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 Chris K - US Vehicles in 1/56 - 90 points

 Hello - time to come in from the cold!

In Real Life, I'm a high school teacher here in the UK, so the last month has been almost comically busy with the return to the new normal. This has meant that the batch-painting of vehicles has had to take a back seat. 

Frustrating? - yes. 

Insurmountable? - NEVER!

Please find here a modest collection of vehicles intended to act in loose support of my US 92nd Buffalo Soldiers as they move up through Italy...and a little something extra, too, for the Sherman 105 doubles-up as a British Firefly IC!

I've claimed 90 points for this, as it's really three full vehicles (20 points each) plus two hulls and one chassis (10+10+10) - that seems a fair bid to me.

Firstly, we have an M8/M20 Greyhound (Rubicon):

(The non-turreted version isn't pictured here - I forgot!)

Next, to work with the sneaky recce element above, an M18 Hellcat (Warlord Games):

Now this is an M4 High Speed Tractor (a beautiful model from RKX Miniatures with additional stowage from Rubicon):

And finally, the US Sherman 105mm, which (due to the awesomeness of Rubicon kits) can be re-hulled as a British Firefly IC, which here I've painted up in Polish colours. After a LOT of thinking and planning, I worked out that the differences in shades of green could be mitigated by a cunning combination of blended weathering and some artistically arranged Warlord Stowage on the glacis plate, necessitating a shift of the Firefly's insignia to the upper hull:

And here's how the sausage gets made:

Here's to the sprint finish, eh?

Thanks for all of the inspiring work, Everyone!

- Chris K

From Dallas: A Miscellany! (42 points)

So I'm still waiting on a base for my submission for the Hall of Heroes, which is the last room left for me in the Chambers of Challenge. In the meantime, though, I've still been painting, and I have a bunch of random stuff in different periods, genres and scales to submit!

First up is the second painted model from my Barons' War (part 2) project - the Lord Edward.

This is another model from the Curteys Miniatures range and it's really good. The Curteys models have separate heads and weapons but they fit fairly well.

Heraldry was all painted freehand of course.

This was a good one to get done. Fortunately the heraldry on the other knights will likely be simpler than this! Ten points for a mounted 28mm model.

Next up are a couple of models from my teenage collection - a Grenadier Djinn and treasure chest.

I think that the skin on this model turned out well. I basecoated it with GW Rhinox Hide and highlighted with Mournfang and Skrag Browns.

Even painted the eyes! It's quite a large figure (it's on a 40mm base) so I will claim seven points, and three for the small treasure chest.

Here's another Grenadier model from 40 years ago - the Iron Golem. I painted him as a bronze golem as I thought that was a bit more interesting.

Colours used were Retributor Gold, Hashut Copper and Brass Scorpion, as well as Agrax Earthshade.

Decent detail on this model for something sculpted over 40 years ago. Seven points for this big model as well.

Next up are two 28mm downed Soviet pilots from Mongrel Miniatures. These guys are super-characterful and enjoyable to paint for sure. 

Dude reaching for his pistol.

His companion is nursing a wounded arm.

Ten points for these two 28mm models.

Last model in the post is one that had been sitting on the painting table primed for some years... it's a 20mm Sherman tank from an unknown manufacturer. Not sure how I got it as I don't do WW2 in 20mm anymore (and sold all my models in that scale). The model is quite nice - resin hull and turret with metal tracks and gun - and well detailed. 

The original .50cal machinegun went AWOL at some point but I substituted a 15mm plastic one (gasp!) that seems to work OK. 

As you can see, it's been painted as a Soviet lend-lease vehicle. The idea is that it will see service with Conscript Greg's 20mm Soviet forces. Of course he'll probably want to stick it on a base or something crazy :-)

I'm pretty pleased with it actually. The base is Castellan Green highlighted with Death World Forest. Decals are from the decal folder - Tamiya 1/48 StuG III (turret numbers) and Tamiya 1/48 T-34/76. Some shipping and mud splashing completed the work.

Fifteen points for a 20mm vehicle. I'm hoping that my next post will be to fulfill the Hall of Heroes challenge and from there I'll prostrate myself before the Altar of the Snowlord!

Happy Valentines Day everyone and please stay safe in all senses of the word ;-)

From AlexK: U.S Armour (20 points)

This post is an addition to my World War II "Chain of Command" U.S platoon, its a 28mm scale Sherman M4 from Rubicon. The kit is nicely detailed and took paint well, not so much my poly-cement, but with the correct level of swearing and cursing she finally went together. I may well pick up another kit at Vapnartak this weekend, nice easy challenge points as they are.

Points wise I think it's a nice round 20.

Fom DaveD. Well you cant' beat a bit of Detroits finest.