From PeterD: Picts [40 points]

 A second post from me today with some Picts.

A unit of 6 light infantry javelin men, from the Gripping Beast plastic kit.  These would be drawn from the poorest and or youngest warriors in the tribes, those lacking the equipment to serve in the main war band or with the archers.  I kept the colours very drab and basic.  I had meant to drill out the hands to hold spare javelins but forgot to do so.  Therefore I added some spare ammo to the bases.

A warlord plus retainer with horn, metal figures from Gripping Beast.  These castings have the gritty look of experienced warriors and raiders who acquired some serious kit over the years.

That's eight 28mm foot figures for 40 points with no bonus points.

The javelinmen are always a useful addition to any army, and I in fact like the drab and muted colours you have chosen, Peter. The command base is looking good also, the chieftain with his red manes looks suitably impressive. It has been very nice to see the various additions to your Pictish forces during this Challenge! 40 points it is.

Martijn

From PeterD: Pict Chariots and The Library Cart (85 points)

Second post this week and it includes figures that I've been working on intermittently since December, a unit of 2 Pict chariots.  These are Crusader figures although the chariots themselves are 4Ground mdf kits.

The rider in red is comes from the Irish Warriors pack, note the base under his feet.

Back last summer NorthStar had a sale on these and I picked up 4 blister packs of Celtic chariots.  Although clearly modeled for Caesar's Gallic Wars or the Claudian invasion of Britain, I figured a Celtic chariot is a Celtic chariot.  I tried to stick handle around most of the anachronism with paint work (taking away trousers and adding beards) and subbed in an Irish warrior in one case.  I also made a lot of mistakes early on and got myself tied in knots a couple of times.  Finally after a couple of rebuilds and being put aside for other pieces a number of times, I've got these completed.

  

Next up is a solitary Bad Squiddo figure of Noor Inayat Khan to let me take Sarah's Library Cart to the Biography Section.  Khan was an SOE operative in France during the Second World War who was best known as a radio operator.  She was a very brave woman who deserved a much better fate than being betrayed, tortured and executed.  She would make a fine Biography topic herself, but she happened to be the female figure that I had ready on the day. 

I have acquired a number of Bad Squiddos Women of WW2 range.  I don't plan on doing any gaming with Landgirls, Lumberjills or Spies.  I just like the figures and want to support Annie for developing the range.   They are universally well researched, sculpted and posed and have bags of character.  they are also a joy to paint.  IN this case Door's "briefcase" holds her radio equipment.

I kept the colour scheme to follow the example on the Bad Squiddo web store, because I know that they've done the research.  I am pretty happy with the folds in her outfit but no sure about the skin tones.

Photographic evidence of me taking the Library Cart.

I believe that these chariots don't count as vehicles (I least my Pict general's didn't last year).  The point tally goes like this

• 4 horses and 4 chariot crew in 28mm @ 5 pts/each =40 + chariots = 60
• I female spy in 28mm =5
• Library Cart bonus =20
• Total 65 85

My challenge map now looks like this...

I really need to brush up on my chariot recognition skills, but even if these are anachronistic they look very fine nonetheless, Peter. I like the tunic pattern on the driver, and the two chariots together are quite a stirring sight!  I am also very much taken with your choice of  Noor Inyat Khan, another new thing I learned today. As for points, at the very least you forgot to count the chariots themselves, and scoring them as a limber/ gun seems reasonable so 10 each. Which sees you further racing away from your target with 85 more points added!

Martijn

From PeterD: With View Halloo Pursue the Gnu (70 Points)

Second post from me today.  First up is a straightforward points grab for the nature shelves in the form of a 28mm Gnu (ok it's a wildebeest but Gnus are way more fun) from Ray Partha. This figure has been kicking around my spares bin for 20+ years and was picked up for a potential Southern African colonial project.

I think this needs a Wild Kingdom vignette with Marlin Perkins safely in the Landrover while his sacrificial offering assistant attempts to hog tie the gnu.  Sadly this was beyond my resources.

While others may look to use the Gnu as the basis for cheap puns, I instead will use it to reference a much higher art form, that of Poetry.  I present Good Gnu (A Vignette in Verse) by P.G Wodehouse.   This poem comes from the story Unpleasantness at Bludleigh Court in which Mr Mulliner's nice Charlotte (an animal loving poet) comes under a blood lust spell while visiting family friends.  She is most put out when Animal-Lovers' Gazette rejects this poem as seen at 18:00 of this clip Wodehouse Playhouse.

When cares attack and life seems black,

How sweet it is to pot a yak,

      Or puncture hares and grizzly bears,

        And others I could mention;

But in my Animals "Who's Who"

No name stands higher than the Gnu;

      And each new gnu that comes in view

        Receives my prompt attention.

 

When Afric's sun is sinking low,

And shadows wander to and fro,

      And everywhere there's in the air

        A hush that's deep and solemn;

Then is the time good men and true

With View Halloo pursue the gnu;

      (The safest spot to put your shot

        is through the spinal column).

 

To take the creature by surprise

We must adopt some rude disguise,

      Although deceit is never sweet,

        And falsehoods don't attract us;

So, as with gun in hand you wait,

Remember to impersonate

      A tuft of grass, a mountain-pass,

        A kopje or a cactus.

 

A brief suspense, and then at last

The waiting's o'er, the vigil past;

      A careful aim. A spurt of flame.

        It's done. You've pulled the trigger,

And one more gnu, so fair and frail,

Has handed in its dinner-pail;

      (The females all are rather small,

        The males are somewhat bigger).

In other gnus, I have another unit of 4 Pict Light Cavalry.  These are 28mm figures kit bashed from three Gripping Beast plastic kits. They are pretty much the same as the last two units that I have previously posted.

Note to self - I need to fix the labels which got lifted up during posing.

I think it's 5 points for the Gnu, 10 each for the cavalry and 20 for the Nature topic for a total of 65 points.

With two rooms ticked off today, my updated may looks like this.

First Germanus of Auxerre, and now P.G. Wodehouse! This day gets better and better, and I would almost think I'm being bribed here. However, there is absolutely no need for that with this second great entry for today, Peter. The gnu is very nice, I absolutely love the poem, and the Picts are on a par with your previous submission, a fine job! Again trying to be somewhat consistent I'll add a couple of bonus points for the kitbashing, the hand-painted shields, and a little carry-over from Germanus' vexillum, so we'll settle at 70.

Martijn

From PeterD: Pict Cavalry (45 Points)

Another small post from me as I crawl towards my goal.  It's February, we've had mostly sucky weather recently (grey and above sloppy underfoot), I've got a heavy teaching load and a ton of February blahs....   

I've got another unit of 4 Pict Light Cavalry based for my To The Strongest Late Roman Britain project. Figures are mostly a mix of two Gripping Beast plastic kits,  Late Roman Light Cavalry and Dark age Cavalry.  Heads, shields and weapons are from the GB Pict infantry kit and the rolled cloaks came from a Victrix Roman infantry kit.

These were in the queue since last May.  After priming I found that I'd made the Proverbial Porcine Posterior on assembly (I like alliteration a lot!).  Eventually I filled the most glaring errors and decided to ignore the rest.  They look ok when one applies the two foot rule.

Four cavalry in 28mm is 40 points with no bonus rooms.

  

Nothing to be bored about here, I should say Peter! I think they look great, even up close. Nice to see some kitbashing too, it makes them look very individual and characteristic. I've thrown in some extra points for the shields and the creative alliteration alteration. Well done!

Martijn

From PeterD: Pict Light Cavalry for History (62 points)

For the History section I've got a unit of four Pict Light Cavalry in 28mm, using Gripping Beast plastics.

These are based for my Late Roman Britain project using the To The Strongest ruleset.  There was some whinging from the Snowlord during a recent game that the Picts needed to up their mounted arm and I will endeavour to do this over the Challenge.  

The shields are freehanded.  Way faster, easier and more enjoyable that transfers.

Unlike a lot of Challenge painters I really like painting horses.  I can't be arsed to use oils, so use layers of acrylics with washes.

Lock up your sheep and your daughters!

These use bits from three Gripping Beast box sets.  The horses and torsos are from the Light Cavalry and Dark Age Cavalry sets, while the heads, shields and weapons come from the Pict Warrior sets.  These GB kits are good value for money, and you can mix and match quite easily,  

Four cavalry in 28mm is 40 points plus the History bonus gets me 60 points, and I'm heading out of Section 1 on the ground floor and up the stairs to Section 2.

Some fine Pictish cavalry here, Peter! The Snowlord should better watch his flanks… I love the variety of the colours and the horses, and the creative mixing of kits. I think the freehanded shields warrant some bonus points, so we’ll make it a further 62 points towards your goal. Up and away we go!

Martijn 

From SteveK: Pict Progress (80 points)

 Now then,

The Pict project continues, although I wont get them all done before the challenge ends, ive got a big chunk of them done.

So over the last few weeks ive managed to get 49 painted, plus lots that im rebasing and mixing into the newer painted stuff.

This is where we are. loads to do but ill crack on, I reckon another few weeks and ill  be done.

Total 20 28mm infanty. not based, so 4 points each?

Cheers,

Steve

Any progress is good progress, and it looks like you have the majority of the army done. Great work on these Picts, the finished army should look fantastic. 

-StuartL

From PeterD Pict Commanders (45 points)

I am hoping to get another unit finished plus the typical last week shelf soup stuff, but this will be my last Thorsday post.  I have a trio of Pict command stands.  All figures are metal Gripping Beast, most from their Pict range plus one (the standard bearer with the round shield) coming from their Arthurian range.

First up are two commanders on foot with standard bearers.  A couple of the helmets look a little late for 370CE but they are sufficiently early dark ages for my purposes. Shields are free handed based on rock carvings and blatant stealing from LBMS images.  The flags are also freehanded  based on mythical marine creatures on rock carvings. 

The upper left most is known as the Pictish Beast 

 

Next we have a Pict Warlord in Chariot.  I'm not sure how late in time chariots were used by the Picts, but they would be among the last users of chariots.  The last recorded use of Chariots comes from Agricola's 84 CE campaign, and by 700CE the Picts are shown riding horses. While army lists allow (or even require) chariots up to about 500CE, I find it doubtful other than for ceremonial purposes. However, a Warlord would want to ride into battle with great ceremony and therefore I figure it's fine to give him a chariot. Plus, it is a great kit with lots of action and character.

I made the mistake of fully assembling and basing the vehicle with horses before painting, which I regretted almost as soon as I started painting. I was debating breaking it apart when my glue gave out and it fortuitously broke into more easily painted constituent parts for me. The cart has two horse and carries driver and chieftain. I put the big guy on a cut down plastic base for ease of painting so that he could be removed as a foot figure (I even figured out to do this from the first).

There are no skulls on this base, but I will note the fine collection of 7 severed heads.  There's three aside of the car plus the one brandished by the Warlord.  He's one short of a Joe Pesci comedy.

I have almost run myself out of Picts.  I have more on order including cavalry, but I delayed placing the order until the UK got it's postal issues in order.  They are a fun army to paint, I'll be interested to see how they do on table.  In the WRG 6th edition Army List, Phil Barker describes the armies follows.  

The strongest points of this army are its ability to operate in difficult terrain, the ability of its infantry to endure if organised in sufficiently large units, and the puzzlement that its diverse but related threats may cause an opponent! 

Points wise I believe that the light chariot and two horses counts as 10 points plus 6 foot figures for a total of 40 points.

Thanks to our Thursday Minion Teemu, who has provided us with a steady stream of FFF (Fun Finn Facts) and kept us in line. 

From TeemuL: Lovely Picts, and scoring the chariot is always tricky. As you have already passed your initial target, I'll give you the points you requested, even though I could have given a few more. But I still give you 5 extra points for the shields and flags, the total is probably quite right now. Glad you enjoyed the FFF. :)

From Steve K - Pictish Warband Infantry -80 Points

 

Now then,

another slight deviation from the plan... So I grabbed the new edition of Hail Caesar, a system that I always quite liked, but havent played in ages. The new edition clears things up and is a very pretty book. Anyway, I decided to expand my Picts, which effectively doubles the size of the army.

I grabbed a bunch of Metal Gripping beat Picts as well as a GB plastic box set and set to work. I have to say, the plastics are nice, simple models but I find it a real pain sticking them together, not that they are difficult but because I just prefer metals...

Ive painted up 19 Picts this week (after spending a week losing the will to live sticking my fingers together). A mixture of metal and plastic.

They are not based yet as im going to wait until they are all painted so i can mix them together with the box load of Footsore minis that I have waiting in the queue.

The army so far, as you can see there are lots of empty bases that need filling!

Points

19 x 28mm foot @5pts per model = 95pts.

Have a good week everyone!

Steve

The Picts look superb, you've done an excellent job with the clothing, especially the plaid and striped patterns. 

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but basing your minis is kind of a requirement of the challenge. I totally understand that you want to do all of the basing in one go, I've been in a similar boat myself.  Having consulted with the other minions, I'm afraid the dark arcana running the spreadsheet of doom mean I can only award you 4 points per model. If you do get these figures based by the end of the challenge, make a note of it in your post and the extra point per mini will be added to your score. To make it up to you, I will throw in a couple of bonus points for the fine brushwork and for persevering with the plastic minis.

From PeterD 28mm Picts (70 points)

 

Aberlemno Stones

I have a unit of 12 Pictish spearmen this week.  Most of the figures are from the Gripping Beast plastics Pict box set.  There are two metal GB command figures and some a bits from the Victrix Late Roman Infantry kit.  The GBP picts use the same torsos was the GBP Irish (and the Welsh although I've not seen these in the flesh) with appropriately Pictish heads and odd shaped shields.

The metal horn blower is a bit of an awkward pose.  I added a shield slung on his back but I am happy that he's a back ranker.

As I've talked about before, the Picts are a rather shadowy people from beyond the outer fringes of civilization. They've left no written record, we don't know what language they spoke or if they ever had a  written language.  Most of what they left us is enigmatic rock carvings.  But these carving give us a decent idea of what their warriors looked like, as shown above.  I love these carved images, there is some meat to go on but also a lot of mystery.  they are look very Tolkienesque.

The wargaming convention tends to give the Picts spearmen, reasonable light cavalry and archers (some with crossbows).  This gives an army with a different flavour than their contemporary Scots-Irish and Saxon allies and/or foes.

Unlike Ray, I like my unit labels to stand out from my bases.  The Blue background will differentiate Picts from Green Scots/Irish and White Romans.

I've kept up with giving my units a unified shield base colour, red oxide in this case with white Pictish or Celtic squiggles.  I've decided to name my Picts units with tribal labels based on animals, in the case the Deer people.  This follows on the tribal names used by the Epidii in Rosemary Sutcliffe's Eagle of the Ninth.

The flag and shields are hand painted. the flag is not my best one, but I am out of practice and it looks good enough for the table top.  I'm not all that happy with the plaids but they look ok when squinted at from a distance.

From TeemuL: The miniatures are not exact copies from the carvings, but close enough. They do look much better in colour, lots of colours, in fact. Labeling the bases in highly visible has advantages regarding gameplay, but might break the immersion. One of the balances we all seek and find in different places.

Edit: I'll give you 10 points for the shields and banners.