "Chain of Command", in scenarios based in the Dodecanese Campaing; for that reason, the crew are from the RAF Regiment.

Beautiful work Juan. You've such a smooth style with the brush, it's always a pleasure to see your work.

These two subjects, separated only by around 2000 years, will give Juan 32 points (including a bit extra for the great arid basework on the Breda). Welcome back Juan!

From AlanD: 15mm WWII German Halftracks (41 points)

Okay! We've had our fun with the first Theme Bonus Round now back to the trenches (well, for me anyway). 

Alan sends in this great set of German WWII era halftracks.

From Alan:

One of my best gaming discoveries of 2013 was Battle Group Kursk, which made me enthusiastic about painting WWII stuff for the first time in years. I particularly love the fact that the rules actually give you a reason to paint up and use lots of support vehicles, such as these 15mm half tracks from Forged in Battle. 

What we have are two Sdkfz 251/3 command vehicles, a 251/8 ambulance, a 251/11 telephone cable layer to increase the chances of those artillery requests getting through and a Sdkfz 10/4 flak vehicle.

Wonderful stuff Alan! As I mentioned to you before I particularly like the communications halftrack with the elevated wiring guide for the cabling. 

This group of vehicles will give Alan 41 points (which includes a few for the crews). Great work!