From MilesR: 28mm ACW & WWII British Honey (165 points)

From Miles:

One final ACW themed submission for this year’s challenge. It consists of three parts - a 24 figure Union Infantry regiment, a Union 10 lb Parrot gun, caisson and crew and, lastly, a special “character” themed figure. All of the mini’s are 28mm and are either Perry plastics or metals. Above is a shot of the gun and infantry regiment. A regiment that was submitted earlier can be seen in support. Sadly, I have run out of flags so this unit has no colors to bear - ohhh the shame….

Another shot from the regiments right flank. This unit brings my Union force to a total of 16 infantry regiments, which I think will be enough for the Historicon game. I hope so - because I’m a bit worn out painting ACW figures right now.

A shot from the left flank. You’ll notice that this regiment has two officers - I’m running out of figures to paint. One of the great benefits of the Challenge to the hobby industry is that we all deplete our lead pile stores over the course of three months hectic painting. Like squirrels storing nuts, we will all likely spend the next 9 months replenishing those lead supplies, which will undoubtably create a boom in hobby industry sales.

A close up of the gun and crew. Some of you may notice that I’ve modeled the gun shooting at a distant target since the barrel is at max elevation. As rifled guns had longer ranges they were often employed against distant targets so this type of pose is historically accurate. The fact that I lost the elevation screw part, as it fell under my work bench into the “zone of lost detail parts never to be seen again”, had no bearing on my modeling decisions….

One last shot of the regiment. Once I get another box set, I’ll replace the second officer with a drummer.

My last ACW figure is intend to be used as a hero marker, as per the Longstreet ruleset. I was inspired by a photo, which may or may not have significant historical relevance, that depicted a stalwart and well groomed son of Mississippi defending his beloved state from the depredations of the Yankee aggressors.

Yes this “Confederate Fabio” was an awe inspiring testament to the qualities of the confederate soldier and the benefit of modern hair care science. It took a bit of green stuff to get his tresses coifed but it was worth the effort. I present to you Corporal Curtis Beau Luke Campbell of the 3rd Mississippi regiment, CSA:

“Just a Good ol’boy
Never meanin’ no harm
Beat all you ever saw
Been in trouble with the North
Since the day he was born”

My apologies to Waylon Jennings for paraphrasing his theme song. :)

AND one last submission (I can’t stop!). I was cleaning off my workbench and noticed a lone 28mm British Honey tank from Blitzkrieg Miniatures sitting on the bench - all primed and nowhere to go. A few swipes of the paint brush and then some weathering and it’s done. I had intended for this model to be my first entry in this year’s challenge but never got around to painting it until today. I tired the Vallejo brush on primer for this model and really like the results. Sorry no decals - I’ve run out!

Curt: Thanks for running a fabulous Challenge this year - I have been dually inspired by the quality of submissions from every participant and your tireless efforts to keep the event rolling along. We all now face a bit of withdrawal over the next few weeks but it was a grand ride and I’m very grateful to have been allowed to participate. Well done everyone!

Miles

I'm sure if nothing else Corporal Campbell, like his decedent, will be a legend in his own mind... 

These Union troops, their Parrot rifle and crew and the Honey will give Miles 165 points. 

Fabulous work Miles! These serve as a great final effort to your Challenge and I thank you for joining us once again for the journey. Your unflagging energy and indefatigable sense of humour always serves as a great touchstone to all of us participating in the event. Thank you.

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 AndyM: 15mm ACW Union Cavalry (113 points)

Andy gets some traction in the points roster by tucking these Union cavalry under his belt.

From Andy:

Many moons ago, late 90's I think, I went to the Edinburgh Wargames Show (Claymore) and on the bring and buy spotted a large 15mm ACW Union army. These were all 2nd Gen Minifigs and based for Fire and Fury. The paint job was simple but neat.  I then managed to acquire a 15mm Confederate army from my mate Billy in Birmingham. I re-based  them and had great plans for ACW gaming! The Union army was lacking cavalry and somehow I never got round to painting any of the numerous unpainted packs that came with it and eventually the project fell to the wayside so I sold the lot back to Billy! Fast forward 13 years or so and the arrival of Sam Mustafa's Longstreet rules and the desire to give ACW a go again! I bought the lot back off Billy and sorted the unpainted stuff out and there was enough to do a basic 8 stand cavalry unit.

I couldn't match the blue used on the originals (and thought it too dark anyway) so upon some research amongst friends tried Vallejo Dark Prussian Blue and Prussian Blue on a sample next to an original:

Happy enough with this I went ahead with the the main lot. I had decided to keep them simple and over black undercoat just painted round straps etc. (Thanks to Loki for the Vallejo Black Surface Primer recommendation). I eventually decided they looked too plain so added a Ogryn Flesh Wash and assorted washes on the horses. And the cross swords on the kepi to give a little contrast:

I knew I needed dismounted versions. Although there were about a dozen already done I decided the difference in colour was too much so repainted the lot!

And obviously I needed a symbolic horse holder stand as well. And took the chance to do one for the Confederate cavalry as well:

And here they are in two ranks.

Flags are by GMB (which were fiddlier than I thought in 15mm!). All figures are Minifigs 2nd Gen although there are a couple of 3rd Gen horses in there (e.g. dismounts and command) and I think the horse holders may be Lancashire Games?

I've also finished rebasing all the Confederates so in theory could go for a game. However I think I might want to re-base all the Union to match first... :)

Now, where are all those 28mm figures I need to do!

Wow, this project has gone through enough hands so lets hope with these great new additions they will take root and see a game! Great work Andy. ACW cavalry is always such a big job as they served both mounted and dismounted roles so you HAVE TO do both. I quite like the blues you've used and will have to try this out in the future in my own collection.

These damn horse yankees will give Andy 113 points. Well done!

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 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!