From ByronM: Total Battle 6mm Villages (28 points)

 I didn't think I was going to get anything else this challenge, due to a surgery I had to have about a month ago, however I have been able to sit at a table for small periods of time the last few days, so got something more done!  

I wanted something fairly simple and quick to get done in short periods of time here and there.  So I decided it was time to get these two cute little villages that Curt actually picked up for me from Total Battle Miniatures several years back (I am thinking between 6 and 8 as I know for sure it was in the "Before Times" meaning pre-covid) and have sat since then. These are awesome little 6mm resin buildings that come with a silicon village mat that they slot into, for a great looking little setup.

 

 

I was not sure on scoring as they are close in size to a 28mm figure and some are complicated and some are simple.  Easy solution (since I am the terrain guy and wanted to be fair and not score my own) ask my son QuinnM his thoughts.  He thought the same, but that some are simpler than a 28mm figure so suggested 3 points per, which I am fine with and then 2 points per base for a total or 28 points.  

These were a blast to paint and have a ton of detail to them, if I could have sat for longer I could have easily doubled the paint time on them as there is so much there to pick out.  For anyone interested in them, check out the company they do 3mm, 6mm, 10mm, 15mm, and 28mm versions of them and they are very nice.  Heck, in the larger scales they even sell pre-painted versions (pricey, but an option).

I should have at least one more entry before the end, but we will see.

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Sylvain: 6mm is my favorite scale so I am totally biased about your submission and totally agree with your proposed scoring. I find the slot in system pretty ingenious, so you can fit in your army just by removing a few buildings. You did a very nice job at painting this tiny village, it totally looks like what you would expect, without distracting the attention from the battle going on a few centimeters away. Brilliant! Bravissimo!

 

 

From SylvainR: 1/300 German Boats (96 points)

 

Another flotilla for Cruel Seas, to buff up the German Kriegsmarine. This will be my last entry of the Challenge.

 

First, a close-up on three of the five S-100 from the first picture, in simple basic light grey.

 

Two R-boats (Räumboote). Wiki says 424 were built and they were originally conceived as minesweepers but performed a wide range of duties throughout the war. They look stocky compared to the streamlined E-boats. They were fitted with directional propellers so, in Cruel Seas, they get an additional opportunity to turn at the beginning of their activation. 

 

A Vorpostenboot, also known as "flakship" or "VP-boat". It is very well armed with an 88mm and lots of 20mm guns. A good option to escort slow convoys and an excellent target for torpedoes.

An M-class minesweeper.  I've added some crew on the deck as I find it makes the miniature feel like a little diorama. I might have smeared too much rust on this model. Oh well. At least, it will make a good target for torpedoes.

So far, I have less than 10 games of Cruel Seas under my belt, and I feel that the most fun and satisfying part is to see your "carefully" launched torpedoes hit a target and detonate (you get to roll 16d6 for damage!) with a spectacular plume of water. However, in the game, tiny, small and even medium boats are immune to torpedoes because of their shallow draft, so to enjoy hitting something with torpedoes, you need to have large and huge ships in your collection. I find large models are lots of work to put together and paint but hey, you need to provide something for your friends to shoot at!

I am curious to hear other Challengers' experience with playing Cruel Seas.
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Points claimed: 
 
In past submissions, the Snowlord awarded 8 points to small and medium ships, and 20 points to large ones, plus points for the crew, but I will not claim points for the crew; I'm already over my goal of 1000 points.

7x 15mm vehicle @ 8 points = 56 points

2x 28mm vehicles @ 20 points = 40 points 

TOTAL: 96 points

Thanks for reading!

 
Very nice ships here Sylvain! These Cruel Seas models look great, glad you're having fun playing the game. I really like the dazzle camo on the Vorpostenboot. The basing is great too, I love the sea colour and how you've done the wakes.

Ninety-six for you my friend!

Dallas

 

From RobertT: 6mm Swedish Cavalry (45 points)

This post is the reason why I joined this challenge.  My mate Steve and I started playing the Great Northern War using Beneath the Lily Banners supplement "Talon and Claw" with big battalions (72 figures) and big squadrons (12-14 figures).  Which is fine except that Steve says he "can't paint".  So I stepped in and painted both armies in exchange for a hardback copy of the rules.  We were having a grand old time with victories going back and forth, then Baccus released "new improved" Swedes with more dynamic poses and, without any notice, about 200 Swedish cavalry landed on my doormat.

 

Hopefully it is possible to see the size difference between the old sculpts at the front and the new ones at the back.

 

 

To give an idea of how long the new arrivals have been sitting staring at me, I had to brush the cobwebs off the undercoat before I could begin.  And then I decided to paint anything BUT these, adopting the same mindset of someone who leaves all their homework to the last possible minute before going back to school.  I even tidied my room before finally biting the bullet.  Here they are having almost completed the horses.  Once these are done I can get on with my own Saxons, Poles and Cossacks.

 

 

I have completed three squadrons of Swedish cavalry of 14 figures each.  They are based but not textured.  Steve has found some Vallejo texture gloop which he wants to try out, so I have painted the horse bases "generic wargame brown" and left them at that.  Hopefully 42 points is accurate for this state.

 

 

They are in a "typical" Swedish wedge shaped charge which looks right.  

I have a palsy in my right hand which can be quite vexing so I tend to use inks at this scale.  Various browns (Burnt Umber, Sepia and Antelope Brown) with different amount of thinners for the horses and thinned Prussian Blue for the uniforms.  Hence the white undercoat instead of the more traditional black.  To get the yellow facings to stand out, I had to do a quick dab of tan first.  At this scale I am not interested in painting every little detail and the uniform shade might not be 100% accurate.  But they look like Swedes on horses and I can tell which direction they are facing.

When I was painting my Ancient Spanish for Hannibal's army, I used contrast paints instead of ink to get a lot more variety and they came out really well.

To do the hat lace and the gold trim round the flags, I deployed my secret weapon.  Gel pens.  I cannot recommend them enough for this scale and 15mm too.  Store them on their side, not tip down or up as gravity does bad things to them.  I thought they deserved their own photo.

Final shots of today's unit charging one of my Russian battalions.  In this scale the massed ranks really look like a battalion, even though the footprint is the same as 12 15mm figures.

 

 

 

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Sylvain: 6mm is my favorite scale and your nicely done Swedish cavalry reinforces my addition to it. They are so tiny yet so easy to visually "read" as cavalry on the board, even at arms length. Your colors are vibrant and they really look in motion. I will add 3 points for the flags. It has been an honor to be your minion; "à la prochaine".

 

 

From SylvainR: 1/300 Cruel Seas flotillas (104 points)

 

With the end of the Challenge only 10 days away, I'm trying to get as many Cruel Seas boats as possible done before the deadline. This week, I was able to finish some core units for the Royal Navy and the Kriegsmarine.

 

 Three Vospers Type I. This will bring my total to six boats. 

 

Three Vospers Type II, to join the three I already have. Again, I allowed my evil creative twin to sculpt some crazy waves, sideways this time. I guess it brings variety to the bases, but no captain in his right mind would take a torpedo boat to sea in such rough weather. 

 

Two Fairmiles D MTB 624. These boats were originally designated as MGBs (Motor Gun Boat), but when torpedo tubes were added, they were renamed MTBs (Motor Torpedoe Boat). These baddies are bristling with guns and, contrarily to the undergunned Vospers, could deal a significant amount of damage to enemy vessels. I'm sure PeterD would love a pair of these to protect his convoy against pesky enemy torpedo boats.

 

Here is a close up on three of the five S-38 I painted. The type of camouflage they are sporting was used in the Baltic Sea. Eventually, I will have to paint the Russian flotilla...

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Points claimed: 

 

In past submissions, the Snowlord has given 8 points to all these smaller ships, plus points for the crew, but I will not claim points for the crew; I'm already over my goal of 1000 points.

13x 15mm vehicle @ 8 points = 104 points

TOTAL: 104 points

 

Thanks for reading!

 

I case anyone hadn't figure this out, Sylvain doesn't do things by half!   I've seen the backlog of Cruel Seas ships in his basement and I'll be interested to see how many of them that he cranks out before the end of the Challenge.  As also ways, wonderful work on all of these ships mon ami.  I really like the basing and camo, but your anvil twin should be put in a small boat in steeps seas.  Your crazy waves remind me of the time that my nDad tried to go through the Alderney Race with wind against tide.  I'm not bothering to count figures from your photos, so I'll go with your points suggestion. 

From GregB: More Legions Imperialis Marines (44.5 points)

Some more "Legions Imperialis" Space Marines - these ones in the lovely green of the Warmaster's own legion, the Sons of Horus.

I have been doing a lot of painting, but I'm not too focused on any particular project. Thus my efforts are spread all over the place, and I've very little to show in terms of actual completed work. Thus I'm back this week with only a few odds and ends from GW's "Legions Imperialis" game, the reboot of the classic small-scale "Epic" game set in the Horus Heresy setting. There are elements from two different Legions Astartes - the Sons of Horus and the Thousand Sons. 

XVI Legion - The Sons of Horus

High command base for the Sons of Horus.

To the surprise of nobody, I already have a chunk of figures painted for this, the finest of the Legions Astartes. But you can always use more basic infantry. And in the case of the Sons of Horus, my initial efforts really disappointed me...I was pleased with the vehicles, but my method on the original infantry looked sloppy - I didn't care for how the green turned out. And if you don't like the green...well...the Warmaster won't be pleased, will he?

Tactical Marines and their Rhino APCs.

I had assumed I would not be able to replicate the green recipe from my 28mm collection on these smaller troops. But decided to experiment with it...and...well, it's actually not too bad! I like these much more. I painted up a high-command stand, and then a tactical detachment comprised of four bases. They also have Rhino APCs to give them a ride on the battlefield. 

Re-painted dreadnoughts - I like these much better!

Chuffed with the results on the infantry, I pulled the dreadnoughts I had completed before out of the box...knowing now that I could have done the nicer green on them drove me nuts - the OCD hobby monkey in mind started to scream and break things, so I opted to do a re-paint on them. Boom - OCD monkey at peace...for now...

Mobile fire support - Rapier on the right, "Quad Launcher" on the left.

To keep building up the firepower we have a couple of tracked fire-support platforms. Long-time Space Marine fans will probaly recognize the Rapier. The other one is a "quad launcher" - heir to the famous "Thudd Guns" of yore. There are supposed to be four tracked platforms in the unit, but I f*cked up a pair of the chassis from the box, so the XVI Legion will have to settle for a pair of them for now. 

Ready to drop some ordnance on those who would defy the Warmaster!

Finally, the Whirlwind is a classic mobile artillery support system for the Space Marines. The plastic kists for these are just lovely, and they allow for you to make two variants. These are "Scorpius" variants, with ammunition that hits vehicles a little harder at the expense of covering a much smaller target area. I just love the look of these things. Again...the kits have LOTS of tiny pieces, so assemble with care, but, wow, credit where credit is due - these are just a real treat to paint up.

XV Legion Astartes

A bit more fire support for Magnus' sons. 

A much smaller component for the Thousand Sons, but considering this collection is just getting started, they'll take it!

Beakies with shark-fin-style missile launchers - a classic!

Rhino APC with fancy markings for the "devestator" unit. 

Up first we have heavy support marines and their Rhino APC. If you look carefully, fans will recognize the classic "shark-fin" style missile launcher has been replicated in this scale. Now, this is a bit of a b*tch, as they come in two parts! But whatever frustration caused in gluing these tiny Marines together is lost once you are painting them - just wonderful to have "beakie" style Marines with these weapons. 

Mobile rocket artillery for the Thousand Sons.

Even space wizards need mobile firepower...

Finally, since I had assembled all of the Whirlwinds from the box, I thought I would paint two of them up for the Thousand Sons as well. You get eight models in a box, so there is still more to do there - maybe I'll even paint some for the poor loyalists? 

Let's get to the tally of points:

39 x 6mm infantry: 18.5 points

2 x 6mm crewed guns: 2 points

12 x 6mm vehicles: 24 points

Total: 44.5 points 

That's all for this week - hope to have more stuff next week. Cheers!

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Sylvain: How can you make so many details pop out on these tiny models? Maybe I need some of your painting recipe? Anyway, another smashing demonstration of your mastery of everything 30k. The master will be pleased, very pleased indeed. Fabuleux!

 

 

From SylvainR: Regia Marina at 1/300 (52 points)

I'm such a sucker when I think I will make a "good deal". Last year, I was googling for 1:300 landing crafts for my Canadian army and I "re-discovered" the game Cruel Seas, launched in 2018 by Warlord Games but now under the banner of Skytrex. Anyway, I was using Facebook's Marketplace to look for adapted equipment in the area of Montreal and, just for fun, entered the search words "Cruel seas". Lo and behold, I found a guy who was selling 14 unopened box sets for all nations for $200, shipping included. I thought that for less than $2 per ship (about 100 in total), that was a "good deal" and ordered the whole lot, which included many landing ships I was looking for. I'm such a sucker.... 

Above is a starting fleet for the Regia Marina: 4 MAS boats and a Gabbiano-class corvette. 

I like to base my ships and there are two reasons for this. First, it protects the miniatures because players are manipulating the base instead of the model. Second, it creates the illusion that the boats are moving, which I find very satisfying.

 

For fun, I wanted to have one of the MAS boat jump off a huge wave, holding on the crest by the tip of the stern. But then I realized that these models are cut at the waterline and it would look silly to have what is obviously only the upper hull flying out of the water. Deception. So I sculpted a smaller "big wave" and kept most of the hull in the water.

 

I did similar big waves for 2 of the Vospers I painted last year. They look nice in rough seas, but the truth is that these fast ships would never be allowed to go out in this kind of weather. If there is any interest, I could write a short tutorial on how I created my sea bases. 

Here is the Italian corvette with her unmistakable "barber shop" identification mark. I admire painters who can do a clean paint job on these small ships, but my own personal preference is to do heavy weathering with rust spots and rain stains. 

 The little life rafts add a nice touch of color.

I like the little crewmen. The whole boat feels like a diorama to me :-). 

 

The AA crew keeping a watchful eye on the sky.

 

A aerial view on Capitano Paolo Schettino. His grand-son, Francesco Schettino, captain of the Costa Concordia, obviously did not inherit his seamanship...

 

Points claimed: 

I looked up past entries for reference:

4x MAS Boats @ 8 points = 32 points

1x Gabbiano-class Corvette @ 20 points = 20 points

Total = 52 points

Thanks for reading!

 [P.S. Paolo Schettino never existed.]

 

Wonderful looking WW2 small craft Sylvain, kinda like aquatic micro armour.   I agree on basing ships and love the planing MAS boat.  Well done on the barber strips and other fine details.  FYI, I a one point planned to do some Gabbianos in 1;2400 scale.  I'll trust your research on the points.

 

From DavidB: Battletech, Space Marines, Wood Elves (76 points)

 

            Kaleo- way down we go                

I had to clear my desk of some debris and push out some minis to make room for a new batch using my new paints. I suppose if there is a theme, it is that my mind is as cluttered and hectic as my desk.  

Up first are some battlemechs for BattleTech. An Inner sphere Heavy Lance from Catalyst Games and a group of mercs from my Elegoo 3d printer.                 

                     

I painted the Heavy Lance in urban camouflage and some nice blue markings that will match up with House Steiner 

a Grasshopper, Hatchetman, Banshee, and Centurion.

I have a load of files and selected a few of my favorites for 3D prints

Two Hunchback variants, an Atlas, and a Longbow.

I painted these in an arid camouflage and secured them to bases also 3D printed. I have a few more prints in the wings and they all need bases. I textured the bases in sand and gravel and dry brushed them up in successive tans and ochres for that nice sun blasted scrub that becomes a boggy mud in rain.

The scheme was inspired by a Mechwarrior Merc video series I seen on YouTube.

Squad Justarian. For Christmas I received the Killteam starter box which featured Ultramarine and Deathguard killteams comprised of old blind buy boxes. Both are considered old models being 5 or so years old and way cheaper now with a bonus of terrain and basic rules. I am just chuffed that I have a long wanted killteam. They were almost painted as Ultramarines, but since the Iron Snakes are a successor Chapter and since I still have a few Iron Snakes insignias.... Iron Snakes they are now.

A Heavy Intercessor and an Eliminator sniper led the charge, The sniper got a similar camouflage to the German Vicks as i painted them at the same time with the same colors, but less ochre for the marine.

I painted the bases up as they have wonderful, sculpted bases that tell the story. 

scattered brass and for this fellow a grenade pin.

When building them I had a choice of helmets or bare heads, the two intercessor warriors with boltguns( different bolter configurations) are flanking the assault intercessor. The fellow with the smoke grenade had a wonderful scarred mohawk head which I felt matched better his cybernetic arm. 

I did paint his face inspired by Dembinski illustrations.

A veteran Intercessor Sgt and the Capt. Justarian. I can only take one either or the other to lead the squad then 4 more marines from the ones above.

I painted the captain's tilt shield in ultra marine checkerboard, and the other half got a partial Ultra U

They will see a game soon!

Now for something very different. I do not much care for elves very much, and my daughter Valerie really wanted these as they are wood elves.  But I have wanted this set of Underworld models for a long time just for this wood elf centaur. In the 90's I played a Sega game "Shining Force" where my favorite troops were the centaurs that were the heavy horse knights and the light horse archers. This model reminds me of that game and the animation is grand.

I painted his helm to like it was carved from wood and treated the armor as if woven from leaf and grass.

He is accompanied by some satyr-ish elves like this fellow leaving a ripple in the water from his wake (pun intended).

I used all the vibrant colors from the army painter fanatic set for them as it does not seem right for wood elves to be drab.

The lady with the bow was used to perfect the orange and yellow hair to contrast with the vibrant green armor.

The last fellow has a horn and seems to be a mage of some sort.

They also have a cat whose base was a little neglected as he was missed when buried by unpainted minis on deck.

I will punch up his base this challenge after I finish up the next group. The Centaur kinda took precedence over the cat, but if a forest dog...I would have probably kept a better watch for him;)

So, a mixed bunch of minis cleared for some room on my desk.

7 White Snakes for 35 points

4 wood elves and a cat for 25

and 8 battle mechs for 16 points

squirrels- White Scars, Fantasy Orcs, US Infantry, German Infantry, Allied Vicks, Axis Vicks, Wood elf                   warband.

Stompy Robots of Death- 8

Skulls- I got to add 25 more skulls thanks to the killteam for a new total of 44

I will have to clean up his chest eagle and blue cords, but I really liked those wax skulls on the purity seals.  ;)

Quite a variety here David, and nice work to boot. I particularly like the colourful Wood Elves, I'm sure your daughter will love them too!

Seventy-six points for you!

Dallas