From TobiasK: Afghan civilians (45 points)

So, it is time for my final entry to this year's Painting Challenge. My plan was to present you some more Elves today, but unfortunately, I forgot to order the proper decals. After realizing that, I had to improvise. So we are back in Afghanistan today.

Luckily I had some civilians on the lead pile to paint for this week's entry. Without further ado, let's take a look at the miniatures.

All miniatures are by Empress, and I had a great time painting them. It's also worth mentioning, that they lack any modern "items", so they can also be used in other encounters in Afghanistan. In conclusion, great bystanders to add to the gaming table.

Book keeping:

7 x 28mm foot figure = 35 pts

1 x 28mm mounted figure = 10 pts

Total: 45 pts

From Millsy:

Our games always need more civvies to make them interesting. Lovely work on these Tobias, right up to the wonderful standard you've shared with us all the way through this Challenge. I particularly like the tea drinking vignette, showing the simple but important things in life - being present for others and sharing time with people who matter to you. And tea :-P

45 more points for your tally mate. Congrats on a cracking effort overall.

From TobiasK: Rangers for Oathmark (50 points)

Besides my Afghanistan project, I am currently working on an Elf army for Oathmark. Oathmark is a rank and file system in a fantasy setting.

Unfortunately, painting time was short, so I only painted 10 Rangers. Rangers are skirmishers in Oathmark.

Book keeping:

10 x 28mm figures = 50 pts

From Millsy:

Ten figures is nothing to sneeze at Tobias. Sometimes you just have to accept that you've only go so much time and make the bets use of it. Great brushwork mate and I'm hoping to see more of your elves before the challenge is done for the year.

From TobiasK: Carts and witchcraft (80 points)

I painted up more medieval / fantasy miniatures for this week's entry.

As an addition to Piers the Ploughman, I chose two carts from 1st Corps. Lovely miniatures, which can be used as mission objectives or simply as scatter terrain.

Because I was in the mood to paint, I added some witchcraft to this week's entry. Witches Coven by Warmonger Miniatures, to be precise.

Group shot:

That's it for this week. I hope everybody has a great time painting!

Bookkeeping:

2 x vehicle (28mm) = 40 pts (@Millsy: I assume a cart counts as a vehicle.)

8 x miniatures (28mm) = 40 pts

Total: 80 pts

From Millsy:

Great looking carts and livestock you have here Tobias, but for me the pick of the bunch are the witches and the cauldron. Fit to grace the stage in a certain Scottish play, these will do equally well on the table I'm sure. Warmonger do some great stuff and I'm pleased to see their kit getting some love.

I'm not sure if it was deliberate, but I like the way you've carried the purple and green from the witches' garb into the colour of their brew. I can only imagine what kind of punch that must pack given the colour!

80 points it is. Nice work mate!

From TobiasK: Technicals for Afghanistan (60 points)

For this week's entry, I painted some technicals. Technicals are a stable of today's warzones, so I needed some for my collection.

Technical SPG 9

The first technical is armed with an SPG 9 recoilless rifle.

Technical ZU-23

The second technical is armed with a ZU-23, 23 mm anti-aircraft twin-barreled autocannon. The ZU-23 itself is removable.

Technical Vehicle only

The third technical is unarmed and serves as a transport.

The ZU-23 is not glued to the vehicle, so it could also be used on the red one.

Group shot:

All models are from Empress Miniatures. It was my first try at painting windshields on vehicles. Although I am not totally happy with the result, it doesn't look too bad either.

Book keeping:

3 x 28mm vehicle = 60 pts

From Millsy:

Three very solid, reliable looking technicals you've got there Tobias. As you say, the staple of brush wars, insurrections and all manner of off the books operation in the middle of nowhere. I can't imagine engineers spend a lot of time thinking "This will go down really well with shady types" but there you go.

Windscreens are a mini painter's curse IMHO. I've painted a pile of them this week and there's no right way. I err towards the simple like you have, figuring that's better than making a pig's ear of something more complex.

PS. I'm fascinated by the poster. Clearly someone is having a poke at Toyota's marketing department and it's rather well done indeed.

60 points for your tally mate.

From TobiasK: Piers the Ploughman and the Tax Collector (45 points)

Last week's entry featured King Ronnie and his lavish court. But of course, somebody has to pay for all the pomp. So for this week's entry, I focused on ordinary people. All miniatures are from Foundry.

So here comes Piers the Ploughman dutifully plowing his field.

This was followed by the dreaded tax collector harassing a poor peasant. 

The final part of this week's entry features one of the King's Men after successfully collecting some taxes.

Group shot:

Bookkeeping:

• 7 x 5 (28mm miniatures) = 35 pts
• 1 x 28mm crew-served weapon = 10 pts (@Millsy: I am not sure if the plow falls in this category)

Total: 45 points

From Millsy:

Great to see more civvies making an appearance in the Challenge Tobias, even if one of them is an evil, miserly tax collector! I really like your vignette style basing, arranging the minis in such a way as to tell a story to compliment your wonderful painting.

Whenever I see this kind of thing I immediately start to wonder what's been said, has it been well received and what happens next? Perhaps they're arguing over who is going to pay the taxes, all the while oblivious to the oncoming plough and the fact at least one of them is about to pay the ultimate price!

45 points it is mate :-)

PS. Maybe next time you could crop your photos a bit more so we can see your efforts even better?

From TobiasK: King Ronnie the Brave and His Majesties (30 points)

I painted King Ronnie the Brave and his court by Foundry for this week's entry. I had this miniature for years now, but they never made it on the workbench. So the AHPC was a good kick in the butt to finally paint them.

The miniatures are lovelily sculpted and full of character. I plan to use them in a fantasy skirmish campaign. Basically, King Ronnie will be the King of some minor realm.

The only thing of interest is his wife, who loves to throw money out of the window. Just like Marie Antoinette aka Madame Déficit. 

So poor Ronnie has to exploit his subjects. Hence the King and his costly wife are very unpopular among the folks in the realm. Maybe that's the reason why Ronnie is always escorted by his two bodyguards.

And a herald, of course, because any self-respecting king needs one!  

And the jester, you may ask? Well, he seems to be always around the queen. So maybe poor Roonie is in even more trouble. But that's a story for another day.

Group shot:

Bookkeeping:

6 x 28mm miniatures = 30 points

From Millsy:

I absolutely love these Tobias! Your colour choices are spot on, especially the queen and the jester. I was completely unaware of these miniatures until now and I can already feel the temptation building in the back of my mind. So full of character and you have really brought the to life with your brushwork.

Are there any more in the pipleline? I hope so!