Painting Challenge - Moorish Horse Archers

OK no regular posts for 3 weeks and now two in one day – but it took me til the 26^th until I could get painting.  I have completed a unit of 8 Moorish Horse Archers in 28mm to add to my El Cid hordes.  I think that this gives me 80 points towards my very far distant goal….

The figures are hard plastic and produced by Hät, who mostly do a wide range of 20mm figures.  I picked up 3 boxes of 12 figures each on my last business trip through Vancouver in June at Imperial Hobbies, which is a well-stocked store and is conveniently located when traveling by Skytrain to the airport. 

These were the first Hät figures that I have painted, and they in the end produced reasonable results (to my eyes anyway).   The detail is not a clean as found on metals, but the plastic is neither bendy like Airfix nor brittle.  They are also a little lighter in build than metals, but that doesn’t hurt for a LC unit.   In particular the horses are very nice and have the look of fine boned Arabians.   I painted them in my artist acrylics with generous washes. 

The shields and flag are free handed, because that’s how I do them.   I may redo the flag later but I am mostly happy with my results.  I’ll toss my thoughts into the forum on free hand vs. bought flags and shields.  Which is I see no point in paying good money for products that are more frustrating and time consuming than DIY, especially as the results never seem to be worth the bother, cost and time.   Yes I am an old fashioned curmudgeon but my first ancients army was Hoplite Greeks and I handled that so can handle anything else.  As for flags, free handing ancient banners is quick and for Horse’n’Musket I get them free from Warflag, or in some cases DIY on the MacBook.  So if you are buying flags and shield designs, you need to grow a pair and get on with doing it the real way!

Challenge Entry - Fred and Ginger plus 2 Bangers

I had a busy December so this is my first non-bonus round submission, and it’s figures that I actually had primed for last year’s challenge but didn’t proceed with any further.   

We have two Napoleonic 28mm siege cannon, a 12 pdr and an 18-24 pdr, both on fortress cannons.  They are made by Brigade models and match the similar pair that I did submit to last year’s challenge.  But honest they are different models (check the much chunkier rocks on the bases on tis year’s models).  They are very nice pieces; I will use them for War of 1812, FIW and SYW projects.  And yes the rocks are definitely over scale, and will be replaced with proper gravel in the form of model railway ballast when I get a pack.

Also we have two 28mm civilians from Reaper, a barman a working girl.  They cam in a multi-pack with figures that I used last year in the Challenge.  I’ve christened the barman Fred as he looks like a Fred, plus I remember an odious barman named Fred from Coronation Street in the 80s.  So Fred needs a Ginger, which fits for obvious reasons.  Michael A did a much better job on this particular figure for a bonus round last year, so hopefully everyone else forgot about that by now.

I think that these add up to 30 points (10 each for the weapons and 5 each for the foot figures).

Painting Challenge "Mount(s) and Rider(s)" Bonus Round

The F1 Winners from 1976

Having given my competition a three week head start, I am finally making my first submission to the AHPCV.  For the mounts and riders bonus round, I submit a set of 6 representing the six winning car and driver combinations from the 1976 Formula One World Championship.  This was a very dramatic season, so dramatic that they made the movie Rush based on it.  We have

• Niki Lauda Ferrari 312t2
• James Hunt McLaren M23
• Mario Andretti Lotus 77
• Jody Scheckter Tyrrell P34
• Ronnie Peterson March 761
• John Watson Penske PC4

Merry Christmas Everyone

This Year's Painting Challenge

So I signed myself up for the 5th Painting Challenge with a target score of 1000.  So far I have finished bugger all and I'm not expecting to get my first entry in until after the 25th.

For some reason Curt insists on starting this thing at a time of year when only a complete troglodyte would have any time to paint.  Now I may fall into this category, but it also coincides with the end of the academic term (i.e. my busy time at work).  So while others are joyfully painting figures, I will be marking final exams from 130 first year students who don't want to take statistics.  Plus getting ready for Christmas with my daughter coming home from Uni and my mother in law visiting for the holidays.

And Yet More El Cid

Rules question?  I also love the rubber duckies in the fountain.

Count Garcia closes in on Ibn 'Ammar's spearmen.  The model railway orange trees do look nice.  Note the booty (slaves, religious artifacts, livestock, dirty books etc) on the road.

Getting down to the crunch!

The Castillians hit the line on both ends with charging Hidlagos.  Unfortunately, in both cases the charges were repulsed and the Hildalgos eliminated a effective fighters.

I should point out that the mitre belongs to Sylvain - his wife picked it up at the local theatre's jumble sale.

Curt looks resigned to his fate as he prepares to roll the dice of fate.  But he rolled up and the Castillians rolled down.

Taken during set up - this shows off my new troop carrying boxes.  File boxes with inserts made from foam core board glued together with hot glue.  Amazing what happens when a cheap-ass war gamer and his ex-brownie troop leader wife get together.

Set up pictures again but from a bird's eye view.

Oh yes - the trays come with handles made from bias tape.  Check out Curt's really cool buildings in the rafters behind.

More El Cid Photos

Going with my strong suit here.  I've got lots of Sean's superb pics and he's making my figures look better than they have a right to.

A lot of action going on here looking from the Castillain side.  On the left, Count Sancho's Hidalgos are in melee with El Cid's.  This would lead to the Campeador and followers being swept fro the table to be followed up by Sancho.  Meanwhile the militia in the centre and Sean's right wing advance.  Note that Sylvain has position his Cavalry for a flank charge on the far right.

Curt and I deal with the Light Cavalry melee on the far left.  The Andalusians were victorious and followed up into the militia. .

The Bishop on top of the Church

Two units of Morrish LC crash into Jeremy's militia.  Blood stains mark the hits.  The peons did very well seeing off multiple attacks.

Add your own caption - what it Curt saying?

Andalusian HC charge Castillian militia MC, while Hildalgos come through the orange groves.

If you go down to the woods today...

Having seen off the militia MC, Sylvain's HC crash into mercenary HI.

Blood trails follow Sylvain, but look to your flanks boys!