From SanderS: Bring on the big gun! (30 points)

 Hoi,

Time and inspiration are seriously lacking this Challenge for me, but yet I managed to finish two little pieces to keep going. First up is an Empire Hellblaster volleygun for The Old World.  

This is a great model and I had so much fun painting it for my Middenheim army, with the blue carriage and all the accessoires on the base.

Last is an unitfiller for my Bretonnian army, I think it's a resin 3d print from Highland miniatures. I have desert-themed it for the Araby Crusade part of my force. 

I have no idea how to classify the unit filler so am not counting it for points so just the crewed weapon for me today.

Cheers Sander 

Sander, I'm loving the throwbacks to Warhammer Fantasy Battle here! I have some triggering memories of playing against GregB's Empire army and its Helblaster (eek), man that thing was a deadly piece of ordnance. Yours looks fantastic in Middenheim colours, I pity the enemy who faces that thing. As far as the Bretonnian unit filler... it looks to me like about as much work as an infantry model, so I'm awarding five points.

That's 10 for the Helblaster, five each for the crew and five for the filler base, total 30 points.

Dallas

Welcome to the First Theme Round: 'Empire' / From Curt: Simon Bolivar - Liberator of Venezuela

I'm happy to announce that the gallery is up for our first theme round of Challenge XVI: 'Empire'. Here you will find all things imperial from 40K to Assyrians, Star Wars to the Ottomans. We have 37 entries for the theme which can be viewed in the 'Bonus Themes' section of the blog (click on the button in the navigation bar above, or simply here).

So, fetch your beverage of choice and settle in to enjoy the Imperial entries from our Challengers! Our marvellous Antipodean friend, Millsy, will be installing a voting poll so you can choose your top three entires, so look out for that.

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As to myself I wasn't planning on submitting for this theme round, but current events made me reconsider.

Here is my rendition of Simon Bolivar, famous Venezuelan military officer and master statesman, who during the Napoleonic period led Bolivia, Columbia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru and Venezuela to independence from under the rule of the Spanish Empire. 

Born as a South American Spaniard, Bolivar was educated in Europe and lived much of his early life in Spain. It was during this period of the Enlightenment that he vowed to help South America break from Spain and become fully independent. He returned to Venezuela and over the rest of his life laboured and fought to achieve this goal. In the south and central American region Bolivar is still viewed with great reverence, and the memory of his deeds are being invoked and appraised as another imperial power intrudes into that part of the world. What strange times we live in.

Not surprisingly there's not much to be found for Simon Bolivar figures in the market, but I was not to be deterred! As he is depicted in portraits as being uniformed very similarly to many contemporary Napoleonic officers, I decided to see if I could find a figure that, squinting with one eye, could work. 

After a bit of looking I decided to go with this figure from Piano Wargames (thanks Martijn) as he has the broad closed lapels on his uniform coat and the distinctive swept back hair often seen in paintings of Bolivar. Really well designed miniature with lots of character and detail. I'd highly recommend Piano as another option for Napoleonic figures.

Thanks for looking and please enjoy the gallery for 'Empire' (and remember to vote for your favourites!).

- Curt

From Millsy: Star Wars Legion Empire (225 points)

G'day All,

Another batch of Star Wars Legion hot off the painting desk - this time it's the Imps.

Scout Bikes, Scout Troopers and a Skiff

That sounds like the start of some sort of weird Star Wars joke - Scout Bikes, Scout Troopers and a Skiff walk into a Mos Eisley cantina.... I've already got some scouts in my collection so I've added a red unit insignia to help me distinguish the two sets of units on the table. I'm bulking out a lot of my existing stuff so I can play larger games using a community mod of Bolt Action.

The Scouts are time consuming to paint, navigating around the white to paint the black under suit, but they look pretty sharp when done. 

Stormtroopers and Transport

These fellas were picked up super cheap at MOAB to also bulk out my forces. I have something like 40 of the buggers now so there's plenty of chaff to get mowed down in various futile endeavours. Such is the life of a faceless, nameless mook in the service of the Empire! At least these guys get to ride to their inevitable demise courtesy of a 3D printed troop transport.

Inferno Squad

I really enjoyed painting these guys. Several different treatments for black to give them some variation isn't as obvious in the photos as I'd like but they look cool enough IRL so I'm happy with that.

Points total

• 2 x 32mm Scout bikes + riders = 50 points
• 6 x 32mm Scouts + Skiff = 50 points
• 14 x 32mm Stormtroopers + Transport = 90 points
• 7 x 32mm Inferno Squad = 35 points

Total = 225 points.

I think that'll be it for the Star Wars Legion for a while, although I do have a pile of Rebels to do and also a collection of 3D printed characters from The Mandalorian which I am saving as a special treat to reward myself at some point.

Thanks for looking!

Cheers,

Millsy

__________________________

'Pew! Pew! Pew!!'

'Hey, I hit him!!' 

Said no Stormtrooper. Ever.

:)

Terrific work on these Imperials, Millsy! Even though the bikes may be a bit of a challenge, you've certainly made then look spiffy under your deft brush. They look keen and ready to fly into the side of a cantina or Bantha. Of course, the Inferno Squad looks much more efficient, ominous and chilling with their black uniform and gear (lovely contrast on the blacks btw). I also like the printed troop transport, though I wonder if they draw straws to be the poor buggers slung outside. Such is the life of an Imperial Trooper, I suppose!

Lovely work! I look forward to seeing what you shift gears to.

- Curt

From Millsy: Star Wars Legion Death Troopers (30 points)

G'day All,

A second quick post this week for some Star Wars Legion Death Troopers I nabbed on the cheap at CANCON. These guys took very little time to paint as you can imagine. They're black*, with just a few not-black bits.

6 x 28mm infantry = 30 points

* Yes, I know. Black.

Cheers,

Millsy

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Hi Millsy

Black on black .. an easy straight forward painting scheme but  while they DO look the business  - the question remains as to whether they can aim and hit their targets? 

Good luck on the gaming table ;)

6x 28mm figures = 30 points added to your scoreboard

- Sarah

From PeterD: Late Roman Archers and Epic Halberdiers [Gift Shop] (120 points)

This is the first post from me this week, a unit of 12 formed archers for my Late Romans.  My wife flew off to Phoenix for the week yesterday and I've been left to deal with a blizzard with up to 40cm of snow expected.  So I am left at home with lousy weather, the Briar (national curling championship) on TV and some free time...

Shields are made up, based on pictures in the Notitia Dignitatum

This was not a planned unit, it just kind of happened.  I bought a pack of Victrix Late Roman Archers and Slingers over the summer mostly for the slingers, but also thinking that I could use the bow arms for Pict archers.  It turned out that the 2/3 of the figures are archers with composite bows that look out of place in the hands of Picts.  So there were 24 archers and I felt I needed to do something with them...

These are nice figures and there are lots of variant arms and heads.  I like the variety of loading, shooting and admiring one's last shot poses.  I included an officer and a musician who is likely over armoured but was fun to paint.   

My previous Roman archer units had been light infantry and I'd filled my quota under the TtS army lists, hence the formed bowmen unit.  I've given them the title Sagittarii Nerviorum. There are three units listed as Nerviorum under the Dux Britanniarum in the Notitia Dignitatum.  The name comes from the Nervii, a Belgic tribe from Northern Gaul as I continue to try and butter up my Belgic minion.  Other Nervii units served in Northern Gaul, Spain and even as an elite Auxiliary Palatina unit in the Eastern Empire.

The officer and musician come from the Armoured Infantry kit.

No Challenge bonus points, but I will claim the points on the Legions of the Empire Side Duel.

Also counting for the Legions of the Empire Side Duel are these Epic Empire halberdiers.  I am also going claim the the "Gift Shop" bonus points because Curt told me I could when I Voluntold me to paint these.

Curt has been running a Old World themed TtS! Campaign using these Epic scale figures and I've been running the Empire side.  More like the Sacrificial Offering giving my skill at these games.  One thing that I've finally figured out is that the bog standard grunts like these Halberdiers and pretty darn useful (and cheap to boot). 

Curt has a sizeable Empire contingent which looks lovely in a mostly blue and yellow livery.  To mix things up I went for a Crimson and White livery, which I believe means that these lad don't follow any of the Official liveries.  I will note that I've left their based un terraformed as Curt will want to base them according to his own system.

I had more fun painting these than I thought I would once I figured out a system.  By system I mean going with a wash technique and not worrying about the small details.  The flag and a couple of shields are free handed to kinda look like Imperial Eagles if you squint hard and have had enough wine.

Points wise I make it

• 12 archers in 28mm @5 pts each =60
• 36 halberdiers in 10mm @ 1 pt each = 36
• Giftshop bonus =20
• Total 116 points.

This takes me over my 500 point Challenge Target.

Finally since Martijn's been suggesting books, I have a book suggestion for him Buried by Alice Roberts.  it's a survey of archeology over the first 1000 years CE, looking at a number of specific burial sites.  She's got two others in the series dealing with the BCE and medieval eras (just out now in Canada).  The first two have some great history about the archeology in Britain and challenge a lot of ideas.

Well,  the first rule about buttering up minions is not to confuse Belgians with Dutchmen! However, as I am by now at least part Belgian, in mind if not by birth, I won't hold it against you. Too much. All joking aside, though, another fine post from you Peter! I like the variety in the archer unit, and I am sure Curt will be thrilled by those nimble halbardiers. Your method really works, and even without the wine the flag looks fine too. Well done! Thanks for the book suggestion, was it you who suggested it earlier? It is on my shelf now, I'm looking forward to reading it. Pointswise I agree with you, but will give you the by now customary bonus for shields and flag for a total of 120 points. Good job!

Martijn

From KyleC - Star War Legions Empire Models (219pts)

Been a crazy week here at the house with my partner off to India and Jr having to study for his next round of mocks for his GCSES.. if you know.. you know.. and know how stressful that can be.. 

So not a ton of models done and a bit of hobby burnout happening alongside it.. 

A couple fairly easy models done like the Dark Troopers and the Death Troopers. All models by Skullforge and then printed at home here. 

Reason for these to get some paint Vs more Legion is simply due to a campaign happening locally and I needed something new to play with. 

The Dark Troopers being of Moff Gideon's mainstay troopers in the Mandalorian. I tried a dark metal effect on them. Metal base and then a lot of black contrast washes. Before getting a heavy spray of gloss to finish them off. A theme for today's post for sure! 

Now you would think the death troopers being black stormtroopers would be simple. But I did try a few things with them first. Like a dark purple shadow. And doing some grey highlights.. before smashing them with gloss and realizing a lot of it isn't noticeable anymore. 

The stormtroopers again were a bit difficult but I do like the end result. Starting with a black base followed by an overspray of white. Then GW contrast Apothecary white for the shadows to give it a nice tint. Then pure white used in the edges and top most sections of the armor.. all the blacks is just GW Black Templar. And of course a few layers of gloss to finish them off. 

Bikers done same as the stormtroopers. 

Bases are really simple overall. Resin printed bases with AK mud added for texture. Brown is GW contrast Gore. And the grey is again GW Contrast Black Templar thinned down. And then everything drybrushed with a cream.

Then to finish it all off a smattering of leaders and characters. From left to right we have; Moff Gideon, Greef Karga, The Client, Empire Captain, Young Thrawn, and Bossk. 

This should help me with characters for a bit and make for some different lists than just Darth running around. 

I still have a fair bit of stormtroopers.to paint up. Mostly variants and weapons but I will leave them till I have a game or two first. And see what I need to do to adjust my list. 

But for now this is a good start.

27 40mm Infantry @ 7 PTS each 

2 40mm cav @ 15 PTS each

Makes for 219 PTS for this gathering

Let's see if I can figure out the colour scheme for my Space Wolves next and get a few of them started... While I wait for bits for The Old World to arrive.. yay for hobby ADHD! 

Ummm... this was "not a ton of models done" for a week?!? OK, seems like good production to me though. The Legion characters especially are very nicely done but you need LOTS of troopers and you've come through with some very well painted ones here Kyle. Two hundred nineteen points added to your tally.

Dallas

From MartijnN: A very tiny Director's Challenge - 2mm TYW and Empire Steam Tank (Director's Chair) (91 points)

Last week I finally arrived at the Director's Chair and awaited, rather ironically, directions. The Show Lord asked me if I had anything in my collection that I'd been avoiding or putting aside due to its complexity, or because it seems intimidating. Ha! Talking about an embarrassment of riches! Answering the question alone was already a cause for stress by itself.

However. During this Challenge I have been following Ray's progress with his 2mm Almansa project with much interest. I have had in my collection quite a substantial number of Irregular's 2mm blocks for years, and have added tot that considerably since the advent of my 3D printer. However, I had not yet been able to find the courage to actually try painting any of them. There was my Show Lord's Challenge!

So, without further ado, I present my first ever 2mm troops:

These are from Irregular Miniatures' Thirty Year Wars packs. I bought two armies over time, an Imperial one and a French one, but to be honest I could not really tell the difference and I guess most types of troops will be found in most armies anyway. It was not, in the end, a very quick job. Because uniforms were largely unheard of in this period, I wanted the troops to have a rather mixed outlook. But that meant picking out 2mm figures and painting them in different colours, which in the end is rather time consuming. I suppose painting uniformed blocks will be a much quicker job.

Artillery and generals

Cavalry

Infantry

Actually, the sculpts themselves are really quite good. I honestly would not have expected to see muskets and crossbelts on figures this small, but they are there. Obviously, nobody is going to paint them (I didn't), and nobody would ever notice them, but they are there!

It was a learning experience. For instance, I love contrast paints, and they work for these figures, but in hindsight I probably should have used bolder colours, so traditional paints would have worked better. Also, because of the contrast paints, I undercoated them in a creamy white; a dark undercoat would have worked better in hiding any unpainted areas in dark shadows.

Still, I am not dissatisfied with this first attempt. On the table they work fairly well (provided that you can see the little rascals, that is).

I told the Show Lord I might have a little something to honour his latest project too, and that is this:

More than two decades ago I acquired a fair number of Warmaster figures, largely through Ebay when they still could be found at prices that did not require you to re-mortgage your house. As things go, I admired them, assembled the coolest model, the Steam Tank, and put the rest in a drawer somewhere. The Steam Tank ended up, unpainted, on a bookshelf in my study, and has moved to a new shelf in every study or hobby room in any house I ever lived in since, looking at me with reproachful eyes (or gun barrel, rather). So now, having seen Curt's wonderful Empire army, I decided that it was time to paint it. It is actually a very nice model to paint, so perhaps I should dig out the other Warmaster figures and have a go.

So that's it, my last contribution to this Challenge (bar the wrap-up post). My final map:

I will reserve the official thanksgiving for the wrap-up, but I had a great time again and will probably start prepping for the next Challenge in a week or so. For now, I'll just say thank you all for making this once again a fantastic experience!

Points:

Going on Ray's posts the 2mm bases should, I guess, net me 2.5 points each, and 0.5 for the generals, so:

- 25x 2mm bases @ 2.5 = 62.5 points 

- 5x 2mm generals @ 0.5 = 2.5

- 1x 10mm vehicle @ 3 = 3

- Director's Chair bonus= 20

Grand Total = 88 91points. And a final squirrel!

___________________________________

I think you've provided us a wonderful Director's Chair submission, Martijn. SidneyR and I did some of these a few years back for a joint 30YW project, and I think your efforts here are better than ours. I especially like the minimalist green groundwork you've created. Something that many overthink and overdue with these tiny miniatures.

I also really like your Steam Tank! I've been having a great time working on my Warmaster Empire force and quite look forward to you showing us your efforts next Challenge. Who knows, maybe we can organize a game the next time Sarah and I visit the Low Countries.

Congratulations on completing the Challenge Studios and shattering your initial points target. Bravo!

- Curt