Analogue Painting Challenge VII

I for one am gutted the Challenge is over for another year.  Infact, I'm already looking forward to AHPC 8!! I'm so glad Curt came up with the idea, the Challenge forces me out of my painting doldrums and gets my butt into painting gear! What helps the most is all you other Challengers posting and commenting and pushing me to paint more.
Of late my painting and even gaming have been hit hard, with several job changes, the main one a few years ago when me and Fran both left GSK, a painters dream job, 4 twelve hour shifts days and nights with nothing to do except watch films and paint. It seems a lifetime ago (well it was?) when I finished 1st in the Challenge with nearly 5000 points, but that was only because of the job I was in.
Nowadays I'm just happy to finish in the top half!!!
So I'm very happy I beat my target and finished in 24th place with 1093 points and I even managed to beat fellow Posties Reject BigLee, now that makes 24th place taste even sweeter!!!




I managed to finally finish the infabtry for my French/Jacobite/Rebels army, which I undercoated to paint up in Challenge 6, but only actually finished 12 figures for. And I started my Woodland Indians army for Donnybrook, finishing 3 12 figure units.
All in all I painted 151 25mm figures and some scenic defensive terrain pieces.
A big thank you has got to go to Curt, Sarah, Miles and all the other Minions, great work Guys!

Long live the Challenge!

AHPC VII - Donnybrook French/Jacobite/Rebel Infantry

Anyone heard of Donnybrook before??

No? Well..........

I finished and posted these fine looking fellows just in time for the finish of this years Challenge. I was very pleased as they only took me 11 evenings to paint! (If only I could paint like this all the time?)

I've already got the English army, painted up by previous Challenge contender and my pal Loki. So I needed some European troops for them to fight, as well as my Moroccans but who, the French, the Irish Jacobites or even some Rebel troops for the Battle of Sedgemoor???

Well?........Why not all three in one?

In the photo above we have the standard Bearers for the French regt La Marche, the Jacobite regt the Earl of Clanrickard and finally a generic flag for the Red regt in Monmouth's Rebel army.

The Officers
From L to R, Hero, Officer, Ensign & spare Officer.

4 Sergeants

12 Pikemen

4 Jacobite/Rebel Grenadiers

A French & Jacobite/Rebel Drummer

The troops

5 x 12 Infantry

 Phew!

So all in all there are 77 figures!

Giving me 1 million points.......

Well ok, 385 then and not a Selenite in sight!
Giving me a final position of 24th

And that, my friends, ends my Challenge for this year.

AHPC VII Donnybrook - Drums along the Ohio - Woodland Indians

Another entry into the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge, as you may well know I'm trying to paint up some Woodland Indians for my Donnybrook shenanigans. Being as I'm using these for the late 1600's, not the French Indian Wars of the 1750's, I wanted more warriors with handweapons. So I took a chance and bought these, not having seen them in the flesh before I didn't know how large they were compared to my other figures. They are on the larger side of 25mm. They do vary in height quite a bit, the smallest being around 32mm while the tallest a whopping 37mm! They fit in better with the larger Redoubt figures, not so much with my Perry and Warlord figures, but hey ho??

The figures are from the Drums in the Ohio Valley collection from Blue Moon, bought in the UK from Old Glory. I did buy another pack, they were delayed in the post and only arrived of last Friday, (gotta be honest, I'd forgotten all about them!!!) They won't make the painting table in time for the Challenge, but never mind, maybe next year.......or not?

Anyway they may well be a little larger than the norm, but I really do like the action poses on these all bar one, who looks as though he's from another pack?
These bad boys made gave me another 60 points to add to my total, pushing me back up the charts to No32, although now I back down to no 36!

AHPC Bonus Round Film Characters - Inglorious Rejects

Curt bamboozeled all entrants of the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge this

year with his last bonus round. "A Character(s) and/or Scene from a Movie,

TV Program, Book or Piece of Music", but the little twist was you have to

 partner up and both or all have involvement in the piece.

Well BigLee was an easy choice to partner up with as we are both members

 of Posties Rejects, I'm sure if Fran was in the Challenge this year

 he would have joined us too.

I'd seen these figures in Wargames Illustrated the month before and knew

 they fit perfectly. They are based on two characters from Inglorious Basterds,

 the 2009 war film by Quentin Tarantino. Lee agreed to the choice as

 long as he could paint up the baseball bat wielding Staff Sergeant

 Donny Donowitz. Although in his version of events, I wanted to paint up

the Brad Pitt figure, when in truth, it was him who was blabbing 

 " I wanna paint the figure with the bat!!"  

We both decided to use our figures as our Curtgeld entry too, which for those

not in the know, is the price we have to pay for entering the Challenge.

We were both unsure of how to base the figures up, in the end we decided on a

scenic base, with detachable figures. So at Cavalier a few Sundays

 ago we made a few small purchases, Lee took the figures and basing materials

 away and finished off the base.

I've gotta admit, I think we both made a great job on the figures, Lee commented on

 Lt Aldo Raine's leather coat, on how it looked.....leather! To give it an extra

 sheen, I mixed a small quantity of both Matt and Gloss varnish to make the

coat stand out from the rest of the figure. I'm very pleased with the result.

There are once again some really excellent entries into the bonus round, if you feel the

 need pop over and cast your vote, here!

BigLee's version of events can also be found here as well!

AHPC VII Bonus Round "West" John West II

Another entry into the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge. This is my entry into the West

Bonus round. I thought I'd follow on from the East bonus round and pick a name from history and

fit it into my Donnybrook project. There were a few West's to choose from but I chose the chap below. He was the most interesting, He's a Wargames foundry figure from there WSS collection. He's a civilian drover but I think he makes a great Militia leader.

There aren't many days left to vote, infact there's only 1!

But if you haven't and fancy voting for my, or one of the other entries, follow this link

John West II (1632-1689) was the son of Governor John West of Viginia and the grandson of both Thomas West, 2nd Baron De La Warr and Virginia Governor George Percy.

West served in the New Kent County Militia from 1652 to 1673, ending with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He was a supporter of Governor Berkeley during Bacon's Rebellion, and appears in the list compiled by the King's Commissioners of those who suffered grievances during the uprising:

"Col. John West a person greatly impaired in his stock & goods by the Rebells, and a most constant Loyall Gentleman during the late Rebellion, and was for some time after Bacons death Imprisoned by the Rebell Partie."

West served as a member of the courts-martials which tried the rebels.

In 1659, West's father died, the last of the four sons of Thomas West, 2nd Baron De La Warr who came to Virginia. In recognition of the family's contributions to the colonial enterprise, the Virginia Assembly passed the following Act:
"WHEREAS the many important favours and services rendred to the countrey of Virginia by the noble family of the West, predecessors to Mr. John West, their now only survivor, claim at least that a grateful remembrance of their former merrits be still continued to their survivor, It is ordered, That the levies of the said master West and his family be remitted, and that he be exempted from payment thereof during life."

In 1685 West represented New Kent in the House of Burgesses. His will dated November 15, 1689, was probated about 1691. It was destroyed along with the other County records in a fire in 1787.

AHPC VII Donnybrook - Woodland Indians with Muskets

Can't believe that this is Don't throw a 1's 600th post!

And for post 600, what better to have than 12 Perry Miniatures Woodland

Indians with muskets!

They were my 7th entry into the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge earning me 

60 points, pushing me up into the top 30 for the first time!

Only just though, but I'm very happy with 29th place!

I've used a different flesh tone for these 12 First Nation, which I think works

a lot better than the previous tone. I've used Vallejo Saddle Brown, which has

a redder hue and in my opinion works better.

AHPC VII Donnybrook Pioneers/Sapper

For my 6th entry into the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge, you'll all be
surprised that I've gone all Donnybrook again??

Never?

I've been beavering away getting some Pioneers or Sappers or just plain workmen painted up.

The first 6 figures plus equipment are not Nine Years War figures (Shock Horror!)

They are infact a lovely ECW set from Bicorne Miniatures, that'll cost you only £8

to buy unpainted. I've painted them up in a variety of colours, so they could be for

either side in my Donnybrook skirmish games.

The second set of 10 figures are from Reiver Castings, they are painted up with the green 

troos and stocking for Kirke's regt. But once again could be used for any side during the war.

They could even be added to a Civilian Mob, or added to other troops to make a Rebel unit for Sedgemoor.

Lastly, are 3 figures and some equipment from Dixon Miniatures.

The Engineer from a previous entry is also included in this pack.

And here they all are in a group shot.

19 figures, 2 wheelbarrows, 2 barrels, piles of wood and a discarded coat.......

 Miles my Monday Minion gave me 100 points for this collection giving me a grand
total of 290 points, lifting me up the charts to 52 place!

I've added the Pioneer Engineer in this pic, he was entered into the Challenge last month

and is included in the pack from Dixon.