Ottoman Laylar Fanatics at The Great Siege of Malta, 1565

For the past few Challenges I've tried to make an effort to add a new unit for my Great Siege of Malta project. This time round I thought I'd add some more fellas to the Ottoman mosh pit with some Iaylar fanatics.

From what I understand, the Iaylars were a large, irregular force of religious fanatics which the Ottomans used as expendable shock troops. They were typically thrown in the the initial assaults to soak up missile fire, disrupt defensive lines, and generally pave the way for the more high-value troops.

It's rumoured that the Iaylars regularly used hashish to help put themselves into a religious frenzy before flinging themselves into the assault. I like to think that perhaps their imams stoked them up by telling them that the defenders held vast stores of Cheetos and Mountain Dew behind the lines. I figure that after a good hookah pipe, there's nothing like the prospect of a big munchie run to get your blood up. :)

These 28mm models are from Old Glory and fit the Iaylar bill quite nicely. They actually didn't look like much when fresh out of the bag, but as with many OG models, they paint up wonderfully and look great in a mob. In order to give them a little more variation I bent a few limbs, drilled out some fists to add some banners, and played around with their skin tones to reflect the wide variety of ethnicities which would have made up the ranks.

I've been quite taken with Dux's wonderful 3,2,1 basing for his ECW Covenanters, so I thought I'd do something similar with these lads. This mob will give me two groups of 12 figures (plus one hanger-on) for any future 'Pikemans' Lament' scenarios. I hope to double the numbers for this contingent as I feel the Ottomans should have a schwack of cannon fodder, er, enthusiastic recruits willing to spread the word that Suleiman is rather Magnificent.

Thanks for dropping in for a look. Have a great week!

- Curt

From KevinS: 28mm WWI Early War British Infantry (100 points)

From Kevin:

Here's my last submission for the challenge: 20 Early War British infantry from Battle Honors.  Included in the series are a colour sergeant, an officer and a heavy machine gun team on the run. 

I started these (and others) on the first day of the painting challenge.  Today I finished them.  Something tells me my heart wasn't in them.  They have lively poses, but I have to admit the sculpting is not quite up to the standard of Great War Miniatures.  In any case here they are, ready for the tabletop.

I dunno Kevin, these guys look pretty nice to me.  I really like the officer blowing the whistle and gesturing with his walking stick - classic pose.

These twenty Old Contemptibles will give Kevin a very tidy 100 points. Well done and thank you.

From KevinS: 28mm WWI Captured British Mark IV in German Service (15 points)

From Kevin:

More pics for you today as I finish up a few "almost done" projects.  Here's an Old Glory Mk IV converted into a German Beutepanzer.

The Germans were adept at capturing and salvaging or appropriating British tanks for their own purposes in the later years of the Great War.  In fact, one history I read stated that my previous submission, Fray Bentos, was eventually transported to the Fatherland and shown to the Kaiser himself.  In any case, here is another Old Glory Mk IV, in German livery. 

I based the paint scheme loosely on contemporary photographs and Osprey's volume on the German Panzers of World War I, as well as some artistic license by using stahlhelm colors.  The combination of Maltese Cross and skull and crossbones is found in photographic evidence.  

Two modifications I've not included but which would increase the historical accuracy would be to completely remove the forward-most Lewis gun and replace it with an anti-tank rifle or indeed no armament at all, and to put an escape hatch on the upper part of the hull.  I've yet to find an image that shows the position of the escape hatch German modification.  More armour and infantry to come in the next few days.

Wonderful work Kevin. I remember a while back when you first got your Old Glory Mark IVs and discovered that they did not really mix well with your existing Foundry machines. I think this is an excellent use of the model.  I also quite like your interpretation of the German 'stormtrooper' camo. 

I'm curious about your hatch question: Have you tried to examine photos from the post war German revolution? I remember seeing many photos of Friekorps troops next to captured British Mark IVs and wonder if any of those images show any hatch detail. Interesting little puzzle.

This fine lump of British ingenuity will give Kevin 15 points. Thanks for sending it in!

From SebG: 15mm ACW Union Regiment from the Iron Brigade (63 points)

From Seb:

What you have here are 31 US regulars in 15mm from Old Glory. Obviously, the references are from the Iron brigade for a simple reason: Sykes was commanding the regulars at Bull Run, and afterwards, he ordered the men under his command to follow the regulars's regulations.

I have added a few wounded/ dead in action to represent the unit attacking the Rebs, as they did at Bull Run, before covering the rout. The flags have been downloaded and printed. The blue might be too light, but the varnish seems to have "whitened" it a bit.

Now on my way to the last bonus entry.

Another excellent regiment under your belt Seb.  Remind us again, how many units are you aiming for in this project? Your collection is bulking up nicely. Personally I think the flags look very good and accentuates the dynamism of the unit.

This regiment of Yanks will give Seb 63 points. Great job!

From TimB: 28mm Feudal Japanese Samurai and Ashigaru (80 points)

From Tim:

Dragon Clan Bushi Buntai

Here are 16 figures I've finished up for my Dragon Clan Bushi Buntai. This is the seventh buntai I've now completed and have to or three more that I hope to finish up in the next week or so... along with a bunch of terrain... battle boards... what was I thinking!? Oh I also have a bunch of Samurai and Ashigaru casualties that have no use in the game, really, but I'll be finishing them up as well (for the next Fortnightly Theme Bonus Round!) 

The Bushou and Hatamoto - both figures are from the old Alderac Entertainment Group Legends of the Five Rings: Clan War game.

Three Samurai - Also from AEG's L5R Clan War range

Ashigaru Spearmen from Old Glory

Ashigaru Archers - the one on the left is from Perry Miniatures, the rest are from Old Glory.

Ashigaru Gashira Bannerman - like the previous bannerman is an Ashigaru Spearman from Perry Miniatures that I made my own banner and pole for. 

Backside of the Bannerman. 

Wow, you've done seven of these groups during the Challenge? Excellent work Tim! I know you're now down to the crunch but I've seen you work under pressure so I'm sure you can pull it off. In regards to this group I quite like the green and yellow theme and your custom banner-bearer turned out wonderfully.

This Dragon Clan buntai will give Tim 82 points. Great job!

From SebG: 15mm ACW Union Artillery 'The West Point Battery' (30 points)

Seb continues to tear along with his ACW project with his fine battery of Union guns.

From Seb:

Following my previous entries, I've now added some heavy support for my Union brigade, with a battery of three guns. As usual, they're from Old Glory and were a joy to paint. You have 2 10" rifled parrots, and 1 Napoleon. They're supposed to represent the 5th United States Artillery, Company D, aka "the West point battery", under Cpt Charles Griffin, whom you can see observing the enemy positions with his binoculars. This chap is interesting, since he fought during the Mexican war, taught at West point, then was promoted to lead a brigade, and finally the V. Corps at the end of the war. Worthy of a hero. But all in good time. 

They're not the right guns to represent the unit at Bull Run, but it will be more practical for the rest of the war.

Now I need to finish my hero bonus entry.

Lovely work Seb. I like the fellow in his red shirtsleeves and the figure for Griffin looks great calling out orders as he ranges-in his battery.

These three guns and their crews will give Seb 30 points.

From FranL: 28mm F&IW French Regiment Languedoc & 15mm Modern British Platoon (143 points)

We can't have a Ray submission without one from Francis, and so like magic...

Here is is a 28mm FIW French "Languedoc" Regiment consisting of 12 figures from AW Miniatures for my Bloggers for Charity submission, a few issues with the figures but they should be alright once based in a unit (not allowed to base them as they are being based all in one go) with a nice flag!

The 5th,6th and last picture are of a 15mm modern British platoon with extras from Old Glory. 

Most of these figures came from my Secret Santa and should have some "Viking" vehicles to transport them soon.

Great work Fran! I must say it's kinda wild seeing you paint Horse & Musket figures - you've done a great job on them. Could these entice you into a new period perhaps? Of course your modern stuff is always top notch. I look forward to seeing the upcoming rides for these lads.

The Regiment Languedoc and this modern British infantry platoon will give Fran 143 points. Well done Mr. Lee! 

From SebG: 15mm ACW Union Infantry Regiment - 27th New York (62 points)

Seb sends in another Union infantry regiment to bolster his collection of Yankee Bluebellies.

From Seb:

Here is my new entry, the 27th New York, or the "Union regiment", in 15mm.

What you have here is a brand new regiment for my Longstreet brigade, the 27th New York. Once again, 10 bases full of character. I wanted the unit to look like they were in the middle of the fight. Therefore, I used a lot of different references from Old Glory: Union skirmishing, generic wounded and generic melee. 

Now this is a dramatic moment, knowing they're going to fight until the last one is standing. This is why I like Old Glory. Where else could you find soldiers in hand-to-hand and another one supporting his wounded comrade?

The flags are speculative. I just downloaded, printed and added a bit of paint to two of them that I had found on the net, in the NY flags section. All in all, you have 30 men fighting for their lifes, and one already down, clutching his head. Poor fellow.

A very nice unit Seb. You're making the best of Old Glory's wide variety of characterful castings and each of your units will tell its own tale.

This Union regiment will provide Seb with 62 points. Excellent stuff.

From GregB: 15mm Arab-Israeli War Infantry & Armour (68 points)

Greg rocks on with more figures and vehicles for his Arab-Israeli War collection.

From Greg:

More Arab-Israeli war stuff for this submission. I finished off nearly all of my Khurasan IDF infantry, based individually for games like "Chain of Command". There is another FN-MAG LMG (with a prone gunner - I hate prone figures), five troops with Uzi SMGs (two of them on square bases to represent NCOs), and the balance with FN-FAL rifles. 

There are two jeeps mounting heavy recoilless rifles. These potent AT weapons were key tools for IDF troops mounting improvised defences against surprise Syrian columns on the Golan Heights. They also provide a healthy AT punch to recon troops. 

There are some pieces of Arab armour - two Syrian SU-100 tank destroyers. I experimented with a slightly new Syrian camo scheme, including some grey to go with the green and yellow. SU-100s equipped the organic AT units of Arab mechanized divisions and infantry divisions. These would have played a role trying to hold back the IDF counter-invasion into Syria after the IDF (barely) stopped the initial Syrian assault on to the Golan Heights. These Battlefront castings were real beauties, a dream to work with.

The T-55 is a Khurasan casting. I purchased a pack of these when they were first released. Over all, I give it high marks. It assembles relatively easy, and the accessories (cupola hatches, cupola MG) are very clean castings. The MG is particularly solid, and this is welcome, compared my experience with QRF cupola MGs (the QRF ones are thin crap). You have the option of building it as a T-54 or T-55, and portraying the tank without the extra fuel drums on the rear, but still with empty mounting brackets - an interesting detail. The only small criticism I would make is that some of the hull detail is inconsistent - most of the lines are clean, but the indents on the fuel tanks are very soft and disappear with a coat of paint, meaning you need to paint them back on. The other issue with this tank is the size of the model - it is a lot smaller than the Peter Pig's T-55 - I don't think they would mix well. I have yet to compare it to Battlefront's T-55. 

This is painted in Egyptian colours, a test model, for use in gaming both 1967 and 1973. There are another 10 to follow, and I'll need even more after that...


Awesome stuff Greg. I quite like the new camo scheme with the grey mixed in - very cool - and those jeeps are very cute (bad term I know). 

This fine collection of infantry and armour will give Greg 68 points. Great job mon ami!

From SebG: 15mm ACW Union Infantry Regiment (65 points)

At first I thought this entry  was a bit of a surprise from Seb but then I remembered that when I first met him we played ACW at Posties together.

From Seb:

Erm. It's now finally time to get serious. I now have some free time during the evening to paint some more.

What you see is the start of my Longstreet brigade, since I intend to play the grand campaign. I've opted, as my first unit, to depict the famous chasseurs from the 14th Brooklyn. They were at Bull Run in  1861, and, as you can see, wore red trousers and a blue-trimmed red cap.

As I wanted some variations, I chose Old Glory. Sadly they don't do the 14th Brooklyn, so I took some 15mm zouaves, and, with the proper paint job and from a distance, they look the part. What you have is 30 chasseurs plus one dead Union soldiers, just to add a touch drama. You can almost feel they're moving towards the rebs.

I was disappointed by the standard bearers (1 pose only), so the two you have here are actually conversions: I cut the sabre of the officer to put a pole instead, and the other one is a regular soldier who exchanged his musket for the other pole. The flags have been downloaded and then printed.

That is a great looking regiment Seb! You're right, Old Glory does provide a multitude of poses to allow one to make up characterful units, though I am surprised by the lack of variant standard bearers. Nonetheless, you did a masterful job on the conversions and it makes your command stand unique and dynamic.

The 14th Brooklyn will give Seb 65 points, which includes a bit extra for his excellent standard bearer conversions. Well done Mr. G!