From TomF: Hitler's Buzzsaw (20 Points)

Just in case you thought I only painted 10mm figures here are some 28mm WWII minis.

I had this German MG42 crew from Black Tree Design (BTD) base-coated and ready to paint several years ago.  My 28mm WWII collection has been dormant for a number of years which has kept my motivation to paint them fairly low.  But I needed a little point boost for the Challenge and a change from painting the little guys.

G.I.s referred to MG42 as Hitler's Buzzsaw because it sounded like the ripping of cloth when it was in action.  Because of its high rate fire, the barrels overheated fairly quickly, so GIs were trained to attack during the time when the crew had to change barrels.  Unfortunately for the GIs, the MG42 barrel can be easily changed out in about 7-8 seconds.

Here is a short YouTube video of the MG42 in action.

My typical painting technique is to basecoat, ink wash, and drybrush highlight.  In the spirit of the Challenge I tried some layering and blending with the uniforms, in addition to the ink wash.

Looking down the business end of the MG42 and crew!

Those all important extra barrels on the back of the assistant gunner.

Thanks for viewing my submission.

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You see so much of the late war camo so I find it's always refreshing to see some German Heer infantry in their 'happy days' uniform. 

I've always liked the look of the MG-34. With it's round-ported ventilated barrel, it always seemed so brutally utilitarian and lethal. You have very nice and clean brushwork on these fellows, this is especially seen in their shoulder tabe and tunic markings. I also really like the expended brass casings at the foot of the gun. Very nicely done Tom.
 

From TomF - AWI 2nd New Hampshire (31 points)

Next unit off of the painting table for the AWI Battle of Hubbardton project is the 2nd New Hampshire.

The 2nd NH is rather colourful unit uniform-wise (sky blue coats with red facings) which made it a lot of fun to paint.  As with the other American units, the rest of the uniform and equipment varied among the men of the regiment .

 The unit is composed of 30 10mm Pendraken figures.  I had intended on having enough figures for six stands (36 figures), but realized after having finished painting them that I had only base-coated and painted 32.  Hopefully I'll find the motivation to paint up another 4 figures in the future to join the two orphaned painted figures on a sixth stand.

Progress towards my goal of 500 pts. has been slower than expected.  I'm really going to have speed up my production over the next month!

Next up ... some British Grenadiers.

I have to say Tom that I am really taken with the project of yours.  The Pendraken 10mm figures are really nice and work well in these large units.  I could be seriously tempted to do SYW on a large scale with them..(slap!)

Lovely work on these little wonders, the facings and drum are nicely done and I love the flag. I also like the basing for these figures.  You chosen the right scale of turf to suit the figures, anything larger and they'd be hiding in elephant grass.  Checking my minion cheat sheet I get 30 figures @ 2 points per 10mm fig plus 1 for the flag =61 points.

From TomF: AWI 24th British Foot (38 Points)

The first unit of the British forces comes off the painting table for the AWI Battle of Hubbardton project.

The 24th regiment was the only regular Foot unit for the British at the battle.  The other units were converged light and grenadier companies. There are 36 - 10mm Pendraken figures (AWB21 and 38)  in this submission.  They have the Saratoga campaign cut-down tricornes and coats (lack of supplies forced them to do this for spare material for repair) and have dark-green facings.

According to the Perry miniatures web site painting guide, it is quite likely the flags were left behind especially since the 24th was assigned to the Advanced Guard Brigade.  But I didn't have the heart to field the unit without their colors. The flags were modified from images found at the British Regimental Drums and Colors web site.

Earlier in the Challenge JasperO submitted this same unit in 28mm.  If you missed his submission, he did a wonderful job and it is interesting to compare the different scales of our submissions.

This unit marks a milestone in the 20+ years since I started painting historical miniatures.  I have painted a lot of horse and musket period miniatures, but this is the first unit of Redcoats to ever come off my painting desk.  And there are more to come!

Next up another American unit for the Battle of Hubbardton project.

Thanks for viewing my submission.

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20+ years of Horse & Musket and you've never painted Brits up to this point?! I don't know how that even happens... ;)

Geez, these are lovely. Such fine brushwork and excellent attention to detail. If someone had said they were 15s I would not have questioned them. 

I can completely understand wanting to keep the colours with the unit. They would seem so incomplete without their brave banners waving above them. You did a great job on the base flag prints.

These 36 fellows will give you 38 points, with a few extra added in for the need-to-have flags.

Well done Tom!

From TomF: 10mm AWI Green Mountain Boys (38 Points)

First Challenge, first entry!

I've thoroughly enjoyed The Challenge over the last two years as a spectator.  But I really wanted to get off the sidelines and into the game this year.

The primary motivation for participating this year is that I have a project that needs to be completed by the end of March.  A colleague at the local university I work at is teaching a course on the American War of Independence (AWI) and has asked me to host a game.

I've decided to run the Battle of Hubbardton which was a small (but important) rearguard action during the Saratoga (New York) campaign that immediately followed the British capture of Fort Ticonderoga in 1777 (see Wikipedia summary here).  I chose this battle because it is fairly small and has some very colorful (both in uniforms and leader personalities) American and British/German units.  This is my first foray into AWI miniatures so I need to paint all units involved in the battle by the deadline.

The first AWI unit off the painting desk is an American regiment, the Green Mountain Boys (aka - Warner's Extra Continental Regiment).  A reenactment group of this regiment has a nice summary of the unit's history here. Click on the photo gallery link on the left of the web page for pictures of the reenactors in their uniforms.

All 35 minis are 10mm Pendraken.  

The regiment had dark green coats with red facings.  All other clothing and accoutrements varied based on what the individual soldiers brought with them.

There is a nice variety of poses that came in the Pendraken pack (AWA 7) which slowed me down in getting this unit finished. 

Close-up of the command stand.  The paper flag is an altered image that I borrowed from the internet.

Finally, a picture of the regiment from the rear.  Loved the sculpting of the hair on these minis.

Thanks for viewing my first submission.

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Really lovely work Tom! I've not seen the AWI range from Prendraken so this is a real treat, especially with how excellently you've painted them. 

A funny coincidence is that my wife, Sarah, is a direct descendant of Ethan Allen, one of the leaders of the Green Mountain Boys, drawn through her mother's line. I've always bugged her to join the 'Daughters of the American Revolution', but she won't budge (she'd look quite fetching in a tricorne and ruffled shirt).

I quite like the bold green, white and red you've used on these guys - they really do a wonderful job in drawing the eye to the figures. I also like the chunky bases - their thickness will help keep fingers off the boys. I know many of us are looking forward to seeing this project develop over the course of the Challenge!

38 Points, including one extra for the brave banner. Well done!