From RayR: 15mm Nine Years War French Cavalry - Noailles Horse (50 points)

From Ray: 

For my 11th entry I've gone back to my 15mm Nine Years War French. The regt is another Chevauleger (Horse) regt. Noailles Horse was raised in 1689 and fought at the battles of Fleurs, Namur and Steenkirk and is the only Chevauleger regt dressed in red cuffed red!

I was wondering how long you could keep away from this period (and scale). Seriously, great work Ray. The red you're using for these fellows seems a bit more 'punchy', has something changed or perhaps it's just the photography? The shading on the horses looks very nice as well.

Noailles Horse will give Ray 50 points.  Nice trotters mate!

From RayR: 15mm Napoleonic Hanoverian Hussars (48 Points)

From Ray:

My next entry is a unit of twelve 15mm Napoleonic Hanoverian Hussars for the Battle of Waterloo. (They are actually Baden Hussars from Essex Miniatures, but don't tell anyone!) These rather splendid looking chaps are the Duke of Cumberland's Hussars, unfortunately they were quite unfit to where their dashing uniform. 

During the Battle they decided they'd had enough before they'd actually done anything and fled the field, all the way back to Brussels. On arriving they spread the word that Wellington had lost the battle causing panic to spread across the town. Old Nosey quite understandably wasn't impressed, the regt was immediately disbanded and the Gentleman Volunteers were assigned to menial task duties!

Lovely work Ray. I'm not sure if I've ever seen you work on Napoleonics before but I'm sure you must have. This is a beautiful regiment irrespective of their rather chequered past. It would be great to have another rendition of these fellows, still dressed in the same uniforms, but post Waterloo, ie. chopping wood and digging latrines...

These Hanoverian hussars will give Ray 48 points. 

From RayR: 28mm Floppy Hatted British Horse Holders (40 points)

Another non-15mm, non-Nine Years War entry for Ray. Could this be a trend?

From Ray:

My next entry is only a small one. Postie asked me to paint up these Dixon Battle of Sedgemoor figures, as I painted up the rest of his Sedgemoor collection a few years ago.

They're Horse holders for the English, King's Royal regt of Dragoons led by none other than John Churchill himself.

Lovely work once again Ray. I always like seeing these additions to the tabletop - not really required but they add such a nice finish to the overall display. I also like the spray of red poppies on the one base - very whimsical.

These two horseholders and their equine charges will give Ray 40 points, enough to edge past Fran... Now the game is afoot! Well done!

From RayR: 28mm F&IW French Infantry - Royal Rousillon Regiment (45 points)

From Ray:

My 8th entry into Curt's Challenge are the 12 figures I volunteered to paint up for Bloggers For Charity.

They're from AW Minis. They represent the French Line regt Royal Rousillon. Lots of the other painters had trouble with the figures, there was a lot of flash on them, but apart from that I thought they were fine?

These are nice figures for a good cause Ray. Well done. 

These French infantry of Rousillon will give M. Rousell 45 well-earned points. 

From RayR: 28mm Great War British Early War Infantry (220 points)

Okay, where's the French guys on nags with the funny hats and yards of lace (the guys not the nags)?  Ray pretty much sums it up below:

Faint in amazement Ray enters something other than 15mm Nine Years War figures!

Only because I've painted these up for a fellow gamer Matt. They're more of his WWI British. There are 40 Infantry and a 2 man Machine Gun crew. 

Most of the figures are from Musketeer Miniatures and a few are the rarely seen (or so I'm led to believe) Battlehonours. This should get me up the table a little!!

Excellent work Ray! I'm sure Matt will be delighted with these figures. I've not tried any of the figures from Battle Honours but I think I'll give them a go after seeing these.

These 42 men from Britain's Contemptible Little Army will give Ray 220 points, enough for him to break through his original Challenge goal of 600 points. Nice one Mr. R!

From RayR: 15mm NYW French Dragoons (94 points)

Today Ray submits a unit of Space Marines from the 'Imperial Hangnail' Chapter followed by a gaggle of unicorn-riding dryads playing harps... 

I know, not a bloody chance. Yep, more 15mm Nine Years War French donkey wollopers. 

From Ray:

I have been a busy boy with the brush and I've finished yet again another NYW unit, once again its a French Dragoon regt, the Royal Grammont Dragoons, who fought at 3 major battles of the Nine Years War, Walcourt,  Namur and Steenkirke. 

You'll all be very surprised to read that the figures are from Essex miniatures and the flags are from Maverick Models. i like this flags its not the colour of the unit, which makes a nice change for cavalry unit in the period.

My next entry won't be a NYW one, but don't panic, there'll be more NYW stuff on the way soon!!

Yeah right. I'll believe it when I see it Rousell.

Okay, so what's with that poor lonely nag in the background? Perhaps one of these poor Shining Sons of France fell off drunk a mile back...

Seriously though, this is beautiful work Ray. The buff facings of this unit are set off quite nicely with the vibrant red of the coat and trousers, very chic.  Question: Are you doing separate horse holder stands for your dismounted dragoons or just going to leave them as is?

This fine regiment of Grammont Dragoons will give Ray 94 points which places him within striking distance of his 600 point target. Nice one Ray!

From RayR: 15mm 9YW French Cavalry (70 points)

Ray staggers us all by submitting something completely new: 15mm Nine Year War French cavalry... in light blue (GASP).

From Ray:

For my next entry of stuck with my French NYW army and I've stuck to the Cavalry but this time a Dragoon regt. They are once again Essex Minis with a great flag from Maverick Models. They're based up for Beneath the Lily Banners, using Warbases MDF bases. 

The unit represented is the Dauphin Dragoons mounted and dismounted. They wore an all blue uniform which again was a nice change from all that boring grey. I used a lighter brighter shade of blue than my previous Anjou regt, just to make a change.

Ray, you are like a dog with a bone when it come to the Nine Years War. Three Challenges and you've hardly ever wavered from The Cause.  I salute you! Seriously, these look great Ray (wonderful job in picking out the cording on the drummers) and that backdrop does a great job in setting the scene. 

The Dauphin Dragoons (with and without horses) will give Ray 70 points. Great job!

From RayR: 15mm Nine Years War French Cavalry (49 points)

From Ray:

I've been busy with the brush here's another unit for the Challenge. 

My next entry is another French Chevauleger (Horse) regt for the Nine Years War, but this time we have a little colour, not much I must admit but at least its not that boring grey again. 

This is the regt Anjou which I only chose because I had the flag for it and it wasn't a grey regiment!! They're Essex minis once again and the flag, like my previous unit was free from the old and defunct Venexia site.

Great work Ray. I'm sure it's nice to get away from the grey paint for a bit. I quite like that figure with his arm slung over his drum - very jaunty!

These 12 lads will give Ray 49 points. Lovely stuff Mr. Rousell.

From RayR: Challenge Desperado, NYW French Cavalry & Two Wizards (105 points)

Here is my entry fee, a Foundry Cowboy, to join the Wild Bunch. I had a few to chose from, this one seemed to fit in better with the stills I found of the film online.

My next entry's a bit of a mixed bag, as some of you may be aware I bought a part painted French NYW army from Reject Richard. To save time and money, Richard only included 1 command stand per 2 squadrons of Cavalry. I decided to add the 2nd command stand, so they matched in with my English, Dutch and Jacobites. So the next entry is a group of newly painted Horse and Dragoon command stands.

Lastly 2 figures dug out from the deepest depths of my lead pile, infact I don't even remember buying them??? I came out in a bit of a rash painting these non-historical figures....shudderrrr!!!! They're from the evil empire that is, Games Workshop and represent the 2 famous Wizards in the first Lord of the Rings film. Gandalf the Grey and Sauramon the White.

Thanks so much for the great cowboy Ray - he's quite spiffing! The French cavalry look superb (the colours on these fellows really seem to pop), though with all those banners flying who actually fought in these units? Also, I know that fantasy and sci-fi are not your cuppa but I must say you do such a nice job on these sword & sorcery fellows (your Sauron for the Villains round was fabulous).

This wide assortment of miniatures will give Ray 105 points, nudging him further up the points ladder.

From RayR: 15mm Nine Years War French Cavalry (50 points)

Just in case some of you were beginning to wonder, Ray finally emerges from his sandbagged-entrenched paint-shack to enter the fray.

From Ray:

This is in fact my 2nd entry as the first was for the first bonus round, but I suppose this is my first proper entry.

So for my first entry is a unit of French Chevauleger , no, they are not Light Horse though. They are the same class of unit as an English or Dutch Horse regiment, it's just what the French called them at the time??

They are my usual Essex miniatures affair and are painted up to represent the St Germain - Beaupre regiment, who fought at 3 major battles during the Nine Years War, Namur, Steenkirk and Neerwinden. The flags are from Venexia's old website, before the company was sold, unfortunately you can;t access the site anymore!!

The French Chevauleger are a pretty boring bunch as around 95% of the 135 regiments wore a grey coat with red cuffs, there were some who wore other colours, and you'll be seeing them later......I hope?

Long Live the Badger!!

Badger... Badger? Wait, I thought it was Budgie? What am I missing here? Actually I think you need a coat of arms made up with a Budgie astride a rampant paintbrush with crossed Sandbags... :)

Great work Ray! Even though the grey and red was a popular colour scheme for the French at least it looks sharp. 

This fine group of horsemen will give Ray 50 points. Well done Mr. Rousell!

From RayR: 15mm English Pikemen, Demi-Lancers, FIW Canoes and Rafts & Danish Cavalry (648 points)

...and Ray drops his last sandbag:

In this entry we have 2 units of 16 figures of Henry VIII's English pikemen for the Battle of Pinkie.

Also included are two units of English Demi-Lancers. They're all Essex figures and the flags are all made by me. They were painted up at the same time as the Scots pike but I wanted to keep them separate.

Then we have my one and only post of French Indian Wars figures. A few canoes and rafts. Infact there are 32 canoes and 6 rafts, but 2 rafts and 2 canoes cannot be entered. 

I painted them before the challenge but had to base them up, so I included them in the pics. The figures are mainly from Irregular minis with a few from Matchlock, which are now unavailable. 

As you can see in the pics I based the figures in the canoes on bases (actually coffee stirrers), so you can take the figures out when they've landed on the beach. 

For my last entry, I've just managed to finish my first of 3 units of Danish horse for the battle of the Boyne. This regt is Donop's Horse, all figures are my usual fix of Essex minis and the flags were made by me! 

Thanks again Curt for hosting the challenge, me and Fran are knackered and need a rest from the brush.

Very impressive Ray! Those canoes are fabulous little models (I particularly like the crews). 

This huge lot of 15mm goodness will provide Ray with an astounding 648 points. His new total will pip him into 3rd place in the points standings. Well done Mr Rousell and thank you for keeping us all on the wire these past few weeks!

From RayR: 15mm Scottish Pikemen (546 points)

Well, we've all been waiting for our previous year's Champion to start his dash to the finish. So not to disappoint, here's Ray with his final run-in:

Its a big one!! Like Tamsin I've been busy painting pike units, not Swiss though, but Scots for the Battle of Flodden. 

There are 16 units of 16 figures. 15 represent King James IV's command at the battle and one unit the green flagged unit Lord Home's is from his command.

All the pikemen are from Peter Pig while the front rank troops are from a variety of manufacturers including Essex, Peter Pig, Donnington, Frei Korps, MY, Feudal and  Minifigs.

There are another 30 odd of these pike blocks left to paint, I've stared some, but don't think they'll make the Challenge! Unlike some other stuff waiting in the wings!!!!

Excellent work Ray. I imagine this is only the first sandbag to fall away from you as you dash in? Cheeky git.

These sixteen (!) units with their lovely banners all proudly flappity-flapping will give Ray 546 points. Yep, you read right. 546. That is a shed-load of points in anyone's books! Well done young man!  

Now, the question is: Does Tamsin have the 200+ points to bridge the gap?