From ChrisH: The Last Gasp 15mm and the Pile of Shame (60 Points)

I have watched with envy how so many have remained focused on the task at hand and more importantly so many of you have stuck with only a few areas. Sadly my mind drifts from project to project. Sometimes it is the whim of the shiny new toy or new set of rules. Or I just get inspired to dust off the old metal sitting in the box for too long. For my final submission I present a small selection of 15mm Zulu War British. They sat unloved for 2 years, but when a friend bought All Quiet on the Martian Front I could not help myself. Colonial combats between warriors of incredible bravery but few rifles or The Heat Ray vs the thin red line. No brainer really "ULLA!".

For my final submission and one that I am less proud of is the collection of undercoated, bare metal, spot of paint or plain ran out of oomph to get them done that I had planned to get completed by the end of the Challenge. 

Persians, cave people, 20mm Brits, Crusaders for Lion rampant (the other five for my first unit), Hussars, Moderns, and the Brit Colonial cavalry to take the fight to the Machine. So many are so close but no time, no time.

Thanks to all, Dux and Paul G as minions worthy of a third version of "Despicable Me". To Curt for being mad enough to run it all again, and thanks to all of you for producing some fantastic painted toys that help me to remain 18 even in my 48th year.

Oh, Points for the end, 30 15mm X 2 points a mere 60 points.

_____________________________________

Ah, Chris, there is absolutely no shame in your confession, for what you describe is most of us, and in fact you are in friendly company. If I took a picture of my desk right now, it would show a cacophony of half-finished figures from over a dozen projects. Annoying at times like this? For sure. Then again, I'm sure both of us would agree that we wouldn't want it any other way. We must embrace the chaos of our toy soldiery. :)

While I little dark in the photo, I do like the look of your colonial British in their brave line, colours flying.  

I've not tried AQotMF, but I've heard from friends that it's quite fun. Your boys may want to slather on the SPF 10,000 when the Heat Ray opens up, but perhaps you can beat them to the punch by giving out 'Five Rounds Rapid'.

Now, what are those yellow-primed figures? :0)

60 points for you, sir. See you for the next campaign. 

ChrisH: still painting but no points dump (127 points)

Time keeps ticking away and my diverse range of interests (butterfly effect) means you have the chance to see a really odd mix of miniatures. I have a huge board of undercoated or part painted miniatures that I just can't get to finish. Some I only just purchased, others are pretty old but are seeing the light of day for the first time in years but now on with the photos, some of these are pretty old too. We recently found an old camera and I wanted to see if worked still. Thus the images are a bit smaller than usual as when I altered the original down to 72dpi it really shrank the photo. Best part about this is that I and you can't see all the errors.

2 Airfix Cromwells at 1/76 scale with an AB commander please note that I had a couple of decals for this lot.

Knight, the first of many for a Lion Rampant force I am putting together, this is an old original Citadel Miniature that I think Foundry now produce. I am pretty sure the Perry's sculpted these 20 years ago?

Matchbox Krupp Protz another blast from the past

Second Hand Reaper Lich that I just loved, I forgot to take a photo of the back that shows nice a dirty cloak bottom.

Airfix Clam shell US Halftrack, the price on the clam shell was 79c Australian or around 40 pence UK. Gosh I hang on to so old gems (or as my loving wife says "Gosh you hand on to some C..P!")

Nice Nomads for the Infinity game. I think most of these are out of production now but they still hold up as great miniatures. Not as old as the halftrack above.

ESCI or Italieri SDKFZ 251 1/72

PSC Sdkfz 250/9 again in 1/72 scale, this was a free sprue that PSC kindly sent with a preorder of their re-done rule book for Battlegroup. Really looking forward to playing with this one. (Rules and Halftrack)

Yu Jing Ninja Sniper for Infinity following the basing scheme that I used in the last painting challenge.

Different angle, at 40 points or so in the game it is hard to justify but as it is a Ninja hey what is not to love about it!

Last lot for this post, some foundry Cavemen. I also picked these up second hand and a quick coat of Army Painter barbarian flesh and a night of insomnia and ta da a hunting party from 30,000BC

What is rather nice is that my miniatures span 32175 years of history. Cavemen to the near future of 175 hence.

Points wise 11 X 28mm Minis at 5 points each and 6 X 20mm Vehicles at 12 Points each thus 127 points if my maths still serves me.

By Paul: What a wonderfully eclectic mix of goodness this submission is Chris - I love it!

Your Maths does indeed serve you well - watch out that Miles doesn't corrupt you to the dar side too the spreadsheet...!

From ChrisH - Tuesday's Mixed Bag (107 points)

I may just get there, well that is the hope. A mere 700 points this year and I still think I have bitten off more than I can chew. Work just got a whole lot busier as my Boss if off on paternity leave with his wife's first born and I have stepped into his shoes. Alas I spend my nights without a brush in hand. But to stay sane I get to lick the point into shape and splash the occasional colour on some old toys. In this case some Gripping Beast Dark age minis to go with my growing horde for SAGA and some really old Metal Magic Sci-fi troopers. Points wise 21 X 28mm at 5 each (based this time hehehe) I hope to net 105.

 Enough for the intro now onto the miniatures.

More Modern miniatures than those below. Infinity Nomads both painted just before CanCon 2017 but I only used the one on the right. He actually did rather well but seemed to take a bullet in every game.

Back shot, needs more work, oh well no time.

10+ year old gripping beat shield wall to add to my collection

Metal Magic (from Germany) Sci-Fi troopers, they were meant to be Japanese? I think but I have no paperwork to remember them by. These are the same company that made the brilliant Asterix miniatures. Oh how I want those figures. But they are out of my price range on evil-bay.

Purchased 15+ years ago and painted up for the new Osprey Black ops rules set I picked up in January.

Command for the section. What I like about these is the deep detail on all the figures. They take a wash rather well and even finger nails are present. I would love to know who the sculptor was and what they are up to now.

Section part a, of course there are more details to add, the webbing and packs need a khaki and the guns could do with further highlight. The "hacker"/medic/coms operator? in the middle has some great little button controllers that scream out for reds and yellows but no time.

Section part b, I tried a really simple desert style to practice on as I have some of the Empress Miniatures Australians that were bought in the Kickstarter they did around 2? years ago. The brown is a bit bright and the "blobs" a bit big for modern camo but I hope to refine it. Thanks for looking.

Alan and Paul: Well you have certainly managed to get an eclectic bunch finished this week, and a very respectable output given the selfishness of your boss in having a baby during the Challenge. Keep on plugging away there! I'm very taken with the Metal Magic troopers in particular. Never heard of this company, but they look great with your paintjob, and it must be very satisfying getting some paint on them after all this time. I've added a couple of extra points for the hand painted shields.

From ChrisH: Barely holding up my end of the bargain (48 points)

I had hoped to get this lot done before the end of last year alas it was not to be. Yet these 12 Perry Swiss crossbowmen are done. Soon they will fly off towards Canada to their owner that has been wondering what ever happened to them. So my last commission piece for a while has finished and I can get onto (not) painting my lead pile and plastic pinnacle.

Perry Swiss in Lorraine Livery

I recently had the pleasure of attending CanCon, Australia's largest games convention and playing in the Infinity tournament. The joy of 5 games in two days is great, but I was so rushed with my gaming and trying to sell stuff through the bring and buy that I both neglected to spend much with traders, nor take photos of anything else that happened on the days. I did not even get to meet up with other bloggers. For your viewing pleasure this was a friends little force, and a table typical of the day. Even if you are not overly competitive ( I am not) it is great to meet and game with people you just don't normally.

Brendan's force Photo from some one else blog

One of 28 brilliant tables. Photo from some one else blog

Overall points wise, 12 X 5 = 60points or a bit less as they are not based due to the clients requirements.

Alan and Paul: I'm sure the new owner will be proud to welcome such nice figures to his ranks
Sorry we missed you at the Bloggers meet up at CanCon - maybe next year.

As the rules are that figures to be 'based and groundwork completed', this was referred to the supreme court, who ruled that 4 points per figure would be appropriate. So 12 x 4 = 48 points for this unit

From ChrisH - A small bunch of dark age types and some more WWII (84 points)

As I had thought the time keeps getting away and I am just not sure I will make my quota of points. Alas life has a habit of getting in the way of one's preferred hobby. After spending time moving my daughter back into home and cleaning out her flat it has left the toys on the desk sans paint. But still I was able to complete this little lot a week or two ago. Next in line will be some Swiss, I hope.

This is a lovely miniature from the old metal Malifaux range called an Austringer. I painted it up for my son as a Christmas present only to give it to him oh a week ago because I had not done it in time for Christmas.

the Eagle is pretty big on the guys arm and in the game this is his "weapon"

PSC Churchill done as the AVRE with the enormous flying dustbin gun

In this hobby you get the chance to meet some great people. I have little skill with wood and thus get others to help me build terrain, cut bases etc. A friend has built me over time 2 brilliant little Horsa gliders out of wood in 15mm scale. He even based one crashed for me and I had always hoped to return the favour. And thus a small group of 8 dark age minis for his Saga warband. He plays Irish and Byzantines in the game and so I thought these two groups of 4 would make either 2 X Hearthguard or 1 X Warriors. Please note Dux the hand painted shields. (did not have any decals)

The guys on the left could even make nice command miniatures for the game and a flag on the right would make this chap a nifty little standard bearer.

PSC firefly again no decals, I am on the hunt for some allied stars at least when I go to the next games convention.

Bog standard Sherman V, I left stowage off this one as I have read enough about the battles in Normandy to appreciate the Shermans did not survive terribly long against the 75mm guns of the Germans and thus replacements were often quickly brought forward.

And so ends one more post attempting to reach the quota. Points.......9 X 5 for the 28mm and 3 X 12 for the 20mm Tanks. 81? Must pick up the paint brush this week. The Swiss are beckoning.

Alan and Paul: I have no idea what Malifaux is like as a game, but some of their figures are just great. You have done a lovely job on this one. It warms the cockles of my heart to see hand painted shields, as it does to see a Churchill AVRE, so their is lots to love about this entry. 81 points to you, plus one for the tank commaders, one for the eagle and one for the shields.

Chris' Challenge - What a Mug!

Well as requested by our overlord, the mug shot and then the shiny newly painted toys on mass.

I forgot to put two in the collection and sold the Napoleonic Brits so they are included as an addendum.

Looking forward to seeing everyone's efforts arrayed. I wrote the list for myself and thought gee that is a lot but upon putting it on the table it was not as much as first thought but then it is also around 4 times the amount I would have done. Hope you all had a similar result.

Photogenic mugshot (I hate selfies)

Just about all of it

taken from above

addendum 1

sold at a bring and buy

addendum 2 as I forgot I submitted these until too late to put with everything else

From Chris H - Nearing the end and still no points bomb Russkies and a few little planes and base tutorial

We near the end and I note that some very large numbers are creeping into the challenge as the hoarders wait 'till the death knell to display their ill gotten gains, whoops sorry their magnificently painted miniatures. Again the quality and output is rather brilliant, how you all get the time is beyond me but congratulations none the less.

My entry this time is 17 x 28mm Russians for WWII that are new releases for Eureka Miniatures in Australia. I don't even think they have them online yet. But if you are quick enough I am sure Nic can caste some up for you prior to Salute in the UK. Our North American gamer's will have to order from well, Nic. (please note that I am not promoting the company I just really liked these Russians they are certainly nicer than some of the plastics I have, even though I like them too.)

Commanders

LMG

LMG

Half the squad including a commander and LMG

Stalin's children, the other half of an 11 man squad

I plan on using them as a veteran squad in Chain of Command or Bolt Action, prefer Chain of Command but more likely to see them in a Bolt Action game. I did note after photographing them that I have neglected to do the red star on the field cap, doh.

1/200 Scale Me109s from Scotia in the UK

Same three different angle, these are for Wings of Glory/War and a Battle of Britain game we want to have at the club. Still have to think of a flight unit and put the correct markings up the fuselage but they will look nice on the table.

Finally a couple of bases, I have had the odd comment about the nice bases, I put it down to the tufts rather than any real talent. But here is how it works.

Step 1 Beach sand or river sand from a plant nursery glued to the base with PVA (Elmers?). Let this dry.
Step 2 Brown Ink wash, yep brown ink not paint, the ink seems to flow via capillary action so much better than paint. It is not quite as sticky as paint but then if you had enough PVA glue it should work. let this dry.
Step 3 heavy dry brush with a yellow ochre artist paint (so much cheaper than Vallejo or other model paints). Let this dry.
Step 4 light dry brush with a light beige or cream (Vallejo Dark Sand). Dry again.
Step 5 Tufts and or static grass. Long gone is my Cathode Ray Tube screen so the static grass does not stand up but it still can look nice. Hence the use of tufts.

Oh and you do this with the minis glued on obviously. The image of the unadorned by miniature bases is for you to see the stages.

From left to right Stage 2-5 one final step is to paint the sides/lip however you want, black is my preference.

Points wise, 17 x 5 plus ??????? for the planes, maybe 5 each as well as they are sort of 28mm size?

Thanks for looking. Maybe a neat 100?

Lovely work Chris! Those new Eureka Russians look very nice indeed and you've done great service to them here. I also know many of us will appreciate your basing tutorial. I'm totally behind your use of inks to give both depth and blending to ground elements. Personally, I'm a big fan of acrylic texture gel sprinkled with tallus, but this is largely because I'm lazy. I've not heard of the cathode tube approach to static grass - I'm going to have to try that out. Great stuff.

From CrisH - Running out of time and puff Chris' poor attempt at a few more points (20 Poitns)

Well the heading states the situation. As a teacher I love school holidays. The brushes are out and challenges are possible but once work starts it is a good day to apply paint in the evening and not be working on lesson plans. I use painting as my therapy to keep me sane as it were, odd really as I so enjoy painting history, fantasy and Sci-Fi I wonder what Freud would have said. Gaming has always been a pleasure but if I don't get a game I don't really mind so much but if I can get the brushes out then it starts to nag a bit on the old neurons. So this is my excuse for a mere 2 minis from the Reaper Bones range, a purple metallic toned Gorgon/Bull thing and a, well, green river troll. As they are bigger 28mm minis I am going to plead for 10 points each.......you know.....cos well I am trying to get to 900points and running out of time. HeHeHe

Gorgon Bull thingy?

T'other side

The highlights look better up close ho hum

Bones minis have an issue with skinny legs and falling over bodies but still for the price I now have monsters I only dreamed of owning when I was young.

I have to admit that I am still enjoying the challenge and glad to have had a shot at it. So many nice miniatures on display and so many nice people too.

Great work Chris! I'm glad you've been enjoying the Challenge - I  think many of us would agree that painting miniatures is a form of relaxation, if not required therapy. 

I've heard a lot of mixed reviews on the Bones range, but I still like many of their designs and these two beasties are very cool. Is it me, or does the troll's spiny ridge similar to that of that of Godzilla's? He must have great aspirations!  I especially like how you've done the armour plate hide of the Gorgon and the green skin of the river troll. Two tough opponents for any group of adventurers, I'd expect.

You're just a little over 100 points from your goal now Chris. Keep up the great work!

 

From ChrisH - Yu Jing and a few more Z hunters (50 Points)

Well as I thought I am running out of time to paint due to work commitments. But I have a few miniatures from the Infinity universe and a couple of post modern Zed Hunters to add to the ones from before.

To be honest I have barely had time to look at the fabulous eye candy that keeps appearing let alone make a comment. I was asked to come up with more points well I think that I may be able to get to 900 but little more. Points wise 10 X 5 = 50. Just got a new phone so using it this time. Hope you all like them, I do.

Great work Chris! I quite like the purple armour of the Infinity rankers juxtaposed against the white of the heroes. Did you freehand those hexes on their bases? If so, yikes, that takes more than a bit of discipline! Also, who makes the Zombie hunters? Those are nice looking models as well.

50 more points for your final push to 900!