From Anthony O - Stoessis Heroes (15 points)

As a change up I have a small but interesting submission this week. Three 28mm miniatures from Stoessis Heroes. This small company specializes in characters and has an amazing range covering World War 2 primarily.

I am not sure I even need to introduce Kink and Shultz from Hogans Heroes. He has done a great job in sculpting them and I loved painting these two. They will form part of  a Bolt Action army and actually give me a great excuse to roll badly as they will clearly see nothing.

Next is David Stirling, the founder of the SAS and an iconic figure for those interested in WW2.

These guys will make great additions to any WW2 force and I will have a lot of fun in pushing them around a table.

Wow, these chaps are chock full of character and quite a departure from the dusty legions of bone you've been treating us to recently.  Cracking job on these, the paint schemes really fit them brilliantly.  Putting the first couple into an army on the table should certainly add some fun, but the best of the three for me is David Sterling - brilliant rendition of such an important figure.

15 points it is.

From Anthony O - Horde of Spear - 202 Points

The Empire of Dust continues to grow, this week it is a horde of Spearmen ready to defend the rest of the force from those pesky cavalry.

I have broken them up into two regiments for future flexibility but I envisage I will field them mostly as a horde. It just seems right for some reason to see such a wall of spears.

I admit it has been a slog getting through these guys, this challenge is fantastic for pushing me though and I now have the bulk of a good Kings of War force.

So I sort of lost count how many I put in there and the jumble makes it hard to keep count but there is definitely at least 40 28mm troops so I make that 200 points.

I can but admire the metronomic reliability of your posts Anthony, especially as they're all to the same crisp, clean standard!  I'm on record as being a big fan of the teal shields as a great counterpoint to the gold and bone, but the sheer size of this unit really brings it home and you can imagine this horde just washing over any enemies in a mighty bone-rattling wave - especially as you've painted so many that you managed to lose track of numbers!

Certainly looks like at least 40 to me, so 202 points it is with a pip for the two foremost standards representing one per smaller unit - well done as always!

From Anthony O - Revenant Worm Riders - 50 Points

I am continuing to fill out the Empire of Dust army with another submission this week. Revenant Worm Riders are a completely ridiculous concept but I love the absurdity. I mean if you are undead you may as well ride a weird undead snake looking thing right?

 I have again used Games Workshop Tomb King miniatures and will continue to do so. I understand the Tomb King line is hard to come by now and expensive as they have stopped producing them but I have sufficient for my project.

They really seem inefficient and not very useful in game but as a centerpiece they stand out and will be noticed.

I absolutely LOVE these figures!  The sheer absurdity of a skeleton riding a giant skeleton snake thing tickles me pink.  In some ways I wish I'd bought some when they were on general release, but given they'd only be sat on the shelves of holding in their box still now, its probably a good job I didn't!

The jade and gold effects on the hoods work marvellously and irrespective of their rules, they'll look awesome above the heads of their little bony cousins as that last picture shows.

Tricky ones to score these as they're more than cavalry, but not quite large enough to be vehicles with commanders.... so putting them through the appropriate algorithms, I get a score of 50 points for the three together.

From Anthony O - More Empire of Dust - 196 Points

My challenge within a challenge is to submit each week and so far so good. This week I have continued with my Empire of Dust using GW miniatures. It is a big one this time with a regiment of warriors and a regiment of cavalry.

These are my third and forth units of this army and it really seems to be gaining momentum.

All up there are 19 warriors and 10 cavalry giving me a total of 195 points.

I have really appreciated the feedback and nice comments about this army, it has really motivated me so thanks everyone.

Ah, yet more undead eye candy..... errrrr.... I can say that can't I?  Anyway, let's move on....

Very nice indeed, the colours still zing and there's something very satisfying about that last picture with the units all ranked up into the army.  Excellent work on getting a post in each and every week and that army shot really does show how quickly these things we leave languishing on the shelves can come together with regular painting time scheduled!

196 points in total, the extra pip coming for the blingin' banner on the horses.

Anthony O - Skeleton Regiment - 95 Points

I promised myself I would have at least something each week for submission and so far so good. This week it is a regiment of Skeleton warriors for my Empire of Dust army for Kings of War.

These skeletons are from the Games Workshop Tomb Kings plastic collection and are pretty nice and easy to put together and paint. I have continued with the teal green colour (seriously I don't even now what to call it) to unify the army and create a contrast to the bonewhite of the ahhh bones.

So it is back to back skeletons with more on the horizon with some cavalry and another regiment of warriors hopefully due next week.

All up there is 19 28mm skeletons so I make it 95 points.

And Mr Reliable comes through again!  I'm envious of anyone who actually gets a post in every week as I always tell myself I'll definitely do that..... only to fail by week 2!

The colour mix really works on these (like the chariots) and I do like the streaky effect on the shields as it helps to age them.  Being buried underground for who knows how long plays havoc on leather one would think...

I like the way you've picked out the alternative heads that GW did to "Ancient Egypt" the skellies up and grouped them at the front - very effective and helps take them out of the Old World to the Dusty World instead.

95 points it is!

Anthony O - Empire of Dust Chariot Horde 125 points

So I have something new again this week with the commencement of my Empire of Dust force for Kings of War. There is something more than a passing resemblance to the old Warhammer Tomb Kings in the force structure of the Empire of Dust and as such the fantastic Games Workshop miniatures can still be used.

 

I want to really make this army a showpiece and as I have never painted an undead army before a bit of an adventure for myself. I decided to use the turquoise type of colour to contrast against the skeletons and unify the force.

A chariot horde is not the most effective unit in my experience but I would not think a Egyptian undead army would be seen without one on the field being such an iconic unit.

I have a bunch more skeletons to do over the coming weeks and I may even concentrate on these guys to get as much down as I can during the challenge.

All up there are five chariots, ten horses and ten skeletons so I scored them as a vehicle with a bit extra to represent the extra details giving me 100 points (open to discretion of Minion).

Ah, one of the Thursday stalwarts in with yet another brilliant submission.  Variety is the spice of life, so they say, so I'm looking forward to the ruleset that will allow undead charioteers to fight Chinese Gangsters whilst both are attacked by Aussie commandoes!  I dare any of you to say you wouldn't buy that ruleset ;)

Anyway, I think the turquoise works terrifically with the gold and bone colours and I think the enemy will be terrified with these rattling towards them.... I know I would be!  It is a shame GW "squatted" the army as the figures were brilliant, but well done Mantic for picking them up for their ruleset.

Scoring chariots is new to me, so I've checked with Head Office and have been given the liberty to wield my abacus and decide upon 25 points each as a mix between two cavalry plus 5 for the chariot and scoring it as a 28mm vehicle with a couple of crew - so 125 points in total, well done Anthony!

Anthony O - 28mm Pulp Miniatures Chinese Gangsters (150 points)

I have been wanting to build a Chinese force for playing in Bolt Action for some time and I have finally made a start. This force is somewhat inspired by the IP man movie and the events themed around the Battle of Shanghai. Some of my research seemed to indicate that the Green Gang, a large criminal group in Shanghai, had a mutually beneficial agreement with the Nationalist government during the 20's and 30's. This agreement saw the Green Gang provide support to the Nationalists against the Communists and then the Japanese during the battle of Shanghai, to what extent I am not sure but it is enough for me to build a force around.

As far as a narrative for this army the history books say that the KMT Nationalists basically hired the Green Gang to break up Communist meetings and fight in the civil war. The Green Gang also provided financial support to the KMT from the profits of the heroin trade. This force will essentially include a lot of gang members who have been told to fight the Japanese and supplement the KMT Regular forces during the Battle of Shanghai. I imagine them ambushing Japanese patrols and disrupting supply lines through quick strikes during darkness.

I sourced the miniatures from the Pulp Figures range, unfortunately they have been withdrawn by Bob Murch to be refreshed and the only source now is Crucible Crush Productions. While they are pretty good some of them look a bit tired and I can see why Bob is redoing the range.
I will be going to Cobblestone Miniatures for the rest of the range as the have some great Nationalist soldiers and some other characters I can use to continue to build up this army.

All up there is 30 28mm troops coming to 150 points.

One of the joys of the AHPC for me is that I get to see things related to conflicts or figures ranges that I have absolutely no knowledge of and this absolutely ticks both boxes!  A criminal gang, supporting the Government, represented by a fantastic set of figures chock full of character.

I do like the Pulp Figures range as every character seems sculpted with a sense of fun and you've really brought these to life with the expressive skin tones I've come to expect and the clothes are bright enough to pop but not over the top.

I do like the basing too, looks like a right good mix of ingredients in there and it helps frame the figures.

150 points very much earned!

Anthony O - Papuans, Germans and some Space Marines - 180 Points

This week has proven to be a good week for me. Being the last week of holidays I put in some hard yards and managed to complete a bunch of miniatures including Papuans and Germans for WW2 and some more Marines for my Wolfspear Chapter of the Space Wolves.

The Papuans are up first, these 20 troops are 28mm from the new Australian range from Warlord Games and join my Australian Commandos on the finished shelf . All of a sudden I have half of a Bolt Action army done in two weeks. I like how they came out and are great miniatures, painting darker skin was a challenge though and I have a bit more to learn here.

Next is some Germans from mostly Warlord Games but also a Panzerschrek team from Artizan. These guys are the mop up from a previous project and will be finding a home with a friend in the next few months.

Finally I have some Games Workshop Pimaris Reavers and an old school Dreadnaught. The colours are my own version of the Space Wolves however, according to the Lore the Primaris Marines with the Space Wolf gene seed were formed into a successor chapter called the Wolfpsear. There is almost no information on them so I am finding my own way. The dreadnaught was a blast to paint it I think really fits in with the new Primaris marine scale.

So that 33 x 28mm equaling 165 points and I consider the dreadnought to be a vehicle so all up that's 180 points towards my 1500.

I do like those Papuans - forgive my ignorance, but what theatres were they involved in?  They look pretty mean and really give the Aussies commandos a run for their money in the tough stakes!  Really pleased to hear you've got virtually a whole new army..... Can I suggest you now need to make the opposing army up, with some scenery, as it would all be more points in the challenge ;)

I'll admit that even as a GW fanboy the primaris marines absolutely baffle me... How would old marines feel about being replaced? Are they a slightly cynical attempt by GW to sell more stuff to space marine fans who already have too many marines?  Or has the new plastic technology finally given them the opportunity to make marines as large and imposing as they always wanted to, but couldn't do so in metal?  Whatever the answer is, these are first rate examples - I absolutely LOVE dreadnoughts and this one is humdinger, he certainly has the look of a Dread who's been round the block!  I've scored the mortar as a 28mm figure too, so 34 figures and I think Dreads are scored as Guns at 10 points, so 180 points scored in a slightly different manner!

From Anthony O - Australian 28mm WW2 Commandos - 50 Points

For my first weekly submission I have chosen a ten man squad of Australian Commandos from Warlord Games. These metal miniatures are some of the newest in the WW2 Warlord Games range are are just top notch.

 They released an entire range of Australians for the Pacific Theater alongside a campaign book last year and I was very impressed. The quality is really good and the sculpts are dynamic and well thought out.

They did get some criticism over the size of the miniatures as they are just a bit bigger than the other 28mm ranges but it is of no consequence to me. There was also some grumblings about the size of the Owen sub-machine guns but I really like them, they are robust and stand out and after an experience where the entire range of Owens snapped from another manufacturer I would take robust over correct size every day.

I have a bit more of this range to do during the challenge including several squads of PNG Battalian troops.

For points there are 10 28mm Miniatures so that is 50 points.

What a fantastic start!  I wasn't aware of this range, but they certainly are very characterful indeed.  I'm with you on the functionality of slightly larger guns - once thin guns break, they're never going to stick together properly again and no amount of nice painting covers up a snapped gun....

Your highlighting technique works really well on these and I'm especially taken with your work on the faces - the looks of grim determination on the faces of the two chaps in the second photo are especially impressive.

Nice groundwork too, the mix of materials is really effective.  50 points it is and Thursday is off to a flyer!

From Anthony O - Grav Tanks and some Space Clowns (40 points)

To finish off my entries for the free-for-all I painted up a Falcon and Wave Serpent Eldar Grav tank along with two random Eldar Harlequins I had hanging around.

The Falcon and Wave Serpent were painted using the blister pack foam, same as the jetbikes I posted a few days ago. I find this technique really quick and easy and hopefully these bigger miniatures will show you in better detail the effects that can be achieved. I had a few comments about using blister pack foam to do chipping, that's how I started as well before looking at a miniature one day and thinking that it could be using to more wide spread blending.

I did up a guide a year ago for Bolt Action LRDG vehicles using this technique to provide a cheap and easy alternative to traditional brushes and airbrushes. A major bonus is how cost effective it is as we all have buckets of foam lying around. If you wanted to take a look at that guide just search for Bolt Action - LRDG review and painting guide and it should pop up.

The Harlequins were an extra blister among the Eldar I obtained as a trade and I thought I would paint them as a challenge. I can't spend long on individual miniatures as I consider myself an army painter and I get bored easily so these were painted in around two hours. The miniatures are very detailed and were fun to paint. No idea if I can ever actually fit them into a list but that never stopped any of us painting things up before right?

For points the tanks are 15 points each and the Harlequins are 5 so a total of 40 points for this submission.

__________________________________

Space Clowns. That kills me. How apropos.

<rant mode/on>

 I can't tell you how much Greg and I despised fighting Eldar, especially early lists run by our friend DaveV, who is an absolute artist at using these aesthetic freaks. With their insane weapons, unkillable Wraithlords, silly floaty-jetty things and ridiculous Farseers it was a guaranteed recipe for the snapping of crayons. Every time one of our Marine armies would face them, there would be nothing but smoking boots and Rhino parts by turn six. Infuriating. Whenever I see an Eldar army my hand immediately twitches, wanting to grab a hammer. 

Ahh, I feel much better now.

<rant mode/off> ;)

Lovey work Anthony! I can clearly see your sponge effect on the wings of the Falcon and Wave Serpent - very effective. Again, I really like the contrast provided by the black 'splinter pattern' on the hulls. 

For two hours work those Clowns are pretty darn impressive. I still want to hit them with a hammer but they'd just dodge away...

40 points for you - well done!