From MartinN: 1940 French Patoon Command (20 points)

After a two year hiatus it feels great to be back in the fold again. I have several projects I want to work on during this years Challenge, ranging from some Fantasy Orcs and Undead over 3rd Century Romans to French and Germans for 1940. Also I'm sure I'll mix in some odds and ends as I go along.

So to start things off in my usual style - meaning slow - here's my first entry for this year. A set of Senior Leaders for my fledgling early war French force for Chain of Command. All figures are 3D prints from the excellent Colonel Muller Miniatures over on www.Wargaming3D.com

First is the Big Wig, the Commandant de Peloton, probably a Sous-Lieutenant. To distinguish him from his (even) more junior 2iC he got a big hex base and a second figure added, symbolizing his personal aide/ runner.

Second is the first of two Sergent-Chefs who will be classed as inferior Senior Leaders in CoC terms. This one is armed with a German made Erma sub-machine gun, large quantities of which came into French possession after the collapse of the Spanish Republic and subsequent internment of soldiers fleeing Franco's revenge in France.

And lastly the second of those two Sergent-Chefs, a rather fatherly figure by the looks of it. This time armed with an obsolete Lebel Model 1886 rifle, he probably already carried during the previous war given de Croix de Guerre he's wearing on his left breast. The Lebel was being phased out at the time of the outbreak of war. But given that its successor, the MAS-36, was not in sufficient supply to equip all units, it was still in widespread use. Especially in reserve formations.

So with that, I'm done for today. All that's left for me to do is wishing all of you a Merry Christmas.

Total:

4x 28mm figures = 20 pts

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First, welcome back to the Challenge Nick! As usual you tease us with some of your absolutely stunning painting. Your brushwork it typically on-point, with rich colours, clean lines and smooth shading. Truly wonderful stuff. Of the group I particularly like the veteran senior sergeant with his aged rifle and trusty pipe. Such great character!

20 Points to put you up on the roster. Well done my friend - let's see some more, thank you!

- Curt

Thursday From MartinN: 1940 BEF (50 points)

Having just added to my Early War Germans I felt it was about time to add a little to their opponents. Some of you might remember earlier efforts of mine (has it really been 4 years again?)  on much the same figures. Believe it or not it took me the best part of a month to get these fellas done and dusted. I blame a rather busy schedule with me being away from home for the most part of that time.

It felt interesting to try to match the new paint jobs to the older ones and despite not using Army Painter anymore I think I've come reasonably close. Not that it'd matter on the table anyway but I'm a little OCD with such things it seems. Of course now I have to re-base all of my existing collection as well.

Not much else to be said about these figures other than that they're by Warlord Games and while a little on the chunky side they paint up rather nicely.


Gorgeous painting as always from your hand! You've realised the rather drab BEF uniform beautifuly, these Regulars or Territorials are simply wonderful! The basing is superb as well!
 10 x 5 points for 28mm gives you 50 points, terrific work!
All the best Iain 

From BenF: Bagging the Hun 1/300 Aircraft and 1/1200 Ships (108 Points)

Well, it's been an eventful few weeks for me, with a trip to the Snowy Mountains taking up a decent chunk of my painting time before heading back to work this Monday just gone. The trip was great, getting to spend some time with friends and climbing to the top of the tallest mountain in Australia felt like an achievement, even if it's no monster by international standards. While the 14km round trip was rather challenging, the fact that it is largely paved should tell you that i'm no Sir Edmund Hilary! :)

As far as painting goes, i've managed to get a bit completed, though i've not managed a blog update until now. As Bag the Hun 2 is continuing to go great guns at the club, this submission is firmly centred on this project.

First off, the first of my Fleet Air Arm aircraft. I've always found the FAA fascinating. Besides the carriers, the fact that they had to struggle with aircraft and equipment which was not up to the standards of that used by the RAF, let alone the Luftwaffe. While i've got Sea Gladiators, Sea Hurricanes, Martlets, Skuas, Albacores and even a Roc in the painting queue, i've started off my FAA force with a flight of Fairey Fulmars. The Fulmar was designed to fit in with the RNs view that carrier based aircraft must have a pilot and telegraphist/air gunner. While hardly as sleek as the Spitfire, I do like the no-nonsense lines of the Fulmars. These are marked up for the 806th Naval Air Squadron, based on the HMS Illustrious during it's time in the Med protecting the Malta Convoys during 1941. The models are Heroics and Ros, declas are from Dom's Decals. This lot has already served in a game, tangling with a dozen Savoia SM.79 bombers over the Med, so I've included a photo I took from the game of Sub/Lt. H. 'Slippers' Duncan bagging an 'Eyetie'.

Continuing with the naval theme, here are some 1/1200 and 1/1250 scale ships to be defended or attacked in BTH2 games, depending on the scenario. I've based these using artists impasto gel, and find that the scale works perfectly for BTH2. This was my first attempt with Naval figures, and i'm pretty happy with the way they've turned out. The scale difference looks 'right' with fighters and bombers swirling in the air above the ships. Below is a Type IXC U-Boat, the U-805 and a Räumboote, or R-Boat minesweeping motor launch, the R-401. Both are Neptun from eBay which i've repainted.

Below is the HMS Hotspur, an H-Class destroyer. This is a decent size, coming in at just under 10cm. The Hotspur is another Neptun repaint. I've got a couple of Bogue class escort carriers and an HMS Illustrious on the way from eBayland. The Escorts are around 14cm, and the Lusty is over 20, i'm looking forward to painting them up.

Next, a pair of Merchantment. I wanted to keep these relatively generic so that I can use them for Allied or Axis convoys. These are Len Deighton sculpts from eBay which I've repainted. I do plan on getting some larger merchantmen as targets for FW200 Condors and Sunderlands over the North Atlantic and North Sea.

Next up, we're back over dry land with an Avro Anson. The Anson was used as for reconnaissance, light bombing, and as a utility aircraft. This one is marked up from No.326 Squadron in 1940. This model is H&R also. Decals are from Dom's.

Next, we have two schwarms of Messerschmitt Bf 109E-4s. I had two of these painted up previously, and together with these lots that is a complete staffel. They're marked up from Jagdgeschwader 2 'Richtofen', and one of the aircraft is painted up as that of Luftwaffe experten (or top ace) Helmut Wick. The engine cowling has a small blue triangle with an approximation of the yellow sword and 'Horrido' written on the original. The mottled sides of Wick's aircraft was also noteably darker than other aircraft of JG2, so I've tried to give this effect. These aircraft are all from Scotia, declas from Doms.

Next, some British Anti Air bases in the form of two 3.7" AA Guns and a command base with an Austin Tilly and a Bedford MWC tanker. While these will work for BTH2, they can also serve with my Blitzkrieg Commander forces. All equipment is from H&R, decals are i-96 and Dom's.

Finally, here's a picture of me at the top of Mt. Kosciusko, I'm on the left wearing the blue shirt.

Next up, i'm working on some more aircraft, Blenheims, Fairey Battles and Heinkel He-111s along with some FAA odds and sods.

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What a brilliant post, Ben! 

It strikes particularly close to home as Sarah and I holidayed in Malta this autumn. We both had a great time taking in the newly renovated National War Museum at St. Elmo which had an entire wing dedicated to the WWII siege of the island. It was amazing and I heartily recommend it to anyone who loves a good museum.

Anyway, back to your fabulous entry. Your Fulmars, Messerschmitts and Anson are terrific. I especially like the work you spent on the canopies and the decals as they really finish the models off nicely. The 1:1200 ships are real lumps of goodness as well (love the basing). I've not seen a U-Boat in this scale before and it really is impressive. I agree with you on the great use of scale distortion, in having 1:300 scale aircraft over 1:1200 ships - the forced perspective is a brilliant touch.

Finally, that's a great picture of you and your friends atop Mt. Kosciusko - it looks to have been a fine day out.

I'm counting the 1:1200 ships with their nautical basework as 28mm vehicles so this will plunk you in at 108 points. Well done Ben!

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