From AndrewS: 20mm Celtic Chariots (84 points)

 From Andrew:

Well I am back with a small entry, this time I have 3 Newline 20 mm Celtic chariots and 6 crew, that will form part of my cavalry division for Hail Caesar.

Plenty of checks and a splash of warpaint thrown in for good measure, and some free hand work on the shields.

Wonderful work Andrew. I really like the wicker panel siding on the chariots and the chequed trews on the drivers - very evocative.

These three chariots will give Andrew 84 points. Nice!

From JohnM: 28mm Napoleonic French Light Infantry Battalion (135 points)

John finishes his last unit of French light infantry for his very impressive Napoleonic collection.

From John:

3e/13e Légére

This unit is a bit of a milestone, the final unit of French Légére I shall be painting. My French Napoleonic forces are near completion and this is my 10th battalion of légére, joining 4 battalions of the 1éme, 3 battalions of the 2éme and the other 2 battalions of the 13éme. Three battalions of ligne and 3 battalions of garde left to do, but another day maybe. That will bring me up to 28 battalions of French infantry, a robust force I believe. 

This battalion has a bit of an unusual provenance, I bought these Front Rank figures from a very well known rules writer 3 or 4 months ago and they languished on the table. If I remember correctly he had purchased them without realizing that they were pre-Bardin. They were a bit odd as they had been primed with AP Blue primer, I was curious about this as the uniform of the légére of course is all blue, so it should make them a little easier to paint. There was some difficulties though as the primer does not have much bite and my style of painting requires a primer which has some adhesion. I found that if I drybrushed them with GW Enchanted Blue and then washed them with GW Asmuren Blue wash they looked pretty good. I like a nice bright blue on my French, while going with a greyer blue on my Prussians.

A great Flagdude standard decorates the force and I include a photo of the whole regiment. Quite a varied regiment as you can see, this is the only battalion where the carabiniers are wearing bearskins, but at the same time my other two battalions have their voltigeurs sporting colpacks. Anyway Front Rank has great looking pre 1812 French and I am quite happy I have finally completed this regiment.

Wow, lovely work John. I know its always nice getting a Napoleonic unit done as they typically take a bit of time to grind through. I've always liked the pre-Bardin uniform with its longer tails, smart waistcoat and huge plumes. Excellent stuff.

This, the 3rd battalion of the 13th, will give John 135 points. Great job!

From JaccoK: 28mm Cowboys & Cowgirls (110 points)

Jacco, a charter member of the 'Dutch Water-Bicycle Detachment',  picks up the gauntlet dropped by his chums MichaelF and RobP to see who can first get to 500 points.From Jacco:

Here are 7 Dead Man's Hand Lawmen I picked up at crisis Antwerp last November.

They are manufactured by Great Escape Games who also make the DEAD MAN’S HAND rules (which we have never played). These are in 28mm scale 28mm, my favourite scale. 

Next are 15 western figure from Black Scorpion. 28mm metal figures, the last ones I think because they switched the whole range to plastics a while ago.

I really love these figures although they are slightly bigger than the Dead Man’s Hand figures. The characters, poses and expressions are much better.

 

I painted all these cowboys to put a little pressure on Michael to host a western game with his beautiful new wester town (with train) which I have never seen fully on the table. 

Wonderful work Jacco! As you say, there are such great characters amongst these figires. I particularly like the fellow in the long duster with the crucifix and the formidable lady in the pink pantaloons.

These 22 cowboys and cowgirls will give Jacco 110 points. Well done and welcome back onto the roster Jacco!

From TamsinP: 15mm Thirty Years War Artillery Limber Teams (48 points)

This is the first day in which I've basically caught up with the Challenge submissions. Then again, I suspect that most of the participants are beavering away on their entries for the 'Vehicle' bonus round so I may be only experiencing an artificial reprieve. 

Nonetheless, having administered the Challenge a few years now I sense that we have left 'The Heady First Stage'; the euphoric, out-of-the-gate flurry of activity which is fuelled by the  abundant calories and free time of the holiday season. Instead, we are now entering into what I call 'The Grind'. This is where the pace of the Challenge becomes more measured and workmanlike. It's like the middle week of the Tour de France. Most participants are back to work and have to manage their hobby time judiciously.  It is also the period where many of them will think, 'I still have two months left, no worries.'  Ah, but  therein lies the rub as before you know it six weeks will have slipped by and we will be in the final run-in. It all comes down to good time management (something I always find challenging in of itself).

Accordingly, Tamsin manages to keep up her pace with this fine entry of six teams of Thirty Years War limbers.

From Tamsin:

Here we have six limber teams for my 30 Years War army. The figures are 15mm from Donnington Miniatures. Nothing else to say about them really.

Yup, just the facts, ma'am. Just the facts. 

It may seem like meat and potatoes but this is very nice work Tamsin. I quite like the civilian drovers with their wide brimmed hats coaxing the horses in their work.

These six limber teams will give Tamsin 48 points, well done.

From Curt: 28mm First Indochina War - French Paratroop Officer and Radioman (10 points)

'The enemy has overrun our positions. We're blowing everything up... Au revoir.'

- Last French radio transmission from Dien Bien Phu - May 7th, 1954.

I needed a brief intermission from the winter-themed figures I've been working on and so decided to finish this command stand for my (slowly) developing Indochine project.

These two figures are from Red Star Miniatures' 28mm 'Dien Bien Phu' range. Beautiful models sculpted by Paul Hicks - I highly recommended them. I've based them on a hex-shaped base so they can be easily identified as a command stand when on the tabletop.

I understand that Red Star is just about to release their range of Viet Mihn to serve as the French's intractable opponents and so I'm very eager to get my hands on some of those.

These two French paras will provide me with 10 points, inching me further along to my 700 point goal.

Now back to the ice and snow of Russia...