From MartinN: Fallschirmjäger and Firefly (65 pts.)

Another challenge is drawing to an untimely close and once again I come up short a few points. While I had a good start I rapidly lost steam and only were able to pick up speed again those last few days. I'm pretty certain that a lot of you know the feeling only too well. But the ride was a lot of fun and once again I enjoyed myself immensely. I wasn't as active on here as I'd have liked, but I enjoyed watching the daily stream of gorgeously painted miniatures.

First off for my last entry this year is a 20mm 3D printed Sherman Firefly by Arvernes Miniatures. Having painted two regular 75mm Shermans for my Canadians previously I felt the urgent need to add a Firefly for that little bit of extra punch. The stowage is mostly from AB Figures as is the tank commander.

This is then followed by a Squad of 20mm Fallschirmjäger, also from AB Figures. They're a mix of regular Heer figures, mainly with Zeltbahn, and Fallschirmjäger with head swaps as I was aiming for a very late war feel. So these should be more suitable for those battles following the German defeat in Normandy. A time when the Fallschirmjäger were a mere shadow of their former strength. I don't like the hype that surrounds some of the supposedly 'elite' German units and having this hodge podge of grizzled veterans and raw recruits is just my thing.

For points we have one 20mm tank clocking in at 15 points, a half figure tank commander for 2 points and 12 Fallschirmjäger of which two are prone figures for another 44 points. All this should give me 71 65 points.

A huge thank you for goes out to my good friends Sarah, Curt and Greg as well as all the other minions. 

***

Nick I am confident I speak for all Challenge participants when I tell you it has been an absolute treat to have you along for the ride once again. Your brushwork sets the bar, as ever, and combined with top-shelf photography, your entries are a real treat for all of us. I think many Challengers will relates to the ebbs and flows of interest and momentum when it comes to painting all of these miniatures - and many of us will come up short in the face of our targets (certainly I will!). 

But what a treat is has been! And you close out with some absolutely stunning brushwork. Nothing makes me bonkers like camouflage patterns of late WW2 German units, and you have made it look stupendous here, and the blend of the zeltbahns and sky-blue uniforms, of the veterans the rookies, it is all just spot-on and makes we want to get back to painting some WW2 myself!

But my favourite here is the Firefly! When it comes to WW2 tanks, I'm always struck by how dreary so many of the western allied designs were. Even the ones with cool names were disappointing to see. But NOT the Firefly! One of the best silhouettes of the war (and only improved once the IDF started cracking out I-Shermans later on) and you've done it absolute justice here. Even the weird colour pattern at the bottom of the barrel - excellent!

As for your points, the magical spreadsheet tells me this is all worth 65 points - so I'm going to listen to the spreadsheet. Great Challenge Nick, it has been a treat to "minion" your work!

GregB

From MartinN: Detroit Tank Arsenal (50 points)

I've to apologize for my lack of interaction here, but I've been busy with job interviews and what not those last few weeks. Also I haven't really felt like hobbying at all. But at long last I've finished something worth posting about. 

First off a 20mm PSC Lend-Lease M3 Stuart for my Soviets. The PSC kit is a sturdy enough kit, able to withstand the rigors of the wargames table well enough I imagine. Personally I'm not a huge fan of those kits as they're by necessity very basic with overblown details. Looks nice enough when painted though.

On the other end of the scale we have a 1/72 M4A4 Sherman from Dragon Models. The kit was fun to build and came with etched brass (which I didn't use) and even 3D printed (some of which I used) upgrade parts. Only let down were the vinyl tracks. First of all I managed to put on one the wrong way round and then they're just a smidgen too short, meaning that when you put them on you might snap the delicate plastic connecting the rear idler wheel to the hull... Of course I also managed to break off some of the more delicate parts during painting, but that's a whole other story full of fat fingers and too little patience. The tank commander is from the ever excellent AB Figures range.

Occupying the middle ground in model complexity is a venerable 1972 vintage ESCI M4A1 Sherman nowadays sold by Italeri. I got this one from a friend, so I can't say anything about how it went together, but looking at it I'd be highly surprised if it was any challenge at all, but as with the PSC Stuart the detail is a little basic. I really love the rounded shape of the cast M4A1 hull and hope to add a few more to my collection at some point. 

So that's about it for the moment. I do have some more half finished stuff waiting in the wings I hope to have finished before the clock runs out in about a month time. 

3x 20mm vehicles plus 1x 20mm figure (yes, it's a full figure, just lacking the boots) should net me 49 points.

***

We have missed your work Nick! I'm sure we can all relate when the elusive "hobby mojo" is just not there, owing to real life events. That said, I'm glad you have found a way to power through it, and I know I speak for all Challengers when I say it is always a real treat to enjoy your work!

And, as ever, it looks just...amazing! Incredible stuff. The green is just-right. The shading is incredible, and all of the extra bits and gear give the armour that "live, lived in" look the radiates from the photos of these vehicles on campaign in that era. They look like they have been through weather and rain and dust etc. It's just excellent. 

Plastic kits are a challenge for me too - and I suspect, a bit of a mixed bag for all of us. No doubt many can relate to details or bits being lost in the hobby process. Some of us even straight up drop them - multiple times...anyway, rest assured they have come through the process to look incredible. That is probably why I am prone to preferring a "PSC-style" kit (assuming they are ever in stock, but that is another issue) to others. 

Vinyl tracks? Screw that! You get an extra bonus point for fiddling with that nonsense. 50 points for you!

GregB

From SylvainR: Tray 02 - 6mm Comet and Churchill Tanks (78 points)

 

 This week, I offer my last tray of late WW2 Canadian/British elements. 

 

First, some Comet tanks. These represented the final development in the series of cruiser tanks. I've put some blurbs of paints in the front and back of the tanks to mimic the unit's insignias and weight limitation warnings. When you keep the miniatures at arm's length, the normal distance on the table, you can't even see them :-). 

 

A side view of the Comet. The squadron triangle on the turret is about 1 millimeter wide. It's amazing what the camera on an i-phone can do nowadays. I remember struggling with taking good photos not so long ago.

 

Next, a squadron of Churchill Mk. II and III modified for the Dieppe raid. A few years ago, Challenger DallasE painted amazingly detailed Churchill tanks for Dieppe which greatly impressed me. My models are nowhere as clean as his, but I'm still happy with the final result.

 

I added the typical exhaust pipes on the rear deck by drilling micro holes in which I inserted bent needles.

 

Again, blurbs of paints suggest tank names and serial numbers. I could have sourced tiny decals for this project, but I just wanted to get them done. Now I just need to find a casino for scenery and I'll be ready to play Dieppe!

 

Finally, a squadron of Churchill AVRE. These will help the Royal Engineers get the "work" done on D-Day.

 

With these units done, I have finally completed my late WW2 Canadian/British army with a total of 11 trays. I worked on this project mostly from June to September of last year, basing already painted miniatures, touching up some others while putting aside the unpainted models for the Challenge.  

I displayed some of the miniatures that were painted at the time in the officer's mess of the Regina Armoury on November 11th, Remembrance Day in Canada. It was an homage to the 1st Canadian Division who fought mostly in Italy and I was showcasing the military organization of infantry regiments, showing also some support vehicles, etc. It was well received. Note the magnifying glass at the disposal of aging eyes. A Canadian veteran (not from WW2) took a look, immediately pointed at the weapon company and said: "This is me!" He then explained he was on a mortar team during his service. We then compared for a few minutes the effectiveness of the 2", 3" and 4.2" mortars. It was great to connect with the veterans. 

Please, allow me one more photo to show you the little dioramas I made for the battalion HQs. The Canadian commanders are identified by little flags while the British commanders have none, so I can make the troops either Canadian or British. When naming commanders, I like to honor people I know. Challengers might be able to identify Mudry, Ewen, Burch and Violago. And maybe Rheault? :-)

 

Here is the updated to-do list of my WW2-6mm project, something I started in 2021 after a friend of mine decided to retire from wargaming and gave me his collection, a treasure he accumulated over 40 years. His miniatures were in serious need of TLC and I decided to give them a new life by putting everything on bases (ha ha, silly younger me). I remember back then naively ordering 500 bases from Warbases, fearing that it would be too much and that I would be stuck with surplus for the rest of my life... As of today, I have finished well over 4,000 elements, and I have not yet started working on US and Soviet armies. At the core of each army I have completed so far is an infantry battalion. I now have 9 such battalions, which is the equivalent of an infantry division where each tiny 6mm figurine represents a soldier in real life. A division... My insanity is factual... 

Points claimed: 

39x 6mm vehicles at 2 point each = 78 points

Total = 78 points

Thanks for reading! 

On Comet, on Churchill, on,,,oh wrong Comets.  Love to see the Comets in play instead of the all too prevalent Shermans Sylvain.  Your painting at this fine scale is amazing, and I don't want to think about adding the exhaust pipes to those Churchills.  And everything is wonderfully based to your normal standard.  Thanks for sharing your photos from the local Remembrance Day event, great stories there.

And no need to worry, none of us doubt your sanity..Peter

 

From SylvainR: Tray 01 - 6mm Late WW2 Canadian AT guns and some other minis (100 points)

Happy New year everyone. I'm a little late to the painting party. Family matters kept me busy during the Holidays but I should be able to catch up. 

Yes, I am still plowing through my (never ending) 6mm WW2 project. Let's start with a few "completion" projects, which means miniatures I "needed" to add to collections I previously worked on.

First, some artillery for the Italian army in the desert. The 75/27 are from Heroics&Ros while the 100/17 are from GHQ. All crew members are from Heroics&Ros.

A battery of Italian 75/27.

A battery of Italian 100/17.

Some additional units for the British in the desert: armored cars and AA tanks.

I love the look of the British Rolls-Royce armored car. It evokes the very early stage of the war.

Here is a close-up. Models from GHQ.

Two Crusader AA tanks, armed with 40mm Bofors AA guns. Take that Luftwaffe! Models are from CinC.

Now a big leap towards the end of the war, with 6-pounder anti-tank guns for the Canadian army. Those with yellow coding are for the weapon company, while those with white coding are for regimental/divisional support. All the models, guns and crew, are from Heroics&Ros.

A close-up on the 6-pounder AT guns.

For big cat hunting in the bocage of Normandy, the serious Allied commander demands 17-pounder anti-tank guns. Here are two platoons of this excellent weapon. Guns and crew are from Heroics&Ros, trailers from GHQ.

Points claimed: 

104x 6mm foot figurines at 1/2 point each = 52 points

30x 6mm guns at 1 point each = 30 points (not counting the trailers)

7x 6mm vehicles at 2 point each = 14 points

Total = 96 points

Thanks for reading! 

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Wow that's a ton of micro-wonderfulness mon ami.  Lovely basing on both the Western Desert and NW Europe units.  I agree that the Rolls A/C screams early desert war and that's fine paint job on that little mini.  I am rounding your score up for the trailers and the excellent basing.

From FrederickC: Behind the Rolling Barrage - The Victors of Vimy (150 points)

 

The Taking of Vimy Ridge, Easter Monday 1917 by Richard Jack

My second submission for AHPC XV is a group of 28mm First World War Canadian infantry from Renegade Miniatures that I bought on a Christmas visit to my family in Calgary at least fifteen years ago. It consists of two Vickers machine gun teams ready to lay down suppressive fire, plus four sections of six soldiers. Each section contains four men armed with rifle and bayonet, a Lewis gunner, and his No, 2, the last heavily laden with extra drum magazines. The sculpts are a bit on the chunky side compared to other First World War miniatures, but the faces have real character. They look like they were inspired by Captain Bruce Bairnsfather's cartoons of 'Old Bill' from the pages of 'Fragments from France'. Alas, they now seem to be out of production.

After cleaning up the mold lines, etc. the figures were glued to 1 inch fender washers, and then sand was glued down with PVA. I primed them using a rattle can of Army Painter Fur Brown primer. The figures were then painted using Vallejo Acrylics as follows: skin - Flat Flesh, uniform - English Uniform, boots - German Camo Black Brown, helmet chin strap and pistol holster - Flat Earth, P08 webbing - Iraqi Sand, SBR pouch and helmet cover - Tan Yellow, helmet and rain cape - Camo Olive Green, rifle stock and entrenching tool handle - Beige Brown, metal rifle parts - German Grey, bayonet - Steel, buttons, buckles, and snaps - Brass.

Once all the painting was completed, the figures got my usual treatment with Army Painter Strong Tone Quick Shade. This worked very well on these figures as the detail is quite pronounced, so the quick shade flows readily into any grooves or corners.

Shock Troops of the British Empire

Vickers Machine Gun Teams

No. 1 Section

No. 2 Section

No. 3 Section

No. 4 Section

Perhaps Bairnsfather's best know cartoon

The points being claimed are as follows:

 

30 x 28mm foot figures @ 5 points each = 150 points

Thanks for stopping by. 

 

Sylvain: Happy New Year Frederick, it's good to know that you are participating in the Challenge this year again. These WW1 Canadian soldiers look fabulous. Nothing fancy about their bases, since they are advancing in mud, but the scenery bits you used in the background of your pictures really enhances their realism. All in all, a great entry.