From BrianC - Next Level Miniatures, Flames of War, werewolves, Guild Ball (57pts)

Ok. My last turn in with 3 hours to spare! This is a mish mash group of minis! I did not hit my goal, by I'm happy to have less grey in the collection! Here we go!

Next Level Miniature 40mm Minotaur

Next Level Miniature 28mm Rock Elemental

Guild Ball Union Veteran 32mm

Alternative Armies Werewolves 20mm (2)

 

Flames of War BA-64 armoured car (3) from the starter set, Clash of Steel.

It would have been nice if the starter sets provided decals.

Flames of War T-34 tank

That's it. All done and look forward to the next season!

POINTS

1 X 40mm = 7pts

2 X 28mm = 10pts

2 X 20mm = 8pts

4 X 15mm vehicles = 32pts

TOTAL POINTS = 57pts.

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A great last burst to the finish line, Brian! These all look great but I have to say my fave is the Guild Ball Union Veteran. With the grim grin, cleaver and top hat, he definitely has a 'Bill the Butcher' vibe about him! Well done!

I look forward to seeing you with us all next time we roll out!

- Curt

From TeemuL: Wild West and Eastern Front (71 points)

Two different projects gaining additions this week, and both of these are projects I have already played games with and hope to play more in the future! Let's start with Old Wild West or how you want to call it. This fellowship of nine are Great Escape Games multipart plastic gunfighters from Gunfighters and Gunfighters II boxes - the first one contains the gentlemen and the second one the ladies. I shared these boxes with a friend and painted one lady on last challenge, hence the odd number. What a Cowboy is the ruleset I have and have played with, so I went with varied weapons to have all kinds of different options available. I have painted some several Old West minis in the past, now I should have quite a large selection - barring the mounted options.

I used mainly quite dull, earthly colours and drybrushed everything in the end to get a dusted appearance, but tried to add some bright colours here and there - the scarf, undershirt or something. So you see lots of different browns here, lots of Reikland Flesh Shade everywhere, but still not exactly Sergio Leone dust levels. :)

Playing around with some other environment than the dungeon (see below), I decided to use Last Chance Saloon for my Gunfighters, and it is quite ok. I just need something colourful for the background.

I painted some SU-76s for the Soviet Army for Bagration and since I'm in the process of painting the both sides, it felt only fair to give something for Germans as well. I guess the Russians have quantity and Germans have the quality, here are two Hornisses, also known as Nashorns, and officially as Sd.Kfz. 164. These are part metal part resin figures, a bit painful to assemble thus, but they look quite nice when ready. They are tank hunters, rather cheap and manouvarable solution to break Allied tanks. Open topped with a highly effective Pak 43 gun, similar gun was used later in Tiger IIs and Jagdpanthers. And of course as anti tank gun as itself. Hornisse first saw action at the battle of Kursk and remained in the service until end of the war.

I have used Averland Sunset as the yellow colour, then some green DIY store green added with blister foam to create the camouflage and finally some XV-88 (nice connection to the gun "8.8cm Pak 43" this vehicle carries) to finalize to overall look. AA gun was painted black, same as the wheels. Tracks are some greyish colour I had. Reikland Flesh Shade is used here, too, some touch ups and identification info. Glued on MDF base with some green sawdust and tufts to tie them nicely to Eastern Front in summer 1944. My philosophy with late war Germans is, that anything goes. I mean, there are of course rules to follow, but as long as playing Flames of War type of games, which are not strictly historical battles, rather generic encounters of what-ifs, German forces are happy to field what ever they have available. Retreating units from the front line, reinforcements from the reserve, you take what you have to fight for the Motherland. So these two Hornisses should have no trouble finding a home in my army.

The crew was painted separately, because that was easier and I could then claim full points of them. Khaki jacket and caps with dark brown and bright green camouflage pattern, grey pants and black boots. And that famous Reikland Flesh Shade pretty much everywhere.

Nine 28mm gunfighters for 45 points and a "28mm Old West Squirrel!"

Two 15mm vehicles for a total of 16 points and then 4 and 2 halfs of crewmembers for 10 points, 26 in total and a "15mm WW2 German Squirrel." It's amazing how they plan these "Squirrel in a box" products!

Total for this post is 71 points and 2 squirrels, no skulls or stompy robots, but something for Lady Sarah, if that is still a thing. :) And three cardboard boxes are now empty and ready to be recycled.

Fellowship of Nine on the balcony

P.S.While I was taking photos of these, my 10 year old son was bored, because screen time was all used up and he then spent some time chatting with his mother and I overheard this kind of question:

- What is that "Desert song" that is always played in the movies, when they are in the desert?

I'm quite sure he means Youtube videos and such like, since he doesn't watch movies, they are too long and boring. My wife was a bit puzzled about this "Desert song", but our son insisted that it is a real thing and told her to search for it. She thought a while and then played this song from Youtube and that actually was the "Desert song!" So now you know, too! :)

P.P.S. I did write the text about "Sergio Leone dust levels" before this conversation!

There's nothing better to get the vreative juices going then playing the game that needs painted miniatures and while those Eastern front tanks are awesome, for me it's the Wild West figures taht are the star of this post, more so because of the very recognisable story about your son and his questions... it's no different at this end of the line mate. 

 

Great work and see you next week, Cheers Sander 

From TeemuL: Green(ish) Squirrels in Four Acts (135 points)

I have had this flu or something for over a week now. It has prevented me to do my work or participate in my other hobbies (judo and boy scouts), but has allowed me a lot of time to paint minis. I'm not able to work 8 hours a day, but I can paint several 30-45 minutes sessions in a day, so I have managed to paint quite a lot during this week. But let's forget the flu and let's focus on the minis and squirrels. There will be things that should be green and are green, things that should not be green, but are green, things that should be green, but are not and finally a small bonus thing that should not be green and is not green - just to round up one squirrel.

We start with green things, which should be green. These are SU-76s for Operation Bagration and these are from Plastic Soldier company and are assembled as late variants. Painting these vehicles were quite easy and straigth forward, they are basically all green. I might be bit "lazy" with my historical references, but these were actually just green mean machines, so no shortcuts here.

I did some highlights and then covered them in dust and mud, there is a long way to Poland. Exhaust pipes were painted brownish orange, they oxide very easily. The markings are "authentic", my reseach told me that Soviet forces were not like Germans or other countries with strict rules for numbering, they were basically anything that commander wanted. I guess it makes it difficult for the opponent's spyes, when even the Soviets can't figure out what the numbers mean!

But I saw some photos with similar markings and went with these, at least there is an indication that they are from the same unit. P was a simple choice as a letter, since it is written in same way in Cyrillic alphabet, too. Finally I glued them on MDF bases (from Warbases) for easier storage - there is a magnetic sheet on the bottom. The bases are green, with green painted sand and green tufts, Operation Bagration took time in the summer 1944.

There are two crew members on each vehicle, but since I glued them first and painted second, I will only claim points for half the minis - the lower parts are just mess of green, blue and black paint. I chose blue overalls on them, I've seen some evidence, that these were used. There are also two heads on two of the vehicles, but really hard to count them for anything. 5 15mm vehicles for 40 points and 5 infantry for other 10 points, total of 50 points and squirrel for 15mm WW2 Soviets.

Next we have those things, that should be green, but are green! We step in to the world of "Post World War 2 Alternative History" or "Imaginations", weak minded should close their eyes and scroll down a bit. Some of you might remember my Wars of Insurgency project I started two Challenges ago (probably) and I've been adding things every now and then. A short explanation. We are in the alternative history (or universe) after WW2 and there is something happening in the old colony of Delmonteland. There is a power vacuum and several factions are eager to exploit/expand/exterminate the area. There are of course locals, there are private armies, neighbouring countries, super powers directly or indirectly, union of countries and so on. Delmontenland is especially rich in blood oranges, their juice is their primary export.

I have not created a back story of these guys yet, but they are properly dressed in green uniforms suitable for Delmonteland jungles, they seem quite professional (or at least professionally equipped) and ready to fight in the heat of the jungle. Maybe a private army of some rich local or just pawns of some super power in disguise?

I painted their clothes green, I was thinking about adding some camo effect, but liked their green so much, that I didn't want to. They remind me of my plastic army men of my childhood. I added a yellow round on their caps/helmets and yellod dots or stripes on their left arm, insignia or something. Their equipment are simple brown, I used two different tones to get some variation. Rifles are brown and metal, while submachine guns, bazookas etc are black.

I gave them my usual Delmonteland basing, sand pained green and then all kind of green things to emulate the jungle they are. Quite happy with them. You might wonder why these look familiar, but strange, of why these should not be green? Well, these are actually Perry Miniatures plastic DAK, so they should not be green! In my twisted (and open) mind I found them perfect sculpts for jungle fight, light summer uniforms, caps and sun helmets...

Wars of Insurgency rules put a lot attention to bazookas and machine guns, much more than WW2 units do. So I have ordered some bazookas from Warbases and glued three of them for these guys. The crouched position fits nicely here, they are listening orders or looking for a good view to fire. Here you can see the yellow marking quite good, too.

A close up of a mortar team, yes that tiny thing there! Two coats of green lighter green for highlight and a green wash does wonders! Here's one of the rare hard helmets in this group.

This last photo is an example of how you can tell stories with miniatures, which are assembled in hurry and in bad lightning. Quite cleverly the set comes with bare heads, you can glue cap, hard helmet or sun helmet on them, to get a lot of variation. The guy on the right is most likely scared like in cartoons or shot through his cap. The guy on the left is probably just scared... These are 28mm minis, 10 standing, 2 prone, so 55 points in total - that mortar is not a crew served weapon! Also "Post WW2 Alternative History Squirrel" (I would like to see some squirrel sculpts of these...)

Okay, on we go. Next we have things that should be green, but are not. From history to alternative history to pure fantasy! I have long had a dream of metal Imperial Guard (Astra Militarum) army in WH40K - the vehicles will be an exception, of course. It is difficult to choose which minis you want, because you want them all. So some years ago I started my project and decided to include all the different minis with a background story. These are not really a fighting force, but a promotional unit used for propaganda, rising morale and boosting up drafting. Think about a huge LARP, where there are spectators watching how the brave soldiers of the Imperium beat the Chaos and Xenos threats (which of course don't exists) with fixed bayonets! If you can imagine this, then good for you. So far I have been painting Mordians, Cadians, Valhallans and some vehicles, but now it is time for Catachans - you know the guys in green with red bandada?

But of course these aren't green, they are a wild tricolor of red, yellow and blue with black weapons! I have painted all my Imperial Guard minis with this uniform, so they will all look good together. Someone might ask why choose such a striking uniform, even in the grim dark world of WH40K. Just think about the backstory and you will figure it out. But I explain it anyway. These are not real warriors in the warzones, these are basically actors in a play and specatators want to see the actors, right? It would be boring, if all the good guys are camouflaged in the terrain, would it?

In general I have decided to paint yellow jackets, red pants and blue helmets, but it went a bit tricky with these half naked guys, but I guess I managed it. Following my strong contrasts I have picked up details like water bottles or pouches in contrasting colours. And I have painted these with Citadel Contrast colours, quite clever!

What do we actually have here? We have an autocannon team and a mortar team with a sergeant. I have followed my inconstant choice of bases and the heavy weapons are now on 40mm round bases with one crewman and the other is on 25mm base. In the past I have sometimes put them all on the same base or all on separate bases - despite my dream I'm not likely ever play WH40K with these, so the base sizes won't really matter - on the other hand, some of the bases are most likely the correct size!

I'm not sure, but I believe there are Perry sculpts, because this is the only skull in the unit! Looks quite messy in the photo, but is slightly better in real life. That will be 25 points for the warriors, 1 skull and "Warhammer 40K Imperium" squirrel.

This has been a long post, but there is little left. I wanted to round this post with final and boring section, a thing that should not be (I hear Galadried in my head everytime I write this stuff) green and is not green. We stay in the WH40K universe and add to my earlier post from December.

Here is a Chaos Space Marine of the Magma Hounds chapter. Magma Hounds is not created by me, I found it on internet while searching for Renegade Chapters, because I didn't want to invent my own. I wanted a Renegade Chapter, not one devoted to Chaos God or Gods, a bit different and one with no special rules. I painted a group of these for Kill Team (when the current ruleset was in first version) and even played with them. In December I painted that old Dreadnought in these same colours and I realized that "Warhammer 40K Chaos" squirrel is just 5 points away, so I dug up an old metal body and glued some hands and backpack. Not necessarily the Codex look, but these are renegades, so anything goes.

His pose looks a bit strange, at least from some angles, but I guess it would not be too hard to figure our (or build) a diorama, where he would be spot on. Note also the skull on the gun.

So the colours are gold and purple, they work together very nice. And they look even better together, when both are covered in purple wash like I have done here. Purple gives a nice tone to bright gold and naturally ties the two colours together. Very simple. Note the skull on the backpack.

Here's a comparison photo with the new guy and his older friend. Apparently I went mad back then and put those minis on larger bases, but this new one is on the original 25mm base. This one Chaos Space Marine will give me 5 more points, 5 skulls (gun, backpack, both knees and belt) and completes the "Warhammer 40K Chaos" squirrel.

In total 135 points, 6 skulls and 4 squirrels (7 in total)! It was a long post, next time something else and something shorter!

 

Now Teemu please do not apologize for making a long post. We all like to see and read posts like these that show us what our compatriots in the Challenge are up to! Now let's start with saying that I do hope you get rid of that pesky blessing of faher Nurgle soon, get away you foul flu! With that out of the way, I really enjoy your "alternative historical project" a lot, but the GW Catachans are the cream of the crop for me, I also really appreciate your backstory for them which enables you to get so many brilliant figures in one project. 

 

Cheers Sander 

From TeemuL: T-70 team (42 points)

Weekend without much special activities and flu is almost gone, so good time to paint some minis. For the second post today, I present a team of T-70 Soviet tanks for Flames of War. Minis itself are from Plastic Soldier Company.

These are meant for Operation Bagration, that's why bright green bases and tanks are plain green, only some identification numbers in the turrets. So far I have understood, that there were no clear system for numbering tanks, I guess it causes some confusion to enemy, when even the own side doesn't know the meaning of all the numbers... In the background you can see some explosions, they came in the Opel Blitz truck set from Warlord Games, which I decided to do now.

I painted the exhaust systems orange to show rusted they are. Tracks are a mixture of browns and greys. And now I realize the mistake I made while quickly finishing these - I didn't apply any brown mud to the hulls... Well, maybe they were just unloaded from train and sent forward...

And the view usually seen by the controlling player. I guess better be quick, because these light tanks tend to blow up rather quickly when encountering German defenders. As you can see, I have based my tanks, this way I can glue a magnetic sheet to the bottom of the base and this helps with transfer and storage. Models itself are rather sturdy, so the bases are not necessary for protecting them, I think.

There are 5 of these 15mm tanks here, so 8 points a piece. Then two half minis on the turrets, giving 2 extra points for total of 42.

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Hi Teemu!

I like the simple green paint job, the orange and blue really 'pop'!

Can you ever have enough explosions? I think not :)

An other 42points to your tally

- Sarah

From TeemuL: German halftracks (20 points)

Keeping up my tradition to post something every week, here's a small entry of two German halftracks. I was on holiday for a week and these were almost ready a week ago, just final touches today.

These are older models, part resin, part metal. Sd Kfz 250/7 (8cm) painted in rather late war scheme to match the rest of my collection. I have worked mainly on Operation Bagration, but this particular model doesn't appear in the army lists. May be I use them as objectives or something like that. I might add some identification later, if I figure out what to do with them.

My rushed finish shows quite ugly, the Reikland Fleshshade was pooled in several places.

There is a mortar and a machine gun on each.

Group shot with some earlier works

Two 15mm vehicles and 4 crew members, but only painted the upper part of them, so only 1 point each, 20 points in total.

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Hi Teemu

You may have been rushed in the painting of these half tracks, but I think they look 'the business'!

The colours look great and work well with your earlier models.

If there is one thing I know about gamers, is that painted models will always be found a use ... it may be later rather than sooner, but these half tracks will find their way to a game table!

 Curt frequently tells me that he's unearthed minis from years ago and has just the right idea/plan now ... hahah ...

20  points for you

Cheers!

Sarah