From PeteF: Waterloo’s Fightin’ 44th in The Gift Shop (236 points)

One of my gaming buddies unwisely purchased Warlord’s Epic Waterloo (and many of the add ons).  I, also unwisely, asked him if he had anything that he wanted me to paint.  He said Highlanders – I countered with regulars.  I’ve never painted British Napoleonics so this is my first foray into Les Rosbifs.

Here is the 44^th East Essex regiment, a rifle company, foot artillery and mounted officer.  This is what you get on one regular sprue in the Waterloo box - a whole lot of troops!  YouTube furnished a speed painting recipe - using a combination of contrasts and AP Speed Paints (which I really like).

Maybe a little too grasshoppery on the green

Even though this was speed painted (with some highlighting) it took a while  – despite being fused together in strips these 13.5mm ish fellows pack in quite a lot of detail and there are numerous opportunities to accidentally paint outside the lines (don’t look too close).

I didn’t really know what I was letting myself in for with this entry – I think NickG will be happy he has one less regiment to paint himself (and there are so many).  He got flags with the kit and will be adding those in due course. I’m looking forward to seeing the epic armies on a nice big table.

I think we score these as 15mm scale – 2 points per foot, 4 for mounted and  the gun.

104 foot = 208 points

1 mounted = 4 points

1 artillery piece = 4 points.

Gift Shop Bonus = 20 points

Total= 236 points 

Amazing work here Peter! I have only thought of the idea of picking up this boxset, let alone the effort required to paint them up. And after doing 8mm space marines in large numbers, I am not sure I could stomach such a mass of models in double that scale. 

So to see this, done so well, for so many models, and for a friend... wow.. such a great gift/assistance provided here! Hopefully he gets many more of them painted up, and offers you a game with them all. 

Great job all around, and a very hefty 236 pts for you here!

Kyle

From PeteF: Really The Last Post - A Mixed Bag of Chambers (164 Points)

 As I completed my "last" post yesterday I felt a gnawing disappointment that I'd not completely explored Curt's delightful dungeon. Five rooms remained empty and I was stuck with the thought...what if they could be finished in a day? So as I watched tv last night - and straight after breakfast I was painting individual bricks on La Haye Sainte - my entry for The Oubliette. 

I owned this model back in my youth as a result of an abortive day trip to Windsor Safari Park. Somewhere near Uxbridge the car blew a tire and we spent most of the day by the side of the road and in Uxbridge itself where toy shop was found and the Airfix Waterloo Battle Set was used to assuage my sadness (score, right?). That particular set has been lost in the mists of time but a few years ago I inherited an unbuilt Waterloo Farm House when my brother passed away. He never got around to assembling and painting this iconic piece of Airfix nostalgia and I've had it primed and ready for around 3(?) Challenges... my memory isn't what it once was.

I'm not sure painting the individual bricks was the most efficient approach to this model, especially in a time crunch. But there you go. When I prepped the model I used bits of Lego as jigs so two of the roofs can be easily removed to house soldiers. The whole thing is a bit big to use in a Black Powder game but the individual structures will come in handy along with my other Airfix houses for representing Belgian towns and villages.

Excluding the jutting wall the model is 12"x8"x3" which I estimate to be worth 27 points plus 20 for the room for a total of 47.

I'm going to write and upload photos as I go today. The clock says 9 hours and 40 minutes and there are four rooms left.

Next up is this shrine like object which is my entry for the Tomb. It was a generous gift from a fellow wargamer - I had mentioned to him that I was thinking about doing some fantasy mass battle gaming and he gave me some of his old stuff. I believe this is part of an old GW starter set (hopefully more of it later).

This is likely to see use in Kings of War as a Portal of Despair (mwahahaha) for my Nightstalkers army. I've put clues to various horror movies in the game pieces. This one might even get a second clue if I can figure out how to use LEDs to make the mouth area flicker like the TV screen in Poltergeist. It's a bit obscure but that's the idea.

At 100mm, This is quite a big object so I'm scoring it at 10 points (equivalent to a 54mm foot figure) plus 20 for the room bonus. Added bonus is 26 skulls!

The clock is ticking - AHPC page says seven hours to go - 3 more rooms to clear...

Now to the laboratory - this was the hardest chamber of them all for me to find a suitable mini. After digging around on the shelf of shame I came up short - but then remembered an old box of Heroclix I'd got for my son and which he had given back last time he cleaned out. 

The Hulk is the result of an experiment gone wrong and this version - some kind of robot hulk - is the result of yet more tinkering by misguided scientists. Not sure if I'll find a game for him but he was fun to paint - I enjoyed highlighting the green and will use some of the other Heroclix for practice. I broke out the Turbo Dork for his shiny green machine parts.

I'm scoring him as a 40mm figure (he's 50mm foot to elbow)plus room bonus. With 2 chambers to go the clock says 5 hours 39 minutes. But I have to take a break to cook dinner.

Sticking with the green skinned theme and knocking out another chamber - here are some goblins (night goblins?) from the same source as the shrine thingy. With time so tight I only did these three - I was given enough for a large unit of Saga levies or a regiment of bowmen for Kings of War. In Kings of War there's a goblin tribe - the Red Goblins - that help out the ogres so I gave them red hoods and slippers. Like the pope.

These are nice old school sculpts with lots of character - maybe I'll work towards a full green skinned army - they're fun to paint.

3 minis and a room bonus for 35 points. One room to go - I checked the clock and there's 3 hours and 48 minutes left of Challenge XI to finish the final room.

And here is the final figure for Challenge XI - a female paladin for The Kinght's Solar. She's an old school figure - I can't remember the manufacturer. Maybe Citadel. The pack comes with a mounted on unicorn version of the same mini which I'll save for another time.

1 figure on foot plus a final room bonus for 25 points and the end of a fun day chipping away at the shelf of shame. Apologies if this has been too many pictures! Left with 3 hours to spare... maybe there's another mini?

Grand Total: 164 points

La Haye Sainte: 47 points

Portal: 30 points

Laboratory: 27 points

The Orcs' Pit: 35 points

Knight's Solar: 25 points

And then I got some help

A Big Thank you to Curt and his minions as well as everyone who has participated in Challenge XI. We only get one shot at this journey of life and I'm grateful to have spent some of it painting alongside this merry crew.

From EdwardG: 6mm Dutch-Belgians (and some skirmishers) for the 100 days (154pts)

 Hi all,

As part of the final push I have completed the Dutch-Belgian Cavalry Division for the 100days Campaign. I must admit, in theory, I do only need a brigade of the division for the Quatre Bras game that I am planning with a friend. However, when painting a brigade, one might as well paint a division. Such is the joy of 6mm! :D 

These cavalry have been much maligned over the years with a lot of British historians painting them with a wide brush with most remarks around the theme that they were raw yellow bellied cowards and at worst actively disruptive Bonapartist sympathisers. It is true, a lot of the Dutch-Belgian officers and troopers had served in the French Imperial army. But this was not an unusual story for a lot of the Allied troops, most of whoms' homes had been annexed by the French at one point in time (Heck, even the Prussians had supplied an auxiliary Corps for the 1812 campaigns!). However, what this did mean is that actually the men of these units did have combat experience, especially the senior officers. And if one actually looks at the events of the five days in Belgium, their combat track record is actually at least equivalent to the British cavalry. Van Merlen's cavalry brigade especially did great service at Quatre Bras against a much larger number of French cavalry. Arguably holding up the French advance long enough for the leading units of Picton's Division to get into the action. But enough historical revisionism. If people would like to read more there is an interesting article here: http://www.napolun.com/mirror/napoleonistyka.atspace.com/Waterloo_Cowards.html

Now on with the minis! 

I present the whole division on parade: 

The divisional ORBAT is made up of an HQ unit and 3 brigades. The cavalry are based by squadron on different width bases. The width of the bases are roughly calculated on the recorded strengths of the squadrons during the campaigns. My compatriot is lucky enough to own a copy of the Scotty Bowden book on Waterloo, so we have based our strengths on his estimates. The GdA rules support this approach, as there is a factor in the rules for having a wider formation than your opponents. 

The division was commanded by Luitenant-Generaal Jean Antoine de Collaert. A veteran of the Ducth then French armies he commanded units in the 1813 and 1814 campaigns (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Antoine_de_Collaert). He is seen here with another highly regarded commander Kolonel Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (as I had accidentally painted some extra general figures spare!)

The 1st Brigade of the division was composed of heavy cavalry, in 3 regiments. There is a lot of speculation as to the exact uniforms of these units at Waterloo, as they were in the middle of a kit exchange at the time of the campaign. So in reality, until a time machine is invented we will probably never know. The brigade was commanded by Generaal-Majoor Albert Dominicus Trip van Zoudtlandt, another career soldier and veteran of both the Dutch and French armies. Famously previously being the colonel of the 14th Regiment Cuirassiers during the 1812 campaign in Russia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Dominicus_Trip_van_Zoudtlandt).

The 2nd Brigade was a light cavalry brigade with the 4th Dutch Light Dragoon Regiment and 8th Belgian Hussar Regiment. It was commanded by Generaal-Majoor Baron Charles Étienne de Ghigny (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Étienne_de_Ghigny). 

The 3rd Brigade, and in theory the only one I actually needed right now, was another light cavalry brigade commanded by Generaal-Majoor Jean Baptiste, Baron van Merlen, whose illustrious career was cut short when he was killed at Waterloo (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Baptiste_van_Merlen). As said above this brigade performed sterling service at QB and later at Waterloo. They did suffer one famous incident when the Highlanders of Pictons Division mistook the returning 5th Belgian Light Dragoon Regiment for French cavalry and opened fire. But I am sure there was many a blue-on-blue incident in the days of horse and musket that has never been reported. 

A close up on the unfortunate 5th Belgian Light Dragoon Regiment, probably the most fun regiment to paint in the whole division and a nice change from the blue. 

In addition to the cavalry, I also finished off some additional skirmishers for my Brunswick Corps, as under the GdA rules you can never have too many skirmisher bases! 

Points wise, I have calculated the following:

130 6mm Cavalry and General figures = 130pts

48 6mm Skirmishing infantry = 24pts

Total = 154pts!

In the final week I am frantically working to finish as much of my other main project as possible. I am not sure why anyone is talking about sandbagging points until the end...quick hand me that shovel! 

Best,
Ed

From PeteF: Old School Minifigs French Line - Bad Hats (120 points)

The Fightin' 2nd 61st

This is my 3rd and final planned 25mm Minifigs submission of this year's challenge. Way back when, as Minifigs expanded its line, they added forage caps and pokalems into the mix. These hats were  objectively ugly and should never have been allowed as part of a Napoleonic uniform. They do look a lot more comfortable than shakos though.

Bad hats, warm coats

Anglo Allied soldier's view

Unsightliness notwithstanding, greatcoated and bad hatted infantry will do very well as 2nd and third battalion types - the Marie Louises - who were unwillingly pressed into service towards the end of the Napoleonic era. These represent the 2nd battalion of the 61st line, which was engaged at Quatres Bras. On the French side I will need a total of 22 line battalions for the battle. With the addition of the 61/2 I have nine line battalions to complete (and seven or eight light).

Grenadiers

Voltigeurs - the light company

To add to the general grubby and unkempt look of the unit I went with different great coat colours and a heavy wash. Minifigs are always a pleasure to paint - whatever the headgear.  I wasn't so sure about how they would look when painting them individually but I like them as a unit - the fightin' 2nd/61st!

24 infantry for a total of 120 points.

Marching to Quatres Bras

***

This is very neat, Pete - when it comes to "Old School", Minifigs are certainly classic figures, and you have done some fine work on them here, whatever the head gear. I have to confess a certain enjoyment of these "undress" sorts of caps, it's always nice to break up the endless ranks of shakos with a touch of depot reality and tough-campaign feel. 

I'll toss in a few bonus points for eyes and for the nice caps :)

Great work Pete!

GregB