From ChrisW: Library tour with no 15mm Sci-fi! (gasp) (320 points)

Coming at you!

First off thank you everyone who has been so kind as to comment on some of my stuff, it is very much appreciated. Also thank you to my minion for many nice comments and for doing the minion job so well. I have had challenges this time around in posting comments. I have no problem submitting posts, but the system does not recognize me when I try to posy, weird. I can only post comments when I use another device and I do not always have access to that device.

This week I plan to tackle a couple of sections, backtracking a bit. First up a visit to the cooking section.

 Cooking section, (some soup gone bad turned into a weapon!)

Here we have the old but charming GW halfling soup artillery. This has been sitting in a blister pack in my collection for a few decades. I recently decided to build a Halfling army for Fantastic Battles. At  one point I planned to paint some of them for this challenge but alas I became distracted. But I needed a cooking themed entry so out these came. They are based on a 60mm x 60mm base for use in the FB game and are now the first company that I have produced for my fledgling Halfling army. I figured that any good Halfling chef would have additional supplies and some liquid refreshment, so I added in some extra details onto the base.

Nautical section

Returning to the previous area I tackled some long put off boats. Up first were some gondolas that I needed for a game played last weekend. I have used my Venice set a few times but never got around to painting the gondolas that are so iconic to the setting. Part of the reason that I initially hesitated in painting them up was their size. They are kind of big looking  but I have come to accept them because they are after all intended for gaming. So yes they are wide but then they have to hold figures that are on bases and you need to have room for multiple opponents to fight it out, so they do work. 

Well, I got three of them built and painted for last weekend and worked on the last two this week. They are from Plascraft and now OOP, but I recently stumbled upon some paper plans which will be handy should I require any more.

Ah Venice

Scene from the game

I am currently hosting the Pulp Alley China station campaign and will need some sampans for an upcoming game. So, it was time to paint these up for that. They are grey board models by Sarissa. I did modify the shelter by covering the original part with crepe paper and white glue. It gave it a nice texture look to the coverings much better than the original look.

Then there is the motor boat that I do not need but that was in the same box as the sampans, so what the hey might as well paint it up too. It is the river launch by Ainsty. It is a straight forward model without any extras but is good for gaming purposes and will work well for bootleggers.

 

Literature

I managed to find a couple of  literature themed figures in my collection. So, I have some Blue Moon Sleepy Hollow figures (more on the painting table) a couple of versions of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson (I still have another version of each) and finally a figure I plan to use as Mr Hyde.

The legend of Sleepy Hollow 

Another of those thins that I want to get to, some time, is a Sleepy Hollow scenario. I have both Blue Moon sets plus a lot of the building that I would need to run a game so it is high time that I got to painting the figures. (Just turned 63 so time is ticking even quicker it seems)

A couple of Sherlocks and Watsons 

How many Sherlocks does one need? Less than what I have I suspect! So, plans to do some sleuthing around London have advanced somewhat so this is the start of a major push to get stuff ready to game. On the table are some other sleuths such as Lestrade, Edmund Reid and Fred Abberline and others set to be painted next week. 

Blue Moon miniatures

 

The country version

Westwind miniatures

Mr Hyde from League of Extraordinary Adventurers (my version)

Some Bobbies in search of crime (a policeman's life is not a happy one)

These are an assortment of figures, not really certain where all of them came from, but I would guess Eureka and West Wind. There are a couple of different helmets on display as well as different clothing styles. I believe they are the last of the Bobbies that I had to paint.(at least I hope so) I have plans to do some Victorian gaming in the not too distant future. 

So the totals

•   25 points for Hot Pot kettle weapon 3x 28mm Halfling crew
•   20 points for Cooking section 
• 160 points for 5x 28mm vehicles Venetian gondolas, 2x Sampans, 1x motor boat??
  
•   20 points for Nautical section
•   20 points for 4x 28mm foot Sherlocks & Watsons
•   15 points for mounted and foot Sleepy Hollow figures
•   40 points for 8x 28mm bobbies & Mr Hyde
  
•   20 points for Literature section
  

Total 320 points

 Squirrels this post +3

Squirrels to date [18]

1. Hammers Slammers
2. Ikwen alien infantry
3. Hanuman (Alien) vehicles 
4. New Swabian league armoured vehicles 
5. Rats
6. Scarabs 
7. Mercenary Sci-fi vehicle
8. NAC Sci-fi vehicles 
9. Foo dog statues
10. Terracotta warriors  
11. NSL Bikes
12. Generic sci fi vehicles
13. Civilian sci-fi vehicles 
14. Egyptian cultists  
15. Mud Men 
16. Ladies of the evening (and Jack)
17. Halfling artillery
18. Venetian Gondolas 
19. English Bobbies

Quite the points bomb here Chris, nothing new about that though except for the variety of subjects! Love the old-school halfling hot pot, so characterful and will fit great in any runty fantasy army. Boats are boats but I really like the Persian carpets in the gondolas and the motorboat should come in handy in any Pulp scenario that requires... motorboating. The Victorian models are great too, I really like the variety of Holmes and Watsons, and you did a really super job in Mr. Hyde as well. The bobbies are well done too and will be useful in any game that needs law enforcement.

Happy birthday to you with 320 points on your tally!

Dallas

From Guy B: : Thursday - Lighthouse (missed the bonus round) 10 points

I've recently been playing a number of games of Cruel Seas. I ran a game at Poldercon 2019 for which I painted up several ships. I'll post these next week - I was unsure what to cost them as.

One of the items I didn't quite get painted in time for the Poldercon demo was a Lighthouse. The model is by Warlord Games. I started with a grey primer undercoat which was dry brushed with Army Painter Spaceship Exterior followed by Vallejo Off White. The finished model looked a bit dull, so I added a red stripe.

Finally, I did the windows on the top of the model. The glass was painted a dark grey, then each window painstakingly picked out in white. Once dried, I then went around and each window painting it blue, starting with a Prussian Blue and adding a little bit more white each time. I'm quite pleased by the effect, which I wanted to be at twilight.

The rocks are from a railway company (Faller, I think). there were bought 'as is' so I've not painted them and I'm using them for show, not for points.

Warlord also has a ruined lighthouse, which I'll have to paint up to match this one for our games.
Points - I'm not sure. It's not quite a 6" cube so I'll tentatively suggest 10 points. There would have been a bonus of 50 points if I'd posted last weekend, but guess who misread the bonus round dates? Oh well, there's always the next one...


Lovely finish on this lighthouse, you're dedication is evident in the painting of the windows! I really like the red stripe and look forward to the ruined version coming through at a later date. It's oh so easy to miss the bonus rounds which most of us have found to our cost! So no extra 50 points but 10 points to your total!

All the best Iain

From MilesR: 15mm Napoleonic Ships - 4 of 'em (208 Points)

More 15mm Napoleonics for this submission but the miniatures are in the form of boats - four of them to be specific. All of the models are from Thoroughbred Miniatures Sea Eagles line and are true 15mm scale (vs the 18mm of Old Glory and AB miniatures).  Each model kit does require a good bit of effort to assemble and paint up but I think are well worth the effort.

First up is a French Polacre.  A Polacre is a frigate design that is a cross between a Xebec (lateen sails on the front and back) and a square rigger (the center main mast).  The ships were found in the Mediterrain and were very manoeuvrable but not the fastest of hulls - in confined waters they were very dangerous opponents.  The total length of the model is 18 inches

Next up is a standard Brig - In the this case the model is the USS Onieda but she'll be used as a French ship this summer.  She mounts 16, 9 pounders and a big 32 pounder on the bow - This ship can cause some problems for our British friends.  The Onieda is 15 inches long.

The third ship is perhaps my favorite of the group - a 12 gun British Cutter - super fast with reasonable firepower. This one comes in at 9 inches in length.

Lastly, we have a 18 gun British Brig.  She's armed with 16, 32 pound carronades and 2, 18 pound long guns.  This ship can inflict a devastating broadside up close.  The model is 18 inches long.

Some of you may have noticed 3 of the ships lack rigging - I wanted to do a little play testing before final rigging.

Next up is - hey what's the yelling in the background....

I turn my back on these kids for just a second and they start fighting - incorrigible!

I've got two more ships to build - a three masted Frigate for the French and a large Xebec for the Brits - and, yes, in my upcoming game the British will be employing some Barbary pirates as mercenaries.  What gaming experience isn't made better with Pirates?

Ship building is very messy work.  My work space will need a tidy-up before proceeding.

As for points - I leave that up to Curt and his minions.  It's 60 total inches of 15mm Napoleonic Naval fun.  As for effort - these were actual a lot more work that the 28mm frigate that was submitted a few years ago.

I believe this entire submission should count towards the Nautical side duel.

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Some people produce a ship, Miles rolls out with a flotilla. I dunno folks, I think he's compensating for something. :) Seriously, amazing work Miles. These Thoroughbred models are just terrific and I know I'll be visiting them soon after I wrap this up. What are they made up of? Resin and white metal, or do they have some laser-cut wood as well? I'm eager to see how you get on with the rigging. What are your plans for crew? These will look even more glorious with loads of sea dogs capering on their decks. Very, very cool.

Points? Hmm. Well let's make them into the equivalent of 15mm vehicles in their rough dimensions. A 15mm tank would approximately fit across their decks, so 60 inches  (we're assuming that number is just the hull and not including the bowsprit) would equate to around 30 tanks. We'll round down due to the narrowing of the prow so let's say 26 vehicles worth. That times 8 and we have 208 points. 

Well done Mr. Reidy. Now, let's see this frigate and xebec you have in the wings.

From MilesR: 15mm Napoleonics - British Marines, Wagons and a Wee Gunboat (238 Points)

This submission continues on a 15mm scale Napoleonic theme with some British Marines, some wagons and a small gunboat.

First up are 2 units of British Marines.  These figures are from Old Glory's Blue Moon line and do the job well.  To be honest, I'm not that happy with the paint job as my right hand had a slight tremor that flares up from an old ailment now and then.  No whining though as these will still serve well on the tabletop.

The units have no flags with them as British marines lefts their colors aboard ship when deploying on land.

Here I am trying to be all artistic with the photo. This year I am going to try and learn to take better pictures.

Next up, we have some more Old Glory stuff in the form of a Wagon Train - 8 equipment wagons and 8 horse teams to pull them.  I put the horses on separate stands as I can envision some scenarios where the wagons are an immobile objective.  I really like how these came out.

The artillery ammunition wagons (in green) look sharp.  I made need to get more of those.

Lastly, we have the smallest of the seven 15mm scale boats that will be submitted this year (hopefully).  It's a single cannon armed gunboat.  I'm still deciding what to use for the sails.  I may 3D print something or just use the paper sails that came with the kit.  The model is from Thoroughbred Miniatures Sea Eagles line.  The model is six inches long.  I've learned over the years that extensive rigging looks wonderful but doesn't hold up well on the table top.  I go with what I call a "hint of rigging".  It sets the right look but is a whole lot easier to fix when required.



How does it compare to some of the other ships in the dry dock?

It's pretty small as compared to this French Polacre.

heh, heh, heh

What's next - more Old Glory Nappy stuff - some French Marines and British artillery and limbers.

Ok the sharp eyed amongst you may point out those are actually US marines.  You're right - but I'll paint them up as Frenchies - don't tell anyone.

As for points, here's the tally

56 British Marines: 56 * 2 = 112 points
16 Draft Horses: 16 * 2 = 32 points
8 Wagons: 8 * 6 = 48 points
1 Gunboat = 30 points?

Duels Wallah Paul - please include the points for the gunboat in the Naval Challenge.

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Lovely work, Miles. I sold off a significant 15mm Napoleonic collection years ago and have always regretted it - to the extent that I'm seriously thinking of doing it all over again, which is complete madness but there you go. 

I like that you're getting all arty n' stuff with your photos. Nonetheless, I warn you, it's a slippery slope. Next you'll be growing a beard and riding a single speed bike to your local fair trade coffee shop.

I appreciate the various wagons and carts you have here - things you rarely see on a tabletop, but should - another great aspect of these smaller, 'roomier' scales.

The gunboat is terrific and I like your 'hint of rigging' as it provides a wonderful impression of the ropey-canvasy things that kept these boats zipping about.

I agree with your call on the gunboat, but the wagons are classed as vehicles, so they get 8 each, not 6. So we'll go with 238 points for this haul. Boom Shakalaka.

The coffee is excellent btw, thank you very much. (Sorry, inside joke folks!)